Indian defence company BrahMos will likely conclude a $200 million deal with Indonesia for supersonic cruise missiles by the end of this year. This will facilitate the Southeast Asian country’s aim to enhance its influence in the South China Sea and help achieve Indian PM Narendra Modi’s aim to triple defence exports.
Austria is deploying the Vienna police at sensitive locations, such as churches, amid the threat of an attack by extremist Islamists. Taking to Twitter, the local police warned citizens of enhanced security measures after intelligence sources warned of a planned attack in Vienna.
On Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported the disappearance of 2.3 tonnes of uranium from a site in Libya currently not under the control of the government. The incident has raised concerns about the potential misuse of radioactive material and its security risks. The IAEA announced that it would undertake activities “to clarify the circumstances.” “The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk as well as nuclear security concerns,” the agency warned.
A senior US Space Force official on Wednesday warned that China and Russia’s space-based capabilities could be deployed to “find, target, and attack” American forces “on land, at sea, and in the air.” The official also noted that Beijing and Moscow could use their space assets to attack US infrastructure in space, including through the use of cyber warfare, energy lasers, and ground-to-orbit missile systems.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Tuesday that the UK will engage in “forthright confrontational conversation” with China in any areas where it is “very much in disagreement” with the Asian superpower. Such areas include China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and its incursions on democratic freedoms in Hong Kong.
North Korea fired a missile suspected to be an ICBM into the waters separating the Korean peninsula and Japan on Thursday. This occurred hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol flew to Tokyo to participate in a summit where Japanese and Korean leaders will discuss ways to counter an increasingly aggressive Pyongyang.
The US Treasury Department released a list on Wednesday, sanctioning three individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for engaging in “corruption, destablising activity, and drug proliferation.” Former Director General of BiH’s Intelligence Security Agency, Osman Mehmedagic, was sanctioned for misusing state-owned telecommunications companies and associating with criminal networks for “personal and party gain.” Further, a Republica Srpska official, Dragan Stankovic, and a BiH national, Edin Gacanin, were sanctioned for attempting to usurp the authority of the state in BiH, and narcotic trafficking and money laundering, respectively.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Finland had “halted imports” of Ural crude from Russia last year while increasing purchases from Norway and procuring barrels from the UK and the US. Last July, Finland imported its last shipment of Russian oil. Finland depends on Ural crude as feedstock for its refineries, and has imported nearly 5.65 million tonnes from Norway, accounting for 65% of its total crude oil imports.
During a briefing on Wednesday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that over 100,000 people have been displaced, and hundreds killed, in the North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), due to a spate of attacks orchestrated by armed groups, such as M23, in the area. Dujarric added that over the past year, the violence has affected the education of more than 600,000 children and rendered more than 800,000 people homeless. However, he assured that UN Stabilization Mission MONUSCO, along with humanitarian partners, are providing essential services and shelter to those in need.