Category Archives: SECURITY

A huge Chinese coastguard vessel was spotted sailing in contested waters last weekend, in what analysts saw as a pointed warning to the Philippines over its growing military alliance with the US. Nicknamed “the monster” for its 165-metre (180-yard) length, the world’s largest coastguard ship was spotted over the weekend near Scarborough Shoal, which China calls Huangyan Island. The shoal has long been a flashpoint in the South China Sea . Using Canada’s advanced detection technology, the Philippine coastguard tracked the Chinese vessel as it manoeuvred through the West Philippine Sea, a term Manila uses for the parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In a video posted by the Philippine coastguard, BRP Cabra, a Philippine patrol vessel, radioed the Chinese ship to demand that

Here are the key developments on the 1,049th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade ‘Khartiia’ of the National Guard of Ukraine prepares to fire a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on January 6, 2025 [Sofiia Gatilova/Reuters] Here is the situation on Wednesday, January 8: Fighting Kyiv said its forces are still actively fighting in Kurakhove, a strategic town in Ukraine’s east that Russia said it had seized. Moscow hailed the capture of the “important logistics hub”, saying it would enable Russian forces to take the rest of the eastern Donetsk region “at an accelerated pace”. Ukraine also said its forces were “commencing new offensive actions” in Russia’s western Kursk region

Joburg EMS said teams received a call about an incident on corner of Guinea Fowl Street and Smew Avenue on Tuesday evening. (CityofJoburgEMS/X) One person has been rushed to hospital, while emergency rescue teams are digging through rubble searching for another, after a structure collapsed in Lenasia on Tuesday evening. Joburg EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba said that at around 19:45, teams received a distress call about an incident on corner of Guinea Fowl Street and Smew Avenue. “On arrival, rescue technicians managed to remove one patient from the rubble and take them to a nearby medical facility. Search and rescue is under way for the second person, who is believed to be stuck under the rubble,” she said. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred Who

The highly decorated soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI including ChatGPT to help plan the attack, Las Vegas police said on Tuesday. Nearly a week after 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger fatally shot himself, officials said according to writings, he did not intend to kill anyone else. An investigation of Livelsberger’s searches through ChatGPT indicate he was looking for information on explosive targets, the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona. Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, called the use of generative AI a “game-changer” and said the department was sharing information with other law enforcement agencies. “This is the first incident that I’m aware of on US soil

North Korea says it test-fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile on Monday, in a provocative display of its advancing weapons capabilities timed to coincide with a visit by Washington’s top diplomat to the region that came just days before the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump . State media heralded the test as a major milestone. Describing the missile as a cornerstone of his country’s strategic arsenal, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un boasted that it could render enemy defences ineffective. “The hypersonic missile system will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region that can affect the security of our state,” Kim said, according to comments carried by state-run news agency KCNA. He added that the missile demonstrated the ability to deliver a “devastating military strike” by breaching even dense

Rescue operations still under way as nine others remain trapped in flooded Assam coal mine. Three miners are feared dead inside a flooded coal mine in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, with rescue efforts ongoing to save nine others. Rescue teams have spotted three bodies but have not been able to recover them yet, the local authorities in Assam’s hilly Dima Hasao district said in a statement on Tuesday. Twelve miners were trapped when water flooded the mine on Monday. The Indian military said in a statement it has deployed divers, helicopters and engineers to help rescue the trapped men. “The mine got flooded yesterday — the source was internal. They [the miners] probably hit some water channel and water came out and flooded it,” Mayank Kumar, district police

North Korea has claimed it fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead which “will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region”. The launch on Monday – Pyongyang’s first in two months – came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for talks with some of South Korea’s key leaders. Hypersonic weapons are more difficult to track and shoot down, as they are able to travel at more than five times the speed of sound. North Korea is claiming their missile flew 12 times the speed of sound, for about 1,500km. South Korea’s military earlier said the missile flew 1,100km before falling into the sea, adding that it “strongly condemns” this “clear act of provocation”. North Korea has previously test-fired hypersonic missiles. Pictures

Adequate security measures have been implemented to ensure a smooth and successful swearing-in ceremony of President-elect John Dramani Mahama and Vice-President-elect Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang on Tuesday , January 7, 2025. Among the security measures implemented by the Ghana Police Service as announced by the Director of Public Affairs , Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Grace Ansah-Akrofi at a press conference on Monday were the intermittent roadblocks, restrictions, and traffic diversions in various parts of Accra. The affected areas included the Ako Adjei Interchange, African Union (AU) Roundabout, State House, Accra Sports Stadium, Independence Square, and Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue. According to ACP Ansah-Akrofi, most roads in the security operational perimeter of the swearing in ceremony would be closed to ensure a smooth swearing-in ceremony on TuesdayTo ensure public safety

French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was a “a solid ally” of US president-elect Donald Trump on Monday as he outlined his vision for global diplomacy in 2025, while warning that France could lose the incoming US leader’s respect by being “weak and defeatist”. “Donald Trump knows that he has a solid ally in France , an ally he does not underestimate, one who believes in Europe and carries a lucid ambition for the transatlantic relationship,” Macron said in a New Year speech at the Élysée Palace, emphasising France’s commitment to fostering cooperation while urging European nations to fortify their unity and resilience. “If we decide to be weak and defeatist, there is little chance we will be respected by the United States under President Trump,” Macron warned. The

France’s trial of a man who drugged his wife so dozens of strangers could rape her while unconscious has been both ordinary and extraordinary, AFP journalists who have been covering it say. Details of the case have horrified audiences in France and abroad since the trial began on September 2, drawing renewed attention on the widespread crime of rape and the issue of consent. But it has also catapulted its main victim, 72-year-old Gisele Pelicot, into the limelight as a feminist hero demanding a patriarchal society change its attitude to sex crimes.Dominique Pelicot, 72, has admitted sedating his then wife with sleeping pills from 2011 to 2020 so that men he recruited online could rape her in her own bed, meticulously documenting the abuse in video footage. As the court

PM criticises those “spreading lies and misinformation” over grooming gangs The prime minister has attacked politicians and activists “spreading lies and misinformation” over grooming gangs. It comes after multi-billionaire Elon Musk accused Sir Keir Starmer of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” during his tenure as director of public prosecutions (DPP) for failing to tackle grooming gangs. Senior Conservatives and Reform UK MPs have also spent the week calling for a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation. But Sir Keir said: “Those who are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves.” He said the online debate had “crossed a line”, resulting in threats against MPs, including Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips. Sir Keir went on to accuse

Security forces were searching for the terrorists. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 6, 2025 09:25 Updated: JANUARY 6, 2025 09:49 Security forces and emergency response teams operate at the area of the shooting terror attack in the West Bank. (photo credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM) Three individuals were killed and several others wounded after shots were fired at a bus and a vehicle near Kedumim in the West Bank, Israel’s emergency medical response service, Magen David Adom (MDA) said on Monday.  Israeli media reported that a manhunt for the terrorists had ensued. Security forces and emergency response teams operate at the area of the shooting terror attack in the West Bank. (credit: Magen David Adom) Earlier, the IDF said it had received reports of a shooting terror attack in the area. 

Traffic Police officer (center) based at Kisumu Central police station in handcuffs after he and his colleagues were arrested for taking bribes along Kisumu-Busia and Kisumu-Kakamega roads on November 20,2019. The five officers were released on police  bond.[ Courtesy] The Ethics and Anticorruption Commission has arrested nine traffic police officers caught extorting money from motorists in Nakuru, Kajiado and Kisii. The commission’s spokesperson Eric Ngumbi confirmed that the nine officers were compromising road safety during the festive season. He said an officer in Embu escaped. “The officers who were seen collecting bribes, were in the guise of traffic law enforcement,” Ngumbi said. Ngumbi said the officers were arrested at different notorious bribe collection spots in Nakuru, Kajiado and Kisii between December 25 and 31, 2024. He added that they were released on cash bail pending finalization of the investigation and