BBC Archives - Defence Monitor

23 Feb

Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot of Chinese spy balloon

Wshington, Feb 23 (IANS) The US Department of Defense (DOD) has released a selfie image taken by an American pilot which shows the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down earlier this month. The selfie, taken by the pilot of a U-2 spy plane, shows the shadow of the aircraft on the balloon and a clear image of the latter's payload as it crossed across the continental US, CNN reported. The suspected spy balloon, which was first spotted by the US on January 28, was shot down on February 4 by an American F-22 fighter jet. The officials waited until…

22 Feb

Putin not interested in negotiating: Ex-US envoy

Washington, Feb 22 (IANS) A former American envoy to Moscow has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in negotiating before he launched the invasion of Ukraine and "he's still not interested in negotiating" nearly a year into the ongoing war. John Sullivan, who was the US Ambassador to Russia from February 2020 to September 2022, had conversations with Russian officials about trying to prevent a war. But "there was no engagement", he told the BBC on Tuesday. "They demanded security guarantees for Russia but wouldn't talk constructively about security for Ukraine. They never moved beyond their talking points...…

21 Feb

10-hr train journey to Kiev, details emerge of Biden’s secret trip

Kiev/Washington, Feb 21 (IANS) Several details have emerged of US President Joe Biden's secret trip to Kiev, including the banning of phones during the 10-hour long train journey from Warsaw to the Ukrainian capital, a media report revealed. White House officials have described Biden's unexpected visit to Kiev on Monday as "unprecedented in modern times" as previous presidential trips to wartime Iraq and Afghanistan had the back up of a heavy US military presence, said the BBC report. Biden had been scheduled to fly out from the US to Warsaw on Monday evening, for a two-day trip. "The advance schedule however,…

09 Dec

UK, Italy, Japan team up for new fighter jet

London, Dec 9 (IANS) UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to announce a collaboration between Britain, Italy and Japan to develop a new fighter jet that uses artificial intelligence (AI). According to Sunak, the joint venture aims to create thousands of UK jobs and strengthen security ties, reports the BBC. The nations will develop a next generation fighter, due to enter service in the mid-2030s, that will eventually replace the Typhoon jet. It is hoped the new Tempest jet will carry the latest weapons. Work on developing it is already under way, with the aim to create a combat aircraft…

21 Mar

Of love and appreciation: A contemplative memoir of family affairs

Book: Fathers; Author: Sam Miller; Publisher: Penguin Random House UK; Price: Rs 699; Pages: 250 This recent memoir by former BBC journalist and author Sam Miller comes across as a pleasant offering to the rather overburdened nonfiction bookshelf of our times. Not only does the memoir achieve what it sets out to do -- remember the times of the subject of the book -- but also reminds us of the immense potential that memoirs and biographies have. Time and again, writers of nonfiction have turned to fiction, pointing out that the creative freedom that one seeks in establishing a clear…