Philippines signs military pact with New Zealand
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the ceremony in Manila, where Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and and his New Zealand counterpart, Judith Collins, inked the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
North Korean Man Crosses the Heavily Fortified Border to South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An unidentified North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South's military said Friday. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a 'guiding operation' before taking the person into custody Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. The Joint Chiefs said it notified the U.S.-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North. According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of trash-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers. Since taking office last month, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. In June last year, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defenses amid escalating tensions between the Koreas. Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea's previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals.
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Egypt Says Ethiopia's Completed Power-Generating Dam Lacks a Legally Binding Agreement
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt said Friday that Ethiopia has consistently lacked the political will to reach a binding agreement on its now-complete dam, an issue that involves Nile River water rights and the interests of Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia's prime minister said Thursday that the country's power-generating dam, known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, on the Nile is now complete and that the government is 'preparing for its official inauguration' in September. Egypt has long opposed the construction of the dam, because it would reduce the country's share of Nile River waters, which it almost entirely relies on for agriculture and to serve its more than 100 million people. The more than the $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile near the Sudan border began producing power in 2022. It's expected to eventually produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity — double Ethiopia's current output. Ethiopia and Egypt have spent years trying to reach an agreement over the dam, which Ethiopia began building in 2011. At one point, tensions ran so high that some feared the dispute would escalate to war. Both countries reached no deal despite negotiations over 13 years, and it remains unclear how much water Ethiopia will release downstream in case of a drought. Egyptian officials, in a statement, called the completion of the dam 'unlawful' and said that it violates international law, reflecting 'an Ethiopian approach driven by an ideology that seeks to impose water hegemony' instead of equal partnership. 'Egypt firmly rejects Ethiopia's continued policy of imposing a fait accompli through unilateral actions concerning the Nile River, which is an international shared watercourse,' Egypt's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said in a statement Friday. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in his address to lawmakers Thursday, said that his country 'remains committed to ensuring that our growth does not come at the expense of our Egyptian and Sudanese brothers and sisters.' 'We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water,' he said. 'Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.' However, the Egyptian water ministry said Friday that Ethiopian statements calling for continued negotiations 'are merely superficial attempts to improve its image on the international stage.' 'Ethiopia's positions, marked by evasion and retreat while pursuing unilateralism, are in clear contradiction with its declared willingness to negotiate,' the statement read. However, Egypt is addressing its water needs by expanding agricultural wastewater treatment and improving irrigation systems, according to the ministry, while also bolstering cooperation with Nile Basin countries through backing development and water-related projects.
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan emperor's Mongolia visit sheds light on forgotten WWII detentions
A Soviet Red Army solider peers over the edge of a Japanese fort at an unknown location in China on Aug. 23, 1945. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese were detained by the Soviets, and some of them were dispatched for forced labor in Mongolia. © AP KENJI KAWASE TOKYO -- Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will begin an official state visit to Mongolia on Sunday, casting a spotlight on the widely forgotten detention of thousands of Japanese soldiers and civilians in the last days of World War II. A highlight of their eight-day stay is a scheduled pilgrimage to a cemetery for Japanese nationals who died after they were seized by the Soviet Union from Manchuria and other former Japanese territories.
