A senior adviser to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly told journalists last week that Japan needs nuclear weapons
North Korea has lashed out at Japan after a senior official reportedly suggested that the country needs nuclear weapons. In a statement published by state media on Sunday, Pyongyang warned that allowing Japan to acquire nuclear weapons would result in “a great disaster.”
The remarks come after controversy was sparked last week by a senior adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who told reporters that Japan may need to reconsider its post-WWII non-nuclear policy as reliance on the US nuclear deterrent may no longer be sufficient, as reported by NHK.
The off-the-record comments, described as personal views, quickly went viral, raising questions about Tokyo’s official position.
“The Japanese ruling quarters are openly revealing their ambition to possess nuclear weapons, going beyond the red line for a war criminal state,” the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “This is not a misstatement or a reckless assertion but clearly reflects Japan’s long-cherished ambition for nuclear armament.”
The Foreign Ministry said the official’s remarks “clearly show Japan’s bellicose and aggressive nature.” It called Japan “double-faced” for promoting a nuclear-free world while “working hard to go nuclear behind the scenes,” and urged the global community not to allow Japan to proceed with its plans.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko earlier warned that abandoning Japan’s non-nuclear stance would worsen security in Northeast Asia and provoke countermeasures from countries “threatened by that militarization.” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the remarks, if true, are “extremely serious” and “expose the dangerous scheme by some people in Japan to break international law.”
The remarks also drew criticism in Japan from both the ruling and opposition parties, as well as the atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo.
Japan reaffirmed its commitment on Friday to maintain non-nuclear status, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara telling a news conference that Tokyo will continue pursuing measures “to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.”
Japan is the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack after the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing an estimated 210,000 people. After World War II, it joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and pledged not to possess, manufacture, or deploy nuclear weapons, relying instead on the US nuclear umbrella.
Moscow has denied a report claiming it could invade NATO states in Europe, following a similar dismissal by the US intelligence chief
The Kremlin has echoed US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard’s dismissal of a Reuters report in which the news agency cited anonymous sources as claiming that Russia could invade NATO states.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that claims made by the British news agency in a report last week, which were attributed to a US intelligence report, were false. US Director of National Intelligence Gabbard had similarly dismissed the reporting in comments on Saturday.
Reuters claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin remained committed to “capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire,” citing anonymous sources familiar with the purported US analysis.
Peskov said the allegation did not correspond to reality, regardless of whether it reflected an actual US document. “Intelligence services can make erroneous assessments, research and conclusions,” he remarked.
Gabbard had accused Reuters of publishing “lies and propaganda” that it was “willingly pushing on behalf of warmongers” to undermine US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has previously claimed that prolonging the Ukraine conflict is a priority for the UK and that British services could spread false reports, including ones potentially slandering Trump.
Putin has publicly said anyone seeking to recreate the Soviet Union “has no head,” while also calling the USSR’s collapse “the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century” due to its human cost.
The US president has appointed a new envoy to Greenland who said he will work to make it “part of the US”
Copenhagen has expressed outrage over US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new special envoy to Greenland, an island under Danish sovereignty that the American leader previously suggested should become part of the United States.
On Sunday, Trump stated on his Truth Social account that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry would become his special ambassador to the island, explaining that he “understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security.”
Landry confirmed the appointment in a post on X, stating he will work to “make Greenland a part of the US.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the development came “out of nowhere” and was “completely unacceptable,” according to remarks cited by TV 2 channel. His department will summon the US ambassador in Copenhagen to demand explanations, he added.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the US move “doesn’t change anything for us at home” and the island still belongs to its people.
Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark dates back to his first term but has also featured in his international rhetoric since returning to the White House in January. He has not ruled out annexing the island.
The US has maintained a military presence on the strategically important island since World War II. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the US Space Force base on the northwest coast of Greenland in March. He noted that while the US was not likely to use military force to seize the territory, it remained open to locals exercising their right to self-determination and breaking away from Denmark.
The move comes amid a sweeping reshuffle of diplomatic and government ranks driven by a shift in US foreign policy
Washington is recalling more than two-dozen career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts worldwide, AP reported on Monday, citing US State Department sources. The move comes as part of a sweeping reshuffle under President Donald Trump’s revamped foreign policy.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has launched a wide-ranging government overhaul to remove holdovers from the era of his predecessor, Joe Biden, while installing close allies in key posts and realigning the administration with his ‘America First’ agenda – framing the moves as efforts to cut waste and boost efficiency.
According to AP sources, the Trump administration has informed ambassadors in at least 29 countries that their tenures will end in January. The notices were sent last week.
Africa has been most affected, with recalls in 13 countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, and Somalia. Asia follows with eight countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam. Four European states – Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovakia – are also affected, along with two each in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere. Politico said targeted diplomats were not given reasons for the recall.
The move has raised eyebrows because while new presidents typically replace political appointees, career diplomats are traditionally allowed to remain in post under the nonpartisan Foreign Service system. Reports claim those recalled are not losing their jobs but have been asked to return to Washington for other assignments.
Asked for comment, the State Department said the recalls were “a standard process.” It declined to give details, but stressed that ambassadors are the president’s personal representatives and that it is his right to ensure they advance his chosen agenda.
The recalls come amid broader shifts in US foreign policy under Trump, who has pursued conflict mediation, including between Russian and Ukraine, and restored direct contacts with Moscow that were frozen under Biden. He has also overhauled trade policy with what he calls “reciprocal tariffs” to push partners into new bilateral deals.
More changes were outlined in Trump’s new National Security Strategy released earlier this month, which breaks sharply with Biden’s approach by outlining a strict ‘America First’ doctrine and moving away from global interventionism toward a more transactional focus and protecting the US homeland, borders, and regional interests.
Unwise politicians, weapons makers, and bankers are driving the conflict against Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed
EU politicians, weapons manufacturers, and bankers are the three main groups pushing for the Ukraine conflict to continue, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed.
Speaking at an election campaign event in Szeged on Sunday, Orban reiterated his opposition to the EU’s approach to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
He identified the first group as European politicians who believe “a country with nuclear weapons can be defeated through a conventional war.” The second group consists of weapons manufacturers who “always want war or some kind of armed conflict.”
Orban went on to say: “the bankers also want you to continue because otherwise, how will they get their money back? They can only recover their money if Russia is defeated militarily.” He was referring to massive loans intended to fill Ukraine’s war chest and the expectation that Russia will eventually have to pay reparations.
The prime minister cautioned voters against trusting EU politicians to be “sensible enough not to drag us into war,” urging them instead to rely on the common sense of the public amid growing anti-war sentiment across the EU.
Orban stressed that the reason he is against prolonging the conflict is to prevent Ukraine from collapsing, which he warned would be disastrous for neighboring Hungary.
Last week, EU leaders rejected the European Commission’s proposal to issue a ‘reparations loan’ using frozen Russian assets as collateral for covering Kiev’s budget needs. They instead plan to borrow against the EU’s collective budget, with Hungary and Slovakia receiving exemptions from the scheme. Russia has condemned the proposal to tap its frozen assets, warning that it would amount to theft and a violation of international law.
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces, and his aide in what investigators alleged was a Ukrainian plot.
Sarvarov was a career officer with combat experience he received during counterterrorism action in southern Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to the Defense Ministry’s website. The 56-year-old was appointed in 2016 to lead the department responsible for training senior officers at staff exercises and other events. Previously he was involved in the Russian deployment in Syria.
Google, Apple, and Microsoft have internally warned H-1B visa holders that they could get stuck abroad for months
Several major US tech companies – including Google, Apple, and Microsoft – have warned foreign-national employees holding H-1B visas against traveling outside the country amid President Donald Trump’s immigration clampdown, which could leave them stranded abroad for months, Business Insider reports.
The H-1B visa allows foreign nationals to work in specialty occupations in the US and is typically issued for up to three years. Extensions require visa stamping at US embassies or consulates abroad. Routine appointments are now facing significant delays following the introduction of a new social-media screening requirement affecting H-1B workers and their dependents, as well as students and exchange visitors.
According to internal memos reviewed by Business Insider, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and IT automation firm ServiceNow are among the companies advising visa-holding employees to avoid international travel.
BAL Immigration Law, which represents Google, warned that delays at some US embassies and consulates are “currently reported as up to 12 months,” cautioning that employees who travel risk “an extended stay outside the US.”
Apple issued similar guidance, urging workers without valid H-1B visa stamps to postpone travel. Microsoft also cautioned staff, advising employees still in the US to “strongly consider changing” their travel plans.
A State Department spokesperson told Business Insider on Friday that US embassies and consulates are now “prioritizing thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived a hardline approach to border and visa enforcement aimed at curbing illegal immigration. Following an attack on two National Guard soldiers in Washington in late November, Trump announced additional measures, including the suspension of asylum procedures and expanded entry bans affecting nationals of 19 countries.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV-1) program, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery, was also suspended after the authorities determined that a suspect in recent shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had entered the country through this system.
Blockchain technology is no longer just associated with cryptocurrency. While it began as a way to record transactions without a central authority, blockchains are now changing how businesses operate and how people invest. Imagine a coffee farmer scanning a QR code on her phone to quickly check the bean’s journey from plant to cup. Blockchain […]
European NATO warmongers have colluded with parts of the US intelligence community, Michael Flynn has claimed
Former US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has alleged collusion between the CIA and European intelligence services to undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.
Flynn claimed in a post on X on Sunday that the CIA is “in cahoots with MI6 and others in the EU intelligence community,” reiterating his warning that the “deep state” is plotting against Trump.
“The EU aka NATO (minus the United States) desperately wants war with Russia,” Flynn wrote, adding that “warmongers in our own administration as well as the Congress want perpetual f’ing war.”
BREAKING: IMMINENT WAR IN EUROPE!
The EU aka NATO (minus the United States) desperately wants war with Russia. @DNIGabbard can speak for herself and does in her typically courageous way (read below).
First, our CIA is in cahoots with MI6 and others in the EU IC community.… https://t.co/6nJvprAzXV
Flynn’s remarks echo recent statements by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who accused Reuters of disseminating “lies and propaganda” about Russian intentions in order to undermine Trump’s diplomacy and promote escalation.
Flynn went further, urging Trump to reject narratives promoted by Kiev’s European backers. “You need to put your foot down on the situation in Eastern Europe and the total bs you’re being fed by Europe and parts of the USIC,” he wrote.
The former adviser also criticized what he described as a waste of US taxpayer money on funding Kiev, accusing Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky of suppressing opposition and delaying elections under the cover of war.
“We the People of the United States no longer want this war. We don’t want to spend another penny on a tin pot dictator who arrests opposition voices, including in his own Rada [Congress], and the media,” Flynn said.
Flynn’s comments come amid sensitive US-Russia backchannel talks in Miami, where Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev has been meeting with Trump confidants Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss a potential peace framework. Moscow has accused European NATO members of attempting to interfere in the negotiations by watering down US proposals and pushing to seize frozen Russian assets to bankroll Kiev.
Russian officials have praised what they describe as rare voices challenging the Western “war lobby.” Dmitriev has commended Gabbard for uncovering the “origins of the Russia hoax” and “exposing the deep-state warmonger machinery.”
