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Hong Kong Democracy Defenders Go on Trial

As the trial of sixteen pro-democracy figures began yesterday in Hong Kong, the global human rights group Amnesty International blasted what it called the “politically motivated” charges against the defendants, urging authorities to drop the case.

Somalia’s Al-Shabab Under Pressure

For years the internationally-recognized government of Somalia, based in Mogadishu, has been in a running battle with the Al-Shabab insurgency, but recent advances by the Somali Armed Forces, backed by the US military, as well as division within the Islamist movement itself, appears to have put Al-Shabab on the back foot.

Western Hyperbole Over a Taiwan War

Western experts and military officials continue to issue dates for a prospective China invasion of Taiwan. The latest such example is a prediction by US Air Force General Mike Minihan that a war will occur between the United States and China over Taiwan in 2025. This was written in a memo which was obtained by the news media.

Hirobumi Ito and the Sino-Japanese War

From 1892-1896, Hirobumi Ito returned as prime minister and had one of the most successful administrations in Japanese history. He presided over Japan’s first modern war in which it decisively defeated Qing China, overturned the traditional East Asia political order, and created its own colonial empire.

Biden Outpaces Trump on Oil and Gas Permits

Although US President Joe Biden vowed on the campaign trail to phase out federal leasing for fossil fuel extraction, his administration approved more permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first two years than the Trump administration did in 2017 and 2018.

UK Conservatives Aim to Crush Labor Unions

The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party government has unveiled an anti-strike bill which has been branded a “full-frontal attack on working people” by the nation’s largest trade union. This legislation arrives amidst a continued campaign of industrial action by workers across the United Kingdom against “real-terms pay cuts.”

Masayoshi Matsukata and Election Violence

From 1891-1892, the financial specialist among the Meiji Genro, Masayoshi Matsukata, served as prime minister of Japan. After weathering a potential crisis with Russia, he called a general election and unleashed violence against the elected representatives of the people.