Two DODEA students, Alliyah Regala from Japan and Emily Wheeler from Germany, were selected for this year’s U.S. Senate Youth Program.

Japanese troops on Wednesday detonated eight unexploded, U.S.-made bombs believed to be from World War II off the coast of southern Okinawa.

Young soccer players from two Defense Department high schools on Okinawa recently got a chance to prepare for the upcoming season with the coaches of Japan’s top-rated professional team.

A passenger plane caught fire before takeoff at an airport in South Korea late Tuesday, but all 176 people on board were safely evacuated, authorities said.

A pilot was reported safe after an F-35 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise Tuesday afternoon at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska. The pilot experienced an “inflight malfunction” but was able to eject from the aircraft before it crashed on the runway, according to the wing commander.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a facility that produces nuclear material and called for bolstering the country’s nuclear fighting capability, state media reported Wednesday, as the North looks to increase pressure on the United States following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

The bond between Kiribati — population 120,000 — and its near neighbor New Zealand might not appear significant. But the acrimony reflects concern from western powers that their interests in the region are being undermined as China woos Pacific leaders with offers of funding and loans.

The nation erected 357 gigawatts of wind and solar, a 45% and 18% increase, respectively, over what the country had operating at the end of 2023. That’s akin to building 357 full-size nuclear plants in one year. The installations meant China has already surpassed its goal of having 1,200 gigawatts from renewables by 2030.

The Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has rattled markets with claims its latest AI model performs on a par with those of OpenAI, despite using less advanced, more energy efficient computer chips. It has raised concerns that China may have overtaken the U.S. in the AI race despite restrictions on its access to the most advanced chips.