by Dave De Camp, antiwar.com

The US, Japan, and South Korea on Monday kicked off five days of trilateral military drills for the third consecutive year, exercises that North Korea has denounced as evidence that the US is continuing hostile policies toward Pyongyang despite Washington cutting short earlier US-South Korean war games.

by Saima Afzal, asiatimes.com

Afghanistan is estimated to hold more than US$1 trillion in mineral resources. Rich stores of copper, lithium, gold, iron ore, rare earth elements, coal and precious stones lie beneath one of the world’s poorest and war-torn nations.

By Osama Bin Javaid ,  aljazeera.com

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan –  It was a round table of some of the most influential men in the world. Representing Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan – and when they extended to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus – Turkiye, as well as the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. Gathered here in Kyrgyzstan were countries at the centre of some of the world’s biggest geopolitical tensions.

Posted by Tyler Durden, Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,

Stronger appetite for Middle Eastern crude grades from China and India has added upward pressure on prices for these grades, pushing the Dubai futures close to $100 per barrel, Bloomberg reported today, citing unnamed traders.

by Tyler Durden

by Tyler Durden

Via Remix News,

Spain's construction industry is undergoing rapid demographic changes. Foreign-born workers in unskilled construction roles now make up 52.6 percent of all workers, according to data from Randstad from the first quarter

Erin Hale, aljazeera.com

United States allies in Asia are watching warily as Washington scales back some military assets in the region to meet demands in the Middle East, where the US-Israel war on Iran is dragging into its sixth month.

Iran says it has received numerous messages from neighboring countries regarding new security arrangements for the region. Tehran argues that the United States, through its bullying and disregard for the interests of its allies, has put their security at risk. According to Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, lasting peace and security can only emerge from a homegrown, independent regional order. This edition of Spotlight examines what these proposed security arrangements might entail and how they could reshape the region’s security landscape.