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A US military operation to shoot down a Chinese "spy balloon" that had been hovering in American airspace came at a tense time for the two superpowers, whose relationship has been on rocky ground for years. But how did the US successfully down it with a single missile - and what intelligence are they now hoping to find in the wreckage? A vast underwater search is now taking place to find the remains of the balloon, which the United States is confident will show the Chinese were lying about its purpose above American airspace. China has previously said it was used for meteorological research and veered off course due to high winds, and with limited "self-steering capabilities" it was unable to right itself. Yet the Pentagon says the balloon, which was carrying sensors and surveillance equipment, was manoeuvrable and showed it could change course when it loitered over sensitive areas of Montana where nuclear warheads are siloed. The balloon was then seen … [Read more...] about How did the US successfully shoot down China’s ‘spy balloon’ with a single missile – and what was on it?

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has scheduled a major political conference to discuss the “urgent task” of improving its agricultural sector, a possible sign of worsening food insecurity as the country's economic isolation deepens amid a defiant nuclear weapons push. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Monday that members of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Politburo met on Sunday and agreed to hold a larger plenary meeting of the party’s Central Committee in late February to review strategies on agriculture and set new goals. It said the Politburo members acknowledged a “a turning point is needed to dynamically promote the radical change in agricultural development.” “It is a very important and urgent task to establish the correct strategy for the development of agriculture and take relevant measures for the immediate farming … to promote the overall … [Read more...] about North Korea party meeting set to discuss ‘urgent’ food issue

Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana said Friday Montanans asked his office if they could “take a shot” at a Chinese spy balloon over the state. “This has been a tremendous embarrassment for the United States of America. It’s one more example of the weakness of the Biden administration on the global stage,” Daines told “The Story” host Martha MacCallum. “Their lack of response, the show of weakness is provoking, is provoking our adversaries and making America weaker. I’ll tell you how we found out about it, we had Montanans calling our office saying they saw a balloon in the sky. In fact, a lot of Montanans said, ‘Is it okay if I take a shot at it?’” (RELATED: ‘This Is Really Egregious’: Former Trump Nat Sec Official Slams Biden Admin’s Inaction On Chinese Spy Balloon) The Department of Defense (DOD) announced Thursday that it had tracked the Chinese balloon as it crossed over Montana, drawing criticism from former Trump administration officials like Republican Rep. Ryan … [Read more...] about Montanans Asked If They Could ‘Take A Shot’ At Chinese Spy Balloon, Steve Daines Says

Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Joe Biden allowed the Chinese balloon to complete its mission. Anchor Chuck Todd said, “So the decision to take this down, what more have you learned, and you’re part of the so-called Gang of Eight. I don’t think you guys have gotten a personal briefing, but I know staff has. What more can you tell us about the takedown operation?” Turner said, “Clearly, the president taking it down over the Atlantic is sort of like the quarterback tackled after the game is over. The satellite had completed its mission. This should never have been allowed to enter the United States and never should have been allowed to complete its mission. If you ask somebody to draw an x at every place of our sensitive missile defense sites, nuclear weapons infrastructure, nuclear weapons sites are, you would put them all along this path. Clearly, this was an attempt by China to gather information to defeat our command and … [Read more...] about GOP Rep. Turner: Biden Allowed Chinese Balloon to ‘Complete it’s Mission’

WASHINGTON — A foreign spy craft miles above the earth. A missile fired to bring it down. A flimsy cover story: just a weather plane! A high-stakes diplomatic meeting ruptured and tense superpower relations inflamed. History, like good television, may not repeat, but sometimes it reaches back to earlier seasons for inspiration. To students of the Cold War, the saga of the Chinese balloon crossing American airspace seemed eerily reminiscent of the U-2 spy plane incident that provoked a tense confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was one of the most fraught moments of the four-decade conflict pitting East against West, with enduring consequences. In that case, the nation spying on a rival was the United States, which regularly sent the high-altitude U-2 surveillance planes over Soviet territory confident that they were beyond the reach of Russian surface-to-air missiles — until just such missiles knocked one of its planes out of the sky on May 1, 1960. … [Read more...] about A Foreign Spy Craft. Superpowers on Edge. But It Was 1960, Not 2023.

A former CIA officer said on Sunday that she is "hopeful" about the information that can now be recovered from the downed Chinese spy balloon. The strange craft was first sighted over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday, and despite China's claims about it being a weather balloon, it was ultimately found to be a surveillance device. Following days of debate and calls for the craft to be shot down, the U.S. military finally took out the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday afternoon roughly six nautical miles off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Countering criticism over the government's seeming inaction against the balloon earlier in the week, President Joe Biden said that he first ordered the balloon destroyed on Wednesday, but military officials insisted that they wait until it was over the ocean, to prevent debris from harming people on the ground. Following its destruction, the government began the process of recovering parts of the craft to see what … [Read more...] about Former CIA officer explains how Chinese spy balloon may benefit U.S.

The Treasury has signalled there is no new money for defence despite recognising the urgent need to rearm in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine, defence sources have said. At the same time, the sources said a "refresh" of UK defence policy - that was meant to inform the spending plans of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - could be delayed until after the March budget because an initial draft failed to reflect sufficiently the transformed security environment in Europe, where a land war is raging. "It is not very joined up government," according to one source, who was speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. The comments came after Sky News last week revealed that a senior US general had told Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that the British Army is no longer regarded as a top level, or "tier one", fighting force following decades of cuts to its size and strength. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video … [Read more...] about Ammunition running out but ‘no new money’ for defence despite war in Ukraine, sources say

The Chinese spy balloon might be down , but the diplomatic temperature continued to rise Sunday as officials in Beijing blasted the U.S. decision to shoot it out of the sky. Describing it as “a clear overreaction,” Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry, said in a statement Sunday that his country reserved “the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations.” In a similarly strongly worded statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said it was “a serious violation of international customary practice.” Both statements described the balloon as a “civilian unmanned airship,” and China had previously said the orb was used for research and “meteorological purposes.” An American F-22 Raptor shot down what the Defense Department called a “high-altitude surveillance balloon,” with a single missile off South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. The U.S. military will now focus on salvaging parts of the craft from a debris field that spans about 7 nautical … [Read more...] about Downed spy balloon leads to rise in diplomatic tensions between U.S. and China