MOSCOW: Russia’s defense ministry said on Friday that the use of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine would harm Ukrainian troops, the wider population and negatively affect the country’s agriculture sector for decades or even centuries.
Russia has reacted furiously to plans outlined by Britain earlier this week to send shells containing depleted uranium to Ukraine.
London says they are a conventional form of ammunition, but President Vladimir Putin said the move showed NATO members were sending weapons with a “nuclear component” to Kyiv.
“The West is well aware of the negative consequences of using depleted uranium ammunition,” Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces of Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement on Friday.
He said data on the use of depleted uranium by the United States and is allies in the Balkans and Iraq showed serious and lasting negative impacts on local populations and the environment.
Ukraine’s agricultural industry could suffer “for decades, if not centuries, into the future,” he said.
Critics of the use of depleted uranium, such as the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, say the dust created by such weapons can be breathed in while munitions which miss their target can poison groundwater and soil.
Countries such as the United States and Britain say depleted uranium is a good tool for destroying a modern tank. Britain says in guidance that inhaling enough depleted uranium dust to cause injury would be difficult.
Russia’s defense ministry on Friday disputed those claims and said the use of depleted uranium shells, compared to Tungsten-based ammunition, “has no significant advantage” on the battlefield.
The Royal Society said in a report in 2002 that the risks to the kidney and other organs from the use of depleted uranium munitions are very low for most soldiers in the battlefield and for those living in the conflict area.
Russia is also known to produce uranium weapons along with around 20 other countries, according to the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons.
Russia says use of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine would harm the population
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Russia says use of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine would harm the population
- Russia reacted furiously to plans outlined by Britain earlier this week to send shells containing depleted uranium to Ukraine
Indonesia to repatriate Filipino woman prisoner early Tuesday
- Mary Jane Veloso was earlier sentenced to death for drug trafficking
Indian tabla maestro Zakir Hussain dies at 73
- Hussain died in San Francisco from a chronic lung disease
- He was the eldest son of legendary tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha
Zakir Hussain, considered one of the greatest players of the tabla or Indian drums and known for his “dancing fingers,” has died.
Hussain, 73, died in a San Francisco hospital from complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — a chronic lung disease, his family said in a statement.
The eldest son of legendary tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha, Hussain was a child prodigy, beginning his professional career at the age of 12 accompanying Indian classical musicians.
By 18, he was touring internationally, winning acclaim for his accompaniment, dazzling solo performances and pioneering collaborative work with world musicians that elevated the status of the tabla in India and abroad.
Collaborators included George Harrison, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz musician Herbie Hancock.
He was nominated for seven Grammy awards, winning four including three this year, according to the Grammy website. He was also the recipient of India’s highest honor for artists, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus
- Interim leader says that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after an August revolution, said Monday that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026.
Pressure has been growing on Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus – appointed the country’s “chief adviser” after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August – to set a date.
The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of some 170 million people.
“Election dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026,” he said in a broadcast on state television.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to neighboring India as thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister’s palace in Dhaka.
Her government was also accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections, to dismantle democratic checks on its power.
Hasina’s 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Yunus has launched commissions to oversee a raft of reforms he says are needed, and setting an election date depends on what political parties agree.
“Throughout, I have emphasized that reforms should take place first before the arrangements for an election,” he said.
“If the political parties agree to hold the election on an earlier date with minimum reforms, such as having a flawless voter list, the election could be held by the end of November,” he added.
But including the full list of electoral reforms would delay polls by a few months, he said.
Taiwan receives first batch of US-made Abrams tanks
- Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier, angering Beijing
- The M1A2 tanks, the first batch of 108 ordered in 2019, arrived in Taiwan late Sunday
TAIPEI: Taiwan has received 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks from the United States, the defense ministry said Monday, as the island boosts its military capabilities against a potential Chinese attack.
Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.
The M1A2 tanks — the first batch of 108 ordered in 2019 — arrived in Taiwan late Sunday and were transferred to an army training base in Hsinchu, south of the capital Taipei, the defense ministry said.
Abrams tanks, which are among the heaviest in the world, are a mainstay of the US military.
The M1A2s are the first new tanks to be delivered to Taiwan in 30 years, the semi-official Central News Agency said.
Taiwan’s current tank force consists of around 1,000 Taiwan-made CM 11 Brave Tiger and US-made M60A3 tanks, technology that is increasingly obsolete.
The government previously allocated the equivalent of more than $1.2 billion for the 108 Abrams.
Taiwan faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which has refused to rule out using force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.
While it has a home-grown defense industry and has been upgrading its equipment, Taiwan relies heavily on US arms sales to bolster its security capabilities.
Taiwan requested the state-of-the-art M1A2 tanks in 2019. The rest of the order is expected to be delivered in 2025 and 2026, an army official said.
While US arms supplies to Taiwan are enshrined into law, a massive backlog caused by Covid-19 supply chain disruptions and US weapons shipments to Ukraine and Israel have slowed deliveries to Taiwan.
The backlog now exceeds $21 billion, according to Washington think tank Cato Institute.
Taiwan would be massively outgunned in terms of troop numbers and firepower in any war with China and in recent years has increased spending on its military.
Taipei allocated a record $19 billion for 2024 and next year’s budget is set to hit a new high, as it seeks to bolster a more agile defense approach.
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, regularly deploying fighter jets and warships around the island.
Taiwanese authorities said last week that China had held its biggest maritime drills in years, with around 90 ships deployed from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea.
The vessels simulated attacks on foreign ships and practiced blockading sea routes, a Taiwan security official said previously.
US agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says
- The radio wave detector can be attached to a drone or airplane and can determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place
BOSTON: After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, elected officials are urging action to identify and stop the mysterious flights.
“There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“’We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer,” he said.
National security officials have said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a public safety threat. But because they can’t say with certainty who is responsible for the sudden swarms of drones over parts of New Jersey, New York and other eastern parts of the US — or how they can be stopped — has led leaders of both political parties to demand better technology and powers to deal with the drones.
Sen. Chuck Schumer called Sunday for the US Department of Homeland Security to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify the drones and their operators.
“New Yorkers have tremendous questions about it,” Schumer, the Senate Majority leader, told reporters about the drone sightings. “We are going to get the answers for them.”
The federal government did little to answer those questions in its own media briefings Sunday morning. “There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “But I want to assure the American public that we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities.”
Some of the drones reported above parts of New York and New Jersey have turned out to be “manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones,” Mayorkas said. “We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast. And we are vigilant in investigating this matter.”
Last year, federal aviation rules began requiring certain drones to broadcast their remote identification, including the location of their operators. It’s not clear whether that information has been used to determine who is behind the drones plaguing locations over New York and New Jersey. Mayorkas’ office didn’t respond to questions about whether they’ve been able to identify drones using this capability.
Schumer wants the federal government to use a recently declassified radio wave technology in New York and New Jersey. The radio wave detector can be attached to a drone or airplane and can determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place. Schumer said state and local authorities do not have the authority to track drones.
On Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said federal officials were sending a drone detection system to the state.
“This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details, including where the system will be deployed.
Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month over parts of New Jersey, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research and manufacturing facility and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Drones are now being reported all along the northern East Coast, with suspicious sightings in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to news reports.
Some US political leaders, including Trump, have called for much stronger action against these drones, including shooting them down.
Certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have the power to “incapacitate” drones, Mayorkas said Sunday. “But we need those authorities expanded,” he said.
A bill before the US Senate would enhance some federal agencies’ authority and give new abilities to local and state agencies to track drones. It would also start a pilot program allowing states and local authorities to disrupt, disable or seize a drone without prior consent of the operator.
“What the drone issue points out are gaps in our agencies, gaps in our authorities between the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement, the Defense Department.,” said Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick to be his national security adviser, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “Americans are finding it hard to believe we can’t figure out where these are coming from.’’
