Connect with us

Published

on

A combined Chinese and Russian naval convoy, including a guided missile cruiser and a destroyer have been spotted close to an Alaskan island by the US Coastguard.

Two other Chinese naval ships and three Russian naval vessels were sighted in the Bering Sea in a single formation 86 miles (138 km) from Kiska Island by the US Coast Guard cutter, Kimball.

The Honolulu-based vessel monitored the ships before they broke formation and dispersed.

A C-130 Hercules provided air support from the Coast Guard station in Kodiak.

“While the formation has operated in accordance with international rules and norms, we will meet presence with presence to ensure there are no disruptions to US interests in the maritime environment around Alaska,” Rear Admiral Nathan Moore, Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander, said.

The Coast Guard said Operation Frontier Sentinel guidelines call for meeting “presence with presence” when strategic competitors operate in and around US waters.

The incident came a month after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned about China’s interest in the Arctic and Russia’s growing military build up there.

More on China

He said Russia had set up a new Arctic Command and has opened hundreds of new and former Soviet-era Arctic military sites, including deep-water ports and airfields.

China has declared itself a “near Arctic” state, he added, and plans to build the world’s largest icebreaker.

“Beijing and Moscow have also pledged to intensify practical cooperation in the Arctic. This forms part of a deepening strategic partnership that challenges our values and interests,” Mr Stoltenberg said in a visit to Canada’s north.

It is not the first time Chinese naval ships have sailed close to Alaskan waters.

In September 2021 Coast Guard cutters in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean encountered Chinese ships around 50 miles (80km) off the Aleutian Islands.

Continue Reading

US

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention centre compared to ‘dog cage’ with no distinction between night and day

Published

on

By

'Alligator Alcatraz' detention centre compared to 'dog cage' with no distinction between night and day

The already infamous ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention centre in Florida has been compared to a “dog cage” amid concerns over conditions there.

Once destined to be the world’s largest airport, the facility has instead become a symbol of the White House’s determination to deport migrants from America which it says do not have a right to be in the country.

One detainee described feeling “in a state of torture” while a family member of another said “not even sunlight gets in”.

Supporters of President Donald Trump’s harsh stance on immigration have praised the new detention centre, in particular how natural obstacles in the surrounding Everglades such as alligators make escape difficult.

But for critics, it’s a dehumanising place that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to run each year.

Rana Mourer waves an American flag outside of the migrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Saturday, July 12, 2025 in Ochopee, Fla. (AP Photo/Alexandra Rodriguez)
Image:
Rana Mourer waves an American flag outside of Alligator Alcatraz. Pic: AP

Stories from inside Alligator Alcatraz

“It’s like a dog cage,” says detainee Rafael Collado, speaking to reporters on Tuesday over the phone from inside the facility.

More from US

In the comments, reported by Sky News’ US sister outlet NBC News, he said that a combination of floodwater from recent storms, limited access to showers and poor sanitation have caused him to get fungus on his feet.

He said detainees are stripped naked every time they are moved to a different cell and there was not a set schedule for him to take his blood pressure medication.

At this point, he said he was being told by a guard to hang up and ended the call.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

US Representative says conditions in Alligator Alcatraz ‘really appalling’

Read more:
Huge trove of files about Martin Luther King Jr released
Inside a whites-only settlement in Arkansas

Meanwhile, Mexico is seeking the repatriation of 14 nationals that are being held at the centre.

Mexican father Martin Gonzalez told local radio station W that his sons, Carlos and Alejandro, were now held in the detention centre.

“It’s really bad. The facility is completely closed, not even sunlight gets in,” Mr Gonzalez said. “The lights are on 24-7, so they don’t even know if it’s day or night.”

Another detainee, Juan Palma, spoke to NBC Miami from inside Alligator Alcatraz on Monday.

“I feel like my life is in danger,” Mr Palma, who is Cuban, said.

He described feeling “in a state of torture,” being swarmed by mosquitoes during his sleep and unable to tell night from day because the facility’s fluorescent lights are always on.

An alligator swims in water at the entrance road of a temporary migrant detention centre, informally known as "Alligator Alcatraz",
Image:
An alligator at the entrance road to the facility. Pic: AP

US government denies accusations

US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, denied all allegations of inhumane conditions at Alligator Alcatraz and at immigration detention centres across the nation.

She told NBC: “All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.

“Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority.”

What is Alligator Alcatraz?

The Dade-Collier airport was once destined to be the world’s largest airport and would have been five times the size of New York City’s JFK, but it never fulfilled its potential.

Instead, the 39-square-mile facility located about 50 miles from Miami has been used as a training facility for years – until now.

“This is an old, virtually abandoned airport facility right in the middle of the Everglades,” Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier said as he introduced it last month. “I call it: Alligator Alcatraz.”

He touted it as an “efficient, low-cost opportunity” to build a “temporary” detention centre “because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter”.

It’s believed that the facility could house 5,000 detainees when up and running and, according to CNN, will cost $450m (£328m) annually.

Continue Reading

US

US and Japan agree trade deal to circumvent worst of tariffs

Published

on

By

US and Japan agree trade deal to circumvent worst of tariffs

The US and Japan have agreed a trade deal days ahead of the latest tariff deadline set by Donald Trump.

Under the terms of the agreement, rather than all Japanese goods being hit with a 24% tax on entry to the US, they will instead be subject to a 15% tariff.

Significantly, and unlike the US-UK deal, there is no cap on the number of Japanese cars subject to the agreed lower tariff. The levy on cars and car parts has been brought down from 25% to 15%, making it the first country to secure a reduction in the blanket 25% rate on vehicles.

Cars make up more than a quarter of all Japan’s exports to the US.

Japanese steel and aluminium are still subject to a 25% tariff.

Money blog: Rival set to overtake Morrisons

It’s just over a week until the 1 August pause on tariffs is due to end, itself a six-week extension to the 9 July 90-day freeze US President Trump announced in April.

More on Tariffs

It’s seen a win for all parties as Japan is a major trading partner of the world’s largest economy.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What is in the UK-US trade deal?

To make the deal happen, Japan agreed to a $550bn (£406bn) investment package of loans and guarantees from Japanese government-affiliated institutions in key sectors like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

Japan will also increase purchases of US agricultural products such as rice.

Market reaction

Markets welcomed the news.

In the US, the value of a dollar ticked up, and in Japan, the benchmark stock exchange, the Nikkei, gained sizably, and closed up more than 3.5%.

The index is comprised of many major carmakers, including Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Toyota, and Mitsubishi, which all rallied following the news.

Other Asian stock indexes closed up, including Korea’s Kospi, which rose nearly 0.44%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which increased more than 1.6%, and Thailand’s SET index, which was up more than 2.3%.

Continue Reading

US

Former Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison sentenced to three years in prison over Breonna Taylor death

Published

on

By

Former Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison sentenced to three years in prison over Breonna Taylor death

A former Kentucky police officer has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for using excessive force during the botched drugs raid that killed Breonna Taylor.

Brett Hankison’s 10 shots did not hit anyone – but he is the only person at the scene charged over her death in 2020.

The sentence comes despite the US Department of Justice recommending he should not be locked up.

District judge Rebecca Grady Jennings disagreed, arguing that not imprisoning him would minimise the jury’s verdict.

She said she was “startled” people weren’t hurt by his excessive shooting. Hankison’s shots narrowly missed a neighbouring family after they pierced the walls of Ms Taylor’s apartment.

Ms Taylor, 26, was killed in March 2020 when Louisville officers carried out a “no-knock” warrant and broke down her door.

Her boyfriend thought it was someone breaking in and fired a single shot in self-defence, hitting one officer in the leg.

More on Breonna Taylor

Three officers responded with 32 shots, six of which struck and killed Ms Taylor.

She was hit in her hallway by bullets from two officers, but neither was charged after prosecutors said they were justified in returning fire.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sept 2020 – Breonna Taylor protesters block Brooklyn Bridge

It later emerged police were actually searching for an ex-partner of Ms Taylor – an alleged drug dealer – who did not live at the address.

Her death, along with other killings of black people in 2020 including George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, sparked protests around the US and the world.

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sept 2020 – Breonna Taylor’s family win £9m settlement

On Monday, Hankison, 49, was sentenced to 33 months with three years of supervised probation.

He won’t be locked up immediately and it will be for the US Bureau of Prisons to decide when and where he will be imprisoned.

A statement from Ms Taylor’s family said: “While today’s sentence is not what we had hoped for – nor does it fully reflect the severity of the harm caused – it is more than what the Department of Justice sought. That, in itself, is a statement.”

Three other former police officers who weren’t at the scene have been charged with crafting a falsified warrant but have not gone to trial.

Continue Reading

Trending