Day: February 11, 2023

Asia Fact Check Lab: Has the U.S. nuclear arsenal increased since 2017?

Chin@Strategy

In Brief Several Chinese news reports and editorials published over the past year have claimed that the number of U.S. nuclear weapons increased by more than 1,700 warheads from 2017 to 2021. Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) found no evidence to support these claims. A number of authoritative sources that detail the size of the United States’ nuclear arsenal indicate that its stockpile of nuclear warheads decreased during this four-year period. In Depth Has the total number of U.S. warheads increased by 1,728?  A recent editorial published on Zhongguo Wangping…

China to export Type 052D destroyers, signalling more advanced ships in the pipeline: analyst

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It is armed with a 64-cell vertical launching system (VLS) that can fire a variety of air defence, land-attack, anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles with the help of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. “This means the Type 052D is no longer the latest killer product, otherwise it wouldn’t have been put up for sale,” said Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie. “The technologies it uses are mature, and the navy is confident in sharing.” Advertisement He said the successor to the Type 052D, which would probably be called the Type 052E,…

New Zealand’s Auckland Braces for ‘Trifecta’ of Rain, Wind, Storm Surges

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Sydney —  Residents of New Zealand’s biggest city were urged Sunday to prepare for the impact of a storm that buffeted Australia’s Norfolk Island overnight. Gabrielle, downgraded to a sub-tropical low-pressure system from a Category 2 cyclone, passed over Norfolk Island, with its “most destructive winds” missing the island, the Australian outpost’s emergency management authority said. The focus shifts to New Zealand, 1,460 kilometers south, where the nation’s weather forecaster warned of the storm’s impact starting Sunday. Last month the largest city, Auckland, was hit by record rainfall that sparked…

Trudeau Orders US Warplane to Shoot Down Object Over Canada

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OTTAWA, Ontario —  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. warplane shot down an unidentified object that was flying high over northern Canada, acting a day after U.S. planes took similar action over Alaska. Shortly before Trudeau’s tweet, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said it had detected an object flying at high altitude over Canada. NORAD gave no further information, including when the object was first spotted or what it is. On Twitter, Trudeau said: “I ordered the take down of an unidentified object…

U.S. Jet Shoots Down Another Unidentified Object Over Canada

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WASHINGTON — An American fighter jet, acting on the orders of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shot down another unidentified flying object on Saturday, Canadian and American officials said, in the latest twist of the ongoing drama playing out over the skies of North America. “I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,” Mr. Trudeau said in a statement he posted on Twitter. He said an American F-22 with the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is operated jointly by the United States and Canada,…

Iain Duncan Smith calls for arrest of Chinese governor for ‘crimes against humanity’

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The former Conservative party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has joined calls for a governor from a region of China where the UN has said crimes against humanity may be taking place to be arrested during a potential visit this week. The Tory backbencher said that the governor of Xinjiang, Erkin Tuniyaz, should be arrested if he arrives in the UK. The House of Commons heard this week that he was due to visit the UK next week and may meet Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials. Tuniyaz is…

Master Hsing Yun, Monk Who Spread Buddhism in China, Dies at 95

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The Venerable Master Hsing Yun, a Buddhist monk who built a global network of temples that extended to mainland China, putting him at the vanguard of popularizing Buddhism in a country whose government had long been hostile to religion, died on Feb. 5 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He was 95. His death, at the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, was announced by his organization, Fo Guang Shan. No cause was given. Master Hsing Yun was criticized for his political ties, especially for his support of China’s authoritarian leader, President Xi Jinping. But…

Australian Indigenous Rock Art Collection Nominated for UN Heritage Status

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SYDNEY —  Australia has nominated a culturally sensitive Aboriginal area that is home to the world’s largest collection of rock art for United Nations heritage protection. The Burrup Peninsula, 1,500 kilometers north of Perth, the Western Australian state capital, has 50,000 years of First Nations history, including millions of a type of rock carving called petroglyphs. Perth Australia It is the world’s densest known concentration of hunter-gatherer petroglyphs. The site has been nominated as a United Nations World Heritage site. If accepted by UNESCO, it would become the second site…

Australia Sends Search Teams to Turkey Earthquake Zone

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SYDNEY —  Australia is sending emergency services personnel to earthquake-hit regions in Turkey. The group of 72 includes fire and rescue specialists, mostly from New South Wales state. Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and neighboring Syria has killed an estimated 24,000 people and injured many more. Time is running out for rescuers trying to reach victims trapped in freezing conditions under rubble following Monday’s earthquake in southeastern Turkey and northeastern Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad inspect rescue operations at the site of damaged buildings,…

China-EU relations: lift sanctions together to free CAI investment deal, Chinese envoy urges bloc

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“It is so important that when all economies are trying their best to use all leverage to actually raise up the economy. And this useful instrument is laying there in limbo.” 04:49 Europe’s largest fund house Amundi upbeat on Asia economic, market outlook after China reopening The CAI was meant to give European firms greater access to China’s market but it has still not been ratified by either side. Discussion on the deal was halted by the European Parliament in May 2021 after Beijing imposed sanctions on European individuals and…