Military

If China’s show of force over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip was meant as a deterrent, it has not had the intended effect in Taiwan, where the military drills have reinforced a careful two-pronged strategy of shoring up international support, while avoiding overt confrontation. The exercises, which encircled the self-ruled island and simulated a blockade, appear instead to have hardened the Taiwanese belief in the value of the island’s diplomatic, economic and military maneuverings to stake out a middle ground in the big-power standoff between China and the United States. Under President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese officials have quietly courted Washington, making gains with weapon sales and vows of support for the democracy. They have also held back from flaunting that success, in an effort to avoid outbursts from China, which claims the island as its own. As Beijing vows to normalize the military drills ever closer to Taiwan, that approach is likely to guide the island’s … [Read more...] about As China Vows More Military Exercises, Taiwan Is Undeterred

The next phase of the Ukraine War, a new Russian offensive and a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive, seems all but inevitable for late winter or early spring. The logic of escalation is prevailing, the mutual belief that no peace deal is possible until the other side understands that it can’t win. The Ukrainian hope for how this escalation ends was sketched out by Mykhailo Podolyak, a key adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a recent interview with Bruno Macaes for The New Statesman. “Russia will embark on some minor offensive actions in a short period of time,” Macaes summarizes. “A lot of manpower will be lost. After that, it will face a series of significant defeats.” This will lead to Russian unraveling: Major cities will be lost, some kind of military collapse will follow, and then there will be “uncontrolled political transformation” within the Russian Federation itself. Podolyak doesn’t predict that all of this will happen this spring, suggesting that the timing … [Read more...] about The Costs of a Long War in Ukraine

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.

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Expectant parents may want to consider moving to Scandinavia, as a new report has revealed Denmark, Sweden and Norway top the list of best countries in the world for raising a child. The findings are according to the annual Best Countries Report, conducted by US News & World Report and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, which point to the Scandinavian countries’ “generous paternal and maternal leave” and free preschool. “These countries tend to have generous paternal leave and maternal leave, offer free preschool, and have good overall public education systems,” Deidre McPhillips, senior data editor at US News & World report, told CNN . Rounding out the top five countries on this year's list are Canada and the Netherlands, in fourth … [Read more...] about The best countries in the world to raise a child, ranked

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.

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?

Pete Buttigieg is one of the few Biden administration officials who regularly appears on Fox News —sparring adeptly with the conservative network’s hosts despite what are often leading lines of questioning. The transportation secretary suited up for battle again on Thursday night when he deftly confronted host Bret Baier for trying to drum up a scandal about bringing his husband on an official trip abroad. “You also brought your husband Chasten on a military aircraft to attend a sporting event in the Netherlands,” Baier said, conveniently leaving out the fact that the couple was leading an official delegation to the Invictus Games, a high-profile international competition for wounded veterans. “That’s quite a spin to put on it,” Buttigieg replied with a smile. Asked if the trip was reimbursed, he shot back, “Of course not!” Buttigieg, himself a veteran of the War in Afghanistan, went on to calmly explain that he was leading a presidential delegation to support … [Read more...] about Pete Buttigieg Scolds Fox Host for Treating His Marriage ‘Different’

Menopause, for many women, is an unknown — a confusing tunnel to pass through, with limited signage for what to expect. But one effective treatment has been overlooked for decades, signaling that women’s suffering is widely regarded as unimportant, according to the cover story in today’s New York Times Magazine. I spoke with Susan Dominus, who wrote the article, about her reporting and the reactions it has received from women. Lauren: I learned more from your story than I’ve ever learned about menopause. It has been so absent from public discourse. Susan: I too knew almost nothing going into this. I told a friend I was working on a story about menopause. Her eyes went wide and she just said, “Thank you.” And I could tell that what she meant by that was: That’s good, because I know nothing. After I got up to speed, I was constantly bringing the subject up at dinner parties, asking my friends, “Hey, how is your menopause going?” You’d think that would be really … [Read more...] about Silent Suffering

Dr. Kristy Cromblin knew that as the descendant of Alabama sharecroppers and the first person in her family to go to college, making it to medical school might seem like an improbable dream. Her parents watched in proud disbelief as she inched closer to that goal, enrolling in a medical school in Barbados and enlisting in the military with plans to serve one day as a flight surgeon. Then came an unexpected hurdle: A contentious divorce led Dr. Cromblin to take seven years away from medical school to care for her two sons. In 2012, she returned for her final year, excited to complete her exams and apply for residency, the final step in her training. But no one had told Dr. Cromblin that hospital residency programs, which have been flooded with a rising number of applications in recent years, sometimes use the Electronic Residency Application Service software program to filter out various applications, whether they’re from students with low test scores or from international medical … [Read more...] about ‘I Am Worth It’: Why Thousands of Doctors in America Can’t Get a Job

Here’s what you need to know: Schiff called on the Senate to demand witnesses and documents so far denied by the Trump administration. Managers accused Trump of using his power ‘to cheat’ in the election. Trump set a new Twitter record as he lashed out at House managers seeking his removal from office. Schumer ruled out witness bargain that would call both Bolton and Hunter Biden to testify. Bound to silence on the floor, Trump’s lawyers and allies stewed with no chance to respond until later in the week. The White House ceded a chance to try to swiftly dismiss the case. Republicans bristled at House managers for their aggressive tone during the procedural debate. Schiff called on the Senate to demand witnesses and documents so far denied by the Trump administration. After a day of outlining the substance of the case against President Trump , the lead House impeachment manager returned in the evening session to lobbying the Senate for testimony … [Read more...] about Day in Impeachment: Key Moments From the Managers’ Opening Arguments