KARACHI, Pakistan, Jul 27 (IPS) – In recent days, as Pakistan’s economic woes have intensified, a veritable cottage industry has developed to suggest ways of putting the country back on track.
A strong earthquake set off landslides and damaged buildings in the northern Philippines in Wednesday. In the capital, hospital patients were evacuated and terrified people rushed outdoors.
Beijing could declare a no-fly zone to dissuade the US House Speaker from visiting Taipei
China may use warplanes and missile drills in order to prevent Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi from visiting Taiwan, multiple reports have said. The California Democrat has neither confirmed nor denied plans to go to the island next month after media reports.
Beijing could declare a no-fly zone or restrict navigation by conducting military exercises near the Taiwan Strait, forcing Pelosi’s aircraft “to make a detour,” the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday, citing military experts.
CNN similarly quoted a White House official on Friday as voicing concern that China may announce a no-fly zone in an attempt to derail Pelosi’s possible trip. The New York Times quoted US officials on Monday as saying that China could send warplanes to “escort” Pelosi’s aircraft and prevent it from landing.
Pelosi would be the first sitting US House of Representatives speaker to visit the island since 1997. China claims Taiwan, which has been ruled by a separate government since the late 1940s, as its territory and opposes any forms of diplomatic recognition of the Taipei authorities.
Last week Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that it would have a “grave impact” on Chinese-American ties, violating the One-China policy and existing agreements between Washington and Beijing.
On Tuesday, Tan Kefei, a spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry, warned that Beijing will “take strong measures to thwart any external interferences” in Taiwan. Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times reported that the Chinese military could launch missile drills, targeting “any possible US aircraft carriers and other large military vessels that may be involved in Pelosi’s visit.”
During his regular press briefing on Thursday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Pelosi’s possible trip remained “a hypothetical.”
“I’m not going to be offering any advice from this podium,” he said, explaining whether the White House was against Pelosi traveling to Taiwan.
Teams of former and sitting US officials traveled to Taiwan in March and April, drawing the ire of Beijing. Taipei accused China of ramping up flybys by military jets near the island in recent months, while Beijing criticized Taiwan authorities and the US for striking deals to supply the island with weapons.
The former president claims his country is suffering one ‘historic humiliation’ after another
The United States has become “a beggar nation,” former President Donald Trump said during a speech at the America First Policy Institute summit on Tuesday. Marking his first appearance in Washington since he left office in 2021, Trump blasted the Democrats and the Biden administration for having brought the US “to its knees.”
The former president focused on issues like inflation, which is at a 49-year high at 9.1%, record gas prices, and soaring crime rates. He also lamented that the US had lost its energy independence and was now “groveling” to other countries, apparently referring to President Joe Biden’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia.
On July 15, Biden sat down with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an attempt to persuade the Middle Eastern leader to boost his nation’s oil production and reduce global reliance on supplies from Russia.
“Our country is being dealt one historic humiliation after another on the world stage,” Trump said. Meanwhile, the “most basic rights and liberties” are “under siege” at home, as “millions of illegal aliens” pour into the country and murder rates soar in Democrat-run cities, he added.
Trump made his speech ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, and expressed hope that the American people would reject the “failed reign of Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the radical left.” The former president proclaimed that the Republican Party is set to achieve a “triumphant victory” in the next presidential election.
He has yet to officially announce a run for the US presidency in 2024, however, he has repeatedly hinted at plans to seek another term in the White House, insisting that he has won the race before and can do it again.
The deadly shelling of a mountain resort in northern Iraq last week represented a shocking disregard for civilian life and international obligations on civilian protection, the UN Special Representative for the country, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, told the Security Council on Tuesday.
KARACHI, Pakistan, Jul 27 (IPS) – In recent days, as Pakistan’s economic woes have intensified, a veritable cottage industry has developed to suggest ways of putting the country back on track.
A strong earthquake set off landslides and damaged buildings in the northern Philippines in Wednesday. In the capital, hospital patients were evacuated and terrified people rushed outdoors.
Beijing could declare a no-fly zone to dissuade the US House Speaker from visiting Taipei
China may use warplanes and missile drills in order to prevent Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi from visiting Taiwan, multiple reports have said. The California Democrat has neither confirmed nor denied plans to go to the island next month after media reports.
Beijing could declare a no-fly zone or restrict navigation by conducting military exercises near the Taiwan Strait, forcing Pelosi’s aircraft “to make a detour,” the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday, citing military experts.
CNN similarly quoted a White House official on Friday as voicing concern that China may announce a no-fly zone in an attempt to derail Pelosi’s possible trip. The New York Times quoted US officials on Monday as saying that China could send warplanes to “escort” Pelosi’s aircraft and prevent it from landing.
Pelosi would be the first sitting US House of Representatives speaker to visit the island since 1997. China claims Taiwan, which has been ruled by a separate government since the late 1940s, as its territory and opposes any forms of diplomatic recognition of the Taipei authorities.
Last week Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that it would have a “grave impact” on Chinese-American ties, violating the One-China policy and existing agreements between Washington and Beijing.
On Tuesday, Tan Kefei, a spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry, warned that Beijing will “take strong measures to thwart any external interferences” in Taiwan. Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times reported that the Chinese military could launch missile drills, targeting “any possible US aircraft carriers and other large military vessels that may be involved in Pelosi’s visit.”
During his regular press briefing on Thursday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Pelosi’s possible trip remained “a hypothetical.”
“I’m not going to be offering any advice from this podium,” he said, explaining whether the White House was against Pelosi traveling to Taiwan.
Teams of former and sitting US officials traveled to Taiwan in March and April, drawing the ire of Beijing. Taipei accused China of ramping up flybys by military jets near the island in recent months, while Beijing criticized Taiwan authorities and the US for striking deals to supply the island with weapons.
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