Miscellaneous News

Sardaukar20 said:

Is that report reliable? Malaysia is top 7 of the lowest average meal price? As far most Malaysians are concerned, food is getting really expensive. It was a serious election topic last year. For some food items, their price rose by up to 100% compared to last year. Maybe they used doctored data submitted by the previous Malaysian administration? They were known liars. They have lied about inflation, Covid, and vaccinations.

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ACuriousPLAFan said:

JARI USV is only ~20 tons. It can even fit on a flatbed trailer.

View attachment 118572

The JARI USV is perfectly capable of patrolling contested waters and disputed islets & islands in the SCS and the ECS, plus acting as expendable scouting and air-&-sea early-warning units. Needless to say, though, any USVs of that size is absolutely incapable of meeting the requirements for convoy escort and ASW missions in the "true blue" WestPac, alongside CentPac and the Indian Oceans.

To build what would be minimally/optionally-manned 21st-century counterparts to the destroyer escorts (DDE) of WW2 and the Cold War, China would require ships that are in the low-thousands of tons of displacement range (2000-3000 tons).

Simply put, 053H3-sized or 054-sized warships with substantial short-range (5-5-5 quad-packed SAM) and point-blank (HHQ-10 and/or H/PJ-12) air defense capabilities, substantial ASW capability, alongside minimal/negligible anti-ship (YJ-83) capability, plus 3000-4000 nautical miles of endurance.

Whether said warships are normally, minimally or optionally manned doesn't really matter much in this case.

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MixedReality said:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1701045053194690666

China and Iran should have naval escorts for oil shipments to stop these pirates. You allow these pirates an inch, they will take it a mile.

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Subsequently the Greek vessel operator, Empire Navigation, agreed to cooperate with US authorities and ordered the ship, located in Southeast Asia at the time, to take its load of oil to the United States.

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4Runner said:

...... one more

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1701197934178750644

As I have said many times in the past that, by all practical measure, China is already by far the biggest economy in the world. Food security has been by far the most important element in the Chinese national psych in the past xxxx years. Food+clothing+housing+transportation are the foundational elements in the Chinese society. Compare those 4 elements against each and every other country on this planet, and you will see why Chinese today are so confident as a whole.

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jwnz said:

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and I had very productive talks. We reviewed our trade ties and are confident that the commercial linkages between our nations will grow even further in the times to come. The scope for cooperation in grid connectivity, renewable energy, food security, semiconductors and supply chains is immense.

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ACuriousPLAFan said:

I suppose that Jai Hind-type confidence came from this absolute gem in 2018:
View attachment 118588

Posted by @blob_watcher on Twitter.

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Kim Jong-un to visit Russia – Kremlin​

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to pay an official visit to Russia in the near future at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday.

The announcement of the visit, which the Kremlin confirmed would take place “in the coming days,” followed a report by South Korean broadcaster YTN, which cited a senior government official as saying that Kim was “slowly moving inside North Korea on a private train toward the northeastern border,” a part of which borders Russia.

Commenting on the upcoming visit, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Kim will hold talks with Russian and North Korean delegations present, and if necessary, in a one-on-one format.

Earlier this month, the New York Times also reported, citing US and other Western officials, that Kim wanted to discuss further military cooperation with his Russian counterpart.

Putin has started a two-day visit to Vladivostok, to attend the Eastern Economic Forum. The last meeting between Putin and Kim occurred in the city in 2019, when the North Korean leader arrived on his armored train. At that time, the talks focused on denuclearization, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and a number of bilateral issues.

The Kremlin’s announcement follows a surprise visit by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to Pyongyang in July, where he and Kim attended a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. The Russian defense chief also suggested holding joint military drills at the time.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of a looming security crisis on the Korean Peninsula, citing escalating tensions and bellicose rhetoric between North Korea on one side and the US, South Korea, Japan, and their allies on the other. In recent weeks, the region has also seen a series of North Korean missile launches and significant US-South Korean military exercises.

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siegecrossbow said:

Remind me when they achieve +50% pass rate on IPhone cases.

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