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Focus on Cyber Warfare and Fraud-
How do multinational companies protect themselves from state-sponsored cyber espionage?
Multinational companies face a unique and elevated threat from state-sponsored cyber espionage due to their vast intellectual property, critical infrastructure dependencies, global reach, and often, involvement in strategic industries.
Protecting themselves requires a comprehensive, multi-layered, and continuously evolving cybersecurity strategy that goes beyond standard defenses.

Here are the key ways multinational companies protect themselves:

1. Robust Foundational Cybersecurity:
Before anything else, strong basic cybersecurity hygiene is paramount. State-sponsored actors often exploit common weaknesses.

Patch Management: Aggressive and immediate patching of all software, operating systems, and network devices, especially for known exploited vulnerabilities (N-day exploits). This includes out-of-band updates.

Strong Access Controls:
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Mandatory MFA for all employees, especially for remote access, cloud services, and privileged accounts. Hardware tokens are often preferred for highly sensitive access.

Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP): Granting users and systems only the minimum access rights necessary to perform their functions.

Privileged Access Management (PAM): Solutions to secure, manage, and monitor privileged accounts.

Network Segmentation: Dividing the network into isolated zones to limit lateral movement if a part of the network is compromised. Critical data and operational technology (OT) networks should be completely segregated.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) / Extended Detection and Response (XDR): Deploying advanced solutions to continuously monitor, detect, and respond to threats on endpoints (laptops, servers) and across the broader IT ecosystem.

Data Encryption: Encrypting data at rest and in transit, especially sensitive intellectual property and customer data.

2. Advanced Threat Detection and Intelligence:
State-sponsored groups are stealthy; proactive detection is crucial.

Behavioral Analytics & Anomaly Detection: Implementing tools that use AI and machine learning to establish baselines of "normal" user and network behavior, and then flag deviations that could indicate a compromise.

Threat Hunting Teams (Red Teaming/Blue Teaming): Employing internal or external teams to proactively search for hidden threats within the network, rather than just reacting to alerts. This includes simulating attacks (red teaming) to test defenses.

Comprehensive Logging and Monitoring: Centralized collection and analysis of logs from all systems, applications, and network devices to identify suspicious activity.

Threat Intelligence Integration: Subscribing to and actively consuming high-quality threat intelligence feeds from government agencies (like CISA, NCSC), cybersecurity vendors, and industry-specific ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers). This intelligence provides insights into the latest TTPs of state-sponsored actors, enabling proactive defense.

Dark Web Monitoring: Monitoring for mentions of the company, its employees, or stolen data on underground forums.

3. Supply Chain and Third-Party Risk Management:
State-sponsored actors often target weaker links in the supply chain.

Thorough Vendor Due Diligence: Rigorous cybersecurity assessments of all third-party vendors, suppliers, and partners, especially those with access to sensitive systems or data. This includes contractual security requirements.

Continuous Monitoring of Third-Parties: Not just a one-time assessment, but ongoing monitoring of third-party security postures and potential vulnerabilities in their products or services.

Supply Chain Visibility: Mapping the entire digital supply chain to understand dependencies and identify potential weak points.

Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs): Requiring SBOMs from software vendors to understand all components (including open-source) in their products and track potential vulnerabilities.

4. Human Element and Insider Threat Mitigation:
Employees are often the primary target for initial access.

Security Awareness Training: Regular, up-to-date, and engaging training for all employees on phishing, social engineering tactics, safe Browse, and reporting suspicious activity. Tailored training for executives and high-value targets (HVT) is essential.

Phishing Simulations: Conducting frequent and varied phishing simulations to test employee vigilance and reinforce training.

Insider Threat Programs: Establishing programs to detect and mitigate risks from malicious or unwitting insiders, including monitoring user behavior and data access patterns.

5. Incident Response and Resilience:
Assuming compromise is inevitable, preparation is key.

Well-Defined Incident Response Plan: A detailed, tested, and regularly updated plan for how to detect, contain, eradicate, and recover from a state-sponsored cyberattack. This includes clear roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols.

Secure Backups: Regular, encrypted, and offline backups of critical data and systems to ensure recovery from destructive attacks.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) Plans: Comprehensive plans to maintain essential business operations even during and after a significant cyber incident.

Post-Incident Analysis: Conducting thorough post-mortem analyses after any incident to learn lessons and improve defenses.

6. Collaboration with Government and Intelligence Agencies:
Governments often have unique insights into nation-state threats.

Information Sharing: Actively participating in information-sharing initiatives with government cybersecurity agencies (e.g., CISA in the US, NCSC in the UK), industry-specific ISACs, and threat intelligence alliances.

Trusted Relationships: Building direct, trusted relationships with relevant government cyber defense and intelligence agencies to facilitate rapid two-way sharing of classified or sensitive threat intelligence.

Reporting Incidents: Urgently reporting suspected state-sponsored cyberattacks to relevant government authorities to aid in national defense and enable coordinated responses.

By implementing these advanced and comprehensive measures, multinational companies can significantly enhance their resilience against state-sponsored cyber espionage, protect their valuable assets, and maintain their competitive edge in a contested digital landscape.

How do cyber operations from groups in Iran and Vietnam compare in tactics and targets?
While both Iranian and Vietnamese cyber groups engage in state-sponsored cyber operations, their primary motivations, geopolitical contexts, and consequently, their tactics and targets, differ significantly.

Iranian Cyber Groups (e.g., APT33/Elfin, APT34/OilRig, APT35/Charming Kitten, MuddyWater)
Main Motives:
Iran's cyber activities are strongly driven by its geopolitical aspirations, regional rivalries (especially with Saudi Arabia and Israel), and desire to counter international sanctions. Their motivations include:

Espionage: Gathering intelligence on political, military, and economic developments, particularly in the Middle East, U.S., Europe, and Israel.

Disruption and Retaliation: Disrupting critical infrastructure, especially against perceived adversaries (e.g., in response to sanctions or political actions). They are willing to engage in destructive attacks.

Influence Operations: Spreading propaganda, manipulating public opinion, and sowing discord in rival nations.

Intellectual Property Theft (Secondary): While they do engage in this, it's often more opportunistic or tied to specific military/dual-use technologies rather than broad economic development.

Internal Control: Surveillance and repression of dissidents, both domestically and abroad.

Tactics:
Iranian groups often leverage a blend of technical sophistication and social engineering.

Aggressive Spear-Phishing & Social Engineering: Highly sophisticated and persistent phishing campaigns are a hallmark. They often impersonate legitimate entities (journalists, academics, government officials, recruiters) to build trust and trick targets into revealing credentials or downloading malware. They're known for using compromised accounts for further phishing.

Exploitation of Known Vulnerabilities: They are quick to exploit newly disclosed vulnerabilities (N-days) in widely used software and internet-facing systems (VPNs, firewalls, Exchange servers) to gain initial access.

Living Off The Land (LotL) & OSINT: They frequently use legitimate system tools (PowerShell, RDP, Mimikatz) and open-source intelligence (OSINT) to evade detection and understand victim networks.

Web Shells & Backdoors: Deployment of web shells for persistent access and custom backdoors.

Destructive Malware/Wipers: Iranian groups have a history of deploying destructive malware (e.g., Shamoon, ZeroCleare) to wipe data and disable systems, particularly against targets in the energy and industrial sectors.

Hybrid Operations: Increasingly, they combine hacking and data theft with information operations, leaking stolen data online, and using social media for amplification and harassment.

Ransomware (Collaborative/Opportunistic): While not their primary goal like North Korea, some Iranian groups have been observed collaborating with cybercriminal ransomware affiliates or directly deploying ransomware for financial gain or disruption.

Targets:
Middle East Region: Heavily focused on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (especially Saudi Arabia, UAE), Israel, and other regional rivals.

Government & Military: Foreign ministries, defense contractors, intelligence agencies, and government officials, particularly those involved in nuclear policy, sanctions, or regional security.

Energy Sector (Oil & Gas): A long-standing target for both espionage and potential disruption, reflecting Iran's strategic interests.

Critical Infrastructure (OT/ICS): Increasing focus on industrial control systems and operational technology, potentially for pre-positioning or disruptive attacks.

Telecommunications & Financial Services: For intelligence gathering and network access.

Journalists, Academics, Dissidents, Human Rights Activists: Both within Iran and among the diaspora, for surveillance and repression.

Vietnamese Cyber Groups (e.g., APT32/OceanLotus, APT30/Naikon)
Main Motives:
Vietnamese cyber operations are strongly linked to national economic development, protecting sovereignty claims (especially in the South China Sea), and maintaining political stability.

Economic Espionage: Stealing intellectual property, trade secrets, and competitive intelligence to support Vietnamese industries and accelerate economic growth. This is a very significant motivation.

Political Espionage: Gathering intelligence on foreign governments, political organizations, and diplomats relevant to Vietnam's geopolitical interests, particularly concerning regional rivals and partners.

Surveillance and Monitoring: Tracking and monitoring political dissidents, journalists, NGOs, and foreign entities perceived as a threat to the ruling party or national stability.

South China Sea Disputes: Gaining intelligence on rival claimants and international actors involved in the South China Sea disputes.

Tactics:
Vietnamese groups often demonstrate high levels of sophistication and persistence, with a focus on long-term access and stealth.

Sophisticated Spear-Phishing: Highly customized and contextualized spear-phishing emails, often impersonating trusted contacts or organizations, are a primary initial access vector.

Watering Hole Attacks: Compromising websites frequented by specific targets and implanting malware to infect visitors.

Custom Malware and Backdoors: Development and use of sophisticated custom malware (Remote Access Trojans, info-stealers) designed for covert data exfiltration and persistent access.

Exploitation of Zero-Day and N-Day Vulnerabilities: While less frequent than Iranian groups' aggressive N-day exploitation, they are capable of exploiting zero-days.

Supply Chain Attacks: There have been instances where Vietnamese groups have targeted software or hardware vendors to compromise their clients downstream.

Leveraging Cloud Services: Using legitimate cloud services for command and control (C2) or data exfiltration to blend in with normal network traffic.

Evasion Techniques: Employing various techniques to avoid detection by security software, including code obfuscation and anti-analysis checks.

Targets:
Southeast Asian Governments: Particularly those involved in the South China Sea disputes, for political intelligence.

Foreign Businesses & Multinational Corporations: Across various sectors (e.g., automotive, media, hospitality, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, e-commerce) for economic espionage and IP theft.

Political Dissidents & Human Rights Activists: Both domestic and international, for surveillance and control.

Journalists and NGOs: Especially those reporting on Vietnam or human rights issues.

Critical Infrastructure (Limited Public Reporting): While less publicly highlighted than Iranian or Chinese groups, there have been some reports of Vietnamese groups targeting critical infrastructure, but often for intelligence gathering rather than overt disruption.

Comparison Summary:
Feature- Iranian Cyber Groups----
Primary Motive- Geopolitical influence, regional rivalries, countering sanctions, disruption, espionage, retaliation.
Willingness for Disruption- High – known for destructive attacks/wipers.
Key Regions of Focus- Middle East (GCC, Israel), U.S., Europe.
Tactics Emphasis- Aggressive spear-phishing, N-day exploitation, LotL, web shells, destructive malware, information operations.
Financial Crime- Opportunistic ransomware or collaboration with criminals.

Vietnamese Cyber Groups-
Primary Motive-
Economic development (IP theft), political espionage (Sovereignty, South China Sea), internal control.
Willingness for Disruption-
Lower – focus on stealth, long-term access, and data exfiltration, less on overt disruption.
Key Regions of Focus-
Southeast Asia (ASEAN), U.S. (related to economic/political ties).
Tactics Emphasis-
Sophisticated spear-phishing, custom malware, watering holes, supply chain (less common), long-term stealth, cloud usage.
Financial Crime-Less prominent, but some engagement in cybercrime for revenue.

Export to Sheets-
In essence, Iranian groups are more overt and willing to engage in destructive actions driven by immediate geopolitical tensions, while Vietnamese groups are generally more focused on stealthy, long-term espionage and IP theft to support national development and strategic interests in their region.

Is the World and mainstream media Rewarding Hamas for Its Atrocities and condemning Israel for defending itself? (Part1)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HAMAS SURRENDER NOW- WAR GOES ON UNTIL HAMAS SURRENDER.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The claim that the world and mainstream media are "rewarding Hamas" and "condemning Israel for defending itself" is a highly contentious issue with various perspectives. An analysis of global media coverage and international responses reveals a complex landscape.

Regarding media coverage:
Accusations of Bias: There are widespread and often opposing accusations of bias in media coverage of the conflict. Some critics argue that Western mainstream media often downplays Palestinian suffering and disproportionately focuses on Israeli narratives, while others contend that the media is overly critical of Israel and presents a one-sided view that favors the Palestinian cause.

Differing Terminology: The language used by media outlets is a frequent point of contention. Some outlets have been criticized for using more emotive language like "massacre" or "slaughter" when describing Israeli casualties, but not when reporting on Palestinian deaths.

Access and Censorship: Israel has been criticized for imposing restrictions on international journalists' access to Gaza, leading many news organizations to rely on local Palestinian journalists and freelancers. This has raised concerns about the ability of the media to provide a complete and unfiltered picture of events.

Focus on Humanitarian Crisis: A significant portion of recent media coverage has focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including reports of starvation and the high number of civilian casualties. This has led to international condemnation of Israel's military actions and calls for a ceasefire.

Regarding international responses:
Initial Condemnation of Hamas: Following the initial attacks by Hamas, many countries, particularly Western nations, strongly condemned the actions of Hamas, expressed solidarity with Israel, and affirmed Israel's right to self-defense.

Growing Criticism of Israel: As the conflict has progressed, a growing number of countries and international bodies have become increasingly critical of Israel's military campaign. This criticism is often linked to the high number of Palestinian casualties, the humanitarian situation, and Israeli military plans for Gaza.

Calls for a Ceasefire: The United Nations and many countries have repeatedly called for a ceasefire or a humanitarian pause. These calls are often driven by concerns about civilian lives and the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

Lack of a Unified "International Community": It's important to note that there isn't a single "international community" with a unified voice. Responses to the conflict vary widely, with different countries and organizations taking diverse positions based on their political alignments, historical ties, and domestic public opinion.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The question of why various groups are not calling for Hamas to surrender and release all hostages, dead or alive, is complex and has multiple facets. While many countries and international bodies have indeed made such calls, there are several reasons why this is not a universally adopted or consistently emphasized position.

1. The "All or Nothing" Stance of the Parties Involved:
Hamas's Position: Hamas has consistently stated that a full release of hostages is contingent on a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners. For Hamas, the hostages are a primary bargaining chip to achieve its political and military objectives. From its perspective, surrendering and releasing hostages without these concessions would be a complete loss and negate its strategic advantage.

Israel's Position: Israel's stated war aims have been the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities and the return of all hostages. However, some critics argue that Israel's actions, such as rejecting certain ceasefire proposals and expanding military operations, have not always prioritized the return of hostages, suggesting that other goals like territorial control or the "dismantling" of Hamas are also major drivers. The Israeli government has been criticized for not accepting deals that would secure hostage release in exchange for ending military operations, with some claiming that this demonstrates that the return of hostages is not its central priority.

2. The Role of Ceasefire Negotiations:
Mediated Diplomacy: The focus of many international actors, including the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, has been on brokering a ceasefire deal that includes a phased release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a temporary pause in fighting. This approach is seen as a more realistic path to securing the hostages' release than demanding an unconditional surrender, which Hamas has repeatedly rejected. The goal is to create a pathway for de-escalation and humanitarian aid, not to achieve a total military victory for one side.

Hamas's Perceived Leverage: For many international observers, a call for an unconditional surrender is seen as an unrealistic demand that would likely be ignored by Hamas. This is because the group views the hostages as its most valuable asset in the negotiation process. Many believe that such a call would not only be ineffective but could also prolong the conflict and endanger the lives of the remaining hostages.

3. Political and Public Opinion Dynamics:
Diverse Views on the Conflict: The international community is not a monolith. Different countries have different relationships with Israel and the Palestinians, and their domestic political landscapes shape their official positions. Many countries that are critical of Israel's military actions are more inclined to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, which they believe is the only way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, rather than focusing solely on a call for Hamas's surrender.

Differing Objectives: While many people around the world want to see the hostages released, many also believe that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the long-term conflict are the more pressing issues. As a result, their calls for action are focused on a cessation of hostilities and the delivery of aid, rather than a demand for Hamas's surrender. Some observers believe that Hamas's actions, while condemned, have strategically brought the Palestinian cause back to the forefront of global conversation, which for some is a more significant development than the group's surrender.

In short, while calls for Hamas to release the hostages are indeed made by many, the absence of a universal call for unconditional surrender is a reflection of the complex realities on the ground, the perceived futility of such a demand, the strategic priorities of the key actors, and the diverse perspectives within the international community regarding the conflict.

How to Implement AI‑Powered Product Recommendations in an Amazon clone app

What if your app could predict what users want, before they even type in a search? That’s the power of AI recommendations. Do you want to know how to implement AI-powered product recommendations in your Amazon clone? Here are some steps. Let's dive in.
What is AI-Powered Recommendation?
An artificially intelligent system that makes real-time product recommendations to consumers based on their interests, behaviour, and previous purchases is known as an AI-powered recommendation system in e-commerce. AI customises the shopping experience to boost sales, engagement, and customer satisfaction rather than displaying the same product list to every user.
Types of recommendation strategies:
1. Collaborative Filtering
Collaborative Filtering is a recommendation strategy that recommends products based on user activity and preferences rather than product information in an Amazon-like app.

User-based collaborative filtering detects folks who share similar interests. If a user likes a product, it will be recommended to another person who shares their interests.

Item-based collaborative filtering: This type of filtering shows recommendations based on similarities. For example, it recommends a phone case to the people who purchased New phones.

2. Content-based Filtering:
Content-based filtering recommends products based on the traits or features that the customer has previously purchased. For example, if you frequently buy or see bags, the algorithm would suggest alternatives or products with comparable characteristics such as brand, style, price range, or material.
3. Hybrid Filtering:
Hybrid filtering blends collaborative filtering, which proposes products based on the preferences of other users, with content-based filtering, which recommends items similar to those a user has previously liked. This strategy takes advantage of both methods' strengths while correcting their faults, yielding more accurate and personalised recommendations.
4. Trending and popular items:
In an Amazon clone website, Trending or Popular Items recommendations highlight things that are currently best-sellers, most viewed, or highly rated throughout the platform or within a category. Helping consumers find popular, in-demand items while increasing interaction and revenue.
5. Personalized rankings:
Personalized rankings reorder the search results or other lists of items based on users' preferences and behaviour. Instead of showing the same products to every user, it improves the user experience and increases the platform engagement.
Implementing AI-powered recommendations in an Amazon clone app:
Implement AI-powered suggestions in your Amazon clone. You should concentrate on collecting data, selecting the best AI solution, and optimising recommendations.
1. Data Collection and analysis:
Collect vast data: Gather the users' purchase history, product preferences, browsing habits, and product interactions such as clicks, add to cart, and reviews. Collecting these diverse data points provides a detailed picture of each customer's interests and habits.

2. Choosing the Right AI Solution:
Utilise data points: Analyse individual consumer preferences, detect bigger trends across users, and create dynamic customer profiles that evolve as new data is received.

Ensure data privacy: When developing AI-powered product suggestions, you must protect the privacy and security of user data. Encryption, secure servers, and access controls can all help to protect user data from unauthorised access. This is especially important when dealing with sensitive information such as purchasing history, behaviour, or personal details.

Consider Your Needs: Before deciding on an AI recommendation, you should first understand your business goals, budget, and technical resources.

Investigate diverse AI models: There are several recommendation models, each with a unique function. There are three types of filtering: collaborative, content-based, and hybrid.

Look for user-friendly options: If you're not ready to start from scratch with an Amazon clone website, look for choices that are easy to use. Many e-commerce platforms have built-in AI recommendation algorithms or third-party applications.
3. Implementing and optimizing recommendations:

Integrate cross-platform: Ensure that your recommendations are consistent and personalised across all platforms, including the website, email marketing, mobile app, and even customer support chat. This will improve the user experience and maintain personalisation seamlessly.

Use various formats: Use several recommendation styles, such as pop-ups and inline sections, to keep shoppers' attention at different phases of their purchasing journey.

A/B testing and optimisation: Continuously monitor the performance of the recommendations and make improvements depending on data and user input.
Focus on user experience: Make sure that recommendations are not only appropriate but also easy to navigate, quick to load, and visually integrated on mobile sites.

Prioritise Explainability: Be open about how recommendations are made, and give users control over their preferences.

Begin small, then scale: Start with a pilot or test group to validate performance and get feedback. Use this feedback to develop and expand your recommendation system throughout the platform.
Benefits of AI-powered recommendations:

1. Improved conversion performance:
The AI algorithm examines clients' browsing histories and purchasing habits to help them get what they want without using their hands. This will boost your Amazon clone conversion rate.

2. Enhanced user experience:
This AI-powered customised suggestion saves users time and effort by guiding them to the proper products. The end outcome is customer satisfaction and a good purchasing experience.

3. Increased average order value:
AI-powered suggestions in your Amazon clone app encourage customers to buy complementary, upsell, and cross-sell items, which raises the overall order value.

4. Insights based on data:
Artificial intelligence (AI) recommendation systems gather and analyse consumer data to learn about preferences and purchasing habits. Businesses can use this to enhance their marketing, select better products to sell, and more effectively manage their inventory.

5. Improved customer retention:
When users consistently receive relevant product recommendations, they are more likely to return to the platform. This strengthens brand presence and generates recurring sales.

6. Enhanced marketing strategies:
AI-powered recommendations customize marketing strategies based on each customer’s individual preferences and behaviors. This personalized approach results in more relevant and engaging marketing campaigns that resonate better with customers, ultimately increasing their interest and likelihood to respond positively.

7. Reduced cart abandonment:
AI-powered recommendations lower cart abandonment by using personalized recommendations, timely reminders, and providing discounts or free shipping. These strategies help users complete their purchases and increase the overall sales rates in your Amazon clone website.

8. Real-time discovery:
This enables AI to make real-time product recommendations to users based on their interests, assisting consumers in finding things they may not have previously found. It is most helpful in vast product catalogues where customers may find manual searching daunting. AI speeds up, simplifies, and enhances the pleasure of shopping by providing timely and pertinent recommendations.

Summing up:
I hope this blog helps you understand the importance of Artificial Intelligence in product recommendations for your Amazon clone app.
It covers the implementation of AI-powered recommendation systems, different types of recommendation strategies, and their benefits.

Now is the perfect time to launch AI-powered recommendations in your Amazon clone app.
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"What they don't teach you" on religion- For the non-believer/skeptic: How can this understanding move beyond simplistic criticisms and foster a more nuanced appreciation of religion's role in human history and culture?
"What they don't teach you" about religion, especially its complexities and historical nuances, offers profound benefits for the non-believer or skeptic. It enables them to move beyond superficial criticisms and develop a far more nuanced and insightful appreciation of religion's pervasive and multifaceted role in human history and culture.

Here's how:

1. Moving Beyond Simplistic Criticisms:

Challenging the "Religion is Inherently Bad" Narrative:

The Simplistic Criticism: Often, the default view among skeptics (sometimes fueled by media or personal negative experiences) is that religion is inherently a source of conflict, oppression, and irrationality. Famous historical examples (Inquisitions, Crusades) are highlighted as definitive proof.

The Untaught Nuance: A deeper understanding reveals that while religion has certainly been used to justify violence and oppression, it has also been a powerful force for social justice (Civil Rights Movement, anti-slavery movements), art, philosophy, charitable work, and community building. Understanding the complexity of human motivation and the interplay of power, politics, and specific interpretations (rather than religion itself) allows for a more balanced view.

Benefit for the Non-Believer: This moves beyond a reactive, often emotional, rejection to a more intellectually robust critique. It allows for a more precise analysis: not "religion is bad," but "certain interpretations or uses of religion, at certain times, have led to negative outcomes." This makes their arguments more credible and less easily dismissed by believers.

Deconstructing "Irrationality":

The Simplistic Criticism: Religious beliefs are often dismissed as purely irrational, lacking empirical evidence.

The Untaught Nuance: Understanding the philosophical depth of theology, the psychological functions of ritual and myth (e.g., providing meaning, coping with existential dread), and the sociological role of religion in creating community and social cohesion. Many religious ideas, even if not scientifically verifiable, address profound human questions that science doesn't (or can't).

Benefit for the Non-Believer: This allows for an appreciation of the reasons why people believe, without necessarily sharing those beliefs. It recognizes religion as a complex human phenomenon, not just a set of "wrong ideas." This fosters intellectual humility and prevents the trap of intellectual arrogance.

Recognizing Internal Diversity and Evolution:

The Simplistic Criticism: Treating entire religions as monolithic entities (e.g., "Islam says this," "Christianity does that").

The Untaught Nuance: The vast internal diversity within religions (different sects, denominations, schools of thought), the historical evolution of doctrines, and the influence of culture and context on religious practice.

Benefit for the Non-Believer: It enables a more precise critique. Instead of condemning an entire tradition, one can target specific interpretations or fundamentalist approaches. This fosters more productive dialogue and prevents strawman arguments.

2. Fostering a More Nuanced Appreciation:

Understanding Historical and Cultural Foundations:

What's Untaught: The profound extent to which religion has shaped laws, ethics, art, literature, music, philosophy, and political structures across virtually all human civilizations. Many concepts we take for granted (e.g., certain notions of justice, charity, human dignity) have strong religious roots.

Benefit for the Non-Believer: This allows for a deeper appreciation of the origins of human civilization and cultural achievements. One can admire a Gothic cathedral, a piece of classical music, or a work of art, recognizing its religious inspiration, without having to believe in the specific deity it honors. This enriches one's understanding of art, history, and the human story itself.

Recognizing Religion's Role in Meaning-Making:

What's Untaught: The deep human need for meaning, purpose, and connection, and how religion has historically provided frameworks for these existential questions for billions of people.

Benefit for the Non-Believer: It fosters empathy for believers and an understanding of the powerful emotional and psychological comfort religion can provide. It highlights that while one may not find answers in religion, the questions it addresses are universal. This can inform their own search for meaning, whether through secular philosophy, community, or personal values.

Informing Contemporary Social and Political Analysis:

What's Untaught: How religious beliefs continue to powerfully influence political movements, social debates (e.g., abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental policy), and international relations.

Benefit for the Non-Believer: To truly understand the world today, one must understand the religious motivations and worldviews of many actors. Dismissing religion out of hand blinds one to a significant driver of human behavior and geopolitical events. It allows for more informed political engagement and a deeper understanding of "culture wars."

Enhancing Ethical Reasoning:

What's Untaught: The complex ethical systems developed within religious traditions, the internal debates about moral dilemmas, and the evolution of religious ethics over time.

Benefit for the Non-Believer: It provides a vast source of historical ethical reasoning, even if one doesn't accept the divine origins. One can learn from and engage with these ethical frameworks, comparing them to secular ethics and developing a more robust personal moral philosophy.

In essence, by grappling with the complexities of religion, the non-believer moves from a position of sometimes narrow, reactive opposition to one of intellectual curiosity and cultural literacy. It allows them to appreciate the historical depth, cultural impact, and psychological power of religion as a human phenomenon, even while maintaining their skeptical stance on its supernatural claims. This leads to a richer, more informed worldview and more productive engagement with the diverse world around them.

How can Nigeria make quality education more accessible in rural areas?
Making quality education more accessible in rural areas of Nigeria is a complex undertaking that requires a holistic and sustained approach, addressing issues across infrastructure, human resources, technology, community engagement, and funding.

Here's how it can be achieved:

I. Infrastructure and Facilities Development:

Context-Specific School Construction and Renovation:

Durable & Local Materials: Build and renovate school buildings using durable, locally sourced, and climate-appropriate materials. Designs should consider natural lighting and ventilation.

Essential Amenities: Ensure all schools have basic facilities: clean and functional toilets (separate for boys and girls), access to clean water, reliable electricity (solar power is a viable option), and proper ventilation.

Flexible Learning Spaces: Create adaptable classrooms that can accommodate different learning styles and potentially multi-grade teaching, which is common in smaller rural schools.

Libraries and Labs: Equip schools with functional libraries and basic science/computer laboratories. These can be shared resources among clusters of schools.

Mobile and Satellite Learning Centers:

For extremely remote or sparsely populated areas, explore mobile classrooms or "learning hubs" that rotate among communities, or satellite learning centers that provide access to digital resources and connectivity.

II. Qualified and Motivated Teachers:

Incentives for Rural Deployment:

Improved Remuneration: Offer attractive salary packages, allowances, and hardship pay for teachers willing to serve in rural areas.

Housing and Utilities: Provide subsidized or free housing, access to reliable electricity, and potable water to make rural living more appealing.

Career Advancement Opportunities: Create clear pathways for career progression for rural teachers, linked to performance and continuous professional development.

Loan Forgiveness/Scholarships: Offer student loan forgiveness or scholarships to aspiring teachers who commit to serving in rural schools for a specified period.

Targeted Recruitment and Training:

Local Recruitment: Prioritize recruiting teachers from within or near rural communities, as they are often more likely to stay due to existing ties.

Specialized Training: Equip teachers with skills for multi-grade teaching, differentiated instruction, and managing large classes. Training should also cover culturally sensitive pedagogy and community engagement.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD): Implement regular, accessible, and relevant CPD programs, utilizing blended learning models (online modules, local workshops) to reduce travel burdens.

Mentorship Programs: Pair experienced urban teachers with rural counterparts for mentorship and support.

III. Leveraging Technology (Bridging the Digital Divide):

Sustainable Power and Connectivity:

Solar Power: Prioritize equipping rural schools with reliable solar power systems to run computers, projectors, and charging stations.

Affordable Internet: Work with telecom providers and government agencies (e.g., NCC, NITDA) to extend affordable, reliable internet connectivity to rural areas, perhaps through community Wi-Fi hotspots or satellite internet.

Digital Learning Resources:

Tablets/E-readers: Provide students and teachers with rugged, low-cost tablets preloaded with digital textbooks, educational apps, and interactive learning content (e.g., "Solar-Powered Tablets").

Learning Management Systems (LMS): Implement simple LMS platforms that can deliver content offline and sync when connectivity is available.

Educational TV/Radio: Utilize existing media (radio, TV) to deliver curriculum-aligned lessons, especially in areas with limited internet access.

Teacher Digital Literacy Training:
Train teachers not just on how to use technology, but how to integrate it effectively into their pedagogy to enhance learning outcomes.

IV. Community Engagement and Ownership:

School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs):
Strengthen and empower SBMCs with genuine decision-making authority and training in financial management, school development planning, and monitoring.

Encourage active participation of parents, traditional leaders, and community members in school governance, resource mobilization, and monitoring teacher attendance and performance.

Community Contributions:
Foster a sense of community ownership by encouraging local contributions (labor, materials, financial support) for school development projects.

Integrate schools into community life, making them centers for community development, adult literacy programs, and health awareness.

Sensitization and Advocacy:
Conduct targeted campaigns to raise awareness among rural parents about the value of education, especially for girls, and discourage child labor or early marriage.

V. Funding and Policy:

Increased and Targeted Funding:

Higher Education Allocation: Significantly increase the overall budget allocation to education, ensuring a substantial portion is dedicated to rural school development and teacher welfare.

Specific Rural Education Fund: Establish a dedicated fund for rural education, managed transparently, to address unique challenges.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Encourage and incentivize private sector involvement through CSR initiatives, grants, and direct investment in rural schools.

Innovative Financing: Explore mechanisms like education bonds, diaspora engagement, and philanthropic partnerships to supplement government funding.

Flexible and Context-Specific Policies:

Local Curriculum Adaptation: Allow for some flexibility in curriculum delivery to address local contexts, needs, and cultural nuances, while maintaining national standards.

Remote Learning Policies: Develop clear policies for remote and blended learning that can be effectively deployed during emergencies or to support continuous learning.

Data-Driven Planning: Establish robust data collection and analysis systems to identify out-of-school children, monitor learning outcomes in rural areas, and allocate resources effectively based on needs.

Making quality education accessible in rural Nigeria requires sustained political will, a commitment to transparent resource utilization, and genuine collaboration among all stakeholders to overcome the geographical, economic, and social barriers.

How can Nigeria bridge the gap between education and employable skills?
Bridging the gap between education and employable skills in Nigeria is a critical challenge that requires a holistic and multi-pronged approach involving government, educational institutions, the private sector, and civil society.
The current system often produces graduates ill-equipped for the demands of the modern job market, leading to high youth unemployment.

Here's how Nigeria can effectively bridge this gap:

I. Curriculum Reform & Relevance:

Industry-Driven Curriculum Development:

Regular Review & Updates: Curricula at all levels (primary, secondary, tertiary, and TVET) must be regularly reviewed and updated in close collaboration with industry experts, employers, and professional bodies. This ensures that what is taught aligns directly with the skills demanded by the job market.

Competency-Based Learning: Shift the focus from rote memorization and theoretical knowledge to competency-based education. This means assessing students on their ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world problems.

Inclusion of 21st-Century Skills: Integrate critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, communication, collaboration, digital literacy, and data analysis across all disciplines. These "soft skills" are highly valued by employers.

Emphasis on STEM and Digital Skills:
Strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: Invest heavily in STEM education from an early age, ensuring adequate laboratories, equipment, and qualified teachers.

Digital Literacy: Make digital literacy a foundational skill across all levels of education. Introduce coding, data analytics, cybersecurity, and AI/Machine Learning at appropriate stages. Initiatives like NITDA's 3MTT (Three Million Technical Talent) are good starts but need massive scaling.

Mandatory Entrepreneurship Education:
Integrate practical entrepreneurship education into all tertiary curricula. This should go beyond theoretical concepts to include business plan development, mentorship, access to seed funding (even if small), and incubation support. The goal is to produce job creators, not just job seekers.

II. Strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET):

Rebranding and Destigmatization:

Launch nationwide campaigns to change the societal perception of TVET. Highlight successful TVET graduates, showcase the lucrative nature of skilled trades (e.g., plumbing, welding, carpentry, ICT repairs), and emphasize their vital role in economic development. Combat the notion that TVET is for "school dropouts."

Increased Investment and Modernization:
Adequately fund TVET institutions with modern tools, equipment, workshops, and technology that reflect current industry standards.

Upgrade and maintain existing polytechnics, technical colleges, and vocational centers.

Industry-Led TVET:
Ensure that TVET programs are directly developed and run in partnership with industries. Companies should be involved in curriculum design, practical training, and certification.

Promote apprenticeships and on-the-job training programs, where students learn practical skills directly in a workplace setting.

III. Enhance Industry-Academia Collaboration:

Structured Partnerships:
MOU and Joint Projects: Facilitate Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between universities/polytechnics and industries for joint research projects, curriculum development, and student internships.

Research & Development (R&D): Encourage industries to fund university research that addresses their specific needs and challenges, creating a symbiotic relationship.

Advisory Boards: Establish industry advisory boards for academic departments to provide direct input on curriculum, necessary skills, and emerging trends.

Internship and Apprenticeship Programs:
Make internships (Industrial Attachment) mandatory, well-structured, and adequately supervised. Ensure students gain relevant, hands-on experience that aligns with their studies.

Incentivize companies (e.g., through tax breaks) to offer quality internships and apprenticeships.

Guest Lecturers and Adjunct Faculty:
Invite industry professionals to serve as guest lecturers, adjunct faculty, or mentors, bringing real-world experience into the classroom.

IV. Teacher Training and Professional Development:-

Skills-Focused Pedagogy:
Train educators at all levels to adopt practical, problem-solving, and project-based teaching methodologies that foster skill development rather than rote learning.

Equip teachers with the skills to integrate technology effectively into their teaching.

Continuous Professional Development:
Provide ongoing training for teachers and lecturers to keep them updated on industry trends, new technologies, and modern pedagogical approaches.

Encourage lecturers to undertake sabbaticals in relevant industries to gain practical experience.

Industry Experience for Educators:
Implement programs that allow academic staff to spend time in relevant industries, gaining practical experience that they can then bring back to the classroom.

V. Leverage Technology and Digital Learning:

E-Learning Platforms:
Invest in robust e-learning platforms and digital resources to complement traditional classroom learning, making education more accessible and flexible.

Promote blended learning models that combine online and in-person instruction.

Access to ICT Infrastructure:
Address the challenges of internet connectivity and reliable power supply, especially in rural areas, to ensure equitable access to digital learning tools.

Provide affordable digital devices to students and educators.

Virtual Labs and Simulations:
Utilize virtual laboratories and simulation software to provide practical experience where physical equipment is limited or too expensive.

VI. Government Policies & Funding:

Increased and Targeted Funding:
Significantly increase the budget allocation to education, specifically earmarking funds for curriculum reform, TVET modernization, industry collaboration initiatives, and teacher training.

Ensure transparent and accountable use of these funds.

Policy Cohesion:
Develop a coherent national education policy that links educational outcomes directly to labor market needs, with clear implementation strategies and monitoring mechanisms.

Avoid frequent policy changes that disrupt progress.

Incentives for Private Sector Engagement:
Offer tax incentives, grants, or subsidies to private companies that invest in skills development, apprenticeships, or collaborate with educational institutions.

Strengthen Career Guidance & Counseling:
Implement effective career guidance and counseling services in schools and universities to help students make informed choices about their academic and career paths, aligning their interests with market demands.

By addressing these areas comprehensively, Nigeria can transform its educational system into a powerful engine for skill development, producing a workforce that is not only educated but also highly employable and capable of driving economic growth and innovation.

The ultimate authority must always rest
with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

A new IAEA report reveals Iran carried out undeclared nuclear tests, prompting calls to refer the case to the UN Security Council. Much of the IAEA report is based on evidence from the Mossad.

The recent special International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iranian nuclear violations added many points, one being that Iran carried out multiple implosion tests, a key military skill necessary for developing the atomic bomb.
Implosion tests do not have civilian nuclear uses.

Notably, though much of the report refers to Iranian military activities from 20 years ago, Tehran’s careful record-keeping means that any progress that the Islamic Republic made back then could be used to help with a more sudden, rapid push for a breakthrough to a nuclear weapon in 2025.

The fact that it carried out various explosive tests also suggests that Iran is further along in other skills needed for developing a nuclear bomb, besides just enriching uranium, than many observers may have thought.
This and multiple other findings are analyzed in detail in a position paper introduced this weekend by the Institute for Science and International Security, spearheaded by lead author and president David Albright.
Much of the IAEA report is based on evidence from Mossad
According to the think tank, the IAEA Board of Governors must refer Tehran’s nuclear violations to the UN Security Council during its meeting, which opens on Monday and runs until June 13.

All of this is occurring as the Islamic Republic and the US are the closest they have been to a new nuclear deal in years, but also not far from a possible collapse in the talks, which could lead to an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In a more detailed analysis of the IAEA report, the think tank said that the agency discloses its assessment “that Iran tested neutron initiators produced at Lavizan-Shian and cites specific dates, but notably, it does not mention a location.”
Albright wrote that the IAEA report said instead that “the EDNS [explosively driven neutron sources] produced at Lavizan-Shian were small-scale, designed for testing, and integrated into scaled implosion systems. [They were] tested on at least two occasions (on February 15 and July 3, 2003).”

Ukraine’s shock drone strike on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet this week has generals and analysts taking a new look at threats to high-value United States aircraft at bases in the homeland and abroad – and the situation is worrisome.

“It’s an eyebrow-raising moment,” Gen. David Allvin, the US Air Force chief of staff, said at a defense conference in Washington on Tuesday, adding that the US is vulnerable to similar attacks.

“There is no sanctuary even in the US homeland – particularly given that our bases back home are essentially completely unhardened,” Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), told CNN.

By “unhardened,” Shugart means there aren’t enough shelters in which US warplanes can be parked that are tough enough to protect them from airstrikes, be it from drones or missiles.

Ukrainian military officials said 41 Russian aircraft were hit in last Sunday’s attacks, including strategic bombers and surveillance planes, with some destroyed and others damaged.

Later analysis shows at least 12 planes destroyed or damaged, and reviews of satellite imagery were continuing.

The Ukrainian operation used drones smuggled into Russian territory, hidden in wooden mobile houses atop trucks and driven close to four Russian air bases, according to Ukrainian sources.

Once near the bases, the roofs of the mobile houses were remotely opened, and the drones deployed to launch their strikes.

The Russian planes were sitting uncovered on the tarmac at the bases, much as US warplanes are at facilities at home and abroad.

“We are pretty vulnerable,” retired US Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday.

“We’ve got a lot of high-value assets that are extraordinarily expensive,” McChrystal said.

The Ukrainians said their attacks destroyed $7 billion worth of Russian aircraft. By comparison, a single US Air Force B-2 bomber costs $2 billion. And the US has only 20 of them.

Shugart co-authored a report for the Hudson Institute in January highlighting the threat to US military installations from China in the event of any conflict between the superpowers.

“People’s Liberation Army (PLA) strike forces of aircraft, ground-based missile launchers, surface and subsurface vessels, and special forces can attack US aircraft and their supporting systems at airfields globally, including in the continental United States,” Shugart and fellow author Timothy Walton wrote.

War game simulations and analyses show “the overwhelming majority of US aircraft losses would likely occur on the ground at airfields (and that the losses could be ruinous),” Shugart and Walton wrote.

A report from Air and Space Forces magazine last year pointed out that Anderson Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam – perhaps the US’ most important air facility in the Pacific – which has hosted rotations of those $2 billion B-2 bombers, as well as B-1 and B-52 bombers, has no hardened shelters.

Allvin, the USAF chief of staff, admitted the problem on Tuesday.

“Right now, I don’t think it’s where we need to be,” Allvin told a conference of the CNAS.

McChrystal said the US must look at how to protect its bases and the aircraft on them but also how it monitors the areas around those facilities.

“It widens the spectrum of the threats you’ve got to deal with,” McChrystal said.

The cost of ‘playing defense’
But all that costs money, and Allvin said that presents the US with a budget dilemma.

Does it spend defense dollars on hardened shelters and ways to stop drones and missiles from attacking US bases, or does it use more resources on offensive weapons that take the fight to the enemy?

“If all we are doing is playing defense and can’t shoot back, then that’s not a good use of our money,” Allvin told the CNAS conference.

“We’ve always known that hardening our bases is something we needed to do,” Allvin said, but other items have been given budget priority.

Hardened aircraft shelters aren’t flashy and are unlikely to generate the headlines of other defense projects, including planes like the new B-21 bombers, each of which is expected to cost around $700 million.

And US President Donald Trump said recently the Air Force will build a new stealth fighter, the F-47, with an initial cost of $300 million per aircraft.

“The F-47 is an amazing aircraft, but it’s going to die on the ground if we don’t protect it,” Allvin said.

Meanwhile, a hardened shelter costs around $30 million, according to Shugart and Walton.

“Arriving In Months”: China’s 5th-Gen Stealth Fighter Ready For Pakistan; To Be Armed With PL-17 Missiles: Media

Pakistan is reportedly all set to induct the Chinese-origin FC-31 fifth-generation stealth fighter to bolster its air power, weeks after the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) engaged in a brief but intense clash with the Indian Air Force.

A senior unidentified Pakistani official told Janes that China will soon begin supplying the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) with its Shenyang FC-31 “Gyrfalcon” multirole stealth fighter aircraft.

The aircraft “will begin arriving within months,” and confirmed that PAF pilots are currently in China training to fly the aircraft, the official stated.

The FC-31 is believed to be the export variant of the J-35A, a fifth-generation stealth aircraft unveiled by China at the Zhuhai Air Show in November 2024.

The official did not reveal when the deal for the aircraft was signed or the specific number of aircraft that Pakistan is acquiring.

According to the publication, another Pakistani government insider informed it in May 2025 that the purchased FC-31 would be fitted with China’s PL-17 air-to-air missile (AAM), which has a range of 400 kilometers.

Islamabad first announced its intention to acquire an unspecified number of stealth fighter jets from China in January 2024. At the time, the then chief of the Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, stated that the “foundation for acquiring the J-31 stealth fighter aircraft has already been laid,” and it’s set to become part of the PAF’s fleet shortly.”

Later, in December 2024, another set of reports stated that Islamabad is acquiring approximately 40 J-35A fighters, which are expected to be delivered within 24 months.

None of these reports and claims could be independently verified by the EurAsian Times, and the acquisition has not officially been confirmed by either the Pakistani or Chinese government.

Pakistan is the largest operator of Chinese military equipment outside the country. The PAF earlier inducted the Chinese J-10CE in 2022, an aircraft that was deployed in the conflict with India in May 2025.

The PAF claimed that it downed multiple IAF fighters, including three Rafales, using the deadly combination of J-10CE and PL-15E long-range missiles.

Sources in Pakistan have emphasised that the “success” of the J-10CE has reinforced Pakistan’s faith in Chinese aerospace technology and paved the way for more advanced acquisitions, like that of the FC-31.

Last month, some reports indicated that China was fast-tracking the delivery of the J-35A to Pakistan, following the finalisation of logistics and financing details by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during his visit to China immediately after Operation Sindoor.

Notably, the FC-31 will be the first major Chinese military platform that Pakistan will induct after the military clash with India between May 7 and 10. Though it was planned well in advance and does not have a direct link to the conflict, the timing of the potential induction is significant, as a clearer picture of Pakistani military losses is now emerging.

According to reports by Indian media, the IAF destroyed six fighter jets, two high-value surveillance aircraft, one C-130 transport aircraft, over 30 missiles, and several unmanned aerial vehicles during the four-day conflict that ended in a ceasefire in the evening of May 10. The report cited technical analysis of operational data to back its claims.

If these claims are true, the PAF might need to add some serious air power to build capability against the Indian Air Force.

The induction of the Chinese fifth-generation aircraft is believed to be a pivotal moment for the PAF due to the aircraft’s cutting-edge technology and low-observable characteristics.

More notably, the aircraft will be equipped with the PL-17, which boasts a 400-kilometer range, a significant upgrade over the PL-15E that was “allegedly” used by the PAF to down Indian fighter jets.

The FC-31, developed by China’s Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), is a single-seat, twin-engine, medium-sized fifth-generation fighter that features advanced stealth capabilities, including a low-observable design with forward-swept intake ramps, Diverterless Supersonic Inlet (DSI) bumps, and composite materials to evade L-band and Ku-band radars.

It is powered by WS-19 engines, which provide the aircraft with a thrust of 12 tons. The aircraft features two internal weapon bays, each with a capacity for two medium-range air-to-air missiles, and external hardpoints for various bombs and missiles, including air-to-ground and air-to-surface munitions.

Designed for air superiority, close air support, air interdiction, and precision strikes, the aircraft features an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and advanced sensor fusion for enhanced situational awareness.

The induction of this aircraft could tilt the regional balance in Pakistan’s favour, which explains China’s alacrity in exporting the aircraft to Islamabad.

Capability Gap In The Making
The acquisition is seen as a move to counter India’s air force, which currently relies on 4.5-generation fighters like the Rafale and Su-30MKI.

India is currently developing its own fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program, with the prototype expected to roll out by 2028.

However, if Pakistan starts inducting the FC-31 in the next few months, a glaring capability gap would persist for years until the AMCA is ready for induction.

A ten-year development plan laid down by India, five prototypes, and extensive flight testing are on the cards. However, India’s indigenous aircraft programs are notorious for delays, creating uncertainty and suspicion.

Some experts believe that the acquisition of a Chinese fifth-generation stealth aircraft by Pakistan would pose a threat to India.

A stealth fighter can significantly alter the regional balance. Stealth fighters have a much smaller radar cross section (RCS) than non-stealth fighters. Since fighter detection and tracking are radar-based, the reduced RCS degrades the adversary’s air defense capability.

Indian Air Force veteran and military expert, Squadron Leader Vijainder K. Thakur (retd), earlier argued: “Air defense systems’ performance degrades when operating against stealth fighters because of their lower detection range. While the extent of degradation depends on the effectiveness of stealth shaping, it always occurs.”

“China is known to have developed air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles that will allow the J-35A fighters to launch their weapons before they can be effectively tracked on IAF radars,” he added.

The situation becomes much worse for India, as its other adversary, China, already operates more than 200 J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighters and is now flying two different prototypes of sixth-generation jets, namely the J-36 and J-50.

By the time India operationalises the AMCA, China would have significantly increased its fleet of J-20s and possibly inducted a sixth-generation aircraft. Meanwhile, Pakistan would be operating about 30-40 FC-31. In addition to that, Islamabad is also reportedly participating in the Turkish KAAN fifth-generation aircraft program.

This has already divided the Indian strategic community, with one section asserting that there is a need to buy a fifth-generation aircraft, such as the Su-57, as an interim solution. Several experts have pointed out that the Russian offer could be considered, as it would entail both local production and assistance with the AMCA.

“If India wants to maintain the AMCA program in the long run, it needs an interim fighter, and the Su-57 may be the better choice,” Indian Air Force veteran, Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd) argued. “It may be worthwhile to quickly build a large inventory of 4.5-generation fighters like LCA Mk2 and Rafale and acquire long-range Air-to-surface missiles (BrahMos II) and longer-range AAMs like Astra III or Russian R-37M.”

However, some former IAF leaders remain skeptical. Former IAF chief RKS Bhadauria recently suggested that India should not import any aircraft and instead focus on the AMCA.

“Now, the government has put its faith in AMCA, and now we need to do everything as a nation to expedite AMCA,” Bhadauria said. “That cause of concern in terms of what Pakistan is going to get from China in the interim — be it J-20 or J-35 — let them get these. That will be studied. What is important is in the interim, how do you handle these threats, and there are ways and means of tackling this threat that they will have.”

For now, it is safe to say that Pakistan is once again beating India to the induction of an advanced next-generation aircraft, a trend that has been visible since the mid-1950s, when the two countries began building their air power.

China’s Mining Plan In Myanmar Faces Massive Protest; Locals Block Roads, Threaten To Seize Chinese Equipment.

Hundreds of protesting Myanmar tribespeople march up a hillside to a cavernous facility where a Chinese joint venture’s giant milling machines stand ready to grind up the rocks of their ancestral homeland for lead ore.

Demand for the heavy metal is forecast to rise, driven by its use in the batteries needed for the global energy transition.

However, its extraction can pollute the environment, and the Pradawng tribespeople carry banners reading: “No transparency, no responsibility.”

“We don’t have any plan to exchange this inheritance from our ancestors for money or riches,” said 24-year-old protest leader Khun Khine Min Naing.

“This land is the dignity of our tribe.”

Since a 2021 coup, Myanmar has been riven by civil war and shattered into a patchwork of loosely governed territories ripe for exploitation by unregulated miners.

And neighbouring China is keen to scoop up the minerals and metals Myanmar can supply.

The Pradawng — a little-known subtribe of the Kayan ethnic group — claim around 3,000 members and a 381-year lineage in Shan state, in Myanmar’s east.

They say Myanmar firm Four Star Company and a Chinese partner have planned a mega-project mining lead upriver from their village, Thi Kyeik, in Pekon township.

Heavy machinery began to be installed in February, but the tribe say they were not consulted on the scheme and fear it will taint the area with hazardous chemicals.

Locals have blockaded roads to turn back vehicles, and threatened to seize mining equipment, defying possible violent backlash in a country where the right to assemble often depends on the whims of armed guards.

“We are only asking for Indigenous rights that we should own,” Khun Khine Min Naing told AFP, demanding mine plans are rolled back until the war is over and they can be scrutinised by a civilian government.

– Natural Resources –
Lead is a toxic metal, most commonly mined for use in lead-acid batteries.

Extracting it can pollute local soil and water supplies, with children particularly vulnerable to exposure, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We don’t want to leave this land environmentally damaged for the next generation,” said Khun Khine Min Naing. “We don’t want to be regarded as historical criminals.”

The Pradawng say Four Star Company has been active locally for two decades and is linked to the local ruling Kayan New Land Party, whose armed wing maintains a ceasefire with Myanmar’s military.

The firm could not be reached for comment.

Their Chinese partner company is harder to identify, and locals say its involvement was only revealed when its representatives attended a joint event with Four Star Company intended to address community backlash.

China shares a 2,100-kilometre (1,300-mile) border with Myanmar and has long been a lucrative market for the country’s natural resources, including jade, gemstones, teak logs and metal ores.

It accounts for nearly 98 percent of Myanmar’s lead ore and concentrate exports, according to 2023 World Bank data.

The figures say 49,000 tonnes worth $20 million were exported to China that year, but that is likely far short of the true amount.

The lack of a central authority means tracking the real scale of mining operations across Myanmar is difficult.

But satellite imagery analysis of one hotspot on the Myanmar-China border by the Britain-based Centre for Information Resilience showed the expanse of mining operations there nearly doubled in size between 2018 and 2024.

– ‘Only stones for our children’ –
Rechargeable lead-acid batteries are widely used in vehicles, including EVs where they provide auxiliary power, as well as for storing power generated by renewable technologies such as wind and solar.

The metal — identified by the WHO as “one of 10 chemicals of major public health concern” — sells for around $2,000 per refined tonne on the global market.

But the Pradawng people suspect they will see none of the profits.

Along with health risks, locals fear environmental damage, with villagers saying increased mining in recent years has led to more flooding and mudslides that carried off entire homes.

Mu Ju July, 19, ekes out a living picking through mine slag heaps for scraps of lead to sell.

A flurry of prospecting could be a windfall for her, but she worries it will squander the livelihoods and homes of future generations.

“If we allow them, we will be okay for only one or two years,” she said.

“It will leave only stones when the time comes for our children.”

Trump rocked as China launches its latest economic weapon.

The US and China have in recent days both accused each other of violating their fragile, three-week-old trade truce. The two presidents are expected to speak this week in an effort to rescue the deal.

But Trump has a tough pill to swallow: it is his arch-rival who looks to have the better negotiating hand.

China’s near-total dominance of the world’s supply of rare-earth metals – which are used in the manufacture of everything from cars and computer chips to F-35 fighter jets and nuclear-powered submarines – means Xi can squeeze the US where it hurts.

“Critical minerals are one of the most important bargaining chips for China in its negotiations with Washington. China will really hold on to this, as a significant point of leverage,” says Matilda Buchan, a senior analyst at Asia House, a London think tank.

Beijing’s willingness to weaponise the rare-earths supply chain is so potent a threat to the US economy and military that it has already pushed the White House into de-escalating its planned trade war with China.

After Trump’s April 2 “liberation day” announcement raised tariffs on US imports from China to an eventual peak of 145pc, Beijing’s retaliation included a ban on exports to the US of magnet alloys containing key rare-earth materials.

The impact was quickly felt. On May 9, some of the biggest carmakers in the US – including General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai – wrote to the White House warning that unless China’s export ban was lifted, they would soon have to start cutting back production.

That same day, Trump told his Truth Social followers that he was ready to make big concessions to get a deal with China. Negotiations in Geneva took place over the ensuing weekend, and the tariffs came tumbling down.

It emerged, more quietly, in subsequent days that China would allow rare-earths exports to the US to resume.

‘Major disruption’
Last Friday, though, Trump was back on Truth Social claiming that China had “TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US”.

Jamieson Greer, the president’s trade envoy, told CNBC that Beijing was “slow-rolling” its issuance of licences to export products containing rare earths.

“We haven’t seen the flow of some of those critical minerals as they were supposed to be doing,” he said.

The question is whether China is actively frustrating the deal, as some White House officials reportedly suspect, or whether the explanation is more mundane: not a grand conspiracy but simply a system coming to grips with new red tape.

Back in April, Beijing did not just slap a ban on exports, it built a new bureaucratic structure to underpin future rare-earths trade.

China-based companies wanting to export metal alloys containing more than a trace of seven key rare earths – samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, yttrium and scandium – now need to apply for a licence from the commerce ministry.

It was not initially clear which shipments would be caught by the new rules, and there was plenty of precautionary laboratory testing, even of exports that were below the rare-earth content threshold.

“What initially looked like an almost total freezing of exports from China was really just a response to this need for testing of all the material, and of any material which contained more than 0.1pc of any of these elements,” says David Merriman, the research director at Project Blue, a critical minerals analysis and advisory firm.

Project Blue’s analysis suggests the application process is taking about 45 days, which may explain why exports to the US have been slower than expected.

By mid-May, six large companies had received export licences, and at least another three were in the process of doing so.

“We are seeing some approvals come through, certainly slower than industry would like,” Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told Bloomberg this week.

“Some of the delay is related to China working through their new system to approve exports, not that they are not allowing exports.”

As part of the Geneva trade deal between the US and China, the commerce ministry has taken 28 US businesses off its export-control blacklist. But exports will still have to be approved on a shipment-by-shipment basis, and none is so far bound for the US.

Volkswagen’s European operations appear to have been an early beneficiary of an export licence, but not in sufficient quantities to ease supply concerns.

“There are a few approvals coming through, but they are far from being sufficient to prevent imminent production halts,” Jens Eskelund, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told the New York Times.

“We are still facing a major disruption of supply chains.”

Trump cornered
The threat of factory production lines grinding to a halt highlights the immense power of China in this crucial market, and the power of its hand in negotiations.

China’s mines churn out about 61pc of the world’s rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Chinese refiners and manufacturers also hoover up most of the rare earths from elsewhere, processing 92pc of the world’s supply.

It is refining that is key, as this is the process that turns the material into a usable product.

The country has a particular stranglehold on the manufacture of magnet alloys containing rare earths, which have near-ubiquitous application in computing, vehicular and electrical systems.

“Particularly as you move further down the supply chain, from mined products towards downstream highly engineered products, China’s market share only grows,” Merriman says. “Its grip only gets tighter.”

Rare earths are used in very small quantities, which means it has long been uneconomic for most countries to mine or refine them – most, that is, except China, where the industry is under state control.

The US has been spearheading sporadic efforts to restart rare-earths production and magnet manufacture either at home or in friendlier countries. But these efforts are yet to bear real fruit. The IEA estimates that a decade from now, China will still account for 85pc of refined rare-earths output.

This leaves Trump cornered. He has been talking up the prospects of Ukraine and Greenland as alternatives, but his presidency will be long gone before either of those becomes a realistic option. Tariffs are no use here either.

His only weapon is semiconductors. Over the past month, the US has been gradually tightening controls over China-bound exports of chips and associated software, particularly those used in artificial intelligence.

The chips squeeze is partly motivated by the White House’s long-term strategic desire to retain technological supremacy over China. But it also has some immediate tactical trade leverage – as Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, admitted on Sunday.

“[We are] taking certain actions to show them [the Chinese] what it feels like on the other side of that [export ban] equation,” he told Fox News.

This has riled Beijing. “The United States has unilaterally provoked new economic and trade frictions,” the Chinese commerce industry said in a statement on Monday. “These practices seriously violate the consensus.”

Despite the war of words, Lutnick claimed he was confident that Trump would “work it out” with Xi.

Perhaps his confidence is well-founded. With the US and Chinese tech and manufacturing industries hanging in the balance, a deal looks essential for both sides.

But Trump is in no position to dictate terms – and he won’t like that one bit.

“Alleged” Chinese Laser Weapon Spotted In Russia Very Similar To One Deployed In Iran; Is Beijing Arming Moscow?

A day before all hell broke loose over Russian airfields with a shocking Ukrainian drone attack that destroyed multiple strategic bombers, some pro-Russian military sources published the video of what is believed to be a Chinese-origin anti-drone laser system operating in Russia.

The alleged Chinese system was spotted in a video initially posted to the Military Information Telegram channel. It has now been shared extensively on X.

The video opens with a shot of Russian troops operating the system and pressing some tabs. Then, the frame shifts to laser system testing against a steel plate, followed by footage of the shooting down of unidentified Ukrainian drones.

Social media has since been replete with claims that the system in question is named ‘Low-Altitude Laser Defending System’ (LASS) and has been provided to the Russians by China.

The LASS is also reportedly known as the Silent Hunter. It is a turret-mounted platform equipped with optical targeting sensors and a 10 kW laser, believed to be developed by the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics.

If true, the video would be the first documented instance of the Chinese laser system being used operationally against Ukraine.

The Telegram channel gave no information on when the video was taken. However, it noted that the technology is currently being operated by the Nomad special forces squad.

The EurAsian Times could not independently corroborate these claims, and China has categorically denied providing offensive weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.

There is no official confirmation by either side.

Nonetheless, several military observers have noted that the system shown in the video bears an uncanny resemblance to the laser system that China had earlier delivered to Iran.

In October last year, a Chinese laser counter-drone system–identified as Shen Nung– was spotted in Tehran, Iran, during a sermon given by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The system was spotted days after Iran launched missiles and a drone strike on Israel, and was likely deployed to protect the Supreme Leader from a potential Israeli attack at the time, as previously reported.

Fabian Hinz, a research fellow for Defense and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, also noted that the system spotted in Russia appears to be a Chinese Shen Nung 3000/5000.

Hinz commented: “While the sensor arrangement seems to have been altered, the system observed in Russian service strongly resembles the Chinese Shen Nung 3000/5000 anti-drone laser.” “The Shen Nung system comes in both vehicle-mounted and containerized variants, and has previously been exported to Iran,” he added.

It is difficult to determine whether the system depicted in the video is a Silent Hunter or a Shen Nung.

As previously reported by the EurAsian Times, Shen Nung’s radar can identify drones from a distance of up to five kilometers. The system’s laser has a power range of 10 to 20 kW and can fire non-destructive, “dazzling” or blinding attacks over a distance of more than three kilometers. It can also really destroy some objects that approach within 1.5 kilometers.

The Shen Nung 5000 and 3000, which are containerized and 4×4 Dongfeng Mengshi light tactical truck-mounted versions of the Shen Nung, have also been shown off by China in the past.

The system seen in the Telegram video could be a variant of Shen Nung or a separate system based on it. These remain mere conjectures due to the paucity of information, and Russia is not officially known to have a system that resembles Shen Nung.

The substantial expenses associated with intercepting drones and missiles have led to an increased focus on laser-based systems in modern warfare. Typically, laser-based counter-drone systems employ a high-powered beam to engage targets at a significantly lower cost than air defense missiles, which can cost millions of dollars.

Additionally, lasers can discreetly incinerate adversarial targets without inflicting collateral damage, thereby reducing casualties. The video published by the Telegram channel suggests that the system works well against drones, unlike the spotting in Iran, where the system was photographed in the background, not in action.

“Previously, there was an opinion in the domestic information environment that combat lasers were useless and expensive toys,” the Military Informant Telegram channel wrote. “However, new threats identified during the full-on invasion of Ukraine forced the search for alternative methods of counteraction. Thanks to the development of new technologies, laser systems have become an effective tool for the destruction of Ukrainian UAVs.”

Russia has also been working on incorporating lasers into its combat capabilities. The country was earlier believed to have two different laser weapons in its arsenal, the Persevet and Zadira.

However, there is not much information about their use in combat. In August 2023, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that Russia had conducted successful field tests of an unnamed laser gun, destroying several drones of various types.

In a separate development earlier this year, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov, announced that the Pantsir air defense system will soon be outfitted with a laser complex as part of ongoing modernization efforts.

Ironically, the video of the alleged Chinese laser system was posted just a day before Ukraine launched an audacious drone attack under ‘Operation Spiderweb,’ and allegedly destroyed 40 Russian aircraft or 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers.

Ukraine’s security service has put the estimated cost of losses at $7 billion. The drone attacks were launched from trucks that were smuggled deep inside the Russian territory. The attack was so bad that some pro-Russian military bloggers called it the country’s “Pearl Harbor.”

China Denies Arms Delivery To Russia
Citing reporting by Ukrainian security and intelligence agencies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in April accused China of supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery. He also told the media that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory.

“We have finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation. … We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on Russian territory … We see the cooperation between these two countries in this area, and we must acknowledge it is happening,” the President was quoted.

The claims were dismissed as “groundless” by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “China’s position on the Ukrainian issue has always been clear,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference at the time. “It has been actively committed to promoting a ceasefire and ending the conflict, as well as encouraging peace talks.”

More recently, the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service, Oleh Ivashchenko, said in an interview on May 26 that he could confirm China is supplying critical materials and equipment to about 20 Russian military factories. “There is information that China supplies tooling machines, special chemical products, gunpowder, and components specifically to defence manufacturing industries,” he said. Thus, assisting production of weapons, particularly drones, in Russia.

Reports from Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service and other sources have noted on multiple occasions that China supplies up to 80% of the electronics used in Russian drones, including critical components like machine tools, special chemicals, and gunpowder for ammunition production. These are often dual-use items, which China claims are for civilian purposes but are repurposed for military use.

Last year, an intelligence assessment released by the Biden administration had also made overarching claims about Chinese military assistance to Russia, particularly in the supply of microelectronics, which are used in the production of missiles, tanks, aircraft, and other weaponry used against Ukraine.

The transfer of high-value equipment, such as a laser anti-drone system, from China to Russia is not documented. The latest video could be direct evidence of China arming Russian forces if the system is verified to be Chinese.

Azerbaijan, That Backed Pakistan Against India During Recent Clash, Looks To Broker Turkey-Israel Peace

After seizing Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia in 2023 and backing Pakistan against India during the recent India-Pak clash, Azerbaijan is now using its close relations with Israel and Turkey to defuse tensions between the regional competitors in Syria.

In May 2025, Azerbaijan emerged as a vocal supporter of Pakistan amid escalating tensions with India, following the Indian military operation, “Operation Sindoor,” launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir that claimed 26 lives.

Azerbaijan issued formal statements condemning India’s military strikes, which targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

On May 8, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity with Pakistan, lamenting civilian casualties and urging a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

A letter from the Azerbaijani government, delivered by Ambassador Khazar Farhadov to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, reiterated this support, offering condolences to affected families and emphasizing Azerbaijan’s commitment to Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Diffusing Israel-Turkey Tensions
Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser, Hikmet Hajiyev, confirmed that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Turkey and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organised by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council.

“Both Turkey and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad by Islamist-led HTS rebels, with Turkey’s blessing, sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons from falling into the hands of Syria’s new authorities, whom it sees as jihadists.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

As a close ally and strategic partner of Turkey, Azerbaijan has consistently aligned itself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

But it also enjoys good relations with Israel — which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Turkey and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern because of the presence of terrorist groups,” notably Kurdish fighters, he said.

Turkey wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

Oil Shipments To Israel?
Ties between Turkey and Israel have been shattered by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, with Ankara insisting the talks were only technical.

“As long as the war in Gaza continues, Turkey will not normalise ties with Israel,” a senior Turkish official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Turkey has suspended trade with Israel over the war in Gaza.

However, some Turkish opposition figures have criticized Ankara, claiming that trade has continued, notably oil shipments via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports Azerbaijani oil to the southern port of Ceyhan, from where it is shipped to Israel.

Turkey’s energy ministry has dismissed the claims as “completely unfounded”.

Azerbaijan’s Hajiyev said Baku had won valuable support from Israel during the Karabakh conflict, but seemed reluctant to comment on the issue of oil.

“We bought weapons from Israel during the war, we paid for them (and) Israel gave us diplomatic support,” he said.

“Azeri oil is coming to Ceyhan, but once that oil is loaded onto ships that sail on the open seas, you cannot control the final destination,” he said.

“These are the rules of the world oil market.”

Big Role
In facilitating Turkey-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role”, said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of the Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator… among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region — one in the 1990s and another in 2020 — before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.

Baku is now trying to normalise ties with Yerevan — which, if successful, would be a major breakthrough in a region where major actors, including Russia and Turkey, all jostle for influence.

Turkish analyst Serkan Demirtas said Azerbaijan had stepped in to head off a potential clash between Turkey and Israel over their opposing security concerns in post-Assad Syria.

“A confrontation between its two best allies in the region is a situation Azerbaijan does not want at all,” he said.

“Incoming news shows that progress has been made. This indicates the growing influence of hydrocarbon-rich Azerbaijan in the region after the Karabakh war.”

Trump’s trade policy is making China great again — at the US’s expense, new global analysis finds

President Donald Trump’s trade tariff policy has seen America’s favorability plummet while China’s has risen, a new global analysis has found.

Since Trump entered office in January, “the overwhelming majority of countries simultaneously exhibit worsening views of the United States and improving views of China,” according to the analysis by technology research firm Morning Consult, and first reported by Axios.

America’s drop in favorability among the 41 countries surveyed comes as fewer visitors are traveling to the U.S. in part because of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.

The analysis as of the end of May found China had an 8.8 net favorability rating versus –1.5 for the USA. By comparison, in January 2024 the U.S. was above 20 while China was in the negative.

“This is a first since our tracking began, and includes many of America’s most important economic and military partners, in a clear blow to U.S. soft power,” Morning Consult’s report said.

America’s favorability fell to a new low on Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day,” which the president’s global tariffs caused the markets to hit historic lows before he ordered a 90-day pause one week later.

“America’s global standing fell to a tracking low just after Washington’s reciprocal tariff announcements on April 2, 2025, which tipped net favorability of the United States into negative territory for the first time since January 2022,” according to the report.

The data is based on surveys from 41 countries, including Canada, Mexico, the U.K., France and Russia.

At the end of April, only 13 countries held more favorable views of the U.S. than China, compared to 29 countries surveyed at the start of the year.

A “silver lining,” according to the report, is that “America’s global standing has recently begun to rebound” since Trump put a pause on the reciprocal tariffs. America’s rating also ticked up slightly after Trump reduced tariffs on China last month from 145 percent to 30 percent.

The trade war between the two countries has resumed again after Trump accused China of violating the terms of the agreement in a post on Truth Social.

“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump said Friday. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

China hit back Monday and also accused the U.S. of doing the same after the Trump administration revealed plans to revoke the visas of Chinese students and attempts to curb China’s access to the most advanced computer chips.

“These practices seriously violate the consensus” of what was agreed in talks in Geneva two weeks ago, the Commerce Ministry said.

Not just Harvard: See where 1.2 million international students learn in the US

The Trump administration is targeting Harvard's international student program, attempting to revoke student visas for Chinese nationals, and initiating deportation proceedings for students who participate in pro-Palestinian protests. So we took a look at where foreign college students in the United States are based. Here's what we found:

The latest data available from Immigration and Customs Enforcement is from 2023 — it gives details of people receiving an F-1 visa, which is the most common type for international students, scholars, and trainees. While private schools such as Harvard do receive large numbers of students, so do major public universities.

How many international students are at U.S. colleges?
As many as 1.5 million international students were in the United States in 2023 using F-1 or M-1 visas, based on a count of records in a system managed by the Department of Homeland Security. Just under 1.4 million of those were seeking degrees in 2022, and there could be duplicates due to people seeking more than one degree at the same time.

A big portion of these international students were not enrolled that year, but instead participated in post-graduate training programs. For example, Columbia University wrote in its 2023 annual report that it had just under 14,000 enrolled international students, plus about 6,500 students in training programs, and about 3,000 scholars.

Of the universities granting the most F-1 visas, the top 500 had more than 1.2 million international students combined, according to USA TODAY's analysis. This is the type of visa required to enroll in a degree program, including associates degrees, bachelor's degrees, masters degrees, and doctorates. The vast majority are pursuing bachelor's and masters degrees, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Foreign nationals can also receive F-1 visas to work in their field of study for up to three years, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Which college has the most international students?
The college campus with the most international students that year was New York University, with nearly 25,000 F-1 visas issued at its main campus, and about 7,500 issued at its Brooklyn campus. Other campuses with high international populations were in other major cities — Northeastern University (Boston), Columbia University (New York), and the University of Southern California (Los Angeles).

Which public schools have the highest number of foreign student visas?
Arizona State University had nearly 18,000 international students in 2023, the data shows, placing it fifth on the list. Other public universities with major international student populations were the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; the University of North Texas, and Purdue University in Indiana.

How many international students are at Harvard?
In 2023, Harvard did not rank in the top 20 of U.S. colleges for foreign students, according to the data. The university ranked No. 21 nationwide, and third in the Boston area, behind Northeastern University and Boston University. The school had about 9,700 F-1 visa students in 2023, according to the data.

The Trump administration on May 22 attempted to rescind Harvard's participation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which certifies schools to allow them to enroll international students, including F-1 visa holders. The administration eased up a week later and introduced a process to allow Harvard to argue that it should be able to use the program.

“India Lost 120 Aircraft, Pakistan Winning”! How Islamabad Lied During The 1971 War Before “Bitter Facts” Shocked Pak- TRUE or FALSE? (Part 1)

“The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history,” is a famous quote by German philosopher Georg Hegel.

In somewhat similar vein, another German philosopher who was contemporary with Hegel – Karl Marx – warned us that “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second time as a farce.”

Though written almost two centuries ago, both these quotes ring equally true in today’s world as well, more so in the case of Pakistan. This country seems almost hell bent on repeating its past mistakes to the detriment of its future.

While ‘Narrative Warfare’ has its place in modern hybrid warfare, and can act as a morale booster despite battlefield losses, it can also create a ‘fog of war,’ so blinding that one literally becomes the victim of its own propaganda, and fails to learn critical lessons, until it’s too late and ‘all is lost.’

It’s tragic enough to repeat this mistake once, but it becomes a farce when one insists on repeating this mistake again and again.

As Karl Marx warned us: “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second time as a farce.” But as Marx’s fellow countryman and a contemporary of his, Hegel warned us that despite the costs of not learning the correct lessons from history, “the only thing we learn from history,” is that “we learn nothing from history.”

German Invincibility And Two Back-To-Back World War Defeats
Ironically enough, the warnings of Marx and Hegel were not heeded even in their own country, Germany.

Germany was convincingly routed in the First World War. However, instead of soul-searching and learning the right lessons, Germany sought to come to terms with its defeat through myth-making.

Now, this myth-making is remembered as the “Stab-in-the-back” myth. In the aftermath of the humiliating 1918 defeat, an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory was promulgated and widely believed by the German masses.

It sought to make sense of the German defeat by propounding that Germany could never be defeated.

According to this theory (and belief system), Germany was defeated not on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by certain citizens on the home front – especially Jews, Communists, and revolutionary socialists.

Further, it claimed that the German race is invincible and can never be defeated on the battlefield. The defeat in the First World War has hurt German pride, and this myth of German invincibility and the “Stab-in-the-back” theory helped a defeated people come to terms with their loss.

The “Stab-in-the-back” theory was an integral part of Nazi propaganda. This myth-making, or constructing alternative facts/history, not only led Germany into another defeat, this time even more devastating and humiliating than the first time, but also created conditions for the worst genocide of our times – the mass killings of Jews, Romanians, Poles and Communists at the hands of Nazis.

However, what is surprising is the sway this myth of German invincibility held over the German masses even until the last days of the Second World War, when both the Eastern and Western fronts had collapsed and the Soviet Red Army was knocking on the doors of Berlin.

Germans failed to see the reality until it was too late, and all was lost. The German homeland was now divided into two halves, East Germany and West Germany.

Myth-Making In Pakistani National Psyche And The 1965 War
The myth of German invincibility had striking parallels in the Pakistani national psyche in the 1960s. Over 800 years of history were narrated in a selective manner to suit a particular agenda.

Missing from this selective history in Pakistan was the reality of India at the eve of British invasion in 18th century when most of the Indian hinterland was under Maratha sway and most of the Pakistani Punjab, Multan, Sindh, and Kashmir, right up till the borders of Tibet in the East and Afghanistan in the West was under the Sikh kingdom.

In the first week of June 1965, a high-ranking Pakistan Army officer wrote an article in the Dawn newspaper recommending that the Pakistani strategy should “obviously be to go for a knock-out in the Mohamed Ali Clay style,” a reference to the American boxer, often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.

British Army historian Brian Cloughley writes in his book – A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections – that an official military directive from that time stated, “as a general rule, Hindu morale would not stand more than a couple of hard blows delivered at the right time and place.”

Wars fought 1000 years ago in West Asia were cited as evidence of an impending Pakistan victory. “Hus ke liya hai Pakistan, ladh ke lenge Hindustan” (We achieved Pakistan, laughing, we will take India fighting) was the war cry in Pakistan.

Believing in their absolute invincibility, Pakistan, like Nazi Germany, became a victim of its own propaganda and launched ‘Operation Gibraltar,’ named for a famous Moorish military victory in Medieval Spain. Pakistani war-fighting units were named after legendary warriors of the Islamic past – Suleiman, Salahuddin, and so on.

As it happened, Pakistani plans came to naught. During the 1965 war, even though Pakistan had the element of surprise, India was able to occupy nearly four times more land than Pakistan.

India was able to occupy 1920 sq miles of Pakistani territory, most of it in the fertile plains of Punjab and the strategic Haji Pir Pass in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). In comparison, Pakistan was able to occupy roughly 540 sq miles of Indian territory, most of it in the barren no-man’s lands of Rajasthan, though Pakistan had the advantage in the Chumb sector.

However, as India agreed to establish the status quo ante after the ceasefire, in Pakistan, the 1965 war was always taught and remembered as a victory. This myth-making was considered essential by the Pakistani defense establishment to maintain the morale of the society.

Though, as Marx had warned, this failure to learn from history led to Pakistan’s catastrophic defeat in the 1971 war, the humiliating surrender of 93,000 soldiers, and the loss of the country’s eastern half, which became a separate country in Bangladesh.

1971 War Amid Plethora Of Pakistani Lies
The importance Pakistan has always placed on winning the narrative war, even at the expense of battlefield victories, is best exemplified by a critical analysis of The Dawn’s front pages during the 13-day 1971 war.

The Dawn is widely regarded as Pakistan’s most respected newspaper internationally.

A critical analysis of these front pages from the newspaper’s war days reveals how the Pakistani people were kept in the dark about the actual battlefield situation until it was too late, and everything was lost.

In fact, reading these articles, any person would have believed that Pakistan was headed for a grand victory over India. These newspaper clippings also reveal Pakistan’s mastery of a hybrid ‘Narrative Warfare’ from an early era.

On December 4, 1971, the Dawn reported that “West Pakistan attacked at 7 points”. Then it says, “It’s Now all-out war.” Further, the newspaper reports that in response to the Indian attack, “PAF bombed 7 Indian airfields including Agra.” It created an impression that India was the aggressor.

Chinese Laser Weapon Is Claimed To Be In Russian Service.

Russia is using a new Chinese laser system to shoot down Ukrainian drones, according to pro-Russian Telegram channels. The system seen in a video posted to Telegram on Thursday appears to be at least extremely similar to a system Beijing has apparently already provided to Iran, which you can read more about here.

The video, posted on the Military Information Telegram channel, opens with scenes of troops inside a vehicle, flicking switches and looking at heavily pixelated screens. The next scene shows the system rising out of the vehicle and then being rotated by a soldier in the vehicle using a joystick. It then cuts to small fiery holes being burned into a metal plate. A subsequent view shows the plate with four holes burned through it, apparently created by the laser.

The next scene shows several screens, with one displaying video of a drone catching fire and spinning out of control, with the implication that the damage was caused by the laser system. A second drone is shown being hit by what appears to be the laser. The video ends with recovered drone segments with burn marks that could be indicative of a laser engagement.

While we can’t say for certain what system this is, or where or when the video was taken, as noted earlier, it is very similar to a system China apparently provided to Iran. From our previous story about that: “… it has a single large aperture on the left side. In addition, there is an aperture with a more squared-off shape on the right side … A similar, if not identical arrangement is visible in Chinese marketing literature for another counter-drone laser weapon called the Shen Nung (also transliterated Shennong). Containerized and 4×4 Dongfeng Mengshi light tactical truck-mounted versions of the Shen Nung – the Shen Nung 5000 and 3000, respectively – have at least been pitched in the past. The pictures reportedly taken in Tehran last week show the system behind a blue tarp screen, but what is visible could point to a containerized variant.”

This is a conclusion also drawn by Fabian Hinz, a research fellow for Defense and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“While the sensor arrangement seems to have been altered, the system observed in Russian service strongly resembles the Chinese Shen Nung 3000/5000 anti-drone laser,” Hinz noted on X.

Russian Telegram channels claim the system is already in use by the Nomad special forces unit and is a great improvement over earlier counter-drone laser designs.

“Previously, there was an opinion in the domestic information environment that combat lasers were useless and expensive toys,” wrote the Military Informant Telegram channel, which on Thursday was the first to publish the video.

“However, new threats identified during [the full-on invasion of Ukraine] forced the search for alternative methods of counteraction. Thanks to the development of new technologies, laser systems have become an effective tool for the destruction of Ukrainian UAVs.”

“It remains to be hoped that the topic of developing laser weapons in Russia will receive new impetus, and the experience of using lasers as air defense weapons will be scaled up throughout the country,” the channel added.

While Military Information did not explain what kind of system it was, the editor of a Russian military-themed magazine identified it as “the Chinese Low-Altitude Laser Defending System (LASS).”

It is used, “among others, by the People’s Armed Police of the People’s Republic of China,” wrote Kornev Dmitry, editor of the NOZS magazine and the MilitaryRussia.Ru website. “The developer and manufacturer of LASS is probably the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics.”

Though we don’t know many details about this system, it certainly is not the first laser directed energy weapon to be used in combat against drones.

Earlier this week, Israeli officials disclosed that Jerusalem has used a new air defense laser to shoot down Hezbollah drones in the current conflict in the Middle East.

As we noted in our story: “What is described as an adapted version of the Iron Beam system made its combat debut last October, and the definitive version should be fielded by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later this year, joining an already formidable, layered air defense network, something you can read about in more detail here.”

The use of the Iron Beam — also known by its Hebrew name Magen Or — was announced by the IDF, Israeli Air Force (IAF), and defense contractor Rafael, in a joint statement. These three organizations, it is said, “executed an accelerated development program to deploy revolutionary interception systems,” as part of an effort that also involved Israel’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development.

A World First — Combat-Proven Laser Defense, Powered by Rafael

For the first time in history, high-power laser systems have been used to intercept aerial threats in combat.
This unprecedented breakthrough took place during the Swords of Iron War — with Rafael’s advanced… pic.twitter.com/B3D6UdCJvE

— Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (RAFAELdefense) May 28, 2025

The U.S. has similar lasers deployed in small numbers to forward locations and vessels for early operational use and evaluation. Multiple countries are working on developing similar systems. Although progress is being made on adapting laser weapons to operational military use, it has been far slower than many had predicted, including the Department of Defense. These systems also have key limitations in terms of their range and environmental factors significantly impacting their performance. Thermal limitations can also limit their engagement efficacy against multiple targets. They also use relatively delicate components that have to be hardened to the rigors of forward operations, often in remote locales, with limited external support.

While there is still much we don’t know about the system that emerged on social media, the fact that Iran has likely fielded a Chinese system that closely resembles is a sign that it is on the market. Russia, China and Iran have growing relations as they seek to challenge the United States and its allies on the world stage, which includes both China and Iran providing weapons or supporting technologies to Russia in its fight against Ukraine.

China Emerges The “Most Distrusted” Neighbor Nation For South Koreans; Replaces ‘Colonial Power’ Japan.

China has reportedly displaced its longtime foe and former colonial power, Japan, in many South Koreans’ minds as the country’s most distrusted neighbor in recent years.

And ahead of Tuesday’s vote, anti-Chinese feeling has spread among South Koreans — online, at right-wing rallies, and in Seoul’s Chinatown.

Many of the quarter’s Chinese residents, such as 74-year-old Yu Shunzi, migrated to South Korea in the 1990s and 2000s in search of economic opportunities.

“A lot of Koreans still think China is a very backward country and discriminate against Chinese a lot,” she told AFP.

Yu, who arrived in 2007 from the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang, said the situation is so bad that she planned to move back when the economy allowed.

“I want to go home, but with the exchange rate being this low, I’d lose a lot of money,” she said.

While former colonial master Japan has long had a difficult relationship with South Korea, Seoul’s ties with China have increasingly come under the spotlight.

In 2022, polling conducted by Hankook Research showed for the first time that South Koreans distrusted China more than they did Japan — a trend that has continued in recent years.

Former leader Yoon Suk Yeol referred to vague allegations of Chinese spying when he tried to justify his declaration of martial law, which led to his ousting.

Conspiracy theories have since run rampant among the South Korean right, fuelling the distrust.

However, analysts also suggest that a series of clashes between Beijing and Seoul in recent years over history, territory, and defense are the deeper cause of the schism.

“China’s growing assertiveness is the main reason behind South Korea’s negative views about the country,” said Ramon Pacheco Pardo from King’s College London.

“Most South Koreans have no affinity towards today’s China,” the international relations professor told AFP.

Seoul has long trodden a fine line between top trading partner China and defence guarantor the United States.

Relations with China nosedived in 2016 following the South’s decision to deploy the US-made THAAD missile defence system.

Beijing saw it as a threat to its own security and reacted furiously, imposing a string of restrictions on South Korean businesses and banning group tours as part of sweeping economic retaliation.

A series of public spats about the origins of Korean cultural staples such as kimchi, which China had claimed as its own, also left a bitter taste.

Yoon’s administration deepened that divide, cleaving close to the United States and seeking to improve ties with Japan.

“Under his leadership, Seoul made its position unmistakably clear: it stood with Washington and its allies, not Beijing,” Claudia Kim, assistant professor at City University of Hong Kong.

Opposition leader and election frontrunner Lee Jae-myung has publicly hinted that a softer line might be in the works if he wins.

Beijing won’t “miss the opportunity to improve relations with the South” if Lee wins, Cheong Seong-chang at Seoul’s Sejong Institute told AFP, suggesting a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping could even take place.

Lee has also raised alarm bells by saying that a future conflict between China and Taiwan would not be South Korea’s concern.

That could put him on a collision course with the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has made containing China a cornerstone of its bid to reshape the international order.

“Trump’s focus on deterring China may lead to a mismatch of foreign policy priorities with Lee,” Edward Howell, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, told AFP.

Fake News Zooms
The compounding of deepening distrust of China has been accompanied by a surge in conspiracy theories.

Analysis by AFP revealed that many of the most widely circulated pieces of misinformation tap into fears of meddling by China.

Rallies in support of ex-president Yoon have featured calls to oust alleged “pro-Chinese Communist Party” forces, as well as posters with anti-Chinese slurs and slogans advocating for Chinese nationals to be deported.

A recent editorial in Beijing’s state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times condemned “far-right” forces in South Korea for “stirring up xenophobia” against Chinese people.

In Seoul’s Chinatown, Li Jinzi, 73, complained about a culture of “misinformation” that was breeding negative feelings towards her home country.

“Fake news breeds misunderstandings,” she said.

The Lebanese-French national who was accused of detonating explosives in a 2012 attack in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists was buried in a cemetery designated for fallen Hezbollah fighters, said a former Lebanese security official who negotiated the return of his remains.

The bomber was identified as Mohammad Hassan El-Husseini, 23. On July 18, 2012, he struck a group of Israeli tourists at Burgas Airport in Bulgaria, killing five Israelis, a Bulgarian bus driver, and injuring nearly 40 others, authorities said.

The explosion occurred shortly after the tourists, arriving on a charter flight from Tel Aviv, boarded a bus en route to their hotel. Israeli and Bulgarian authorities blamed the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.

El-Husseini was eventually identified through a DNA analysis by Bulgarian investigators working with Israeli, U.S., and European intelligence agencies.

Two senior lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee introduced legislation on Thursday seeking to rein in U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to impose tariffs and would require congressional approval for new levies within 60 days.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Democrat Maria Cantwell introduced legislation that would require the president to notify Congress on new tariffs with an explanation of the rationale, including an analysis of the potential impact on U.S. businesses and consumers.

Congress would need to pass a joint resolution of approval on the new tariff within 60 days. Otherwise all new tariffs on imports would expire.
"This bill reasserts Congress’ role over trade policy to ensure rules-based trade policies are transparent, consistent, and benefit the American public," Cantwell said. "As representatives of the American people, Congress has a duty to stop actions that will cause them harm."

The Trump administration is exploring a can-you-top-this financial maneuver if it were to obtain Greenland.

The White House cost analysis of a takeover is to essentially “offer a sweeter deal” to the semi-autonomous Danish territory’s government than Denmark does. The Danes allocate about $600 million a year to services for the island, WaPo estimated.

The U.S. offer under White House consideration “is a lot higher than that,” an official familiar with the plans told the Post. “The point is, ‘We’ll pay you more than Denmark does.’”

In a visit to Greenland last week, Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory. “You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” he said to the European nation. The Danish foreign minister admonished Vance for using such a tone with an ally.
President Donald Trump’s “musings” about annexing Greenland have morphed into concrete government action.

India is open to cutting tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports worth $23 billion in the first phase of a trade deal the two nations are negotiating, two government sources said, the biggest cut in years, aimed at fending off reciprocal tariffs.

The South Asian nation wants to mitigate the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's reciprocal worldwide tariffs set to take effect from April 2, a threat that has disrupted markets and sent policymakers scrambling, even among Western allies.

In an internal analysis, New Delhi estimated such reciprocal tariffs would hit 87% of its total exports to the United States worth $66 billion.
Under the deal, India is open to reducing tariffs on 55% of U.S. goods it imports that are now subject to tariffs ranging from 5% to 30%, said both sources.

In this category of goods, India is ready to "substantially" lower tariffs or even scrap some entirely, on imported goods worth more than $23 billion from the United States, one of the sources sai

Chinese state-linked social media accounts amplified narratives celebrating the launch of Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI models last week, days before the news tanked U.S. tech stocks, according to online analysis firm Graphika.
The accounts involved in the effort, including those of Chinese diplomats, embassies and state media, amplified media coverage of the launch and promoted the idea that DeepSeek challenged U.S. dominance in the AI sector, New York-based Graphika said.

The messaging was rolled out on platforms such as Elon Musk's X and Meta (META) Platforms' Facebook and Instagram, as well as Chinese services Toutiao and Weibo, Graphika said.
"This activity shows how China is able to quickly mobilize a range of actors that seed and amplify online narratives casting Beijing as surpassing the U.S. in critical areas of geopolitical competition, including the race to develop and deploy the most advanced AI technologies," Graphika Chief Intelligence Officer Jack Stubbs told Reuter