South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
U.S. to Begin Paying UN Dues as Financial Crisis Spurs Push for Reforms 
Trump Signs “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” to Prioritize U.S. Weapons Sales 
Norway Opens Corruption Probe Into Former PM and Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjoern Jagland Over Epstein Links 
U.S. Announces Additional $6 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Cuba Amid Oil Sanctions and Fuel Shortages 
Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape 
Netanyahu to Meet Trump in Washington as Iran Nuclear Talks Intensify 
Trump Allows Commercial Fishing in Protected New England Waters 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
TrumpRx.gov Highlights GLP-1 Drug Discounts but Offers Limited Savings for Most Americans 
Ohio Man Indicted for Alleged Threat Against Vice President JD Vance, Faces Additional Federal Charges 
Trump Allegedly Sought Airport, Penn Station Renaming in Exchange for Hudson River Tunnel Funding 
Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality 
Japan Election 2026: Sanae Takaichi Poised for Landslide Win Despite Record Snowfall 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
Missouri Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Starbucks’ Diversity and Inclusion Policies 
Nighttime Shelling Causes Serious Damage in Russia’s Belgorod Region Near Ukraine Border 
Last week, a Japanese official said a Japanese construction firm was granted a sanctions exemption by the United States to pay a company owned by the Myanmar military. This may be the first publicized sanctions exemption should it be confirmed.
Friday last week, an official from the Japanese foreign ministry said a construction firm Yokogawa Bridge Corporation discussed with US officials a bridge in Myanmar’s Yangon region that is funded by the Japanese government. The bridge was approved before the Myanmar generals seized power in a coup in February 2021.
“They were able to continue the project because US authorities agreed to make an exception for the sanction in this case,” the official told Reuters but did not detail why Washington granted the exemption.
The US Treasury Department said it could not confirm whether it granted an exemption to pay Myanmar military-backed Myanmar Economic Corporation. If confirmed, it would be the first publicized sanctions exemption to the penalties issued against businesses linked to the junta.
The Myanmar military has since been under sanctions by the West since the February 2021 coup and has been accused of committing human rights abuses in its crackdown on coup opponents. The Treasury has also targeted the MEC, making the designation in March 2021, not long after the coup was carried out.
Human Rights Watch said financial transactions showed that the Yokogawa Bridge Corporation paid MEC around $1.3 million from July to November 2022. The group said the payments were transferred through Japan’s Mizuho Bank Ltd., which is part of a major Japanese holding company that has offices all over the world.
The Myanmar junta appears set to cement its rule over the country as it announced new election requirements on Friday for parties to contest in the elections that will be held this year. The junta has pledged to hold elections in August, and state media said on Friday that parties that plan to contest nationally must have at least 100,000 members compared to the previous standard of 1,000. Parties must also commit to running for election in the next 60 days or be de-registered.
The new rules appear to be in favor of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is full of former generals. The party suffered major losses when Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy beat them in the 2015 and 2020 elections.
