Category: Defense and National Security

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 States and the United Arab Emirates. UAE-based Emirates was fined $400,000 in 2020 for similar flights and agreed not to…

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 whether restrictions should be imposed on how Kiev can use the US-designed fighter jets. Several European nations intend to provide…

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. Those designated include the Moscow Exchange and several subsidiaries, a move set to complicate billions of dollars in transactions, as…

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 launchers, command and control sites, a Houthi vessel and other facilities. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide early…

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 Biden from Kyiv and its allies.  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office did not immediately confirm or comment on the US decision. He…

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 Harry Truman, then still a U.S. senator, in 1941 hearings on the topic. “I don’t care whether it is the…

Today, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement valued at over $310 million with Norfolk Southern Railway Company holding the company accountable to address and pay for the damage caused by the Feb. 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. If the settlement is approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Norfolk Southern will be required to take measures to improve rail safety, pay for health monitoring and mental health…

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 fundamental commitment to protecting all its citizens,” Trudeau said. “As the RCMP stated, the investigation remains ongoing, as does a…

Video. Update from the University of California, Los Angeles, where police in riot gear began dismantling a pro-Palestinian encampment early Thursday, using flashbang grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas, and arresting dozens of students. The raid came just over a day after pro-Israel counterprotesters armed with sticks, metal rods and fireworks attacked students at the encampment.

ISTANBUL: Turkey said it would impose trade restrictions on Israel starting Tuesday over the war in Gaza, covering a range of products including cement and steel and iron construction materials. The new measures come a day after Turkey said Israel had blocked its attempt to airdrop aid to Gaza. “This decision will remain in place until Israel declares a ceasefire immediately and allows adequate and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the trade ministry announced on social media. It…

The US is warning allies that China has stepped up its support for Russia, including by providing geospatial intelligence, to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine. Amid signs of continued military integration between the two nations, China has provided Russia with satellite imagery for military purposes, as well as microelectronics and machine tools for tanks, according to people familiar with the matter. China’s support also includes optics, propellants to be used in missiles and increased space cooperation, one of…

  Ukrainian drones were used to hit multiple targets in a sweeping attack on Russia that reportedly ignited fires at two major oil facilities and saw armed groups cross into Russian territory. Russia’s Defense Ministry said nine of its regions were attacked by Ukrainian drones, while Ukrainian missiles were shot down over the Belgorod region early on March 12. The attacks, the ministry said, targeted several energy facilities, including LUKoil’s Norsi refinery, Russia’s fourth-largest, in the Nizhny Novgorod region about…

Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition is “in jeopardy”, according to a US intelligence assessment that highlighted mass protests against Israel’s prime minister and the prospect of looming elections. The conclusions over Netanyahu’s precarious political position were part of the US intelligence community’s “annual threat assessment” report on Monday, which reflects the “collective insights” of Washington’s intelligence agencies. “Netanyahu’s viability as leader as well as his governing coalition of far-right and ultraorthodox parties . . . may be in jeopardy,” the assessment said. It added that…

The Pentagon’s inspector general said its criminal investigators have opened more than 50 cases related to aid provided to Ukraine, including some involving contractors, but have yet to firm up any allegations. The investigations, which are at different stages, are looking at issues including “procurement fraud, product substitution, theft, fraud or corruption, and diversion,” the inspector general, Robert Storch, said in a briefing Thursday. “We have not substantiated any such allegations, though that may well change in the future,” he…

ROME — Italy’s parliament has approved the planned acquisition of two new FREMM frigates with updated electronics and 132 combat-version Leopard tanks as well as 140 other tank versions. The new buys, approved Feb. 21 by the parliament’s defense commission, are part of a uptick in Italian military spending partly spurred by the Ukraine conflict. Italy has previously ordered 10 FREMM frigates; the latest orders, dubbed FREMM EVO, will take the fleet to 12. Italy has already taken delivery of…

In a significant legal move, authorities in the United States have brought charges against the head of a prominent Japanese criminal organization, accusing him of orchestrating a scheme to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar, with the intended destination being Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Takeshi Ebisawa, aged 60, stands accused alongside his associate, Somphop Singhasiri, aged 61, of engaging in a range of illicit activities, including drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and the illicit trade of nuclear substances. Anne Milgram, Director of…