Tag - u.s.

 
 

U.S.

Ground Self-Defense Force members during a training exercise at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2026
Rattled by Trump, U.S. allies eye Japan’s biggest arms opening since WWII
The interest comes amid shaky U.S. security commitments to allies and the wars in Iran and Ukraine that are straining U.S. weapons supplies.
U.S. prison populations have dropped sharply since 2008, but gaps in mental health care mean many vulnerable individuals continue to cycle through the criminal justice system instead of receiving treatment.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2026
U.S. prisons are emptier. Will psychiatric hospitals fill up?
More recent statistics on psychiatric beds in hospitals and resident patients in state psychiatric hospitals show a mostly flat trajectory through 2023.
Smoke rises from the Thai-registered bulk carrier Mayuree Naree near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after it was attacked.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 15, 2026
Gulf oil crisis reveals shortcomings in government readiness
After just two weeks, the International Energy Agency concluded that the Iran war had created the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House in Washington in April last year.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
Trump slams Meloni, deepening fallout from his Pope attack
The exchange highlights the breakdown in Trump and Meloni’s relationship since Italy refused to allow the U.S. to use a base in Sicily for combat operations for the war in Iran.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at an International Institute of Finance event during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
Bessent says China has been unreliable partner by hoarding oil during war
China already had a strategic petroleum reserve that was roughly the same size as that of the entire reserve held by the 32-member International Energy Agency.
Peelable paper tubes for a solid perfume made from mineral paper on display at Yonwoo's cosmetic packaging factory in Incheon, South Korea
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 15, 2026
Iran war promises green edge for Asia as plastic packaging runs short
Across Asia, changes that ⁠environmental groups have sought for decades are quickly being adopted, even if they may prove a short-term flip.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (back left) and Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (back right) look on after a memorandum of understanding was signed at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 15, 2026
Indonesian Foreign Ministry urged caution over U.S. military overflight proposal
While the two nations agreed on a defense cooperation partnership ​in a meeting Monday, a Pentagon statement that followed made no reference to overflights.
Researchers evaluated five popular artificial intelligence chatbots by asking 10 questions each across five health categories. About 50% of the responses were deemed problematic, including almost 20% that were highly problematic.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 15, 2026
AI chatbots give misleading medical advice 50% of the time, study finds
The chatbot’s answers were often delivered with confidence, though none produced a fully complete and accurate reference list in response to any prompt, the researchers said.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet taxis the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
U.S. allies are steering clear of naval mission in Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump insists U.S. allies are ready to help him in the Strait of Hormuz. They’re not even close.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Hungary's Viktor Orban during an election campaign rally in Budapest on April 7
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2026
Trump seen as a risk by Europe’s far right after Orban loss
At a critical time for the nationalist movement in Europe, parties are struggling to land on a clear policy of how to deal with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Gombe area of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The African country is set to receive more than 30 deportees from the United States this week, none of whom are Congolese nationals.
WORLD
Apr 15, 2026
Congo to receive first group of deportees from U.S. this week, sources say
The move is the latest example of Washington using agreements with African governments to accelerate migrant removals.
An explosion during an Israeli strike in Beirut on March 31
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
IMF cuts growth outlook and warns world drifting toward ‘adverse scenario’
Under the IMF’s worst-case outlook, the global economy teeters on the brink of recession, with oil prices averaging $110 a barrel ​in 2026 and $125 in 2027.
A ship is seen in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Sharjah, UAE, the day after the failure of U.S.-Iran peace talks on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
U.S. and Iran may resume talks this week despite port blockade
While the U.S. blockade drew angry rhetoric from Tehran, signs that diplomatic engagement might continue helped calm oil markets.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an order raising tariffs in the Oval Office in Washington in February 2025.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 14, 2026
Trump, ‘The Art of the Deal’ and the ‘TACO’ myth
The question is not whether Trump “chickens out,” but whether the final outcome leaves him in a stronger position.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2026
U.S. and Iran weigh further truce talks with Trump blockade underway
The two sides’ negotiating teams could return to Islamabad later this week for a second round of talks.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (center) hosts an honor cordon for Indonesia's Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at the Pentagon, in Washington, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 14, 2026
U.S. announces ‘major’ defense partnership with Indonesia
Jakarta said a U.S. proposal to grant American military aircraft access over Indonesian airspace was being “carefully reviewed.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby speaks during a media event in Los Angeles on March 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 14, 2026
United Airlines CEO pitched American Airlines tie-up in meeting with Trump, sources say
A combination of two of the largest U.S. network carriers would be the most consequential consolidation since the last wave of big airline mergers ​ended more than a decade ago.
Philippine soldiers fire a howitzer during the annual joint Balikatan military exercises in Aparri, Cagayan province, the Philippines, last May.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2026
Japan to deploy 1,400 troops and missiles to large-scale drills in expanded role
The scale and diversity of the contingent means that Japan will be the third-largest troop contributor to the biggest-ever iteration of the drills in the Philippines.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during the 2026 Liberal National Convention in Montreal, Canada, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2026
Carney clinches majority government to push energy and trade ambitions
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has maintained wide popularity, has pushed to diversify Canada’s trade relationships and build new export infrastructure.
Copies of The Wall Street Journal for sale in in New York on April 9. On Monday, a federal judge dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal over its report of a birthday card sent to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2026
U.S. judge throws out Trump’s defamation case against Wall Street Journal
U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles said Trump had not ⁠come close to meeting the “actual malice” standard that public figures must clear in defamation.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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