Author: Jonathan Roy

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s military sent 103 warplanes toward Taiwan in a 24-hour period in what the island’s defense ministry called a recent new high. The planes were detected between 6 a.m. on Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday, the ministry said. As is customary, they turned back before reaching Taiwan. Chinese warplanes fly toward the self-governing island on a near-daily basis but typically in smaller numbers. The Taiwan ministry didn’t explain what time period it meant by a “recent” high. China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has conducted increasingly large military drills in the air and waters…

Two pilots were killed Sunday after their planes collided while landing at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, the Reno Air Racing Association said. The pilots were identified by the RARA on Sunday evening as Nick Macy and Chris Rushing. “I am completely devastated and heartbroken today,” Fred Telling, chairman of the Reno Air Racing Association and president of the T-6 Class, said in a statement. “These two pilots weren’t just an integral part of the National Championship Air Race family, they were a part of my family. My heart goes out to their own families and to all of the spectators…

Summer in NYC is still in full swing, but that doesn’t mean we’re not already daydreaming about cooler temperatures and spookier vibes. And it looks like the Halloween season is coming a little early: The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is set to return this September in two New York locations, along with a full slate of Sleepy Hollow-themed events. The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze will be back in the Hudson Valley at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson for the 19th year, from September 15 through November 19, as well as Old Bethpage Village Restoration in Old Bethpage, Long Island for the fourth year, from September 22 through November…

Joe Biden’s son Hunter will now be investigated by a special counsel with additional powers, the US attorney general has announced. Merrick Garland has elevated the status of David Weiss, the federal prosecutor who has already filed criminal charges in the case. A plea deal on tax and gun charges against the president’s son collapsed earlier this month. Republicans are pushing for an inquiry into Hunter Biden’s business dealings. In a surprise announcement at the Department of Justice on Friday, Mr Garland explained that he was making the move after a request by Mr Weiss earlier this week. The new…

The Rockingham electorate is not well-equipped to take on its future AUKUS obligations according to Liberal’s by-election candidate Peter Hudson. Mr Hudson was joined by the party’s high-profile members including Federal Shadow Defence spokesman Andrew Hastie, Federal Senator and former defence minister Linda Reynolds and WA Liberals deputy leader Steve Thomas. With the by-election coming next weekend, Peter Hudson says the State Labor Government fails to plan and prepare the Rockingham electorate for AUKUS. The candidate claims that many overseas defence personnel from the United States and the United Kingdom are preparing to settle in the electorate of Rockingham, yet…

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s longtime ruling party on Monday lauded its landslide victory in weekend elections as a clear mandate for the next five years. The United States said the party’s stifling of the opposition meant the vote could not be considered free or fair and that Washington was taking punitive measures. Autocratic leader Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won 120 of 125 available seats in Sunday’s elections, according to preliminary results. The 70-year-old, who has been in power for 38 years, has said he plans to hand the prime minister’s job off to his oldest son, 45-year-old Hun Manet, who…

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended American actions to protect its national security in prepared remarks for a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. “The United States will, in certain circumstances, need to pursue targeted actions to protect its national security,” Yellen said Friday in prepared remarks. “And we may disagree in these instances,” she said. Among several measures, the U.S. in October announced sweeping export controls that restrict the ability of Chinese businesses to develop advanced semiconductors. This week, China’s Ministry of Commerce said that starting Aug. 1, businesses in China wanting to export two metals used in the manufacturing of chips would need…

The dollar slumped on Friday after signs of a less resilient U.S. labor market reduced the outlook for how long the Federal Reserves will keep interest rates higher, but the yen jumped on concerns the 10-year Treasury’s yield rose above 4%. The U.S. economy added the fewest jobs in 2-1/2 years in June, the Labor Department said in an employment report that also showed 110,000 fewer jobs were created in April and May than earlier reported. A jump in the number of people working part-time for economic reasons also suggested a weaker labor market, but the pace of job growth…

The gross national debt exceeded $32 trillion for the first time on Friday, underscoring the country’s unsettling fiscal trajectory as Washington gears up for another fight over government spending. A Treasury Department report noted the milestone weeks after Congress agreed to suspend the nation’s statutory debt limit, ending a monthslong standoff. The $32 trillion mark arrived nine years sooner than prepandemic forecasts had projected, reflecting the trillions of dollars of emergency spending to address Covid-19’s impact along with a run of sluggish economic growth. Republicans and Democrats have expressed concern about the nation’s debt, but neither party has shown an appetite to…

A demilitarised zone between 100 and 120 kilometres wide (62 to 75 miles) should be established in Russian border territory with Ukraine as part of any post-war settlement, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office has said. Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said the demilitarised zone should cover the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and Rostov in order to protect adjacent territories in Ukraine. “To ensure real security for residents of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions and protect them from shelling, it will be necessary to introduce…