Category: Defense and National Security

Raytheon Company to Pay Over $950M in Connection with Defective Pricing, Foreign Bribery, and Export Control Schemes

Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of Arlington, Virginia-based defense contractor RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — will pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts and (ii) violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its…

Mystery Profile Linked to Hungarian Firm Implicated in Exploding Pagers

Dozens of people were killed and thousands more injured after two consecutive days of explosions across Lebanon this week that the Shia militant group Hezbollah has blamed on Israel. Pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least 12 people dead, including two children. On Wednesday, another wave of coordinated explosions affecting handheld radios killed at…

US arms supplies to Taiwan violate one-China principle -Chinese Defense Ministry

Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman Zhang Xiaogang stated: “The US arms deliveries to Taiwan, one of China’s provinces, seriously violate the one-China principle and three joint communiques. This significantly infringes on China’s sovereignty and security interests, and severely undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the official said on the Chinese Defense Ministry’s WeChat account. The spokesman emphasized that Beijing…

French authorities arrest Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at a Paris airport, French media report

The founder and chief executive officer of the messaging service Telegram was detained at a Paris airport on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offences, French media reported Sunday. Pavel Durov, a dual citizen of France and Russia, was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday evening after landing in…

Donald Trump injured in apparent assassination attempt

Donald Trump has been injured after gunshots were heard during his campaign speech in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The former US president was quickly rushed off stage by his security team. He had blood stains on his right ear. The Trump campaign later released a statement saying that the former president “is fine.” Updates 00:18 GMT Vivek Ramaswamy, who had…

US official sees China-Russia ties posing long-term challenge to European security

WASHINGTON, July 6. /TASS/. The US administration views Moscow’s cooperation with Beijing which Washington alleges has supported Russia’s defense industry as a long-term challenge for security in Europe. Speaking at a special press briefing in the run-up to NATO’s summit in Washington on July 9-11, a senior US official said that the summit communique would have “strong language” on China….

Julian Assange will be freed but must claim guilt: What it means for journalism

Wikileaks founder, publisher, journalist and DiEM25 founding member, Julian Assange, will reportedly enter into a plea deal with the United States prosecutors and be sentenced with time served.

EU foreign ministers approve decision to transfer profits from Russian assets to Ukraine

BRUSSELS, June 24. /TASS/. At a regular meeting of the EU Council foreign ministers of 27 EU countries approved the decision to transfer 1.4 billion euros of profits from Russia’s frozen assets to the European Peace Facility for military assistance to Ukraine, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told a press conference following the results of the meeting. “The ministers…

Russia, China find payments workaround as US sanctions net widens, sources say

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia-China trade options have narrowed since the U.S. imposed sanctions last week on the only Russian bank branch in China, but President Vladimir Putin’s Chinese visit last month has helped ensure the two countries have payment alternatives for now, three sources said. Since Putin’s visit, specially authorised banks have been set up in border regions which allow Russian…

The US fines Middle Eastern airline Emirates $1.8 million for flights that passed too low over Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department said Thursday that it fined Middle Eastern airline Emirates $1.8 million for flights in regions off-limits to U.S. airlines while it allowed JetBlue Airways to sell seats on the planes. The fine involves a “significant number” of flights from December 2021 to August 2022 that passed over Iraq on their way between the United…

Use of F-16s on Russian territory ‘not escalation’ – NATO chief

Donating fighter jets to Kiev will not involve members of the alliance in the conflict, Jens Stoltenberg has insisted Ukrainian strikes anywhere inside Russia using Western-donated F-16 aircraft would not be an escalation of the conflict and would not make NATO member states parties to it, according to the military bloc’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He was asked on Thursday…

U.S. Widens Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukraine Invasion

The United States on Wednesday announced a raft of new sanctions aimed at constraining Moscow’s ability to wage war on Ukraine while raising the stakes for foreign banks that still do business with Russia. The Treasury Department and State Department’s sanctions impacted more than 300 targets, including entities in Russia and countries like China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates….

US, Britain strike Houthi targets in Yemen after surge in attacks

The U.S. and Britain struck 13 Houthi targets in several locations in Yemen on Thursday in response to a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, three U.S. officials said. According to the officials, American and British fighter jets and U.S. ships hit a wide range of underground facilities, missile…

Biden allows Ukraine to use US weapons to hit targets in Russia

Joe Biden has approved Kyiv’s use of American-made weapons to strike within Russia as long as the targets relate to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, a US official said on Thursday.  The decision marks an important shift from Washington’s previous position that Ukraine should not use US weapons to strike targets in Russia — and follows growing pressure on…

What’s behind a historic, unusual U.S. military cash transfer to Canadian mines

The United States was growing desperate, months before its entry into the Second World War. It was gravely short of aluminum, and scrambling for suppliers. Its solution: turn north to Canada.  American public money flooded into Quebec, building the aluminum industry that supplied raw materials for Allied planes and tanks. “I would be willing to buy aluminum from anybody,” said…

‘Canada is a rule-of-law country’: Canada arrests 3 Indians in Nijjar murder case

NEW DELHI: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said on Saturday that Canada is a “rule-of-law country” following the arrest of three Indian nationals in a case linked to killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated a terrorist by India. “This is important because Canada is a rule-of-law country with a strong and independent justice system, as well as a…