China on Monday blacklisted four Japanese government defense research institutes and imposed tighter export restrictions on dozens of other Japanese entities, escalating a months-long campaign to limit Tokyo’s access to Chinese-origin dual-use goods.

The Ministry of Commerce added 20 entities on the export control list and another 20 — including Mitsui E&S Co., drone maker Terra Drone Corporation, nuclear fuel processors, and multiple units of OKI Electric Industry — on a watch list requiring enhanced licensing scrutiny. Both actions take effect immediately.

The authorities would implement “stricter end-user and end-use reviews on exports of dual-use items by entities on the watch list,” the ministry said.

“Exports involving Japanese military users, military uses, and any other end-user uses that contribute to enhancing Japan’s military strength will not be approved,” according to the statement.

In February, China prohibited exports of dual-use items to 20 Japanese entities that Beijing said supplied Japan’s military.

In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for the commerce ministry said Japan had shown no remorse since the February listings and had instead “accelerated” its push toward what Beijing characterizes as “new-style militarism” — including deploying offensive weapons and launching offensive missiles overseas.

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The U.S. has launched an investigation into Germany’s pharma policies over what it referred to as “persistent underpayment” for medicines as the European country looks to limit spiraling healthcare costs, including spending on drugs. 

“President Trump has made clear that American patients should not be shouldering a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement late Thursday. 

“I am particularly concerned with news that Germany is fast-tracking legislation that would further reduce its spending on innovative pharmaceuticals,” he said, calling it “a serious step backwards.” 

In April, Germany proposed overhauling its health insurance system to reduce pressure on public finances, as health spending has increased substantially in recent years. 

It introduced a range of cost-saving measures, including higher discounts for insurance funds from the pharma industry, prompting numerous drugmaker executives to warn that they might withdraw or delay new medicines in the country. 

The draft legislation is currently going through parliamentary processes. 

The U.S. investigation was initiated under Section 301 of the Trade Act, which allows unilateral action against countries with unfair practises that burden U.S. commerce. 

Greer said that U.S. trading partners must pay their fair share to fund research into new medicines, and that the investigations come after months of discussion with German partners. 

The Trump administration last year introduced the so-called Most Favored Nation drug policy, or MFN, that ties the prices of medicines in the U.S. to lower ones abroad.

The German Health Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FBI disrupted an alleged plot targeting Sunday’s UFC cage-fight event at the White House, FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday. Newly unsealed court documents detailed a plan investigators said involved explosive-laden drones and shooters targeting crowds fleeing the event.

Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio man, has been charged with multiple felony counts in connection with the alleged plot, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. and attempted murder of an officer or employee of the country, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.

The complaint was signed June 12, two days before President Donald Trump hosted the UFC showcase on the White House South Lawn as part of his 80th birthday celebration.

A preliminary search of Proper’s iPhone revealed encrypted group chats that “laid out detailed plans to conduct an attack in Washington, D.C. with several unidentified confederates,” according to the complaint.

Investigators said the alleged plan involved flying small drones carrying explosives near the UFC arena, forcing spectators and “high value targets” to evacuate. Members of the group would then shoot at the fleeing crowd, according to court documents.

“According to Proper, this attack was designed to ‘jumpstart’ a revolution in the United States,” an FBI affidavit said.

Patel revealed the alleged plot in a post on X Tuesday morning.

“On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region,” Patel wrote in the post.

Patel said the FBI, the Justice Department and other law enforcement partners moved quickly in a multistate operation, putting “multiple individuals” in custody and stopping “allegedly planned attacks” before they were carried out.

Investigators said the case began when Proper’s mother contacted law enforcement June 10 out of concern over her son’s conduct, including firearms purchases and online communications with certain individuals, according to the complaint.

When law enforcement went to the family’s home in Ohio, they found thousands of rounds of ammunition, an assault-style rifle and a bullpup rifle that had been purchased June 5 and painted with an American flag, according to court documents. Proper’s family voluntarily turned over the equipment, investigators said.

Proper had allegedly joined a TikTok messaging group called “Vanguard of the Old” in March, according to the complaint. Members of the…

U.S. Central Command on Monday said Iran fired two ballistic missiles overnight targeting American forces stationed in Kuwait, the latest in a series of attacks that further undermines a threadbare ceasefire.

The missiles fired Sunday night at 11 p.m. ET were successfully intercepted and no U.S. personnel were harmed, CENTCOM said in an X post.

“U.S. Central Command remains vigilant and will continue to protect our forces from Iranian aggression while supporting the ongoing ceasefire,” the post said.

The attacks followed “self-defense strikes on Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones” that the U.S. said it conducted over the weekend in response to prior Iranian aggression.

The kinetic exchanges between the U.S. and Iran came as Israel ramps up its military offensive in Lebanon against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.

Iran has repeatedly said that Israel’s attacks in Lebanon constitute violations of its ceasefire with the U.S., which began in mid-April as a two-week pause and was later extended indefinitely by President Donald Trump.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an X post Monday morning said, “The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

“Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” he wrote.

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