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Japanese parliamentarians have called on the prime minister to retract his erroneous remarks regarding Taiwan.

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

TOKYO, November 15 (Xinhua) — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently made erroneous comments about Taiwan during a parliamentary session, prompting lawmakers to call on her to retract her statements.

As reported by the Akahata newspaper on Saturday, Taku Yamazoe, a member of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and the House of Councillors (the upper house of parliament), stated on Friday that Takaichi's remarks had exacerbated tensions in Japan-China relations and led to mutual mistrust. He said that to prevent further deterioration in bilateral ties, Takaichi, as Prime Minister, should retract her statements.

Another House of Representatives (lower house) member of the Japanese Communist Party, Kazuo Shii, reiterated his call on Friday for Takaichi to retract her remarks. He noted that her comments on Taiwan were developing into a serious international issue, emphasizing that, to develop Japan-China relations in a positive direction, it is necessary to follow a course based on consensus reached by both countries through wisdom and calm dialogue, rather than making provocative statements that further escalate tensions.

During a Diet session on November 10, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) House of Representatives member Hiroshi Ogushi also called on Takaichi to retract his statements, as previous Japanese governments had taken a cautious stance on the issue.

At a parliamentary session on November 7, S. Takaichi stated that if mainland China were to use military courts and armed force against Taiwan, it could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan. She asserted that under Japanese law, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces could exercise their right to collective self-defense if such a situation were deemed "survival-threatening."

On the same day, S. Takaichi also insisted that her words were in line with the long-standing position of the Japanese authorities, and she did not intend to abandon them. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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US operation near Venezuela poses risks to regional stability – Iranian Foreign Ministry

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

TEHRAN, November 15 (Xinhua) — Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Saturday warned of "risky" consequences for international peace and security amid the escalation of US military activity in the Caribbean and Latin America.

In his statement, the diplomat called for respect for Venezuela's sovereignty and territorial integrity. These remarks came two days after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear in the Western Hemisphere, aimed at "combatting drug cartels."

E. Bagai noted that the US threats to use force against the legitimate government of Venezuela constitute a “flagrant violation of the law” and are contrary to the UN Charter.

The United States has sent several warships north of Venezuela, saying the mission is targeting suspected "narcoterrorists" it claims have ties to the Venezuelan government.

Since September, the United States has carried out 20 strikes on fishing vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing 80 people. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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The UN calls for a global effort to combat transnational organized crime.

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Source: United Nations – United Nations –

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November 15, 2025 Peace and security

Transnational organized crime has become one of the most serious threats of the 21st centuryIt kills hundreds of thousands of people, undermines state institutions, destroys ecosystems, and robs communities of a sense of security and faith in the future.

Today, criminal networks operate like well-organized corporations, and modern technology makes them even more stealthy and dangerous. The use of cryptocurrencies, anonymous companies, online platforms, and virtual assets allows them to move funds around the world in seconds.

Read also:

Stolen Past: How the International Community Combats Illegal Trafficking of Cultural Property

Illegal trafficking in arms, drugs, rare species of animals and plants, cultural property, counterfeit medicines, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, money laundering, and obstruction of justice all undermine human well-being and economic development.

A global threat requires a global response.

In 2024, the UN General Assembly proclaimed November 15 International Day for the Prevention and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized CrimeThis date is intended to highlight the need for international cooperation and draw attention to the scale of the threat.

Criminal groups have long since evolved beyond traditional mafia structures. They are now flexible networks operating across multiple jurisdictions. Victims, criminals, witnesses, and financial flows are spread across multiple countries, making international cooperation vital.

The key document for this remains UN Convention against Transnational Organized CrimeIt covers all serious crimes of a transnational nature and is today one of the most ratified international legal instruments.

The human price

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), approximately 22 percent of all intentional homicides worldwide—roughly 100,000 deaths per year—are linked to organized crime. But the damage doesn't end there.

Counterfeit medicines threaten the health of millions, illegal logging and mining destroy nature, polluted rivers and soils undermine food security, cyber fraud deprives people of their savings, and money laundering erodes trust in public institutions.

Blocking the channels of illegal income

The UNODC 2025 campaign focuses on the financial dimension of the problem. Transnational crime generates billions of dollars in illicit profits annually. These funds fuel human trafficking, drug trafficking, corruption, and armed conflict.

Modern technologies allow criminals to conceal the origin of funds, their final recipients, and their routes. Cryptocurrencies, shell companies, and complex cross-border transfer schemes make investigations increasingly challenging.

To effectively combat organized crime, the UN calls for:

Track illicit financial flows; Disrupt the financial structures of criminal groups; Strengthen international intelligence sharing and cooperation; Modernize legislation on virtual asset control; Enhance law enforcement investigative capacity; Return stolen assets to victim states and communities.

Financial investigations can identify the leaders of criminal networks, expose links between various crimes, and deprive groups of their economic base.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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The Security Council is preparing for the procedure of selecting a new UN Secretary-General.

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Source: United Nations – United Nations –

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November 14, 2025 UN

The UN Security Council held its annual debate on Friday to discuss its working methods, including the process for selecting the next Secretary-General in 2026.

Governments will soon begin submitting nominations for the leadership of the 80-year-old organization, whose top position traditionally rotates among geographic regions. However, the UN's highest office has so far been held exclusively by men.

The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, the most representative body of the UN, on the recommendation of the 15 members of the Security Council.

"Significant" responsibility

“As the year draws to a close, the Security Council approaches one of its most significant responsibilities – the process of selecting the next Secretary-General,” said Danish Ambassador Christina Marcus Lassen, co-chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions.

In the coming months, the Security Council, she said, will discuss how voting and interaction with candidates will proceed and how other UN member states will be informed about this work and its results.

Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's Permanent Representative, reported that in October, during its presidency of the Security Council, his country began working on a joint letter with the General Assembly calling on UN member states to nominate their candidates.

"We expect the document to be adopted quickly to formally begin this important process," he noted. "We hope the Security Council's efforts will help facilitate the selection of the most worthy candidate for the future head of the Secretariat."

A woman as General Secretary?

The next UN Secretary-General will take office in January 2027 and will be elected for a five-year term.

Since the post had never been held by a woman, the representative of Chile advocated for an "open, inclusive, and gender-inclusive process." "After 80 years, the time has come for a woman to lead this organization—a woman who, through her leadership and vision, can infuse the multilateral system with the credibility it needs to respond to the challenges of our time," he said, recalling that "it is now the turn of the Latin American and Caribbean region to assume this position."

Procedure for holding meetings

More than 40 countries took part in the debate, which discussed the updated consolidated guidelines on the Security Council's working methods, known as Note 507, adopted last December.

How exactly the Council meets has become especially important over the past year, given the scale of the crises, noted Lorraine Sievers, co-author of the book "UN Security Council Procedure."

"Of course, the primary focus is on the statements made here and the votes on draft resolutions," she said. "But even when Council members and non-Council members demonstrate sharply divergent positions, the Security Council and the UN itself can build or lose credibility depending on how organized and professionally the Council's meetings are conducted."

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Iran confirms detention of oil tanker in Gulf of Oman for 'violations'

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

TEHRAN, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that its navy detained a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker off the southern coast of Makran for "violations" in the Gulf of Oman, without giving details.

According to a statement released by the IRGC's official news portal Sepah News, the oil tanker Talara was tracked and seized by the IRGC Navy's Rapid Reaction Force on November 14 at 7:30 local time /04:00 GMT/ following orders from Iran's judiciary and after monitoring its movements.

The statement said the vessel was carrying 30,000 tons of petrochemical products bound for Singapore. After inspecting the vessel and checking its cargo and documents, the IRGC Navy confirmed that the tanker had "committed violations" by carrying "unauthorized" cargo.

As noted, the operation was carried out “in order to protect Iran’s national interests and resources.”

A U.S. official said on November 14 that Iran had detained a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and sent it into Iranian territorial waters, calling it the first such incident in months in the strategically important waterway.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Review: Russian experts are optimistic about Russia's plan to build logistics hubs in the Far East.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Vladivostok, November 15 (Xinhua) — Russian experts recently praised the Russian government's plan to build logistics centers on the border with China and North Korea in an interview with Xinhua.

On November 1, a list of instructions following this year's Eastern Economic Forum, approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was published on the Kremlin website. The list calls for measures to ensure the development of multimodal transport and logistics centers in the Far Eastern Federal District and improve their efficiency, including at the Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang and Blagoveshchensk-Heihe railway bridge crossings, as well as the bridge under construction across the Tumannaya River (towards North Korea), ensuring its operation begins in 2026 and that access roads to the bridge under construction are brought up to standard.

Artem Lukin, Professor of the Department of International Relations at the Far Eastern Federal University's Institute of Oriental Studies, said that President Vladimir Putin's order to build multimodal transport and logistics hubs in the Far East is entirely logical, as Russia has been pursuing a consistent policy of expanding and deepening economic cooperation with its closest neighbors in Northeast Asia—China and North Korea. Full-fledged cooperation is impossible without a developed transport infrastructure, which, among other things, requires the creation of multimodal transport and logistics hubs.

According to A. Lukin, priority attention is being given to the creation of transport and logistics hubs near two cross-border bridges across the Amur River—Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang and Blagoveshchensk-Heihe. Russian authorities want to accelerate the development of transport and logistics infrastructure (access roads, warehouses, transshipment centers, etc.) on the border with China, including to maximize the efficiency of the bridges across the Amur River, which were already built several years ago. The necessary infrastructure has already been created on the Chinese side, but Russia is still lagging behind.

A. Lukin indicated that Moscow wants to expedite the construction of a road bridge between Russia and the DPRK across the Tumannaya River, which is scheduled to be operational next year. Its significance lies in the fact that it will be the first road bridge between Russia and the DPRK. Until now, land transport between the two countries relied on only one railway bridge across the Tumannaya River, which is clearly becoming insufficient given the growing cooperation between Russia and the DPRK.

Emphasizing that the West's short-sighted sanctions policy has already led to a redistribution of global trade routes, Alexey Mikhalev, professor at the Department of International Relations at the Far Eastern Federal University's Institute of Oriental Studies, pointed out that while the processes underway in Russia are often referred to as a "pivot to the East," this partnership has deep roots and is oriented toward the long term.

A prime example of such a strategy, according to the expert, are plans to create logistics hubs in Blagoveshchensk and Nizhneleninsky. These measures are aimed not only at increasing trade turnover but also at improving the entire logistics system to avoid overloading railway lines, he added.

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Five terrorists were killed in northwest Pakistan, police said.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Islamabad, November 15 (Xinhua) — Five terrorists were killed in an intelligence-driven operation in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, police said on Saturday.

According to police, the operation was carried out by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in the Takhti Khel district after receiving credible information about the presence of terrorists there.

Police also said weapons and ammunition were seized from the scene, adding that the action taken prevented a possible attack in the region.

The department emphasized that the operation was part of ongoing efforts to dismantle extremist networks operating in the province. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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G20 summit will be held despite US absence – South African President

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

JOHANNESBURG, November 15 (Xinhua) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) leaders' summit will go ahead as planned despite the US decision not to attend.

Speaking in Kliptown, Johannesburg, on November 14, Ramaphosa stated that South Africa is ready to host world leaders and ensure the success of the meeting. "The summit will go ahead. We're not going to stop it just because they won't be here," he noted, emphasizing that most G20 leaders have confirmed their participation.

S. Ramaphosa indicated that US President Donald Trump had recalled all US representatives, citing allegations of abuse of Afrikaners and “genocide.”

Stressing that “boycott policies never work,” he added: “If you boycott an event or a process, you lose because the show will go on.”

The G20 Leaders' Summit will take place on November 22 and 23 in Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city and economic hub. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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The 9th China-South Asia Friendship Organizations Forum was held in the Maldives.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

MALE, November 15 (Xinhua) — The 9th China-South Asia Friendship Organizations Forum, jointly organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation Organization with China, was held in the Maldives from Thursday to Friday.

Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Special Envoy of the President of the Maldives and former President of the country, attended the event and delivered a speech. Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, led the Chinese delegation.

Representatives from governments and economic, trade, and cultural circles from eight Chinese cities and provinces, including the capital Beijing, Shanxi and Liaoning provinces, and the city of Jinan, held extensive exchanges with participants from the Maldives, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Discussions focused on strengthening economic, cultural, and tourism cooperation, as well as youth exchanges between China and South Asian countries.

Following the event, a joint declaration was published in which participants committed to working together to implement four key global initiatives, strengthen solidarity and cooperation in the Global South, and contribute to building a community with a shared destiny for humanity.

The next forum will be held in China in 2027. –0–

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The US is eliminating “equivalent” tariffs on some agricultural products.

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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

WASHINGTON, November 15 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump's administration issued an executive order on Friday to eliminate "equivalent" tariffs on some agricultural products to ease rising prices.

According to a document released by the White House, products no longer subject to the tariffs include coffee and tea, tropical fruits and fruit juices, cocoa and spices, bananas, oranges and tomatoes, beef and some types of fertilizer.

The order took effect on Thursday. Existing duties will be refunded.

U.S. President Donald Trump has determined that further review of the "equivalent" tariffs is necessary and appropriate given the significant progress in bilateral trade negotiations, current domestic demand for certain products, and domestic production capacity for certain products, according to a White House statement.

Tariff waivers are intended to lower prices and are primarily applied to foods that are "not competitive in this country," such as bananas, Trump told reporters on Friday.

The annualized increase in the US consumer price index for September 2025 was 3 percent, compared to 2.9 percent in August 2025. In particular, prices for beef and veal in September increased by 14.7 percent compared to the same period last year, and coffee by 18.9 percent. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.