Politics

Takaichi Bets On Supermajority To Remake Japan’s Defence Posture

February 20, 2026 8:05 am

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivered her first parliamentary policy address since winning a commanding supermajority in this month’s lower house elections on Friday, using the platform to announce the most sweeping overhaul of her country’s security architecture in decades, a package that encompasses weapons exports, intelligence reform, foreign investment screening, supply chain independence, and nuclear energy, framed explicitly around the threat she believes China poses to the regional order.

The address, delivered to both chambers of the Diet in Tokyo, came twelve days after the Liberal Democratic Party captured 352 of the 465 lower house seats in a snap …

Gabon Suspends Social Media Amid Strikes, Unrest

February 18, 2026 10:13 am

Gabon suspended access to Facebook, TikTok, and other social media platforms Wednesday after authorities accused digital networks of spreading content that undermines social cohesion and threatens national security, a crackdown that comes amid strikes by teachers and civil servants over poor pay and working conditions less than a year after President Brice Oligui Nguema won elections.

The High Authority for Communication ordered the immediate suspension “until further notice” in a televised statement Tuesday evening, with spokesman Jean-Claude Mendome saying “inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and insulting content” was undermining “human dignity, public morality, the honor of citizens, social cohesion, the stability of …

Just In: Tarique Rahman Sworn In As Bangladesh Prime Minister

February 17, 2026 1:02 pm

Tarique Rahman was sworn in as the new prime minister of Bangladesh on Tuesday, days after his party swept the first vote since the 2024 student-led uprising that led to the ouster of the previous government and its prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered his oath at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at around 4:15 p.m., with 25 ministers and 24 state ministers also taking their oaths in front of approximately 1,200 guests. The ceremony departed from convention, breaking with tradition where such events are typically organized at Bangabhaban, the President’s official residence.

The South Plaza …

Taiwan Parliament To Prioritize $40bn Defense Budget Review

February 16, 2026 8:07 am

Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament committed on Monday to making President Lai Ching-te‘s stalled 40-billion-dollar special defense budget the first item for review when the legislature reconvenes after the Lunar New Year holiday, responding to mounting pressure from Washington as China intensifies military activities around the island and questions grow about the credibility of Taiwan’s deterrence posture.

Parliament Speaker Han Kuo-yu and Deputy Speaker Johnny Chiang, both senior figures in the main opposition Kuomintang party, issued a joint statement pledging to facilitate cross-party negotiations on the proposal, saying the special defense budget and related legislation would be treated as the legislature’s …

Netanyahu Demands Full Dismantlement Of Iran Nuclear Program

February 16, 2026 12:32 am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set out sweeping conditions for any nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran on Sunday, demanding not merely a halt to uranium enrichment but the physical destruction of all Iranian enrichment infrastructure, a position that significantly exceeds what Tehran has signaled it will accept as U.S. and Iranian negotiators prepare to meet in Geneva on Tuesday.

Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, Netanyahu disclosed for the first time the substance of demands he placed before U.S. President Donald Trump during their White House meeting last week, …

French Prosecutors Launch Special Team to Review Epstein Files

French Prosecutors Setup Special Team To Review Epstein Files

February 15, 2026 6:45 am

French prosecutors have created a dedicated team of magistrates to examine evidence linked to convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and assess whether French nationals may have committed criminal offences connected to his activities.

The initiative follows the recent publication by U.S. authorities of additional documents related to Epstein’s network, which contain references to several individuals with ties to France.

Prosecutors said the new unit would analyse material emerging from those disclosures and determine whether elements could justify opening fresh criminal investigations under French jurisdiction.

According to a statement provided to AFP, the specialised group will collaborate with the national …

Obama Criticises Racist Monkey Video Linked to Trump

February 15, 2026 6:18 am

Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday criticised what he described as a decline in standards of public conduct in American politics, delivering his first public response to a social media post shared from the account of President Donald Trump that included imagery depicting Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

Speaking during an interview released Saturday with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama addressed the controversy days after a video circulated on Trump’s platform, Truth Social, prompting criticism from Democratic and Republican figures as well as civil rights groups.

The clip, was later removed after drawing widespread …

Rubio Heads To Slovakia And Hungary After Munich Summit

February 15, 2026 3:07 am

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed Sunday for a two-day visit to Slovakia and Hungary immediately following the Munich Security Conference, reinforcing Washington’s alignment with two Eastern European governments that have defied mainstream EU positions on Russia, Ukraine, and democratic governance while cultivating close ties with President Donald Trump.

According to the official State Department itinerary, Rubio will meet with senior Slovak government officials in Bratislava on Sunday before traveling to Budapest, where he will hold discussions with Hungarian officials on Sunday and Monday. The visit marks Rubio’s first time in either country.

In Bratislava, discussions will focus on …

Taiwan Hits Back At China’s Munich Conference Speech

February 15, 2026 1:27 am

Taiwan’s foreign minister issued a pointed public rebuttal Sunday to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s address at the Munich Security Conference, accusing Beijing of systematically violating the United Nations principles it claims to champion while conducting military operations that directly threaten regional peace.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung published his response hours after Wang’s Saturday appearance at the annual security gathering in Bavaria, where the Chinese top diplomat argued that external forces were attempting to “split Taiwan from China,” blamed Japan for rising tensions around the island, and invoked UN Charter principles as the foundation of Beijing’s foreign policy posture.

Lin …

Rubio Tells Munich Summit US And Europe “Belong Together”

February 14, 2026 9:33 am

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio received a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference Saturday after delivering a deliberately measured address that sought to repair transatlantic trust while still pressing European allies to embrace the Trump administration’s vision of a refashioned global order built on sovereignty, reindustrialization, and renewed military strength.

Reminding his audience of America’s centuries-long roots in Europe, Rubio said the United States would remain forever tied to the continent even as it pushes for changes in the relationship and the international institutions that have underpinned the post-war world.

“We do not seek to separate, but to …

Rahman Claims Bangladesh Premiership After Landslide

February 14, 2026 9:10 am

Tarique Rahman emerged Saturday as Bangladesh’s prime minister-in-waiting following his Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s commanding two-thirds parliamentary majority, with the country’s interim administration, regional neighbors, and international observers all moving to formally acknowledge a political transition that ends two decades of BNP exclusion from national power.

In his first public statement since the results were confirmed, Rahman appealed for national unity across political and ideological lines. “Our paths and opinions may differ, but in the interest of the country, we must remain united,” he told reporters at a Dhaka news conference, evoking the reconciliatory tone he had struck throughout a campaign …

Ex-Reform UK MP Lowe Launches Restore Britain Party

February 14, 2026 6:43 am

Independent Member of Parliament Rupert Lowe formally established a new national political party on Friday evening, converting his Restore Britain pressure group into a fully operational electoral vehicle and pledging to field hundreds of candidates across Britain at the next general election.

Lowe’s launch announcement, posted on X at 2:36 p.m. on Friday, read in its entirety: “I am today launching Restore Britain as a national political party. Join us.” The post drew significant immediate attention online. Within hours it had accumulated 2.4 million views, an indication of the profile Lowe has built during nearly a year as an independent …