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Former President Barack Obama said in an interview with on the “Pod Save America” podcast on Wednesday that President Donald Trump didn’t “have the patience and the focus to really substantially change a lot of U.S. foreign policy.” Tommy Vietor asked, “You spent countless hours with Vice President Biden talking about national security. What did you learn about how he thinks about diplomacy and counterterrorism and the use of military force that others would not have seen?”

DANA THOMPSON, A FORMER LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF COUNSEL TO REP. MAXINE WATERS, REGISTERED AS A LOBBYIST ON BEHALF A HOST OF CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY-LINKED ENTITIES, THE NATIONAL PULSE CAN REVEAL. Thompson, who also served as Chief of Staff for Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, was a former Principal at lobbying behemoth Podesta Group before co-founding Fulcrum Public Affairs, the “only 100% Black and Latinx-owned government relations firm in Washington, DC.” While at the Podesta Group, the project of Democratic heavyweights John and Tony Podesta, Thompson registered to lobby on behalf of three Chinese Communist Party-linked entities: a controversial telecommunications...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared to shed tears at the weekend as he thanked citizens for their sacrifices, in the most striking demonstration yet of how he is relying on his "man of the people" persona to tackle his country's deepening crises. Though the young leader has consolidated his rule over the isolated nation with ruthless purges, North Korea watchers say he has also sought to portray himself as a more traditional political leader than his eccentric father, Kim Jong Il.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Situation Room” that President Donald Trump has been a “useful idiot” in his dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and North Korean Kim Jong-un. Anchor Wolf Blitzer asked, “Lieutenant Colonel Vindman also told The Atlantic magazine President Trump is in his words, Vladimir Putin is a useful idiot. Do you agree with that characterization?

Developments over the last few months in the Indo-Pacific as a result of the economic and security fallout of the pandemic and China’s criminal withholding of information about it leading to its spread across geographies were further aggravated by China’s subsequent effort to exploit the vulnerabilities thus created to its advantage. In a rare departure from the existing precautionary protocols of virtual Summits due to the COVID pandemic, the physical meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the four nations that comprise the QUAD(Australia, India, Japan and the United States of America) over the next two days in Tokyo assumes significance...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has apologized for the death of a South Korean government worker who was shot dead by North Korean troops after crossing a maritime border between the two countries. In a letter sent to South Korea's Blue House Friday morning, North Korea said units responded to a call that an unidentified male was found floating on an object in the sea. The letter claims about 10 rounds were fired at the man after he did not comply with a soldier's demand to identify himself and subsequent warning shots. North Korea says only a pool of...

On Monday, Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono instructed Japanese military personnel on what to do if they spot unidentified aerial objects that could potentially pose a threat to national security. According to Japanese news agencies, Kono instructed the Japanese Self Defence Forces to record and report any sightings of unknown objects in Japan’s airspace. The move comes just weeks after Kono spoke with U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in a conversation that apparently touched on UFOs. Taking a lead from the United States, Kono also tasked the SDF to assess any data collected and investigate any credible sightings. In...

Japanese lawmakers have elected Suga Yoshihide as the next Prime Minister. Here's a look at the life of the country's new leader. Nearly every day for the past eight years, Suga Yoshihide has taken questions from reporters. Especially in times when the government faced tough criticism -- from allegations of corruption to unpopular policy decisions -- the top spokesperson seemed unflappable. Then, he took this step into the glare of the public eye. Suga unveiled Japan's new era name: Reiwa. It's an uncommon honor, which made millions look at the Prime Minister's trusted aide and adviser in a new light....

The new leader of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party says he will choose reform-minded people for party executives and cabinet ministers. Suga Yoshihide spoke to reporters on Monday after being elected as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party. He is expected to be chosen as prime minister in Diet elections on Wednesday. Suga said he wants to move Japan forward by fully reviewing what is wrong, adding that he will form a Cabinet that works for the people. Stressing his wish to "carry out full deregulation," Suga said he will focus on picking people who have a zeal for...

Japan's ruling party on Monday elected chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga as its new leader, making him all but certain to replace Shinzo Abe as the country's next prime minister. Suga easily won the ballot, taking 377 of a total of 534 valid votes from Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers and regional representatives. His rivals, former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba and LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida, trailed far behind. Given the LDP's legislative majority, Suga is expected to handily win a parliamentary vote Wednesday and become prime minister, taking over from Abe, who is resigning for health reasons. A powerful government...

Is Japan a great power or a middle power? It is not a member of the UN Security Council and is ultimately dependent on U.S. protection, yet it is a major regional power that helped contain communist regimes during the Cold War. It has the third largest economy in the world and is ranked as having the world’s fourth most powerful military. Its leaders do not want to revive the militarism of the past, but they are prepared to play a larger role in international affairs. Japan has already acted as peacemaker in Cambodia, Mindanao, and Myanmar. The rising star...

After a solid nine-month stretch that was blissfully devoid of major Brexit-related news as the global COVID-19 pandemic raged on, we declared last night that Brexit talks "suddenly matter again" as the drop in the pound was blamed - incorrectly, as Bloomberg later determined - for triggering yesterday's intraday declines in US markets. But on Friday morning, American traders awoke to some surprisingly positive trade news out of Great Britain. A trade deal with Japan had been agreed to in principle, which would - if finally ratified by both countries - allow 99% of the UK's exports to Japan...

The UK has struck its first major post-Brexit trade deal after signing an agreement in principle with Japan which aims to boost trade by about £15bn. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said it was an "historic moment". She said it would bring "new wins" for British businesses in manufacturing, food and drink, and tech industries. Critics said while the deal may be of symbolic importance it would boost UK GDP by only 0.07%, a fraction of the trade that could be lost with the EU. Friday's deal still needs approval by Japan's parliament. Trade representatives there forecast the agreement should...

Boris Johnson privately told US diplomats that Donald Trump was “making America great again”, according to a cache of official notes taken during high-level UK-US meetings whose details have leaked to The Telegraph. The Prime Minister is quoted telling the US ambassador to Britain in August 2017, when he was foreign secretary, that Mr Trump was doing “fantastic stuff” on foreign policy issues like China, Syria and North Korea. Other records show Mr Johnson claimed the US president was becoming “increasingly popular” in Britain in 2017 and spoke warmly about how under his leadership America was “back and engaged in...

Livestock carrier in load with 43 crew missing. UPDATES 1 more alive crew Mikhail VoytenkoNews September 4, 2020 5:47 am Sep 4 UPDATE: Japanese CG found one more alive crew, unconscious, he was taken to hospital. Sep 3 UPDATES: OFFICIAL STATEMENT Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC (GNH) deeply regret to report the incident relating to their vessel, MV GULF LIVESTOCK 1, which is reported missing while the vessel was enroute from New Zealand to China, with livestock on board. The Japanese Coast Guard received a distress call early on Wednesday morning (Sept 2nd) to which they responded and one of the...

Washington aims to formalise its closer Indo-Pacific defence relations with India, Japan and Australia – also known as “the quad” – into something more closely resembling the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), a senior US State Department official said on Monday. The US government’s goal is to get the grouping of four countries and others in the region to work together as a bulwark against “a potential challenge from China” and “to create a critical mass around shared values and interests of those parties in a manner that attracts more countries in the Indo-Pacific and even from around the world...

Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo intends to step down to deal with a health problem. Abe has told his ruling Liberal Democratic Party officials of his intention to resign. LDP officials and Abe held an urgent meeting at party headquarters to discuss the prime minister's decision . He has visited a hospital twice over the past two weeks, fuelling speculation that his health has deteriorated. Abe has been busy in recent months -- working 147 days straight -- dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters that hit parts of the country earlier this summer.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to resign for health reasons, local media reported Friday. Abe plans to step down to deal with a health problem, national broadcaster NHK reported citing sources close to the prime minister. Kyodo News also reported that Abe plans to resign, citing a source from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Abe had been scheduled to hold a press conference at 5 p.m. local time. CNBC has not independently confirmed the reports. Stocks in Japan briefly fell after the reports.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s sister could be the Hermit Kingdom’s most brutal leader if she succeeds him, experts told The Post on Monday. Kim Yo Jong, 32, appeared poised to take the reins of power amid a claim that her older brother has been in a coma for months and his recent public appearances have been staged. “I haven’t seen any evidence, any indication of how she might rule, but my speculation — given the reputation and history of the family — is that she would rule with an iron fist,” retired US Army Col. David Maxwell said.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has fallen into a coma, a former South Korean official is claiming on the heels of reports that the northern leader has ceded over some of his power to his younger sister. Chang Song-min, a former aide to late-South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, has alleged that the Hermit Kindom’s honcho has become seriously ill amid speculation about his limited public appearances this year, the Mirror reported. “I assess him to be in a coma, but his life has not ended,” he told South Korean media. The former aide added that the leader’s younger sister,...