Tag: Region Asias

According to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a growing number of US adults have doubts about President Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s ability to effectively perform the duties required of a US president. Source: https://apnorc.org/projects/many-are-concerned-about-bidens-mental-fitness-and-job-performance/

washington —  Civil liberties declined globally for the 18th consecutive year in 2023, with conflict and flawed elections the biggest factors, a new report has found. Political rights and civil liberties deteriorated for more than one-fifth of the population, the non-profit group Freedom House found. And only one-fifth of the 210 countries and territories the research group analyzed was found to be “free.” Released on Thursday, the Freedom in the World report assesses political rights and civil liberties, then ranks…

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…

ROME — Italy’s Fincantieri and UAE group EDGE have agreed to create a Abu Dhabi-based joint venture to build and sell naval vessels to non-NATO countries, the firms said Tuesday. The JV, which will be 51% owned by EDGE but run by Fincantieri managers, will aim to take advantage of the UAE’s relations with other states and the export credit financing it offers. The venture “will be awarded prime rights to non-NATO orders, especially leveraging on the attractiveness of UAE…

The Marine Corps now has its first F-35B squadron on the East Coast that has achieved initial operational capability. That is one of many steps in the Corps’ pursuit of a fully fielded and operational F-35 fleet of aircraft by 2030. Initial operational capability means that Marine Fighter Attack Squadron, VMFA 542, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, has enough operational F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, pilots, maintainers and equipment to…

The first set of A-10 Warthogs from the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, have moved to the boneyard after nearly a half-century of flight. Both of the aircraft, which belonged to the 354th Fighter Squadron, didn’t have to go far to retire, according to an announcement Thursday. The second of the two aircraft taxied to its final resting place on Tuesday at the 309th Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group, otherwise known as the boneyard. Davis-Monthan retired its…

JERUSALEM: Israel has imposed financial restrictions on the main UN agency providing aid in the Gaza Strip, a measure which prevented a shipment of food for 1.1 million Palestinians from reaching the war-battered enclave, the agency’s director said Friday. The restrictions deepened a crisis between Israel and UNRWA, whose operations have been threatened following Israeli accusations that some of its workers participated in the October 7 attack that triggered Israel’s war in Gaza. Those accusations have led major donor nations,…

ISLAMABAD: Independents backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan won the most seats in Pakistan’s election on Friday after results from over half the constituencies were announced, leaving political parties trailing. Almost 24 hours have passed since the close of polls and the results have been unusually delayed, which the government ascribed to the suspension of mobile phone services – a security measure ahead of Thursday’s election. Of the 136 seats counted by 1045 GMT from 235 contested, independent…

A leaked recording obtained by investigator and writer Sasha Latypova features an executive at the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca stating the following: It wasn’t a surprise to me when I got a call on February 4th from the Defense Department here in the US saying that the newly discovered Sars-2 virus posed a national security threat. This is an astonishing, major-newspaper headline-worthy revelation. But here’s what was happening on February 4, 2020: Virus Activity in the US According to CNN, on…

Two Army Cyber Command officials worked to get an employee fired following his reporting of misconduct and subsequent participation in investigations, the Pentagon’s inspector general found in a report published Wednesday. The IG recommends that the employee be reinstated to his job with backpay, while the Defense Department officials involved “receive appropriate action.” For one of them, that means just a note in his personnel file, as he retired before the investigation began. “It is important to encourage personnel, at…

WASHINGTON: Senior US lawmakers said they wanted Hungary to immediately approve Sweden’s accession to Nato, suggesting on Thursday, a week after Turkey’s approval, that Budapest risks permanent damage to its relationship with Washington if it does not act. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin said he had “deep concerns” over the direction of Hungary’s current government. The Democratic lawmaker noted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s delay, until today, of European Union assistance for Ukraine, as well as its continuing obstruction…

TEL AVIV: An Israeli document obtained Monday spelled out allegations against a dozen UN employees the country says participated in Hamas’ October 7 assault – claiming seven stormed into Israeli territory, including two who participated in kidnappings. The allegations against staffers with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees prompted Western countries to freeze funds vital for the body, which is a lifeline for desperate Palestinians in Gaza. The UN fired nine of the 12 accused workers and condemned “the abhorrent…

GAZA CITY: Deadly fighting and air strikes rocked besieged Gaza on Monday, a day after an attack that killed three US troops in Jordan heightened fears of a wider regional conflict. Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip killed 140 people overnight, including 20 members of one family, said the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. The Israeli army, in its war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack, said its troops had “encountered and killed dozens of armed terrorists in…

In a disturbing turn of events, an imprisoned Iranian, Mehdi Mousavian, has initiated a hunger strike to protest the Iranian judiciary’s plan to gouge out his left eye as a retribution for allegedly blinding a policeman during a 2017 protest. Mousavian was sentenced in 2019 to retribution-in-kind, for throwing a stone at the policeman’s eye, a sentence he vehemently denies. The policeman initially demanded an exorbitant 14 billion tomans (approximately $280,000) from Mousavian’s family as compensation. However, unable to afford…

A Hong Kong court has ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande, the real estate firm with more than $300bn (£236.1bn) of debts, amid deepening fears for the territory’s wider corporate health. Justice Linda Chan ruled Evergrande had been unable to offer a concrete restructuring plan to creditors – more than two years after defaulting on a bond repayment and after several court hearings over the lack of a restructuring plan. “It is time for the court to say enough is…

KYIV: Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defence ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine’s security service reported. The Ukraine’s SBU said Saturday that five people have been charged, with one person detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border.If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison. The investigation comes as Kyiv attempts to clamp down on corruption in a bid to speed…