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U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin talks to the media following his meetings with foreign delegations at the Kremlin in Moscow on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
May 11, 2026
Ukraine and Russia trade accusations of violating U.S.-backed ceasefire
The three-day pause is part of a broader U.S.-led push for peace that has so far failed to end the war, going for more than four years, despite ​months of shuttle diplomacy.
A man passes a mural on a wall in Tehran after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, on April 8.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2026
If Iran agrees to everything, was the war worth it?
The strongest argument against the reported U.S. proposal is that it would leave Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz.
A worker runs a machine in the process of building a solar panel at First Solar in Perrysburg, Ohio, on July 8, 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 11, 2026
Trump’s crackdown on China-linked solar firms stalls U.S. factory boom
The policy could backfire by imperiling growth in U.S. manufacturing jobs and power generation at a time of rising utility bills and soaring electricity demand.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, on Sunday. He swiftly dismissed Iran's response to a U.S. peace proposal in a post on social media.
WORLD / Politics
May 11, 2026
Trump rejects ‘unacceptable’ Iran response to peace plan, causing oil prices to surge
Days after the U.S. floated an offer in the hopes of reopening negotiations, Iran has released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts.
A member of NOPO, Iran’s counter-terrorism special force, stands guard under a billboard of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, on April 23.
WORLD
May 10, 2026
Drone strikes ship near Qatar; South Korea reports attack on one of its vessels
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center had earlier said a bulk carrier reported being hit 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha by an “unknown projectile“.
A karate performance during the Japan Parade event in New York on Saturday
JAPAN
May 10, 2026
Japan Parade cultural promotion event held in New York
About 100 organizations including companies, schools and groups of Japanese nationals from various prefectures took part in the event.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves as she departs a Royal Australian Air Force base in Canberra on May 5, after a three-day official visit.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2026
Was Japan’s recent Golden Week diplomatic offensive effective, let alone ‘strategic’?
Prime Ministger Takaichi risks continuing a pattern of compressed, opportunistic diplomacy — busy, but not always effective.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak about the Iran war at the White House last month.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2026
Trump’s feuds and tensions with allies likely to outlast Iran war
Allies from Europe to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific are once again fearful that the U.S. might be unreliable in a future crisis.
A solar panel manufacturing plant in Ohio. Policy uncertainty is driving installers and insurers away from U.S. solar factories with China ties.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 9, 2026
Trump’s crackdown on China-linked solar firms stalls U.S. factory boom
Policy uncertainty is driving installers and insurers away from U.S. solar factories with China ties.
A departure board showing canceled Spirit Airlines flights at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, on May 2.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2026
Spirit exit likely to lead to higher U.S. airfares, experts say
Spirit’s shutdown has added to worries about higher airfares, as ticket prices already rise over soaring jet fuel costs due to the Middle East war.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda arrives for a news conference after a BOJ policy meeting in Tokyo last month.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2026
Japan bets on Washington and BOJ for extra punch in yen battle
The strategy is reliant on a small cast of heavyweights and is aimed less at a dramatic turnaround than at raising the cost of betting against the yen.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro (second from right) speak to soldiers during the Balikatan annual military exercises in Paoay, in the Philippines' Ilocos Norte province, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 9, 2026
From observer to contributor: Japan’s growing military role in Philippine drills
Several of the drills were conducted in northern Philippine areas facing Taiwan and the South China Sea, locations increasingly seen as central to deterrence planning.
The USS Rafael Peralta guided-missile destroyer implements a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Stream while the latter was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port on April 26.
WORLD
May 9, 2026
U.S. attack on Iran tankers sparks reprisals as deal hangs in balance
Iranian officials accused the United States of violating the ceasefire with the tanker strikes and hampering diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Han Kuo-yu, the speaker of Taiwan's parliament, announces the approval of a $25 billion special defense spending bill in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 9, 2026
After months of wrangling, Taiwan lawmakers OK $25 billion defense spending bill
The spending, which opposition lawmakers say will be used for U.S. weapons, falls well short of the government’s proposed budget of nearly $40 billion.
A billboard with a graphic design about the Strait of Hormuz on a building in Tehran on Wednesday
WORLD
May 8, 2026
U.S. and Iran trade fire, threatening fragile truce
Trump said the ceasefire was still in place, despite an Iranian attack on three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz that fanned fears.
A Vilseck military community street sign in Vilseck, Germany, on Tuesday
WORLD
May 8, 2026
A small town in Germany braces for end to decades of life with U.S. troops
The presence of ‌the U.S. military base in the small town of Vilseck produced a situation of dependence ​whose risks are now being felt, the town’s mayor said.
Koji Kano (left), vice minister of defense for international affairs, Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi (second from left), South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo (second from right) and South Korean Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee in Seoul on Thursday
JAPAN
May 8, 2026
Japan and South Korea hold security talks in Seoul
Representatives discussed the importance of bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation with the U.S., as well as issues related to North Korea and the Middle East.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi along with his Indonesian counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, inspect an honor guard during a welcome ceremony in Jakarta on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2026
Indonesia-Japan defense pact reshapes Indo-Pacific security
The implications for the Indo-Pacific are significant. A more capable Indonesia could strengthen deterrence and help maintain open sea lanes, reinforcing regional stability.
With U.S. President Donald Trump desperately seeking a deal to end the Iran war before he lands in Beijing for his May 14 to 15 visit, China could seek to use his weakened position to extract concessions on key issues.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 8, 2026
Trump heads for Xi summit overshadowed by Iran war
With U.S. President Donald Trump seeking a deal to end the Iran war before he lands in Beijing, China may seek to use his weakened position to extract concessions on key issues.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting with other high-ranking officials in Tokyo on April 28.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2026
Japan pulls out the stops to halt the yen’s slide
While the yen’s dive has been abetted by speculators, the real causes of the currency’s weakness are structural.

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