In the western Japanese city of Nara, several hometown friends and supporters of Sanae Takaichi, who was elected as the country's first female prime minister, shared a softer side to the hardline conservative, who cites Margaret Thatcher, a divisive figure in British politics known as "the Iron Lady," as her hero.

Nara

Sanae Takaichi, often referred to as Japan's 'Iron Lady', has been elected as the country's first female prime minister, drawing widespread pride in her hometown of Nara. Locals, including childhood friends and her former hairdresser, recall her leadership qualities and personal warmth, reflecting on how her upbringing in Nara's traditional environment shaped her values.

Takaichi's election as the first woman president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was met with celebrations in her constituency, with residents expressing hope that she will address economic challenges and strengthen national security. Her leadership style and attention to people are highlighted as key aspects of her public image.

High hopes for Japan's 'Iron Lady', hometown brimming with pride

In the historic city of Nara, temples dot the skyline, and sacred deer roam parks. This is the hometown of Sanae Takaichi, dubbed Japan's Iron Lady, who was elected as the country's first female prime minister on Tuesday. The Tokushimada, Takaichi's childhood friend and primary school classmate, believes this environment built the foundation for Takaichi's own conservative values and nationalist pride. Nara is the place where sites connected to the composition of classical Japanese poetry are really everywhere, so I've always felt this kind of old-fashioned, traditional beauty of Japan all around me. I think I'm like Takaichi, too, growing up with that kind of sentiment and feeling proud of it. I believe that's really the foundation of who she is. In Takaichi's constituency office, a massive mound of congratulatory flowers partially blocked the entrance. It built up after she was elected as the first woman president of the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party earlier this month. But for Shimada, the Iron Lady has a soft side. We went to take the exam together that time. When I mentioned that I had forgotten my lunch, Sanae Takaichi said, let's share mine, and opened up her lunch box and offered it to me. When she said that, another girl also suggested we share hers as well. So at that moment, Takaichi really showed leadership. The three of us ended up sharing two lunches, and thanks to that, I passed the high school entrance exam. I am truly grateful for that. This salon has a haircut named after the new leader. Yukitoshi Arai, Takaichi's former hairdresser, dubbed it the Sanae Cut, and says it's a hairstyle that shows she's paying attention to people. This hairstyle is the base cut for Ms. Takaichi. Technically, it's called a graduated bob. It has a sleek, sharp and stylish look. The sides are long, but she deliberately tucks them behind her ears as a way of showing that she listens carefully to other people. And this style, where it's meant to be seen and noticed, that's what we call the Sanae Cut. Arai said Takaichi's last appointment was four years ago, but he hopes that his star client will soon return. He also expressed hope that Takaichi would fix Japan's economy when she steps into the position of prime minister. For Japanese people, our underlying problem is really the economy. There's a strong desire for solid economic policies that make daily life more affordable and comfortable because everything is so expensive now. So we'd like to see policies that can ease that burden, and the same goes for taxes. Then there's the global sense of fear, security concerns, really. I think that's Ms. Takaichi's area of expertise, but from that perspective, too, I hope Japan can be made into a safe, secure and livable country.

A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiation.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Russian demands on Ukraine jeopardize Putin-Trump summit

A posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain's Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her as a teenager, went on sale in London on Tuesday (October 21, 2025), days after the disgraced prince gave up his Duke of York title.

London

More scrutiny piles on Prince Andrew as new Giuffre book released

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began his five-year prison sentence in Paris on Tuesday (October 21) for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.

Paris

France's Sarkozy begins five-year prison sentence in Paris

US Vice-President JD Vance visits Israel amid concerns that the US-brokered peace deal between the country and Hamas will not hold. The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to cement the fragile Gaza peace agreement after Israel accused Hamas of stalling the hand-over of hostages' bodies and deadly violence flared up in the territory days before.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

U.S. Vice-President Vance visits Israel as Gaza ceasefire falters

Amazon.com cloud service returned to normal operations on Monday (October 20) afternoon, the company said, after an internet outage that caused global turmoil among thousands of sites.

Amazon says AWS cloud service back to normal after outage

Japan's parliament has elected the country's first female leader. Sanae Takaichi, 64, of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is seen as a hardline conservative who supports traditional gender roles and hawkish foreign policy.

Tokyo

Sanae Takaichi elected Japan's first female prime minister

Three days after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine “could still win” its war with Russia, but added, “I don’t think they will,” raising new questions about Washington’s support for Kyiv.

Washington

Trump doubts Ukraine will win war against Russia

Former FBI Director James Comey is asking a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him, claiming the prosecution is vindictive and unlawful.

Ex-FBI director James Comey seeks to toss indictment

An appeals court panel is allowing the White House to federalize and deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon.

Portland

Appeals court rules Trump can deploy National Guard to Portland

U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a rare earths and critical minerals agreement aimed at ensuring a steady supply of the materials at a time when China is trying to tighten control over global supply.

Washington County

U.S. and Australia boost rare earths supply with new agreement

A global outage hit Amazon Web Services (AWS), disrupting platforms like Amazon Prime, Fortnite, Alexa, Snapchat, and Duolingo. The issue, caused by increased error rates, took about three hours to mostly resolve.

AWS outage mostly resolved after hours-long global disruption

Centrist Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidential runoff, defeating conservative rival Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, as the country's worst economic crisis in a generation helped propel the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule.

La Paz

Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivian presidency

After 10 years in prison without charge, a Lebanese judge has ordered the release of Hannibal Gadhafi, son of the late Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi. But it’s on condition that he pays $11 million bail, something his lawyers say they will contest.

Beirut

Lebanon orders Hannibal Gadhafi’s release after 10 years

A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with a security patrol car before both fell into the sea early Monday, killing the two people in the car, authorities said.

Kowloon

Two killed after cargo plane veers off runway in Hong Kong

Thieves wielding power tools have struck at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing priceless jewels in a brazen heist that took just four minutes, according to the government. The thieves struck after the museum had already opened its doors to the public, with a major investigation now underway.

‘Priceless’ jewels stolen from France’s Louvre Museum in four-minute heist

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ending aid to Colombia after the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, accused the U.S. of ‘murder’ when it struck a small boat within Colombian territorial waters in September.

Bogotá

Trump ending aid to Colombia after 'murder' accusation

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is under pressure, as the Israeli military carries out strikes on southern Gaza and accuses Hamas of opening fire on its forces. Meanwhile, Israel alleges Hamas is stalling on returning the remains of deceased hostages.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel, Hamas clash in major test of U.S.-backed ceasefire

The National Guard could soon be on Chicago’s streets after US President Donald Trump took his case to the country’s highest court - the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.  The President says the city is a war zone - and is in the midst of a rebellion, as residents protest his migrant deportation policy.

Chicago

Supreme Court to decide on sending the National Guard to Chicago

China's second-highest ranking general and eight other senior officials have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on suspicion of serious misconduct linked to corruption.

Beijing

China expels nine senior officials from Communist Party

The United States is sending the two survivors of a Thursday (October 18) strike in the Caribbean to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador to be detained and prosecuted, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday.

U.S. will repatriate survivors of Caribbean strike, Trump says

The two sides have agreed to hold follow-up talks in Qatar to establish conditions and a framework for lasting peace, bringing an end to a week of deadly cross border skirmishes, which have killed dozens of people.

Doha

Afghanistan, Pakistan agree to immediate ceasefire, Qatar says

France's world-famous Louvre museum in Paris was forced to close on Sunday after thieves broke into Apollo Gallery and stole valuable crown jewels.

Jewels of 'inestimable' value stolen from Louvre in major heist

U.S. President Donald Trump's critics took to the streets Saturday, with millions nationwide participating in "No Kings" rallies, protesting Trump's demonstrations of power.

Anti-Trump "No Kings" protests held across U.S.

The Trump administration is awaiting word from the Supreme Court after asking it to allow the immediate deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. A lower court blocked the move.

Tensions rising in Portland, Oregon over immigration tactics

President Trump posted a video of a U.S. military strike on a submersible suspected of smuggling drugs. Two people were killed in the strike but the survivors were brought to a Navy ship. Trump says the U.S. will send the them back to their home countries for prosecution.

Trump says survivors of U.S. drug submersible will be sent home

The U.S. State Department issued a warning that Hamas appeared to be planning an attack 'against Palestinian civilians,' warning that such an attack would 'constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement'.

State Dept. flags ceasefire violation by Hamas

Britain's Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behavior and connections to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Windsor

Prince Andrew gives up title of Duke of York

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came to the White House on Friday looking for weapons to keep fighting his country's war with Russia, but met an American president who appears more intent on brokering a peace deal than upgrading Kyiv’s arsenal.

Trump pauses on sending Tomahawks to Ukraine

Tension is rising between the U.S and Venezuela. The latest threats from the US warning of stronger measures against Nicolas Maduro’s government — have sparked both fear and fragile hope across Venezuela.

Caracas

Venezuela on high-alert amid U.S strikes

In the aftermath of a destructive Typhoon Halong, historic floodwaters have destroyed remote communities across western Alaska, forcing hundreds of evacuations that could continue for days.

Breakdown