A second Trump White House would seek to sharply reduce the power of U.S. financial regulators, according to a review of public documents and interviews with people allied with the former president. In the wake of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Congress dramatically expanded the U.S. government's oversight of the financial industry to prevent a repeat of the 2008 global banking meltdown. Donald Trump would likely renew his efforts to scale back those reforms, if elected, as well as pare protections for small-scale investors and borrowers, and allow companies to raise money with less scrutiny, according to the interviews and proposals from groups positioned to influence a new conservative administration. Reuters spoke with, among others, about a dozen people who have provided advice or been consulted by Trump or his allies. The Republican Party’s presumptive nominee has not announced a formal policy staff or released detailed positions on how he would regulate Wall Street, aside from short videos and snippets in campaign appearances. But, the sources told Reuters, a constellation of experts and Trump allies are pitching regulatory rewrites, identifying potential staff and floating ideas on TV, in op-eds and directly to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Some of the ideas in Trump’s current policy orbit have long circulated in conservative economic conversation. They include curtailing the Dodd-Frank Act, a set of post-2008 financial crisis rules intended to reduce systemic risk. Another idea is to make it easier for private companies to raise capital – in turn opening access to less transparent and more difficult-to-trade private funds and securities. More recent policy ideas include attacking environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments and disclosures, which help screen businesses based on socially conscious factors, or potential dramatic cuts to staff at regulators through a mechanism known as Schedule F, which would reclassify up to 50,000 civil servants across the government as easily-replaceable political appointees. Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said Trump had success in peeling back regulations during his administration. "President Trump's pro-growth, deregulatory agenda ignited the greatest economy in history,” Leavitt said in an email to Reuters. The Trump administration, with mixed success, opens new tab, worked to reverse a range of Obama-era rules, such as those that eased regulations for Wall Street banks or “fiduciary” rules for brokers. Excluding the immediate effects of the coronavirus pandemic, official data show unemployment at its lowest since the 1960s under both Trump and Biden. Though pandemic and other distortions can make comparisons difficult, in inflation-adjusted terms the U.S. economy grew more slowly in Trump’s first three years in office (8.1%) than under Biden (10.6%), according to Commerce Department data. Michael Faulkender, a former Trump Treasury official, has called publicly for scrapping bank stress testing, opens new tab under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act in favor of stronger capital requirements, saying that requiring banks to pass the same set of evaluations leaves the system open to collapse if they all run into the same problems at once. He is now chief economist at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), which was founded by former Trump officials. Asked about his policy positions, Faulkender pointed to his previous writing, opens new tab about ESG investing. “As the academic literature has documented, ESG is too much in the eye of the beholder,” he told Reuters. “Therefore, it can and has been used to deviate from the fiduciary duty that money managers have to their clients, and it has distracted financial supervisors from the safety and soundness criteria that should be used in ensuring the ongoing strength of the U.S. financial system.” TARGETING CLIMATE CHANGE RULES Robert Bowes, a former Trump appointee who has worked with the conservative Heritage Foundation, has called for the abolition, of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – created by the Dodd-Frank Act to police the lending industry at the federal level – and referred to the Securities and Exchange Commission as an “unaccountable meddling shakedown agency” that “uses its regulation to target political enemies, to ram through woke and radical green agenda.” In an email, Bowes told Reuters he was “very concerned about the disastrous bank regulation and economic policies by the Biden administration.” Asked about that characterization and others about burdensome regulations, a Biden White House spokesperson said congressional Republicans have pushed to continue Trump-era policies by “gutting life-saving regulations and legalizing predatory business practices,” thereby increasing risks to the financial system and the economy. It’s unclear what ideas Trump will take up, and what can become settled policy. But taken together, the ideas being promoted in conservative circles would overturn key aspects of current financial regulation. The changes would reverse reforms ranging from investor protections to risk management by the biggest banks, Brian D. Feinstein, an expert on financial regulation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, said of the policy proposals being floated for a second Trump administration. “It would upend the U.S.'s entire system of financial regulation,” he said. Campaign spokeswoman Leavitt characterized Biden’s administration as engaging in a "massive push to increase burdensome regulations, especially on our energy and auto industries." The Biden administration has pushed regulations to spur the use of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources, in addition to seeking fair lending requirements, increased investor disclosures and bank capital hikes. Trump has repeatedly said he wants much less regulation than now exists. A person who regularly speaks with him on economic matters said Trump would be “sure” to “go after all of this climate change stuff,” likely a nod to new corporate climate risk disclosure rules and ESG investments. Feinstein, the Wharton professor, said that some of the proposed policies from Trump’s allies would need to go through Congress, such as limiting the Dodd-Frank Act, making their fortunes uncertain. That will depend on the outcome of November’s elections in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Currently, Democrats control the Senate and Republicans have a narrow House majority. But agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose five-person bipartisan commission is appointed by the White House (usually one each year) and approved by the Senate, would have power to push through other proposals, such as those related to environmental reporting, Feinstein said. And bureaucratic changes such as expanding the definition of political appointees through Schedule F could have a major effect on financial regulators by removing job protections for many career professionals, compelling them to pursue the president’s preferences rather than their own independent judgment, he added. The Biden administration has maneuvered to slow such a move by Trump should he return to office. Even if Trump loses the election, the judicial appointments from his 2017-2021 presidency could change the legal landscape for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, with the Supreme Court considering challenges to the power of those agencies to issue regulations. THINK TANK TRANSITION The Heritage Foundation, the influential Washington-based conservative think tank, has positioned itself as central to getting the agenda through regardless. Heritage’s preparations, dubbed “Project 2025, opens new tab,” include a more-than-900-page book of policy ideas and an expansive database of pre-screened personnel. The group has compiled policy recommendations since the Reagan era, but the latest edition includes more detail on financial regulation than in 2016. Among Heritage’s policy authors is Stephen Moore, a conservative economist and longtime advisor to Trump who recently pitched him at Mar-a-Lago on candidates to lead the Federal Reserve. Moore proposes a transformation of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that would slash the Internal Revenue Service’s budget and terminate employees who have participated in diversity initiatives, among other things. Moore told Reuters he’d like to see “less of the regulators sticking their fingers in all these financial transactions, especially in areas like banking regulation,” singling out bank capital requirements in particular. A spokesperson at Heritage declined to comment. The America First Policy Institute, the nascent think tank led by Trump White House strategist Brooke Rollins, is also angling for influence. The group is home to more than 50 former Trump administration officials and staff, including Larry Kudlow, the FOX Business Network host and former White House economic adviser who remains close to Trump; Faulkender, who led the Covid-era Paycheck Protection Program at Treasury; and Robert Lighthizer, the former U.S. Trade Representative. The group has also written a high-level policy agenda, opens new tab and is “crafting action-oriented plans for each federal department and agency” as part of the “America First Transition Project, opens new tab.” A spokesman for AFPI said in an email that its Transition Project "is focused on unleashing American prosperity by implementing the America First Agenda." Lighthizer did not respond to a request for comment. POTENTIAL PERSONNEL Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in an emailed statement that there has been “no discussion” of potential personnel. But during a January campaign speech, opens new tab, Trump floated billionaire investor and donor John Paulson as a potential Treasury Secretary. Paulson has said, opens new tab he supports the “reduction of unnecessary regulation”; on Saturday, he hosted other major donors and Trump at his Palm Beach home, raising $50.5 million, according to the campaign. Trump wants Paulson to lead Treasury, and if not him, Scott Bessent, another investor and campaign contributor, according to a source familiar with internal conversations among Trump and his advisers. Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton is among other potential candidates for Trump’s Treasury team, according to two sources familiar with the situation, but considered a long shot. The consideration of Paulson, Bessent and Clayton was previously reported by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. Clayton, in an email to Reuters, said only that he expected the financial team in a new Trump administration would be similar to the first, which he said was “focused on lifting real wages, facilitating growth through domestic investment, and providing strong long term returns for retirees.” Paulson, in a statement to Reuters, said, "It’s too early to discuss any positions in President Trump’s administration." Bessent did not respond to a request for comment.   Source: Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would propose legislation in May for adults to "ask to be helped to die" when they are faced with terminal illnesses. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans for a bill to legalize medical assistance in dying for adults diagnosed with an incurable disease and facing imminent death. Macron told newspapers La Croix and Liberation that the new legislation to legalize "aid in dying" under certain conditions would be put forward in parliament in May. The bill will apply to adults who are fully capable of making decisions and to those facing "intractable" physical or psychological pain and death in "short or middle-term," Macron said. Minors and patients suffering from psychiatric or neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's will not be eligible. The move follows a report last year that indicated most French citizens support legalizing end-of-life options. Proposed law to give people humane options in death Macron gave the example of people with terminal cancer, some of whom had traveled elsewhere to seek assistance in dying. He was clear the legislation will refer to "aid in dying... becase its simple and humane" rather than terms like euthanasia or medically assisted suicide. The legislation is meant to offer "a possible path, in a determined situation, with precise criteria, where the medical decision is playing its role.” Only people above 18 will be allowed to request the help.

If the leaks and rumors are true, Beijing stands ready to launch a new and radical solution to the economy’s property crisis – a government takeover. What the authorities refer to as “a new model” would replace the old emphasis on ownership with more rentals and use government funds to buy up bankrupt properties so that in time the government’s role in real estate would rise from 5% of the market at present to 30%. Such an act would surely take the nation back to its communist roots if not quite the days of Mao Zedong. If it would veil the property crisis for a time, it would in the long run do tremendous damage to China’s economic prospects. It is not yet entirely clear what Xi Jinping and the CCP have planned. Indeed, Beijing has admitted that it has not yet worked out all the details. These, the authorities assure all, will be ironed out in time. From what material is presently available, Beijing will commit the equivalent of $280 billion a year for five years to buy up distressed private residential real estate developments and repurpose them as rental units. The plans also mention building still more units, some subsidized rentals, for a total of six million new units in 35 cities over the next five years. Beijing would impose severe restrictions on who could buy these apartments and would forbid purchasers from trading their units on the open market. Vice Premier He Lifeng, Xi’s chief economic policy aid, claims that the resulting enlarged government role in the area would help in two ways. It would allow Beijing to control excess supply, he claims, and put a floor under residential real estate prices. There is much room for doubts here. For one, it is far from apparent that Beijing has the financial resources to execute such plans or even the will to do so if it could find the resources. For another, China already has some seven million empty housing units, and the population is shrinking, leaving open the question of how six million additional units – rentals or otherwise – would control supply or put a floor under prices. Beijing’s ability to manage real estate also comes into question after considering how poorly the authorities have managed things to date. Prior to 2020, Beijing actively encouraged residential real estate development, pushing local authorities to get involved and ensuring easy credit terms for both developers and homebuyers. Private builders and speculators responded actively, taking on debt and pursuing increasingly dubious projects so that even as China was meeting its housing needs, such development reached the astronomical level of some 30% of China’s economy. Then in 2020, Beijing abruptly removed all this support. Not surprisingly, the highly leveraged and extended developers began failing almost immediately. Had Beijing known its business, it would have removed the support gradually so that developers, homebuyers, and local governments could adjust. It also would have provided liquidity to financial markets immediately after the first of these failures, which was the giant developer Evergrande. That could have blunted the ill effects of so much questionable debt on the books of bond holders and financial institutions. By providing special credits to developers, not to bail them out but to enable them to complete apartments for which they had contracted and already received payment, Beijing could have saved the investments of literally millions of Chinese households who had pre-bought apartments. Such a move would have bolstered the confidence of both Chines homeowners and homebuyers. Beijing’s ability to manage real estate also comes into question after considering how poorly the authorities have managed things to date. Prior to 2020, Beijing actively encouraged residential real estate development, pushing local authorities to get involved and ensuring easy credit terms for both developers and homebuyers. Private builders and speculators responded actively, taking on debt and pursuing increasingly dubious projects so that even as China was meeting its housing needs, such development reached the astronomical level of some 30% of China’s economy. Then in 2020, Beijing abruptly removed all this support. Not surprisingly, the highly leveraged and extended developers began failing almost immediately. Had Beijing known its business, it would have removed the support gradually so that developers, homebuyers, and local governments could adjust. It also would have provided liquidity to financial markets immediately after the first of these failures, which was the giant developer Evergrande. That could have blunted the ill effects of so much questionable debt on the books of bond holders and financial institutions. By providing special credits to developers, not to bail them out but to enable them to complete apartments for which they had contracted and already received payment, Beijing could have saved the investments of literally millions of Chinese households who had pre-bought apartments. Such a move would have bolstered the confidence of both Chines homeowners and homebuyers. After two years of zero effort, Beijing, late in 2023, offered tentative and inadequate palliatives, and now in the opening months of 2024 seems to have settled on a truly communist solution. Beijing’s gross mismanagement of the situation so far leaves little to no confidence in its plan to control a large portion of China’s housing stock. No doubt the huge amounts of cash involved, if Beijing can put it to work, will cloak the immediate effects of the property crisis, but otherwise, these plans will hamstring China’s growth model fundamentally and perhaps permanently. Wealth is the key consideration. In many ways homeownership provided the basis of China’s boom after Deng Xiaoping first opened the economy some 50 years ago. In Chinese culture but also globally, real estate constitutes the bulwark of household wealth. The dream of amassing it in China provided great motivation after the opening, and once that wealth began to grow, it encouraged spending and the use of credit, both of which spurred what turned out to be a truly outstanding record of economic growth. The importance of homeownership and the impetus it has provided is evident in the fact that more than 80% of Chinese households own their own home, a far higher percentage than in most developed economies, including the United States, where the figure is about 66%. The CCP’s seeming plan to emphasize rentals threatens this engine of growth and wealth creation. Even when permitting purchases, Beijing’s plan detracts from the wealth creation by forbidding trading the new units on the open market. Practically speaking, this policy makes those units less like home ownership and family wealth and more like a rental with a very long lease. If these plans go into effect and still worse if Beijing builds on them, China will face much worse economic problems in the future than it does today. Xi and his cronies in the Forbidden City will have shut down a critical engine of economic motivation and growth.  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented his plan for governing Gaza after the war, which involves full military control and shutting down the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA. Here's what we know so far. For the first time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented his Security Cabinet with a plan for managing the Gaza Strip after the end of the war against the militant Islamist group Hamas. The Israel-Hamas war began after the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7. According to Israeli figures, around 1,160 people were killed and some 250 hostages were taken to Gaza. Israel believes that around 130 hostages are still being held by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, Israel and other states. The Palestinian death toll since the start of the war has exceeded 29,500, with close to 70,000 wounded, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Widespread destruction has led to dire humanitarian conditions. Who will govern? The loosely worded plan states that Gaza should be administered by "local officials" who have administrative experience, and would "not be identified with countries or entities that support terrorism and will not receive payment from them." The Palestinian Authority, which currently governs the occupied West Bank, is not mentioned in the paper, but also not explicitly ruled out. Israeli military to handle security According to national dailies The Times of Israel and Haaretz, the Israeli military would take over security control of the entire Gaza Strip. This would mean the dismantling of all Hamas military structures and grant unlimited freedom for Israeli military operations. Media reports also said Israel hopes a new road dividing the Gaza Strip into north and south would improve security control. But observers fear Israel could also use this road to prevent Palestinian refugees who fled to the south at the beginning of the war from returning to the north. Haaretz reported that the plan also includes the establishment of a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel, which would be controlled by the Israeli army, with no civilians allowed to return. Such a buffer zone would reduce the already cramped habitable area in the enclave. Israel also wants to operate a "southern closure" on the border between Egypt and Gaza to curb smuggling into the area, The Times of Israel reported. An end to the UNRWA? Another postwar aim is the closure of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which Netanyahu has accused of being infiltrated by Hamas. He has alleged that several employees of the aid organization were involved in the October 7 attacks. The UN has dismissed those in question and initiated internal investigations. Meanwhile, a number of countries, including the United States and Germany, have suspended their payments to UNRWA. Far-right demands Netanyahu did not accommodate demands made by far-right ministers in his cabinet. Among other things, they had called for Gaza to be used for Israeli settlers. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had also called for the Palestinian population to be settled outside Gaza. The prime minister had already rejected the idea to use the Gaza Strip for settlements in January. The plan was criticized by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said that expanding settlements in Palestinian territories would prevent peace. No two-state solution Netanyahu continues to reject a two-state solution, despite urging from international supporters including the US. Washington has also backed a reorganized Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas, who would be tasked with taking back the administration of Gaza. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority rejected Netanyahu's plan. "Gaza will only be part of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," he said, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. "If the world wants security and stability in the region, it must end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and recognize the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," he added.

As visitor numbers swell, Japan's highest and most iconic mountain has seen trash problems and more injuries among inexperienced and poorly equipped climbers. With the limited facilities on the summit already at breaking point, rubbish piling up and concern over rising numbers of injuries, the local government that oversees one of the most popular hiking routes to the top of Japan's iconic Mount Fuji is imposing a toll and a daily cap on the number of climbers.    Yamanashi prefectural government announced in late December that a limit of 4,000 climbers per day would be introduced on the popular Yoshida Trail, on the northern flank of the mountain, at the start of the 70-day summer climbing season on July 1.   Announcing the plan, Governor Kotaro Nagasaki told a press conference on December 20 that several additional regulations would also be imposed, including not permitting more climbers to set off from the start of the trail between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. and the introduction of a toll to help cover the cost of maintaining hiking routes and the construction of shelters to be used in the event of an eruption.     The cost of using the Yoshida Trail is likely to be set in February, the Asahi newspaper quoted the governor as saying.    Congested trails "This is a measure to alleviate congestion on the trail, as previous surveys have shown that excessive crowding occurs near the summit when the number of climbers exceeds 4,000," he said.   The plans have the broad support of guiding organizations and other groups dedicated to preserving the environment of the 3,776-meter (12,388-foot) volcano, which is still revered in Japan as a symbol of the nation and was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2013.  "Limiting the number of climbers is both good and bad," said Tatsuo Nanai, secretary general of the Fuji-san Club, a non-profit organization set up to protect the mountain and educate visitors.   "Introducing a limit on the number of climbers and charging them may put some people off coming here, and that could damage the local economy, but on the other hand, there are a number of problems that need to be solved before they become much worse," he told DW. "One big problem is the rubbish people leave behind," he added. "We have signs up asking people to take their waste with them when they go, but not everyone does. So that means organizations such as ours spend time there picking up trash." There is also only a very limited number of public toilets on the mountain, Nanai said, with deposits of human waste also building up.  He also believes that the authorities are correct to be worried about the possibility of hikers being injured — or worse — on the peak.   Safety fears  "Mount Fuji can be very dangerous. I don't think most people realize just how dangerous it can be," he said. "This is the highest peak in Japan and, at the highest elevations, people can feel the effects of oxygen deprivation and altitude sickness."  Equally, many people start climbing at an altitude where the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer are still very much being felt and do not realize the changes that are in store as they climb higher. There are regular reports of people starting out in beach sandals, shorts and T-shirts and finding themselves in danger when temperatures dip below freezing and powerful winds howl across the barren slopes of the mountain.   Luke Cummings, joint owner of Fuji Mountain Guides, agrees that Mount Fuji can be unforgiving.   "A couple of years ago there was a rock fall close to the peak and a climber was killed and I guess there are fatalities every couple of years, often an older person suffering a heart attack," he said.   The authorities are hoping to stamp out what is termed "bullet climbing," said Cummings, who has guided groups to the top of Mount Fuji well over 100 times.   Bullet climbers typically set out in the late afternoon or early evening and climb through the night, not stopping to rest at any of the huts provided to offer respite from the weather and enable climbers to sleep for a couple of hours.   They aim to reach the peak shortly before sunrise, although getting the timing right is notoriously difficult, Cummings said. For those who arrive too early, there is no shelter and temperatures are well below freezing. Climbers approaching the peak late often get caught in a crush of people trying to complete the route before the sun appears. Both situations are potentially dangerous, he said.   A total of 221,322 people climbed Mount Fuji in the summer of 2023, of whom 137,236 spent around six hours climbing the Yoshida Trail, with the others utilizing three less congested trails.    "The Yoshida Trail is the most popular route and this is why the prefectural government is looking into limiting numbers," said Cummings. "If it results in better facilities on the routes then I think it will be a good thing. It is likely that the prefectures that host the other trails to the top will introduce similar systems in the future as well."

Pyongyang has carried out a record amount of missile tests this year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that it was a "mistake" to try to reunify with Seoul and warned of the risk of "war" in the peninsula. North Korea plans to launch three satellites in 2024, state media reported on Sunday. Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that it is a "mistake" to pursue unification with the south. Pyongyang announces satellite plan at party meeting "The task of launching three additional reconnaissance satellites in 2024 was declared" as one of the key policy decisions for 2024 at a party meeting, the KCNA news agency said. The meeting lasted for five days and was attended by Kim. North Korea has carried out a record number of weapons tests in 2023 and aims to increase its military capabilities. This month, it launched its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea also announced plans to build unmanned drones and develop electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to strengthen nuclear and missile forces. Japan, South Korea and Washington have stepped up cooperation in reaction to Pyongyang's increased missile tests. The three countries have recently activated a system to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches. North Korea has previously described Washington's participation in joint drills on the Korean peninsula as a "provocation." Kim dismisses unification with south, warns of 'war' North Korea's leader said that Pyongyang would no longer seek unification with Seoul. "I believe that it is a mistake that we should no longer make to consider the people who declare us as the 'main enemy'... as someone to seek reconciliation and unification with," Kim was cited by KCNA as saying. "Because of reckless moves by the enemies to invade us, it is a fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula," he said. He accused Washington of posing "various types of military threat" and ordered North Korea's military to maintain "overwhelming war response capability." "We must respond quickly to a possible nuclear crisis and continue to accelerate preparations to pacify the entire territory of South Korea by mobilising all physical means and forces, including nuclear force, in case of emergency," he said. "If we look closely at the confrontational military actions by the enemy forces .... the word 'war' has become a realistic reality and not an abstract concept," Kim said. He said that South Korea had been transformed into a "forward military base and nuclear arsenal" of the United States.

To maintain deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and assist India in bolstering its defence modernisation plans, the United States is deploying cutting-edge military capabilities to its allies. Calling 2023 a 'decisive year', the US Department of Defence, in an official release has stated that it is supporting allies and partners as they invest in their capabilities. "Bolstering India's defence modernization plans, including by advancing the priorities outlined in the Roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation," the release read. Under the US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation, both nations will co-produce fighter jet engines and Stryker armoured vehicles, as well as launch the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) to promote partnerships between US and Indian researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors. "The United States is joining together with Indo-Pacific allies and partners in ways that strengthen peace and security across the region, including by operating together like never before," the US Defence Department release said. It said that India is modernizing the scope of its military engagements. "India, modernizing the scope our military engagements including by incorporating advanced fighter aircraft and strategic bombers in our exercises, which strengthens interoperability and highlights shared efforts to promote stability and security in the Indo-Pacific," the release read. The Defence Department's year-ender fact sheet also highlighted the defence Exercise MALABAR of the US with India, Japan, and Australia. It was hosted in Australia for the first time this year and facilitated high-end training in anti-submarine exercises, communications, and air defence. "The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including through capacity-building programs and training courses to support the incorporation of Women, Peace, and Security principles into regional security planning and operations, as well as an emerging leaders fellowship program for young civilian and defence leaders in the Indo-Pacific," the release said, pointing to several training courses that take place to ensure the security of the Indo-Pacific region. "Investing over USD 1.2 billion in security cooperation initiatives across the Indo-Pacific region, including one of the largest US investments in history to bolster Indo-Pacific partners' capability and capacity, maritime domain awareness, and resilience against coercion," the release added. Throughout 2023, the US collaborated with allies and partners to accomplish ground-breaking results for peace, stability, and deterrence in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. As Secretary Austin has said, "In this decisive decade, 2023 will be remembered as a decisive year for implementing U.S. defence strategy in Asia." In the recently concluded India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, both New Delhi and Washington reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the multifaceted defence partnership between the two nations. The pledge included a comprehensive approach, encompassing extensive dialogues, increasingly complex military exercises, and the acceleration of joint projects initiated under the June 2023 Roadmap for India-US Defence Industrial Cooperation. The Ministers commended the breadth of partnerships under the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) since the initiative was launched in June 2023. The ministers specifically welcomed the Investors Strategy Session convened in New Delhi on November 8, 2023. The event provided an opportunity for private investors to mobilize capital to fund innovation in cutting-edge technology to address critical security needs. The India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a diplomatic summit held every year since 2018, with the Minister of External Affairs and the Defence Minister representing India while the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defence represent the United States. During the Ministerial dialogue, the ministers further welcomed the launch of the INDUS-X Gurukul Education series to enable startups to leverage opportunities in the defence ecosystems of India and the United States. They also took note of the recent launch of the INDUS-X joint challenges initiative, which will unleash the talent and innovative drive of commercial sectors in both countries to strengthen the respective defence industry ecosystems, a joint statement of the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue said.   Source: Business Standard  

North Korea told Japan it would launch a satellite between November 22 and December 1. The announcement comes as US aircraft carrier arrives in the South Korean port of Busan. North Korea has notified Japan that it plans to launch a rocket carrying a military satellite in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, the Japanese government said on Tuesday.  The third attempt to send the reconnaissance satellite into orbit — following two failed attempts earlier in the year — is set to take place at some point between November 22 and December 1. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan was coordinating its response with its partners South Korea and the US, and that the use of any ballistic missile technology would be a breach of UN resolutions. How did North Korea's neighbors react? North Korea notified Japan, as the coordinating authority for the International Maritime Organization for those waters, of its plans all three times. Kishida condemned the announcement and said he had instructed government agencies "to make utmost efforts in collecting information and providing it to the Japanese people, to demand cancellation of the launch in cooperation with relevant countries, and to make utmost efforts in preparing for unpredictable situations." South Korea responded to the announcement by warning its northern neighbor against carrying out the planned launch. It also issued a sail warning. "We sternly warn North Korea to... immediately suspend the current preparations to launch a military spy satellite," Kang Ho-pil, chief director of operations at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday. "If North Korea goes ahead with the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite despite our warning, our military will take necessary measures to guarantee the lives and safety of the people," he added. The announcement also coincided with the arrival of US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in the South Korean port of Busan. The vessel had been sent to increase preparedness against missile threats from Pyongyang. North Korea's satellite plans The launch follows a rare trip to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September. He visited a modern space launch center, where Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would assist Pyongyang with building satellites. North Korea wants to put a military spy satellite into orbit, as it wishes to monitor moves by US and South Korean troops. Since North Korea conducted its first nuclear weapons testin 2006, the UN Security Council adopted several resolutions calling for it to halt nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Earlier this week, North Korea denounced the potential US sale of hundreds of missiles to Japan and South Korea, saying it would raise tensions in the region. North Korea has earlier made attempts to launch "observation" satellites, of which two appeared to have successfully reached orbit including one in 2016. However, Seoul officials have raised doubts about whether they are transmitting any signals.

Efforts to rescue workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in the Indian Himalayas have stretched into a second week. Officials believe they only have four or five days to save the men. Indian rescuers were on Sunday considering new ways to save 41 workers trapped in the northern state of Uttarakhand.They became stranded when a highway tunnel they were building partially collapsed last Sunday, trapping them inside. Since then, rescuers have been trying to drill a hole to reach the workers, but that work stopped when the drilling machine broke on Friday.A new drill has been flown in, but operations were on hold because of a risk of collapse.The rescue team was considering alternative plans, including digging a new shaft from above with two possible routes. Rescue operation could drag on for days  Bhaskar Khulbe, a senior government official involved in the rescue operations, said that teams are exploring all options to save the workers. "We have no shortage of resources, options, and methods," Khulbe said late Saturday. He added that rescuers were looking at "a maximum of four to five days" to free the men. Conditions for the trapped workers are grim Relatives of those trapped, who have spoken to the men via radio, said conditions were grim and morale low. "They are in tears... they have started asking us whether we are lying about the rescue efforts being made to save them," one relative told reporters. Rescuers have provided the trapped workers with food, water, oxygen, and medicine through a pipe. 

Tech giant Elon Musk said on Sunday that his proposed fight with Meta head Mark Zuckerberg would be live-streamed on his social media platform X, previously known as Twitter. Amid the professional competition between them, the duo have been egging each other into a mixed martial art cage fight since June. Quite how serious both sides are about the proposal isn't clear as most communications regarding it have been jocular. No date has been set for the fight but Musk had suggested the Las Vegas Octagon, an events center where mixed martial arts (MMA) championships are often held. The build up to 'Zuck v Musk' Musk and Zuckerberg continued mimicking boxers taunting their opponents in the build-up to a fight over the weekend.  Musk said that the Twitter website he bought and is now trying to rebrand as X would livestream the fight and that "All proceeds will go to charity for veterans."  Zuckerberg's riposte, meanwhile, was posted on his rival site Threads, and questioned whether X would have a large enough reach.  "Shouldn't we use a more reliable platform that can actually raise money for charity?," he asked.  Zuckerberg, also appeared to question whether Musk, who has a habit of issuing social media comments with his tongue in his cheek, was serious about the fight.  He suggested an August 26 date, and said "I'm ready today... but [Musk] hasn't confirmed."  The 39-year-old is a mixed martial arts enthusiast who has taken part in several ju-jitsu competitions, and Zuckerberg said on Sunday: "I love this sport and will continue competing with people who train no matter what happens here."  A history of sparring The maelstrom began when Musk in June provoked Zuckerberg by asking him if he was "up for a cage fight." Zuckerberg in return asked Musk to "send location," which was when Musk first suggested Vegas. Over the years, the giants have clashed on several issues ranging from politics to artificial intelligence. In early July, the duo became direct competitors after Meta launched a Twitter-like platform called Threadswhich rapidly drew 120 million users, according to Quiver Quantitative.