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China Reiterates Demand That Japanese PM Retract Taiwan Remarks 

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)
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China Reiterates Demand That Japanese PM Retract Taiwan Remarks 

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)

China on Tuesday reiterated its demand that Japan retract Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about Taiwan, more than a month after Takaichi said an attack on the democratically governed island could be deemed an existential threat to Japan.

"On key issues, Japan is still 'squeezing toothpaste' and 'burying nails,' attempting to obfuscate and muddle through," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular press briefing, adding that Beijing is "firmly opposed to this."

Diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Beijing have been at their lowest in years after Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

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World

Iran's Pezeshkian Blames US for Interim Deal Failure, Urges New Try

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the leaders' summit of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on October 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the leaders' summit of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on October 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Iran's Pezeshkian Blames US for Interim Deal Failure, Urges New Try

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the leaders' summit of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on October 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the leaders' summit of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on October 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, in remarks broadcast on state TV on Saturday, blamed the United States for the failure of an interim deal with Iran, but said there should be a new attempt at concluding it.

"We were having negotiations, the (Americans) messed everything up...I still think we should go and conclude it," Pezeshkian said.

Washington is preparing for the possibility of a prolonged confrontation with Tehran, amid growing reports that the United States could launch fresh strikes against Iran before or after the US congressional midterm elections, despite President Donald Trump's insistence that the war could end soon.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Washington could maintain its blockade of Iranian ports for the foreseeable future and continue increasing economic pressure on Tehran, while expressing hope that Iran would return to meaningful negotiations over its nuclear program.

Trump, meanwhile, said the United States could take control of Iran and seize its oil. US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack did not rule out an American strike against Iran as early as this weekend, saying Trump had repeatedly given Tehran opportunities to reach an agreement.

World

Iran Reportedly in ‘Advanced Stages’ of Planning Attacks Against Americans

US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton (Reuters)
US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton (Reuters)
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Iran Reportedly in ‘Advanced Stages’ of Planning Attacks Against Americans

US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton (Reuters)
US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton (Reuters)

Iran has "substantially increased" its efforts to target Americans in the Middle East and beyond, US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton has warned.

The US government has put employees on heightened alert across the Middle East and moved to reduce personnel levels at embassies and consulates, officials said Friday.

"We have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel," Clayton said in a memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a US official.

"The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries," said the memo, which was first reported by Axios.

The US official said: "When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment."

Trump suggested on Friday that the US might launch renewed military operations against Iran.

"We may do another little Epic Fury" Trump said, referring to the US name for its attacks on Iran. He did not give any indication on timing.

The conflict began in late February with US-Israeli attacks on Iran, killing the country's supreme leader, along with senior military commanders.

The United States and Israel have drawn up plans for a new wave of strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections, though Trump has not made a final decision to carry them out, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

World

Govt: Ukraine Has 'Stable Connection' to Starlink

FILE PHOTO: An artilleryman of the Special Rifle Police Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region sets up Starlink satellite internet system, at a position, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An artilleryman of the Special Rifle Police Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region sets up Starlink satellite internet system, at a position, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Govt: Ukraine Has 'Stable Connection' to Starlink

FILE PHOTO: An artilleryman of the Special Rifle Police Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region sets up Starlink satellite internet system, at a position, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An artilleryman of the Special Rifle Police Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region sets up Starlink satellite internet system, at a position, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Ukraine again has a "stable connection" to Starlink, the government said on Saturday, after days of tensions with Washington over the SpaceX-made network crucial to the Ukrainian army's operations.

Kyiv relies on the civilian Starlink satellite communications system and the military-grade Starshield version as it tries to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.

"Monitoring systems are recording a recovery in the speed of Starlink/Starshield. We are registering a speed of more than 400 km/h, the connection is stable," Defence Minister Yevgeniy Khmara said in a statement.

"This result is above all important for our front, for our soldiers, for the operation of drones, for logistics and for communications," he added.

The satellite network has been at the centre of a row between Ukraine and the United States.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Washington of helping Russia by failing to warn Kyiv of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response by throttling Starlink's speed.

Khmara credited Zelensky's "firm stance" on the issue, judging that it was "bearing fruit".

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would speak to tech tycoon Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, if Kyiv was having problems with the communications platform.

The US president had said Thursday that Musk had restored access.

While Musk has shifted stance on Ukraine many times since Russia's invasion in 2022, he has insisted that any disruption was the responsibility of the US government, not SpaceX.