In the minds of many Japanese people, Yonaguni is a sleepy paradise of crystal-clear sea and pristine beaches, where miniature horses graze on clifftops and empty roads dissect fields of sugar cane; where tourists dive with hammerhead sharks and marvel at the Ayamihabiru – the world’s largest Atlas moth. But this tiny island, located far […]
Category: Foreign
Iranian president Raisi’s helicopter crashes
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed while visiting a northern region and his condition is currently unknown, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Sunday. The aircraft, which was also carrying Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, came down in East Azerbaijan Province and emergency crews have so far been unable to reach it due […]
Unclaimed dead bodies stack up in Canada
Some Canadian provinces have logged a jump in unclaimed dead bodies in recent years, with next of kin citing funeral costs as a growing reason for not collecting loved ones’ remains.The phenomenon has prompted at least one province to build a new storage facility. Demand for memorial fundraisers has surged. The overall cost of a […]
Netanyahu says 1/2 of 35,000 killed are civilians
Israel’s prime minister said on a podcast that almost half of those killed in the Gaza war are Hamas fighters, again addressing a civilian toll that has sparked global outrage. Benjamin Netanyahu maintained the overall toll is lower than that given by authorities in the Palestinian territory. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, […]
Netanyahu ignores Biden & launches Gaza attack
Israel sent tanks into eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip early on Sunday, after a night of heavy aerial and ground bombardments, killing 19 people and wounding dozens of others, health officials said. Jabalia is the biggest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps and is home to more than 100,000 people, most of whom […]
There are now 9 million vacant homes in Japan
The number of vacant houses in Japan has surged to a record high of nine million – more than enough for each person in New York City – as the east Asian country continues to struggle with its ever-declining population. Abandoned houses are known in Japan as “akiya” – a term that usually refers to […]
Israel begins strikes on Gaza city of Rafah
Israel’s military carried out airstrikes in Rafah on Monday, residents said, hours after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza city where more than a million people uprooted by the war have been sheltering.Fears are growing of a full-blown assault in Rafah, long threatened by Israel, against holdouts of the Palestinian militant […]
Putin & Russia prepare for nuclear war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered tactical nuclear weapons drills in response to what the defense ministry has described as provocative statements and threats from the West. Moscow will carry out the drills “in the near future” to increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to perform combat missions, the defense ministry said in a […]
Israel shuts down Al Jazeera news agency
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Al Jazeera is to be shut down in Israel. Mr Netanyahu accused the Qatari-owned network of “incitement” and said the cabinet decision had been unanimous. Al Jazeera condemned the move as “criminal”. Foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza and Al Jazeera staff there have been some […]
Ukraine war “Unlikely to end anytime soon”
Russia is making “incremental progress” in Ukraine “with the potential for tactical breakthroughs along the front lines in areas such as Donetsk and Kharkiv,” Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, told Congress on Thursday, and that has Russian President Vladimir Putin thinking “domestic and the international trends are in his favor.” Testifying before the Senate […]
Israeli PM Netanyahu not backing down on Rafah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will launch an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of truce talks with Hamas. It comes amid ongoing attempts to try to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and hostage releases. But at a meeting of hostages’ relatives, Mr Netanyahu said he would invade “with […]
China warns US of ‘Downward Spiral” in relations
Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the US and China should be “partners rather than adversaries” as he met with top American diplomat Antony Blinken in Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People on Friday. The meeting, which took place on the final day of Blinken’s three–day visit to China, comes as the two countries seek […]