[GaroweOnline] The Æthiopian National Defense Force on Thursday said that 272 Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel fighters were killed after the group's failed offensive on Tuesday night.
One part of the new Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance.
The Æthiopian army said in a statement that the forces "strongly repelled" the attack in the northeastern part of the country, eventually neutralizing several forces of Evil and seizing various types of weapons and ammunition.
According to the statement, the rebel group attempted to infiltrate the North Wollo zone in the country's Amhara region by deploying its forces across several districts, but was forced to retreat due to "the heavy blow it received, losing its assets and manpower."
The Æthiopian army said that in addition to the 272 TPLF rebel fighters killed following the group's failed offensive, "a large number of enemy forces were captured, and 260 enemy forces were maimed."
The latest escalation comes amid heightened tensions in Æthiopia's northernmost Tigray region, following Sunday's announcement of a new alliance formed by seven Æthiopian opposition and gangs, according to local media.
On Wednesday, the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... called for utmost restraint and immediate de-escalation amid rising security tensions in northern Æthiopia.
Recent developments have raised concerns about a possible relapse into conflict against the backdrop of the two-year war between Æthiopian federal forces and TPLF-loyal troops from November 2020 to November 2022.
The two-year conflict left millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance before the two parties signed the landmark Pretoria peace accord in South Africa to end hostilities.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] A plane carrying officers from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) crashed in the southwest of the country on September 25, according to the Mediacongo portal.
The incident took place in Kenge, the capital of Kwango province.
According to preliminary reports, approximately 10 people died in the crash, including the Auditor General of the DR Congo's Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Lucien-René Likulia Bakoumi. The exact number of victims and the circumstances of the accident are being investigated.
According to Okapi Radio, the tragedy occurred while the Let L-410 was en route from the city of Kikwit to the capital, Kinshasa. There were 13 people on board.
[NYPost] President Trump on Friday ordered the cancellation of $810 million in congressionally appropriated funding, including large sums meant for illegal immigrants and race-focused programs, in the second “pocket” rescission in 49 years, The Post has learned.
The action eliminates 11 pools of unspent money at seven federal departments and agencies as part of a drive by fiscal hawks to whittle down executive-branch expenses.
“In accordance with… the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, I herewith report 11 rescissions of budget authority, totaling $810 million,” Trump wrote in a notice to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
“The proposed rescissions affect programs of the Departments of Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice, as well as for International Assistance Programs.”
A pocket rescission is a proposed cancelation of congressionally mandated spending that occurs so late in the federal fiscal year that it takes effect regardless of legislative pushback. It is legally controversial because Congress otherwise has 45 days to consider the action.
With just five days before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, the White House Office of Management and Budget identified areas where funds arguably are no longer needed or contrary to Trump’s policies.
The largest pot — $567 million appropriated for HHS to provide social services to illegal immigrants, including through grants to non-government organizations — was deemed to be no longer necessary because of the near-elimination of illegal border crossings in the past year.
Some of the organizations that had received funds through the program drew controversy over their political connections to Democrats and their alleged tolerance of child abuse.
The next-largest sum being eliminated, $70 million, was allocated to fellowships and grants for foreign academics and students in the US. Some of that funding drew conservative qualms when it was discovered to be flowing to transgender-focused projects.
Another $56 million is being yanked from a Department of Housing and Urban Development program for outside organizations that provide housing counseling, which instead allegedly fueled “DEI-centric” agendas of Democrat-linked racial advocacy groups such as UnidosUS and the National Urban League.
A sum of $28 million is being withdrawn from HHS grants deemed “wasteful, duplicative, and sometimes outright harmful and blatantly ideological.” The precise grants that are impacted are unclear.
A further $25 million is being yanked from a Department of Education migrant students initiative, which funded organizations that allegedly encouraged participants to avoid law enforcement.
The rescissions yank $15 million apiece from the Justice Department’s Community Relations Services, an all-but-shuttered office focused on race relations, and from a DHS program that subsidized cultural orientation, healthcare and legal advice for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
Smaller amounts being zeroed out include $10 million for the Minority Business Development Agency, which makes grants to business owners based on their race, $10 million from another DHS program funding legal services for illegal immigrants, and $5 million from the HHS Office of Minority Health.
Trump also cut $9 million from the Department of Treasury’s Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act Program, which offered debt forgiveness to countries for actions intended to curb climate change.
Trump has used rescission powers twice before, including last year requesting that congressional Republicans end federal funding for NPR and PBS and gut USAID programs. Congress approved.
The use of pocket rescissions, however, is controversial and the latest action could spark legal challenges. The legislative Government Accountability Office has deemed the practice illegal, contrary to the opinion of the administration.
Trump last year rescinded nearly $5 billion in foreign aid in the first pocket rescission since 1977 — outraging congressional Democrats and unleashing a court battle.
The president won a 6-3 ruling from the Supreme Court last September allowing him to proceed on the grounds that his prerogative to conduct foreign affairs was more important than the alleged procedural issue.
OMB Director Russ Vought and General Counsel Mark Paoletta have pointed to instances where Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter arguably made pocket rescissions in the 1970s and the latest action could test — and potentially expand — further use of the practice.
[Breitbart] The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled 6-3 on Friday to permit implementation of President Donald Trump’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) streamlined Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
[NYPost] A legendary spy plane has vanished from a California military base — it comes as NASA teases a mysterious new aircraft sparking speculation the two could be related.
The SR-71 Blackbird, tail No. 844, had been displayed for years at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, which is collocated with Edwards Air Force Base.
Satellite imagery indicates it has not been seen since at least May 17, according to Aviation Week defense editor Steve Trimble, who first reported the disappearance.
The timing is hard to ignore. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman unveiled a silhouette resembling an SR-71 during last week’s All-In Summit in Los Angeles while promising that the agency is rebuilding its fleet of experimental X-planes and pushing back into extreme-speed and high-altitude flight research.
“In the service of the first A [aeronautics] in NASA, we are rebuilding our X-plane fleet. The X-59 is researching quiet supersonic flight, but it’s just the beginning,” Isaacman told TWZ.
“It will not be long before NASA once again is flying as high and as fast as we had in decades past, and then even more.”
When the Blackbird-like image came up during a live interview immediately afterward, Isaacman added fuel to the mystery by asking, “You sure that’s a Blackbird?” He offered no further clarification.
The missing jet is no ordinary exhibit. Originally designated US Air Force serial No. 61-7980, it was the last SR-71 produced and the last one to fly, making its final flight in 1999.
#2
Given that specific plane made the last known SR-71 flight in 1999, I doubt that they are flying it again. There would be no qualified pilots, back seaters, mechanics and I doubt that there are any refueler aircraft certified to carry the special JP-7 fuel that the Blackbird requires.
On edit: AI Copilot agrees that the aircraft is not going to be returned to fleet status foe the reasons I listed and its answer is that it was moved to a hanger for restoration from being on outside display for so long.
[FoxNews] Overland AI is developing autonomous ground vehicles designed to move ammo and supplies through dangerous terrain
From Ukraine to the Middle East, drones and other unmanned systems are playing an increasingly visible role in modern warfare. Nations are quickly competing to integrate AI tech into everyday military operations to eliminate human risk while improving overall efficiency in the field.
One example of that development is based in Seattle, Washington.
fLate June, defense-tech company Overland AI announced it had secured a roughly $20 million dollar production contract with the U.S. Marine Corps for autonomous unmanned ground vehicles, or AUGVs, with delivery expected in early 2027.
"This is a vote of confidence from the Marines that the technology that we have is ready for the mission," said Greg Okopal, Co-Founder and COO of Overland AI.
The Marine Corps tells FOX the goal is to use the vehicles for missions such as moving ammunition and supplies while reducing risk to Marines.
[USNI] Chinese warships and cutters blocked a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal on Thursday in the most significant development at the disputed South China Sea feature.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy and China Coast Guard attempted to “hinder” the resupply mission, Manila’s National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea announced on Friday.
“In doing so, they put Filipino personnel at risk and obstructed a legitimate humanitarian and sustainment operation,” reads the task force’s statement.
Two Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessels, BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) and BRP Cabra (MRRV-4409), were supporting the Philippine Navy-operated resupply ship Lapu Lapu when Chinese forces intercepted the resupply mission. According to a statement from the Philippine maritime security agency, the mission was temporarily suspended following “dangerous maneuvers” by the Chinese forces that threatened a collision with Lapu Lapu.
The incident occurred 60 nautical miles away from Second Thomas Shoal.
#2
^ Pretty much a continuing thing that mostly isn't being reported by the MSM. This incident seems a touch more serious than previous ones. There have been some collisions, but I don't recall any shots actually being fired with the intent to hit another ship.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
