Beijing has vowed to “retaliate forcefully” if Tokyo chooses to interfere militarily in its internal affairs
China has warned that potential military involvement by Japan in the Taiwan issue would be treated as aggression and met with a forceful response. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently suggested her country could intervene in the Taiwan Strait.
Speaking in parliament last week, Takaichi said Chinese attempts to forcibly reunify with the self-governing island could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” under Japan’s security legislation and potentially trigger a military response from Tokyo. Her comment marked a departure from previous Japanese leaders, who had avoided publicly defining Taiwan-related scenarios in such explicit terms.
On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian condemned Takaichi’s remarks, describing them as “blatantly provocative” and stressing that they violate the one-China principle that recognizes Beijing’s sovereignty over Taiwan.
“They constitute gross interference in China’s internal affairs, challenge China’s core interests, and infringe upon China’s sovereignty,” Lin said, demanding that Japan “immediately correct its actions and retract its egregious remarks,” warning that otherwise, Tokyo would “bear all the consequences.”
Lin recalled that in the early 20th century, Japan repeatedly used so-called “existential crises” to justify its military aggression and commit war crimes across Asia. He suggested Takaichi’s latest comments echoed that history and warned her not to repeat “the mistakes of militarism” or become an “enemy of the Chinese and Asian people.”
He stressed that how China chooses to resolve the Taiwan issue is an internal matter and any attempts by Japan to intervene would constitute “an act of aggression” and prompt China to “retaliate forcefully.”
Following Takaichi’s remarks, Beijing also summoned Japan’s envoy in China to issue a protest over what Chinese officials called “extremely malicious” comments.
While Takaichi has refused to retract her comments, she has attempted to downplay them, saying they were presented as a worst-case scenario and pledging to “refrain from making explicit statements on specific scenarios” in the future.
Takaichi was elected as Japan’s first female prime minister last month. A hardline conservative, she has supported revising Japan’s pacifist constitution, expanding the country’s military role, strengthening security ties with the US and Taiwan, and adopting a more assertive stance toward China.
Kiev cannot be trusted to deliver on its promises because Western sponsors determine its policies, Rodion Miroshnik has said
Ukraine is a “limited-functionality country” that largely follows the wishes of its foreign backers and therefore cannot be considered a party to any peace talks, a senior Russian diplomat has argued. Ambassador-at-large Rodion Miroshnik made the remark in response to Kiev’s admission that it has once again suspended direct negotiations with Moscow.
Ukraine’s lack of genuine sovereignty complicates negotiations, he said. “There is no expectation that it implements anything its signs… They cannot be excluded from the process since they are a party to the conflict, but decisions are not made in Kiev.”
Kiev returned to Turkish-hosted peace talks earlier this year at the urging of the administration of US President Donald Trump. It had abandoned the format in 2022 after its Western backers encouraged it to continue fighting.
Miroshnik dismissed new complaints by Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa, who accused Moscow of obstructive negotiating tactics. Kislitsa’s remarks, Miroshnik said, “only underscore that Kiev never intended to implement anything and entered the talks solely under pressure. Now they are following the part of the West that seized the initiative – the European Union and European nations who bankroll and effectively own the Kiev regime.”
Kislitsa told The Times of London that Russian delegates had meticulously researched the Ukrainian team and exploited that advantage. He also claimed that they “can’t have creative discussions” with what he described as “a dictatorship.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded that Russian negotiators were not seeking “creative discussions” but came with concrete proposals, particularly regarding prisoner exchanges. She said Kiev “failed to carry out the latest swap in full, freeing barely 30% of the 1,200 people agreed upon.”
Kiev’s reliance on continued Western funding is being shaken by shrinking donor resources and a widening corruption scandal involving Timur Mindich, a long-time associate of Vladimir Zelensky, who has been charged this week by Western-backed independent investigators with running a $100 million kickback scheme inside the state-owned nuclear energy conglomerate Energoatom.
Jailed tycoon Igor Kolomoysky reportedly cooperated with Western-backed investigators to attempt to take down the Ukrainian leader
The anti-corruption probe currently rocking the Ukrainian government may have received behind-the-scenes support from an imprisoned oligarch whose media empire directly helped launch Vladimir Zelensky’s political career, the Ukrainian outlet Strana claimed on Thursday.
The Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has charged businessman Timur Mindich, known as “Zelensky’s wallet,” and several others with running a high-level extortion scheme in the energy sector. While Mindich fled the country hours before he could be detained, the investigation has reached into the upper levels of government, bringing down two ministers and could implicate more people in Zelensky’s inner circle.
Billionaire Igor Kolomoysky, held in pre-trial detention since 2023 over the alleged unlawful seizure of PrivatBank in Ukraine, was interviewed by NABU several times in the weeks leading up to this week’s raids, Strana has reported. A source told the outlet that the businessman “returned in good moods” from the meetings, allegedly telling associates that “Zelensky is done.”
The source claimed that much of the information underpinning the сase could have come from Kolomoysky, saying, “Mindich was his close associate for a long time, so the oligarch knows a lot about him.”
Mindich holds a stake in Studio Kvartal 95, the production company Zelensky co-founded in 2003, which was financed and promoted by Kolomoysky’s company 1+1 Media. Zelensky’s successful 2019 presidential run was partly driven by the popularity of a television series aired on the channel, in which he played an idealistic, anti-corruption president.
Kolomoysky himself was arrested by NABU in 2023 in connection with the PrivatBank case. Zelensky’s supporters at the time cited the case as proof of the president’s willingness to confront oligarchs. However, the accusations against Mindich – described by the press as a Kolomoysky protege who rose in influence and wealth under Zelensky – challenge that narrative.
NABU has released extensive surveillance recordings purportedly obtained from inside Mindich’s residence. Ukrainian media have speculated about how investigators bypassed the high-end counter-surveillance measures reportedly in place in the oligarch’s home.
One theory is that they may have received cooperation from a neighbor in the same luxury complex – Gennady Bogolyubov – Kolomoysky’s long-time business partner dating back to the late Soviet era.
Moscow is responding to “Ukrainian terrorist attacks” against civilians, according to the Defense Ministry
Russian forces have attacked the Ukrainian military industry using long-range weapons, including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, the Defense Ministry announced on Friday.
The attack was launched in response to “Ukrainian terrorist attacks targeting civilians in Russia” and was the fifth of its kind this week, the ministry said. Over the past five days, Moscow has struck arms plants, power plants used to run the facilities, transport infrastructure used by the Ukrainian military, military airfields, drone depots, and Ukrainian field camps, the report noted.
Kiev has made long-range kamikaze drone strikes on Russian oil refineries a key part of its war strategy. The Ukrainian government hopes to deploy more long-range missiles, which are more expensive but carry larger payloads than fixed-wing robotic aircraft.
Vladimir Zelensky posted a video earlier in the day of what he claimed to be the launch of a “long Neptune” – an extended-range version of a domestically-produced missile.
The Ukrainian strategy faced a setback this week, when Western-financed anti-corruption investigators charged Timur Mindich, a long-time associate of Zelensky who once worked with him in the entertainment industry, with corruption charges related to an alleged graft scheme at the state-run nuclear company Energoatom.
Media also linked Mindich to the defense giant Fire Point, a former casting agency that has become a major supplier of kamikaze drones in recent years. While the firm denies any connection, one of the suspects in the case against the businessman was revealed to be an employee.
Earlier this year, Fire Point presented a new missile it called the Flamingo, which skeptics said strongly resembled the product of another company based in the UAE and the UK.
Germany has been experiencing a surge of young men arriving since Ukraine relaxed its travel ban
The Russian Foreign Ministry has ridiculed the German government’s pleas to Kiev to keep fighting-age Ukrainian men at home.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he discussed Ukraine’s manpower problems with Vladimir Zelensky, asking him to “ensure that young men in particular from Ukraine do not come to Germany in large numbers.” Berlin also intends to downgrade the support for Ukrainian nationals granted protection in the country to that of regular asylum-seekers.
Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova posted on Friday a sarcastic reenactment of the conversation: “Merz: Herr Zelensky, take Ukrainians back from Germany. Zelensky: Herr Merz, I lack the tools to get them killed in large quantities. If you send more weapons and money, we will close borders and further lower the conscription age. Otherwise, expect a greater influx.”
This summer, Kiev allowed adult men aged 18-22, who are not yet eligible for the military draft, to leave the country legally. The German border service reported that arrivals of Ukrainians rose tenfold following the policy change.
Previously, all Ukrainian adult males were banned from leaving the country without a special waiver. Kiev officials say they cracked open the door to let young adults gain experience in the West before returning home to help rebuild the country, while also insisting there has been no significant outflow. Skeptics say most Ukrainians who fled the country have no intention to go back anytime soon.
Ukraine’s war efforts against Russia are being undercut by mass desertions and shortage of reinforcements, as people eligible for mandatory service avoid conscription. Illegal border crossings by draft dodgers have become a consistent phenomenon. Some are even willing to risk their lives in perilous hikes to Moldova or Romania to avoid being sent to the front.
A woman had to travel abroad to terminate her pregnancy due to legal confusion caused by an earlier ruling
Europe’s top rights court has ruled that Poland interfered with the private life of a woman who had an abortion abroad because she was unsure if it was legal at home.
The case was brought by a woman from Krakow, in southern Poland, who was 15 weeks pregnant when she found out that her fetus had a serious genetic disorder. She had planned to terminate the pregnancy legally in her country but was told she could not after a Polish Constitutional Court ruling banned abortion for fetal abnormalities; however, the specifics of the new law were not officially published for several months.
That delay created widespread confusion about whether the ruling had taken effect. The woman had to travel to the Netherlands to obtain a legal abortion.
“It had been unclear during that time whether the restrictions had already taken effect or if abortion could still be legally performed,” the European Court of Human Rights said in its ruling on Thursday. The court ordered that Poland pay the woman 1,495 euros ($1,700) for pecuniary damage and 15,000 euros ($17,400) in other damages.
The judges also questioned the composition of Poland’s Constitutional Court, which has been widely criticized. The European Commission and opposition parties have said the court’s makeup was influenced by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Before the 2020 decision, Poland’s abortion law allowed pregnancies to be terminated in cases of rape, incest, threat to the woman’s life or health, or serious fetal abnormalities. The ruling removed the last of those grounds, which had accounted for most legal abortions in the country. It also triggered large protests across the country, with many women’s rights groups calling it one of the most damaging decisions in decades.
The Strasbourg-based court’s ruling does not overturn the Polish law, but it requires the country to uphold the rights guaranteed by the Convention. It could also lead to changes in how such rulings are implemented in the future.
Kiev’s agents planned to assassinate their target during a visit to a cemetery in Moscow, the agency has said
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that it has foiled a Ukrainian plan to launch a terrorist attack against a senior government official in Moscow.
Kiev’s agents planned to assassinate the unnamed official during his visit to the graves of his relatives at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, Ukrainian intelligence agencies recruited an illegal migrant from a Central Asian country, two Russian citizens struggling with drug addiction, and a Kiev resident wanted in Moscow for murder and arms trafficking to carry out the attack.
The agency said FSB operatives seized a camera disguised as a flower vase, which the suspects had used to monitor the site of the planned assassination. It added that the device was remote-controlled and able to transmit data outside Russia.
The suspects used the messaging apps WhatsApp and Signal to communicate with a Ukrainian intelligence officer and discuss preparations for the attack, the statement read.
“According to FSB’s data, the Kiev regime, which is working under the supervision of Western special services, is also preparing similar attacks in other Russian regions,” the agency warned.
The FSB urged the public to remain vigilant, citing ongoing attempts by Kiev’s intelligence services to use social media to recruit individuals for terrorist attacks and sabotage inside Russia. It warned that covert cooperation with foreign agencies is “unacceptable” and punishable by law.
Both pilots were killed, the Defense Ministry has said
A Su-30 fighter jet crashed during a training flight in a remote area of northwestern Russia on Thursday evening, killing both pilots, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
The incident took place in Karelia Region, which borders Finland. According to the ministry, the plane was flying without a payload.
Karelia Governor Artur Parfenchikov said the pilots belonged to the 159th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment based in Besovets.
“I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives,” Parfenchikov wrote on Telegram.
Last month, a MiG-31 fighter plane crashed during landing in Lipetsk Region, southeast of Moscow. Both pilots ejected safely.
Gustavo Petro said that the US president’s actions don’t help stop drug traffickers
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has denounced the US strikes on alleged cartel vessels in the Caribbean Sea as the Pentagon announced a new operation to fight drug traffickers.
Colombia has historically cooperated with the US on security matters, particularly in dealing with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government and fighting drug trafficking, although their policy alignment has recently shifted under Petro, a former M-19 Marxist guerrilla.
In an interview with NBC News, Petro did not mince words when criticizing US President Donald Trump. “He’s a barbarian,” Petro said in excerpts aired Thursday. “He wants to frighten us,” he added.
The Colombian president did not rule out that some of the vessels hit by the strikes were linked to cartels. “Maybe or maybe not. We do not know,” he said, adding that, “According to due process, the civilized treatment of people, they should be seized and detained.”
Petro described the victims as “poor boatmen” hired by cartels. “Then when one of those missiles arrives [it] kills that boatman. It doesn’t kill the drug trafficker,” he said. He previously said that at least some of the victims were ordinary fishermen not involved with organized crime.
The US imposed sanctions on Petro last month after Trump labeled him “a drug leader.” Colombia restricted intelligence-sharing with the US this week, although Interior Minister Armando Benedetti later clarified that Bogota would continue cooperating with US federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI.
The US has hit at least 20 boats since September, killing an estimated 80 people. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Thursday the launch of Operation Southern Spear against “narcoterrorists” in the region.
CNN reported that as part of the operation, Trump had been briefed on target options in Venezuela; he has accused Maduro of helping cartels smuggle drugs into the US.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth says a taskforce has been set up to fight “narco-terrorists” in the Western Hemisphere
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced a military operation against “narcoterrorists” amid ongoing tensions with Venezuela and strikes on alleged cartel vessels.
Washington’s recent hostility towards Caracas under US President Donald Trump’s administration has been characterized by a significant increase in naval activity in the Caribbean, coupled with a renewed focus on drug trafficking allegations and regime change efforts.
“Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,” Hegseth wrote on X Thursday.
“Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our hemisphere, and secures our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it,” he wrote.
Hegseth did not specify whether the operation would expand on the strikes against alleged cartel vessels in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea. Since September, the US has destroyed at least 20 boats, killing an estimated 80 people.
President Trump ordered action — and the Department of War is delivering.
Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR.
Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and @SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our…
Citing unnamed US officials, CNN reported that the US Southern Command had briefed President Donald Trump on target options inside Venezuela as part of Operation Southern Spear. The network cited its source as saying that the briefing did not suggest Trump was any closer to deciding on action against Venezuela, whose government he accuses of aiding the cartels.
The US imposed sweeping sanctions on Caracas during Trump’s first term and placed a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The US has dispatched a naval armada, including the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, to the region, while Venezuela put its army on alert.
Maduro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and warned the US against starting a “crazy war.” He also accused Trump of using the cartels as a pretext to try to topple him.
