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Iain Marlow
For Iain Marlow's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a tactical missile weapons system facility at an unknown location on Tuesday. North Korea has turned to deploying IT workers overseas for government revenue, in addition to relying on cyberattacks and other online crimes.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 17, 2024
North Koreans worked remotely for U.S. firms to fund missiles
A U.S. national helped three North Korean IT workers obtain "illicit telework employment” with hundreds of firms using the identities of U.S. citizens.
CIA Director William Burns testifies during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on worldwide threats on Capitol Hill in Washington in March 11.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 11, 2024
U.S. spy chief becomes key envoy as Biden-Netanyahu ties fray
CIA Director William Burns is quietly keeping Washington’s lines of communication open across the Middle East.
Displaced Palestinians construct makeshift shelters in the rubble of destroyed homes after fleeing from Rafah, in central Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2024
Biden warns he’d hold back more weapons if Israel invades Rafah
U.S. President Biden's warning does not signify a break with Israel, U.S. officials said, but is rather to exert as much pressure as possible.
World Central Kitchen’s damaged vehicle hit by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 4, 2024
Strikes in Gaza and Iran show limits of Biden’s leverage on Israel
They draw scrutiny to the question of how much leverage the U.S. president has over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and whether he’s willing to exert it.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the North Korean Ministry of National Defense on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army, in Pyongyang in this picture released on Feb. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024
North Korean arms trade is China’s problem too: U.S. official
Jung Pak's comments reflect long-running frustration in Washington over China’s unwillingness to help influence Pyongyang’s behavior.
Houthi tribesmen gather to show defiance after U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on Houthi positions near Sanaa, Yemen, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2024
U.S. promises more Mideast strikes while trying to avert wider war
Officials framed the U.S. strikes as a necessary and inevitable response to the killing of three U.S. soldiers in a drone strike in Jordan a week ago.
An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires toward Gaza on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war Cabinet have been under increasing pressure to bring home the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 2, 2024
Gaza cease-fire negotiations advance as Israel-Hamas war grinds on
While talks are still in the early stages, sources said the proposal had a realistic chance of success and could lead to a longer-term cease-fire.
William Burns
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2024
U.S. aims to use Israel-Hamas deal to open wider peace talks
CIA chief William Burns, who helped reach a previous deal to release Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, is set to join fresh talks in the coming days.
Military cadets salute during a military funeral procession for Houthi fighters killed in recent U.S.-led strikes on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2024
U.S. now pursuing ‘least bad’ option in confronting Houthis
Analysts and the Houthis themselves have said that the airstrikes won’t stop them — especially if the U.S. refuses to target the group’s main backer, Iran.
Iraqi security forces' stationed in Baghdad's Tahrir Square following U.S. air strikes on Tuesday
WORLD
Dec 27, 2023
Houthi attacks and U.S. strikes raise risk of wider Middle East war
The number of nonstate groups and the unpredictability of actions by Israel and Iran makes it difficult to forecast when incidents might escalate.
Newly recruited Houthi fighters march during a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, on Dec. 2.   REUTERS
WORLD
Dec 14, 2023
U.S. working with allies to stop Houthi Red Sea attacks
The Houthis — based in Yemen and backed by Iran — vowed to target Israel’s assets until it abandons its campaign to destroy Hamas.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to Amman, Jordan, early Tuesday after overnight negotiations in Tel Aviv with Israeli officials, including Benjamin Netanyahu.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 17, 2023
U.S. whirlwind Israel diplomacy hits hard Middle East realities
The top U.S. diplomat's flurry of travel to Arab capitals appears to have resulted in little beyond President Joe Biden's planned visit to Israel.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump in a courtroom during proceedings for his civil fraud trial in New York on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2023
The key nuclear secrets Trump allegedly leaked
Trump gave key details on the U.S. Navy’s elite submarine fleet to an Australian billionaire, according to reports.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2023
China’s aggression pushes others toward U.S., top official says
Pentagon official cited cooperation with the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and the AUKUS alliance
A visitor looks at portraits of former United Nations Secretaries-General at U.N. headquarters ahead of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023
World disappointed by the U.N. now looks elsewhere for answers
If the body's strongest members keep resisting reform, the Global South may have no choice but to seek new options, including those offered by China.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before a meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 7, 2023
Blinken vows to give Ukraine what it needs for offensive
Blinken's visit comes as Zelenskyy has escalated a crackdown on corruption, which remains a major concern for allies.
A market in Kolkata, India. Developing nations are demanding control of their resources, in part by insisting on factories in their own countries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2023
The Global South breaks away from the U.S.-led world order
Developing nations are demanding control over their resources and reordering relationship that date back to colonial times.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 20, 2023
Caution in Washington and Beijing after Blinken’s trip achieves limited results
The most positive outcome of the visit by the top U.S. diplomat was the pledge to keep talking, but Washington didn’t get the one thing it really wanted.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 16, 2023
F-16 planes will send a message to Putin: NATO support isn’t waning
By providing some of the most sophisticated and expensive weapons to date, Kyiv’s backers will tie Ukraine’s military more closely than ever to the bloc.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 10, 2023
Documents in Trump indictment were among nation’s most closely guarded
The fresh revelations will unsettle allied nations that share such classified information with the U.S., experts said.

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