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Member countries of OPEC and their allies are considering further cuts to oil production that could send oil prices soaring. The group, known as OPEC+ to include allies such as Russia, will meet Sunday to discuss another round of cuts to production for member countries, this time as much as 1 million barrels per day, sources told Reuters. The cuts would come on top of existing cuts of 2 million barrels per day and voluntary cuts of 1.6 million barrels per day that were announced in April, three sources told the outlet. "We are discussing the full package [of changes...

Battle of Midway, (June 3–6, 1942), World War II naval battle, fought almost entirely with aircraft. The Midway Islands were claimed for the United States on July 5, 1859, by Capt. N.C. Brooks. The coral atoll—consisting of Eastern Island and the larger Sand Island to the west—has a total land area of just 2.4 square miles (6.2 square km). Midway was formally annexed by the U.S. in 1867. A coal depot was established for transpacific steamers, but it was never used. It was World War II which conclusively demonstrated the strategic importance of Midway. In 1940 the U.S. Navy began...

TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) - The United States is seeking to secure supplies of TNT in Japan for 155mm artillery shells, as Washington rushes …

The monotheistic nature of Islam is incompatible with the concept of polytheism in Shinto religion Japan's religious landscape is undergoing a transformative shift, which is all the more evident by looking at the growing number of mosques that have emerged in the country over the past two decades. The change can be attributed to a lesser degree to increasing intermarriage between Muslims and Japanese citizens (many Japanese converted to Islam through marriage), but mostly to the rising number of immigrants coming from Islamic states. The number of Muslims in Japan was estimated to be between 10,000 to 20,000 in the...

TOKYO -- A Japanese court ruled Tuesday that the government's policy against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in a closely watched decision that supporters say is a step toward marriage equality. The Nagoya District Court in central Japan, however, rejected a request by a male couple that the government pay them 1 million yen ($7,100) each in compensation for the unequal treatment they face because the current system does not recognize them as legally married. The ruling is the second that found that the government’s denial of same-sex marriage violates the constitution, while two other decisions did not. The rulings can...

Japan was the first country to break its silence after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Tokyo said of the Kuril Islands that it was “completely unacceptable that the Northern Territories have yet to be returned since the Soviet Union’s illegal occupation of them 77 years ago”. That annexation saw the expulsion of Japanese people from the southern islands, and since then, the countries have failed to reach a compromise. Talks broke down when Putin showed he was not willing to share lands but only to gain new ones. Then China started drawing maps marking part of Siberia and...

Some audience members came up to me after a speech I gave in downtown Tokyo in late April. They were hopping mad at Rahm Emanuel, the man whom Washington sent a little over a year ago to do its business in Japan. And what does that business entail? If Emanuel’s April tweets are any indication, it entails interfering in internal Japanese political matters. (snip) In my April speech in Tokyo, I referred to the American Embassy down the street as the “sotokufu,” the “governor-general” of Japan. The audience broke into thundering applause. I said that it was time to throw...

Japan put its ballistic missile defences on alert on Monday and vowed to shoot down any projectile that threatens its territory, after North Korea notified it of a planned satellite launch between May 31 and June 11. The nuclear-armed North says it has completed its first military spy satellite and leader Kim Jong Un has approved final preparations for the launch. It would be the North's latest step in a series of missile launches and weapons tests in recent months, including one of a new, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. Tokyo expects North Korea to fire the rocket carrying its satellite...

A Chinese salvage ship has been caught looting British World War II shipwrecks near the Malaysian coast. The vessel, a dredger named Chuan Hong 68, was seen lurking near the shipwrecks of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and cruiser HMS Repulse, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail. Imperial Japanese forces destroyed both ships in December 1941, resulting in the loss of 842 British sailors — a significant setback for the Royal Navy in the Far East. The sites of the shipwrecks are officially designated war graves, according to a statement from the Royal Navy National Museum. Chuan...

The commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer John Finn was relieved of command Friday. Cmdr. Angela Gonzales was relieved “due to a loss of confidence in her ability to fulfill her responsibilities in leading the ship,” according to a brief Navy statement issued Saturday. As is the case with nearly every Navy CO firing, no other information was provided regarding the reasons for Gonzales being relieved of command. John Finn is assigned to U.S. 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan. Cmdr. Matthew Hays has assumed interim commanding officer duties, and Gonzales has been reassigned to Naval Surface Force Pacific. US Navy...

VIDEOThere was a big lawsuit recently instituted in Australia against the federal government over Covid-19 vaccine injuries. However, shouldn't the lawsuit be expanded to include the mental case former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory who ranted like a lunatic about forcing vaccine mandates on everyone in his jurisdiction? This official, Michael Gunner, was forced to resign in humiliation in 2022 due to the vaccines NOT stopping the transmission of Covid nor preventing Covid in those who were already vaccinated.

Socialist Left governments in Australia twist justice. A grandmother pushed onto her back on the road then pepper sprayed. My grandfather JR Blanchard stood up for human rights after World War Two and represented the Presbyterian Church of Australia at Queen Elizabeth's coronation. He taught me The Lord's Prayer. I am proud of him. My grandmother, Clarissa Fox, made me deeply happy because she recognised when I was young that I like to help people. I believe she was a granddaughter of someone in The Australian Aboriginal cricket team which toured England in 1868. She had a cooking show on...

Australian government agencies' use of Chinese-made technology has been making headlines again. This time, the potential threat comes from DJI drones produced by China-headquartered company Da Jiang Innovations. A cessation order signed earlier this month will see the Australian Defence Force (ADF) suspend its use of DJI products, pending a six-month security audit of the force's supply chain. DJI drones were being used for training and military exercises. DJI joins a growing list of Chinese technology producers spurring anxiety in Australia and among allies. But the disproportionate focus on Chinese-made technologies might not be doing Australia's national security much good....

President Joe Biden lied Sunday when he said he was responsible for establishing the Quad alliance: a diplomatic association that links the United States, Australia, India, and Japan in common political cause across the Indo-Pacific and South China Sea. He told the lie at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Biden said: “I doubt many people…would’ve said that two years after being elected, I’d be able to convince India, Australia, Japan, and the United States to form an organization called the Quad.”

President Biden would be blameless in the event that the U.S. defaults on its debt in the coming days, the president declared Sunday. Biden made the claim during a news conference in Hiroshima, Japan, where he had traveled for meetings with G-7 nations. Republicans in Congress forced Biden to the negotiating table after months of the White House insisting there would be no debate over the issue. Biden now argues that certain "MAGA Republicans" are seeking to cause a default in an effort to crash the economy ahead of Biden's re-election effort. "I've done my part," Biden said regarding negotiations,...

PLUMSTEAD TWP., Pa. - "We’re excited to see more of these dedications for deserving military members," said Leigh Bleam, Nephew of WWII Vet Albert LeRoy Angeny. Bucks County native, Albert LeRoy Angeny, was a World War II Veteran. He served our nation in the Pacific Theater, and was just in his early 20s when he lost his life in 1945. The ship he serving on was hit by a Japanese Kamikaze warplane. He was one of 95 sailors lost at sea that day.

Joe Biden is in Japan now for the G7 meeting, right in the middle of challenging debt negotiation meetings with the Republicans. That’s all on him because he delayed meeting with Republicans for so long. He had planned on being abroad longer, after the G7 but he’s amended his plans and will be coming back to try to make a deal after he got shamed into it by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). But now Biden is in Japan doing what he generally does when he’s overseas — embarrassing the heck out of us. Biden was meeting with other leaders...

Biden in Hiroshima, Japan on 5/19/23.

Japan's Nikkei share average rallied on Friday to the highest since August 1990, the country's so-called "bubble" era, driven by a confluence of positive factors from strong earnings to optimism over a U.S. debt ceiling deal. The benchmark index jumped as high as 30,924.57 shortly after the open, on course for a seventh straight winning session, after smashing through the psychological 30,000 level on Wednesday for the first time in 20 months. The broader Topix, which had reached the post-bubble milestone on Tuesday, extended its climb to as high as 2,171.37.

America might still be a military and economic superpower. The dollar might be the world’s most powerful currency (and we think it’s likely to remain so). America is still a country with high salaries, and coming to America is still a decent way to make a fortune, if one has the right skills and the right connections. And yet, for the average person on the ground, America is no longer really a First World country in the sense of being a country where a high-quality way of life can be had for an affordable price. For young people, the “American...