🇺🇸🛑🇹🇼 - Pete Hegseth's speech at Shangri La security conference makes zero mention of Taiwan, in an apparent attempt to placate Beijing.

The annual speech by the US Secretary of Defense is the first to evade the Taiwan issue completely in decades. Echoing President Trump, Mr Hegseth hailed ties with Beijing as “better than they’ve been in many years”. At a summit earlier this month, the US President signaled his willingness to compromise on Taiwan to end the trade war on favorable terms for the US.

Mr Hegseth insisted that the change in rhetoric does not indicate further policy change. “The only change you might see is how we talk,” he said, adding that the US should speak “softly, while carrying a big stick.” Following the Beijing summit, a $14 billion weapon deal for Taiwan has been shelved.

in related news, the US has informed its ally Japan that the delivery of an order of 400 Tomahawk missiles, originally scheduled between 2025 and 2027, could be delayed by up to two years.

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🇮🇷 — Explosions were reported heard in Bandar Abbas around one hour and twenty minutes ago.

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🇮🇷 — Unexploded ordnance being dealt with, there is no attack.

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🇮🇷 — Unexploded ordnance will be being detonated in Bandar Abbas for the next 72 hours. Any reports of explosions in the area should be assumed to be the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance.

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#BREAKING
🇮🇱❌🇱🇧 – Joint statement to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Katz:

Following Hezbollah's continuous ceasefire violations and its attacks on Israeli cities and civilians, PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have ordered the IDF to strike terror targets in Beirut's Dahiyeh district.

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❗️🛥🇮🇶 - A large, Panama flag tanker explodes in Iraqi territorial waters, Al Arabiya reports.

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🇮🇱❌🇱🇧 — BREAKING: The IDF has issued evacuation warnings for Beirut's southern suburbs (Dahieh) ahead of Israeli attacks.

🇲🇹 — The Lourdes Firework Factory in Qrendi, Malta exploded earlier today, completely destroying the facility.

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