News of the World

[kyonides]

China boasts spy crafts could be used as weapons against enemies

Official sources from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army refute their own foreign ministry claims that its spy balloons are merely for meteorological research and details the offensive military usages of the near-space vehicles.

The startling findings coincide with remarks reportedly made last week by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, when he stated the U.S. wanted to "move beyond" controversy caused by the Chinese regime’s surveillance balloon that hovered above the Malmstrom Air Forces Base in Montana in February, where nuclear weapons are stored.

China’s surveillance craft—the size of three Greyhound buses—traversed the United States from Alaska starting in January 2023 until the massive air spy machine was shot down by an F-22 that fired a missile at it roughly six nautical miles off the coast of South Carolina in February. For nearly a week the Chinese regime’s surveillance balloon allegedly accumulated intelligence on the U.S.

The China Media Studies Project run by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published a detailed report, including material on the China Military Network, an official People’s Liberation Army outlet, which published an article before the spy balloon entered the U.S. titled "An Omnipotent Weapon—How Amazing are Near Space Vehicles?".

According to the Chinese article authored by researcher Qiang Tianlin, "The emergence of near-space vehicles not only utilizes the connection between air and space, but also provides new ideas for air defense and anti-missile combat. If equipped with weapons platforms, near-space vehicles will enable more rapid attacks on a global scale greatly accelerating the pace of war."
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Tianlin continued that "Attaining information superiority in future wars is becoming increasingly critical." He added "near space-based vehicles can play another important role: carrying out space-based countermeasures and strikes."

The significance of MEMRI’s documentation is it reveals that the Chinese spy balloons are designed for both espionage activity and military offensive strikes.

 "Oh but they were just meteorological balloons! How dare you take them down?"

EX-Biden official Sam Brinton arrested again as 'fugitive from justice'

In an interview Thursday with The Daily Wire, which first reported the arrest, a witness who claimed to be Brinton's neighbor said Brinton was arrested about an hour after four unmarked police arrived.

The arrest comes a month after Brinton ... escaped jail time in two separate cases in Minnesota and Nevada involving luggage thefts.

Police charged Brinton in October with stealing a traveler's baggage worth a total of $2,325 from the luggage carousel at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport after flying in from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 16.

And in early December, Las Vegas prosecutors charged Brinton with grand larceny of an item valued between $1,200 and $5,000. Police accused Brinton of stealing a suitcase with a total estimated worth of $3,670 on July 6 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The bag contained jewelry valued at $1,700, clothing worth $850 and makeup valued at $500.

Brinton faced up to 15 years total for the two alleged thefts. However, in both cases, the presiding judges ruled jail time wasn't necessary.

In addition, a female Tanzanian fashion designer based in Houston accused Brinton in February of wearing her custom designs that were packed in a luggage she reported missing in 2018. Houston police referred that case to the FBI.

Over 100 schools in Serbia receive bomb threats
following mass shooting at an elementary school

Dozens of Serbian schools on Wednesday received bomb threats, the education ministry said, amid security concerns following two mass shootings early this month, including one in an elementary school.

The education ministry said 78 elementary schools and 37 high schools in Belgrade received warnings by email early on Wednesday that explosive devices had allegedly been planted.

Classes were postponed and students evacuated as police checked the buildings.

There have been no reports that bombs were found in any of the schools, and police are yet to issue their report.

Similar multiple threats have been sent to school addresses in the past, in Serbia and other countries in the region, and have proven false each time. However, the threats could further heighten security fears after the May 3 and May 4 shootings that left 18 people dead and 20 injured.

Rescue crews in Italy work to reach
isolated towns following heavy flooding

Rescue crews worked Thursday to reach towns and villages in northern Italy that were cut off from highways, electricity and cell phone service following heavy rains and flooding, as farmers warned of "incalculable" losses and authorities began mapping out cleanup and reconstruction plans.

The death toll from rains that pushed two dozen rivers and tributaries over their banks stood at nine, with some people still unaccounted for, said Stefano Bonaccini, president of the hardest hit northern region of Emilia-Romagna.

Local mayors warned that some remote villages were still completely isolated because landslides had made roads impassable and phone service remained severed. That has prevented rescue teams from reaching residents and authorities from understanding the full scope of their needs, said Mercato Seraceno Mayor Monica Rossi.
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By Thursday morning, some parts of the city of Faenza were still underwater, with cars submerged and basements swamped by thick, gooey mud. One family standing on their balcony said they didn't have electricity, gas or food. Other residents took shelter at a local gymnasium, where soldiers set up cots on the basketball court for new arrivals.

250 evacuated as Guatemala's Volcano of Fire erupts

About 250 residents were evacuated Thursday from the slopes of Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire as red-hot rock and ash flowed down the slopes toward an area devastated by a deadly 2018 eruption.

Firefighters said residents of the hamlet of Panimache were taken to shelters.

Guatemala’s disaster agency said the volcano had been emitting ash clouds that could affect as many as 100,000 people in communities around the peak.

The 12,300-foot high Volcano of Fire is one of the most active in Central America. The 2018 eruption killed 194 people and left another 234 missing.

Ecuadorian president invokes 'nuclear option'
Disbands legislature after attempted ouster

The president of Ecuador dismissed the legislature Wednesday in a move that promised more turmoil around a conservative leader who has been unable to enact a business-friendly agenda as the South American country experiences an alarming rise in crime.

In disbanding the National Assembly, Guillermo Lasso made first use of the Ecuador presidency’s nuclear option under the constitution in conflicts with the legislative branch. His first move was to push a package of tax cuts, but criticism was swift and an appeal to stop him was filed hours after he announced his decision in a televised message in which he accused lawmakers of focusing "on destabilizing the government."
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Armed soldiers then surrounded the National Assembly in the capital. Lasso had been locked in a showdown with legislators who wanted to impeach him for not stopping a deal between the state-owned oil transport company and a private tanker company, accusations he denies.

Hours later, the president of the National Electoral Council, Diana Atamaint, said that its office will set the date for the next elections in no more than seven days. She anticipated that Ecuadorians would go to the polls to elect a new president and a new Assembly in no more than 90 days.

US State Dept. promises to punish North Korea if illicit satellite is launched

The U.S. State Department is warning it will use "a number of tools" to "hold North Korea accountable" if the nation proceeds with an illicit satellite launch.

Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel addressed the issue regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday in a press conference.

"Any DPRK launch that uses ballistic missile technology would also include [space launch vehicles] SLVs used to launch a satellite into space and that would violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions," Patel told reporters.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly completed military spy satellite this week as concerns mount that Pyongyang may prepare to launch the spacecraft using banned technology in the coming weeks.

"We had been very clear that we urge the DPRK to refrain from further threatening activity and call on Pyongyang to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy," Patel said of the planned launch.
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Kim has argued that the satellite is necessary for space-based reconnaissance and in countering the U.S. and South Korea – which have ramped up joint military exercises in the face of increased aggression and illegal missile testing in North Korea.