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☆ Bombing of herders highlights deadly air attacks by Nigerian military
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

The letter said the Nigerian Air Force is committed to human rights and “further deliberations” on the issue, according to the report. “The absence of details raises the question of whether the air force carried out the air strike based on mere suspicion,” Human Rights Watch said. The U.S. State Department and the Pentagon had no immediate comment about the airstrike or the U.S. relationship with the Nigerian Air Force. Before now, neither the Nigerian government nor the military had provided any public explanation for what happened on Jan. 24. ACLED data show Nigerian Air Force strikes continued to claim the lives of noncombatants, inside and outside the northeast.

Persons: Ibrahim Muazu, “, ACLED, D.D, Pwajok, ”, Sara Jacobs, herdsmen, Oladayo Amao, Amao, “ miscreants, Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Tinubu, Jan, Muazu, Lamido, Nigeria’s, Sanusi, Buhari, Rand Paul, Cory Booker, Rex Tillerson, Lai Mohammed, Jacobs, Jim Risch, Chris Smith, Antony Blinken, Biden, Risch, brazenly “, ” Abubakar Bello Rukubi, ” “, Yemi Osinbajo, cc’d, Samuel Ortom, herder, ” Muazu, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis, Idrees Ali, Jarrett Renshaw, David Lewis, Reade Levinson, Simon Newman, Catherine Tai Design, Eve Watling, Julie Marquis, Alexandra Zavis Organizations: herder, Reuters, Air Force, Nigerian Air Force, Human Rights Watch, Air, Rights Watch, Ministry of Defence, Nigerian Air, House Foreign Affairs, ” Reuters, ACLED, Planet Labs PBC, U.S . State Department, Pentagon, ”, Muazu, Congress, San Frontieres, Republican, Punch, UK, Nigeria –, Systems, U.S, Super, International, Development, Rights Initiative, Benue State Livestock Guards, Human Rights, Daily Trust, Nigeria’s Locations: Nigerian, Nasarawa, Akwanaja, United States, U.S, Nigeria, California, Kano, Rann, Cameroonian, Zamfara, “, Benue, ” Benue, London, Makurdi, Naka, Washington, Philadelphia

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's top security summit, Austin said that open lines of communication between U.S. and Chinese defence and military leaders were essential to avoid conflict and bolster stability in the Asia-Pacific. "The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict." China's Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu had this week declined an invitation to meet Austin at the security summit. On Friday, the two shook hands on the sidelines of the conference but did not hold detailed talks, the Pentagon said. "(AUKUS) promotes greater stability and security," Austin said.

Persons: Defense Lloyd Austin, Caroline Chia, Austin, Austin Austin, National Defence Li Shangfu, Antony Blinken, Liu Pengyu, General, Lei, Zhao Xiaozhuo, Zhao, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Xinghui Kok, Joe Brock, Chen Lin, Gerry Doyle, Kanupriya Kapoor, Greg Torode, Ryan Woo, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Yew, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Defense, REUTERS, United, People's, National Defence, Austin, Pentagon, Academy of Military Sciences, Global Times, U.S, China's Academy of Military Sciences, Australia, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, Taiwan, Asia, Pacific SINGAPORE, United States, South China, People's Republic of China, U.S, Washington, TAIWAN, Beijing, Ukraine, Pacific, Australia, Japan, India, Philippines

Relations between the superpowers are increasingly acrimonious, with friction over issues from Taiwan and China's military activity in the South China Sea to U.S. efforts to hold back China's semiconductor industry. China's leaders, by contrast, have been slow to establish military contacts and quick to shut them down during periods of diplomatic tension. This has frustrated the United States. Then there is China's view of how military talks fit into the broader U.S.-China relationship. From that perspective, military talks are something to bargain with.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, China's, ", Ely Ratner, National Defense Li Shangfu, Li, Zhu Feng, Zhu, Jacob Stokes, Yun Sun, ”, Daniel Russel, William Burns, it’s, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina, Yew Lun Tian, Martina Pollard, Laurie Chen, Don Durfee, Alistair Bell Organizations: Pentagon . U.S . Defense, U.S . Army, U.S, National Defense, School of International Studies, Nanjing University, Center, New, New American Security, Stimson, East Asia, Obama, Asia Society Policy Institute, CIA, Washington, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, BEIJING, Singapore, Beijing, United States, China, Taiwan, South, U.S, Austin, New American, East Asia, Washington, Ukraine, States, East, Hainan

[1/2] Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. Following Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to Japan during the Hiroshima G7 leaders summit last month, Kishida agreed to donate jeeps and trucks. Japan is one of dozens of friends and allies that Washington is asking to help arm Ukraine as it wrestles with stretched military supply chains. Reuters contacted 22 explosives makers listed on the Japan Explosives Industry Association's website. The only one that said it made industrial TNT was Chugoku Kayaku, an Hiroshima-based firm that supplies Japan's military.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Lloyd Austin, Washington, Fumio Kishida, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Kishida, Tsuneo Watanabe, Austin, Akihisa Nagashima, Tim Kelly, Nobuhiro Kubo, Yukiko Toyoda, Kaori Kaneko, Idrees Ali, David Crawshaw Organizations: REUTERS, TNT, Russian, Reuters, Panasonic, Defense, U.S, Japan's Ministry of Trade, Industry, Technology, Logistics Agency, U.S . State Department, Ukraine, TNT Washington, Japan Explosives Industry, Liberal Democratic Party, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Bakhmut, TOKYO, United States, Japan, Washington, U.S, Tokyo, China, Taiwan, East Asia, Kyiv, Hiroshima, Sasakawa, South Korea, Chugoku, Japan's, Russia, Seoul

☆ Chinese jet carried out 'aggressive' maneuver near U.S. military plane -Pentagon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - A Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unnecessarily aggressive" maneuver near a U.S. military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace, the United States said on Tuesday. In a statement, the United States' military command responsible for the Indo-Pacific said the Chinese J-16 aircraft carried out the maneuver last week and forced the U.S. RC-135 plane to fly through its wake turbulence. Such intercepts happen occasionally. In December, a Chinese military plane came within 10 feet (3 meters) of a U.S. air force aircraft and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace. Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Idrees Ali, Leslie Adler Organizations: U.S ., Thomson Locations: U.S, South, United States

☆ Chinese jet carried out 'aggressive' maneuver near US military plane, Pentagon says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - A Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unnecessarily aggressive" maneuver near a U.S. military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace, the United States said on Tuesday. "The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows," it said in a statement. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, where several other countries have rival claims. Beijing has frequently said that the United States sending ships and aircraft into the South China Sea is not good for peace. The encounter followed what the United States has called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

Persons: Liu Pengyu, Liu, Dado Ruvic, Lloyd Austin, Idrees Ali, David Brunnstrom, Lisa Shumaker, Grant McCool Organizations: U.S ., REUTERS, U.S . Defense, Pentagon, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: U.S, South, United States, Washington, China, South China, Beijing, Singapore, Taiwan

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday finalized a budget agreement with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025, and said the deal was ready to move to Congress for a vote. The deal, if approved, will prevent the U.S. government from defaulting on its debt and comes after weeks of heated negotiations between Biden and House Republicans. "I strongly urge both chambers to pass that agreement," Biden said, adding that he expected McCarthy to have the necessary votes for the deal to pass. The deal has drawn fire from hardline Republicans and progressive Democrats, but Biden and McCarthy are banking on getting enough votes from both sides. McCarthy dismissed threats of opposition within his own party, saying "over 95%" of House Republicans were "overwhelmingly excited" about the deal.

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had finalized a budget agreement with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and that the deal was ready to move to Congress for a vote. "I strongly urge both chambers to pass that agreement," Biden said, adding that he expected McCarthy to have the necessary votes for the deal to pass. The deal has drawn fire from hardline Republicans and progressive Democrats, but Biden and McCarthy believe they have enough votes from moderates on both sides. [1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on his deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to raise the United States' debt ceiling at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 28, 2023. But McCarthy dismissed threats of opposition within his own party, saying "over 95%" of House Republicans were "overwhelmingly excited" about the deal.

Hours later, the Democratic president said he was confident the legislation would pass both chambers of Congress to avoid a U.S. government default. Biden and McCarthy were due to speak later on Sunday to finalize the agreement, which has drawn fire from hardline Republicans and progressive Democrats. House Republicans expected on Sunday to unveil legislation to pass the deal. But McCarthy dismissed threats of opposition within his own party, saying "over 95%" of House Republicans were "overwhelmingly excited" about the deal. The deal would also impose a 1% across-the-board spending cut should Congress fail to enact 12 appropriations bills by Oct. 1.

☆ Can Ukraine use Patriot defense systems to knock out Russian hypersonic missiles?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here is what you need to know about the Patriot:WHAT IS THE PATRIOT MISSILE SYSTEM? CAN PATRIOTS KNOCK OUT HYPERSONIC MISSILES? Ukraine has said it needs more air defense systems to protect against the barrage of missile and drones strikes from Russian forces. The United States has also provided a pair of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to Ukraine. Raytheon has built more 240 Patriot systems and they are currently used by 18 countries, including the United States.

REUTERS/Jonathan... Read moreWASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Three of President Joe Biden's cabinet members will testify on China policy at a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday, a rare joint appearance underscoring Washington's focus on competing with the rising Asian power. Two weeks ago Senate Democrats, including Appropriations Committee chairperson Patty Murray, announced a renewed legislative effort to stave off competition from China. The Defense Department said the cabinet members would address the "all of government" approach the administration was taking in dealing with China. A hard line on China is a rare bipartisan sentiment in the deeply divided U.S. capital. They are also scrutinizing possible security threats from China, including looking at TikTok, an app owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance.

☆ Patriot missile defense system in Ukraine likely damaged -US sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - A U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system being used by Ukraine likely suffered some damage from a Russian strike, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday, adding that it did not appear to have been destroyed. The Patriot is considered to be one of the most advanced U.S. air defense systems, including against aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday that it had destroyed a U.S.-built Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system with a "hypersonic" Kinzhal missile in an overnight strike on Ukraine. Ukraine said earlier that it had shot down 18 Russian missiles overnight, including an entire volley of six Kinzhals. When asked about the Ukrainian claim, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu dismissed it, the RIA news agency reported.

☆ Patriot missile defense system in Ukraine likely damaged - US sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ U.S. to send additional security assistance to Taiwan soon- Pentagon chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The United States will soon send additional security assistance to Taiwan, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday. "The United States will soon provide significant additional security assistance to Taiwan through (the) presidential drawdown authority that Congress authorized last year," Austin told lawmakers. The presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, is a type of authority that expedites security assistance and has helped to send arms to Ukraine. Earlier this month Reuters reported that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration plans to send $500 million worth of weapons aid to Taiwan using the authority. Reporting by Idrees AliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Landing of aircraft at night and in bad weather, for instance - crucial to regular offshore carrier operations - remain far from routine, several of the attaches and analysts said. "Carrier operations are a very complicated game, and China's got to figure this out all by itself. A new plane, the KJ-600, designed to perform a similar role to the E-2C/D Hawkeye launched from U.S. carriers, is still in testing, according to the Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military. Several countries operate aircraft carriers but the U.S. remains the most dominant, running 11 carrier battlegroups with global reach. A September editorial published in a magazine run by a PLA weapons manufacturer, titled "Four great advantages the PLA has in attacking Taiwan", did not mention the role of Chinese carriers.

It also highlights Russian frustration at failing to complete the capture of Bakhmut after more than nine months of costly, intense battle. ANGRY TIRADEWhat looked real, however, was Prigozhin's fury at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. "If Putin wants him to be in combat, he'll force him in one way or another to do so." Marten said its involvement in the battle for Bakhmut, including fighters recruited from Russian prisons, had allowed Putin to avoid declaring a full-scale mobilization. Whatever its immediate intentions around Bakhmut, Wagner is likely to remain a significant player in the war, given Prigozhin's personal ambitions and determination to stay in the limelight.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Russia is very unlikely to use its nuclear weapons, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday, despite past saber-rattling from the Kremlin and the heavy casualties that eMoscow is enduring in its invasion of Ukraine. Nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States have increased since the start of the conflict with Ukraine with Putin repeatedly warning that Russia is ready to use its nuclear arsenal if necessary to defend its "territorial integrity." U.S. officials for months have said they have not seen signs Russia was preparing to employ nuclear weapons but also cautioned that they were staying vigilant. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Wendy Sherman pointed to Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia was preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus "is his effort to use this threat in a managed way." Last week the Kremlin played down the idea that Russia might be preparing to carry out a nuclear weapons test, saying all nuclear states were abiding by a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.

REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File PhotoWASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration will temporarily send 1,500 additional troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, in preparation for a possible rise in illegal immigration when COVID-19 border restrictions lift later this month. Biden, a Democrat running for reelection in 2024, has grappled with record numbers of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since he took office in 2021. The 1,500 troops could arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border by May 10, Ryder said during a briefing. U.S. military troops have been used to help secure the border during previous presidential administrations, including Republican George W. Bush, Democrat Barack Obama and Trump, who deployed thousands of active-duty and National Guard troops. Immigration advocates have criticized previous efforts to send troops to the border.

☆ Russia digs in as Ukraine prepares to attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

And in the case of Polohy, Russia has constructed two distinct defensive lines, one to the north and one to the south. Musiyenko estimated that Ukraine would have a force of between 100,000-110,000 for an attack, including eight assault brigades with a total of 40,000 troops. Russia has not said how many troops it has in Ukraine, or within its borders ready to deploy. A leaked U.S. intelligence document dated Feb. 28 seen by Reuters said the West had committed 200 tanks to Ukraine. Army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in December he needed 300 to defeat Russia, along with other vehicles and artillery.

☆ Kabul airport attack 'mastermind' killed by Taliban, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Soldiers, Airmen and civilian staff receive casualties who were injured outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport and evacuated to the U.S. Army-operated Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) for further care in Landstuhl, Germany August 27, 2021. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center/Marcy Sanchez/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The Taliban have killed an Islamic State militant who was the "mastermind" behind a suicide attack at Kabul's international airport in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of civilians during the United States' chaotic evacuation from the country, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K, after an old name of the region, is an enemy of the Taliban. Fighters loyal to Islamic State first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and later made inroads in other areas. Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US to send additional troops to Djibouti in case of Sudan evacuation- official
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to send a large number of additional troops to its base in Djibouti in case of an eventual evacuation from Sudan, a U.S. official said as renewed heavy gunfire erupted on Thursday. The State Department previously told U.S. citizens in Sudan to remain sheltered in place indoors. Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, heads a ruling council installed after the 2021 military coup and the 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has been a focus of U.S. diplomatic efforts in Africa as Washington works to counter Russian influence in the country and the wider region. Russia is investing in gold mining in Sudan and has been trying to finalize an agreement establish a naval base on Sudan's Red Sea coast.

REUTERS/Carlos BarriaWASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force's 102nd Intelligence Wing, which the alleged leaker of classified information belonged to, has been ordered to halt its intelligence mission as the service's inspector general carries out an investigation, the Air Force said on Tuesday. The Air Force said all units would also have to carry out a "security-focused standdown" sometime in the next 30 days. "The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currentlyperforming its assigned intelligence mission," Air Force Spokesperson Ann Stefanek said in statement. The Air Force inspector general would investigate the unit's "compliance with policy, procedures, and standards...related to the release of national security information," Stefanek added. If the accusations against Teixeira are correct, the Air Force will be under pressure to explain how he could have smuggled and disseminated highly classified intelligence for months without being noticed.

☆ Mexican president accuses Pentagon of spying; vows to restrict military information
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, April 18 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of spying on his government following leaks in U.S. media, and said he would begin classifying information from the armed forces to protect national security. His comments came several days after the Washington Post reported on apparent tensions between Mexico's Navy and the Army, citing a U.S. military briefing revealed in online leaks of secret U.S. military records. "We're now going to safeguard information from the Navy and the Defense Ministry, because we're being a target of spying by the Pentagon," Lopez Obrador told his daily news conference. The Washington Post story said there was no indication the cited document came from intercepted communications of Mexican officials. Lopez Obrador has come under pressure to hold the military accountable for years of alleged abuses, including reported disappearances and killings.

☆ Factbox: Jack Teixeira: Who is the man arrested over leaked Pentagon documents?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Jack Douglas Teixeira was arrested on Thursday for allegedly leaking a trove of highly classified documents online. Teixeira served with the Air National Guard in Massachusetts, as did his stepfather. His unit, the 102nd intelligence wing of the Massachusetts National Guard, is responsible for providing intelligence support to many units of the military. Teixeira joined the Air National Guard in 2019, part of the National Guard that reports to the governor of their respective state or territory. The National Guard is made up of reserve troops that often hold civilian jobs or attend schools, and often respond to domestic emergencies.

The Pentagon said on Thursday it was reviewing and updating its distribution lists of classified documents. This meant, naturally, that many more people could now view classified information. "One of the things we learned from 9/11 is ... we really need to share information," said Michael Atkinson, a former U.S. Intelligence Community inspector general. But they cannot track co-workers' private online activities - for example, posting classified information to impress others. "The Insider Threat Program was looking for other Bradley Mannings," said Aftergood.

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