📹WATCH: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth checks the physical fitness of American troops in Japan to make sure they're ready to 'counter Chinese aggression'

Hegseth arrived in Japan, his second stop after the Philippines on his first Asian trip.

He announced plans to upgrade the US military command in Japan, a country he described as indispensable in combating "Chinese aggression."

He also stressed the need for both countries to strengthening their military capabilities in the face of China's assertive military actions in the region.

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📹US-made $500,000 Oshkosh armored vehicle DESTROYED by Russian $500 drones

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🔍22nd amendment ‘hack’: Report claims Trump might serve beyond 2029

US President Donald Trump might just stick around until he's 90, thanks to a convenient “loophole” in the US Constitution, according to the Daily Mail.

The 22nd Amendment (1951) says you can’t be president for more than two terms, except – surprise – it doesn’t actually say anything about holding the office multiple times in the event the incumbent president resigns or kicks the bucket.

The publication speculates that the White House is allegedly considering the idea of Vice President J.D. Vance running for president, then stepping down to allow Trump to waltz right back in.

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Devastating Myanmar earthquake death toll surges to 1,700

3,400 more injured and 300 still missing, China's Xinhua news agency reports.

The disaster, which shook Myanmar and was felt across Bangladesh, India, Laos, China and Thailand, has prompted countries like Russia and Belarus to send rescue teams to assist in relief efforts.

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US cuts funding – WHO cuts staff

The World Health Organization (WHO) is cutting its budget by over 20%, leading to staff reductions and a smaller scope of work, following the US withdrawal of funding, which previously made up 18% of its budget under President Trump’s administration.

The US was the largest financial backer of the global health agency, contributing 18% of its funding. This withdrawal has worsened the WHO’s financial situation, which is already under strain due to reductions in official development assistance by other countries.

The WHO has long faced criticism for its slow and ineffective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its close ties with certain governments, leading to accusations of a lack of accountability and transparency.

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📑Pentagon’s playbook: Leaked memo names NEW POTENTIAL THREATS

A nine-page document outlines priorities for senior Pentagon officials and a vision for achieving them, according to The Washington Post. The Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance closely mirrors the Trump administration's conservative "Project 2025" from the Heritage Foundation.

Besides homeland defense, Pete Hegseth’s guidance:

🟠Reorients the US military architecture toward the Indo-Pacific region.
🟠Singles out China as the “sole pacing threat.”
🟠Offers an animated scenario of reaction to a potential invasion of Taiwan by China.
🟠Leaves containing the alleged “Russia threat” as well as perceived threats from North Korea and Iran largely to European allies.
🟠Assumes “risk in other theaters” in Europe and the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama Canal.
🟠Deprioritizes militant threats in the Middle East and Africa, with shifted focus to counterterrorism missions against groups with the capability and intent to strike the US.

Hegseth’s interim guidance added that NATO must take on “far greater” burden sharing now that the US will be reorienting its priorities.

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📹WATCH: Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport released a video showing the operation of the Arena-M active protection system.

The footage shows the system intercepting an attack by two anti-tank missiles coming from the front and from above at an angle.

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China sounds ALARM over US Blackrock’s TAKEOVER bid of key Panama ports

The deal by the American conglomerate to buy the facilities from a Hong Kong company CK Hutchison will be reviewed, Chinese antitrust regulator SAMR stated on its website.

Chinese state media has already labelled the potential deal a THREAT to national security.

The planned sale is part of a $22.8 billion deal whereby CK Hutchison had agreed to sell its 80% stake in subsidiaries managing 43 ports across 23 countries to a consortium led by BlackRock and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the FT reported.

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Ukrainian special operations forces master the art of ‘retreat’

In a stunning display of ‘strategic planning’, the elite 6th Regiment of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SDF) has reportedly escaped from the Guyevo settlement in Russia's Kursk region, leaving infantry units to fend for themselves.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces command has now perfected the art of pulling back their elite units, carefully avoiding direct confrontation with the advancing Russian army.

That is another chapter in the ongoing saga of Ukrainian forces withdrawing their top-tier units from the front lines—leaving less experienced troops to bear the brunt.

In December 2024 nearly a thousand soldiers from the Ukrainian 155th Mechanized Brigade reportedly deserted as soon as they arrived at their combat positions. More recently, in February of this year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrew an elite Marine battalion from the Sudzha district of Kursk region after it lost more than half its troops.

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