Us military

HONG KONG — China on Monday accused the United States of “indiscriminate use of force” in shooting down a suspected spy balloon over the weekend, as the U.S. military searched for remnants off the Carolina coast. The dispute over the balloon has further strained tense relations between the world’s two largest economies, leading Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned trip to Beijing . The Biden administration says China was using the high-altitude balloon for surveillance purposes. China says it was a “civilian unmanned airship” used for meteorological research that strayed off course, and said Monday that it had lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The United States “obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said in comments to the embassy posted on the Foreign Ministry website. He said the U.S. action had “seriously impacted and … [Read more...] about China accuses U.S. of using ‘indiscriminate’ force as military searches for balloon remnants

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to expand its combat exercises and strengthen war preparedness as he looks to escalate an already provocative run in weapons demonstrations in the face of deepening tensions with its neighbors and Washington. Kim presided over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission on Monday and encouraged the armed forces to perform “ever-victorious feats” and display “matchless military strength” to open a new phase in development, the country’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday. The meeting came amid signs North Korea is planning a military parade that may be an occasion to showcase the latest hardware from his growing nuclear weapons and missile program that’s brewing concern for the United States and its allies in Asia. The commission’s members, who represent Kim’s top military brass, discussed a series of tasks aimed at inducing “great change” in the … [Read more...] about N. Korean leader orders military to improve war readiness

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich suggested Monday while on Fox News that President Joe Biden is simply a “suggester in chief” after the military allegedly shot down Biden’s request to down the Chinese spy balloon. The Biden administration shot down the Chinese spy balloon Saturday after it spent several days moving eastward over highly sensitive sites. The balloon was spotted above Montana , which is home to the Malmstrom Air Force Base, where Minuteman III nuclear missiles are kept. The balloon was first detected on Jan. 28 as it floated over Alaska before making its way through Canada and eventually back over the continental U.S. Biden was informed of the balloon on Tuesday and subsequently ordered the Pentagon to take down the balloon as soon as it was safe. The Pentagon said taking the balloon down posed a risk to those on the ground, prompting officials to wait until the balloon was over the water. Gingrich criticized Biden’s response. “First of all, … [Read more...] about ‘Suggester In Chief’: Gingrich Says Military Ignored Biden’s Request To Shoot Down Spy Balloon

The heavier weight of main battle tanks supplied to Ukraine by NATO members could pose issues for how Ukraine can use them, experts have told Newsweek. In recent weeks, Kyiv's Western backers have announced that they are willing to supply Ukraine's army with sophisticated main battle tanks. On January 25, President Biden announced that the U.S. would deliver 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Calling the M1 Abrams the "most capable tanks in the world," Biden said the U.S. would provide enough to equip a Ukrainian tank battalion. Kyiv's forces need to "counter Russia's evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term," Biden said. The promise to supply the Abrams came in the wake of Berlin's pledging of 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine . Berlin also gave other nations permission to re-export German-manufactured Leopard tanks to Kyiv. On Friday, Germany also approved an export license for the older Leopard 1 tanks. The U.K. had previously promised … [Read more...] about The weight of NATO tanks may pose a problem in Ukraine

The U.S.-made M1 Abrams will soon be heading for Ukraine's front lines, hailed by President Joe Biden as the "most capable tanks in the world." On January 25, Biden announced that the U.S. would deliver 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which the president said was enough to equip a Ukrainian tank battalion. Kyiv's forces need to "counter Russia's evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term," Biden added. It has not yet been confirmed when the M1 Abrams will roll out to Ukraine's front lines, but a senior White House official said the deliveries will take "months, as opposed to weeks." In November, the White House had committed to financing the refurbishing of 45 Soviet-era T-72B tanks with advanced capabilities for Ukraine via the Czech Republic. The T-72 is the most widely used main battle tank, and has been sent into action in all major wars of the last two decades , according to the U.K.-based Tank Museum. They are used extensively by … [Read more...] about How U.S. M1 Abrams compare to Russia’s T-72 tanks

In an International Monetary Fund (IMF)-conditioned review of Pakistan’s anti-corruption framework, the government has agreed to introduce more amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance and the Federal Investigation Act, revealed an interim official report. The task force has recommended amendments to the NAO, 1999, and the FIA Act, 1974, according to the report. The IMF slapped the condition last year after the government made changes in the NAO that equally benefited the politicians as well as the bureaucrats by saving their corruption of almost Rs 1100 billion. Pakistan, which is battling crippling economic, food, and energy crises, has already handed over SBP to the IMF by passing the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021. According to market experts, Pakistan is losing its economic independence by accepting IMF’s tough conditions but it has no way to refuse the international creditors. The IMF has agreed to release the tranche of $1.3 billion … [Read more...] about Pak may be surrendering its sovereignty to IMF, but here’s why it may have no choice | Exclusive

Israeli military forces killed at least five Palestinians near the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank on Monday, during a gunfight that the Israeli Army said began after soldiers sought to arrest gunmen accused of recently attempting an attack at a nearby Israeli settlement. The deaths near Jericho brought the number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year to more than 40, most of them during gun battles that broke out during Israeli operations to arrest members of armed Palestinian groups. That toll constitutes the deadliest start to a year for Palestinians in the West Bank in the past decade and a half, drawing comparisons with the violence of the early years of this century, when a Palestinian uprising, known as the second intifada, left roughly 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis dead. Seven Israelis have also been killed since the start of the year, all during a mass shooting on Jan. 27 by a Palestinian attacker in East … [Read more...] about Israeli Raid Kills at Least 5 Palestinians in West Bank

BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Bashar al-Assad , who has mostly won Syria’s civil war , now faces an acute economic crisis that has impoverished his people, brought about the collapse of the currency and fueled a rare public rift in the ruling elite. Government salaries have become nearly worthless. Protests against falling living standards have broken out in the southeast. The Syrian pound is worth so little that people have posted images on social media of bank notes used to roll cigarettes . The government is so strapped for cash that it is squeezing wealthy businessmen to help fund the state, a move that prompted a powerful Syrian tycoon to openly criticize the government. For nine years, Mr. al-Assad has relied on brute force to beat back the rebels who sought to end his family’s decades-old grip on power. But now, with the war’s biggest battles behind him, he faces new threats that he cannot bomb his way out of or count on his few allies to help him surmount. … [Read more...] about Syria’s Economy Collapses Even as Civil War Winds to a Close

In 2016, two years after Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the Donbas, I was invited to the Kyiv Suvorov Military School to present the Ukrainian edition of my novel set in Afghanistan. The auditorium was mostly filled with fresh-faced cadets and their instructors, some of whom had recently returned from fighting in the east. After an hour’s discussion, the cadets filed back to their barracks. Then, out of the dark recesses of the auditorium, three men in their mid-50s approached me. They each had a thick neck, cropped hair, and a thigh-length black leather jacket. One spoke rapidly with my interpreter. When he took something from his pocket and reached for me, I flinched. But he was already holding my lapel as he pushed a pin through it. My interpreter explained that these three men were Ukrainian veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Because I was a veteran of the American Afghan War, they wanted to present me with a lapel pin from the Union of Veterans of Afghanistan as a … [Read more...] about The Two Stalingrads

WASHINGTON — The top military commander overseeing North American airspace said Monday that some previous incursions by Chinese spy balloons during the Trump administration were not detected in real time, and the Pentagon learned of them only later. “I will tell you that we did not detect those threats, and that’s a domain awareness gap,” said Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of the Pentagon’s Northern Command. One explanation, multiple U.S. officials said, is that some previous incursions were initially classified as “unidentified aerial phenomena,” Pentagon speak for U.F.O.s. As the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stepped up efforts over the past two years to find explanations for many of those incidents, officials reclassified some events as Chinese spy balloons. It is not clear when the Pentagon determined the incidents involved Chinese spying. When the determination was made, officials kept the information secret to avoid letting China know their surveillance efforts … [Read more...] about Previous Chinese Balloon Incursions Initially Went Undetected