Biden: Three unidentified objects shot down by US ‘most likely’ linked to private companies
Three unidentified objects shot down by the US did not appear to have been used for spying and were likely tied to benign purposes, Joe Biden has said.
Instead, the objects were “most likely” linked to private companies or research institutions, according to the US president.
Tensions have been mounting between the US and China after Washington shot down what it called a Chinese “spy” balloon over North American airspace.
The White House previously said China is running a “high-altitude balloon programme” for intelligence gathering.
Three other unidentified objects were later shot down by US fighter jets, one over Alaska, another over Canada and a third that plunged into Lake Huron.
Mr Biden said “nothing right now suggests they were related to the Chinese spy balloon programme, or they were surveillance vehicles from any other country”.
He said the intelligence community believes the objects were “most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions.”
They might have been spotted due to enhanced radar in response to the Chinese balloon, he said, adding that his team were working on new parameters on when to launch missiles at such aircraft.
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A timeline of what and where fighter jets have shot down
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Where have flying objects been shot down?
‘We are not looking for a new Cold War’
The president said he made no apologies for protecting America’s skies and said the US would improve its capacity to detect unmanned objects in its airspace.
But he said: “We are not looking for a new Cold War with China.”
The US president said he would speak to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about the balloon, adding: “I hope we are going to get to the bottom of this, but I make no apologies for taking down that balloon.”
Beijing says the 60m (200ft) balloon was for monitoring weather conditions, but Washington says it clearly was a surveillance balloon with a massive undercarriage containing electronics.
It has also claimed the US has flown 10 objects over its airspace – a claim Washington denies.
Denmark’s foreign minister has summoned the top US diplomat in the country over a report alleging that people connected to Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland.
The move to summon the American charge d’affaires came after Denmark’s national broadcaster reported on Wednesday that at least three people linked to the US president have been involved in such operations.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said he seeks US jurisdiction over Greenland – a vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. He has not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island.
Denmark, a US NATO ally, and Greenland have both stated that the island is not for sale and have criticised reports of US intelligence-gathering activities in the territory.
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Why does Trump want Greenland?
Danish public broadcaster DR reported on Wednesday that unnamed Danish government and security insiders, as well as unidentified sources in Greenland and the US, believe that at least three Americans with connections to Mr Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations.
According to the report, one individual allegedly created a list of Greenlanders supportive of the US, gathered the names of those critical of Mr Trump, and encouraged locals to highlight incidents that could portray Denmark negatively in the American media.
Two others reportedly attempted to build relationships with local politicians, business figures, and residents.
An influence operation is an organised effort to shape how people in a society think in order to achieve certain political, military or other objectives.
DR said its report is based on information from eight sources who believe the objective is to undermine Denmark’s relationship with Greenland by influencing Greenlandic society from within.
The US embassy in Copenhagen directed queries on the issue to Washington.
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The Danish broadcaster said it had been unable to clarify whether the Americans were working at their own initiative or on orders from someone else. It said it knows their names but chose not to publish them in order to protect its sources.
Sky News is unable to independently verify those claims.
“We are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark,” Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement released by his ministry.
“It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the kingdom in the time ahead.
“Any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the kingdom will of course be unacceptable,” Mr Rasmussen said.
Cooperation between the governments of Denmark and Greenland “is close and based on mutual trust,” he added.
Responding to a request for comment, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) said it believes that “particularly in the current situation, Greenland is a target for influence campaigns of various kinds” that could aim to create divisions in the relationship between Denmark and Greenland
The service said it has consistently increased its efforts and presence in Greenland in collaboration with local authorities and plans to maintain this approach moving forward.
Donald Trump has said he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again.
Speaking at the White House as he held talks with the new South Korean president Lee Jae Myung, Mr Trump told reporters: “I’d like to meet him this year… I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong Un in the appropriate future.”
“I’d like to have a meeting. I got along great with him,” President Trump said, adding they “became very friendly” during his first term in office.
“We think we can do something in that regard,” he said, adding that he would like to help the relationship between the two Koreas.
Trump and Kim at the demilitarized zone in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump and Mr Kim held three meetings between 2018 and 2019 during Mr Trump’s first term and exchanged a number of, what the president called, “beautiful” letters.
In June 2019, Mr Trump briefly stepped into North Korea from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) with South Korea.
The US president on Monday responded to a question about whether he would return to the DMZ by fondly recalling the last time he did so.
“Remember when I walked across the line and everyone went crazy?” especially the Secret Service, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
But “I loved it”, Mr Trump said. He added he felt safe because he had a good relationship with Mr Kim.
Mr Trump met South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung at the Oval Office on Monday. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump became the first sitting American president to set foot on North Korean soil six years ago.
However, little progress was made in curbing North Korea’s nuclear programme, and Mr Trump acknowledged in March this year that Pyongyang is a “nuclear power”.
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Since Mr Trump’s first-term meetings with Mr Kim ended, North Korea has shown no interest in returning to talks.
The White House said in June that Mr Trump would welcome communications with Mr Kim.
The attempts at rapprochement come after the election in South Korea of Mr Lee, who has pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea.
As a gesture of engagement in June, Mr Lee suspended South Korean loudspeakers blasting music and messages into the North at the DMZ along their shared border.
Analysts say, however, that engaging North Korea will likely be more difficult for both Mr Lee and Mr Trump than it was in the president’s first term.
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Since then, North Korea has significantly expanded its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
And it has developed close ties with Russia through direct support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, with Pyongyang providing both troops and weaponry.
Mr Kim told Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will always stand with Moscow, state media reported in June.
US rapper Lil Nas X has pleaded not guilty after being charged with assaulting a police officer while walking in downtown Los Angeles in his underwear.
The musician, real name Montero Lamar Hill, was taken to hospital and arrested after police responded to reports of a naked man shortly before 6am on Thursday.
The district attorney’s office said on Monday that Lil Nas X faces three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer.
He was being held on a $75,000 (£55,457) bail, conditional on attending drug treatment. It is not immediately clear whether he had posted it and been released yet.
He is set to return to court on 15 September for his next pre-trial hearing.
Pic: AP
During the hearing on Monday, Hill’s lawyer Christy O’Connor told the judge he had led a “remarkable” life, adding: “Assuming the allegations here are true, this is an absolute aberration in this person’s life.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to him.”
A law enforcement source told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, on Thursday that the Old Town Road and Industry Baby hitmaker punched an officer twice in the face during the encounter.
The source added officers were unsure whether he was on any substances or in mental distress.
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NBC News cited TMZ footage where Hill was seen walking down the middle of Ventura Boulevard at 4am on Thursday in a pair of white briefs and cowboy boots.
In the videos, Hill tells a driver to “come to the party” in one clip and in another tells the person: “Didn’t I tell you to put the phone down?”
“Uh oh, someone’s going to have to pay for that,” Hill says as he continues to walk away.
In some clips, Hill struts as if he’s on a catwalk, posing for onlookers, and at one point he places an orange traffic cone on his head.
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