World

Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its captain off southern Japan in an incident that risks further straining already frayed ties between Asia’s two largest economies. Japan’s Fisheries Agency said an inspector had ordered the vessel to stop for a routine check, but “the vessel failed to comply and fled.” The agency added: “Consequently, the vessel’s captain was arrested on the same day.” It was the first seizure of a Chinese fishing boat by Japan’s fisheries authorities since 2022. The episode comes three…

Bangladeshi television projections showed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Tarique Rahman heading for a substantial victory in the first national elections since a deadly 2024 uprising, with the party pushing past the 150-seat threshold needed for a parliamentary majority. Official results had not been released and counting continued late Friday. Senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said in a party statement the opposition had won a “sweeping victory,” without releasing figures, and urged supporters to offer prayers…

EU leaders pressed for urgent action to cut energy costs and fix the bloc’s border-free single market, warning that European industry risks falling further behind the United States and China if the 27 member states fail to move from rhetoric to results. Gathering at Alden Biesen Castle in Belgium’s Limburg province, heads of government acknowledged a shared “sense of urgency” but arrived with divergent prescriptions. “We share a sense of urgency that our Europe needs to act,” French President Emmanuel Macron said alongside…

Bangladesh’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, appeared on course for a sweeping victory in national elections, with television projections showing the party vaulting past the 150-seat mark needed for a parliamentary majority in the first vote since a deadly 2024 uprising. The projections, based on partial counts late Thursday, indicated that Jamaat-e-Islami and its Islamist-led allies had secured 63 seats — a sharp surge from previous performances but well short of an outright win. Official…

Gail Slater resigns as head of DOJ antitrust division, injecting uncertainty into Trump-era enforcement WASHINGTON — Gail Slater, the Trump administration’s head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said she is stepping down less than a year after being appointed by President Donald Trump, leaving a major enforcement arm with few senior leaders as it pursues cases against some of the world’s largest companies. Slater, who was confirmed in March to lead the division that polices illegal monopolies and…

Heavy rain and gale-force winds battered Portugal and Spain on Thursday, toppling trees, disrupting transport and closing schools as authorities warned of more dangerous weather to come. A motorway viaduct partially collapsed near the Portuguese city of Coimbra, while Spain placed its northern coast under the highest red alert as seas built to 9 meters amid Storm Nils. Portugal’s infrastructure minister, Miguel Pinto Luz, who visited the fallen span between Lisbon and Porto, called the scene “an absolutely abnormal…

MILAN — Italian police arrested a Slovak fugitive who returned to Italy to support his country at the Winter Olympics, ending 16 years on the run, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported. The 44-year-old man was headed to the Santa Giulia arena in Milan for Slovakia’s ice hockey game but was taken into custody and transferred to San Vittore prison instead, according to ANSA. Police were alerted to his presence after he checked in at a guesthouse, the agency said. Officers moved in before he reached the venue. The man must now…

Trump administration repeals EPA endangerment finding, scraps federal vehicle greenhouse gas standards The Trump administration has revoked the Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding for greenhouse gases and eliminated federal greenhouse gas standards for cars and engines through model year 2027, a sweeping climate policy rollback that dismantles the legal foundation for nationwide emissions regulation. Announced alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and White House budget director Russ Vought, President…

James Van Der Beek, the actor who became a late-1990s television touchstone as earnest dreamer Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, has died at 48 after a battle with bowel cancer, his family said Wednesday. “He met his final days with courage, faith and grace,” his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, said in a statement. The series, which ran for six seasons from 1998 to 2003, launched him to stardom and helped define a TV era. Heartfelt tributes poured in from co-stars and friends. Katie Holmes, who starred opposite Van Der Beek,…

Trump border czar ends Minnesota immigration surge after protests, deadly shootings MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump’s border czar said an aggressive federal immigration “surge” in Minnesota is ending after weeks of sweeping raids, mass arrests and mounting public outrage following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens. Tom Homan, a top administration official overseeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, announced the drawdown at a briefing outside Minneapolis, saying he proposed the move and that Trump…