John Hayward - Page 10

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae said on Monday she will dissolve the lower house of the Japanese Parliament on Friday, setting the stage for snap elections on February 8. The next parliamentary election was not scheduled until October 2028.

The Chinese government on Monday released its latest round of dismal demographic data, revealing that birth rates have hit their lowest level since the Communist revolution of 1949, and the population is still declining despite years of expensive efforts to convince more couples to have children.

Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said on Friday that some 4.7 million social media accounts have been shut down since her country’s ban on social media for children under 16 went into effect in December.

Chinese officials are reportedly seeking assurances that its massive loans to Venezuela will be protected after the fall of Nicolas Maduro.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang embraced Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Beijing on Thursday, telling the Canadian leader that his visit represented a “new starting point” for the previously strained relations between their countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday claimed the massive nationwide uprising against the regime he serves was an “Israeli plot” carried out by “ISIS-style terrorist operations,” and the regime has defeated these “terrorists” after three days of pitched battle.

The U.S. has taken some steps across the Middle East over the past few days that could indicate preparations for an operation against Iran, although they could also be acts of simple prudence or feints.

Thousands of people in northwestern Nigeria have fled their homes after a powerful gang leader threatened to exterminate them.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia posted data this week that showed it carrying out at least 356 executions in 2025, the highest number recorded in the modern era, and a significant increase over the record-breaking 338 executions in 2024.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae decided to relax after their summit meeting in Nara, Japan, on Tuesday by picking up drumsticks and playing K-pop tunes, including a song from the Netflix animated hit “K-Pop Demon Hunters.”

The death toll continues to climb as the Iranian theocracy unleashes its security troops and militias against civilian demonstrators.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney departed for a visit to China on Tuesday, fulfilling a promise he made to dictator Xi Jinping when they met in South Korea in October.

Former U.S. Navy sailor Jinchao Wei, 25, was sentenced to 200 months in prison on Monday for selling technical data on American ships to Chinese intelligence agents.

The semi-autonomous Kurdish government in northeastern Syria on Sunday accused the Syrian Army and its affiliated militias of committing “war crimes” against Kurdish communities in the city of Aleppo.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday elbowed its way into the debate over President Donald Trump’s effort to acquire Greenland, slamming the U.S. for “using other countries as an excuse for pursuing its own selfish interests.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that his regime remains open to negotiations with the United States, even as President Donald Trump has threatened to take action against the regime for killing protesters.

The Iranian opposition group known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran/Mojahedin-e-Khalq (PMOI/MEK) claimed on Tuesday that the death toll from the nationwide uprising against the Iranian regime has surpassed 3,000, with casualties reported from 195 cities. President Donald Trump urged the “patriots” of Iran to stay strong, and promised “help is on its way.”

President Donald Trump argued on Sunday that Greenland’s defensive capability amounts to “two dog sleds,” so the United States must acquire the strategically valuable Arctic territory to protect it from Russia and China.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Monday that the uprising against his brutal regime is “now under total control” after hundreds, or even thousands, of civilians were killed by security forces.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday announced the creation of a new “special police unit” in Islamabad that will be dedicated to protecting Chinese nationals from terrorist attacks.

At least two people were killed on Thursday, 12 were injured, and 35 are still missing after a landfill in the central Philippines collapsed and buried a village beneath an avalanche of garbage.

Worldwide network monitors said Iran was plunged into a nationwide Internet blackout on Thursday, an ominous sign that the panicked regime is preparing to use greater violence to suppress protests that have entered their second week.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in televised remarks on Friday that President Donald Trump would soon be “brought down” by his “arrogance,” even as massive protests against Khamenei and his brutal terrorist regime were raging across Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference in Washington, DC, on Wednesday that Venezuela’s economy must be stabilized, and a process of political reconciliation completed, before a successor to deposed narco-terrorist dictator Nicolás Maduro can be chosen through free and fair elections.

The Syrian Army on Thursday told residents of Kurdish neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo to evacuate in the face of airstrikes.

Wednesday’s seizure of a rogue Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic marked a significant escalation of U.S. efforts to shut down the dangerous “shadow fleet” of sanctions-defying invisible ships created by Russia, China, Iran, and other hostile powers – a fleet that poses serious threats to the environment, maritime safety, legitimate global shipping, and the world’s economic security.

Iranian protesters are asking President Donald Trump to make good on his pledge to protect them from the murderous regime in Tehran, even as human rights groups report escalations of force by Iranian security forces and a growing body count.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday took great umbrage at the U.S. State Department for proclaiming the Western hemisphere is “OUR hemisphere,” and interference from hostile foreign powers like China would no longer be tolerated.

Oil industry analysts expect China to replace its oil imports from Venezuela with increased purchases of Iranian crude, following the arrest of China’s ally Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces over the weekend.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Governor General Mary Simon are reportedly planning a visit to Greenland early next month to open a new Canadian consulate, in a show of Ottawa’s opposition to President Donald Trump’s move to acquire Greenland for the United States.

Russia’s response to the arrest of its ally in Venezuela, narco-terrorist kingpin Nicolás Maduro, has been low-key as of Tuesday afternoon.

Protests against the Iranian theocracy spread to most of Iran’s 31 provinces as of Tuesday, including cities that have long been seen as firmly loyal to the ayatollah.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday paid a visit to Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia whose independence Israel unilaterally endorsed on December 26.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a longtime ally of deposed and incarcerated narco-terrorist dictator Nicolás Maduro, is looking for a role in the crisis currently unfolding in Venezuela – and hoping to protect the investments Turkey made with the corrupt socialist regime.