Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives are calling for increased confrontation with China, and should this party take power in next week’s midterm elections, they may exercise significant influence on US foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region.
In a move that critics are calling a “dangerous escalation,” the United States is reportedly preparing to deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to northern Australia, where they would be close enough to strike China.
SoftBank Group, Japan’s second-largest public company, has quietly acquired a massive stake in US local media over the past few years. It is part of the financialization movement which critics argue is hollowing out local news media and eroding the nation’s democracy.
Breast Pocket Mountain by Karen Hill Anton tells a story of self-discovery in rural Japan, which fills the reader with hope. Karen, a New Yorker, ends up raising a bicultural family, becomes a writer for the Japan Times, a teacher of modern dance, and a Shodo calligraphy practitioner of merit.
New aid offered by Australia to Pacific island nations is aimed at reducing Beijing’s influence over Pacific island nations, an issue which has emerged as a major concern for US allies in the region.
US lawmakers led by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal reversed course under heavy criticism and withdrew in a matter of hours their letter which called on US President Joe Biden to initiate a “proactive diplomatic push” for a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Noting the pain and suffering of the Ukrainian people and the risk of nuclear war that threatens the entire world, progressive lawmakers have called on US President Joe Biden to make a decisive shift in his approach to the conflict by initiating a “proactive diplomatic push” seeking “a realistic framework for a ceasefire” through direct negotiations with Russia.
Ethiopia’s northern province of Tigray is losing ground in its brutal conflict with the central government, placing both the rebel region’s administration and its civilian population in severe jeopardy.
As new polling has revealed that most Americans now fear that the country may be heading to nuclear war over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, campaigners are calling on US lawmakers to take action to mitigate those fears, particularly by ensuring that the United States is doing all it can to deescalate tensions.
China’s “debt trap diplomacy” has been widely denounced by both the West and Japan, and it formed an underpinning theme for the latest edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VIII). However, the fact of the matter is that G7 countries, not China, are the largest holders of African debt.
