UAE
US deploys F-22 jets
US F-22 fighter jets on Saturday arrived at an air base following a spate of unprecedented attacks in Abu Dhabi by Houthi fighters in Yemen, the US Air force said. In the past few weeks, the Iran-aligned Houthis have waged a string of largely failed strikes on United Arab Emirates (UAE) targets that have triggered Emirati and US air defenses and have even seen US troops based there briefly taking shelter. The jets arrived at the base as part of a multifaceted demonstration of US support after a series of attacks throughout last month threatened US and Emirati armed forces stationed at the host installation, the statement said. “The Raptors’ presence will bolster already strong partner nation defenses, and puts destabilizing forces on notice that the US and our partners are committed to enabling peace and stability in the region,” Lieutenant General Greg Guillot, commander of the US Air Force’s Middle East command, said in a statement. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the rapid deployment of the fifth-generation aircraft in coordination with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the US Air Forces Central said in a statement. The airmen and F-22s are deployed from the First Fighter Wing from Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, the US Air Force said.
YEMEN
UN employees abducted
Five UN staff have been abducted in the south of the nation while returning to Aden after a field mission, the UN said on Saturday. The staff were taken on Friday in Abyan Governorate, said Russell Geekie, a spokesman for the top UN official in the country. “The United Nations is in close contact with the authorities to secure their release,” Geekie said. The country’s internationally recognized government, based in the south, was working to safely free the UN staff abducted by unknown gunmen, the official news agency cited a cabinet statement as saying. An official at the UN office in Aden said that four of those seized were Yemeni nationals.
NICARAGUA
Torres dies in detention
Former guerrilla Hugo Torres, one of 46 opposition figures jailed since last year by the government of President Daniel Ortega, died on Saturday, his family said in a statement. He was 73. The statement offered few details on Torres’ death, but expressed his children’s “deep pain over the death of our beloved father.” It was released by the opposition coalition Blue and White National Unity, of which Torres was a member. A former Sandinista dissident, Torres had been held since June 13 last year in El Chipote prison, before being transferred in December to a hospital for treatment, sources said. Torres had been vice president of the opposition Democratic Renovation Union (UNAMOS), formerly the Sandinista Renovation Movement, established in 1995 by militants unhappy with Ortega’s leadership. A retired army general, Torres in 1974 undertook a risky operation to free a group of jailed politicians — including Ortega — being held under then-president Anastasio Somoza. However, Ortega has accused dozens of opposition figures of conspiring against his government with US backing. Torres was hailed on Saturday as a “hero” by former guerrilla and exiled Sandinista dissident Monica Baltodano. She told news Web site 100% Noticias that Torres was “a true hero of the struggles against the dictatorships that have dominated Nicaragua — the dictatorship of Somoza and now the dictatorship of Ortega, which is a brutal and criminal dictatorship.”
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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