Taiwan, Taiwan
CNN
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The draft doding scandal in Taiwan, involving many actors, influencers and musicians, shines a misguided spotlight on draft forces and reserves who can stand during the island and China’s invasion one day.

Taiwan’s military service, running alongside traditional troops, faces accusations of not preparing conscription for actual war.

On Monday, authorities charged 28 defendants. Prosecutors allege that between 2016 and the beginning of the year, four rings helped 24 healthy men dodge the draft by fake hypertension and obtaining medical exemptions, helping them win a total of $7.63 million ($255,000).

At least 11 celebrities are currently under investigation.

Among those charged were actor Darren Wang. The 34-year-old was accused of paying $3.6 million ($120,000) for a fake hypertension diagnosis, gaining fame in the Chinese-speaking world as the boyish heartbeat of our time, 10 years ago.

He then began mandatory military service for men between the ages of 19 and 36. CNN contacted Wang’s representative for comment but received no response.

Such organized efforts to avoid conscription are viewed primarily as signs of indifference to the service of the people, rather than fear of military desolation.

“Presponding drafting is not a fatigue from training, it’s a sense of waste of time,” Chieh Chung, assistant researcher at the Taiwan National Defense Institute (NDSR), told CNN.

“Most of the time during the service we are dedicated to other tasks and are not actually combat-related.”

In 1949, the nationalist government lost a bloody civil war with the rebel Communist Party and fled to Taiwan, introducing forced military service to the island. That system has been in place in one way or another ever since – Beijing’s design on the island, which the Communist Party claims to be its own territory, is forced upon its own use.

However, military service has long been considered heroic. Conscriptions describe it as monotonous, confused, and often unrelated to modern warfare. It is a combination of indoor lectures, waiting times and outdated ritual training.

“Apart from learning to be effective, you’ll also be firing some bullets, giving lectures, mowing lawns, and putting up security duties. Everything related to nausea and polish’s military,” Mike Hunzeker, a former Taiwan-trained US officer, told CNN.

US officials who are not allowed to speak openly will quietly warn Taiwan’s reserves that remain the soft abdomen of its defensive posture.

One official said millions of previous conscriptions existed “on paper,” but years of truncated services and minimal review training made them “inadequate for modern warfare.”

Previous CNN interviews have shown that previous interviews with conscriptions have been dark pictures. Few or none of the live ammunition of units, decades-old rifles shared between cannon and mortar training.

There is no official estimate of the number of illegal draft Dodgers, but a tally by the Ministry of Home Affairs shows that between 2021 and 2023, cases of suspected obstruction of military service have risen from 309 to 553.

“It’s essential to reform military service as soon as possible,” said Wu Tzu-Li, Associate Research Fellow at INDSR. “In the end, fighting ultimately results in people who operate the weapons rather than the weapons themselves, so it’s important to receive solid education and training.”

Even Taiwanese leaders acknowledge the issue. Shortly after taking office in 2016, former President Tsai Ing-Wen called for cleaning reforms in contrast to papers around the issue, wasteful talent and operating inefficiently in so many different ways.

Last year, they sent military aircraft, naval vessels and coast guards near the island for nearly a day in response to the growing security threat from Beijing, which conducted at least three major military exercises around Taiwan. As of January 2024, the minimum active duty period increased from just four months to one year under previous policy.

These changes seem to be fruitful over time. Alex Chang was a recent conscription in his mid-20s who spoke to CNN and observed that training has been strengthened since the extension of forced military service. “The sound of bullet fire and explosions of hand rena bullets is moving non-stop on the training ground,” he said.

The effectiveness of the change has not yet been seen. Critics say that unless Taiwan is revamped how and what is being taught, young men will continue to see the draft as symbolic rather than strategic, not symbolic.

“What’s important is what training will be provided for new recruits,” says Chieh. “It’s important not to make them feel like they’ve been wasted for a year.”

Another US official added: “Taiwan has made good progress in strengthening the realism of reserve training, but there is nonetheless effort to update equipment and reform the organization of reserve forces.”

“Retraining and equipping existing reserves to operate asymmetric platforms such as drones and anti-aircraft missiles will have a major impact on Taiwan’s ability to stop conflict.”

In a statement to CNN, the Ministry of Defense said: “Marriage service is a civil duty as stipulated in the constitution. Any attempt to avoid conscription by any means should be condemned and subject to legal action.”

He added that the new one-year training period will include “conscriptions will receive systematic and comprehensive military training, including enlistment, stations, specialization, basic training, and joint exercises.

Nearby South Korea is another place characterized by long-term hostility with neighbors – military service is taken more seriously, counting down the number of days until major celebrities park their careers to pose as military fatigue.

Rather than undermining reputation, military service is often seen as a sign of key star integrity and patriotism. This gives the impression that they can enhance their careers after taking off their uniforms.

Earlier this month, band BTS’ K-Pop Superstars RM and V became the latest high-profile draftees to be released from the National Service. They each paid tribute to the cheers of around 200 fans when they were released from their mission in Chinchon city after about 18 months of active service.

Five other members of the highly popular group have completed or completed mandatory services and hope that the band will reunite within the next 12 months.

Even football superstar son Heung-Min, who avoided conscription through exemption after winning a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games with the South Korean national team, received four weeks of basic military training.

He said that in order for Taiwan to restore faith in conscription, Beijing will intensify, particularly as it intensifies, it will need to reduce loopholes, improve instruction, and modernize its training to reflect actual threats. It also says that cultural change is necessary. It values ​​service not as a symbol of the sky, but as preparation for a possible battle.

But it depends on whether recent reforms are intact or not.

“Fear” was a former draft lawsuit that “a new system looks like an old system.”

CNN
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The United States has hit three important nuclear sites in Iran, President Donald Trump said on True Social on Saturday evening as the Iran-Israel conflict entered its second week.

The Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz sites are at the heart of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and were previously targeted by Israeli strikes. This is what we know about them.

The nuclear complex, approximately 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is considered Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility.

Analysts say it will be used to develop and assemble uranium enriched centrifuges, a key technology that converts uranium into nuclear fuel.

Natanz has six buildings above ground and three underground structures, two of which can hold 50,000 centrifuges, according to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).

The site targets Israel’s first attack on Iran, with satellite photography and analysis showing that the strike has destroyed the ground portion of Natantz’s pilot fuel enrichment plant.

It is a vast site that has been operating since 2003, and according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran had enriched purity by up to 60%. Weapon grade uranium is concentrated to 90%.

The previous strike also knocked out electricity at a low level where the centrifuge was stored, two U.S. officials told CNN at the time. Since many of the facilities are underground, sweeping out the power to these parts is the most effective way to affect underground equipment and machines.

Much remains to be seen about the full size and nature of this secret, heavily equipped facility, located near the sacred city and buried deep in a group of mountains. A significant portion of what we know comes from a flock of Iranian documents stolen by Israeli intelligence agency several years ago.

The main hall is estimated to be 80-90 meters (approximately 262-295 feet) below the ground, making it extremely difficult to destroy the facility from the air. Israeli officials and the Independence Report said earlier, the United States is the only country that has the bombs needed for its deep attack. But analysts warn that even these bombs may not be enough.

“Iran is able to convert current stock of enriched uranium into 233 kg weapon-grade uranium in three weeks at the Fordaw fuel enriched plant,” says nine nuclear weapons, according to the Nonpartisan Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).

A recent IAEA report suggests that Iran has increased its production of enriched uranium to 60% levels in Fordow. According to experts and the IAEA, the facility includes 2,700 centrifuges.

Isfahan is located in central Iran and is home to the country’s largest nuclear research complex.

According to NTI, the facility was built with support from China and opened in 1984. According to the NTI, 3,000 scientists are employed in Isfahan, and the site says it is “suspected as a centre” of Iran’s nuclear program.

NTI says it “operates conversion facilities and fuel production plants,” as well as “three research reactors supplied by China” and “conversion facilities, fuel production plants, zirconium cladding plants and other facilities and laboratories.”

Tehran
CNN
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Iran’s government spokesman Fatem Mohajelani told Iran’s government spokesman Fatem Mohajelani that the prospect of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program “has no point” unless Israel stops attacking her country.

The streets were rather quiet in the Iranian capital, usually a bustling metropolis of over 9 million people. Over the past few days, traffic has increased as Iranians returned to the city after fleeing Israeli bombing during the early days of the conflict.

Despite the voices that the government is exchanging a blow with nuclear power (and waiting to see if they expect a fire from the US), Mohajelani relaxed. The first woman to serve as a spokesman for the Iranian government, was appointed by President Masoud Pezeshkian last August and took over her role a year ago.

She noted that Iran has endured numerous cycles of negotiations on its nuclear activity, but none has led to sustained long-term deals.

“We have experienced two painful experiences over the past few years,” Mohajelani said, pointing to President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2018 JCPOA agreement.

Mohajelani said no matter how enthusiastic Trump is to lead Iran to the negotiation table, Iran doesn’t want to be empty-handed again. And before talks begin, Israel’s bombing must stop, she said.

“This time, when this attack happened, we were again in the middle of negotiations,” Mohajelani said. “So, as the authorities have already said, as long as there is an attack, negotiations will be pointless. When the attack stops, we will think about it.”

Israel’s first broad operation on June 13th killed some of the most powerful commanders of the Iranian army and destroyed Iran’s uranium enrichment sites. Since then, daily strikes have damaged nuclear power plants, burned the largest natural gas fields, and wiped out the newsroom of one of the country’s national media channels.

Still, Mohajerani argues that Iran is ready for whatever the Israelis throw at them next.

“Both the government and the Iranian state are completely robust in defense,” she said. “Our military power is fully prepared to prevent such attacks from happening again, in the event that there is a need to practice legitimate defenses.”

So far, at least 430 Iranian civilians have been killed on strike and thousands of other people have been injured, according to the Iranian government. At a Tehran hospital, one woman named Nislin told CNN that she “barely reached the door” after being injured in an Israeli strike. One of her neighbors called it emergency services and brought her to the hospital.

“I had five surgeries,” she said from her hospital bed. “Abdomen, kidneys, liver.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s missile and UAV-led response have killed 24 people in Israel and injured more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli government figures. Iranian missiles struck deeper into Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, with one missile striking by hospitals.

At the heart of the conflict is the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

Israel and the United States have long accused Iran of working towards a nuclear bomb. Speaking to CNN, Mohajelani reiterated what Iranian officials have maintained for many years. Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme is not for weapons production, but for energy production.

“Atomic energy does not mean war for us,” Mohajelani said. “It means life for us. Therefore, we believe that abundance is our right, as the object of enrichment and the subject of life are the same path to us and not leading to war.”

Nevertheless, Israeli officials have cast their bombing campaigns on existential terms, as far as they say Iran’s nuclear program poses a threat to the entire planet.

“We will act to prevent the great threat of not only being Israel’s existence, but also being present in the entire region, Europe and the world order,” Israel’s Gideon Saa declared at the site of Lishon Legion’s Iranian missile strike.

It remains unclear whether Washington will take part in the fight. Trump has said he will decide whether to intervene within the next two weeks, but has already joined Israeli officials to publicly reflect on the benefits of assassinating Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Super Leader’ is hiding,” Trump wrote in his June 17th Truth Social Post.

Mohajelani was dull when asked about the possibility that Israel or the United States would target its head of state directly.

“This shows that Israel does not understand unity among the Iranian people,” Mohajerani said. “Israel should not do anything that cannot be paid for the damage. The Iranian people are supporting their leaders.”

“For all Iranians today, Iran is a unified concept and certainly should not be forgotten.”

CNN
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Pakistan officially recommended President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “decisive diplomatic intervention” following the surge in violence between India and Pakistan earlier this year.

The government praised Trump in May for leveraging his “vital leadership.” A few days of cross-border strikes marked the worst regional battle between two nuclear-armed states since 1971, killing dozens and robbing the fear of wider war.

Islamabad and New Delhi agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the US on May 8th. This is because the last one of the strikes burst as the two countries destroyed parts of the long-controversial Kashmir region where they assert full sovereignty.

“At the moment the turbulence in the region increased, President Trump demonstrated major strategic forecasts and stellar politics through his robust diplomatic involvement with both Islamabad and New Delhi,” the Pakistani government said in a statement on Saturday.

The US President helped “avoid wider conflict between two nuclear states that would have had devastating consequences for the region and millions of people beyond.”

“This intervention exists as evidence of his role as a genuine peace supervision and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue.”

Indian and Pakistani officials gave contradictory explanations as to how they reached the consensus on a truce at the time. Islamabad praised the White House’s involvement, but New Delhi downplayed it. He told them that the ceasefire was a victory, and that their neighbors cooperated in the ceasefire “directly.”

Governments, other agencies, and certain individuals may nominate those living or active organizations for the Nobel Peace Prize. The winner is decided annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Trump has long tried to present himself as a global peace superintendent.

Before his second term in office, the Republican leaders vehemently criticized the unsuccessful attempts of his predecessor, President Joe Biden, to negotiate the end of Israel’s brutal campaign in Gaza, following the attack on October 7, 2023 and Russia’s invasion of Russia’s full-scale Ukraine.

Now, a new war is being fostered in the Middle East after Israel unleashed a massive strike in Iran on June 13th, prompting retaliatory attacks from Tehran.

Iranian Iranian broadcaster IRIB reported that more than 400 people were killed on Saturday, citing Iran’s Ministry of Health. At least 24 people have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli government.

Israel says the attacks target nuclear sites and high-ranking military officers. Tehran retaliated with drone and missile attacks in northern and southern Israel.

Earlier this week, Trump set up a voluntary two-week timeline for his decision to involve the US military in Iran. Iran’s foreign minister said his country would not re-enter negotiations with the US while under attack from Israel after meeting with EU civil servants and foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday.

Just Friday, Trump tried to highlight his diplomatic success in the Middle East and beyond, but suggested he would not get recognition from them.

“I will not win the Nobel Peace Prize to stop the war between India and Pakistan,” he posted on the Truth Social Platform.

“Nobel Peace Prize, whatever I do, whether it’s Russia/Ukraine or Israel/Iran, what’s the result?

CNN
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People trying to call friends and loved ones in Iran were instead met with strange, pre-recorded audio messages. This is also among experts who believe this is part of the administration’s wider internet blackout.

On the phone recordings heard by CNN, non-Iranians who wanted to hear their friends on other lines met instead by robotic voices. “Hello, thank you for taking the time,” the voice says.

“Life is full of unexpected surprises,” continues.

“The key is to discover the strength within us to overcome these challenges.”

An unsettling message that lasts nearly 90 seconds encourages listeners to close their eyes and imagine themselves in a place that brings “peace and happiness.”

There have been many different variations reported, but this version appears to have been heard most often by non-Iranians calling mobile phones in the country on Wednesday and Thursday. When calling landlines, no similar messages are reported.

The message was heard widely after Iran imposes temporary national restrictions on internet access on Wednesday, citing security concerns. This means WhatsApp is down, so people abroad have started calling Iranian friends and family directly, not via the app. Messages are reportedly not heard if a call is made through the app.

The first assumption for many Iranians was that the message was the result of Israeli cyberattacks. Others see Iranian authorities as behind them.

Alp Toker, founder and director of NetBlocks, a non-governmental organisation that monitors internet governance, sees it as a message from the Iranian government to limit telecommunications as part of a broader internet censorship measure.

“The point is that once the internet is cut, the phone needs to go somewhere, and that’s what’s going to be sent to the fallback message on the device,” he told CNN.

Toker added that it was a phenomenon that NetBlocks saw in various locations around the world when internet access was reduced. “Sometimes there are summer ads and sometimes there are other nonsense,” he said.

According to Toker, the message generates a speech from the text. He believes they appear to be set quickly.

“It’s the usual form of gateways that respond to the type of messages you might get from the National Gateway when the call doesn’t answer,” he said. “It seems they’re using settings. They also have a small box that you can put in the settings, and they put something in it and it was generated before school.”

Meanwhile, a UK-based telecommunications expert who heard the recording of the most commonly heard messages said, “The call appears to be hijacked after the second ring. This is very unusual and deeply concerning. This suggests interference at the network level – before proper connections are established” experts asked not to be named for safety reasons.

Neither Israel nor Iran has issued an official statement regarding the recorded phone messages.

“After about 62 hours of serious uproar, access to international internet services was partially restored in parts of Iran on Saturday.

“While some areas have seen improvements, overall connectivity is below normal levels, continuing to hinder our ability to communicate freely and access independent information,” he added.

The semi-dedicated Tasnim News Agency reported that international internet services will resume citing the Minister of Communications by 8pm on Saturday. However, Tasnim later reported that, citing the same minister.

According to the Ministry of Communications, Iranians abroad can contact families in Iran through domestic messaging apps.

The Iranian government frequently restricts internet access in the country. During the 2022 national protests, authorities implemented multiple internet shutdowns to curb the objections.

AP
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Belarus has released Sergei Tykanovsky, the husband of Svetlana Tykanovskaya, a major opposition leader and exiled opposition leader, and after a rare visit by senior US officials, Tikanovskaya’s team announced on Saturday.

Popular blogger and activist Tikanovsky, who was imprisoned in 2020, arrived in Bilinus, Lithuania along with 13 other political prisoners, his wife’s team said. The release comes hours after Belarusian authorities announced that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko had met with the envoy of Ukrainian President Donald Trump in Minsk.

A video published on his wife’s official telegram account showed Tikanovsky unloaded a white minibus, showing a shaved head and a wide smile. He pulled Tikanovskaya into a long embrace as their supporters applauded.

“My husband is free. It’s difficult to explain the joys of my heart,” Tikanovskaya told reporters. However, she adds that the team’s work is “not over,” with over 1,100 political prisoners remaining behind Belarus’ bars.

Tikanovsky was jailed after announcing plans to challenge Lukashenko in the 2020 election. After his arrest, his wife ran in his place and rallyed a large crowd from around the country. The official election results handed Lukashenko for his sixth term in office, but were condemned by the opposition and the West for fakes.

Tikanovskaya left the country under pressure from the authorities as unprecedented protests erupted in the aftermath of the vote. Her husband was later sentenced to 19.5 years in prison for organizing a massive riot.

Other prominent dissidents remain in Belarusian prisons. Also behind the bar is Victor Bavarica, a former banker who was widely seen as Lukashenko’s main rival in 2020, and Maria Colles Nikova, the charismatic leader of the mass protests that year.

Released alongside Tikanovsky was longtime Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent Ihal Karnei. Karnei, who also worked with the well-known Belarusian and Russian newspapers, had provided three years of service on charges of extremism that he rejected as a fake.

The Belarusian service of RFE/RL was designated as extremists in the country, a common label handed over to critics of Lukashenko’s government. As a result, working for it or spreading its content became a crime.

“We are deeply grateful to President Trump for securing the release of this brave journalist who was suffering at the hands of Belarusian authorities,” broadcaster CEO Stephen Capus said in a press release on Saturday.

Karnei was taken into custody several times while covering the 2020 protests. Unlike many of his colleagues, he chose to stay in Belarus despite subsequent oppression. He was arrested again in July 2023.

Belarus also liberated the Estonian people who established NGOs to raise funds for Belarusian refugees. According to the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alan Roio was detained last January and sentenced to six and a half years in prison for establishing an extremist organization.