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☆ Almost half of Taiwan's aircraft isn't ready for war, and its air force doesn't have a coordinated radio network to stave off a Chinese invasion: Pentagon leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China is likely to swiftly gain air superiority in Taiwan if it goes to war, per Pentagon leaks. Pentagon assessments seen by The Washington Post present a bleak outlook for Taiwan's air force. The leaked documents seen by The Washington Post say barely more than half of Taiwan's aircraft is fully ready for combat missions, and that Taiwan's own officials doubt their air defenses can "accurately detect missile launches." Additionally, the island's air force is trained to shoot at single, stationary targets, per the intelligence seen by The Post. The leaked intelligence comes as US-China relations sour and as lawmakers in Washington signal closer ties to Taipei.

☆ Amazon Union President Chris Smalls Seen Fighting Worker in Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

On the night of December 5, the president of the Amazon Labor Union pummeled another union member. Some longtime Amazon Labor Union organizers decided to begin organizing on their own, without Smalls. All three said they believe in Smalls' mission and support the goals of the Amazon Labor Union, but worry about Smalls' ability to lead. Amazon Labor Union members consoled each other after the union lost the vote at its second warehouse, LDJ5, last April. One purpose of the organization appears to be to raise funds for the Amazon Labor Union, according to its certificate of incorporation.

☆ Awaiting possible indictment, Trump rallies in Waco and vows to 'destroy the deep state'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Former U.S. President Donald Trump at first rally since announcing his 2024 presidential campaign, at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. "Either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state," Trump said of the stakes of his bid for a return to the Oval Office. In comments to reporters on his plane after the rally, Trump further tore into DeSantis saying, "He's got no personality. Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Waco, Texas, US, on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Waco, Texas, US, on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

The U.S. has said Rusesabagina was unlawfully detained, while Rwanda has bristled at the criticism, saying it would not be intimidated. The U.S. allocated more than $147 million in foreign assistance to Rwanda in 2021, making it Rwanda's largest bilateral donor. Blinken met Kagame during a visit to Rwanda in August, where U.S. officials said the case was discussed extensively. Yet Kigali continued to take a hard line, with Kagame suggesting on the sidelines of the December summit that only an invasion of Rwanda could force Rusesabagina's release. He will remain in Rwanda for a couple of days before travelling to Doha and then to the United States, U.S. officials said.

☆ US amphibious assault ship joins drills in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUSAN, South Korea, March 23 (Reuters) - South Korean and U.S. troops launched their largest amphibious landing drills in years involving a U.S. amphibious assault ship, officials said on Thursday, a day after North Korea tested four long-range cruise missiles. About 12,000 sailors and marines from the two countries will take part, as will 30 warships, 70 aircraft and 50 amphibious assault vehicles, the South Korean military said. Hours before the ship docked, North Korea fired four cruise missiles off its east coast, South Korea said, in apparent protest of ongoing drills by the U.S. and South Korea. The ship's welldeck, which can be flooded to provide direct access to the sea, allows it to launch and recover landing craft and other amphibious vehicles, the U.S. military said. South Korea and the U.S. say the exercises are purely defensive.

☆ North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles off its east coast, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 22 (Reuters) - North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of tests of its weapons as its rivals, South Korea and the United States, conducted joint military exercises. North Korea fired the missiles at around 10:15 a.m. (0115 GMT) from its South Hamgyong province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. Wednesday's North Korean missile launches come just three days after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast. The North has long bristled at exercises conducted by South Korean and U.S. forces, saying they are preparation for an invasion of the North. South Korea and the United States deny that, saying instead, they have to prepare to defend against North Korean aggression.

☆ Mistakes by the US's top spies allowed China to turn a deadly mid-air collision into an intelligence coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( James Bamford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +36 min

On April 1, 2001, a US EP-3 spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. One of eleven left in the fleet, the tired 1960s-era spy plane bristled with porcupine-like antennas. Within minutes, however, the fighters had reached the lumbering spy plane, and while Zhao Yu hung back about a half-mile, Wang Wei rapidly closed in. In severe trouble, he immediately radioed the base, telling them he was unable to maneuver and being sucked in by the spy plane. "You are not allowed aboard the aircraft," Osborn said.

☆ Mexican president says more fentanyl enters the U.S. and Canada than Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a news conference it was not Mexico that was responsible for the introduction of most fentanyl into the United States. "I maintain that more fentanyl reaches the United States and Canada directly than reaches Mexico," he said. Lopez Obrador, who has bristled at suggestions the U.S. could intervene in Mexico, said Mexican officials had explained to him that only blue fentanyl pills turned up in Mexico. "Over in the United States they've got all colors and flavors," the president said. Asked whether there were fentanyl production labs in the country, Lopez Obrador said "yes" but underlined that the raw materials used to make the drug were coming from Asia.

☆ GOP presidential contenders cast blame for Silicon Valley Bank collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Employees stand outside of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. Former President Donald Trump and other 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls spoke out over the weekend on the failure of Silicon Valley Bank , offering early hints of their varied approaches to the markets. Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, was shuttered by financial regulators last week, marking the largest failure of a banking institution since the 2008 financial crisis. Nikki Haley on Saturday night declared, "taxpayers should absolutely not bail our Silicon Valley Bank." "Now depositors at healthy banks are forced to subsidize Silicon Valley Bank's mismanagement.

☆ North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 14 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of weapons tests as the South and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in years. The missiles were fired at around 7:40 a.m. (2240 GMT on Monday) from the South Hwanghae province, near the country's west coast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The South Korean military was on high alert and maintaining full readiness posture under close coordination with the United States, the JCS added in a statement. North Korea has long bristled at the allies' drills as a rehearsal for invasion. On Sunday, North Korean state media KCNA reported the country has decided to take "important practical" war deterrence measures, saying, "War provocations of the U.S. and South Korea are reaching the red-line."

[1/4] A general view as North Korea fired two missiles from a submarine striking an underwater target, according to state media, at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 12, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, March 13 (Reuters) - Nuclear-armed North Korea test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine on Sunday, state news agency KCNA said on Monday just as U.S.-South Korea military drills were due to begin. DPRK stands for North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea has a large submarine fleet but the 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) is its only known experimental ballistic missile submarine. North Korea has said it is building an operational ballistic missile submarine.

[1/5] An employee works at the Chisinau-1 gas distribution plant of Moldovatransgaz energy company in Chisinau, Moldova March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Vladislav CuliomzaCHISINAU, March 10 (Reuters) - A coup attempt, bomb hoaxes, internet hacks, fake conscription call-ups, mass protests: Moldova says it's had them all in the past year. Moldova hosts the breakaway statelet of Transnistria - a sliver of land running along its eastern border with Ukraine that's controlled by pro-Russian separatists and garrisoned by Russian troops. FAKE CONSCRIPTION NOTICESMounting tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine have raised the temperature in Moldova. RUSSIAN TROOPS IN TRANSNISTRIAAn estimated 1,500 Russian troops are stationed in Transnistria, most of them recruited locally from Transnistrians with Russian passports.

☆ North Korean leader Kim calls for intensified drills in case of 'real war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A general view of fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile off its west coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, adding it was analysing possibilities the North may have launched multiple missiles simultaneously from the same area. North Korea has long bristled at the allies' drills as a rehearsal for invasion. North Korean leader Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said earlier this week any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed the joint military exercises for growing tensions. Yang Uk, a research fellow and defence expert at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said North Korea has been increasingly claiming that its smaller missiles are nuclear-capable, in apparent threats to South Korea.

☆ North Korean leader Kim calls for intensified drills for 'real war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 10 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the military to intensify drills for a "real war," state media said on Friday, after overseeing a fire assault drill that it said proved the country's capability to counter an "actual war." North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile off its west coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, adding it was analysing possibilities the North may have launched multiple missiles simultaneously from the same area. Photos released by the North's KCNA news agency showed at least six missiles being fired at the same time. The latest missile launches came as the United States and South Korea were set to kick off large-scale military exercises known as the Freedom Shield drills next week. North Korea has long bristled at the allies' drills as a rehearsal for invasion.

☆ Kremlin: Russia's relations with Moldova are very tense
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 20 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia's relations with Moldova were very tense and it accused Moldovan leaders of pursuing an anti-Russian agenda, one week after Chisinau said it had foiled a Russian coup attempt. Moldova's parliament last week approved a new pro-Western government after the previous administration resigned en masse following months of political and economic scandals. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia was acting "responsibly" with regard to peackeeping forces it has stationed in the breakaway region and warned Moldova against inflaming the situation further. "Our relations with Moldova are already very tense," Peskov told reporters. "The leadership always focuses on everything anti-Russian, they are slipping into anti-Russian hysteria."

☆ North Korea confirms it tested ICBM, touts 'fatal nuclear counterattack' capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 19 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Sunday it had tested a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day in a "sudden launching drill" that confirmed its readiness for "mobile and mighty counterattack" against hostile forces. North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan's west coast on Saturday afternoon after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States. A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. Analysts say North Korea is likely to conduct more weapons tests, including a possible new solid-fuel missile, which could help the North deploy its missiles faster in the event of a war. North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says its weapons development is necessary to counter "hostile policies" by Washington and its allies.

☆ Elizabeth Warren: Crypto giants are ‘collapsing under the weight of their own fraud’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime crypto critic, warned recent turbulence in the digital asset space will only continue unless a host of regulators strengthen protections for investors. “For all their talk of innovation and financial inclusion, crypto industry giants — from FTX to Celsius to Voyager — are collapsing under the weight of their own fraud, deceit and gross mismanagement,” she said. “Crypto fraud is a big problem, but it’s one we can fix,” Warren said. And without naming Bankman-Fried directly, Warren praised the SEC for charging “crypto crooks” with defrauding ordinary investors. “All our regulators need to get in the game,” Warren said, calling on environmental and banking officials to step up.

Pressure has been building on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government to send its Leopard tanks to Ukraine and let other countries send the ones they own. Ukraine says heavily armoured Western battle tanks would give its ground troops more mobility and protection ahead of a new Russian offensive that Kyiv expects in the near future. Germany has previously said that no country had formally asked for permission to send their Leopard tanks. A German defence source told Reuters that Poland had submitted a request to let it supply up to 14 Leopard 2 A4 tanks to Ukraine. He expressed confidence that a decision on sending battle tanks would come soon.

☆ Merrick Garland appoints special counsel to probe Biden's mishandling of classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to probe Biden's mishandling of classified information. "Mr. Hur has a long and distinguished career as a prosecutor," Garland told reporters after announcing his decision. Garland added that US attorney John Lausch, a Trump appointee who has guided the preliminary investigation, told Garland that he could only lead the initial stages of the probe. Responding to Garland's announcement, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, called the mishandling of documents a "mistake." "As I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents and classified material seriously," Biden told reporters.

[1/18] U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with border patrol officers as he walks along the border fence during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border to assess border enforcement operations, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., January 8, 2023. Biden on Thursday said his administration would tighten immigration enforcement by blocking Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan migrants at the border, expanding the nationalities of those who can be expelled back to Mexico. But that has not impressed Republicans like Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who accused him of failing to enforce immigration laws. Biden told reporters he had not yet read the letter. On the ground in El Paso, migrants greeted the new policy with trepidation.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter chaos has investors asking Tesla to act like a basic automaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla investors think Elon Musk's Twitter controversies are hurting the automaker's value. Tesla shares dropped 65% in 2022, and are still sliding. While Tesla deals with these time-worn industry problems, Musk has courted controversy at Twitter, and Tesla investors are tiring of the potential effect on Tesla's value. Shares of Tesla dropped 65% last year, and continue to slideBut investors have reason to worry. Shares of Tesla dropped 65% in 2022, with much of that slide happening after Musk took over Twitter in October.

Ron DeSantis was inaugurated for a second term as Florida governor on Tuesday, amid his rise as the leading potential alternative to former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. DeSantis spoke for roughly 15 minutes after being sworn in, making no mention of a potential presidential bid but positioning his administration as the bulwark against Democratic leadership at the state and federal level. Early surveys of the potential 2024 Republican presidential field — which, so far, officially includes only Trump — shows DeSantis as his leading rival, with some surveys even showing the Florida governor with an edge. Trump has bristled at the governor’s rise, deriding DeSantis publicly and promoting polls that show the former president in the lead. DeSantis has not publicly countered Trump, nor has he made any public acknowledgment of interest in a presidential bid.

☆ New Israel Finance Minister Smotrich promises fiscal responsibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Bezalel Smotrich took over as Israel's finance minister on Sunday, pledging fiscal responsibility and a boost to competition while working to tackle high living costs at a time of elevated inflation and slowing global economic growth. "Israel will be an island of stability and responsibility," the 42-year old Smotrich, head of the far-right pro-settler Religious Zionism party, told Reuters after the ceremony at the finance ministry. He added that Israel would take all necessary steps to support economic stability and be the "safest place" to invest. Incoming economy minister Nir Barkat said he intends to ease the "unbearable load" on businesses in Israel, declaring a "war on regulation", which he called "a cancer on the economy". New tourism minister Haim Katz promised to promote tourism in the occupied West Bank.

The timing was also set to comply with a strict curfew of 11 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Tamara said she was set to be deployed near the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where months of brutal fighting has seen Ukrainian forces hold up Russian efforts to advance. “This war is actually not almost a year old, it’s actually eight years old,” Tamara said, referring to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and backing of breakaway forces in other parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014. "This time, Russia’s mass missile attack is deliberately targeting residential areas, not even our energy infrastructure. War criminal Putin “celebrates” New Year by killing people," said Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.

☆ U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit kicks off under China's long shadow
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Trade between Africa and China last year surged to $254 billion last year, up about 35% as Chinese exports increased on the continent. “We are not interested in the views of any other countries on China’s role in Africa,” Qin said at the Semafor forum. Asked whether Biden administration officials would directly approach U.S. concerns about Chinese involvement in Africa during this week’s meetings, officials bristled. Those include Africa, South America and the Middle East, where China is eyeing military and economic expansion. U.S. officials have also expressed concerns that China is looking to establish a military base on the western coast of Africa.

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