Category: Foreign

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Netanyahu says Israel and Hamas will enter ceasefire’s second phase soon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel and Hamas are “very shortly expected to move into the second phase of the ceasefire,” after Hamas returns the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza.

Netanyahu spoke during a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and stressed that the second phase, which addresses the disarming of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, could begin as soon as the end of the month.

Hamas has yet to hand over the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer who was killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. His body was taken to Gaza.

The ceasefire’s second stage also includes the deployment of an international force to secure Gaza and forming a temporary Palestinian government to run day-to-day affairs under the supervision of an international board led by U.S. President Donald Trump.

A senior Hamas official on Sunday told The Associated Press the group is ready to discuss “freezing or storing or laying down” its weapons as part of the ceasefire in a possible approach to one of the most difficult issues ahead.

Netanyahu said few people believed the ceasefire’s first stage could be achieved, and the second phase is just as challenging.

“As I mentioned to the chancellor, there’s a third phase, and that is to deradicalize Gaza, something that also people believed was impossible. But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf States. It can be done in Gaza, too, but of course Hamas has to be dismantled,” he said.

The return of Gvili’s remains — and Israel’s return of 15 bodies of Palestinians in exchange — would complete the first phase of Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan.

Hamas says it has not been able to reach all remains because they are buried under rubble left by Israel’s two-year offensive in Gaza. Israel has accused the militants of stalling and threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all remains are not returned.

A group of families of hostages said in a statement that “we cannot advance to the next phase before Ran Gvili returns home.”

Meanwhile, Israeli military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday called the so-called Yellow Line that divides the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza from the rest of the territory a “new border.”

“We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defense lines,” Zamir said. “The Yellow Line is a new border line, serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”

Merz said Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies, is assisting with the implementation of the second phase by sending officers and diplomats to a U.S.-led civilian and military coordination center in southern Israel, and by sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The chancellor also said Germany still believes that a two-state-solution is the best possible option but that “the German federal government remains of the opinion that recognition of a Palestinian state can only come at the end of such a process, not at the beginning.”

The U.S.-drafted plan for Gaza leaves the door open to Palestinian independence. Netanyahu has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders.

Netanyahu also said that while he would like to visit Germany, he hasn’t planned a diplomatic trip because he is concerned about an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, the U.N.’s top war crimes court, last year in connection with the war in Gaza.

Merz said there are currently no plans for a visit but he may invite Netanyahu in the future. He added that he is not aware of future sanctions against Israel from the European Union nor any plans to renew German bans on military exports to Israel.

Germany had a temporary ban on exporting military equipment to Israel, which was lifted after the ceasefire began on Oct. 10.

The Israeli military said it killed a militant who approached its troops across the Yellow Line.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 370 Palestinians since the start of the ceasefire, and that the bodies of six people killed in attacks had been brought to local hospitals over the past 24 hours.

In the original Hamas-led attack in 2023, the militants killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 others hostage. Almost all the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed at least 70,360 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says that nearly half the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas government and its numbers are considered reliable by the U.N. and other international bodies. (JapanToday)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Japan considers income tax hike in 2027 to cover increase in defense spending


Japan’s ruling party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is considering raising the country’s income tax in January 2027 to cover part of a substantial increase in defense spending, sources close to the matter said Thursday.

The plan being floated within the Liberal Democratic Party would collect revenue for defense-related spending through a special income tax, the sources said.

Before Takaichi became premier in October, Japan decided to boost its defense-related spending to a combined 43 trillion yen over five years through March 2028 to cope with growing security threats.

The increase will be partly funded by raising corporate, tobacco and income taxes, but details have yet to be worked out on the timing of the income tax hike at a time of persistent inflation hurting households.

The plan under discussion within the LDP would raise the income tax so it would translate into upwards of 200 billion yen in added revenue, according to the sources.

A special income tax levied to finance rebuilding projects after the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster would also be reduced in an apparent effort to soften the expected blow to taxpayers.

But given that the temporary disaster-related income tax would then be extended to bring in the same amount of revenue overall, the envisioned defense-use income tax would still represent an added burden for households in the long term.

Before entering a coalition arrangement with the Takaichi-led LDP, the formerly opposition Japan Innovation Party was against tax hikes to pay for increased defense-related spending.

The corporate and tobacco taxes will be raised beginning next April, with an additional levy of 4 percent of the amount paid in corporate taxes. The tobacco tax hike will start with higher levies on vaping products.

Through the increases in the three tax categories alone, the government intends to secure slightly over 1 trillion yen annually by the end of March 2028. (JapanToday)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

UK unveils record-breaking bid for 2035 Women’s World Cup

UK football chiefs on Friday unveiled details of their unopposed joint bid to host the Women’s World Cup in 2035, with 22 proposed stadiums listed in the official submission.

The bid team said the 48-nation finals would be the biggest single-sport event ever staged in the UK.

It would be the first World Cup played on British soil since the men’s finals in 1966, which were solely hosted by England.

“With 63 million people living within two hours of a proposed venue, it would be the most accessible tournament ever,” the bid team said in a statement.

Sixteen of the stadiums on the shortlist are in England, including Manchester United’s proposed new 100,000-seater arena, with three in Wales, two in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland, across 15 cities.

The final number of stadiums is expected to be whittled down to around 16.

A measure of the size of the event is that at the Qatar men’s World Cup in 2022, just eight stadiums were used.

FIFA confirmed later on Friday that the UK bid would be formally ratified at next year’s congress in Vancouver.

The April gathering of football’s global governing body is also set to approve the joint candidature of the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica to stage the 2031 women’s World Cup.

“Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup would be a huge privilege for our four home nations,” the chief executives of the UK football associations  said on Friday.

“If we are successful, the 2035 tournament will be the biggest single-sport event held on UK soil with 4.5 million tickets available for fans.

“We are proud of the growth that we’ve driven in recent years across the women’s and girls’ game, but there is still so much more growth to come, and this event will play a key role in helping us deliver that.”

Manchester United’s existing Old Trafford stadium has been included, but the bid team intend to put the club’s proposed new ground forward for consideration by FIFA once plans are confirmed.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the bid showed the UK’s passion for football.

“The (England) Lionesses’ success has inspired girls across our country, and we’ll build on that momentum by welcoming millions of football fans from around the world to a tournament that will benefit communities and businesses in host cities up and down the UK,” he said.

England’s women’s team have won the past two European Championships and reached the final of the 2023 World Cup.

From 2031, the Women’s World Cup will be contested between 48 teams, up from 32.The next Women’s World Cup will take place in Brazil in 2027. (Guardian)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Putin accuses Europeans of sabotaging peace efforts on Ukraine; meets U.S. delegation

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv’s European allies Tuesday of sabotaging U.S.-led efforts to end the nearly 4-year-old war in Ukraine, shortly before he met with a delegation sent by President Donald Trump.

“They don’t have a peace agenda, they’re on the side of the war,” Putin said of the Europeans prior to talks in the Kremlin with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Putin’s accusations appeared to be his latest attempt to sow dissension between Trump and European countries and set the stage for exempting Moscow from blame for any lack of progress.

He accused Europe of amending peace proposals with “demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia,” thus “blocking the entire peace process” and blaming Moscow for it.

“That’s their goal,” Putin said.

He reiterated his long-held position that Russia has no plans to attack Europe — a concern regularly voiced by some European countries.

“But if Europe suddenly wants to wage a war with us and starts it, we are ready right away. There can be no doubt about that,” Putin said.

Russia started the war in 2022 with its full-scale invasion of a sovereign European country, and European governments have since spent billions of dollars to support Ukraine financially and militarily, to wean themselves from energy dependence on Russia, and to strengthen their own militaries to deter Moscow from seizing more territory by force.

They worry that if Russia gets what it wants in Ukraine, it will have free rein to threaten or disrupt other European countries, which already have faced incursions from Russian drones and fighter jets, and an alleged widespread Russian sabotage campaign.

Trump’s peace plan relies on Europe to provide the bulk of the financing and security guarantees for a postwar Ukraine, even though no Europeans appear to have been consulted on the original plan. That’s why European governments have pushed to ensure that peace efforts address their concerns, too.

Speaking with Putin via a translator before the talks, Witkoff said he and Kushner had taken “a beautiful walk” around Moscow and described it as a “magnificent city.”

Coinciding with Witkoff’s trip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Ireland, continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his country’s fight against Russia’s invasion.

In what could be a high-stakes day of negotiations, Zelenskyy said he was expecting swift reports later Tuesday from the U.S. envoys in Moscow on whether talks could move forward, after Trump’s initial 28-point plan was whittled down to 20 items in Sunday’s talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Florida.

“They want to report right after that meeting to us, specifically. The future and the next steps depend on these signals. Such steps will change throughout today, even hour by hour, I believe,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

“If the signals show fair play with our partners, we then might meet very soon, meet with the American delegation,” he said.

“There is a lot of dialogue, but we need results. Our people are dying every day,” Zelenskyy said. “I am ready … to meet with President Trump. It all depends on today’s talks.”

After months of frustration in trying to stop the fighting, Trump deployed officials to get traction for his peace proposals. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s talks with Witkoff and Kushner would take “as long as needed.”

The talks have followed parallel lines so far, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting down with Ukrainian officials. (JapanToday)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ousted Guinea-Bissau president arrives in Congo

Guinea-Bissau’s ousted president Umaro Sissoco Embalo arrived in the Republic of Congo’s capital Brazzaville on Saturday, days after he was overthrown by the military, Congolese government sources told AFP.

Meanwhile in the capital Bissau, the West African country’s leading opposition party said its headquarters had been “invaded” by a “heavily armed militia”, in the wake of the post-election coup that propelled the army to power.

The military took control of the Portuguese-speaking nation on Wednesday — a day before the provisional results of national elections were due to be announced — and Embalo initially left for neighbouring Senegal.

The true motives for the coup in Guinea-Bissau remain unclear, with speculation and conspiracy theories circulating — including that the coup was carried out with Embalo’s blessing.

“Embalo arrived in Brazzaville late in the morning on a private jet,” a source close to the Congolese government said on condition of anonymity.

A presidency source said Embalo, who had claimed victory in the election, intended to remain in the country, which is also known as Congo-Brazzaville.

Embalo, 53, is rumoured to be close to Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and has visited the Republic of Congo many times.

After taking power on Wednesday, the officers in charge argued they had taken control to restore order, warning of a plot by the country’s drug barons to destabilise Guinea-Bissau.

The opposition and some experts however suspect that Embalo, in power since 2020, orchestrated the takeover to halt the electoral process.

Those suspicions intensified when the junta named General Horta N’Tam, considered a close ally of the president, to head a transitional administration set to last a year.

On Saturday, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Guinea-Bissau’s powerful opposition party, said in a statement that its headquarters had been “illegally invaded by heavily armed militia groups” in Bissau.

Elsewhere in the capital, minor clashes broke out on Saturday between young people and law enforcement officers in a suburb not far from the headquarters of Fernando Dias, who ran against Embalo and was arrested on the day of the coup.

Some political researchers say a high-level turf war to control illegal drug smuggling networks may have also played a part in Guinea-Bissau’s instability.

Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political tumult have made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption and drug smuggling.

It is a key transit point for Latin American cocaine destined for Europe to the point that some analysts have dubbed it a “narco-state”. (Vanguard)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Australian Prime Minister Albanese marries girlfriend in private ceremony

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese married his girlfriend Jodie Haydon on Saturday, becoming the country’s first leader to tie the knot while in office.

A beaming Albanese, 62, wed the financial services worker at a private ceremony in the garden of his official residence in Canberra, The Lodge.

“Married”, the prime minister said in a one-word post on social media with video of him in a bow-tie holding the hand of his smiling bride, who wore a long, white dress, as confetti showered down.

In a separate joint statement, the couple said: “We are absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends.”

The ceremony took place more than a year after Albanese proposed on Valentine’s Day 2024, saying at the time he had found a partner “who I want to spend the rest of my life with”.

They wrote their own vows and were married by a celebrant.

Albanese’s dog, a shaggy cavoodle named Toto, was the ring bearer.

After the ceremony, where guests drank beer from a Sydney brewery, the couple walked down the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).”

The newlyweds are to go on a five-day honeymoon in Australia from Monday.

The prime minister — who divorced his previous wife in 2019 and has an adult son, Nathan — met Haydon more than five years ago at a Melbourne business dinner.

The centre-left Labor Party leader secured a second three-year term in office in a landslide election victory in May this year.

He joined Labor while in high school and later became deeply involved in the bruising world of student politics at the University of Sydney. (Vanguard)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Two National Guard soldiers shot near White House, suspect in custody

Two US National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded Wednesday two blocks from the White House and police said a suspect had been taken into custody.

“Please join me in praying for the two National Guardsmen who were just shot moments ago in Washington DC,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X.

An AFP reporter near the scene said she heard several loud pops that sounded like gunshots, and then saw people running away from Farragut Square, a popular and busy outdoor area near the White House and a subway station.

Donald Trump, who is in Florida, was quickly briefed on the “tragic” situation, a spokeswoman said.

“The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Local authorities confirmed that emergency services responded to and transported three gunshot victims from the area.

Secret Service were seen behind yellow police tape, their guns drawn.

“We heard gunshots. We were waiting at the traffic light and there were several shots, Angela Perry, who was in her car with her two children, told AFP.

“You could see National Guard running toward the metro with their weapons drawn,” the 42-year-old said.

Trump has sent National Guard troops to Democratic-run Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis to combat crime and help enforce his crackdown on undocumented migrants.

Last Thursday a federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in the US capital is unlawful.

His extraordinary domestic use of the Guard was also challenged by California earlier this year after the president sent troops to Los Angeles to quell protests sparked by the rounding up of undocumented migrants. (Channels)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ex-Brazil president Bolsonaro begins 27-year jail term

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup, after he exhausted all appeals.

The brash former army captain who fired up Brazil’s right and reshaped the country’s politics is ending a divisive career jailed in a small room at police headquarters equipped with a TV, mini-fridge, and air-conditioning.

Bolsonaro, 70, was convicted in September over a scheme to stop Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 elections that included a plot to kill the veteran leftist.

Prosecutors said the scheme failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass.

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal to his sentence earlier this month and, on Tuesday, ruled the judgement was now final, with no further challenges allowed.

The court also ordered a military tribunal to decide whether Bolsonaro should be stripped of his captain’s rank.

Bolsonaro had been under house arrest until Saturday, when he was detained at police headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, for tampering with his ankle monitor using a soldering iron.

Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes said there had been “very serious indications of a possible attempt to flee” during a planned vigil organised by Bolsonaro’s son outside his home.

The justice pointed to the location of the nearby US embassy and Bolsonaro’s close relationship with US President Donald Trump, suggesting he may have tried to escape to seek political asylum.

During a hearing on Sunday in Brasilia, Bolsonaro stated he “experienced a certain paranoia” due to medications he was on and that he had no intention of fleeing.

Earlier, Bolsonaro had claimed he used a soldering iron on the monitoring bracelet out of “curiosity”.

The court ruled Bolsonaro will remain detained in the officers’ room — a secure space for protected prisoners — where he is currently held in Brasilia. (Punch)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Embalo arrested amid ‘coup d’etat’

Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Embalo says he was arrested while he was inside the presidential palace today.

Also arrested are the chief of staff, General Biague Na Ntan, deputy chief of staff General Mamadou Traore, and the interior minister, Botche Cande.

According to the president, no force was used against him during what he says was a ‘coup d’etat,’ which he says was led by the army chief of staff.

Reporters on the ground say they heard gunfire at the National Electoral Commission headquarters and in the surrounding areas.

The country has been awaiting results from Sunday’s presidential election which President Embalo had said he won 65 per cent of the votes cast.

Embalo’s camp and that of opposition candidate Fernando Dias de Costa have claimed first-round victory in the November 23 presidential election.

Military officers in Guinea-Bissau announced Wednesday they were taking “total control” of the country, the AFP reported.

The officers also suspended the country’s electoral process and closed its borders, three days after the poverty-stricken West African nation’s legislative and presidential elections.

In the early afternoon, General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told members of the press that a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice”.

He read the announcement seated at a table and surrounded by armed soldiers.

The tumultuous West African country has experienced four coups since independence, as well as multiple attempted coups.

N’Canha, in his declaration, claimed to have uncovered a plan to destabilise the country “involving national drug lords” that had included “the introduction of weapons into the country to alter the constitutional order”.

In addition to halting “the entire electoral process”, he said military forces had suspended “all media programming” and imposed a mandatory curfew.

Guinea-Bissau is among the world’s poorest countries and is also a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trade facilitated by the country’s long history of political instability. (Channels)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Japan warns citizens in China over safety as dispute escalates

Japan has warned its citizens in China to be careful of their surroundings and to avoid big crowds amid a diplomatic row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan.

The escalating spat has already seen Beijing advise Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan and hit Tokyo stocks.

“Pay attention to your surroundings and avoid as much as possible squares where large crowds gather or places that are likely to be identified as being used by many Japanese people,” the Japanese embassy in China said in a statement on its website dated Monday.

Minoru Kihara, Japan’s top government spokesman, said Tuesday that such advice was issued “based on a comprehensive assessment of the political situation, including the security situation in the relevant country or region, as well as the social conditions.”

The diplomatic feud between China and Japan was ignited by Takaichi’s suggestion that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to take the democratic island, reacted furiously to Takaichi’s comments.

It called for her to retract the remarks and summoned the Japanese ambassador on Friday.

In a post on X on November 8, the Chinese consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian, threatened to “cut off that dirty head”, apparently referring to Takaichi, who took office in October.

Tokyo said it had summoned the Chinese ambassador over the now-deleted social media post.

Masaaki Kanai, the top official in the foreign ministry for Asia-Pacific affairs arrived in China Monday seeking to defuse the row, and was at the Chinese foreign ministry Tuesday, Jiji press agency reported.

He had been expected to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Liu Jinsong, earlier reports said.

The Japanese embassy warning also advised citizens to “respect local customs and be careful about your words and attitudes when interacting with local people”.

“If you see a person or group that you feel suspicious of, stay away from it and leave the place immediately,” it said.

Tokyo shares fell three percent Tuesday as the diplomatic spat weighed on sentiment.

Japanese tourism and retail shares dived on Monday after China warned its citizens to avoid Japan, a tourist hotspot.

Asia’s two top economies are closely entwined, with China the biggest source of tourists — almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 — coming to Japan.

Before taking power last month, Takaichi was a vocal critic of China and its military build-up in the Asia-Pacific.

If a Taiwan emergency entails “battleships and the use of force, then that could constitute a situation threatening the survival (of Japan)”, Takaichi, 64, told parliament on November 7.

Under Japan’s self-imposed rules, an existential threat is one of the few cases where it can act militarily. (JapanToday)