Greece has challenged NATO and allies, not Türkiye by locking its air defense systems on Turkish jets carrying out NATO reconnaissance mission, says Turkish president
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Taiwan has reported detecting 24 Chinese aircraft and 6 warships around the island.
Of the 24 planes, 10 – four Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, four Shenyang J-16 jets and two Chengdu J-10s – “had flown on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait,” the Defence Ministry tweeted on Friday.
Taiwanese forces “monitored the situation and responded to these activities with aircraft … naval vessels, and land-based missile systems,” the ministry added.
China on Wednesday concluded its more than a week-long massive military exercises surrounding Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island on August 2, bucking Beijing’s warnings.
Provocative and destabilising
US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Friday that China overreacted to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and used it as a pretext to try to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
Campbell told reporters in a call that the American response would be patient and effective, and that its presence and posture would "account for China's more provocative and destabilising behaviour."
READ MORE: Taiwan continues military drills amid tensions with China
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIfIDo1LWUg[/embed]
'Breakaway province'
China views Taiwan as a “breakaway province” despite Taipei having governed itself since 1949.
Beijing has vowed to reunify the island, including by force if necessary.
Apart from the show of military might, Beijing has downgraded military dialogue with the US and suspended cooperation on climate change issues, along with six other countermeasures.
READ MORE: China 'will not renounce the use of force' to unify Taiwan with mainland
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2a4yR4P_Vk[/embed]
Source: AA
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The New York Jets and offensive tackle Duane Brown agreed to terms on a two-year contract Thursday, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
The move came three days after the Jets learned they likely lost Mekhi Becton for the season because of a knee injury suffered in practice.
The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the signing. ESPN first reported the agreement between the Jets and Brown. NFL Network reported the deal is worth $22 million.
Brown, who turns 37 on Aug. 30, visited the Jets and attended their scrimmage at MetLife Stadium last Saturday night. Coach Robert Saleh acknowledged there was "mutual interest," and Becton's injury made a deal even more likely.
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Duane Brown #76 of the Seattle Seahawks blocks during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Lumen Field on October 25, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
Becton suffered a chip fracture to his kneecap during the second play of 11-on-11 team drills Monday. The initial prognosis was optimistic, but an MRI later revealed more damage to the knee than first expected.
After Becton injured the same knee in the season opener last year, George Fant slid from right tackle to the left side and played well. Fant retained the starting spot at left tackle entering camp, with Becton moving over to the right side for the first time.
JAMES WHITE, 3-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION, RETIRES FROM NFL
Mekhi Becton #77 of the New York Jets is helped off the field after being injured during the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
Saleh praised Fant’s play in Becton’s absence and said the versatile veteran was "much more comfortable" playing left tackle. But the addition of Brown — Fant’s former teammate in Seattle — means Fant could again move to the right side.
Brown, who made his fifth Pro Bowl appearance last season, has played left tackle his entire NFL career.
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Duane Brown #76 of the Seattle Seahawks and NFC and Ali Marpet #74 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFC block for Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks and NFC as he throws against the AFC during the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium on February 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AFC defeated the NFC 41-35. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Jets were working Chuma Edoga and rookie Max Mitchell at right tackle in Becton’s absence. Conor McDermott was also considered to be in the mix, but he will be sidelined at least another week with a lower ankle injury.
Brown was a first-round pick by Houston out of Virginia Tech in 2008. He was selected an All-Pro in 2012 and made three straight Pro Bowls from 2012-14 before being traded to Seattle during the 2017 season.
India will ground all its Soviet-era Russian fighter jets, the MiG-21, by 2025, following the death of two officers in a crash, the latest in a series of casualties involving the single-engine jet's failure, a local newspaper reported.
The MiG-21s have long past their retirement but must be replaced before being grounded, The Times of India quoted unnamed Indian Air Force officials as saying on Saturday.
The report did not specify what portion of India's fighter-jet capability would be affected. The Wion news outlet said the air force has around 70 MiG-21s. The air force and Defence Ministry have been buying aircraft from Western makers in recent years.
A senior ministry official declined to confirm or deny the Times of India report, telling the Reuters news agency only that discussions on the future of the MiG-21 were under way, as sourcing of spare parts from Russia was increasingly difficult due to the conflict in Ukraine.
A Defence Ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
'Flying coffins'
The MiG-21, dubbed "flying coffins" by the Indian press, has been the country's key fighter jet since its introduction in 1963 but has been plagued by crashes in later years.
The jets have been a critical security asset in India's military infrastructure, used for example to strike neighbouring rival Pakistan after an alleged suicide attack in the disputed Kashmir region in 2019.
Thursday's crash of an air force MiG-21 Bison in the desert state of Rajasthan brings to six the number of MiG-21 crashes since last year, with five officers killed, according to official data and a source.
In 2012, then-defence minister AK Antony told parliament that more than half of India's 872 MiG-21s had been lost to crashes over the previous four decades.
Source: Reuters
Russian tourist Alexandra Rumyantseva is tanning on a beach in Moscow-annexed Crimea, not far away from the front lines of Ukraine's eastern and southern territories.
Sitting on a rock in a white bikini by clear Black Sea waters on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Rumyantseva looks up as a Russian fighter jet whizzes through the perfectly blue sky.
"Of course, I cannot say that we are in a fully relaxed state," she told AFP.
The front is around 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Sevastopol —Crimea's largest city and home to the Russian Black Sea fleet.
Despite the fighting nearby, the St. Petersburg charity worker chose to have her beach break with her husband and two sons on the peninsula.
Moscow's intervention in Ukraine, the onset of Western sanctions, severed air links with Europe and mounting economic troubles at home have made a lot of popular tourist destinations in Europe and elsewhere off limits to Russian tourists.
But even getting to Crimea, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 and a popular beach destination, is difficult.
Russia's balmy Black Sea coast and Crimea have become hard to reach due to the closure of airspace in the south over the fighting in Ukraine.
Rumyantseva's family drove 2,500 kilometers. They used a land bridge Moscow built to connect the peninsula to mainland Russia.
Rumyantseva said there were rumors the bridge could be blown up and that "many were worried," but the family decided to risk it anyway.
On their way, they saw a military convoy, seemingly on its way to the front.
When AFP visited Sevastopol on a hot July day, Russian warships were visible in the distance as beachgoers cooled off in the sea.
Aside from the ships and occasional jet sounds, few signs pointed to the full-scale military campaign next door.
Teenagers jumped off rocks and bare-chested men drank beer and made shashliki (grilled meat), a Russian summer favorite.
In the city center, Russian patriotic music rang out and souvenirs featuring the letter Z — a symbol of Moscow's forces fighting in Ukraine — were offered to visitors.
Fewer tourists than usual have showed up in Crimea this summer.
"It seems like it is mainly locals here," said 28-year-old Anna Zaluzhnaya, who works in the food industry, as she lounged in the sun.
Local businesspeople, who rely on tourism as the peninsula is largely cut off from the world due to sanctions, are feeling the effects.
Albert Agagulyan, 69, runs a small kebab joint on a beach outside Sevastopol.
The retired fighter pilot said he could not afford to send his child to summer camp this year.
"People are not coming here because they are scared," he added.
Crimea borders the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson — now controlled by Moscow — and the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia — partially occupied by the Russian army — is also nearby.
Kyiv has pledged to retake lost southern territories captured by Russian troops, and some believe that the possibility of Ukrainian strikes on Crimea cannot be ruled out.
While some prefer not to discuss politics, locals like Viktor Borodulin say they have been closely following Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.
"I am very worried by these events," said the 77-year-old engineer. He said he was particularly saddened by the sinking of the Russian cruiser Moskva in April.
Borodulin waxed nostalgic for the Soviet past and lit up when he spoke of the possibility of buying fruit and vegetables from Moscow-occupied southern Ukraine.
"Today I even bought some products from Kherson," he said.
"For me, it is a great joy."
