Japan’s rupture with Moscow and North Korea’s rise as a Russian ally show how US power is reshaping the security order across Northeast Asia Fifteen years ago, it appeared that Russia-Japan relations were improving to the extent that Japan could become, for Russia, an eastern version of Germany as a former enemy turning into a major economic partner in a relationship where Russian resources were traded for the other partner’s investment and advanced technologies. With frequent and seemingly productive summit meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, it appeared that the issues remaining after World War II would finally be resolved and that a firm and lasting foundation would be laid for a qualitatively new relationship between what were sometimes called distant neighbors. Over the years, the Russo-Japanese negotiations on a peace treaty to finally d...
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Every educational institution promoting the controversial process among children is now “on notice” over possible “child abuse,” the president has warned US President Donald Trump has warned schools across the country against promoting gender identity and transition, touting his administration’s efforts to purge what he calls “transgender ideology” and “far-left extremism” from classrooms. Speaking at a White House back-to-school event on Monday, Trump said schools could face legal and financial consequences for telling children they are “trapped in the wrong body.” “Every public school in America is now on notice that if they tell a child that they’re trapped in the wrong body, they are committing child abuse,” he said. The president accused his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration of “weaponizing” education and imposing ...
The US secretary of state previously excluded Brazil from the list of friendly countries and hinted that he would welcome a change in leadership Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is trying to “neutralize” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by establishing a direct channel with President Donald Trump, CNN Brasil reported on Monday, citing sources. Rubio previously excluded Brazil from the group of countries he described as friendly and attacked Lula over trade. The Brazilian president accused him of being “anti-Latin America.” Tensions between the US and Latin America’s largest economy have been soaring for months, as Trump fiercely backed former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro during his trial over a plot to overturn his 2022 election defeat and keep himself in power. Read more US wants ‘to colonize...
The E1 project has put the UAE’s relationship with Israel – and the future of the Abraham Accords – under growing strain The joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of eight Arab and Muslim countries was one of the clearest diplomatic signals of recent weeks. Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates did more than condemn Israel’s E1 settlement project. They demanded that the plan be halted, the decisions approving it reversed, and sanctions considered against individuals and entities involved in settlement expansion. The signatories also reaffirmed that an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remains the only viable path toward a lasting settlement, according to an official statement released by the UAE Foreign Ministry. This was not just another communiqué intended to regi...
Tehran says regional security talks have been proposed as the Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani alliance elicits concern in Israel Iran has denied reports that it has been invited to join the Mecca defense pact comprising Saudi Arabia, Türkiye. and Pakistan, while confirming that proposals have been made for talks with the three countries on regional security. The clarification comes after Mehdi Rahimi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s Khaneh Mellat news agency, told Al Mayadeen on Saturday that Tehran had received an invitation to become a member of the Mecca pact and was considering it. On Monday, however, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the claim, stating that no formal invitation had been received in Tehran. At the same time, he said that discussions with the pact members concerning broader regional security have been proposed and are under consideration. The three fou...
Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky earlier asked Tokyo for air defense systems, including interceptor missiles Japan does not plan to supply Ukraine with weapons, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has said. At a press briefing on Monday, he told reporters that Tokyo “is not considering any deliveries” of defensive or offensive weapons “at this time.” Kihara was responding to Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky , who asked Japan on Sunday for anti-ballistic missiles, in an interview with Kyodo News. “I would like to kindly ask one and only thing... anti-ballistic missiles,” he was cited as saying. “It’s the most important thing we need... I very much hope and count on your country.” Koretsky took office in July and was reportedly close to disgraced businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate of Vladimir Zelensky who fled to Israel amid...