Chinese navy flotilla sails between Japanese islands near Taiwan

Chinese navy flotilla sails between Japanese islands near Taiwan
This combination of recent handout photos released on September 18, 2024 by Japan's Ministry of Defence Joint Staff Office Public Relations shows the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning (top), and two Luyang III-class missile destroyers (number 120 at centre and number 123 at bottom) at sea in waters near Japan's southern Okinawa region. (AFP)
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Updated 18 September 2024
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Chinese navy flotilla sails between Japanese islands near Taiwan

Chinese navy flotilla sails between Japanese islands near Taiwan

TOKYO: A Chinese aircraft carrier sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan for the first time, Japan’s military said Wednesday, in the latest move by Beijing to rile the close US ally.
The passage of a flotilla on Tuesday to Wednesday took place near a group of uninhabited islands disputed by Japan and China that have long been a source of friction.
The Liaoning carrier and two Luyang III-class missile destroyers were seen sailing southwards between the islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote, the defense ministry’s joint staff said.
“This is the first time that an aircraft carrier belonging to the Chinese Navy has been confirmed to have sailed through the waters between Yonaguni and Iriomote,” a statement said.
Public broadcaster NHK and other media, citing unnamed defense sources, reported that it was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered Japan’s contiguous waters.
Contiguous waters are a 12-nautical-mile band that extends beyond territorial waters where a country can exert come control according to international maritime law.
The ministry was unable to immediately confirm the news reports.
Taipei’s government said earlier a Chinese naval formation led by the Liaoning sailed through waters northeast of self-ruled Taiwan on Wednesday and continued toward Japan’s Yonaguni Island.
China’s growing economic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and its assertiveness in territorial disputes — most recently with the Philippines — has rattled the United States and its allies.
Tense incidents have involved Japanese and Chinese vessels in disputed areas, in particular the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, known by Beijing as the Diaoyus.
Tokyo has reported the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels, a naval ship, and a nuclear-powered submarine around the remote chain of islets.
In August, Japan scrambled fighter jets after the first confirmed incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into its airspace, with Tokyo calling it a “serious violation” of its sovereignty.
Japan is ramping up its defense spending with US encouragement, moving to acquire counter-strike capabilities and easing rules on arms exports.
Tokyo is also providing funding and equipment such as patrol vessels to other countries in the region.
In July, Japan agreed on a deal with the Philippines allowing troop deployments on each other’s soil.
Japan last week also scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years.
The Tu-142 planes did not enter Japanese airspace but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, Japan said.
This month Russian and Chinese warships held joint drills in the Sea of Japan, part of a major naval exercise that President Vladimir Putin said was the largest of its kind for three decades.
The Japanese defense ministry said it had observed five Chinese naval ships entering the Sea of Japan and likely on their way to the joint maneuvers.


Ukraine to set up mechanism to supply food to Syria, Zelensky says

Ukraine to set up mechanism to supply food to Syria, Zelensky says
Updated 15 December 2024
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Ukraine to set up mechanism to supply food to Syria, Zelensky says

Ukraine to set up mechanism to supply food to Syria, Zelensky says
  • Ukraine has been one of the world’s top grain and oilseeds exporters, and has been exporting wheat and corn to Middle Eastern countries, but not to Syria

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday he had instructed his government to set up supply mechanisms to deliver together with international organizations and partners food to Syria in the aftermath of the fall of President Bashar Assad.
Ukraine has been one of the world’s top grain and oilseeds exporters, and has been exporting wheat and corn to Middle Eastern countries, but not to Syria.
Syria imported food from Russia during the Assad era, but Russian wheat supplies have been suspended amid the uncertainty and payment delays, Russian and Syrian sources said on Friday.
“We are ready to assist Syria in preventing a food crisis, particularly through the humanitarian program ‘Grain from Ukraine’,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“I have instructed the government to establish food supply mechanisms in cooperation with international organizations and partners who can help.”
Ukraine’s exports were buffeted by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, which severely reduced shipments via the Black Sea. Ukraine has since broken a de facto sea blockade and revived exports from its southern ports of Odesa.


Russia using North Korean troops in bid to reclaim Kursk: Zelensky

Russia using North Korean troops in bid to reclaim Kursk: Zelensky
Updated 14 December 2024
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Russia using North Korean troops in bid to reclaim Kursk: Zelensky

Russia using North Korean troops in bid to reclaim Kursk: Zelensky
  • “Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults,” said Zelensky
  • “The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region“

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia had begun deploying North Korean soldiers to storm Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region.
He spoke after Russian authorities said their firefighters were battling a blaze in the western Oryol region caused by a drone attack, with Ukraine saying it had hit a major oil terminal.
“Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them,” said Zelensky in his evening address.
“The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” he said.
While so far they had only been deployed there, they might also be sent to other parts of the frontline, he said, adding: “There are also already noticeable losses in this category.”
Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow, after Russia and North Korea signed a landmark defense pact this summer.
The two US foes have strengthened their military ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelensky said last month that 11,000 North Korean troops were in Russia’s western Kursk region and had already sustained losses.
Taken by surprise by the Kursk incursion, Russia has since steadily clawed back territory, halting Ukraine’s advance and rushing reinforcements to the region.
A Ukrainian army source told AFP last month that Kyiv still controlled 800 square kilometers (300 square miles) of the Kursk region, down from previous claims it controlled almost 1,400 square kilometers.
Earlier Saturday, Russian officials said firefighters were battling a blaze caused by a drone attack in the western Oryol region.
Ukraine has been targeting fuel depots in Russia in retaliation for Moscow’s strikes wreaking havoc on its power-generation network.
The Ukrainian military said Saturday morning that its forces had attacked a major oil depot in Stalnoi Kon, about 165 kilometers (100 miles) into Russian territory.
One of the largest terminals in Russia, it served Russia’s “military industrial complex” supplying the army, the General Staff said.
The governor of Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on Telegram that a fire was blazing at “a fuel infrastructure facility” in Stalnoi Kon after a “massive drone attack.”
By Saturday evening, he said, firefighters appeared to be getting it under control, but local residents were advised to keep windows closed and not go out.
Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that the attack targeted a facility owned by Transneft-Druzhba, which operates the Druzhba oil pipeline, a key supply route for Russian oil heading to much of central Europe.
Russian media showed images, purportedly of the attack, with clouds of smoke billowing up into the night sky from a fire.
Governor Klychkov said there were no casualties in the attack, during which air defenses had downed 11 drones.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine, a drone attack killed a nine-year-old boy and wounded his mother and baby sister, said the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
He posted photos of the family’s home with a huge hole in the facade and the roof partially torn off.
Ukraine regularly attacks military and energy infrastructure in Russia, sometimes deep into its neighbor’s territory, in response to Russian attacks on its own infrastructure.
Kyiv’s General Staff said Russia had attacked overnight with 132 drones, claiming 130 of them were downed or failed to reach targets.
Russia’s military said Saturday that it had meanwhile downed 60 drones overnight.


Five die after boat carrying Pakistanis, other migrants capsizes off Greek island

Five die after boat carrying Pakistanis, other migrants capsizes off Greek island
Updated 14 December 2024
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Five die after boat carrying Pakistanis, other migrants capsizes off Greek island

Five die after boat carrying Pakistanis, other migrants capsizes off Greek island
  • So far 39 men, most of them from Pakistan, have been rescued by cargo vessels
  • They have been transferred to the island of Crete, the Greek coast guard said

ATHENS: At least five migrants drowned after their wooden boat capsized off Greece’s southern island of Gavdos, the coast guard said on Saturday, and witnesses said many were still missing as search operations continued.

So far 39 men — most of them from Pakistan — have been rescued by cargo vessels sailing in the area. They have been transferred to the island of Crete, the coast guard said, adding that the number of those missing had not yet been confirmed.

Coast Guard boats, merchant vessels, an Italian frigate and naval aircraft have been searching the area since Greek authorities were alerted about the incident on Friday night.

In separate incidents on Saturday, a Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants from a boat sailing about 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker rescued another 88 migrants some 28 nautical miles off the tiny island in Greece’s south.

According to initial information, coast guard officials believe the boats left together from Libya.

Greece was a favored gateway to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in 2015-2016, when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, mostly via inflatable dinghies.

Incidents with migrant boats and shipwrecks off Crete and its tiny neighbor Gavdos, which are relatively isolated in the central Mediterranean, have increased over the past year.

In 2023, hundreds of migrants drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. It was one of the deadliest boat disasters ever in the Mediterranean Sea.


Habitat loss stokes rabid jackal attacks in Bangladesh

Habitat loss stokes rabid jackal attacks in Bangladesh
Updated 14 December 2024
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Habitat loss stokes rabid jackal attacks in Bangladesh

Habitat loss stokes rabid jackal attacks in Bangladesh
  • Urbanisation, logging have led to major human encroachment on habitats where much of Bangladesh's jackal population resides
  • According to monitoring group Global Forest Watch, Bangladesh last year lost 17,800 hectares (44,000 acres) of forest cover

DHAKA: Few in the Jahan family's remote Bangladeshi village had seen a jackal up close before the morning one stalked Musqan through the paddy fields, pounced on her, and maimed the four-year-old for life.

Violent and unprovoked attacks by rabid canines are rising around the South Asian nation due to rampant deforestation and habitat loss -- a trend experts say has been worsened by climate change.

Musqan is still recovering from the horrific injuries she sustained in the mauling last month by the rabid jackal. While she is rabies-free thanks to prompt treatment, her face is disfigured by bite wounds and one of her eyes remains swollen shut.

"It happened in broad daylight," her aunt Ishrat Jahan told AFP.

"A jackal pushed her to the ground and blindly bit her. Other villagers later killed it, but they are still traumatised by what happened."

In this photograph taken on November 24, 2024, Musqan (C) rests at the infectious diseases hospital in Dhaka, after she was bitten by a jackal. (AFP)

Golden jackals like the one that maimed Musqan are slender, wolf-like creatures found across Bangladesh, about the same size as a greyhound but lighter in weight.

What made the attack on Musqan unusual was its timing -- she was bitten in the daytime, but golden jackals are a nocturnal species.

Animal researcher Zoheb Mahmud of Independent University in Dhaka told AFP that his studies of golden jackals over eight years showed that the "gradual erosion of habitats" had altered their behaviour.

"I found the once-shy creatures had begun staring at us," he said. "They are supposed to come out in the evening or at night, but we saw them during the day."

Urbanisation and logging have led to major human encroachment on the habitats where much of Bangladesh's jackal population resides.

According to monitoring group Global Forest Watch, Bangladesh last year lost 17,800 hectares (44,000 acres) of forest cover -- an area roughly three times the size of Manhattan.

Mahmud warned that jackal attacks on humans "would not stop" if the habitat loss continued.

Bangladesh is one the countries ranked most vulnerable to climate change, and there are signs that more extreme weather is making attacks more likely.

The country saw widespread flooding in September that displaced millions of people in the worst-hit areas for the second year running, with floodwaters coursing through forests and driving out their canine inhabitants.

"Due to the flood, the jackals lost their dwellings and food," jackal bite victim Obaidul Islam told AFP from Nilphamari in the country's north.

"So they came and bit more than a dozen people in our village."

A jackal rests at the zoo in Dhaka on December 12, 2024. (AFP)

Rakibul Hasan Mukul, executive director of civil society wildlife group Arannayk, told AFP that climate change was driving more extreme and frequent flooding in Bangladesh.

He said changes to the weather were also eroding farmlands, displacing their human inhabitants and prompting them to cut down more forests.

"The loss of land has also resulted in increased conflicts between humans and wildlife," he added.

"People are cutting bushes around wetlands and their homesteads for farming. As a result, small mammals are in crisis, losing their habitats."

While Bangladesh's health ministry does not maintain specific records on jackal bites, reports from hospitals indicate an alarming and possibly unprecedented frequency of attacks this year.

The Munshiganj District Hospital, south of Dhaka, treated 20 people for bites on just a single day in September.

"I have never seen so many people coming in with jackal bites on a single day before," hospital superintendent Dewan Nizam Uddin Ahmed told AFP.

Another hospital administrator in Dinajpur, on the other side of the country, told AFP there had been 12 cases in one day at his facility.

"We are regularly getting bite patients," Dinajpur Hospital superintendent Mohammad Fazlur Rahman said. "The jackals are roaming freely through the farmland."

Golden jackals are by nature shy and usually avoid human contact unless they contract rabies, a disease that quickly turns them bold and aggressive as its symptoms take hold.

Endemic across Bangladesh, rabies spreads quickly among canine species when infected animals bite and draw blood from other creatures.

The disease is almost guaranteed to lead to a prolonged and painful death in humans once symptoms show. Prompt intervention is needed to stop the disease in its tracks.

After Musqan was bitten last month, she received treatment for three days to prevent a rabies infection, followed by a month in hospital for surgeries related to her wounds, and is still deeply traumatised by the attack.

"We can prevent rabies with vaccines," Ariful Bashar, one of the doctors at the hospital treating Musqan, told AFP.

"But most of the time, jackals rip out flesh, deforming their victims. Almost all of them then need reconstructive surgery."


Brazilian police arrest ex-Bolsonaro cabinet member in alleged coup plot investigation

Brazilian police arrest ex-Bolsonaro cabinet member in alleged coup plot investigation
Updated 14 December 2024
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Brazilian police arrest ex-Bolsonaro cabinet member in alleged coup plot investigation

Brazilian police arrest ex-Bolsonaro cabinet member in alleged coup plot investigation
  • Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office following his failed 2022 reelection bid
  • Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Netto

SAO PAULO: Brazil’s Federal Police on Saturday arrested Gen. Walter Braga Netto, a former member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s Cabinet and his 2022 running mate, in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot, according to a source close to the process.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office following his failed 2022 reelection bid.
Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Netto. The arrest made on Saturday stemmed from allegations of obstructing the collection of evidence, the Federal Police said in a statement.
Local media have reported that Braga Netto sought to discover what a former Bolsonaro aide who was arrested was telling authorities, and whether he had signed a plea bargain.
Authorities also executed two search and seizure warrants.
Braga Netto served as Bolsonaro’s chief of staff from 2020 to 2021 and as defense minister from 2021 to 2022.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previously, his legal team said they would wait to review police documents before making any statements.