TAIWAN REPORTS 21 CHINESE FIGHTER JET INCURSIONS AFTER PELOSI VISIT

Taiwanese officials said 21 Chinese military aircraft violated Taiwan's air defense zone as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began her visit to the self-ruled island amid a dispute with Beijing.

The island's defense ministry said in a statement on Twitter: "21 PLA aircraft ... entered #Taiwan's southwest ADIZ on August 2, 2022," referring to the air defense identification zone.

The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own air defense identification zone and even includes some of the mainland.

Meanwhile, China announced it would hold live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait in response to Pelosi’s visit, and the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan was operating in the Philippine Sea, south of Taiwan. The US Navy published images of the usually Japan-based Ronald Reagan conducting maneuvers with the cargo ship USS Carl Brashear on Sunday. The Ronald Reagan was accompanied by the USS Higgins, a destroyer that is part of its strike group, a US Navy official said.

U.S. House Speaker and veteran Democratic politician Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taipei on Tuesday evening, marking the most high-level political visit from the U.S. to Taiwan in 25 years.

China condemned the visit as “a major political provocation”, and said it would launch “targeted military operations” as countermeasures, even as Beijing on Tuesday scrambled Su-35 fighters across the median of the Taiwan Strait in a show of force, placed restrictions on several Taiwanese exporters, and announced live-fire drills to be held in six regions near the island of Taiwan from Thursday to Sunday.

China’s Defence Ministry said it is “on high alert” while the PLA Eastern Theatre Command announced it will hold joint sea and air exercises in the sea and airspaces of northern, southwestern and southeastern Taiwan and also carry out missile tests.

Pelosi, on arrival, said her “delegation’s visit to Taiwan honours America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy”.

SUNAK CLOSING GAP ON TRUSS IN TORY LEADERSHIP CONTEST, POLL SHOWS

British politician Rishi Sunak is vying to become the first Indian-origin prime minister of the country but has been trailing rival Liz Truss as per earlier polls. However, a latest poll has revealed that the race to 10 Downing Street is closer than previously thought.

Sunak is closing in on foreign secretary Liz Truss in the race to replace Boris Johnson as the next PM. Truss has a much smaller lead that was estimated earlier.

As per the recent poll conducted between July 19 and 27, Truss only has a 5 point lead over Sunak. While the foreign secretary has support from 48 percent of Conservative Party members, 43 percent back former finance minister Sunak.

This challenges the earlier survey by YouGov between July 20 and 21 which gave a 24-point lead to Truss over Sunak. The winner will be selected by voting between August 4 and September 3 from around 200,000-strong Conservative party membership and will be announced on September 5. Both contenders have been busy campaigning.

MORE DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT AL-ZAWAHIRI KILL

After the US drone strike that killed al-Zawahiri, as announced by US President Joe Biden announced on Monday, members of the terror group Haqqani network had tried to conceal that the al-Qaeda leader was at the house in Kabul, which reportedly was owned by a top aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, and restricted access to the site, The New York Times reported.

The report citing a senior administration official said that according to one American analyst, the “house that was struck was owned by a top aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani,” who is now the interior minister in the Taliban government in Kabul.

The Haqqani network is an Islamist terror outfit founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who emerged as a top Afghan warlord and insurgent commander during the anti-Soviet war.

The report added that the United States had “multiple intelligence threads” confirming that al-Zawahiri was killed in the strike.

Al-Zawahiri was long believed to have been living in Pakistan. “That he was killed in Kabul is a testament to not only the porous border between the two countries but also to Al Qaeda's decades-long use of facilities, houses, buildings and compounds throughout both countries,” the report said, citing a US official.

“Once al-Zawahiri arrived at the location, American officials were never aware of him leaving, and he was observed for sustained periods on the balcony where he was ultimately struck,” it said. Al-Zawahiri was killed by an R9X, a “Hellfire missile armed with long blades aimed at killing targets with kinetic energy to minimize major collateral damage.”

The FBI updated its "Most Wanted Terrorist" poster on Monday with al-Zawahiri's status: "Deceased."

The US claims that the Taliban violated the peace agreement by letting al-Zawahiri into the country. The Taliban claims the US violated the peace agreement by conducting a strike.

RUSSIA LABELS UKRAINE’S AZOV REGIMENT ‘TERRORIST’ GROUP

Russia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday designated the Azov regiment — a former volunteer battalion that was incorporated into Ukraine’s army — a “terrorist” organisation, allowing for lengthy jail terms for its members.

The court ruled to “recognise the Ukrainian paramilitary unit Azov a terrorist organisation and to ban its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the judge said, state news agency TASS reported. The decision takes immediate effect.

According to Russia’s criminal code, members of “terrorist” groups can face up to 10 years in jail, while their leaders and organisers can be jailed for up to 20 years.

Ukraine’s Azov regiment has drawn controversy for its links to far-right figures, with Russia calling it a “neo-Nazi” group. The battalion was formally incorporated into Ukraine’s National Guard in 2014 as it helped fight Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Azov fighters have been fighting alongside Ukrainian troops to repel Russia’s offensive in Ukraine that Moscow launched in February to “de-Nazify” the pro-Western country.

In May, Ukrainian soldiers, including members of Azov, ended a weeks-long siege of the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol by agreeing to surrender. Around 2,500 people were taken captive by Moscow’s forces after calling a halt to their resistance.

NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL TALKS HINGE ON U.S. GOODWILL: KREMLIN

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it’s ready for talks with the United States on nuclear arms control even as Moscow and Washington have remained locked in a tense stand-off over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Commenting on U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement that Washington is open for talks on a new arms control deal to replace the New START treaty after it expires in 2026, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that such negotiations are long overdue.

Just days before the New START was due to expire in February 2021, Russia and the United States agreed to extend it for another five years.

The treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.

Asked about Mr. Biden’s statement in a conference call with reporters, Mr. Peskov emphasised that “Moscow has repeatedly spoken about the necessity to start such talks as soon as possible as there is little time left.”

Mr. Peskov emphasized that negotiatons on a new arms control pact can only be held “on the basis of mutual respect and taking into account mutual concerns.”

RUSSIA ACCUSES US OF DIRECT UKRAINE WAR ROLE

Istanbul/London : Russia on Tuesday accused the US of direct involvement in the Ukraine war. Russia said it was responding to comments by Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence, about the way Kyiv used US-supplied long-range HIMARs rocketlaunch systems based on what he called excellent satellite imagery and real-time information. Skibitsky told Britain’s Telegraph there was consultation between US and Ukrainian intelligence officials before strikes and that Washington had an effective veto on intended targets. “All this undeniably proves that Washington, contrary to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine,” the Russian defence ministry said. “It is the Biden administration that is directly responsible for all Kyiv-approved rocket attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in Donbas and other regions, which have resulted in mass deaths of civilians. ”

IMRAN KHAN’S PARTY FUNDING RULED ILLEGAL

Pakistan’s Election Commission ruled on Tuesday that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party had received illegal funds and asked the party for an explanation for not seizing the funds, his party spokesperson said.

This ruling could result in him and the party being banned from politics.

Media reported that a three-member commission tribunal found that the party got funds from 34 foreigners or foreign companies. Acorrding to the tribunal, the party hid 13 bank acoounts and submitted fake affidavit about it.

In a case that has dragged on for years, Mr. Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was accused of receiving funds from abroad, which is illegal in Pakistan.

Mr. Khan did not comment immediately but his party spokesman denied wrongdoing.

Fawad Chaudhry, spokesperson told reporters that the ruling will be challenged explaining that the funds in question were received from overseas Pakistanis abroad, which is not illegal.

The complaint against the Khan’s party, former close associate and founder Akbar S. Babar, hailed the ruling saying Mr. Khan should step down.

BOMB BLAST, SHOOTINGS ROCK MYANMAR-CHINA BORDER TOWN

A bomb blast and a spate of shootings in a Myanmar-China border town have killed two people and wounded at least nine, rescue workers and local people said on Tuesday.

No group has so far claimed the attacks in Muse, Myanmar’s main gateway to China, which is home to several militia groups jockeying for control over lucrative casinos and the drug trade.

One woman died and five people were wounded in a bomb attack on a police traffic post on Monday, said a local NGO worker who requested anonymity.

Later that night, the police station was attacked “with small arms and heavy weapons”, the worker said, killing another person and leaving four wounded.

A member of a volunteer rescue group who helped transport people to hospital confirmed the two deaths but put the wounded tolls higher, saying six people, five of them militia members, had been injured in the bombing, and another five injured in the police station attack.

A separate, drive-by shooting on Tuesday morning injured two more suspected militia members, both the NGO worker and the rescuer said. Local media also reported the attacks. A police spokesperson for the area could not be reached for comment.