1 Afghanistan becoming a hub for global jihadis
2 RFK names major campaign donor as VP
3 US and Japan bolster security ties to counter China
4 Chinese technological innovation accelerates
3/28/1984 Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis
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1 Afghanistan becoming a hub for global jihadis
Less than a year after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan following the chaotic US withdrawal in 2021, President Joe Biden vowed the country that once harboured Osama bin Laden would “never again . . . become a terrorist safe haven”. Yet a surge in international terrorist threats linked to Afghanistan is raising alarm among governments that the country that once sheltered the masterminds of the September 11 2001 attacks is again becoming a hotspot for jihadi groups with global ambitions. Western officials blamed Islamic State-Khorasan Province, the Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Middle Eastern extremist group and bitter enemy of the Taliban, for last week’s attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed at least 137 people. The Taliban has fought a bloody counterinsurgency campaign against Isis-K since coming to power, but analysts said the jihadist group gained substantial strength following the US withdrawal and more recently has ramped up its international activity. Isis-K was also linked to bombings in Iran in January that killed nearly 100 people, an attack on a church in Turkey the same month and a foiled plot last week to attack Sweden’s parliament that authorities said may have been directed from Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban, an ideological ally of Kabul’s rulers with a large presence in the country, have killed hundreds of people in relentless cross-border attacks from hide-outs in Afghanistan since 2021. Analysts believe that other Islamist groups from al-Qaeda to the Uyghur Turkistan Islamic Party also have a presence inside Afghanistan.
2 RFK names major campaign donor as VP
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has picked Nicole Shanahan, a California-based attorney who was previously married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, as his running mate for his long-shot presidential bid. Shanahan, 38, also runs a foundation focused on reproductive rights, criminal justice and the environment. Before backing Kennedy’s independent bid and leaving the Democratic Party, Shanahan had previously been a donor to Democratic campaigns, including supporting Joe Biden’s election in 2020. Kennedy announced his choice Tuesday in Oakland, Calif., where Shanahan grew up.
3 US and Japan bolster security ties to counter China
The US and Japan are planning the biggest upgrade to their security alliance since they signed a mutual defence treaty in 1960 in a move to counter China. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce plans to restructure the US military command in Japan to strengthen operational planning and exercises between the nations, according to five people familiar with the situation. They will unveil the plan when Biden hosts Kishida at the White House on April 10. The allies want to bolster their security ties to respond to what they view as a growing threat from China, which requires their militaries to co-operate and plan more seamlessly, particularly in a crisis such as a Taiwan conflict. While Biden and Kishida will herald the strength of the US-Japan alliance, the summit will come just weeks after the US president expressed his opposition to the Japanese group Nippon Steel acquiring US Steel. The intervention was designed to boost union support before the November election, but has partly soured the otherwise strong alliance. Japan has over the past couple of years significantly increased its security capabilities, spending much more on defence, including plans to buy US Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Japanese military is also setting up a “Joint Operations Command” next year to improve co-ordination between the branches of its own Self-Defense Forces.
4 Chinese technological innovation accelerates
Patents
According to 2023 UN data, Chinese inventors led in international patent applications for the second year running, posting some 14,000 more than the second-place US, as the two giants increasingly face off over technology, innovation and global bragging rights. And earlier this month Premier Li Qiang announced a 10 per cent increase in government science and technology research, even as the partisan US Congress battles over every budget line China – long criticised for focusing on patent quantity over quality and for heavily subsidising patent applicants – is also raising its game, weeding out plagiarised research papers and reducing substandard filings.
Drones
Chinese scientists say they have developed a new type of war drone unlike any ever seen on the battlefield. At first glance, it resembles a consumer-grade Chinese DJI multirotor. However, once it reaches the target airspace it can split in the blink of an eye into two, three or even six smaller drones, depending on what is needed in battle.Each of these drones has only one blade but can hover and move freely like a regular drone. They can communicate with each other and each could play a specific role – such as command, reconnaissance, tracking and even launching an attack – while collaborating to complete a mission.
3/28/1984 Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis
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