JUST IN: 6 Days To Christmas, Naira Crashes To N490 per $1


Nigerian Naira on Monday, December 19, crashed from N485 to N487 and now 490 per dollar at the parallel market.

The local currency which exchanged at N485 to a dollar on Friday, December 16, dropped five points this afternoon to N490 as dollar scarcity worsened ahead of the festive season.

Following this depreciation in the parallel market, it is expected that there will be sharp increase in prices of goods and services as Nigerians rush to the market to shop for festive season.

According to the currency traders, the demand for dollars in festive season was putting pressure on the Naira.

However, the currency remained stable against the Pounds and Euro at the market trading at 605 and 510 to the dollar.

It also remained flat at the inter-bank market, trading at N305 to a dollar.

The year 2016 has seen the local currency depreciate the most in its 43-year history, opening at 197 in January at the official market and 265 at the parallel market.

BREAKING: S-East Slowly Becoming Theatre Of War As Army Announces 'Operation Show of Force' In Aba


The Nigerian Army has announced the commencement of Operation Show of Force which will take place in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia state. The Nation reports that officers and men of 144 Battalion at Ukwa West, under the 14 Brigade Army headquarters in Ohafia local government of Abia state will meet on Monday, December 19 for the week- long operation.

The operation would last throughout the Christmas period and would start from Ngwa High School Forward Operation Base (FO through Aba-Owerri Expressway and major roads as well as strategic locations in the city.

Lt.-Col. Umar Kasim Sidi who is the commander of the Battalion asked for the cooperation of the people and explained it would ensure a crime-free celebration for the people.

Sidi revealed that officers were drawn from different formation and that it was planned to be ahead of hoodlums and criminals targeting Aba and its environs this festive period.

He said the battalion would carry out a spontaneous stop-and-search on some strategic locations in the commercial city and urged commuters to cooperate with the soldiers.

Ex-Adamawa Gov. Murtala Nyako, Husband Of Justice Binta Nyako, Reacts To S'Court Judgement

Former Governor of Adamawa, Mr. Murtala Nyako, who lost the bid to return to office said he accepted the outcome of Supreme Court judgement in good faith and remained relaxed.

The Supreme Court on Friday gave judgement against Nyako’s bid to return and complete his tenure.

Nyako, in an interview with newsmen in Yola, said his major reason of going to court was to seek redress over his illegal removal.

He said, “I am relaxed and will remain so; I always believe that the future is better.”

The former governor, who spoke in Hausa language thanked his supporters and well wishers for their show of support and solidarity.

He said, “Thank you, my people of Adamawa for the show of love.”

Nyako said that as a renowned farmer, he would continue his farming business and continue to contribute his quota to humanity.

BREAKING: Emefiele Appointed Head of International Islamic Financial Corporation

Nigeria's Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has been appointed chairman of the governing board and head of the general assembly of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM).

Until now Emefiele was the deputy chairman. He succeeds Agus D.W. Martowardojo, the governor of the Bank of Indonesia.

He will chairman for a term of one year.

The board is currently holding its annual meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

BREAKING: Dems Introduce New Law to Try to Get Trump IMPEACHED… Spread This Everywhere

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has long been one of President-elect Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics. Now she and other leading Senate Democrats have begun seeking to put legislation into effect that would force Trump to divest himself of any money that could possibly become a conflict of interest and put all of that money in a blind trust, according to Slate.

It’s an attempt to impeach Trump being crafted even before the man takes office.

As Warren’s fact sheet showed, according to The Hill, “The bill would also consider any violation by Trump of conflict of interest or ethics laws a ‘high crime or misdemeanor under the impeachment clause of the U.S. Constitution.'”

Advertisement - story continues below
Related Stories

Donna Brazille Demands Investigation Into DNC Hack
Obama To Release “Forever Prisoner” from GITMO
Ex-Trump Critic, Member of House Intel Committee Drops Bombshell… Left, Media Doing Russia’s Work for Them

“The American people deserve to know that the president of the United States is working to do what’s best for the country — not using his office to do what’s best for himself and his businesses,” Warren said, according to The Hill.

The legislation being proposed was specifically crafted to target Donald Trump. Not only that, but this legislation was clearly doomed from the start: It has to pass both a GOP-controlled House and Senate.

That means not only is this bill worthless, but those who are crafting the bill are just doing it to make a statement — a statement they conspicuously didn’t make when Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton came under scrutiny for her alleged conflicts of interest while heading the State Department.

Advertisement - story continues below

“President-elect Trump’s financial entanglements are unprecedented in American history, and the American people are still waiting to hear what steps he will take before January 20 to guard against conflicts of interest and corruption in his administration,” Sen. Richard Durbin told The Washington Post.

“Just this week, the president-elect cancelled a scheduled announcement about severing his business ties, taking time instead to meet with Kanye West,” Durbin continued. “The American people deserve to know that their president is putting the United States’ interests before his own, his family’s or that of any foreign government.”

How are these people still in office?

Please share this on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what you think about this legislation!

Russia could invade Europe within 48 hours, warns ex-military chief

General Barrons claimed Russia could deploy warplanes, ships and troops within hours

Rebecca Flood
Monday 19 September 2016

The Independent Online
poland-nato.jpg
Tensions between Russia and Nato have escalated in recent months Getty

A former NATO chief has warned Europe could be at the mercy of an imminent attack from Russia with no defence plans to repel an invasion.

General Sir Richard Barrons claimed Russia could deploy warplanes, ships and troops on European soil within 48 hours if it desired, with NATO some months away from an effective counter-strike.
Read more
Russian invasion would overwhelm UK's 'withered' army

The former chief of Joint Forces Command warned that the failure of countries such as France, Germany and Italy to take the threat of Russian aggression seriously could lead to a loss of land, sea and airspace.

Countries bordering the country, led by president Vladimir Putin, are concerned about the threat from their neighbour, not a priority for southern and central states.

The majority of the EU bloc is focussed on the heightened terror threat and migration crisis gripping the continent.

A Russian officer dodges bullets live on TV after praising Syria’s cease-fire

This is despite Moscow investing in new state-of-the-art equipment set to rival NATO’s arsenal.

“If you list all the military capability that Nato has, it has a lot more than Russia, but because most of it exists in this semi-dormant state there is a window of opportunity where . . . Russia could use its smaller forces to tweak Nato in a way to which Nato would be very pressed to respond because it doesn’t have any plans to do that.
Tensions between Russia and the Western world

7 show all

“In the absence of consensus, largely between the north, the centre and the south, it drops down to the lowest common denominator and not much will happen.” Sir Barrons told The Times.
Read more

Sparks fly in Ukraine as Russia prepares for parliamentary election
Russian elections: Putin-backed party sweeps to victory amid allegations of election fraud
Russian fighter jet 'flies within 10ft of American surveillance plane' in latest confrontation over Black Sea

Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea and military exercises in Ukraine earned it international condemnation, but its provocative behaviour has been unable to galvanise NATO into forming a credible opposition plan against a possible Russian invasion.

There is a proposal to base roughly 1,000 troops in each of the Baltic states and Poland, but the move was criticised for lacking any real military backing, nor outlining any clear rules of engagement should Moscow strike.

But the plans were dismissed by Sir Barrons as a mere window dressing, saying it lacked real “force and resilience”.

Britain is leading the Baltic deployment.

Intersociety Disagree On Kanu’s Secret Trial, Describes It As Violation Of Law & Militarist
December 19, 2016 Biafra No comments

The leaderships of International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) and the Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs) have, again, observed with deepest dismay the recent militarist and undemocratic rulings of Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako’s Federal High Court; leading to denial of bail and right to open and public trial of Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawusi and Chidiebere Onwudiwe. We totally disagree with the findings or rulings of Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako and grounds upon such militarist and undemocratic findings were made.

We hold, in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, that that a citizen accused by the State in the open of committing crime of whatever magnitude in the open, must also be tried in the open court and that he who alleges must also prove; that security operatives as witnesses are not more exposed to security threats, if any, than other witnesses who are not security operatives; that Nigeria is not a despotic and militarist republic by its current international status and must not be allowed to be made one by the likes of Retired Gen Muhammadu Buhari, his SSS and hired and conformist members of the Bench; and that any form of secret trial or proceeding unknown to the mandatory sections of the Fundamental Human Rights Chapter of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution; must be roundly rejected by all Nigerians at all times.

As Nigerians and members of the international community are aware, Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Ben Madubugwu, David Nwawusi and Chidiebere Onwudiwe have been in indefinite detention or custody of the State Security Services (SSS) since July and October 2015; and June 2016 respectively, over allegations by the Buhari Administration that they committed political crimes, which the Administration tagged “treasonable felony”, “terrorism” and “unlawful of possession of (un-prohibited) firearms”. The four Citizens are chieftains of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPO; a non violent self determination and indigenous rights advocacy movement, advocating for the group and citizen’s rights of the Igbo and other Southern Ethnic Nationalities in Nigeria. IPOB and its indigenous rights campaigns are recognized by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations or ECOSOC under the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples; strictly on account of its nonviolent methodology.

According to Buhari Administration, Citizen Nnamdi Kanu committed “a treasonable felony” (i.e. seeking to violently or militarily unseat his government) by operating Radio Biafra London (RBL) with associated agitation messages for a separate statehood and self determination; that Chidiebere Onwudiwe is “a terrorist” by “being caught in Enugu studying how to manufacture Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)”; that Benjamin Madubugwu is “a possessor of unlawful firearms” by “being caught possessing two Pump Action guns without a license”; and that David Nwawusi is “a reasonable felon” by “being linked to illegal importation of radio transmitters for transmission of separatist and hate messages ”.

By the plain language of the Black’s Law Dictionary: Ninth (9th) Edition 2009; the four nonviolent Citizens under reference are nothing but State’s victims of Prosecutorial Vindictiveness; defined by the globally most respected and widely used law dictionary as the act or an instance of intentionally charging a more serious crime or seeking a more severe penalty in retaliation for a defendant’s lawful exercise of a constitutional right.

We wish to quickly recall that the Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako’s Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria had on December 1st and 13th 2016 respectively, denied Citizen Kanu and three others bail and deprived them of their constitutional and international rights to be tried and heard in public or openly conducted court proceedings. With the two militarist and undemocratic rulings of Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, mentioned above, it has become clearer that fairness and openness have departed the criminal prosecution of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu and three others. Their prosecution has also changed to persecution with strong circumstantial evidence of convictable verdict already prepared waiting to be delivered at the end of their makeshift trial.

Pieces of circumstantial evidence foreclosing the chances of Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawusi and Chidiebere Onwudiwe getting fairness and openness in their criminal prosecution are a long list. Some of them are as follows: 1. Benjamin Madubugwu was arrested and detained indefinitely since July 2015 by SSS without criminal trial till date; a period of seventeen months; 2. Citizens Nnamdi Kanu and David Nwawusi were arrested by SSS and detained indefinitely since October 2015 without criminal trial till date; a period of fourteen months; 3. Citizen Chidiebere Onwudiwe was arrested and detained indefinitely since June 2016 by SSS without criminal trial till date; a period of over six months; 4. Citizen Justice O. Udeh was arrested and thrown into indefinite detention by SSS since July 2016 without any court arraignment or trial till date; a period of over five months;

Others: 5. Citizen Sunday Chukwuka Obasi was arrested; shot at his two legs and thrown into indefinite detention by SSS since August 2016 without any court arraignment or trial till date; a period of over four months; 6. Citizens Ikechukwu Ugwuoha, Asochukwu Ugochukwu, Sunday J. Okafor, Ekene Onuoha and Joseph Okorie (Ogbuawa) were arrested and thrown into indefinite detention by SSS since August 2016 without any court arraignment or trial till date; a period of over four months respectively. In all these, processes and procedures used by the Buhari Administration in arresting and detaining the eleven nonviolent citizens grossly run contrary to the Fundamental Human Rights Chapter of Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights of 1981 and the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1976, all ratified by Nigeria in 1983 and 1993 respectively.

Other persecutorial elements foreclosing fair and open trial as well as fair justice in the criminal prosecution of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu and three others are: total disregard and disobedience of several court pronouncements for the enforcement and protection of the detained Citizens’ legal and constitutional rights such as court bails; mindless killing of over 250 Pro Biafra campaigners and attempted murder of over 300 others by army, police and navy; languishing in prisons and other detention centres across Nigeria of over 150 Pro Biafra Campaigners; criminalization and stigmatization of IPOB’s nonviolent campaigns by the Buhari Administration and its killer-security forces; high executive meddlesomeness in the judicial proceedings of the detained citizens; SSS continued onslaught and crackdown on nonviolent and unarmed IPOB and other innocent Pro Biafra campaigners by way of indiscriminate arrest at odd hours or times of blue law and their long detention without trial; enforced disappearances of scores of IPOB activists; recent militarist and undemocratic rulings of Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako’s Federal High Court and associated scripted proceedings; to mention but few.

As we had earlier held, the ongoing criminal proceedings of Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Ben Madubugwu, Dave Nwawusi and Chidiebere Onwudiwe have disastrously moved from Prosecution to Persecution in all its ramifications; and it may most likely be safe to declare same as political trial and non-judicially triable!

Further, by the plain and unmistakable language of the Black’s Law Dictionary: Ninth (9th) Edition 2009; Prosecution is a criminal proceeding in which an accused person is tried or a conspiracy trial involving trial of more than one person over alleged commission of same offence. The respected global law dictionary further says that the opposite of Prosecution is Persecution; which it defines as a political or judicial violent, cruel and oppressive treatment directed towards a person or group of persons because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, politics, or other beliefs.

The globally respected and widely used law dictionary also provides the following terms and their precise definitions: Criminal Trial: A formal judicial examination of evidence and determination of legal claims in an adversary proceeding; Closed Trial: A trial that is not open to the public usually because of some overriding concerns such as a need to protect a child’s anonymity; Open Trial: A trial that is open to the public; Nemo Judex In Sua Causa: No one or no man should be a judge in his own case or cause; Audi Altarem Partem: Let the other side be heard as well; or nobody should be condemned unheard; Fair Trial: A trial by an impartial or disinterested tribunal in accordance with regular procedures, especially a criminal trial in which the defendant’s constitutional and legal rights are respected.

Hearing: A judicial session, usually open to the public, held for the purpose of deciding issues of facts or of law, sometimes with witnesses testifying; Fair Hearing: A judicial or administrative hearing conducted in accordance with due process; Due Process: The conduct of legal proceedings according to established rules and principles for the protection and enforcement of private rights, including notice and the right to a fair hearing before a tribunal with power to decide the case. Source: Black’s Law Dictionary: Ninth (9th) Edition 2009.

Constitutionally speaking, the express or literal meaning of (optional or exceptional) secret or non public trial, provided under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is that it is optional and not mandatory. What is constitutionally mandatory is the trial of accused citizens in open and fair court in Nigeria. In the context of optional or exceptional secret trial, which Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako crookedly interpreted, every accused citizen in Nigeria is also left with a constitutional option or choice to accept or reject his or her trial in secrecy or outside open court particularly if he or she reasonably suspects that he or she shall not get fair hearing and fair trial under such a militarist circumstance.

It is on account of these, therefore, that we strongly advise the Defense Counsel or Legal Team of Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawusi and Chidiebere Onwudiwe to critically and strategically rethink and re-jig. That is to say that time is here, apt and ripe for them to evaluate and re-evaluate the ugly goings on so as to thwart and scuttle nimbly and courageously all attempts and efforts of the Buhari Administration to “rot “ their “probono” clients in jail at all costs. The rethinking and re-jigging under firm advocacy demand of ours must incorporate the reasonable opinions of their “probono” clients and other leaders of the IPOB. The Pro Biafra nonviolent struggle led by IPOB and others has indeed entered advanced and critical stage and requires commensurate lawful and legitimate response from the defense team and the IPOB leadership in general.

As the Defense Legal Team are aware, there are no guesswork, gambling, sentiments and rigmarole in criminal adjudication and law; just as orbita dicta, not ratio decidendi, are immaterial in judicial findings. Where it is elementarily clear to the defense legal team that the Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako’s proceedings; likewise other subsequent proceedings have been brutally operated upon by the Buhari Administration and laid outside the confines of open and fair trial, fair hearing, due process, fair prosecution and fair findings; it is our strong and informed advice that the defence team and their “probono” clients should publicly back out or withdraw from the makeshift trial until the reverse becomes the case.

On no account must Citizen Nnamdi Kanu and three others be allowed to be convicted and despotically jailed by the Buhari Administration under the prevailing biased, militarist and undemocratic circumstances. It is far better to remain in despotic custody without any form of trial than to be convicted and sent to jail under prosecutorial and procedural vindictiveness and despotism.

IPOB, on its part, should remain sticky to its nonviolent stand at all times, in spite of State provocations and persecution, but must add more techniques, tactics and strategies in the overall midwifery of its nonviolent campaigns. Part of these is the need to engage in strategic global campaigns to draw the attention of respected international governments, institutions and personalities over intensified persecution against it by the Buhari Administration. Its nonviolent campaigns must be taken beyond the confines of surface approach; synchronous and asynchronous web conferencing and radio/web jingling and sarcasms; to strategic and critical approaches grounded in information numeracy and literacy and letters of the law.

On our part, we renew our earlier call and reminder to the authorities of the Human Rights Watch, USA and their research team in Nigeria that the world and Nigerians still await their reportorial position on indiscriminate killing and maiming of unarmed and nonviolent Pro Biafra Campaigners by the Buhari Administration since July/August 2015 as well as indiscriminate arrest and long detention without trial of hundreds of IPOB members and supporters by SSS, police and soldiers. To convince Nigerians and international watchers that its Nigerian research team headed by a female South-westerner; are not caught in the web of ethnic bias, the world respected rights watchdog should toe the commendable line of Amnesty International, UK, just as it (HRW) did in the Zaria Shiite Massacre of December 2015.

Signed:

For: International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety)

Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
Mobile Line: +2348174090052
Email: info@intersociety-ng.org
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org

Signed:

For: Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs)

Comrade Aloysius Attah (+2348035090548)
For: Civil Liberties Organization, Southeast Zone

Comrade Peter Onyegiri (+2347036892777)
For: Centre for Human Rights & Peace Advocacy

Comrade Samuel Njoku (+2348039444628)
For: Human Rights Organization of Nigeria

Engineer Rufus Duru (+2348037513519)
For: Global Rights & Development International

Comrade Chike Umeh ( +2348064869601)
For: Society Advocacy Watch Project

Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq. (+2348034186332)
For: Anambra Human Rights Forum

Comrade Alex Olisa(+234803409041
For: Southeast Good Governance Forum

Jerry Chukwuokoro, PhD (+2348035372962)
For: International Solidarity for Peace & Human Rights Initiative

Tochukwu Ezeoke (+447748612933)
For: Igbo Ekunie Initiative (Pan Igbo Rights Advocacy Group)

Comrade Vincent Ezekwume (+2348171793911)
For: Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch

Gambia President Embarrasses Nigeria, Rejects Buhari As a Mediator
Aba City Blog Sunday, December 18, 2016
Gambian President, Yahyah Jammeh has rejected President Muhammadu Buhari as mediator following the electoral logjam in their country.
President Muhammadu Buhari with Yahyah Jammeh
Recall that Jammeh rejected the outcome of the December 2nd Gambian presidential election, which he lost to opposition leader Adama Barrow, and called for a fresh vote.


The rejection which drew the attention of the African Leaders and the International community led to President Buhari's interference as one of the mediators.

But, Mr. Buhari got bigger than what he bargained for, as President Yahyah Jammeh has something to say;

He said; “President Buhari as one of the mediators annoys us, Gambia is not Nigeria, we have always conducted elections in our country devoid of irregularities. We are not unaware of the huge electoral fraud in Nigeria, on whose back he rode to power, let him put his house in order before teaching us to suck eggs.”

China said it would return a seized U.S. naval drone. Trump told them to ‘keep it.’

A U.S. drone. (U.S. Navy)
By Missy Ryan and Emily Rauhala December 18

The Chinese government said Saturday it will return a U.S. naval drone seized last week in the South China Sea, a step toward defusing maritime tensions between the two Pacific powers.

President-elect Donald Trump reacted to the news by telling them he doesn’t want it back. “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!” he tweeted Saturday evening.

The comment could prolong one of the most serious incidents between the U.S. and Chinese militaries in recent memory, potentially complicating ties ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

The latest spike in U.S.-Chinese maritime tensions occurred Thursday, when a Chinese submarine rescue ship close to the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey vessel operating about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines, took possession of the U.S. drone.

The incident occurred within sight of the Bowditch, which tracks the drone as it collects unclassified data on water temperature, salinity and other factors that may affect U.S. naval operations. According to U.S. officials, the Chinese ship refused initial requests from the Bowditch to return the drone.
Why China is militarizing the South China Sea
Play Video2:37
China has laid claim to a number of islands in the South China Sea, building airbases on tiny spits of land while installing powerful radar and missile launchers. Here's why. (Jason Aldag, Julie Vitkovskaya/The Washington Post / Satellite photos courtesy of CSIS)

“We have registered our objection to China’s unlawful seizure of a U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle operating in international waters in the South China Sea,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

“Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the [drone] to the United States,” he said.

[Pentagon: Chinese naval ship seized a U.S. underwater drone in South China Sea]

China’s Ministry of Defense on Saturday said they had decided to return the drone in an “appropriate” manner, but did not specify what that meant.

Yang Yujun, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said in a statement that the Chinese took the U.S. drone “in order to prevent the device from harming the navigation safety and personnel safety of the ship.”

“The U.S. military has frequently dispatched naval vessels to carry out reconnaissance and military measurements in China’s water. China resolutely opposes this and urges the U.S. side to stop such activities,” he said.

The statement, which was published before Trump’s “keep it” tweet, called the U.S. response to the drone’s seizure “hype” that is “inappropriate” and “unhelpful for settling the problem.” Beijing has yet to respond to the president-elect’s latest comment.

Song Zhongping, an expert on Chinese military affairs who works as a commenter for Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV, said the statement was an effort to warn the United States to not deploy this type of vessel in the South China Sea, “Otherwise, we will keep on picking them up whenever we see them,” he said.

Despite sharp words on both sides, official statements from Washington and Beijing suggest that the two governments are eager to avoid further intensifying tensions at a moment of deep uncertainty in U.S.-Chinese relations after Trump’s election.

Even as China asserts a right to areas of the South and East China seas also claimed by some of its neighbors, it has embarked on an ambitious program of constructing artificial islands, some of which appear to be intended as military outposts.

The U.S. military has conducted repeated shows of force, sailing ships or conducting surveillance flights near disputed areas, while seeking to avoid any serious military escalation with a key commercial partner.

Speaking after the Pentagon announced that the drone would be returned, a U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to comment freely, said that the Obama administration was “glad to get it back and put this behind us.”

“It’s somewhat reassuring that senior leadership in Beijing agreed that this was something that should be returned, regardless of the individual actions of their people at sea,” the official said. It is not clear who authorized the seizure of the drone.

[Photos: China’s rapid island-building continues]

The flap over the drone comes as Trump’s election generates concern among Chinese authorities, with the president-elect questioning long-standing U.S. policy on China and continuing his sharp criticism of Beijing’s trade and monetary policies.

Trump angered Chinese officials when he spoke by phone with the president of Taiwan, a thriving democracy that Beijing considers a breakaway province.

While it is not clear how the Trump administration will handle efforts by China to assert itself in the South China Sea, his stance toward Beijing suggests a hard line.

On Saturday morning, Trump issued a tweet that said: “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act.”

In Beijing on Sunday, the Global Times, a Communist Party-controlled newspaper known for its nationalist tone, poked fun at the mixed messages coming from the United States.

“Before Trump’s generous announcement that he didn’t want the drone back, the Pentagon had already announced publicly that they have asked China to return the ‘illegally seized’ [unmanned underwater vehicle] through appropriate governmental channels,” the paper wrote. “We don’t know, after seeing Trump’s new tweets, if the Pentagon should feel boggled.”

Rauhala reported from Taipei and Luna Lin reported from Beijing.

Reveal Russian advanced T-50 fighter plane test-flying
Published time: 18 Dec, 2016 20:47
Edited time: 18 Dec, 2016 218

New pictures of the Russian cutting-edge T-50 prototype fifth-generation fighter jet have been published on the planemaker’s official website.

The images were unveiled by the producing Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant and apparently show a first flight of a prototype model of the T-50 (T-50-8). The plane is being developed by one of Russia’s leading aviation companies, the Sukhoi, to replace its Sukhoi Su-27 fighter currently in service.


The respective test prototype accomplished its first flight on November 17, the BMPD blog, focusing on the defense industry, reported, though the information was not officially confirmed.

The fighter jet will come with advanced radar-evading stealth technology and a powerful 9-A1-4071K cannon which has a range of 1,800 meters and can fire at a rate of 1,800 rounds per minute.
© knaapo.ru
© knaapo.ru

The cutting-edge aircraft is coming at a cost of $50 million per aircraft, but its capabilities are thought to be worth the hefty price tag. The fighter can reach a top speed of 1,516MPH (2,440kmh) and a battle range of 3,418 miles.

Defense industry analysts have made comparisons to the American F-22 Raptor, with the National Interest giving the edge to the T-50 for its high maneuverability: its three-dimensional thrust-vector jets can tilt in any direction to help the pilot execute maneuvers.

The Russian Defense Ministry is expected to buy at least one squadron of T-50 next year, the deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov, announced in September at an international military expo outside Moscow.

"According to the plan, mass production of the PAK FA (T-5will start in 2017. We’ll buy at least one squadron of the planes in the first batch,” Borisov said.

Another model of T-50, with some minor modifications and different components, is being developed for export to India.


by Taboola