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May 01, 2026
 

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Marc Champion
Donald Trump's decades-long unchanging foreign policy approach, combined with erratic behavior, has amplified risks and confusion in U.S. dealings with Russia, Iran and the wider world.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2026
We¡¯re all trapped in Trump¡¯s 1980s worldview
Current events provide a vivid example of how Trump's failure to evolve distorts policy making.
People mourn the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes, in Tehran on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2026
Trump¡¯s ambitions for Iran: He wants everything.
Yet the most ambitious goal, and the one that must be achieved to make sense of all the others, was regime change.
Locals hold a Ukrainian flag on a destroyed bridge in Irpin, Ukraine, during a memorial ceremony on Tuesday marking the fourth anniversary of Russia¡¯s invasion.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 27, 2026
Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine has already changed the world
Russia¡¯s record in this tragedy is less inspiring. The war has been the catastrophe that even many in the Kremlin feared.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a news conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine in Anchorage, Alaska, in August.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2026
Putin has weaponized the peace talks. The U.S. can stop him
More than a year into negotiations that President Donald Trump said would take him 24 hours to resolve, the recent talks in Dubai produced nothing beyond a prisoner swap.
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. drone on a wall of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran. U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s mixed signals on Iran raise doubts that Washington has a clear strategy or enough understanding of the country to manage the consequences of military action.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2026
On Iran, U.S. needs a little more data and a lot less hubris
Responses from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his officials have ranged from let¡¯s talk (about nuclear) to forget about it and make my day.
As Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine continues, Vladimir Putin¡¯s reluctance to engage with global crises, such as America's actions in Venezuela, reveals his limited ability to assert Russian power on the world stage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2026
Putin¡¯s recent silence is worrying
It's hard to know exactly what Russians think, as reporting there is strictly limited.
Then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi meets with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, in Tehran in June 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2026
America's Venezuela playbook won't work in Iran
Whether the Islamic Republic is ripe to fall from an external U.S. or Israeli nudge is a complicated question.
A Danish flag flutters next to a statue of Hans Egede, a Norwegian missionary who revitalized Danish-Norwegian ties to the island, in Nuuk, Greenland.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2026
The Greenland alarm is sounding ¡ª Europe needs to hear it
Greenland has a landmass three times the size of Texas under which there are thought to be large quantities of untapped rare earths, among other minerals that Trump wants.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in August for peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2026
¡®The West¡¯ is near death. It¡¯s also worth fighting for.
So, no, the West doesn¡¯t stretch back to ancient Greece, because the ancient Greeks never mentioned it or conceived of it.
Whether it's within NATO or through bespoke coalitions, Europe must coordinate its military and diplomatic efforts to deter aggression, protect allies, and ensure it can project power effectively beyond the EU¡¯s highly regulated and limiting institutions.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2025
The EU is the wrong power player for Ukraine
Europe lacks the institutions, resources and political cohesion to defend against Russia and China, leaving NATO, bespoke coalitions and individual nations to fill the gap.
U.S. Marines at Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture demonstrate the Typhon ground-launched missile system in September. Capable of launching land-based Tomahawks, it has already been deployed in global exercises, proving that the technical challenges often cited as an excuse to withhold Tomahawks from Ukraine are unfounded.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2025
Sanctions or Tomahawks? Only credible threats will convince Putin.
A lack of resolve and realism in the West has encouraged Putin to believe he need only wait until Ukraine¡¯s backers fail it and he¡¯ll be able to achieve his maximalist goals.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15. Putin is growing vulnerable, but Trump¡¯s wavering and Europe¡¯s divisions risk wasting the chance to end the Ukraine war.
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2025
Did Putin finally overplay his hand with Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin grows vulnerable, but Donald Trump¡¯s wavering and Europe¡¯s divisions risk squandering the chance to force an end to the war.
This damaged drone was found in a field near the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2025
Lessons for NATO after Putin sends drones over Poland
The U.S. and Europe have a lot to learn from Russia¡¯s warning shot.
Russian traditional nesting dolls with images of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump. Ukrainian and European leaders worry that the hastily arranged Alaska meeting between the two leaders risks playing into Russia¡¯s hands.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2025
Putin is about to outplay Trump again in Alaska
Trump isn¡¯t wrong to try sitting down with U.S. foes and rivals, even where more conventional leaders would avoid the risk. But hastily arranged encounters rarely result as hoped.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets veterans involved in the Ukraine war, at the Kremlin on June 12. Europe should tap Russia¡¯s frozen central bank assets to fund Ukraine¡¯s defense, given Donald Trump¡¯s conditions on U.S. aid.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2025
Russia¡¯s frozen $245 billion can pay for Ukraine¡¯s arms
Replacing the U.S. military and financial aid provided by President Joe Biden¡¯s administration would cost about $45 billion a year for the duration of the war.
Despite perceptions of Russian weakness after Israel¡¯s attack on Iran, that conflict has helped Vladimir Putin by diverting U.S. resources, eroding support for Ukraine and possibly setting the stage for the war to shift in his favor.
COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2025
The U.S. bombing of Iran was a win for Putin
The possibility of another war in the Middle East has sucked attention, energy and resources away from Ukraine.
The Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran scored a tactical win and prompted a tentative ceasefire, but they failed to eliminate the threat posed by Tehran¡¯s nuclear ambitions or shift the long-term strategic calculus.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025
There is no 'one-and-done' on Iran's nuclear ambitions
Trump still faces tough calls that will decide the future of non-proliferation.
Israel¡¯s rapid military gains in Iran have exposed deep vulnerabilities in Tehran¡¯s defenses, but they also raise urgent questions about how far Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to go and at what cost.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2025
Success in Iran leaves Israel at a strategic crossroads
In Iran, it¡¯s vital that Netanyahu follow his Hezbollah model if his campaign of military shock and awe doesn¡¯t quickly succeed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on April 7. Netanyahu is playing a risky game by launching a war against Iran that may not stop its nuclear program and could trigger a wider conflict beyond Israel¡¯s control.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025
Netanyahu¡¯s big gamble risks a quicker Iranian bomb
Whether the air strikes can indeed succeed is a very big "if.¡± It¡¯s more likely that Israel can do no more than delay Iran¡¯s nuclear program.
A Palestinian woman carries a toddler as she walks amid the destruction following Israeli strikes in Jabalia's Saftawi neighborhood in the northern Gaza on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2025
Nothing civilized about Netanyahu's war in Gaza
The continued razing of Palestinian enclave following the killing of Israel Embassy staffers will only perpetuate the cycle of violence.
New Zealand officials reject statue remembering 91²Ö¿â comfort women
A statue symbolizing former South Korean comfort women in Seoul
Head of U.S. military in South Korea calls for ¡®kill web¡¯ linking Seoul, Tokyo and Manila
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson (center), commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks on a pontoon bridge with U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers during a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 14.
Japan considers making language programs a factor in residency screenings
The government is considering creating a Japanese language program for foreign people that would be a factor in residency screenings.
'RikuRyu' signs off in emotional farewell
Figure skating pair Riku Miura (left) and Ryuichi Kihara pose for photos at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. The pair have announced their retirement from competitive skating.
How the Iran crisis affects Japan
A tanker carrying U.S. crude oil sails in Tokyo Bay on Sunday.
Head of U.S. military in South Korea calls for ¡®kill web¡¯ linking Seoul, Tokyo and Manila
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson (center), commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks on a pontoon bridge with U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers during a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 14.
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays¡¯ engines running
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
The American chef reconnecting with Japan through a Kyoto restaurant
SoNoMa chef partner Kyle Connaughton (right) and chef de cuisine Keita Tominaga both have ties to Sonoma County in Northern California, the restaurant¡¯s namesake. Connaughton rose to prominence there with SingleThread, while Tominaga¡¯s father ran a Japanese restaurant in the region.
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Japan¡¯s convenience stores
Alongside the simplified management of a convenience store, Inkonbini asks players to help a small cast of regular shoppers with not only their shopping but problems in their personal lives.
Japanese developers worry over construction supply shortages amid Iran war
Paul Nikel, President of West Canada Homes, with an increasingly rare supply of plastic foam

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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