If popularity were the deciding factor, Taro Kono would be the clear front-runner to become Japan’s next prime minister. But it’s not that simple. https://t.co/KKKmKQDlrq

In Sunday's German election, nearly 2 million voters shifted their support away from the Christian Democratic Union, the party of Angela Merkel and Armin Laschet, to the Social Democrats. https://t.co/9wcOTAfm4P

Japan is not an authoritarian state. Yet its elections often seem preordained. How does one party maintain control? https://t.co/tVyJ4v3FlC

Taro Kono, who hopes to be Japan’s next prime minister, is somewhat notorious for blocking his critics on Twitter. “I don’t feel the need to have a conversation with people I don’t know who slander me,” he said. https://t.co/pAYF1gyh3k

For many young Iranians, the mood in the country might best be measured in the rush to leave, in delayed marriages and declining birthrates. That sense of hopelessness has been deepened by the tightening grip of hard-liners on political power. https://t.co/Huost5DxfW

The same party has ruled Japan for all but four years since 1955. What's their secret? https://t.co/ysTYh3eynK

Germany's Christian Democratic Union, the party of Angela Merkel, is fretting about its long-term survival in the wake of its defeat on Sunday. https://t.co/qEtzGfXKSj

Hong Kong’s world-famous film scene, which nurtured groundbreaking directors like John Woo and Wong Kar-wai, has become the latest form of expression to be censored since Beijing imposed a tough new national security law https://t.co/IMgFKykUuT

For many young Iranians, the mood in the country might best be measured in the rush to leave, in delayed marriages and declining birthrates. That sense of hopelessness has been deepened by the tightening grip of hard-liners on political power. https://t.co/mGaL116urQ

“People see this nice, clean, white landscape,” in this Arctic fjord, “but that’s only part of the story.” https://t.co/n9p3rf6kRF

How a shortage of truck drivers in Britain led to empty gas pumps, disrupting thousands of people’s lives. https://t.co/WghIMqlGun

Hong Kong directors say tough new censorship rules will force them to cut political content from their films — and, potentially, put them in prison if they refuse to comply. https://t.co/1mQeJeUSEs

Police in London have charged a 36-year-old man with the murder of Sabina Nessa, a British schoolteacher whose body was found minutes from her home after she disappeared on the way to meet a friend. https://t.co/PzY8Gb7jwV

A shaman in Sri Lanka who claimed to be able to cure coronavirus patients with a holy water died last week after being infected with the virus, a health ministry official said. 

Eliyantha Lindsay White was an influential and divisive figure in Sri Lanka. https://t.co/LdId5jbkuq

Olaf Scholz, the leader of the center-left Social Democrats, may have narrowly won Germany's election. But now the hard part begins — building a durable coalition. https://t.co/vaOLeIZm2f

Canada has doubled to 40,000 the number of Afghans fleeing the Taliban that it plans to take in. 

Canadians have shown their openness to those who "prefer to stand up for democracy, human rights and gender equality," said the country's foreign minister. 

https://t.co/RW2NugCI5B

RT @julieturkewitz: Five years after the signing of a historic peace deal, lasting peace in Colombia is in peril. Today on the front of the International New York Times. With @sofiavillamil4 and @federicorios. https://t.co/2g60Vn4nwZ https://t.co/39w6AiOdY8

Japan is ending its state-of-emergency measures on Thursday amid a fall in the number of new daily coronavirus cases and a vaccine rollout that has reached nearly 60 percent of the population, hoping that the move helps to revive the country’s economy. https://t.co/TqPmgD1Ksq

RT @jggross: “The situation is really, really bad,” said Dlu Uddin, who owns a taxi service in East London. “Never would I have a dream about this happening in England.”

https://t.co/Yt1jbgJB23 with @_StephenCastle & @ainajkhan

"Women will not be allowed to come to universities or work. Islam first," said the Taliban's new chancellor at Kabul University, a 34-year-old who has called Afghanistan's schools "centers for prostitution." https://t.co/elcwh7jKfU