Defence`s Feeds

The Academy of Defence Science of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea test-fired newly developed new-type tactical guided projectile on Thursday.

The statement from the Pentagon comes after North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan in the early hours of Thursday, sparking concern in South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has reportedly fired two missiles into the Sea of Japan, in what is the first signal to the new administration in the United States which is reviewing its policy towards Pyongyang.

Earlier in the week, Japan, South Korea and the United States expressed concern over what they referred to as a test-fire of two ballistic missiles launched into the Sea of Japan by North Korea.

The Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Lhasa, hull number 102, has completed the manufacturing and sea trials and been commissioned to the PLA Navy on March 2, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense at a regular press conference on Thursday.

Chinese social media users are targeting global fashion retailers including H&M, Nike and Adidas for criticism and boycotts over statements they had previously made regarding cotton sourced in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), where up to 1.8 million Uyghurs are incarcerated.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is stepping up policies in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, where protests erupted last year over plans to phase out Mongolian-medium teaching in schools, targeting the region's ethnic Mongolians with TV shows emphasising "ethnic unity," in a move labeled "cultural genocide" by a U.S.-based exile group.

A Hong Kong court on Thursday ruled that public order charges of the kind frequently used to target participants in the 2019 pro-democracy protest movement can be extended to people who weren't present at the scene.

"The United Kingdom (UK) imposed unilateral sanctions on relevant Chinese individuals and entity, citing the so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang. This move, based on nothing but lies and disinformation, flagrantly breaches international law and basic norms governing international relations, grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, and severely undermines China-UK relations"

Earlier, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Beijing based on allegations of human rights abuse in Xinjiang. The move was slammed by China as "based on nothing but lies and disinformation."

Belarusian authorities say they have detained more than 200 people as people took to the streets of Minsk and other cities, heeding a call by opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya to start a new wave of protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka to coincide with the anniversary of the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic.

The United States continues to call for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, site of nearly daily protests since a disputed presidential election last year handed Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term amid claims the vote was rigged.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $500 million tranche to Pakistan after the lender's Executive Board completed a review of Islamabad's $6 billion loan program.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that German companies could face sanctions in case of cooperation with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

Lawyers for jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny say their client is in great pain and fears for his life, contradicting a statement from Russian prison authorities that said the Kremlin critic was in "satisfactory" condition.

Amid ongoing attempts to impose more control over the Internet, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor has proposed users of social-media networks and messenger applications hand over passport data and other personal information for verification.

The UN human rights office has confirmed the accuracy of recent remarks by an independent expert about the death threats issued against her by a high-ranking Saudi Arabian official, after she published damning findings into the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

A US cargo ship docked in Ukraine's Odessa port carrying 350 tonnes of military equipment and vehicles for the country's armed forces, local media reported on Thursday.

United Nations officials are expressing concern over the deaths of more children in a refugee camp in northeastern Syria.

Syria and Russia say they will intensify efforts to repatriate refugees and displaced people to areas liberated from foreign-backed terrorists, despite sanctions imposed by the United States on the Arab country.