Author: M Barbu

China sends missiles flying over Taiwan

TOURISTS, CLAD in shorts and sandals, gathered on China’s Pingtan island. Some clutched umbrellas to ward off the sun. Those with cameras tended to point them at the blue waters of the Haitan Strait, which divides Pingtan from Fujian, a province on the country’s east coast. Their holiday snaps on August 4th captured military helicopters swarming overhead and rockets streaking into the sky. These were some of the first missiles fired from the Chinese mainland towards the waters off Taiwan in 26 years.

After the killing of al-Zawahri, here is the FBI’s list of most wanted extremists

Until Sunday, al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahri was one of the world’s most wanted men.

As the number one extremist on the FBI’s most wanted list, al-Zawahri and his deceased co-conspirator Osama Bin Laden were the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Centre in New York. Al-Zawahri was considered one of the leaders of terrorism that led the planning and execution of heinous terrorist operations in the US, Saudi Arabia and several other countries across the world.

China Conducts Largest Ever Live-Fire Missile Exercise Near Taiwan after Pelosi Visit

China on Thursday conducted its largest ever live-fire missile exercise off the shores of Taiwan, just one day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded her controversial diplomatic visit.

The missiles landed in the Taiwan Strait to the island’s North, South, and East, in the first such drill since 1996, escalating China’s antagonism toward Taiwan, Reuters reported.

Pelosi has landed in Taiwan. Here’s why that’s a big deal

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., landed in Taiwan late Tuesday evening local time, a high-profile visit that has magnified tensions between the U.S. and China and drawn a display of military aggression from China.

Minutes after Pelosi landed, China’s Eastern Theater Command announced live fire military exercises would begin as soon as Tuesday in six zones that encircle Taiwan.

The Upside of Putin’s Delusions

Moscow’s Disastrous Invasion of Ukraine Will Reinforce the Norm Against War

When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had ordered a “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24, Europe had been substantially free of international war for nearly 80 years. That is likely the longest the once most warlike of continents has gone without such a war at least since the days of the Roman Empire.

The Folly of Pakistan’s China Gamble

Why Relying on Beijing Is a Bad Bet

In July, a popular uprising in Sri Lanka toppled the government and sent its president scurrying into exile. The revolt had been brewing for months in the wake of the country’s economic implosion, but it still caught observers off-guard. In surreal scenes, protesters took over the presidential palace, swam in the pool, dined in the kitchen, traipsed around the bedrooms, and held stylized meetings in the conference rooms.