PAKISTAN
Nuclear missile test-fired
The military yesterday test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile with “stealth features,” it said, the first such exercise in more than three months. The military described the Hatf-VII Babur missile as a “low-flying, terrain-hugging missile, which can strike targets both at land and sea with pin point accuracy” and has a range of 700km. The previous missile test, also of a Hatf-VII, was conducted in June at the end of a spate of five launches in around six weeks that followed arch-rival India successfully firing its Agni V rocket, which can deliver a nuclear warhead anywhere in China.
OMAN
Journalist jailed for dissent
A journalist and blogger has been sentenced to one year in prison for alleged anti-government writings in a widening crackdown on political dissent in the Gulf nation. The Oman News Agency says Mukhtar bin Mohammed bin Saif al-Hinai was convicted on Sunday of slander and violations of media codes, but gave no further details. Al-Hinai works at the Azzaman daily, which came under pressure last year for coverage that angered some officials in the tightly ruled nation. Last month, the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders criticized Oman for convicting 20 activists, including prominent bloggers, on charges of illegal assembly and of insulting the nation’s ruler.
UNITED STATES
Naval exercise launched
A major US-led naval minesweeping exercise got underway in the Persian Gulf on Sunday. The International Mine Countermeasures Exercise, which go through to Sept. 27, includes military forces from more than 20 nations, the US Naval Forces Central Command in Manama, Bahrain, said in a statement. The navy ships will “participate in the defensive exercise to preserve freedom of navigation in the international waterways of the Middle East and promote regional stability” in the region, the statement read. US defense officials insist the exercise is not aimed at Iran or any one country, but is simply designed to hone counter-mine capabilities among allies and partners.
CUBA
Dissident urged to end strike
The “Ladies in White” opposition movement urged a prominent 67-year-old dissident on Sunday to end her six-day-old hunger strike, saying she is more valuable alive as a fighter than dead as a martyr. The dissident, Marta Beatriz Roque, is in critical condition, a spokeswoman said. Ladies in White leader Berta Soler said she spoke on Saturday to Roque and tried to persuade her that ending the strike was not tantamount to caving in. Roque, who is a diabetic, is on hunger strike with 26 other activists. Known as the Iron Lady of the national dissident movement, Roque launched her hunger strike on Monday last week to protest what she said was the government’s “intolerable and untenable” treatment of political opponents.
MEXICO
Chained bodies found
The bodies of 17 men, most of them tied up in chains and shot dead, were found dumped along a highway on Sunday in a western state known as a violent battleground for rival drug cartels. Police found the bodies amid an upsurge in drug gang violence following the arrest of two major drug lords in recent weeks. The bodies were found near the farm town of Tizapan, close to the state border with Michoacan, officials said. There have been no arrests and no group has claimed responsibility.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number