Philippines signs 369.3 million USD deal with India to buy the BrahMos shore-based anti-ship cruise missiles

The Philippines’ Department of National Defense announced on the Philippines government news agency, that they had officially signed the contract for the acquisition of India’s BrahMos medum-range ramjet supersonic cruise missiles. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and BrahMos Aerospace director general Atul Dinkar Rane signed the contract worth PHP18.9 billion (estimated 369.3 million USD) in a…

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Japan signs defense pact with Australia; further abandoning pacifism

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison signed a new defense pact via a virtual summit which the two countries will agree to cooperate closely on defense to bolster securities ties. The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), will allow Australian and Japanese military to work seamlessly on defense and humanitarian operations. “Japan is…

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UAE and Ukraine providing military support to Ethiopia in civil war against Tigray Defense Forces

According to an exclusive report by Al Jazeera, they had discovered by satellite images that Ethiopia is receiving extensive support in their fight against forces from the northern Tigray region. In their investigation, there were more than 90 flights between United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia between September and November 2021. A Spanish firm is…

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[ Taiwan News ] 32 countries to remove China from preferential tariff treatment on Dec. 1

China Customs says 32 countries will no longer provide preferential tariff treatment to the world’s largest exporter from Dec. 1, and an economic expert says labor-intensive businesses will bear the brunt of the development. According to a statement recently issued by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), 32 countries will remove China from…

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[ NPR ] China is removing domes from mosques as part of a push to make them more ‘Chinese’

China is removing the domes and minarets from thousands of mosques across the country. Authorities say the domes are evidence of foreign religious influence and are taking down overtly Islamic architecture as part of a push to sinicize historically Muslim ethnic groups — to make them more traditionally Chinese. The campaign comes amid rising Islamophobia…

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China hit by flood again, 3rd time this year.

Dykes of the Yellow River breached, causing the 3rd flood of 2021 for China. Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, that are in the Yellow River basin are hit by severe flooding. More than 120,000 people had been evacuated thus far just in Shanxi alone. It is said to be the largest flood in nearly 40 years…

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[ TIME ] China, Isolated From the World, Is Now the Last Major Country Still Pursuing a ‘Zero COVID’ Strategy

Now, with the rise of the delta variant and the proliferation of vaccines, only one is still holding fast to that goal of eliminating Covid-19: China. With New Zealand preparing to shift away from the zero-tolerance strategy, China’s isolation is complete, raising the stakes on how long it can stick to a playbook that requires closed borders,…

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