A vessel carrying as many as 60 people people capsized off the coast of the Bahamas. The islands have seen a recent increase in human smuggling incidents, as Haitians flee dire conditions back home.
(Image credit: Royal Bahamas Defence Force/Reuters)
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has claimed that the Chinese military has become a greater danger to America and allies
America’s top general is sounding an alarm over the Chinese military, saying it has become increasingly aggressive in encounters with other military forces operating in the Asia-Pacific region, making itself a greater threat to the US and its allies.
“The message is, the Chinese military, in the air and at sea, have become significantly more and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region,” US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Sunday during a visit to Indonesia.
Intercepts of US and allied aircraft and ships by Chinese forces have increased significantly over the past five years, Milley said. The number of such interactions deemed “unsafe” by the Pentagon has escalated similarly. The general recently ordered his staff to compile a report detailing interactions between Chinese forces and the US and its allies in the region.
In one such incident just last month, a Chinese J-16 jet pilot allegedly endangered the crew of an Australian surveillance plane in international airspace over the South China Sea. The pilot allegedly cut in front of the plane and released a bundle of chaff containing small pieces of aluminum, some of which were sucked into the engine of the Australian aircraft.
US officials have increasingly raised concerns over China’s military and foreign policy, including its refusal to join in sanctioning Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Just last month, US Air Force Major General lamented that Beijing is building its arsenal of weapons five to six times faster than Washington and is doing so at a dramatically lower cost. He argued that China’s geopolitical ambitions are “an existential threat to our way of life, to the freedoms that our kids may or may not enjoy.”
Beijing has pushed back. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters last week that the US instigated the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Chinese officials also have accused Washington of raising tensions in Asia-Pacific, including meddling with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province.
Chinese officials reportedly warned President Joe Biden’s administration of a possible military response if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) goes through with a planned visit to Taiwan next month.
Milley made his stop in Indonesia as part of a trip through the Asia-Pacific region, culminating with a meeting of defense chiefs later this week in Sydney. Among the concerns likely to be discussed is China’s new security agreement with the Solomon Islands, which was signed in April. The US and Australia have fretted that China may try to build a military base in the Solomon Islands.
“This is an area in which China is trying to do outreach for their own purposes. And again, this is concerning because China is not doing it just for benign reasons,” the Associated Press quoted Milley as telling reporters who are traveling with him on his Asia trip. “They’re trying to expand their influence throughout the region. And that has potential consequences that are not necessarily favorable to our allies and partners in the region.”
The US president’s symptoms are easing, except for a persistent sore throat, after three full days of treatment
President Joe Biden is making strides in recovering from his Covid-19 infection, as his cough, body aches and other symptoms have “diminished considerably” after three full days of treatment with the Paxlovid antiviral drug, White House Dr. Kevin O’Connor reported.
The president’s main symptom currently is a lingering sore throat, O’Connor said in a statement on Sunday, adding, “This is most likely a result of lymphoid activation as his body clears the virus and is thus encouraging.”
Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, despite having been fully vaccinated against the virus and receiving two booster shots. He was infected with the BA.5 variant of the virus, currently the dominant strain in the US, White House Covid-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha confirmed on Sunday.
Biden hasn’t been seen publicly since Friday, when he participated in a remote meeting with his economic advisors. The president, 79, repeatedly interrupted his comments to cough. He began by saying in a raspy voice, “Let me start by apologizing my voice. I’m feeling much better than I sound.”
“His voice remains a bit deep,” O’Connor said in Sunday’s statement. “His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature all remain normal.”
Jha claimed that Biden is recovering well largely because he was fully vaccinated. None of the 17 people who were determined to have been in close contact with the president around the time he may have been infected, including White House staffers and members of Congress, has tested positive for Covid-19, the doctor added.
The UN Secretary-General ‘unequivocally’ condemned the reported strikes this Saturday in the port of Odesa. The attack took place less than 24 hours after the signing of the Black Sea agreements on the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
Lebanon’s women-led cooperatives are helping communities to cope with the country’ recent wave of crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial crisis, and the notorious August 2021 Beirut Port Explosion.
Lebanon’s women-led cooperatives are helping communities to cope with the country’ recent wave of crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial crisis, and the notorious August 2021 Beirut Port Explosion.
Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development about food shortages and drought in the Horn of Africa.
The UN Secretary-General ‘unequivocally’ condemned the reported strikes this Saturday in the port of Odesa. The attack took place less than 24 hours after the signing of the Black Sea agreements on the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
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