US Acquires Anti-China Missile Network Along First Island Chain

by Reiho Takeuchi Posted onJune 19, 2024

Since the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty expired in 2019, the United States has developed Medium-Range Missile (MRM) capability.

On April 3, 2024, Gen. Charles Flynn, U.S. Army Pacific commanding general, told the Japanese media at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo that the U.S. Army planned to deploy a new MRM launcher in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of this year that could act as a deterrent against China. He didn’t disclose the name of the missile launching system or where and when the U.S. would deploy it. However, the Asahi Shimbun reported that a U.S. government source said the system would likely be based in Guam and temporarily transferred to Japan for training.

In January 2023, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Washington postponed deploying the ground-launched MRM in Japan. On April 22, 2024, the U.S. Army announced sending an MRM system to the Philippines. It came amid a series of U.S.-Philippines military exercises and was the first-ever deployment of the MRM system, also known as the Typhon system, to the Indo-Pacific theater. The U.S. Army didn’t say how long the Typhon system would remain in the Philippines.

As of this writing, the whole picture of the U.S. MRM system deployment is unknown. However, an investment plan the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command submitted to Congress in 2021 featured “highly survivable, precision-strike networks along the first island chain” as a central element. And now, the plan has reached the stage of realization at no extra cost.

First, the Japanese government is deploying missile troops, a base, and a surveillance force to the Nansei islands, which are on the first island chain and extend from southwestern Kyushu to northern Taiwan. Such military installations are in north order, on Mage Island, Amami Island, the main island of Okinawa, Miyako Island, Ishigaki Island, and Yonaguni Island.

Taiwan, Japan, and the major islands of the Nansei Islands

Second, Japan is developing and purchasing longer-range missiles.

Tokyo has already signed a contract with the U.S. to buy 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometers. Also, Japan is developing standoff missiles, which can attack from a distance sufficient to allow attacking personnel to evade the weapon’s effect or defensive fire from the target area. Japan aims to develop missile capabilities that can be launched from vehicles, ships, fighter aircraft, and submarines to adversary’s ships and ground-surface objectives. Its range will reach a maximum of 3,000 kilometers.

Third, the National Security Strategy of Japan, published in December 2022, approves Japan’s counterstrike capabilities.

Counterstrike capabilities mean the capability to attack the adversary’s bases. The document states that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) leverages standoff defense and other capabilities. “In cases where an armed attack against Japan has occurred, and as part of that attack, ballistic missiles and other means have been used, and counterstrike capabilities enable Japan to mount effective counterstrikes against the opponent’s territory. Counterstrikes are done as a minimum necessary measure for self defense and in accordance with the Three New Conditions for Use of Force.”

The Three New Conditions for Use of Force were established in 2014, which are:

1. When an armed attack against Japan or against a foreign country that is in a close relationship with Japan occurs and, as a result, threatens Japan’s survival and poses a clear danger to fundamentally overturn people’s right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
2. When no other appropriate means are available to repel the attack, ensure Japan’s survival, and protect its people.
3. Use of force is limited to the minimum extent necessary.

Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan prohibits using military force without an attack on Japan. However, in 2014, the Shinzo Abe administration changed the interpretation of the Constitution and approved exercising the right of collective defense. According to the examples the government submitted to the ruling party conference before the change was decided, JSDF would defend attacked U.S. warships, intercept ballistic missiles heading to the U.S., support U.S. warships operating near Japan when the U.S. mainland is under attack, and so on.

Fourth, the U.S. has the right to command JSDF.

On April 10, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued a joint statement stating “our intention to bilaterally upgrade our respective command and control frameworks to enable seamless integration of operations and capabilities and allow for greater interoperability and planning between U.S. and Japanese forces in peacetime and during contingencies.” In 2015, the Alliance Coordination Mechanism was set up so that the U.S. and Japanese forces could cooperate closely.

In addition, there was a secret agreement. On July 23, 1952, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Robert Murphy, U.S. Far East Commander in Chief Mark Clark, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida agreed that a single commander was indispensable in an emergency and that the U.S. should appoint the person. Yoshida asked that this agreement be kept secret because it would significantly impact the Japanese public.

To sum up, Japan is deploying Medium-Range missiles to the Nansei Islands to attack the adversary’s bases in order to defend the U.S., and the U.S. will command the Japanese forces.

If a war occurs in East Asia and Japan plays such a role, China will attack missile bases in Japan, especially the Nansei Islands, first of all. However, the U.S. probably takes the sacrifice for granted.

Professor Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes at the Naval War College published a paper in 2012 titled Asymmetric Warfare, American Style. In it, they insisted that “Let’s just say it: AirSea Battle in East Asia is about China” and that “if the United States places enough importance on its political and strategic goals in Asia to contemplate a fight there, it should […] match its commitment with deeds.”

They made preliminary remarks, “In the best case from Washington’s standpoint, Beijing might desist from ever attempting to upend the U.S.-led order in the region.” They simulated a contingency over Taiwan that “PLA naval forces must pass through the narrow seas separating the Ryukyus in order to menace Taiwan’s vulnerable east coast and threaten U.S. forces converging on the combat theater” and described the Nansei Islands as “tiny, seemingly insignificant, Japanese-held islands could thus leap to the foreground of a cross-strait conflagration.”

They estimated the result of the attempt to eliminate Japanese deployment of missiles on the Nansei Islands, “A suppression campaign involving air power and ballistic- and cruise-missile strikes would accelerate the rate at which the PLA exhausted finite stocks of munitions, airframes, and airmen” and “Abundant, survivable, inexpensive weaponry could coax China into exhausting expensive and scarce offensive weapons for meager territorial gain and uncertain prospects of a breakthrough into Pacific waters.”

The U.S. is carrying out the plan as the paper suggested 12 years ago and will sacrifice the Nansei Islands to compete with China.

Some locals are aware that they will be in great danger, so they have been opposing the deployment of the missiles. Still, the mayors of the local towns approved the plan, and Tokyo put it into practice, boasting that “strengthening defenses on the Nansei Islands is a manifestation of determination to defend Japan.”

Reiho Takeuchi is a Japanese journalist whose work focuses on the geopolitical issues of Asia-Pacific. He has written a series of articles titled U.S. Military and Modern Colonialism on https://reihotakeuchi.substack.com/. His latest article is The U.S. Military Dominates Japanese Sky. E-mail: reihotakeuchi@gmail.com

 

Uncontrolled Spending on Nukes and War in Ukraine – The Tory-Labour Election Pac

by Ian Proud Posted onJune 19, 2024

On 12 April, Keir Starmer announced that Labour would commit to increase UK defense spending to 2.5%. While the Conservative Party has been talking up the need to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP for some time, Rishi Sunak made his formal announcement on 24 April. On the eve of Rishi’s reveal, the UK Defense Journal declared ‘Britain to boost defense spending due to threat from Russia!’  Out of the blue, spending 2.5% of GDP on defense had become a joint Tory-Labour commitment.

For voters, at a time of an ongoing proxy war in Ukraine, Israeli atrocities in Gaza and growing fear of China, spending an extra 0.5% of GDP on defense a headline grabber. But why is there no debate between the two main political parties in the UK general election campaign about foreign, security and defense policy?

The Tories and Labour have been completely silent on how much this additional 0.5% will cost in hard-earned, tax-payers’ cash.  At a pre-election debate, the phrase ‘2.5% on defense’ slipped off Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner’s tongue quicker than the sale of her council house in Stockport.  In its review of the Conservative Manifesto, the Institute for Fiscal Studies only refers to increased defence spending in percentage terms, and not in pounds and pence.

In fact, the Tory-Labour pact on defense spending will cost in excess of £13bn each year. Apparently, cutting the size of the civil service and cutting benefits will largely fund this. Although no actual plans for this have been set out.  So we should assume an increase in UK government borrowing which has now risen above 100% of GDP, with a government deficit that is currently twice as high as the limit set within the European Union (3%).

Let’s be clear, the Tory-Labour plans for defence spending exceed the total cost of their respective election spending pledges. Labour spending plans top off at around £10bn and Keir Starmer and crew can barely breathe without being pressed on how they’ll fund breakfast clubs for primary schools, or a warm house plan to stop elderly people dying because they can’t afford to pay for heating.  The Conservatives are looking to cut taxes, despite massive debt and a large deficit. But where they are planning to spend more, for example on Sunak’s bizarre kids’ army, those costs fall far short of the assumed Tory-Labour increase in defense spending.

And what the public doesn’t know is that most of the new money for defense has already been spent. The UK already spends 2.3% of GDP following a huge recent splurge.  The remaining 0.2% will disappear quicker than a British Minister’s deleted WhatsApp messages.

But this money isn’t giving us anything new.  In fact, the day-to-day budget this year to pay for the lads and lasses on the front line of our defense has been cut by £2.5bn. Many service personnel worry about whether they’ll have a house to live in. Submariners talk about the increased stress of longer deployments which have been driven by the need to cut costs.

No, this 0.5% increase in defense spending will be shuffled towards completely out of control spending on the defense procurement program and the proxy war in Ukraine.

In March 2024, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee reported that the Ministry of Defense has been consistently unable or unwilling to control the spiraling costs and delivery schedules of its 1800 (that’s right, eighteen hundred) defense projects. The MoD has a woeful track record: whether it’s a £430m overspend on the Warrior program or £2.5bn over on new aircraft carriers, a 59% delay in delivering the Challenger 3 tank or an extra 7 years for Dreadnought.

On 4 December 2023 the National Audit Office produced a review of the MoD’s equipment plan for the next decade concluding that it was ‘unaffordable and facing the largest budget deficit since the plan was introduced in 2012’.  Note here that the current plan was developed two years before the Ukraine crisis started.  So the motto for UK defense procurement should be ‘delivering last decade’s technology in the next decade at whatever cost.’

According to the MoD’s estimates, the costs of the equipment program have shot up by 27% or £65.7bn over the past year alone. And that is based on their ‘most likely’ scenario for spending. In the ‘worst case’, the total increase in cost will amount to almost £80bn.  Add in other expected cost overruns that the MoD reassures us can be absorbed by efficiency savings, then the cost shoots up to over £104bn. The Public Accounts Committee noted that these estimates do not account for an estimated £12bn in additional requirements for the Army.

By far the biggest area of budgetary pressure is in the nuclear program which is currently overspent by 62%. These include the much-delayed ‘Dreadnought’ submarine as a replacement for the SSBNSs that carry the UK’s nuclear missiles.  There is a joint UK-US project to build a new class of submarines to counter the apparent threat from China under the AUKUS program; however, the current generation of Astute class fleet submarines in the UK has only been operational for ten years. We have a program to design a new nuclear warhead with the US, as if having 225 nukes wasn’t enough. None of these massively costly projects are giving us capabilities that we don’t already possess. While they are undoubtedly strengthening the UK’s military industrial supply chain, they aren’t making us safer.

After expensive nukes, the Tories and Labour are jointly committing to prop up proxy conflicts. £3.9bn will be allocated from the Treasury reserve in the current financial year, principally to fund the UK’s weapon shipments to Ukraine, but also the cost of supporting US strikes against Yemen. As I understand it, this ‘reserve’ funding for proxy conflicts will become normalized within the defense budget from 2025/6, after the general election dust has settled.  With practically no parliamentary scrutiny, a massive financial commitment to the government in Kyiv has been baked into the government’s spending plans under the next parliament.

There has been no discussion of either expensive nukes or support for proxy conflicts by the Conservatives or Labour in the election campaign. The UK is practically the only country in the western alliance where any discussion of defence spending on nuclear weapons or war in Ukraine is almost completely stifled, by the government, the main opposition party and the mainstream media.

Afraid to show weakness, the Labour party has refused to chart its own policy on foreign defense and security policy. As they will most likely win the election, we should assume big spending on nukes come what may, and on proxy conflicts until a negotiated settlement is reached in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza (arguably the flashpoint for Houthi strikes against western shipping).  A brief attempt to shift debate towards spending more on international engagement including through overseas aid and diplomacy evaporated. UK electors now face a terrifying lack of choice, with both the Tories and Labour preferring war-war, over jaw-jaw.

Ian Proud is a former British diplomat and was the Economic Counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow from July 2014 to 2019.  While in Russia, Ian advised UK Ministers on Russia’s political economy, and that of neighbouring former Soviet states, including Ukraine. He recently published his memoir, a Misfit in Moscow: how British diplomacy in Russia failed, 2014-2019.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun blasted in US Senate hearing while apologising for safety woes

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks with reporters ahead of meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, Jan 24, 2024.

PUBLISHED JUNE 18, 2024


WASHINGTON — US senators on Tuesday (June 18) attacked the CEO of Boeing for the planemaker's tarnished safety record, overshadowing his apology to families who lost loved ones in two 737 MAX crashes and acceptance of responsibility after a January mid-air emergency.

Chief Executive Dave Calhoun faced repeated questions about how much he is paid, Boeing's safety culture, and why he is not immediately resigning instead of retiring by year's end, at a hearing before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

"I am proud of every action we have taken" Calhoun said in response to harsh questioning from Republican Senator Josh Hawley who asked, "why haven't you resigned?" and accused Calhoun of "strip-mining" Boeing while earning a multimillion-dollar pay package.

Calhoun's total compensation in 2023 rose to US$32.8 million (S$44.2 million), a 45 per cent increase from the US$22.6 million he received the previous year.

The hearing marked the first time Calhoun had faced lawmakers' questions and put the spotlight on Boeing's souring safety reputation and the CEO who said in March that he plans to step down by year-end amid a management shakeup by Boeing.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the subcommittee, called the proceeding a "moment of reckoning" for Boeing and told the hearing there was overwhelming evidence that the US Justice Department should pursue prosecution against Boeing.

"As a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general I think that the evidence is near-overwhelming to justify that prosecution," Blumenthal said.

Prosecutors have until July 7 to inform a federal judge in Texas of their plans. The Justice Department found in May that Boeing had failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics programme" as part of complying with a deferred prosecution agreement following the fatal crashes.

Calhoun took responsibility for incidents that have thrust Boeing into crisis over the last five years, acknowledging that the Alaska Airlines door plug incident on Jan 5 was the result of a manufacturing defect.

Boeing also took responsibility for the development of a key software system linked to the 2018 and 2019 fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia which killed a combined 346 people.

"I am here in the spirit of transparency and I am here to take responsibility," Calhoun told reporters earlier as he walked into the hearing room. At the beginning of the hearing, Calhoun turned to the crash victims' families and said: "I apologise for the grief that we have caused," adding the company was "totally committed" to addressing safety concerns and calling the families' losses "gut-wrenching."

Boeing's chief engineer, Howard McKenzie, played down safety concerns about hundreds of incorrectly tightened fasteners on some of the planemaker's widebody 787 jets. The discovery of the fasteners was first reported by Reuters last week.

McKenzie confirmed that the fasteners had been torqued from the wrong side, but said an initial analysis done by Boeing said they were safe.

Last week, Boeing told the US Justice Department it did not violate a deferred prosecution agreement which shielded the company from a criminal charge arising from the crashes.

"Boeing needs to stop thinking about the next earnings call and start thinking about the next generation," Blumenthal said

He said a new whistleblower has come forward after a hearing with a previous whistleblower in April. Blumenthal said on Tuesday that Sam Mohawk, a current Boeing quality assurance investigator at its 737 factory in Renton, Washington, recently told the panel he had witnessed systemic disregard for parts that were potentially defective or lacking required documentation.

In a report released by the committee ahead of the hearing, Mohawk said his work handling nonconforming parts became significantly more "complex and demanding" following the resumption of MAX production in 2020 following two fatal crashes involving the model.

The report said Mohawk filed a related claim in June with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Boeing said in a statement that the planemaker is reviewing the claims it heard about on Monday. "We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public," it said.

Boeing also said it has increased the size of its quality team and "increased the number of inspections per airplane significantly since 2019."

Since the Jan 5 mid-air blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9 jet, scrutiny of the planemaker by regulators and airlines has intensified.

The National Transportation Safety Board said four key bolts were missing from the Alaska Airlines plane. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.

On May 30, Boeing delivered a quality improvement plan to the FAA after Whitaker gave the company 90 days to develop a comprehensive effort to address "systemic quality-control issues." He has barred the company from expanding production of the MAX.


Boeing shares closed 1.9 per cent lower at US$174.99 on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Boeing executives unlikely to be charged over 737 Max crashes, source says

Source: Reuters

Peruvians ask Inter-American Court to halt pro-impunity bill

 

Peruvians ask Inter-American Court to halt pro-impunity bill

 18 June 2024

On 17 June, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held a public hearing in which the Ecumenical Foundation for Development and Peace (Fedepaz) joined representatives of victims from the Barrios Alos and La Cantuta cases in requesting the court to halt the proceedings of a pro-impunity bill.

Bill 6951/2023-CR aims to prevent the prosecution, sentencing, or punishment for crimes against humanity or war crimes committed before 1 July 2002.

The bill has been approved in its first vote by Congress and is now awaiting a second legislative vote before being sent to the executive. 

If successful, the bill would promote impunity in all cases from the armed conflict that occurred in Peru between 1980-2000, including the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres. 

Fedepaz spokesperson, David Velazco stated, "The initiative poses a risk to victims' right to justice... the Inter-American Court must adopt provisional measures ordering the Peruvian state to refrain from approving this bill or any similar regulation." 

UN experts have warned that the legislation contravenes international standards on the application of statutes of limitations to atrocity crimes. 

Bill 6951/2024-CR has been promoted by a caucus of far-right politicians and former high-level military officers. 

Spokesperson for the Peruvian Association for Human Rights, Gloria Cano emphasized that if the bill is implemented "it will allow individuals convicted or under investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity to evade justice."

On 13 June, the Inter-American Court ordered Peru to halt the proceedings of the bill until it had the necessary information to rule on the request for provisional measures, the order remains in effect. 

Read more here and here. 

WAIT,WHAT?!

EU approved Slovak law to kill bears in return for nature vote, minister claims

The alleged quid pro quo, which Brussels denies, is the latest twist behind a major nature restoration bill that finally passed on Monday.

\\

This month the Slovak parliament passed a law allowing the government to issue emergency permits to kill bears that approach human settlements.

 | Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

JUNE 18, 2024 
BY KARL MATHIESEN AND LOUISE GUILLOT

If you want to save nature, let us kill bears.

That’s the trade Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tomáš Taraba says he made with the European Commission in return for casting a critical swing vote for a historic EU nature law Monday.

“We made it very clear that we cannot support [the Nature Restoration Law] in so far as we will not receive approval of our new legislation on bears. And this happened,” Taraba told POLITICO in a phone call shortly after voting for the contested law, which requires EU countries to restore one-fifth of land and sea areas this decade.

The Commission denied such a transaction ever took place. But in a note to the Slovak minister last week, which Taraba’s department shared with POLITICO, EU environment chief Virginijus Sinkevičius gave provisional backing to a controversial Slovak law that sanctions killing bears near villages and towns. Then he asked for Taraba’s vote for the nature law.

Sinkevičius’ team insists this wasn’t a trade. But Taraba certainly viewed it that way.

A far-right politician who runs Slovakia’s environment ministry, Taraba had previously said he planned to oppose the Nature Restoration Law, citing EU overreach. On Monday he reversed that stance, saying Slovakia had already fulfilled the bill’s targets.

His vote helped the nature law squeeze past EU ministers by the finest possible margin.

The law, which has been criticized by farmers, was the subject of a divisive, nail-biter vote in the European Parliament last year.

Monday’s vote among EU environment ministers, which officially turned the bill into law, was similarly dramatic. It incited a crisis within Austria’s ruling coalition after the country’s Green environment minister defied the chancellor and supported the bill, leaving Taraba as the only uncertain vote.

The suggestion the Commission fast-tracked its legal decision or somehow adjusted its stance on the bear law to bring Slovakia on board marks another extraordinary turn in the story of this divisive legislation.
Bears, bears, everywhere

Bear attacks have become a prominent political issue in Slovakia after a rise in violent incidents involving people in the past three years. “People in Slovakia are very afraid,” Taraba said.

This month the Slovak parliament passed a law allowing the government to issue emergency permits to kill bears that approach human settlements. According to the legal charity ClientEarth, the move likely breaches the EU's strict limits on the circumstances and conditions under which protected species, like bears, can be killed.

EU environment chief Virginijus Sinkevičius denied any quid pro quo. “That's a very strange rumor … there were no discussions or negotiations: bears or nature restoration law. … It wasn't some trading there or anything like that.”

He added that no specific accommodations were made to get Slovakia’s support for the Nature Restoration Law.

But in the note to Taraba sent on Monday, June 10, Sinkevičius appeared to offer the guarantee the Slovak was seeking. Sinkevičius said his legal team had arrived at their decision just two working days after a meeting between Commission and Slovak officials in which Taraba said he had laid out something approaching an ultimatum.

“As agreed during the meeting on Thursday,” Sinkevičius wrote, “our experts have now looked as thoroughly as possible into the new Slovak law amending the Civil Protection Act and the Nature Act, and I am happy to share with you that they conclude that the new law appears to be largely in compliance with the EU Habitats Directive.”

But there were “some provisions, where conformity with EU law will very much depend on how these provisions will be applied,” he added.

Taraba ignored those caveats, telling POLITICO the Commission had found them in “full compliance” with EU law.

Sinkevičius concluded his note by turning to the upcoming vote on the Nature Restoration Law. He acknowledged Taraba’s concerns about the bill but expressed his hope that the minister would now vote in favor.

“I trust that my reply provides you with the necessary reassurance, and I understand that the discussions you have had with [EU Green Deal chief Maroš Šefčovič] and with my team last week have also clarified your last open questions related to the Nature Restoration Law and have reassured you in that regard as well. I count on your support and look forward to seeing you in Luxembourg for the ENVI Council,” Sinkevičius said.

Ioannis Agapakis, a ClientEarth lawyer, said the Commission's letter was "concerning" and its findings questionable.

“EU laws offer ample flexibility to be able to address human safety concerns, with shooting being the absolute last resort based on strict criteria,” Agapakis said. “Piecemeal, reactionary measures are ineffective in addressing wildlife encounters and go against international and EU nature laws. This move will only lead to further breaches of the law without averting future tragic developments."

But Taraba told POLITICO that Sinkevičius' memo was indeed the signal they required to vote "yes" for the Nature Restoration Law.

“When we saw that, really, [the] Commission understands and they reevaluated pretty quickly. Then we can see that, yes, they understand our critical points as well,” said Taraba. “So, for us, it's a good result.”

Indian-American Suhas Subramanyam wins Democratic Congressional primary in Virginia

Indian-American Suhas Subramanyam emerged victorious in the Democratic primary for a Congressional seat in Virginia. The 37-year-old was born in Houston to Indian-American parents who migrated to the US from Bengaluru.


Suhas Subramanyam was running for the US House of Representatives from the 10th Congressional District of Virginia, which has a sizable Indian-American population.

 (Photo: X/@SuhasforVA)

Press Trust of India
Washington,UPDATED: Jun 19, 2024 
Posted By: Prateek Chakraborty

In Short

Suhas Subramanyam defeats 11 candidates to win in Virginia

He was appointed White House tech policy advisor by Barack Obama in 2015

He earlier said he ran for Congress to ensure better future for America

Indian-American Suhas Subramanyam has won the Democratic primary for a Congressional seat in Virginia, defeating 11 other candidates, including fellow Indian-American Krystle Kaul.

The first Indian-American, South Asian and Hindu to be elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 2019 and to the Virginia State Senate in 2023, Subramanyam was running for the US House of Representatives from the 10th Congressional District of Virginia, which has a sizable Indian-American population.

Its current occupant, Democrat Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, announced last year that she would not be running for the seat.

Subramanyam, 37, was born in Houston to Indian-American parents who migrated to the US from Bengaluru. In 2015, he was appointed by then-President Barack Obama to serve as a White House technology policy advisor.

Wexton had endorsed Subramanyam, who now faces Mike Clancy from the Republican Party.

In an interview with news agency PTI early this year, Suhas said he was running for Congress to ensure a better future for the US.

"The Congress is here to solve problems and to be proactive about the future. We should not be legislating not just for the next two years, but for the next 20 or 30 years. I want my children -- I've got two girls who are two and three -- I want them to live in a better country and in a better world than what we found," he said.

Suhas said he wanted everyone to have a chance at the American dream.

"My parents are from Bengaluru and Chennai and spent some time in Secunderabad as well. They came here because they wanted to start a new life here. They wanted to be physicians and you can make a great life in America as a physician," he said.

He added that his parents didn't have much when they came here but they became successful through education and hardwork.

"I want to make sure that everyone has a chance at that American dream. Everyone has a chance of creating a great business if that's what they want to do or being a part of a great business and that they can empower themselves economically," he said.

"But it really started with the fact that our community education is the great equaliser, and you can lift yourself up from any situation if you do well and study hard and work hard. I want to make sure that stays the same way," he further said.

Another ‘alien’ monolith appears, this time atop a remote desert mountain

ByRio Yamat
June 19, 2024 — 


Las Vegas: The strange monolith looks like it could have come from another world.

Jutting out of the rocks in a remote mountain range near Las Vegas, the glimmering rectangular prism’s reflective surface imitates the vast desert landscape surrounding the mountain peak where it has been erected.

This photo provided by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows a monolith near Gass Peak, Nevada.CREDIT:AP

But where did the object come from, and is it still there? That’s a mystery the US Fish and Wildlife Service said it was trying to solve after learning about it through a social media post this week.

Las Vegas police said on the social platform X that members of its search and rescue unit found the otherworldly object over the weekend near Gass Peak, part of the vast Desert National Wildlife Refuge where bighorn sheep and desert tortoises can be found roaming. At 2114 metres, it is among the highest peaks in the area north of Las Vegas.



“We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water,” the police department wrote. “But check this out!”

Photos accompanying the department’s post show the strange structure standing tall against a bright blue sky, with distant views of the Las Vegas valley. It evokes the object that appears in the Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

RELATED ARTICLE


Mysterious monoliths: What on Earth are they? Here's what we know

Neither the police department nor its search and rescue unit immediately responded to requests for more information about their discovery – the latest in a series of mysterious shiny columns popping up around the globe since at least 2020.

In November of that year, a similar metal monolith was found deep in the Mars-like landscape of Utah’s red-rock desert. Then came sightings in Romania, central California and on the famed Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

All of them disappeared as quickly as they popped up.

The Utah structure, which captured the world’s imagination during the pandemic, is believed to be the first in the series. It stood at about 3.6 metres and had been embedded in the rock in an area so remote that officials didn’t immediately reveal its location for fear of people getting lost or stranded while trying to find it.

Hordes of curious tourists still managed to find it, and along the way flattened plants with their cars and left behind human waste in the bathroom-free backcountry.

Two men known for extreme sports in Utah’s sweeping outdoor landscapes say it was that kind of damage that made them step in late at night and tear it down.


Now, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said it is worried the same level of damage could happen at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, which was established to protect bighorn sheep and is home to rare plants. It is the largest wildlife refuge outside of Alaska and can cover the state of Rhode Island twice.



Utah's alien-like monolith: A second monolith discovered in Romania vanishes

“People might come looking for it and be coming with inappropriate vehicles or driving where they shouldn’t, trampling plants,” said Christa Weise, the refuge’s acting manager.

The Utah and Nevada structures were illegally installed on federal land.

RIP

Willie Mays, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, dies aged 93

Born in 1931 and making his professional debut in 1948, Willie Mays was a 24-time All-Star who spent parts of 21 seasons with the Giants. His son confirmed he died on Tuesday evening, and said to his fans "you have been his life's blood".


By Dylan Donnelly, news reporter
Wednesday 19 June 2024 04:24, UK

The New York Giants' Willie Mays poses for a photo during baseball spring training in 1972. File pic: AP

Willie Mays, considered one of the best players in the history of baseball and called the 'Say Hey Kid', has died at the age of 93.

His son Michael Mays confirmed the legendary centre fielder had passed away on Tuesday evening in a statement through the San Francisco Giants.

"My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones," he said.

"I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life's blood."

Chairman of the Giants Greg Johnson also said: "He had a profound influence not only on the game of baseball, but on the fabric of America.


"He was an inspiration and a hero who will be forever remembered and deeply missed."

Fans hold a moment of silence for Willie Mays during a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. Pic: AP

Major League Baseball (MLB) also paid tribute and said they were "heartbroken" after losing "one of the most exciting all-around players in the history of our sport".

Born in 1931 and making his professional debut in 1948, Mays was a 24-time All-Star who spent parts of 21 seasons with the Giants, both when they were in New York and San Francisco.

Throughout his career, he had a batting average of .301, hit 660 home runs, totalled 3,293 hits, scored 2,068 runs and won 12 Gold Gloves.

Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility in 1979, with nearly 95% of all ballots cast for him.

'The Catch'

His most famous moment came during game one of the 1954 World Series, when the Cleveland Indians' Vic Wertz hit a ball to the deep centre, while a pair of runners were on base in a tie-breaker game.

With his back turned away from the infield, Mays sprinted toward the centre field wall at the Polo Grounds and made an over-the-shoulder basket catch.

'The Catch' during Game 1 of the 1954 baseball World Series. Pic: AP

The moment - known simply as "The Catch" - proved decisive and helped the Giants win 5-2 across ten innings. The team eventually won the world series, the only time Mays did so.

In 2010, Mays told biographer James S Hirsch: "Soon as it got hit, I knew I'd catch the ball.

"All the time I'm running back, I'm thinking, 'Willie, you've got to get this ball back to the infield'."

In 2017, the World Series Most Valuable Player award was named after Mays, despite him only winning the post-season tournament once.

Willie Mays with a young John F. Kennedy Jr on 3 June 1972. Pic: AP

History in Negro leagues

Prior to his time in the majors, Mays spent a year with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League.

The league was segregated from other baseball organisations as African Americans were excluded by the colour line - a policy where black baseball players were banned from the MLB and its affiliated Minor Leagues.

It was an unofficial but pervasive policy until 1945 when Jackie Robinson signed for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but it took until the 1960's for African American players to be fully integrated across the sport.

Earlier this month, the MLB finally recognised the segregated leagues in their statistics. A game in Mays' and the leagues' honour is set to be held on Thursday.

Mays had told the San Francisco Chronicle he would not be able to get to Birmingham for the game, but said: "My heart will be with all of you who are honouring the Negro League ballplayers, who should always be remembered, including all my teammates on the Black Barons."

Speaking from the stadium, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said: "All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began.

"Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise.

"From coast to coast… Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime.

"We will never forget this true Giant on and off the field."

 

Putin and Kim embrace in North Korea, vow new multipolar world

REUTERS

June 19, 2024 

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcomed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un upon his arrival at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this image released by the Korean Central News Agency June 19, 2024. (KCNA via REUTERS)

SEOUL--North Korean leader Kim Jong Un embraced Russian Vladimir Putin on his arrival at Pyongyang’s airport on Wednesday, and the two leaders shared their “pent-up inmost thoughts” and agreed to develop their nations’ relations, North Korean state media said.

Putin, who arrived before dawn, is on his first trip to the North Korean capital in 24 years, a visit likely to reshape decades of Russia-North Korea relations at a time when both countries face international isolation.

The countries’ partnership is an “engine for accelerating the building of a new multipolar world” and Putin’s visit demonstrates the invincibility and durability of their friendship and unity, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said.

Russia has used its warming ties with North Korea to needle Washington, while heavily sanctioned North Korea has won political backing and promises of economic support and trade from Moscow.

The United States and its allies say they fear Russia could provide aid for North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, which are banned by U.N. Security Council resolutions, and have accused Pyongyang of providing ballistic missiles and artillery shells that Russia has used in its war in Ukraine.

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons transfers.

Kim greeted Putin, shaking hands, embracing and talking beside the Russian leader’s plane. The pair then rode in Putin’s Russian-made Aurus limousine to the Kumsusan State Guest House.

Likely given the hour, the welcome was a relatively subdued affair, with Kim greeting the Russian leader on the red carpet without the grand ceremony the North put on for Chinese President Xi Jinping on his 2019 visit.

“Passing through charmingly lit streets of Pyongyang at night, the top leaders exchanged their pent-up inmost thoughts and opened their minds to more surely develop the DPRK-Russia relations,” KCNA reported, using the initials of North Korea’s official name.

State media photos showed streets of Pyongyang lined with portraits of Putin and the facade of the unfinished and vacant 101-story pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel brightly lit with a giant message “Welcome Putin.”

Wednesday’s agenda includes one-on-one discussions between the two leaders, as well as a gala concert, state reception, honor guards, document signings and a statement to the media, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov as saying.

In a signal that Russia, a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, is reassessing its approach to North Korea, Putin praised Pyongyang ahead of his arrival for resisting what he said was U.S. economic pressure, blackmail and threats.

In an article on the front page of North Korea’s main ruling party newspaper, he promised to “develop alternative trade and mutual settlement mechanisms not controlled by the West” and “build an equal and indivisible security architecture in Eurasia.”

Putin’s article implies that there is an opportunity for North Korea’s economic growth within an anti-West economic bloc led by Russia, which is a message that is likely appealing to Kim Jong Un, wrote Rachel Minyoung Lee, an analyst with the 38 North program in Washington.

“If Pyongyang views Russia as a viable longer-term partner for improving its economy - as irrational as this may seem to some - there is even less of an incentive for it to try to improve relations with the United States,” she said in a report.

Putin also issued a presidential order on the eve of the visit saying Moscow was looking to sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” with North Korea. Ushakov said it would include security issues.

Ushakov said the deal would not be directed against any other country but would “outline prospects for further cooperation.”

J&J hit with new class action over talc seeking medical monitoring for cancer

Bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby powder line a drugstore shelf in New York

PUBLISHED ONJUNE 18, 2024 

Johnson & Johnson is facing a new proposed class action seeking damages and medical monitoring on behalf of women who have been diagnosed with cancer, or might develop it in the future, allegedly as a result of using the company's baby powder and other talc products.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday (June 17) in New Jersey federal court, is the first to seek medical monitoring, or regular testing meant to catch cancer early, on behalf of talc users. The proposed class could include thousands of women, but would not include the more than 61,000 people who have already filed personal injury lawsuits over J&J's talc, claiming it contains cancer-causing asbestos.

J&J maintains its talc is safe, asbestos-free and does not cause cancer.

The law firms behind the new case are opposed to J&J's proposal to settle nearly all talc claims against it for US$6.48 billion (S$8.74 billion) through a prepackaged bankruptcy. The same firms are also pursuing a separate class action seeking a court order blocking the bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy proposal needs support from 75 per cent of talc claimants, with a three-month voting period ending on July 26.

Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement that plaintiffs' lawyers brought Monday's "meritless" lawsuit to thwart the bankruptcy plan because they can collect more fees outside of bankruptcy, putting their own interests ahead of their clients.

"The plaintiff firms should cease the obstructionist behaviour, and let their clients decide for themselves whether to accept the pending offer," he said.

Lawyers opposed to the deal have denied that they are motivated by higher fees and said the bankruptcy proposal would not adequately compensate their clients.


Chris Tisi, one of the lawyers bringing the new lawsuit, said in a statement that medical monitoring was necessary because the "inadequate funding" of the bankruptcy plan "doesn't realistically address the needs of women who could develop ovarian cancer in the future because of past baby powder use."

Both the proposed settlement and the new class action concern claims that talc caused ovarian and other gynaecological cancers, which make up the vast majority of cases. A smaller number of claims have been brought by people who developed mesothelioma, most of which have settled.

J&J has already tried and failed twice to resolve current and future talc claims through bankruptcy.

The legal strategy, known as a Texas two-step, involves creating a subsidiary to absorb the company's talc liability, which then declares bankruptcy to settle the cases. The previous efforts failed because courts found that the new subsidiary lacked the "financial distress" to justify bankruptcy.

ALSO READ: Cancer victims ask court to block J&J talc bankruptcy