Bloomberg Taiwan must gird itself against potential Chinese aggression through military deterrence that includes acquiring the right weapons and proper training, the top US naval officer said. “That is a big lesson learned and a wakeup call, particularly with respect to not only having the right kit but are people trained to use it the right way,†Admiral Michael Gilday, ...
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US-Taliban deal pushed Afghanistan to collapse: Watchdog
Bloomberg The US deal with the Taliban — forged under President Donald Trump and implemented under President Joe Biden — was “the single most important factor†in the rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s forces as American troops withdrew last year. As in Vietnam decades earlier, the US “spent years and billions of dollars training and equipping†the Afghan National Security Forces ...
Read More »North Korea may launch ICBM in show of strength
Bloomberg Kim Jong-un may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to coincide with US President Joe Biden’s trip to the region, as the North Korean leader battles a Covid-19 outbreak posing one of the greatest crises faced by his regime. Kim looks poised to test launch an ICBM in the next two to four days, CNN said, ...
Read More »China vows to stop US from disrupting Xi’s big party meet
Bloomberg China’s most senior diplomat vowed to counter any perceived US efforts to disrupt a once-in-five-year Communist Party meeting at which President Xi Jinping is set to secure a precedent-breaking third term. Beijing should “resolutely respond to any words and deeds by Washington to suppress and contain China†before the 20th party congress later this year, Yang Jiechi wrote ...
Read More »Sturgeon says Scotland to rejoin Nato post leaving UK
Bloomberg Scotland is committed to rejoining Nato along with the European Union should it gain independence from the UK after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heightened security risks, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. In a speech in Washington, the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said the war had made membership in the alliance more vital. She pointed to Scotland’s strategic position ...
Read More »UK plans law to override Brexit in EU challenge
Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s government plans to introduce legislation within weeks to override parts of the Brexit deal it negotiated with the European Union, a move that’s likely to escalate tensions with the bloc and raise the prospect of a trade war. While the UK would prefer to reach a negotiated solution, the situation in Northern Ireland means Britain has to ...
Read More »G-7 to discuss Ukraine aid package in Berlin
Bloomberg Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers meeting in Bonn will discuss an aid package to support the immediate financial needs of Ukraine, according to government officials. While final figures have not yet been decided, the G-7 will probably consider a preliminary contribution of 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) for the first month, said two people familiar with the ...
Read More »North Korea deploys military to fight 1.5 million ‘fever cases’
Bloomberg Kim Jong-un mobilised North Korea’s military to help fight one of the biggest crises he has faced in his decade as leader, as suspected Covid-19 cases reached nearly 1.5 million in less than a month. Pyongyang reported 269,510 new “fever cases†and six deaths nationwide in a 24-hour period, the state’s official Korean Central News Agency reported. Since late ...
Read More »Nato prepares to add Finland, Sweden to northern defenses
Bloomberg Nato members rallied around Finland and Sweden after they announced plans to join the alliance, marking another dramatic change in Europe’s security architecture triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Parliaments in the Nordic nations debated the membership, with a large majority of lawmakers in each country now backing the bid. Over the weekend, most Nato foreign ministers who had ...
Read More »Ukraine’s Kuleba rules out offering Putin options for ceasefire
Bloomberg Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba ruled out potential concessions to Russia that could lead to a cease-fire in the war with Russia and said the European Union faces “moral failure†if it doesn’t approve the nation’s candidacy for membership by June. Kuleba declined to comment on whether French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to accept ...
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