Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has been assassinated while giving a campaign speech in southern Japan, shocking a country in which political violence is rare and guns are tightly controlled.
Abe is Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, having headed the government for 3,188 days in total up to his resignation in September 2020.
Despite stepping down, he remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), controlling one of its major factions.
The brutal war for control of the mineral-rich country has killed more than 15,000 people, sparked the world’s biggest displacement crisis and left 18 million people facing acute food insecurity.
Despite world defense spending reaching a record $2.2 trillion last year, 77% of citizens of NATO countries believe they should increase or maintain defense spending – up from 70% in 2021.
Shadow warfare between Israel and Iran increasingly threatens to spill over into open conflict. Iran avoids state-on-state hostility by pursuing asymmetrical warfare through proxy armies.
Israeli retaliation for Iran’s missile attack will focus on reestablishing deterrence and preventing similar attacks, but any response risks pushing the Middle East further toward all-out war.
The U.S., UK, and allies are preparing to issue more sanctions against Iran following its attack on Israel. Decades of sanctions have taken a severe toll on Iran’s economy.
