World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
President Claudia Sheinbaum urged Mexicans to remain calm and stay well-informed after a federal operation targeting Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes triggered a violent response from cartel henchmen.
The federal Defense Ministry said that Oseguera died while being transported by air to Mexico City after he was wounded by federal forces during an operation on Sunday morning in the municipality of Tapalpa, Jalisco.
Xi Jinping’s Generals Are Hiding in Their Barracks, Afraid They Could Be Purged Next Vision Times
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China’s AI War Machine Exposed: 9,000 PLA RFPs Reveal Space And Undersea Ambitions Orbital Today
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He told ABC that the USTR already had open investigations into Brazil and China, and expected to initiate investigations into areas such as industrial excess capacity, which would cover many countries in Asia, and unfair trading practices regarding rice, which is heavily subsidised by some countries.
Greer said he did not expect the ruling and subsequent change in tariffs to affect Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of March.
“The purpose of this meeting with President Xi is not to fight about trade. It’s to maintain stability, make sure that the Chinese are holding up their end of our deal and buying American agricultural products and Boeings and other things,” Greer said. “I don’t see this really affecting that meeting.”
Signs within China point to instability continuing in the wake of Chairman Xi’s recent purge of an attempted coup that appears to have been led by the-then second most powerful man in China, Zhang Youxia. Zhang was well-respected by the military, and they appear willing to send public signals they continue to support him.
That signal came through their newspaper, the Liberation Army Daily, which featured an article signaling support for an historic figure like Zhang Youxia, Zhang Guotao, who broke with Mao Zedong in the 30s. This was the first of six similar articles released following the reported arrest of Zhang Youxia.
Xi Jinping Has Turned China’s Military Against Him, and the Party’s Own Newspaper Proves It Vision Times
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On Feb. 11, the Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of China’s military, published yet another article invoking Zhang Guotao, a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party who broke with Mao Zedong in the 1930s and is remembered in Party mythology as the archetype of treachery and “splitting the Party and the army.” The article accused Zhang Guotao of “carrying out activities to split the Party and the Red Army,” language that transparently targets two recently purged military leaders: Zhang Youxia, the former vice chairman of China’s top military command body (the Central Military Commission), and Liu Zhenli, the former chief of the Joint Staff Department, China’s most senior operational military commander.
This was the sixth such article since Jan.16, the date that online sources say Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were physically detained, eight days before their purge was officially announced on Jan. 24. All six articles share a revealing pattern: every one of them invokes the historical villain Zhang Guotao, and every one of them avoids mentioning Zhang Youxia or Liu Zhenli by name. The gap between the fury of the rhetoric and the absence of the actual targets’ names speaks volumes about how politically explosive these purges remain.
The six articles, with their dates and titles, are:
Jan. 18: “Courage Is Measured by What You Fear and What You Don’t”
Feb. 2: “Political Army-Building Special: Strong Organizations Make a Strong Army”
President Trump has been moving more U.S. military assets, including carrier groups, into the Persian Gulf region as he threatens war with Iran while continuing to engage diplomatically with Iran. China and Russia have participated in a joint military exercise with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. At home, the President faces a potential congressional challenge to his authority to start a war with Iran. While protests continue sporadically in Iran, and reports of explosions continue to leak out, the regime appears fully in charge as it continues to slaughter the opposition.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran and the United States leaned into gunboat diplomacy Thursday as nuclear talks between the nations hung in the balance, with Tehran holding drills with Russia and the Americans bringing another aircraft carrier closer to the Mideast.
The Iranian drill and the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier near the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea underscore the tensions between the nations. Iran earlier this week also launched a drill that involved live-fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow opening of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes.
The movements of additional American warships and airplanes don’t guarantee a U.S. strike on Iran — but it does give President Donald Trump the ability to carry out one should he choose to do so. He’s so far held off on striking Iran after setting red lines over the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran holding mass executions, while reengaging Tehran in nuclear talks earlier disrupted by the Iran-Israel war in June.
“Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website, seeking to pressure the United Kingdom over its plans to settle the future of the Chagos Islands with Mauritius.
Meanwhile, Iran struggles with unrest at home following its crackdown on protests, with mourners now holding ceremonies honoring their dead 40 days after their killing by security forces. Some of the gatherings have included anti-government cries, despite threats from authorities.
The drill Thursday saw Iranian forces and Russian sailors conduct operations in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. The drill will be aimed at “upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences,” IRNA added.
China had joined the “Security Belt” drill in previous years, but there was no acknowledgment it participated in this round. In recent days, a vessel that appeared to be a Steregushchiy-class Russian corvette had been seen at a military port in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas.
Iran also issued a rocket-fire warning to pilots in the region, suggesting they planned to launch anti-ship missiles in the exercise.
Meanwhile, tracking data showed the Ford off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean midday Wednesday, meaning the carrier could transit through Gibraltar and potentially station in the eastern Mediterranean with its supporting guided-missile destroyers.
Having the carrier there could allow American forces to have extra aircraft and anti-missile power to potentially protect Israel and Jordan should a conflict break out with Iran. The U.S. similarly placed warships there during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip to protect against Iranian fire.
Mourning ceremonies for those killed by security forces in the protests last month also have increased. Iranians traditionally mark the death of a loved one 40 days after the loss. Both witnesses and social media videos showed memorials taking place at Tehran’s massive Behesht-e Zahra cemetery. Some memorials included people chanting against Iran’s theocracy while singing nationalistic songs.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 at Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar, initially over the collapse of Iran’s currency, the rial, then spread across the country. Tensions exploded on Jan. 8, with demonstrations called for by Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi.
Iran’s government has offered only one death toll for the violence, with 3,117 people killed. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous rounds of unrest in Iran, puts the death toll at over 7,000 killed, with many more feared dead.
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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
from abcnews.com
Peru’s Congress on Tuesday voted to remove interim President José Jerí from office, triggering a fresh wave of political instability just weeks before the nation’s April presidential election.
Jerí was Peru’s seventh president in less than a decade, and will now be replaced by a member of Congress, who will be expected to lead the country during the election and until the nation’s newly elected president is sworn in on July 28.
LONDON — British police forces are working together to assess potential crimes revealed in documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including allegations of wrongdoing by the former Prince Andrew.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council, which brings together police leaders from across the U.K., said on Wednesday that it had set up a national coordination group to support forces looking into issues arising from the more than 3 million pages of documents released late last month.
“It may take some time due to the volume of material and the complexity of international jurisdictions, but policing and its law enforcement partners are taking this matter extremely seriously, and will assess all information thoroughly,” the council said in a statement.
PARIS — Paris prosecutors opened on Wednesday two new investigations into potential sex abuse crimes and financial wrongdoings linked to Jeffrey Epstein following the release of millions of files of the millionaire financier and convicted sex offender, and called on possible victims to come forward.
Paris prosecutor Laurence Beccuau said the investigations are seeking to use the files released by the U.S. administration, media reports and new complaints that are being filed.
“All that data … some will shed light on others to be able to get a well-informed, very broad, panoramic view,” Beccuau said on France Info news broadcaster.
Germany’s Merz says he can’t stand applause for Rubio at Munich conference South China Morning Post
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Man with shotgun running towards US Capitol building arrested by police Al Jazeera
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that Japan will finance the production of synthetic diamonds and two energy projects worth about $36 billion as the initial tranche of investments under a deal reached last year following months of tariff negotiations.
Trump’s announcement that the three projects had been selected, as part of a $550 billion package that Japan committed to in exchange for his administration reducing tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods, was confirmed hours later by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
“These projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “America is building again. America is producing again. And America is WINNING again.”
Japanese exports climbed 16.8% year on year in January, sharply beating market expectations and growing at their fastest rate since November 2022 as shipments to Asia and Western Europe surged, government data on Wednesday showed.
Growth was higher than December’s 5.1%, and beat Reuters-polled economists’ estimates of 12%.
Value of exports to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, jumped 32%, after rising 5.6% in December at a time when the two countries are locked in a diplomatic standoff over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments over Taiwan.
German public broadcaster ZDF has issued an on-air apology after its flagship news program, Heute Journal, aired a segment containing AI-generated footage depicting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arresting a migrant family.
The controversy followed the Feb. 15 broadcast, which ZDF said examined fears in parts of the United States over immigration enforcement operations. Viewers quickly noted on social media that portions of the footage were artificially generated, with an OpenAI Sora watermark visible on screen.
Chinese Officials Purged for ‘Improper Discussion’ as Xi Tightens Political Discipline Vision Times
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No AI data centers, no AI revolution.
Or to be less dramatic, slowing the buildout of these sprawling server farms will slow technical advances and the economywide spread of generative artificial intelligence, which is shaping up to be a powerful new general-purpose technology. As such, a new survey from Politico suggests Silicon Valley shouldn’t take voter tolerance for granted.
Let’s start with the good news for AI companies: Just 28 percent of 2,000 surveyed would oppose the building of a new data center in their area. That, versus 37 percent who would support construction and 28 percent who would neither support nor oppose.
Researchers behind a new report on transnational repression are warning Canada must not be “naïve” as it seeks better relations with China, which remains a top perpetrator in intimidating and harassing dissidents abroad.
The report by the Montreal Institute for Global Security (MIGS) called transnational repression “one of the most serious yet least understood threats to security and democracy in Canada,” and said China remains a leader in such efforts.
It cited several examples, including so-called “police stations” and online influence campaigns targeting Chinese Canadian diaspora communities. Families still living in China have been threatened, the report adds, and women have been targeted with sexual AI deepfakes.
Juliette Bryant says she first met Jeffrey Epstein when she was a 20-year-old psychology and philosophy student in Cape Town, South Africa, who modeled part time.
Her first interaction with the late American sex offender came by chance, when she was approached on a night out by a girl who offered to introduce her to a man who she said was described to her as American royalty.
“She said she knew a man who was here who was the ‘King Of America,’ and he was here with Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker. She told me that his best friend Leslie Wexner owns Victoria’s Secret and it would be a very good idea for me to meet them because it could possibly help with my modeling career,” Bryant told CBS News on Sunday. “So we went along to the restaurant where they were having dinner down the road. And sure enough, there they were. Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker, Jeffrey Epstein, and a few government officials from South Africa.”
The Anglican Communion and the Church of England have faced significant challenges in modern times, with the church grappling with how to stay relevant while also preserving traditions for its more conservative members.
The debate surrounding gay marriage was an extremely divisive topic, with a 10-year debate resulting in the rejection of same-sex seremonies in 2023. Now, the Church of England has voted again against standalone ceremonies for homosexual couples at its general council.
The bishops concluded that theological and legal obstacles prevented the introduction of separate ceremonies, and so they were excluded from church practice, writes Hetek.hu.
DONALD Trump has slammed the UK Chagos Islands deal as “a big mistake”.
He called the 100-year lease agreed by PM Sir Keir Starmer “tenuous, at best” and claimed that the US could need Diego Garcia to hit back at Iran if a nuclear deal is not agreed.
Bangkok offers to facilitate Myanmar ethnic talks without interference Thai PBS World
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In the wake of 9/11, the newly established Office of the Director of National Intelligence produced the nation’s first National Intelligence Strategy, a document explicitly intended to guide reforms to the intelligence community and help prevent another terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland. The challenges U.S. intelligence faces today are no less dramatic. While crises in Ukraine, Iran, and Venezuela have each been driven by their own internal logics, together they reflect profound shifts in the balance and nature of power as a new international order begins to take shape. These shifts — a more contested strategic environment; accelerating technology competition; and eroding faith in international rules, norms, and institutions — have significantly increased uncertainty in world politics and elevated the risk and potential costs of strategic surprise.
If this adviser is correct, there’s a good chance the United States will be at war with Iran.
A senior adviser to President Trump has revealed that there’s a 90% chance the United States will launch a strike against Iran.
The potential attack comes as the United States has sent a large number of Navy and Air Force assets to the Middle East, which includes two of the largest U.S. aircraft carriers.
The Israel Defence Forces have told CBC News that they dug 20 to 30 metres deep in a Gaza war cemetery where 22 Canadian soldiers are buried in order to destroy a Hamas tunnel.
An IDF officer who spoke to CBC News on background and who was involved in combat operations in the area said he was not able to give any assurance that Israeli forces had taken measures to preserve human remains.
News that the cemetery had been damaged during IDF combat operations was first reported in The Guardian on Feb. 4, but until now it was not clear whether the damage was just to surface structures such as headstones and walls or also included the remains of the dead. Bodies are normally buried at a depth of two to three metres.
The DOJ said Yaoning Sun had acted as an illegal agent “while serving as the campaign advisor for a political candidate who was elected to the city council of a Southern California city.”
A man with ties to the mayor of a Los Angeles County city has been sentenced to four years in prison for “acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China.”
The Department of Justice announced on February 10 that 65-year-old Yaoning “Mike” Sun, of Chino Hills, California had been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, saying that Sun had acted as an illegal agent “while serving as the campaign advisor for a political candidate who was elected to the city council of a Southern California city.”
(LifeSiteNews) — The European Parliament has voted in favor of a resolution condemning Turkey’s expulsion of Christian missionaries.
On February 12, the EU legislative body adopted the text by 502 votes in favor, two against, and 59 abstentions, demonstrating broad cross-party consensus on the issue.
The resolution said Turkey is expelling Christians missionaries under an opaque “national security” pretext. It urged the government to uphold freedom of religion and allow the expelled Christians to return to the country.
Arch globalist Christine Lagarde is reportedly planning to leave her post at the helm of the European Central Bank before the end of her term next year in a bid to lock in liberal leadership long after French President Emmanuel Macron leaves office.
The anti-Trump former French finance minister has served as president of the European Central Bank since 2019. While her eight-year term is set to expire in October next year, the Financial Times, citing a “person familiar with her thinking”, reported that Lagarde is considering stepping down before then to allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to select her successor.
The Vatican will not join President Donald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace, its top diplomatic official said Tuesday, signaling reluctance from the Holy See to take part in the post-war initiative.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” the Vatican’s official news outlet reported.
An immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers.
The Vatican has rejected an invitation to participate in President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” which was recently formed to rebuild war-ravaged Gaza.
The Holy See’s top diplomatic official confirmed the rejection on Tuesday.
The refusal to join the international effort signals hesitation from the Catholic Church’s leadership toward the post-war initiative.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” according to the Vatican’s official news outlet.