Bangladesh plans to sign a government-to-government (G-to-G) agreement with China to set up a military drone manufacturing facility, enhancing the country’s air defence capabilities. Ahead of the formal signing, the finance ministry on 6 January approved a project proposal – officially titled “Establishment of Manufacturing Plant and Transfer of Technology (ToT) for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles […]
Read MoreHamas said yesterday (11 January) it will dissolve its existing government in Gaza once a new Palestinian technocratic leadership committee assumes control of the territory under a US-brokered peace plan, though it did not say when the transition would happen. Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority have yet to announce the names of the technocrats, […]
Read MoreRIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s minister of foreign affairs Faisal bin Farhan held a phone call on Thursday with his Syrian counterpart Asaad Al-Shaibani. The ministers discussed developments in Syria and the efforts being made in this regard.
Read MoreBy Jeoffrey Maitem The Philippines is stepping up efforts to protect undersea cables – the unseen backbone of digital communications – as a string of regional and global incidents has sharpened concerns that seabed infrastructure could be targeted for sabotage or espionage. Officials and analysts say the moves signal that so-called grey-zone activities – coercive […]
Read MoreBy Seong Hyeon Choi in Hong Kong and Sylvie Zhuang in Beijing US President Donald Trump’s proposal to boost next year’s military budget to US$1.5 trillion aims to blunt China’s global influence, a move analysts said could push Beijing to speed up its own military build-up with “greater urgency”. On Wednesday, Trump wrote on social […]
Read MoreRIYADH: More than twenty nations have reaffirmed Somalia’s sovereignty and denounced the recent visit of Israel’s foreign minister to Somaliland, a separatist region of Somalia, according to a joint statement issued early on Friday. The nations dismissed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state, reaffirmed Somalia’s territorial integrity, and urged Israel to revoke its […]
Read MoreBEIJING: China will hold naval and air exercises with Russia, South Africa and other BRICS countries off South Africa’s coast in early to mid January, China’s defense ministry said in a statement released on Friday. The ministry called the exercises “joint operations to safeguard vital shipping lanes and economic activities.” Strikes on maritime targets and […]
Read MoreSEOUL: South Korea’s special prosecutor is expected to make a sentencing request for former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of insurrection over his brief imposition of martial law in 2024, as a lower court trial convened on Friday for its final session. Yoon, who is accused of masterminding an insurrection, could face the death […]
Read MoreBEIRUT: The Lebanese army declared on Thursday that progress on the second phase of a plan to place all weapons under state authority depends on external factors, highlighting constraints facing the state. These include continued Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory, the occupation of several Lebanese sites, the establishment of buffer zones, repeated violations of the […]
Read MoreCambodia’s arrest and extradition of a powerful tycoon accused of running a vast online scam network marks a rare strike against an industry that has stolen tens of billions of dollars worldwide. US and UK authorities say Chen Zhi led a transnational criminal enterprise that exploited trafficked workers and defrauded victims worldwide. For victims, the […]
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