TOP NEWS

Japan-China Relations
China and Japan in Incident at Disputed Islands

A naval confrontation is the latest in a series of incidents in the diplomatic schism between Japan and China. The incident took place off the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

China's coast guard claims to have turned away a Japanese fishing boat that had entered the area illegally. Japan, for its part, claims to have turned away two Chinese ships, the BBC reports.

The uninhabited Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan, but are also claimed by China and Taiwan. In recent years, China has sent more and more ships to the area to test Japan's capabilities.

Relations between China and Japan have deteriorated since Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi opened up to military action if China attacks Taiwan.

Former EU foreign policy chief arrested in fraud raid

The former foreign policy chief of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, has been arrested in a police raid on the EU's foreign policy service, the EEAS, a source told AFP. Ten plainclothes police officers took part in the raid, which was carried out as part of a fraud investigation, according to the website Euractiv.

The police operation targeted, among other things, the EEAS in Brussels and the College of Europe university in Bruges, where Mogherini is now rector. According to the EU's public prosecutor's office, the EEAS is suspected of rigging the procurement of training programs for young diplomats to benefit the College of Europe.

The EEAS has been led since November 2024 by the current EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas.

Trump's pardons
Confirmed: President convicted of drug trafficking released by the US

Donald Trump has pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, the White House confirms. According to media reports, Hernández has been released from prison.

Last year, he was sentenced in a US court to 45 years in prison and several million in fines for drug crimes. According to the verdict, he helped criminal networks smuggle hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the US.

Trump announced on Friday that he planned to pardon Hernández, who was president between 2014 and 2022. He wrote on Truth Social that people he “respects a lot” claim that Hernández was treated unfairly. The move came at the same time that Trump strongly supported his party colleague Nasry “Tito” Asfura in the Honduran presidential election.

The floods in Southeast Asia
Indonesia: Deforestation may have contributed to the disaster

The deadly floods in Indonesia may have been worsened by the large-scale deforestation in the country. At least that is what experts, environmental groups and the country’s government claim.

More than 600 people have been killed and a million have been evacuated due to the torrential rains that caused floods and landslides. Indonesia is one of the countries in the world with the most deforestation; last year more than 240,000 hectares of forest were cut down.

Because trees help absorb rainwater and stabilize the soil, the risk of landslides is lower in forested areas.

“Protecting our forests is crucial,” President Prabowo Subiante said during a press conference on the floods last week.