Friday, March 1, 2019

Pakistan Returns Captured Pilot To India



The Guardian: Pakistan returns Indian pilot shot down over Kashmir in 'peace gesture'

Abhinandan Varthaman involved in the first publicly acknowledged dogfight between the countries in 48 years

Pakistan has returned an Indian pilot who had become the face of the worst military crisis between the two countries in decades, in a gesture aimed at demonstrating its willingness to de-escalate the conflict.

Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was shot down during the first publicly acknowledged dogfight between the countries in 48 years on Wednesday, was returned to India at the Wagah border crossing in Punjab on Friday evening.

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s prime minister, had announced his impending release in parliament on Thursday, calling it a “peace gesture”.

Read more ....

More News On Pakistan Returning Captured Pilot To India

The Latest: Pakistan hands over captured pilot to India -- AP
Pakistan releases captured Indian pilot as confrontation cools -- Reuters
Pakistan hands over Indian pilot captured from downed plane -- France 24
Abhinandan: Captured Indian pilot handed back by Pakistan -- BBC
Pakistan releases captured Indian pilot at border point -- Euronews
Kashmir conflict: Pakistan returns captured pilot to India -- DW
Pakistan hands over captured pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India -- Al Jazeera
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U.S. Sanctions Battering Venezuela's Oil Economy

Carlos Garcia Rawlins. Reuters

Business Insider: The lifeblood of Venezuela's economy is taking a beating in the wake of Trump's sanctions

* Oil shipments from Venezuela have reportedly fallen by more than a third over the past month.
* That's after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the country's state-run oil industry.
* The sanctions were rolled out in an attempt to cripple the government of President Nicolas Maduro, who is facing global pressure to cede power to opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

Venezuela's oil shipments have reportedly fallen sharply since the US hit the country with energy sanctions.

Reuters reported Thursday that oil shipments from the country dropped 40% to 920,000 barrels per day over the past month.

The Trump administration said in January it would impose economic penalties against PDVSA in an attempt to cripple the government of President Nicolas Maduro, who is facing global pressure to cede power to opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is only going to get worse.
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This ISIS Fighter Uses A Shopping Cart For His Belt Fed Machine Gun


Business Insider/Task & Purpose: An ISIS fighter in Libya turned a machine gun and a shopping cart into a new kind of fighting vehicle

We now know that you can set up a belt-fed machine gun on top of a shopping cart to make a mobile firing platform, but you probably won't be allowed to return the rig back to Target.

That knowledge comes courtesy of an ISIS fighter in Libya, who was spotted in one of the group's propaganda videos free-gunning as any smart shopper would.

Hugo Kaaman, a contributor to Jane's Terrorism & Insurgency Centre, recently tweeted a clip of the amazing find, which he told Task & Purpose came from ISIS video footage taken in Libya and released in May 2015.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: You go to war with what you have.
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U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo: 'Any Attack Against The Philippines In The South China Sea Will ‘Trigger’ Mutual Defense Treaty Obligations



Reuters: Pompeo assures Philippines of U.S. protection in event of sea conflict

MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured the Philippines on Friday it would come to its defence if it came under attack in the South China Sea, reaffirming a defence code that Manila’s security chiefs have sought to revise.

Speaking during a stopover after a summit in Hanoi with North Korea, Pompeo said a 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defence Treaty would be adhered to if its ally was a victim of aggression, and singled out China as a threat to stability.

“China’s island-building and military activities in the South China Sea threaten your sovereignty, security and therefore economic livelihood as well as that of the United States,” he told a news conference in Manila.

Read more ....

More News On U.S. Military Commitments To The Philippines In The Event Of An Attack

U.S. to protect PH in case of South China Sea attack – Pompeo -- CNN
Pompeo, Duterte reaffirm alliance, discuss cooperation on regional security -- CNN
Pompeo promises intervention if Philippines is attacked in South China Sea amid rising Chinese militarization -- The Washington Post
Pompeo assures Philippines of US protection in South China Sea -- FOX News
'We Have Your Back.' Mike Pompeo Says U.S. Won't Let China Blockade the South China Sea -- Time
Philippines, US reaffirm alliance after Duterte-Pompeo meeting -- Inquirer.net
Pompeo WARNS: US Will Defend Philippines Against ‘Armed Attack’ in S China Sea -- Sputnik
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China's Military Is Positioning Itself To Assert Bejing's Claims In The South China Sea

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Popular Mechanics: What You Need to Know About the South China Sea, the World's Next Hot Spot

China is equipping itself with several new “assassin’s maces” as two world powers brace for impact in the South China Sea.

If you look at the South China Sea on a map, then it might seem inevitable that this 1.4 million square miles of water would become a territorial quagmire.

Bordered by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and other nations, the area includes the busiest sea lanes in the world—about a third of the world shipping passes through every year, with cargo valued around $3 trillion. With evidence pointing to huge oil and gas reserves, all of the surrounding countries want a piece of the pie.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: China has just completed a month of military exercises in the region .... China just finished a month of unannounced drills in the South China Sea to test its wartime command system (Business Insider/SCMP)
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The U.S. Army Wants New And Better Weapons To Face Russia And China

Personnel of the Russian and Chinese militaries drive with the national flag of Russia, center, and the official flags of the armed forces of Russia, left, and China, right, following the Vostok-2018 drills in eastern Russia on September 13, 2018. The joint Russian-Chinese-Mongolian exercise was described as the largest in Russia's modern history. Russian Ministry of Defense

Newsweek: U.S. Army Says It Needs New Weapons to 'Fight and Win Against the Russians and Chinese'

The highest-ranking civilian in the U.S. Army has estimated that Russian military power is set to peak in less than a decade's time and China only two years later.

Moscow and Beijing have both set out to modernize their respective armed forces, seeking advanced capabilities to counter a more powerful, global command in the hands of the Pentagon. Speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, Army Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. was recalibrating its warfighting strategy, including ongoing weapons acquisition programs, to accommodate an increasingly daunting challenge posed by Russia and China.

"What we’re looking at is 2028 and beyond, because we think it's time the Russians will be peaking," Esper told Reuters, adding that the sights were set on "the Chinese after" in 2030.

"If we’re going to fight and win against the Russians and Chinese in the year 2030, 2040 and 2050, I’ve got to start building the next generation now," he later added.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I am not worried about the Russian military being a long term threat (with the exception of its nuclear arsenal). It is China and its long term policy of becoming a world super power that can deploy its military globally that concerns me.
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Tweets For Today






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The U.S. Congress Wants To Probe Russian President Putin's Wealth

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony marking the Defender of the Fatherland Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in central Moscow, Russia February 23, 2019. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS

WNU Editor: Some in the U.S. Congress want to probe into Russian President Putin's wealth .... Kremlin dismisses talk of possible U.S. move to probe Putin's wealth (Reuters). If Congress does investigate Putin's wealth, do not be surprised if we start seeing stories on the wealth of many in Congress.
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Picture Of The Day

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stand near a man on a wheelchair, near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, February 27. REUTERS/Rodi Said

WNU Editor: The above picture is from this photo-gallery .... Battle for Islamic State's last enclave (Reuters).
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U.S. Special Forces Bolster African Armies


DW: Flintlock: US Special Forces bolster African armies

Despite US special commando raids and drone strikes, as well as military training given to African allies, terrorism in the Sahel region is on the rise. Can the military put an end to the insurgency?

At the Zagreb military camp in Burkina Faso, US Special Operations forces are sharpening over 20 African armies in the art of countering extremist organizations.

Despite the armies coming from so many diverse countries, they show off cooperation in small unit tactics and intelligence sharing.

The Cameroonian assault team, from an elite battalion, uses a drone to track militias. Their intelligence is then shared with over the 2,000 service members participating in the Flintlock 2019.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  This training appears to not be working .... ‘We Are Not Winning’ Counterterror War in Sahel, US Military Leader in Africa Says (VOA).
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