Japan: Survivors oppose Trump's announcement to resume nuclear testing

Today's headlines: Death toll from floods in central Vietnam rises to 13; Manipur government wants to close refugee camps in December; Taiwanese president rejects China's “one country, two systems” promise (not kept in Hong Kong); In Iran, state agency bans Halloween-themed events and sales.

UNITED STATES - JAPAN

Yesterday, minutes before meeting with Xi Jinping, Trump ordered the US military to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in 33 years to match China and Russia. Japanese groups of survivors (hibakusha) of the US atomic bomb are protesting against the directive. The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize group Nihon Hidankyo sent a letter of protest to the US Embassy calling it “absolutely unacceptable”. More than 200,000 people died when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only use of the weapon in history.

VIETNAM

The death toll from severe flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 13, with another 11 people missing, according to government reports, while residents of the flooded city of Hoi An have begun clean-up operations as water levels recede. Flooding caused by record rainfall has submerged a large area of central Vietnam in recent days, with the former imperial capital of Hue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Hoi An among the worst-hit cities.

INDIA

Some 60,000 people displaced by ethnic clashes in Manipur face an uncertain future as the government plans to close down all temporary relief camps by December. The violence, which broke out in May 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki peoples, was the most serious the region has experienced in decades. The government has repeatedly promised to resettle the displaced, but little has changed on the ground. Many say their lives remain in limbo: homeless and without a stable source of income.

TAIWAN - CHINA

President Lai Ching-te has said that Taiwan rejects the “one country, two systems” principle that China is promoting for the island, stating that Taipei intends to defend its freedom and democracy instead. Lai is responding to the latest pressure from Beijing to gain control of the island: again this week, China stated that it ‘will not rule out’ the use of force, mentioning a system of autonomy similar to that promised (but not delivered) to Hong Kong and Macao.

IRAN

An Iranian state agency has ordered that bars, restaurants and businesses do not organise Halloween-themed events or sales. “All types of ceremonies, gatherings, advertising or sales of items related to what is known as ‘Halloween’ are completely prohibited,” the Iranian Chamber of Commerce said in a statement, citing the need to protect “cultural, religious and social values”. It stated that the police would take legal action against offenders.

RUSSIA

During a visit to the Mandryk military hospital, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with participants in the war in Ukraine, declaring that Russians are ‘genetically predisposed’ to war, responding to an ‘Svo hero’ who said he had found records of his grandfather who had fought in the Great Patriotic War, taking him by the hand and showing him, saying: ‘See? He had it in his genetic code!’

UZBEKISTAN

The 43rd UNESCO General Conference opened in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which for the first time since 1985 will not be held in Paris, where the organisation is based, becoming the most prestigious event in the history of the Central Asian country, with over 5,000 delegates from 194 countries, including the presidents of Finland and Serbia and the Turkish Minister of Culture, who will support the proposal to declare 15 December “World Turkic Language Day”.

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