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☆ Mexico president slams US spending on Ukraine as 'irrational'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Chile's President Gabriel Boric (not pictured) deliver a statement to the media at La Moneda government palace in Santiago, Chile, September 10, 2023. Lopez Obrador has long called on the United States to devote more funds to helping economic development in Central America and the Caribbean in order to ease migratory pressures. "I was just looking at how now they're not authorizing aid for the war in Ukraine," he said. "But how much have they destined for the Ukraine war? The leftist Lopez Obrador has sought to keep Mexico neutral in the war, and criticized western military aid for Kyiv.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gabriel Boric, Ivan Alvarado, Lopez Obrador, Russia's, Dave Graham, Deepa Babington Organizations: La, REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, U.S, Congress, Ukraine, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Santiago , Chile, MEXICO, Ukraine, Washington, United States, Central America, Caribbean, Mexico, Russia, Russian

☆ US Congress Debates Ukraine Aid as Pentagon Warns Money Running Low
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Washington has sent the Kyiv government $113 billion in security, economic and humanitarian aid since Russia invaded in February 2022. A U.S. official said that, as of Monday, the Defense Department had $1.6 billion left to replace weapons sent to Ukraine, no funds left under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and $5.4 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority. But he, and some other Republicans in both the House and Senate, refused to include more aid for Ukraine in the measure. We'll have another package of aid soon to signal our support for the brave people of Ukraine," Jean-Pierre said. "Today, DoD has exhausted nearly all available security assistance funding for Ukraine," McCord wrote in the letter, dated Sept. 29 and expressing concern that the stopgap spending bill did not include security assistance for Ukraine.

Persons: Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, Joe Biden's, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, McCarthy, Joe Biden, UKRAINE DRUMBEAT, Donald Trump, White, Matt Gaetz, Karine Jean, Pierre, Vladimir, Putin, Jean, Michael McCord, McCord, Lockheed Martin’s, Dmytro Kuleba, Patricia Zengerle, Mike Stone, Moira Warburton, Makini Brice, Steve Holland, Don Durfee, Alison Williams Organizations: Ukraine, Republican, Republicans, U.S, Defense Department, Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, Congress, Senate, REPUBLICAN, Kyiv, Monday, White, Department of Defense, Pentagon, DoD, RTX, Lockheed, Democrats Locations: U.S, Washington, Kyiv, Russia, Ukraine, UKRAINE, Tucson , Arizona, Lockheed Martin’s Camden , Arkansas

☆ Mexico President Slams US Spending on Ukraine as 'Irrational'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday panned U.S. military spending on Ukraine as "irrational," stepping up criticism of the war effort as he urged Washington to devote more resources to helping Latin American countries. Lopez Obrador has long called on the United States to devote more funds to helping economic development in Central America and the Caribbean in order to ease migratory pressures. "I was just looking at how now they're not authorizing aid for the war in Ukraine," he said. "But how much have they destined for the Ukraine war? The leftist Lopez Obrador has sought to keep Mexico neutral in the war, and criticized western military aid for Kyiv.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Russia's, Dave Graham, Deepa Babington Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S, Congress, Ukraine, Kyiv Locations: MEXICO, Ukraine, Washington, United States, Central America, Caribbean, Mexico, Russia, Russian

☆ White House says far-right Republicans solely to blame as government shutdown looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, speaks to the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 29, 2023. WASHINGTON — White House officials blasted far-right House Republicans on Friday for taking the federal government to the brink of a shutdown this weekend. "Extreme House Republicans are solely to blame for marching us toward a shutdown," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said, "One side — House Republicans — are refusing to live up to their end of the bargain." "Extreme House Republicans need to stop playing political games with people's lives, keep their promise and keep the government open," she said.

Persons: Shalanda Young, WASHINGTON —, Karine Jean, Pierre, Jean, Pierre's, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Joe Biden, That's, Republicans —, Young, people's Organizations: Management, White, Republicans, House Press, GOP, — Locations: Washington , U.S

☆ US sees Ukrainian progress in Zaporizhzhia, no comment on Russian missile reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The United States has seen notable progress by Ukrainian forces in southern Zaporizhzhia in the last 72 hours, the White House said on Friday, adding separately that it could not confirm reports that Russian missiles were put on combat duty. Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kirby said it was up to Ukraine on how to capitalize on their success. Kirby also said he was not in a position to confirm reports on Friday that Russia's nuclear capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles had been put on combat duty. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicitt and Susan Heavey Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Strategic Communications John Kirby, Evelyn Hockstein, John Kirby, Kirby, they've, Trevor Hunnicitt, Susan Heavey, Peter Graff Organizations: Strategic Communications, White, REUTERS, Rights, United, Russian, National Security, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Joe Barrett — Senior Midwest Correspondent at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Joe Barrett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Joe BarrettJoe Barrett is a senior correspondent for The Wall Street Journal covering the Midwest from Chicago. He reports on a range of topics, including public safety, economics, development, demographic changes, infrastructure, the changing environment and all the interesting places that make the region much more than flyover country. He was previously the Midwest bureau chief for U.S. News, a Page One editor in New York and Brussels, and a writer of the What’s News column. He is the author, with his late father, Jerome T. Barrett, of the book “A History of Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Story of a Political, Cultural, and Social Movement.”Joe started his career covering night cops and the Virginia General Assembly at the Daily Press in Newport News, Va. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Lori, an ill-behaved dog named Pizza and a growing collection of guitars.

Persons: Joe Barrett Joe Barrett, Jerome T, Barrett, ” Joe, Lori Organizations: Wall, Midwest, U.S . News, Social Movement, Virginia General, Daily Press Locations: Chicago, New York, Brussels, Virginia, Newport News, Va

CNN —Mexico’s President Andres Manuel López Obrador has condemned Texas’s anti-migrant buoys, calling the border enforcement tactic on the Rio Grande river “inhumane” after bodies were found in the waters that flow along the US-Mexico border. “Abbott shouldn’t act like that; it’s inhumane,” he also said, directly attacking Texas Gov. Two bodies were found in separate incidents by United States and Mexican officials in the Rio Grande river, according to Mexico’s foreign ministry on Wednesday. It is unclear what caused their deaths, though Texas officials have said that they suspect that the person found caught in the floating barrier had died upstream. Texas began installing buoy barriers along portions of the Rio Grande river in July.

Persons: CNN —, Andres Manuel López Obrador, ” Lopez Obrador, “ Abbott, ”, Greg Abbott, Brandon Bell, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, ” López Obrador, Abbott, “ Organizations: CNN, Texas Gov, Mexico’s National Institute of, US Justice Department, Foreign, Biden, Border Patrol Locations: Rio, Mexico, United States, Texas, Rio Grande, Eagle, Maverick County . Texas

☆ Mexico set to offer Vulcan $390 million to buy land to settle spat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, July 27 (Reuters) - Mexico plans to offer 6.5 billion pesos ($390 million) to U.S. construction company Vulcan Materials for land it holds in the southeast of the country, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday, in a bid to resolve an ongoing dispute. Since then, Vulcan has been unable to export its production and is demanding over $1.5 billion in compensation from the ICSID. "We did an appraisal (...) and it has a value of around 6,500 million Mexican pesos ($386.99 million)," he added, noting the intention to buy all the company's 2,400 hectares (5,930.5 acres) in the area. Lopez Obrador previously proposed the company convert its operation, in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, into a tourist development with a port for cruise ships. ($1 = 16.7677 Mexican pesos)Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Vulcan, Esteban Moctezuma, Lopez Obrador, Quintana Roo, Diego Ore, Isabel Woodford, Richard Chang Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Vulcan, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, U.S, Caribbean, Quintana, United States

☆ Mexican president's fiery barbs fuel maverick rival's campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Neither the president's office nor Galvez, who represents the center-right National Action Party (PAN), replied to requests for comment. Lopez Obrador has sought to break this narrative by branding Galvez a millionaire, said Roy Campos, Mitofsky's director. The authority this week ordered Lopez Obrador to remain neutral and abstain from election comments. Under Fox's government, Congress in 2005 stripped Lopez Obrador of immunity from prosecution over a minor land dispute. She urged her party to avoid resorting to tactics used against Lopez Obrador in the past.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's, Xochitl Galvez, Lopez Obrador, Galvez, Alfa Gonzalez, pugnacious Lopez Obrador, Lopez, Consulta Mitofsky, Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard, Roy Campos, Gabriel Islas, Beatriz Vazquez, Vicente Fox, Fox, Andres Manuel, Lorena Villavicencio, Sheinbaum, Dave Graham, Susan Heavey Organizations: Isla de, REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, Party of, Democratic Revolution, Action Party, PAN, Regeneration, Mexico City, Institutional Revolutionary Party, Congress, Thomson Locations: Isla, Isla de Cedros, Mulege, Mexico, MEXICO, derailing, MORENA, Spanish, Mexican

The planned recipient of the colorful batik top was Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, who has not been seen in nearly a month and is set to miss at least one other important meeting, in South Africa, next week. It is not clear whether even then Borrell would meet Qin as initially planned, the official said. The former aide to President Xi Jinping was appointed foreign minister in December after serving less than two years as ambassador to the United States. Qin's absence has also been widely discussed in the diplomatic community, with some saying it is another example of China's lack of transparency. Some diplomats have even started to speculate on who may replace Qin, with three telling Reuters the ranking vice foreign minister, Ma Zhaoxu could be a candidate.

Persons: Qin Gang, Qin, Yun Sun, Mao Ning, Wang Yi, Josep Borrell, Wen, Xi Jinping, Antony Blinken, Ma Zhaoxu, Ma, Wang, Xie Feng, Xie, Laurie Chen, Martin Quin Pollard, Yew, Tian, Kate Lamb, Gabriela Baczynska, Andrew MacAskill, John Geddie, Robert Birsel Organizations: China Program, Stimson, Reuters, EU, Australian National University, Qin, Baidu, London School of Economics, United, Aspen Security Conference, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, JAKARTA, China, Indonesia, Jakarta, South Africa, Washington, Johannesburg, Britain, United States, Beijing, Sri Lankan, United Nations, Brussels, London

☆ Restrictive abortion laws hurting US military, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - Restrictive abortion laws in states like Alabama are harming the U.S. military's ability to retain service members and impacting morale, the White House said on Monday as the administration sought to increase pressure on the Senate over the issue. NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinHe noted that those who volunteer to serve in the military do not get to pick where they are ultimately stationed, including bases located in states with restrictive abortion laws. "So if you don't think there's going to be a retention and morale issue, think again, because it's already having that effect," Kirby told a news briefing. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Susan HeaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tommy Tuberville, John Kirby, Strategic Communications John Kirby, Evelyn Hockstein, it's, Kirby, Joe Biden's, Roe, Wade, Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarrett Renshaw, Jonathan Oatis, Susan Heavey Organizations: Senate, U.S, Republican, National Security, Strategic Communications, White, REUTERS, Joint Chiefs, Supreme, Thomson Locations: Alabama, Washington , U.S, U.S

☆ EU Commission sticks to US economist pick for senior antitrust job
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, July 14 (Reuters) - The European Commission stuck to its guns on Friday, saying it was not reconsidering EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's pick of a U.S. economist to a senior job helping to oversee Big Tech despite criticism from French ministers and EU lawmakers. Fiona Scott Morton, 56, the former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Justice during former President Barack Obama's tenure, will take up her three-year stint on Sept. 1 when the current chief economist, Pierre Regibeau, retires. She will be the first non-EU national, first U.S. national and first woman for the job. They cited the strategic importance of the post, potential conflicts of interest due to Scott Morton's previous work with Big Tech, and her previous public antitrust comments. Head of the centre-right group European People's Party Manfred Weber, president of the liberals' group Renew Europe Stephane Sejourne, head of the socialists group Iratxe Garcia Perez and the heads of the green party Philippe Lamberts and Terry Reintke said they opposed the new hire.

Persons: Margrethe Vestager's, Fiona Scott Morton, Barack Obama's, Pierre Regibeau, Vestager, Scott Morton's, Dana Spinant, European People's Party Manfred Weber, Europe Stephane Sejourne, Iratxe Garcia Perez, Philippe Lamberts, Terry Reintke, Scott Morton, Foo Yun Chee, Jan Harvey Organizations: European Commission, Big Tech, U.S . Department of Justice, EU, European People's Party, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, U.S, Europe

☆ Shell-hungry artillery battles with Russia are fast eating through Ukraine's ammo, and that's why cluster bombs are key, experts and officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US decided last week to send deadly but controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine's military. Experts and officials say these explosives will help ease Ukraine's ammunition shortages. The provision of cluster munitions is also aimed at preserving US stockpiles. Washington's difficult decision to outfit Kyiv with cluster munitions appears to have come at a calculated and pivotal moment. "The hard but necessary choice to give them the cluster munitions amounted to this," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told MSNBC at the NATO summit in Lithuania this week.

Persons: Biden, —, Wojciech Grzedzinski, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Colin Kahl, Dmytro Smolienko, " Kahl, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Jack Watling, Justin Bronk, Drew Angerer, Bronk, Watling, Antony Blinken Organizations: US, Service, Ukrainian, Pentagon, The Washington, Getty, Moscow, White, National, Kyiv, Publishing, CNN, NATO, Royal United Services Institute, MSNBC Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Kyiv, Washington, Zaporizhzhia Region, Russian, Washington , DC, U.S, Lithuania

☆ US does not need to boost nuclear arsenal to deter Russia, China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

He also said the United States would abide by the nuclear weapons limits set in the New START treaty until its 2026 expiration if Russia does the same. Sullivan made the remarks in a speech in which he sought to coax Moscow and Beijing into arms control talks. "The United States does not need to increase our nuclear forces to outnumber the combined total of our competitors in order to successfully deter them," Sullivan told the Arms Control Association, the oldest U.S. arms control advocacy group. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File PhotoRussian President Vladimir Putin in February said Moscow was suspending participation in New START, the last remaining pact limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arms. "Rather than waiting to resolve all of our bilateral differences, the United States is ready to engage Russia now to manage nuclear risks and develop a post-2026 arms control framework."

Persons: Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Tom Brenner, Vladimir Putin, ”, Jonathan Landay, Arshad Mohammed, Matthew Lewis Organizations: White House, Arms Control Association, White, National, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: United States, Russia, China, Moscow, Beijing, U.S, Washington ,, Washington

☆ Was mass hysteria behind the mysterious case of 227 middle school students fainting last fall?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lillian Perlmutter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

On September 23, 2022, 12-year-old Esmeralda walked out of the girls' bathroom at her middle school in Tapachula, Mexico, and fainted. Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador began including regular updates on the government's investigation into the fainting episodes in his daily press conferences. Dr. Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, one of Mexico's few field epidemiologists, had taken an interest in the fainting episodes. News of the initial fainting episodes had been shared there, the epidemiologist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pantoja-Melendez. Both believe that the fainting episodes in Mexico were examples of something new and alarming: mass hysteria spreading online.

Persons: Esmeralda, Diala, Gladys, Esmeralda's, convulsing, Esmeralda Eva Alicia Lépiz, —, Esmerelda, Mami, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gladys didn't, Bochil, Luis Villagrán, bristled, Susanna, Tapachula, Diala's, José Eduardo Morales Montes, they'd, Eva Alicia Lépiz, Hidalgo —, I've, Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, Pantoja Meléndez, Meléndez, Robert Bartholomew, Bartholomew, Lopez Obrador, busily, Simon Wessley, schoolgirls, twitching, we'll, Pantoja, Melendez, Bartholomew said, we're, We've, who's Organizations: Federal, Central America, Journalists, Mexico City —, Mexico City, Universidad Autónoma Nacional, University of Auckland, Roswell, Kings College, New York, Health Department, Pantoja Locations: Tapachula, Mexico, Bochil, Mexican, Chiapas, Mexico City, El Pais, Chiapas —, Central, Esmeralda, Mexico City — Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, México, University of Auckland , New Zealand, Veracruz, London, Southern Mexico, Kanshasa, Tanzania, Blackburn , England, Sweden, Pyuthan, Nepal, Leroy , New York, Tapachula .

Farmer Marin Iliev poses for a picture in his fields near the town of Saedinenie, Central Bulgaria on April 20, 2023. By all accounts, the deal brokered in July to reopen key ports, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, is set to expire on May 18. Earlier on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "there are still a lot of open questions" about a potential extension of the agreement. Before Russian troops poured over Ukraine's borders in February 2022, Kyiv and Moscow accounted for almost a quarter of global grain exports. Those shipments came to a severe halt for nearly six months until representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey agreed to establish a humanitarian sea corridor and reopen three Ukrainian ports.

☆ Pandemic-related asylum restrictions known as Title 42 expire, straining U.S. immigration system
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

The expired rule, known as Title 42, was in place since March 2020. While Title 42 prevented many from seeking asylum, it carried no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts. Migrants cross the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents before Title 42 ends, in Matamoros, Mexico May 10, 2023. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had already warned of more crowded Border Patrol facilities to come. They were quickly apprehended by Border Patrol agents.

☆ Mexico president slams 'rotten' judiciary after electoral reform setback
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 9 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday criticized the country's judiciary as "rotten," one day after the Supreme Court invalidated part of a set of electoral reforms he had championed. The Supreme Court on Monday voted 9-2 to strike down a measure curbing elections authority INE's ability to police political communications. Critics of the elections overhaul have warned it will weaken democracy in a country set to hold presidential elections next year. Lopez Obrador has frequently attacked the agency, saying it allowed voter fraud to rob him of the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections. He has also squared off with Supreme Court justices, arguing they do not represent the people in the way lawmakers do.

☆ Russian hackers are targeting cameras at Ukrainian coffee shops to spy on convoys of Western military aid, top NSA official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian hackers are using "creative" ways to tap into cameras in Ukraine, according to a US official. US defense manufacturers are also under "daily pressure" from Russian hackers, said NSA's Rob Joyce. "We're watching the Russian hackers log into public-facing webcams to watch convoys and trains delivering aid," the NSA official said. He added that while hackers are logging into closed-circuit cameras in public, they are also hacking into cameras on private properties. On both sides of the conflict in Ukraine, hacking efforts and electronic warfare are significant, although Russian hacking has been an increasing concern for the US military, Insider previously reported.

[1/2] White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Tom BrennerWASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday and discussed Iran and steps aimed at ending the war in Yemen, the White House said. The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia met in Beijing last week after agreeing to end their diplomatic rift following years of hostility that fuelled conflicts across the Middle East. Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed President (Joe) Biden’s unwavering commitment to ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon," the White House said in a statement late on Tuesday. Yemen's war is seen as one of several proxy battles between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

[1/6] Pills are pictured at a fentanyl pill manufacturing center and a methamphetamine lab seized by the Mexican Army, in Culiacan, in Sinaloa state, Mexico February 14, 2023. Reuters GraphicsThe hiked up figures are not credible, say two former senior law enforcement figures in Mexico and the United States, as well as two serving Mexican security sources. The description of the drugs the Mexicans say they seized in the labs also raises questions about the accuracy of the lab data, said two of the security sources. Laboratory busts, often in hard-to-reach mountainous areas, have historically been a key metric for how active Mexican security forces have been in targeting drug trafficking groups. In 2022, FGR reported 18 lab raids by all security agencies, compared to the army's count of 492 raids.

☆ China Says U.S. Flew Balloons Through Its Airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Brian Spegele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. Navy, sailors worked to recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon shot down off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., last week. BEIJING—China alleged that the U.S. had flown high-altitude balloons through its airspace more than 10 times since the start of 2022, adding fuel to an escalating diplomatic standoff between the countries that has derailed efforts to reset relations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing on Monday that U.S. balloons regularly flew through other countries’ airspace without permission. It is the first time that China has made such an accusation since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted over the U.S. earlier this month and later shot down off the coast of South Carolina.

☆ China Says U.S. Flew Balloons Through Its Airspace More Than 10 Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Brian Spegele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING—China alleged that the U.S. had flown high-altitude balloons through its airspace more than 10 times since the start of 2022, adding fuel to an escalating diplomatic standoff between the countries that has derailed efforts to reset relations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing Monday that U.S. balloons regularly flew through other countries’ airspace without permission. It is the first time that China has made such an accusation since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted over the U.S. earlier this month and later shot down off the coast of South Carolina.

"I know there have been questions and concerns about this, but there is no, again no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. On Sunday, a U.S. Air Force general said he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts. John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, answers questions during the daily press briefing with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinMultiple White House officials ruled out the possibility that the objects came from extraterrestrials on Monday. "I don't think the American people need to worry about aliens with respect to these crafts, period," White House spokesperson John Kirby said during a White House briefing with reporters on Monday.

☆ White House: No U.S. surveillance craft in China's airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - There are no U.S. surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday, repeating denials of China's claim that U.S. high-altitude balloons had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since the beginning of 2022. Asked at a White House press briefing to clarify whether the United States was operating aircraft in Chinese-claimed airspace as opposed to over China's internationally recognized territory, Kirby declined to specify further. "There is no U.S. surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace," he said. Those operations anger Beijing, which accuses the United States of damaging regional stability and stirring up controversy over maritime disputes.

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