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Huge US arms package for Taiwan includes HIMARS rocket systems, howitzer artillery, antitank missiles, and drones.

The United States has approved $11.1bn in arms sales to Taiwan, one of Washington’s largest-ever weapons packages for the self-ruled island, which Beijing has promised to unify with mainland China.

The US State Department announced the deal late on Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump.

Weapons in the proposed sale include 82 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS – worth more than $4bn – defence systems that are similar to what the US had been providing Ukraine to defend against Russian aerial attacks.

The deal also includes 60 self-propelled howitzer artillery systems and related equipment worth more than $4bn and drones valued at more than $1bn.

Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than $1bn, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700m, helicopter spare parts worth $96m and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91m.

In a series of separate statements announcing details of the weapons deal, the Pentagon said the sales served US national, economic and security interests by supporting Taiwan’s continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a “credible defensive capability”.

Taiwan’s defence ministry and presidential office welcomed the news while China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency.

Washington’s huge sale of arms to Taiwan will likely infuriate China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

“The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defence capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power,” Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement.

Taiwan presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said Taiwan would continue to reform its defence sector and “strengthen whole-of-society defence resilience” to “demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves, and safeguard peace through strength”.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that it opposed efforts by the US Congress to pass bills “related to Taiwan and firmly opposes any form of military contact between the US and Taiwan”.

“We urge the US to abide by the one China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques : Stop ‘arming Taiwan’, stop reviewing relevant bills, and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,” the office’s spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said in a statement.

Zhu said Taiwan’s political leaders were pursuing “independence”, and were “willing to let external forces turn the island into a ‘war porcupine’,” which could result in the population becoming “cannon fodder” and “slaughtered at will, which is despicable”.

Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te last month announced a $40bn supplementary defence budget, to run from 2026 to 2033, saying there was “no room for compromise on national security”.

Police in the UK have said they will arrest people who hold placards or chant the phrase “globalise the intifada,” arguing that the slogan now carries heightened risk in the wake of recent attacks on Jewish communities, Anadolu reports.

The term “intifada,” an Arabic word meaning “uprising,” came into widespread use during the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1987.

In a joint statement, London’s Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police said the move followed Sunday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

Fifteen people were killed on Sunday when two suspected shooters—father and son—opened fire along the beach in Sydney, the New South Wales capital and Australia’s largest city by population.​​​​​

The two forces also referred to a knife attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, northern England, on Oct. 2, in which two people were killed.

“Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed—words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests,” the police said.

They added: “We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada,’ and those using it at future protests or in a targeted way should expect” the two forces “to take action.”

The statement said frontline officers would be briefed on what police described as an “enhanced approach,” and that powers under the Public Order Act would be used, “including conditions around London synagogues during services.”

“Visible patrols and protective security measures around synagogues, schools, and community venues have been stepped up in London and Greater Manchester. We are intensifying investigations into hate crime, and Counter Terrorism Policing continues to operate 24/7 to identify and disrupt threats,” it added.

The UK’s chief rabbi told the BBC this week that chants of “globalise the intifada” had helped lead to the two attacks.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in parliament on Wednesday that his government has increased funding for Jewish security.

“I’m pleased to do that, but I’m sad to do that,” he said, adding that he has ordered a review of protest and hate crime laws.

Dec. 16 (Asia Today) — Nearly half of South Korea’s small business owners say policies to boost domestic demand and consumer spending are the most urgently needed form of support, according to a new survey released Tuesday.

The Korea Federation of SMEs said 49.5% of respondents cited domestic demand and consumption stimulus as their top policy priority, according to its “Survey Results on Small Business Owners’ Management Status and Policy Tasks.”

The survey was conducted from Nov. 4 to 21 among 800 small businesses in daily life-related sectors, including wholesale and retail trade, lodging and food services, and manufacturing.

The results showed a largely pessimistic outlook for next year. About 89.3% of respondents said they expect business conditions to remain similar to this year (51.3%) or worsen (38.0%), while only 10.8% reported a positive outlook.

Asked about the biggest management burdens this year, respondents most frequently cited rising prices, including higher raw material and supply costs (56.3%), followed by declining sales due to weak domestic demand (48.0%), rising labor costs and labor shortages (28.5%), and loan repayment burdens (20.4%). Despite these pressures, 97.4% said they are not considering closing their businesses, which the federation attributed to the high share of livelihood-based startups, accounting for 91.4% of respondents.

The survey also found increased reliance on online platforms. The share of small business owners using online platforms rose 3.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 28.1%. Platform use was highest in the lodging and food service sector (44.3%), compared with wholesale and retail trade (20.3%) and manufacturing (15.5%). Among platform users, platform-based sales accounted for an average of 41.7% of total revenue, up 6.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

About 25.7% of respondents said their loan balances increased compared with the previous year, with the average interest rate on current loans at 4.4%. Among small business owners with loans, 90.4% said interest and principal repayments were burdensome.

Assessing the effectiveness of domestic demand stimulus policies implemented this year, 52.3% of respondents in the lodging and food service sector said they felt policy effects, compared with 18.0% in wholesale and retail trade and 8.5% in manufacturing. Among those who reported effects, 65.4% said the impact was temporary, while 19.7% cited short-term sales increases.

Looking ahead, respondents said future consumption-promotion policies should focus on concentrating spending in local commercial districts (41.8%), expanding the scale and duration of support (31.8%), and strengthening policy promotion (24.5%).

When asked about the most urgent tasks for the National Assembly or government, respondents cited stimulating consumption and reviving local economies (52.1%), addressing rising labor costs and labor shortages (45.0%), easing loan burdens caused by high interest rates (42.8%), and reducing energy costs (26.3%).

Choo Moon-gap, head of the Economic Policy Division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, said persistent inflation, weak domestic demand and a high exchange rate have worsened business conditions for small business owners. While consumption-stimulating measures such as livelihood recovery coupons have had some effect, he said, mid- to long-term growth policies that small business owners can clearly feel are also needed.

– Reported by Asia Today and translated by UPI.

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Austria is buying 12 M-346F Block 20 light combat aircraft from Italian defense contractor Leonardo, as part of an overhaul of its air force, the Luftstreitkräfte. Austria does already operate 15 Eurofighter Typhoons, which were procured under controversial circumstances. Those jets have notably limited capabilities compared to other Typhoons, as well as high operating costs, which have prompted attempts to offload them.

Leonardo announced the Austrian contract today. As well as the dozen M-346s, the deal includes simulation systems for pilots, training for maintenance technicians, spare parts and equipment, plus logistical support for six years. The total cost is around $1.7 billion, and the first aircraft is due to be delivered in 2028.

According to Leonardo, the Austrian Air Force will use the M-346Fs for the “defense needs of Austria’s national airspace and territory,” as well as for training.

M-346FA

The two-seat M-346 was originally developed as an advanced jet trainer, but light combat versions have long been offered for sale. Block 20 standard variants are notably well-equipped for aircraft of their size and weight. They come with a pair of large-area displays (LAD) in each cockpit, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a Link 16 datalink, and electronic countermeasures. The jets are capable of being configured to employ various air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons options, but can also be operated as pure trainers.

In the trainer role, the M-346Fs will serve as a successor to the Austrian Air Force’s Saab 105 jets, which were retired in 2020, and are seen in the video below.

Action: Saab 105 im Flug

The M-346 has been developed by Leonardo as part of an integrated advanced flight training system. Beyond the jets themselves, this includes a ground-based training system (GBTS), which is based around the live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) concept. In this way, simulated elements and scenarios can be combined with real-life training flights.

Austria is already familiar with the M-346 as its pilots already train on it at the International Flight Training School (IFTS), which Leonardo and the Italian Air Force operate together in Decimomannu, Italy.

IFTS – International Flight Training School

According to Leonardo, the complete training system for Austria will include capabilities related to air-to-surface missions. This would be a new development for the Austrian Air Force, which is currently optimized for air defense.

It will also allow pilots to train for aerial refueling, something else that hasn’t previously been featured in the Alpine air arm’s operations. It is worth noting here that the Luftstreitkräfte does not currently operate any tankers itself.

Most notably, however, as well as advanced training, Austria will fly the M-346 in the “dual role of fighter for lower-intensity operations,” according to Leonardo.

Imagery related to the M-346F Block 20 released to date includes pictures of a demonstrator aircraft armed with wingtip AIM-9L/M Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles. It has also been seen loaded with laser-guided bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Reportedly, Austria will integrate the IRIS-T infrared-guided air-to-air missile (already used on its Typhoons), 20mm gun pods, and LAU-32 seven-round rocket launchers for its M-346s, as well as Israeli-made electronic countermeasures pods.

While the now-retired Saab 105s had a limited air-policing role, the M-346F’s capabilities mean that certain, more expansive operational missions could be ‘downloaded’ from the expensive Typhoon and onto the smaller and more economical jet.

Nonetheless, this would still be a significant augmentation for the Typhoon force, not least because Austria is a small country and the M-346F would be capable of responding to most routine threats, especially thanks to its AESA radar.

Furthermore, the Austrian Typhoons have no beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile armament, so the M-346Fs wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in terms of weaponry, either.

In fact, an argument could be made for Austria having ordered the M-346F, or a similar light combat aircraft, rather than the Typhoon in the first place.

The Typhoon acquisition was far from straightforward. Austria selected the Eurofighter design over the Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen in 2002, but only finished paying off the €2 billion ($2.3 billion at the rate of conversion at the time of writing) purchase costs for the 15 single-seat jets (an order that was also reduced from a planned 18 aircraft) in 2014. The deal was also overshadowed by accusations of deception, fraud, and bribery, including a high-level lawsuit filed by the defense ministry against Airbus and Eurofighter.

Overall, the Austrian Ministry of Defense has been far from happy with the Typhoon. It has called into question the jet’s operating costs and lack of certain critical capabilities — including the PIRATE infrared sensor, a helmet-mounted display, and the EuroDASS self-defense suite. As mentioned above, the Austrian jets have no beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and lack any air-to-ground capability.

Österreichs Luftstreitkräfte – Luftraumüberwachung

As long ago as 2017, Austria outlined plans to phase out the Typhoons by 2023, arguing that it would be cheaper than upgrading them. Since these are the baseline Tranche 1 jets, equipped to the most basic standard, it is far harder to modernize them. At this time, it was envisaged that they would be replaced by 18 new fighters, which would also supersede the Saab 105s.

More recently, efforts were made to try to sell the Typhoons to Indonesia, as you can read about here.

Somewhat ironically, back in 2020, Austria’s Green Party called for the replacement of both the Typhoon and the Saab 105 with the M-346.

As TWZ noted at the time, “Austrian Typhoon pilots already train on the M-346 in Italy, and in many ways it would seem to make an ideal replacement for the two-seat Saab. However, it lacks the raw performance and sophisticated avionics of a modern fighter jet, which would render it less suitable for the air policing role now undertaken by the Typhoon.”

However, the M-346F Block 20 is a much more capable proposition in terms of avionics, although it remains subsonic.

As a non-aligned nation, Austria can’t rely on NATO support to defend its airspace, so having additional, more economical light combat aircraft to help do this job will be welcome.

The M-346 also has the benefit of an established user base and supply chains to go along with it. As a trainer, existing M-346 customers include Greece, Italy, Israel, Poland, Qatar, and Singapore. The Italian Air Force has also selected it as the future aircraft for its aerobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori.

Leonardo, as part of a team-up with Textron in the United States, has also been offering a navalized M-346N version to the U.S. Navy as a possible replacement for that service’s T-45 Goshawk jet trainers. You can read more about the M-346N, which was rebranded as a Beechcraft product earlier this year, here. Beechcraft is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron.

M-346 Jet Trainer Walk-Around Tour With Its Test Pilot.

The only country known to have already introduced a light combat aircraft version of the M-346 is Turkmenistan, which reportedly acquired just four M-346FA (Fighter Attack) versions, as well as two trainers. It’s unclear exactly what kinds of weapons the country’s jets carry.

However, Nigeria now looks to be lining up to buy the M-346FA, as well, with a potential deal for as many as 24 of the jets reportedly on the cards.

Buying the M-346 also further cements the Austrian Ministry of Defense’s own relationship with Leonardo, from which it previously acquired 36 AW169M Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) under two contracts signed in 2022 and 2023.

The Austrian order and the possibility of a larger sale to Nigeria are good news for Leonardo, which is continuing to evolve the M-346 from an advanced jet trainer into an ever more versatile multirole light combat aircraft.

The overall market space for light fighters based on advanced jet trainers is steadily growing globally, too. Korea Aerospace Industries has seen particular success with its FA-50 version of its T-50 trainer. The possibility of Boeing developing a light fighter based on its T-7 Redhawk for the U.S. Air Force has also come up in the past.

On the other hand, the Austrian Air Force remains stuck with the Typhoon, something of a costly white elephant when it’s considered that its primary mission is peacetime air policing over neutral airspace. Ultimately, perhaps, the Typhoon might be retired without a direct replacement, leaving the future M-346Fs to take on all frontline fighter roles.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Philippine official said ‘a mere visit’ to the country does not support claims the men underwent ‘terrorist training’.

There is no evidence the suspected gunmen in the deadly Bondi Beach attack received military training in the southern Philippines, Manila’s national security adviser has said, as Australia announced plans to introduce measures to tighten the country’s hate speech laws.

In a Wednesday statement, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano confirmed the two suspects in Sunday’s attack in Sydney, Australia – which saw 15 people killed after gunmen opened fire at a Jewish event – were in the country from November 1 to 28 this year.

Ano said immigration records showed that 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram travelled via the Philippine capital Manila to Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao. He added that Sajid had entered the country on an Indian passport, while Naveed entered on an Australian one.

Ano added that there was “no evidence” that the men had received “any form of military training” while in the country.

“A mere visit does not support allegations of terrorist training, and the duration of their stay would not have allowed for any meaningful or structured training,” he said.

The men mostly stayed in their hotel rooms when in Davao, according to a report by local news outlet MindaNews. Staff at the hotel said the pair checked in on November 1 and rarely went out for more than an hour at a time during their almost monthlong stay.

Australian authorities announced on Wednesday that Naveed Akram had been charged with 59 offences for his role in the attack, including murder and terror charges, when he woke from his coma. Sajid Akram, his father, was shot dead by police at the scene.

Ano also suggested that reports describing Mindanao – a Muslim-majority region in the Catholic-majority country, plagued by a decades-long secessionist conflict – as a “hotspot for violent extremism or Islamic State ideology” were “outdated and misleading”.

“Since the 2017 Marawi Siege, Philippine security forces have significantly degraded ISIS-affiliated groups in the country,” he said, referring to a five-month battle in which the ISIL-inspired Maute group seized the southern city and fought government forces.

“The remnants of these groups have been fragmented, deprived of leadership, and operationally degraded,” Ano added.

A 2014 peace agreement, which saw rebels drop their secessionist aspirations in exchange for a more powerful and better-funded Muslim autonomous region called Bangsamoro, has also brought a degree of calm to Mindanao.

But smaller rebel groups continue to carry out sporadic, deadly attacks across the restive southern Philippines’ region.

‘Also an attack on the Australian way of life’: Anthony Albanese

On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to introduce new legislation cracking down on hate speech in response to the Bondi Beach attack, as he acknowledged that Australia had witnessed an increase in anti-Semitism since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Announcing the new measures at a news conference, Albanese said his government will seek to introduce legislation making it easier to charge people promoting hate speech and violence – including religious preachers – while new powers will be created to cancel or reject visas of people who spread “hate and division”.

The legislation would also develop a regime to target organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech, Albanese added.

Albanese said rising anti-Semitism “culminated on Sunday in one of the worst acts of mass murder that this country has ever seen”.

“It was an attack on our Jewish community – but it was also an attack on the Australian way of life. Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge, much more,” he said.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday he would recall the state parliament next week in order to pass urgent reforms on gun laws.

Dec. 17 (UPI) — In a relatively brief, campaign-style speech on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump touted what he described as successes achieved by his administration during his first year back in office, while bashing his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and the Democrats.

Before Christmas trees and a Christmas laurel decorating the mantel of the Diplomatic Reception Room fireplace, the commander-in-chief said he has returned the United States from a place of destitution to a level of unparalleled success.

“Our country is back stronger than ever before. We’re poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen,” he said.

“We will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There could be no more fitting tribute to this epic milestone than to complete the comeback of America that began just one year ago.”

The speech comes amid economic concerns and fears of war in the United States, though Trump only touched on the former during the address. A day earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment had risen to its highest level since September 2021 during the pandemic. An ongoing U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean continues, and on Tuesday, Trump ordered a naval blockade of Venezuela oil tankers.

In the 18-minute speech, Trump described the country he inherited as a “mess” marked by inflation, high prices, rampant illegal immigration, unaffordability, transgender women playing women’s sports, “transgender for everybody,” censorship and crime.

“This is what the Biden administration allowed to happen to our country, and it can never be allowed to happen again,” he said.

“Our country was laughed at all over the world, but they are not laughing anymore.”

In the last 11 months, Trump said he has ushered more positive change into Washington “than any administration in American history.”

“There’s never been anything like it. And I think most would agree,” he said.

Trump also trumpeted his border policies, claiming they have resulted in “zero” undocumented migrants allowed to enter the United States. — an apparent reference to Customs and Border Protection data showing that, beginning in May, no migrants apprehended at the border were released into the U.S. interior.

“Do you remember when Joe Biden said he needed Congress to help with legislation to close the border?” he said. “As it turned out, we didn’t need legislation, we just needed a new president.”

This is a developing story.

Maxwell, a former British socialite and Epstein accomplice, says her conviction for trafficking a ‘miscarriage of justice’.

Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend and accomplice of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has asked a federal judge in the United States to set aside her sex trafficking conviction and quash her 20-year prison sentence.

Maxwell made the long-shot legal bid in a Manhattan court on Wednesday, saying “substantial new evidence” had emerged proving that constitutional violations spoiled her trial in 2021 for recruiting underage girls for wealthy financier Epstein, who died in 2019.

In the lengthy filing, Maxwell, 63, argues that “newly discovered evidence” proves that she “did not receive a fair trial by independent jurors coming to Court with an open mind”.

“If the jury had heard of the new evidence of the collusion between the plaintiff’s lawyers and the Government to conceal evidence and the prosecutorial misconduct they would not have convicted,” Maxwell wrote.

She said the cumulative effect of the constitutional violations resulted in a “complete miscarriage of justice”.

Maxwell submitted the filing herself, not in the name of a lawyer.

Proceedings of the type brought by Maxwell are routinely denied by judges and are often the last-ditch option available to offenders to have their convictions overturned, the AFP news agency reports.

Maxwell’s filing also comes just days before records in her legal case are scheduled to be released publicly as a result of US President Donald Trump’s signing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The law, which Trump signed after months of public and political pressure on his administration, requires the Department of Justice to provide the public with Epstein-related records by December 19.

The circumstances of Epstein’s death and his influential social circle, which spanned the highest reaches of business and politics in the US, have also fuelled conspiracy theories about possible cover-ups and unnamed accomplices

Critics also continue to press President Trump to address his own once-close relationship with Epstein.

The Justice Department has said it plans to release 18 categories of investigative materials gathered in the massive sex trafficking probe, including search warrants, financial records, notes from interviews with victims, and data from electronic devices.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges but was found dead a month later in his cell at a New York federal jail, and his death was ruled a suicide.

Maxwell, once a well-known British socialite, was arrested a year later and convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021.

In July, she was interviewed by the Justice Department’s second-in-command and soon afterwards moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas.

Maxwell’s transfer from the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Tallahassee – a low-security prison in Florida – to the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, was carried out without explanation at the time.

In October, a small electronics manufacturer in the western Indian state of Gujarat shipped its first batch of chip modules to a client in California.

Kaynes Semicon, together with Japanese and Malaysian technology partners, assembled the chips in a new factory funded with incentives under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $10bn semiconductor push announced in 2021.

Modi has been trying to position India as an additional manufacturing hub for global companies that may be looking to expand their production beyond China, with limited success.

One sign of that is India’s first commercial foundry for mature chips that is currently under construction, also in Gujarat. The $11bn project is supported by technology transfer from a Taiwanese chipmaker and has onboarded the United States chip giant Intel as a potential customer.

With companies the world over hungering for chips, India’s entry into that business could boost its role in global supply chains. But experts caution that India still has a long way to go in attracting more foreign investment and catching up in cutting-edge technology.

Unprecedented momentum

Semiconductor chips are designed, fabricated in foundries, and then assembled and packaged for commercial use. The US leads in chip design, Taiwan in fabrication, and China, increasingly, in packaging.

The upcoming foundry in Gujarat is a collaboration between India’s Tata Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the country, and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), which is assisting with the plant’s construction and technology transfer.

On December 8, Tata Electronics also signed an agreement with Intel to explore the manufacturing and packaging of its products in Tata’s upcoming facilities, including the foundry. The partnership will address the growing domestic demand.

Last year, Tata was approved for a 50 percent subsidy from the Modi government for the foundry, along with additional state-level incentives, and could come online as early as December 2026.

Even if delayed, the project marks a pivotal moment for India, which has seen multiple attempts to build a commercial fab stall in the past.

The foundry will focus on fabricating chips ranging from 28 nanometres (nm) to 110nm, typically referred to as mature chips because they are comparatively easier to produce than smaller 7nm or 3nm chips.

Mature chips are used in most consumer and power electronics, while the smaller chips are in high demand for AI data centres and high-performance computing. Globally, the technology for mature chips is more widely available and distributed. Taiwan leads production of these chips, with China fast catching up, though Taiwan’s TSMC dominates production for cutting-edge nodes below 7nm.

“India has long been strong in chip design, but the challenge has been converting that strength into semiconductor manufacturing,” said Stephen Ezell, vice president for global innovation policy at the Washington, DC-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

“In the past two to three years, there’s been more progress on that front than in the previous decade – driven by stronger political will at both the central and state levels, and a more coordinated push from the private sector to commit to these investments,” Ezell told Al Jazeera.

Easy entry point

More than half of the Modi government’s $10bn in semiconductor incentives is earmarked for the Tata-PSMC venture, with the remainder supporting nine other projects focused mainly on the assembly, testing and packaging (ATP) stage of the supply chain.

These are India’s first such projects – one by Idaho-based Micron Technology, also in Gujarat, and another by the Tata Group in the northeastern Assam state. Both will use in-house technologies and have drawn investments of $2.7bn and $3.3bn, respectively.

The remaining projects are smaller, with cumulative investments of about $2bn, and are backed by technology partners such as Taiwan’s Foxconn, Japan’s Renesas Electronics, and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics.

“ATP units offer a lower path of resistance compared to a large foundry, requiring smaller investments – typically between $50m and $1bn. They also carry less risk, and the necessary technology know-how is widely available globally,” Ashok Chandak, president of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), told Al Jazeera.

Still, most of the projects are behind schedule.

Micron’s facility, approved for incentives in June 2023, was initially expected to begin production by late 2024. However, the company noted in its fiscal 2025 report that the Gujarat facility will “address demand in the latter half of this decade”.

Approved in February 2024, the Tata facility was initially slated to be operational by mid-2025, but the timeline has now been pushed to April 2026.

When asked for reasons behind the delays, both Micron and Tata declined to comment.

One exception is a smaller ATP unit by Kaynes Semicon, which in October exported a consignment of sample chip modules to an anchor client in California – a first for India.

Another project by CG Semi, part of India’s Murugappa Group, is in trial runs, with commercial production expected in the coming months.

The semiconductor projects under the Tata Group and the Murugappa Group have drawn public scrutiny after Indian online news outlet Scroll.in reported that both companies made massive political donations after they were picked for the projects.

As per Scroll.in, the Tata Group donated 7.5 billion rupees ($91m) and 1.25 billion rupees ($15m), respectively, to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just weeks after securing government subsidies in February 2024 and ahead of national elections. Neither group had made such large donations to the party before. Such donations are not prohibited by law. Both the Tata Group and the Murugappa Group declined to comment to Al Jazeera regarding the reports.

Meeting domestic demand a key priority

The upcoming projects in India – both the foundry and the ATP units – will primarily focus on legacy, or mature, chips sized between 28nm and 110nm. While these chips are not at the cutting-edge of semiconductor technology, they account for the bulk of global demand, with applications across cars, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

China dominates the ATP segment globally with a 30 percent share and accounted for 42 percent of semiconductor equipment spending in 2024, according to DBS Group Research.

India has long positioned itself as a “China Plus One” destination amid global supply chain diversification, with some progress evident in Apple’s expansion of its manufacturing base in the country. The company assembles all its latest iPhone models in India, in partnership with Foxconn and Tata Electronics, and has emerged as a key supplier to the US market this year following tariff-related uncertainties over Chinese shipments.

Its push in the ATP segment, however, is driven largely by the need to meet the growing domestic demand for chips, anticipated to surge from $50bn today to $100bn by 2030.

“Globally, too, the market will expand from around $650bn to $1 trillion. So, we’re not looking at shifting manufacturing from China to elsewhere. We’re looking at capturing the incremental demand emerging both in India and abroad,” Chandak said.

India’s import of chips – both integrated circuits and microassemblies – has jumped in recent years, rising 36 percent in 2024 to nearly $24bn from the previous year. An integrated circuit (IC) is a chip serving logic, memory or processing functions, whereas a microassembly is a broader package of multiple chips performing combined functions.

The momentum has continued this year, with imports up 20 percent year-on-year, accounting for about 3 percent of India’s total import bill, according to official trade data. China remains the leading supplier with a 30 percent share, followed by Hong Kong (19 percent), South Korea (11 percent), Taiwan (10 percent), and Singapore (10 percent).

“Even if it’s a 28 nm chip, from a trade balance perspective, India would rather produce and package it domestically than import it,” Ezell of ITIF said, adding that domestic capability would enhance the competitiveness of chip-dependent industries.

Better incentives needed

The Modi government’s support for the chip sector, while unprecedented for India, is still dwarfed by the $48bn committed by China and the $53bn provisioned under the US’s CHIPS Act.

To achieve scale in the ATP segment for meaningful import substitution – and to advance towards producing chips smaller than 28nm – India will need continued government support, and there is a second round of incentives already in the works.

“The reality is, if India wants to compete at the leading edge of semiconductors, it will need to attract a foreign partner – American or Asian – since only a handful of companies globally operate at that level. It’s highly unlikely that a domestic firm will be competitive at 7nm or 3nm anytime soon,” Ezell said.

According to him, India needs to continue focusing on improving its overall business environment – from ensuring reliable power and infrastructure to streamlining regulations, customs and tariff policies.

India’s engineers make up about a fifth of the global chip design workforce, but rising competition from China and Malaysia to attract multinational design firms could erode that edge.

In its latest incentive round, the Indian government limited benefits to domestic firms to promote local intellectual property – a move that, according to Alpa Sood, legal director at the India operations of California-based Marvell Technology, risks driving multinational design work elsewhere.

“India already has a thriving chip design ecosystem strengthened by early-stage incentives from the government. What we need, to further accelerate and build stronger R&D muscle – is incentives that mirror competing countries like China [220 percent tax incentives] and Malaysia [200 percent tax incentives]. This will ensure we don’t lose the advantage we’ve built over the years,” Sood told Al Jazeera.

Marvell’s India operations are its largest outside the US.

The Trump effect

India’s upcoming chip facilities, while aimed at meeting domestic demand, will also export to clients in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. Though US President Donald Trump has threatened 100 percent tariffs on semiconductors made outside the US, none have yet been imposed.

A bigger concern for India-US engagement – so far limited to education and training – is Washington’s 50 percent tariff on India over its Russian crude imports. Semiconductors remain exempt, but the broader trade climate has turned uncertain.

“Over half the global semiconductor market is controlled by US-headquartered firms, making engagement with them crucial,” Chandak said. “Any alignment with these firms, either through joint ventures or technology partnerships – is a preferred option.”

The global chip race is accelerating, and India’s policies will need to keep pace to become a serious player amid growing geo-economic fragmentation.

“These new 1.7nm fabs are so advanced they even factor in the moon’s gravitational pull – it’s literally a moonshot,” Ezell said. “Semiconductor manufacturing is the most complex engineering task humanity undertakes – and the policymaking behind it must be just as precise.”

Winter storms are worsening conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza, as aid agencies warn that Israeli restrictions are preventing lifesaving shelter assistance from reaching people across the besieged enclave.

The United Nations has said it has tents, blankets and other essential supplies ready to enter Gaza, but that Israeli authorities continue to block or restrict access through border crossings.

In Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp, the roof of a war-damaged family home collapsed during the storm, rescue workers said on Wednesday. Six Palestinians, including two children, were pulled alive from the rubble.

It comes after Gaza’s Ministry of Health said a two-week-old Palestinian infant froze to death, highlighting the risks faced by young and elderly people living in inadequate shelters.

A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the storms had damaged or destroyed shelters and personal belongings across the territory.

“The disruption has affected approximately 30,000 children across Gaza. Urgent repairs are needed to ensure these activities can resume without delay,” Farhan Haq said.

The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza added in a statement that “what we are experiencing now in the Gaza Strip is a true humanitarian catastrophe”.

Ceasefire talks and aid access

The worsening humanitarian situation comes as Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani held talks in Washington, DC, with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on efforts to stabilise the tenuous ceasefire in Gaza.

According to Qatari officials, the talks focused on Qatar’s role as a mediator, the urgent need for aid to enter Gaza, and moving negotiations towards the second stage of a US-backed plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said Sheikh Mohammed stressed that humanitarian assistance must be allowed into Gaza “unconditionally”.

“He said aid has to be taken into Gaza unconditionally, clearly making reference to the fact that a number of aid agencies have said that Israel is blocking the access to aid for millions of people in Gaza,” Fisher said.

The Qatari prime minister also discussed the possibility of an international stabilisation force to be deployed in Gaza after the war, saying such a force should act impartially.

“There has been a lot of talk in the US over the past couple of weeks about how this force would work towards the disarmament of Hamas,” Fisher said.

Sheikh Mohammed also called for swift progress towards the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

“He said that stage two of the ceasefire deal has to be moved to pretty quickly,” Fisher said, adding that US officials were hoping to announce early in the new year which countries would contribute troops to a stabilisation force.

Israeli attacks continue

Meanwhile, violence continued in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with at least 11 Palestinians wounded in Israeli attacks in central Gaza City, according to medical sources.

The Israeli army said it is investigating after a mortar shell fired near Gaza’s so-called yellow line “missed its target”.

Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza reported Israeli artillery shelling east of the southern city of Khan Younis. Medical sources said Israeli gunfire also wounded two people in the Tuffah neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City.

In the occupied West Bank, where Israeli military and settler attacks have escalated in recent days, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops shot and wounded a man in his 20s in the foot in Qalqilya. He was taken to hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.

Since October 2023, at least 70,668 Palestinians have been killed and 171,152 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. In Israel, 1,139 people were killed during the Hamas-led October 7 attack, and more than 200 others were taken captive.

An expanded federal healthcare subsidy that grew out of the pandemic looks all but certain to expire on December 31, as Republican leaders in the United States faced a rebellion from within their own ranks.

On Wednesday, four centrist Republicans in the House of Representatives broke with their party’s leadership to support a Democratic-backed extension for the healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sometimes called “Obamacare”.

By a vote of 204 to 203, the House voted to stop the last-minute move by Democrats, aided by four Republicans, to force quick votes on a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidy.

Democrats loudly protested, accusing Republican leadership of gavelling an end to the vote prematurely while some members were still trying to vote.

“That’s outrageous,” Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts yelled at Republican leadership.

Some of the 24 million Americans who buy their health insurance through the ACA programme could face sharply higher costs beginning on January 1 without action by Congress.

Twenty-six House members had not yet voted – and some were actively trying to do so – when the House Republican leadership gavelled the vote closed on Wednesday. It is rare but not unprecedented for House leadership to cut a contested vote short.

Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said the decision prevented some Democrats from voting.

“Listen, it’s playing games when people’s lives are at stake,” DeLauro said. “They jettisoned it.”

It was the latest episode of congressional discord over the subsidies, which are slated to expire at the end of the year.

The vote also offered another key test to the Republican leadership of House Speaker Mike Johnson. Normally, Johnson determines which bills to bring to a House vote, but recently, his power has been circumvented by a series of “discharge petitions”, wherein a majority of representatives sign a petition to force a vote.

In a series of quickfire manoeuvres on Wednesday, Democrats resorted to one such discharge petition to force a vote on the healthcare subsidies in the new year.

They were joined by the four centrist Republicans: Mike Lawler of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan and Ryan MacKenzie of Pennsylvania.

The Democratic proposal would see the subsidies extended for three years.

But Republicans have largely rallied around their own proposal, a bill called the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act. It would reduce some insurance premiums, though critics argue it would raise others, and it would also reduce healthcare subsidies overall.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Tuesday said the legislation would decrease the number of people with health insurance by an average of 100,000 per year through 2035.

Its money-saving provisions would reduce federal deficits by $35.6bn, the CBO said.

Republicans have a narrow 220-seat majority in the 435-seat House of Representatives, and Democrats are hoping to flip the chamber to their control in the 2026 midterm elections.

Three of the four Republicans who sided with the Democrats over the discharge petition are from the swing state of Pennsylvania, where voters could lean right or left.

Affordability has emerged as a central question ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Even if the Republican-controlled House manages to pass a healthcare bill this week, it is unlikely to be taken up by the Senate before Congress begins a looming end-of-year recess that would stop legislative action until January 5.

By then, millions of Americans will be looking at significantly more expensive health insurance premiums that could prompt some to go without coverage.

Wednesday’s House floor battle could embolden Democrats and some Republicans to revisit the issue in January, even though higher premiums will already be in the pipeline.

Referring to the House debate, moderate Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters: “I think that that will help prompt a response here in the Senate after the first of the new year, and I’m looking forward to that.”

The ACA subsidies were a major point of friction earlier this year as well, during the historic 43-day government shutdown.

Democrats had hoped to extend the subsidies during the debate over government spending, but Republican leaders refused to take up the issue until a continuing budget resolution was passed first.

Brazilian president says it is now or never after Italy joins France in saying it is not ready to sign trade deal.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has warned he may abandon a long-awaited trade deal between members of the South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union after key countries sought a delay.

The Brazilian leader issued the threat on Wednesday after Italy joined fellow heavyweight France in saying it was not ready to commit to the pact to create the world’s biggest free-trade area.

The EU had expected its 27 member states to approve the deal in time for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to fly to Brazil to sign an agreement with the host, along with Mercosur partners Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, on Saturday.

“I’ve already warned them: If we don’t do it now, Brazil won’t make any more agreements while I’m president,” Lula told a cabinet meeting.

“We have given in on everything that diplomacy could reasonably concede.”

‘Premature’ to sign: Meloni

The deal, more than two decades in the making, has been keenly backed by economic powerhouse Germany, along with Spain and the Nordic countries, amid rising Chinese competition and recent United States tariffs, which have increased the incentive to diversify trade.

It would allow the EU to export more vehicles, machinery, spirits and wine to Latin America, and more beef, sugar, rice, honey and soya beans to flow in the opposite direction.

France, eager to protect its agriculture industry, had already called for a delay on a vote to approve the deal, and gained the support necessary to potentially block the agreement when Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday that Rome was also not ready.

“It would be premature to sign the deal in the coming days,” she told parliament, saying that some of the safeguards Italy is seeking on behalf of farmers were yet to be finalised.

She said Italy did not seek to block the deal altogether, and was “very confident” that her government’s concerns would have been addressed to allow it to be signed early next year,

French President Emmanuel Macron told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that his government would “firmly oppose” any attempts to force through the deal.

Hungary and Poland are also lukewarm on the agreement.

By contrast, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday he would push “intensively” for the bloc to approve the deal by the year’s end, in what he described as a test of the EU’s “ability to act”.

EU reaches agreement on agricultural safeguards

In an effort to allay some of the concerns, the EU struck a provisional deal on Wednesday to set tighter controls on imports of farm products, amid a background of farmer protests against the deal.

It determined the trigger for launching an investigation into such imports if import volumes rose by more than 8 percent per year or prices fell by that amount in one or more EU members.

EU leaders will discuss the matter at a Brussels summit on Thursday, a commission spokesman said.

Dec. 17 (UPI) — Fears of risks to children’s mental health and development have two U.S. senators sounding an alarm and seeking information on toys that use artificial intelligence.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., jointly wrote a letter sent to executives in charge of Mattel, Little Learners Toys, Miko, FoloToy, Curio Interactive and Kayi Robot to obtain information on testing of their respective AI-powered toys, NBC News reported.

“These AI toys — specifically those powered by chatbots embedded in everyday children’s toys like plushies, dolls, and other beloved toys — pose risks to children’s healthy development,” they said in the letter signed on Tuesday.

“While AI has incredible potential to benefit children with learning and accessibility, experts have raised concerns about AI toys and the lack of research that has been conducted to understand the full effect of these products on our kids.”

The senators said many AI toys do not cultivate interactive play and instead expose kids to “inappropriate content, privacy risks and manipulative engagement tactics.”

“These aren’t theoretical worst-case scenarios,” Blackburn and Blumenthal said. “They are documented failures uncovered through real-world testing, and they must be addressed.”

The senators said many of the toys use the same AI systems that are dangerous for older children and teens, but are included in toys that are marketed for children and infants.

Chatbots that simulate human conversations with children are especially problematic, the senators said.

“These chatbots have encouraged children to commit self-harm and suicide, and now your company is pushing them on the youngest children who have the least ability to recognize this danger,” Blumenthal and Blackburn wrote.

By way of an example, they said one teddy bear toy responded to a researcher’s question regarding “kink,” and the toy detailed a variety of sexual situations, including between adults and children.

The same toy also provided instructions on how to light a match when asked, they said.

“It is unconscionable that these products would be marketed to children, and these reports raise serious questions about the lack of child safety research conducted on these toys,” Blackburn and Blumenthal said.

The senators also aired their concerns about the data colleed by AI-powered toys and the potential for using that data to design addictive toys for children.

They likened it to social media addiction among youth and asked the respective toy company executives to explain what, if any, safeguards are used to prevent inappropriate conversations and if independent testing is done by third parties.

Blumenthal and Blackburn also want to know if the toy manufacturers share data collected by AI-powered toys with third parties.

Officials for Curio Interactive said their “top priority” is children’s safety when contacted by The Hill.

“Our guardrails are meticulously designed to protect kids, and our toys can only be used with parent permission,” they responded.

“We encourage parents to monitor conversations, track insights, and choose the controls that work best for their family on the Curio: Interactive Toys app,” they explained.

“We work closely with KidSAFE and maintain strict compliance with COPPA and other child-privacy laws.”

Two remand prisoners waiting to go on trial for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action have ended a hunger strike protest – but five more are said to be continuing to refuse food.

The detainees, in various prisons, have made a series of demands including calling for the ban on Palestine Action to be lifted and for a defence firm with links to Israel to be shut down.

The two longest-protesting detainees have been refusing food for 45 days according to supporters – a claim that has not been disputed by officials.

Three people were arrested following a protest outside HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, in support of one of the prisoners.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said “rules and procedures” were being followed in relation to the hunger strike.

Lawyers for the group have repeatedly written to Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy asking for a meeting, saying there is a “real and increasingly likely potential” that their clients would die as a result of their protest.

Fifty-one MPs and peers have also written to Lammy asking him to meet the lawyers.

The protests, which began in November, involve people who have all been charged with offences relating to alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of Palestine Action, charges that are denied.

The alleged incidents all occurred before Palestine Action was banned under terrorism legislation – but their trials are not taking place before next year.

Supporters of the detainees confirmed to BBC News on Wednesday that Jon Cink and Umer Khalid had both ended their hunger strike after 41 days and 13 days respectively.

Qesser Zuhrah and Amy Gardiner-Gibson are said to have each been refusing food for 45 days. Heba Muraisi began her protest a day later. Teuta Hoxha is said to have refused for 38 days and Kamran Ahmed 37 days.

An eighth prisoner is described by supporters as intermittently joining the protest but then breaking it because of an underlying health condition.

Some of the group have had periods in hospital but in each case they have been discharged or have self-discharged.

Your Party MP Zarah Sultana has protested outside HMP Bronzefield, demanding urgent medical care for Qesser Zuhrah, who is on remand there.

On Wednesday, an ambulance arrived at the prison and video posted on social media showed scuffles between protesters and police.

Police were called after protesters “attempted to gain entry to restricted areas”, Surrey Police said.

According to police, a member of prison staff was assaulted while officers tried to remove protesters from the building.

A 29-year-old man from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was arrested for suspected assault occasioning bodily harm.

“At the point of arresting this man, several people became disruptive towards police and a police officer was assaulted,” Surrey Police added.

“The protesters then blocked the road, delaying our ability to get medical assistance to the injured officer.”

A woman, 28, from Worcester Park, Surrey, was arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm, and a man, 28, from Glasgow, was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal damage to a police vehicle.

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said: “The escalation of the protest at HMP Bronzefield is completely unacceptable.

“While we support the right to protest, it is deeply concerning that a member of staff has now been injured and protesters are gaining access to staff entrances – putting hard-working staff and security at risk.”

A spokesman for the South East Coast Ambulance Service would not comment on whether the ambulance had transported a protester to hospital.

During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said to Sir Keir that ministers had declined to meet the protesters’ representatives and one of the group had been taken to hospital.

“Many people are very concerned by the regular breaches of prison conditions and prison rules with respect to these hunger strikes,” he said.

“Will he make arrangements for the Ministry of Justice to meet representatives of the hunger strikers to discuss these breaches of the conditions that they’re experiencing at the present time?”

Sir Keir replied: “He will appreciate there are rules and procedures in place in relation to hunger strikes, and we’re following those rules and procedures.”

On Tuesday, justice minister Jake Richards said in answer to an earlier question from Corbyn that he would not be meeting the group’s lawyers and the Ministry of Justice had “robust and proper guidance and procedures” for such scenarios.

“I am satisfied, and the ministry is satisfied, that those procedures are being enacted and we’ll continue to keep it under review.”

An MoJ spokesperson said: “Prisoners’ wellbeing is continually assessed, and appropriate action is taken, including hospital treatment where required.”

They added His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service had assured ministers that all cases of prisoner food refusal were being managed in accordance with the relevant policy, and with appropriate medical assessment and support – consistent with prisoner rights.

Trump is also set to preview his 2026 priorities during Oval Office ‘address to the nation’.

The first full deployment of the U.S. Army’s new Sentinel A4 air defense radar will be in the area around Washington, D.C., also known as the National Capital Region (NCR). The A4 variant offers a significant boost in capability over preceding versions, especially for spotting and tracking lower and/or slower flying targets like cruise missiles and drones.

An Army officer discussed the capabilities of and plans for the road-mobile Sentinel A4, the formal designation of which is AN/MPQ-64A4, with Secretary Pete Hegseth during a show-and-tell at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, this past weekend. Members of the media were also present. Hegseth conducted several engagements in the Huntsville area during his trip, which was primarily centered on a ceremony marking the designation of the arsenal as the new headquarters for U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM).

“The plan is to be in full-rate production [of the Sentinel A4] at the end of FY 26 [Fiscal Year 2026], sir, and our first fielding will be actually in the National Capital Region,” the Army officer told Hegseth, as can be heard in the video below. “In January, we’re sending a Sentinel A4 to the National Capital Region to start that immigration process earlier, so that when it is fielded late next year, we’re ready to go.”

War Sec. Pete Hegseth Visits The New Site For U.S. Space Command Headquarters In Huntsville, Alabama

The officer noted that the Army already has a Sentinel A4 radar in South Korea, representing an early operational capability. The deployment to the Korean Peninsula has already been providing valuable feedback for the planned full fielding of the sensor in the NCR next year. You can read more about what is known about the air defense network already in place in the NCR, which includes National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and Avenger air defense systems, as well as a wide array of sensors, in previous TWZ reporting. Existing variants of Sentinel are already regularly used in combination with NASAMS and Avenger.

In terms of the Sentinel A4’s capabilities, “what this radar does is provide 360-degree air surveillance, day or night, [in] adverse weather conditions and the most harsh environments, … [to] identify, track and classify cruise missiles, rotary-wing [aircraft], fixed-wing [aircraft], [and] UAS [uncrewed aerial systems],” the officer explained to Hegseth. It also has the ability to spot and track incoming artillery rockets, shells, and mortar rounds.

Sentinel A4: Bringing Next-Gen Radar Capability to the U.S. Army and Allies

The officer said that many of its more specific capabilities are classified. They did say that it offers a 75 percent increase in detection range over the previous AN/MPQ-64A3, and the ability to track many more targets simultaneously. Much of this is a product of the new active electronically scanned array (AESA) found on the Sentinel A4. As a general rule, AESA radars offer improvements in terms of range, fidelity of tracks, resistance to countermeasures, and overall situational awareness compared to mechanically-scanned types. Depending on how the array itself is configured, AESAs can also perform a much wider array of functions at once.

The Sentinel A4 “does have growth potential,” the Army officer highlighted to Secretary Hegseth during the event. “The current array that you see here is 60 percent populated, but we do have the ability to increase how much is in the array, which allows us to meet future threats.”

That the Sentinel A4’s true operational debut is set to be in the NCR is unsurprising, given the extreme importance of defending the skies over and around Washington, D.C. This is already by far the most heavily monitored and densely defended airspace in the United States.

At the same time, the U.S. military, as a whole, has made no secret of its growing concerns about drone and cruise missile threats, which are very much reflected in the new capabilities found on the new A4 variant of Sentinel.

There has been a particular surge in reported drone incursions over key military facilities and critical non-military infrastructure in the United States in recent years, a trend that is also being observed globally. TWZ has been the first to report on many such incidents. There are questions about the validity of a significant number of these reports, especially given the overlap with claimed sightings of so-called unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs; previously referred to more commonly as unidentified flying objects). Still, the threats posed by drones, including small weaponized commercial types, are very real, and are only set to continue to expand in scale and scope, as TWZ has been calling attention to for years.

Cruise missile threats have also long been top of mind for the U.S. military, including in the context of preparing for potential attacks on the U.S. homeland. The increasing fielding of more capable cruise missiles, such as ones with stealthy features and/or hypersonic speeds, among near-peer competitors like China and Russia, as well as smaller adversaries, has further fueled those concerns.

It’s also worth noting that the NCR has seen a number of false alarm air defense scares over the years. Increased detection capability and general improved situational awareness could help with preventing, though not eliminating, such incidents in the future.

All this being said, the aerial threat ecosystem extends beyond the NCR, and the new capabilities offered by the Sentinel A4 radar will be relevant to Army operations globally. The service has plans to significantly expand its overall air defense force structure in the coming years.

It is possible that plans to send the Sentinel A4s to the NCR, specifically, also presage the deployment of other new air defense capabilities to the area. Sentinel radars are a primary sensor for the Army’s new middle-tier Enduring Shield air defense system, which currently uses the AIM-9X Sidewinder as its interceptor. The service is pushing to acquire a second interceptor option for Enduring Shield, primarily to offer increased capability against faster-flying cruise missiles. Overall, the system is analogous to NASAMS in many ways and would be well-suited to the NCR air defense mission.

The Army currently has two Enduring Shield platoons, one in South Korea and one at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. The service is hoping to have a battalion’s worth of the systems by Fiscal Year 2027.

In general, the Army sees Enduring Shield as particularly important to reducing the immense strain on its highly in-demand Patriot surface-to-air missile systems. The service has said that Enduring Shield and Patriot could even be fielded together in composite units in the future. TWZ has been calling attention to the worrisome inadequacy of the Army’s Patriot force to meet current operational needs, let alone the requirements of any future high-end figure, for years now.

If nothing else, Army air defenders protecting the skies over and around Washington, D.C., are set to get an important boost in their ability to spot and track threats, especially cruise missiles and drones, in the coming year.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Dec. 17 (UPI) — Chairman Brendan Carr said the Federal Communications Commission isn’t independent from the Trump administration in testimony Wednesday before Congress, during which the word “independent” was removed from the agency’s mission statement online.

Carr’s comment came as members on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee questioned him on who the FCC answers to in the wake of a controversy that led to the brief suspension of Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night talk show on ABC.

The Walt Disney Co. suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! from Sept. 17 through Sept. 22 in response to comments he made about the assassination of right-wing activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

The controversy stemmed from Kimmel suggesting the alleged gunman who killed Kirk was a pro-Trump Republican.

The Make America Great Again “gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” he said in his monologue.

There was some discussion in the early days after the shooting as to the alleged shooter’s political leanings — he came from a largely right-wing family but had made some more left-leaning comments in recent months.

Just before the suspension, Carr described Kimmel’s comments as “truly sick” and threatened action against the network. At the time, Nester Media Group, which owns multiple ABC affiliates, was awaiting approval from the FCC for its planned merger with Tegna, prompting some to view Kimmel’s suspension as political.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said at the time. “These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Carr denied that Kimmel’s suspension had anything to do with government censorship and instead blamed it on ratings.

Democrats on the committee questioned Wednesday if Carr was truly acting independently or if he was beholden to Trump’s politics, The Hill reported.

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., asked, “Yes or no, is the FCC an independent agency?

“On your website, it just simply says, man, the FCC is independent. This isn’t a trick question.”

“Congress did not include for-cause removal in the Communications Act,” Carr said. “So, formally speaking, the FCC is not independent.”

During testimony, the FCC’s website was updated to change the wording of its mission statement, eliminating the word “independent.” When asked about the removal, an FCC spokesperson cited the change in the administration 11 months ago.

“With the change in administration earlier this year, the FCC’s website and materials required updating. That work continues to ensure that they reflect the positions of the agency’s new leadership,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., accused Carr of being the chairman of the “Federal Censorship Committee,” saying he made “mafia threats” toward station owners in the wake of Kimmel’s comments about Kirk.

“And these broadcasters, they feel that censorship,” Markey said.

Carr said the broadcasters involved issued statements saying they made their decisions to suspend Kimmel independently of what he said about Kimmel.

“If broadcasters understand, perhaps for the first time in years, that they’re going to be held accountable to the public interest, to the broadcast hoax rule, to the news distortion policy, I think that’s a good thing,” Carr said, according to ABC News.

More than two months after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended two years of intense fighting in Gaza, both sides claim the other has violated the agreement, and there is no progress on the more challenging steps that follow.

The ceasefire involves three main documents. The most comprehensive is a 20-point plan by former U. S. President Donald Trump, which proposes that Hamas disarm and cease its governing role in Gaza, accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal. Although a more limited agreement was made on October 9, it mainly focused on hostages, a halt to hostilities, partial Israeli withdrawal, and a boost in aid. This agreement was supported by a United Nations Security Council resolution that aimed to set up a transitional governing body and an international force in Gaza.

The results of the ceasefire have seen all surviving hostages returned and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released. However, the return of deceased hostages has been slow. Aid distribution has become contentious, with Hamas claiming that fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than promised. Aid organizations report a significant shortfall in necessary supplies, while Israel asserts it is fulfilling its commitments under the truce. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt remains closed, with Israel stating it will only open it once the last hostage’s body is returned. The living conditions in Gaza are dire, with many residents constructing makeshift shelters from debris, and a large number of children suffering from malnutrition, worsened by floods affecting temporary shelters and sanitation.

Some violence persists, as Palestinian militants have attacked Israeli forces, resulting in casualties on both sides. A proposed international stabilisation force intended to maintain order in Gaza is still undefined, with disagreements over its composition and tasks. Plans for a Palestinian governing body, independent of Hamas, have also not been clarified. The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, is expected to implement reforms before taking a role in Gaza, but no details have been shared.

The possibility of lasting peace remains uncertain. Israel suggests military action may resume if Hamas does not disarm, yet a return to full-scale war does not seem imminent. Both Israelis and Palestinians are skeptical about the long-term success of the Trump plan and fear it may lead to a continued, unresolved conflict. Many Israelis are concerned about the potential for Hamas to rearm, while Palestinians worry about ongoing Israeli control and lack of resources for rebuilding Gaza.

Trust between Israelis and Palestinians is at a low point, with the two-state solution, considered vital for lasting peace, appearing increasingly distant. Despite international support for Palestinian statehood, Israeli leadership continues to reject this notion, raising doubts about future negotiations and outcomes.

With information from Reuters

European champions Paris Saint-Germain pushed all the way in Intercontinental Cup final in Qatar by South Americans.

Back-up goalkeeper Matvei Safonov saved four penalties as Paris Saint-Germain edged out Brazilians Flamengo 2-1 in a shootout to win the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final in Qatar.

PSG led through Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before Jorginho’s spot-kick levelled for Flamengo as the game finished 1-1 after extra time on Wednesday.

Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo defeated Mexicans Cruz Azul and African champions Pyramids last week to earn the right to face PSG and pushed the European champions all the way with a dogged display.

But Luis Enrique’s men, who received a bye to the final, were indebted to Safonov and followed in the footsteps of Real Madrid, who lifted the inaugural title last year.

PSG thought they had taken the lead in the ninth minute when Fabian Ruiz cleverly hooked the ball into an empty net after Flamengo goalkeeper Agustin Rossi miskicked a clearance while trying to prevent a corner.

But the goal was ruled out by VAR because Rossi had narrowly failed to stop the ball from going out of play.

But PSG did break the deadlock eight minutes before half-time courtesy of another Rossi error.

The Argentinian turned Desire Doue’s low cross, which looked to be too strong for Kvaratskhelia, straight into the Georgian’s pass for the simplest of tap-ins.

Flamengo managed to stay in the game, though, and were awarded a penalty on the hour mark for a foul by Marquinhos on Uruguay midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta after a VAR review.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal player Jorginho stepped up to send Safonov the wrong way in trademark fashion.

PSG pressed for a winner, sending on Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele, who set up a last-gasp chance for Marquinhos.

But the centre-back could not react quickly enough to get his effort on target as the ball flashed across goal and the game headed into extra time.

Both teams saw half-chances come and go in the added half-hour, with Dembele flashing a shot narrowly off target in the 116th minute.

That set the stage for Safonov – playing in place of regular first-choice Lucas Chevalier, who is still regaining full fitness after an ankle injury – to steal the headlines and spare the blushes of Dembele and Barcola, who both missed for PSG.

Legislation reflects Democrats’ efforts to seek tighter oversight of Trump administration’s military action.

The United States Senate has passed a $901bn bill setting defence policy and spending for the 2026 fiscal year, combining priorities backed by President Donald Trump’s administration with provisions designed to preserve congressional oversight of US military power.

The National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) was approved in a 77-20 vote on Wednesday with senators adopting legislation passed by the House of Representatives last month. It now goes to Trump for his signature.

Several provisions in the bill reflect efforts by Democratic lawmakers, supported by some Republicans, to constrain how quickly the Trump administration may scale back US military commitments in Europe.

The bill requires the Pentagon to maintain at least 76,000 US soldiers in Europe unless NATO allies are consulted and the administration determines that a reduction would be in the US national interest. The US typically stations 80,000 to 100,000 soldiers across the continent. A similar measure prevents reductions in US troop levels in South Korea below 28,500 soldiers.

Congress also reinforced its backing for Ukraine, authorising $800m under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative with $400m allocated for each of the next two years. A further $400m per year was approved to manufacture weapons for Ukraine, signalling continued congressional support for Kyiv and cementing Washington’s commitment to Europe’s defence.

Asia Pacific focus, congressional oversight

The bill also reflects priorities aligned with the Trump administration’s national security strategy, which places the Asia Pacific at the centre of US foreign policy and describes the region as a key economic and geopolitical battleground.

In line with that approach, the NDAA provides $1bn for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, aimed at strengthening defence cooperation as the US seeks to counter China’s growing military influence.

The legislation authorises $600m in security assistance for Israel, including funding for joint missile defence programmes, such as the Iron Dome, a measure that has long drawn broad bipartisan support in Congress.

The NDAA increases reporting requirements on US military activity, an area in which Democrats in particular have sought greater oversight.

It directs the Department of Defense to provide Congress with additional information on strikes targeting suspected smuggling and trafficking operations in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, adding pressure on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video footage of US strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats operating in international waters near Venezuela.

Lawmakers moved to strengthen oversight after a September strike killed two people who had survived an earlier attack on their boat.

Some Democratic lawmakers said they were not briefed in advance on elements of the campaign, prompting calls for clearer reporting requirements.

Sanctions and America First

The legislation repeals the 2003 authorisation for the US invasion of Iraq and the 1991 authorisation for the Gulf War. Supporters from both parties said the repeals reduce the risk of future military action being undertaken without explicit congressional approval.

The bill also permanently lifts US sanctions on Syria imposed during the regime of President Bashar al-Assad after the Trump administration’s earlier decision to temporarily ease restrictions. Supporters argue the move will support Syria’s reconstruction after al-Assad’s removal from power a year ago.

Other provisions align more closely with priorities advanced by Trump and Republican lawmakers under the administration’s America First agenda.

The NDAA eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion offices and training programmes within the Department of Defense, including the role of chief diversity officer. The House Armed Services Committee claims the changes would save about $40m.

The bill also cuts $1.6bn from Pentagon programmes related to climate change. While the US military has previously identified climate-related risks as a factor affecting bases and operations, the Trump administration and Republican leaders have said defence spending should prioritise immediate military capabilities.

Dec. 17 (UPI) — Evan Turnage, a Jackson lawyer and ex-senate aide, is challenging Rep. Bennie Thompson in Mississippi’s 2nd District Democratic primary.

Turnage, 33, a Yale Law and Murrah High alumnus, formerly advised U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He launched his campaign after returning home and hearing voters’ frustration over the district’s stagnant economy under Thompson’s long tenure, he said.

“I’ve talked to so many people and it’s clear that there’s an appetite for new leadership, an appetite for a fighter from Mississippi,” Turnage said in an interview.

Mississippi’s 2nd District covers Jackson and much of the Delta. With a majority-Black and solidly Democratic electorate, real competition happens in the primary and not the general election.

“This is the poorest district in the poorest state in the country. It was like that when he was elected, and it remains that way today,” he added.

Thompson, 77, has held the seat since 1993 as one of Mississippi’s longest-serving officials and has maintained broad support while gaining national recognition for civil rights issues, security and oversight.

Turnage joined Schumer’s team as chief counsel in early 2023, departing two years later to return to Jackson.

He said his time in the nation’s capital influenced his run for office, but a recent local Democratic runoff also shaped his decision.

“Grocery prices are the No. 1 economic concern I hear about,” Turnage said. “That experience in Washington showed me how much Congress can do when it’s willing to stand up to corporations.”

Turnage said his campaign will be focused on government reform, economic growth and protecting voting rights.

Mississippi’s Democratic primary is slated for March 2026.

Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) is trying to create facts on the ground with its recent advances in the country’s eastern governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra.

Its military push this month highlights that Yemen’s conflict – ongoing for more than a decade – cannot be reduced to one simply between the internationally recognised government and the Houthis. Instead, an overlapping map of influence is evident on the ground with de facto authorities competing over security, resources and representation.

At the heart of these changes is the STC, backed by a regional power, which now stands as the most powerful actor in Yemen’s south and parts of its east at a time when the government’s ability to impose unified administration over the whole country is distant and the economy is suffering.

In this context comes what the Yemeni government has said is the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) decision to suspend activities in the country. While the IMF has not publicly commented on the topic, President Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, warned on Sunday that the decision was a “wake-up call” and an early signal of the cost of the STC’s security and military escalation in Hadramout and al-Mahra.

Al-Alimi stressed that Yemen’s economic circumstances – the country is the poorest in the region and has suffered immensely during the war – cannot withstand any new tensions. He added that the security instability in eastern Yemen would immediately affect the distribution of salaries, fuel and services and international donor confidence.

The solution, according to al-Alimi, is for the withdrawal of forces who have arrived in Hadramout and al-Mahra from outside the two governorates, calling it a necessary step to contain tensions and restore a path of trust with the international community.

But that economic warning cannot be understood in isolation from the shift in power in eastern Yemen, where competition for influence has become a direct factor in generating tension that leaves donors wary.

A new balance of power

The STC is clear that its goal is ultimately the secession of the territories in Yemen – its south and east – that formerly made up the country of South Yemen before unification in 1990.

It is opposed to the Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and much of Yemen’s populous northwest, and the STC’s leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, has a seat on the government’s Presidential Leadership Council, officially as one of its vice chairmen.

The STC and government forces have previously fought, most notably in 2018 and 2019, in Aden and its surrounding governorates.

Its current expansion eastwards, focused on government forces and those affiliated with them, is part of that ongoing division in the anti-Houthi camp but one that redraws the balance of power within it, turning resource-rich Hadramout and al-Mahra into a multiparty arena of competition.

There are three concurrent trends that are emerging as a result: the expansion of STC forces with regional support, a desire by local and tribal forces – independent of the STC – to solidify their presence and the clearly limited tools the government has to confront its rivals.

The result is the further fragmentation of the state on three interconnected levels.

Politically, there is fragmentation within the same anti-Houthi camp with multiple decision-making centres. The government and regional actors are finding it more difficult to unify security and administrative policies, and the idea of a single “chain of command” controlling territory under anti-Houthi control has been eroded.

Geographically, new lines of contact have now been formed. Whereas lines of control were previously between the Houthis and government forces, they are now between Houthi and STC forces as well as grey areas contested by local and tribal forces and multiple military groups.

And then there is fragmentation on the representative level with mounting disputes over who actually speaks for the south and Hadramout and the practical decline of the concept of a single state as a sovereign framework for managing resources and institutions.

In Hadramout and al-Mahra, the fragmentation is particularly sensitive as both governorates include important border crossings with Saudi Arabia and Oman and also have a long coastline with routes tied to trade, smuggling and irregular migration.

Any imbalance here does not remain local; it quickly spills over into the region.

Economy hostage to security

The IMF’s suspension of activities carries not only financial implications but also a political reading that the security and institutional environments no longer provide sufficient conditions for sustaining support programmes.

The Yemeni state relies heavily on its own limited resources and fragile external support, so any disruption in resource areas, ports or supply routes translates into immediate pressure on livelihoods.

The latest military developments increase pressure on the exchange rate and the government’s ability to meet its financial obligations and widen the trust gap between society and the state, prompting non-institutional alternatives based on levies and loyalties.

And it will shrink the room for the government to manoeuvre, meaning the government has to take into account the cost of any escalation because any military move increases an economic bill that it cannot pay and drains what remains of the government’s ability to manage services.

Now that the impression has taken root that Yemen has turned into “islands of influence”, some external actors may be inclined to deal directly with de facto local authorities at the expense of the government, weakening the political centre rather than helping it to strengthen.

That is why the latest developments are so important if not existential to the government and al-Alimi. His call for the withdrawal of outside forces from Hadramout and al-Mahra is part of an attempt to stop the deterioration of trust in Yemen and to present the government once again as capable of controlling the other parties in the anti-Houthi camp if reasonable political and economic conditions are provided.

Houthis gain while rivals stay divided

The Houthis, who overthrew the government in Sanaa in a coup in 2014, have benefitted from the developments in Hadramout and al-Mahra even without being directly involved.

Every struggle for influence in areas outside the group’s control gives it clear gains, including the disintegration of the front opposing it and its rivals being preoccupied by internal conflicts rather than by the Houthis themselves.

In the anti-Houthi camp, the notion of a united front recedes every time a military confrontation between its components takes place, and the discussion shifts from confronting the Houthis to disputes over power and resources within the same camp.

The divisions within the anti-Houthi camp and the regional dimension to them also allow the Houthis to reinforce their narrative that their rivals are working within competing foreign agendas, as opposed to the Houthis, who portray themselves as independent actors able to carry out their own decisions.

Moreover, the recent conflict and its consequences ultimately improve the Houthis’ negotiating position now that the other side is even more fragmented and weak. The Houthis will enter any upcoming settlement from a more cohesive organisational and administrative position, raising the ceiling of their conditions.

The Houthis may have their own economic and social tensions, but divisions among their enemies give them extra time to sustain the war economy and their instruments of control over it and over the people they rule.

Rising risks, domestic and regional

The current course of events in Yemen elevates a number of overlapping risks.

Domestically, there is the possibility of front lines turning into actual borders between adjacent entities, the expansion of security vacuums and declining prospects for producing a unifying social contract.

Regionally, there could be an expansion of the areas considered lawless along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman, increasing the risks of smuggling and leading to higher costs for managing border security.

Internationally, the growing need for global powers to communicate with multiple parties in Yemen prolongs the crisis and increases the chances that the conflict is internationalised through competition over ports, resources and shipping routes.

However, the picture painted does not mean there will be a decisive victory for any side and instead makes a mosaic of authorities, all needing external sponsorship, more likely. Inevitably, that will weaken the prospect of establishing a stable state.

A way out?

Lowering tensions by making partial deals on redeployments of forces is not enough. Instead, the path forward needs a broader approach based on three interlinked pillars.

First, the national project needs to be redefined by drafting a vision of the state that guarantees fair partnership for all the regions of Yemen within a viable federal framework and redefines the political centre as a guarantor of rights and services.

Second, security must be based on a model of local forces under a national umbrella. In Hadramout and al-Mahra, this should be done by building professional local forces within a clear national and legal framework with practical arrangements for withdrawing outside forces and ensuring that security decision-making in state institutions is uniform.

Third, an economic deal is necessary to restore trust by concluding a transparent agreement on managing resources in the governorates that produce them, the fair distribution of revenues and the linking of international support to an implementable reform plan with a clear commitment to protecting sovereign facilities under central management.

In the absence of these steps, Yemen will continue towards a gradual model of disintegration from the peripheries in which the most cohesive armed entities advance and contested margins expand.

If that continues, the economy will be the first victim of fragmentation, making conditions even more difficult for millions of Yemenis.

And the governance crisis will eventually turn into a prolonged stability crisis, the repercussions of which will be difficult to contain locally and perhaps even regionally.

Saeed Thabit is the Al Jazeera Media Network’s bureau chief for Yemen