United News of Bangladesh

The new head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6 is set to warn that Russia’s efforts to spread instability are reshaping modern conflict and creating complex security challenges for the United Kingdom and its allies. In her first public speech as MI6 chief, Blaise Metreweli is expected to say Britain faces increasingly unpredictable and interconnected threats, with particular focus on what she describes as an aggressive and expansionist Russia. Extracts released by the Foreign Office quote her as saying that the export of chaos is a core feature of Russia’s approach to international engagement and is likely to continue unless President Vladimir Putin changes course. Metreweli, who assumed office at the end of September, is the only publicly named employee of MI6. She succeeded Richard Moore after previously serving as the agency’s director of technology and innovation. In her remarks, she is expected to stress the importance of combining technological expertise with human intelligence to counter hybrid threats. She will say MI6 officers need to be as skilled in computer code as they are in handling human sources, and as fluent in programming languages as they are in spoken ones. Her speech follows a series of warnings from Western defence and security officials about hybrid threats posed by countries including Russia, Iran and China. These threats are said to include cyber operations, espionage and influence campaigns that undermine international stability. Last week, the UK imposed sanctions on several Russian media organisations over alleged information warfare activities and on two Chinese technology companies accused of large-scale cyber operations. Metreweli is the first woman to lead MI6 since the agency was founded in 1909. Britain’s other intelligence agencies have previously been headed by women, including MI5 and the cyber intelligence agency GCHQ. The warning comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, now approaching its fourth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US envoys in Berlin on Sunday and is scheduled to hold talks with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain. European allies are seeking to maintain support for Kyiv as Washington pushes for a rapid acceptance of a US-brokered peace proposal. Separately, Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, is also expected to warn that Putin aims to weaken and ultimately dismantle NATO. In a speech on Monday, Knighton will say the war in Ukraine demonstrates Russia’s readiness to target neighbouring states and civilian populations, posing a threat to the entire NATO alliance, including the UK. He is expected to argue for stronger military capabilities and more resilient national infrastructure in response.  

Australian authorities are investigating a shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead during a Jewish festival, as the government considers stricter gun laws following the incident. Officials said a father and son carried out the attack during a Hanukkah event attended by hundreds marking the first day of the Jewish holiday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese classified the incident as an act of antisemitic terrorism. The 50-year-old father, who was killed, arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and was an Australian resident at the time of his death, authorities said. Officials did not disclose his country of origin. His 24-year-old son, an Australian-born citizen, was wounded and is undergoing treatment in hospital. Police said those killed included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor. Several others were injured. Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Agency had investigated the son for six months in 2019. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the investigation examined potential links to a Sydney-based Islamic State cell. Albanese said the agency’s focus at the time was on associates rather than the son. Police said the father held a firearms licence and was a member of a gun club. Footage broadcast on Australian television showed a bystander intervening and disarming one of the gunmen. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke identified the individual as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 42-year-old fruit shop owner, who was later shot in the shoulder by the second gunman and survived. The attack occurred amid an increase in antisemitic incidents in Australia over the past year. The country has a population of about 28 million, including approximately 117,000 Jews, most of whom live in Sydney and Melbourne. Government data cited by the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, showed antisemitic incidents rose more than threefold in the year following the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military operations in Gaza. In recent years, synagogues, vehicles and properties in major cities have been targeted, and individuals have been assaulted. Albanese previously said Iran was responsible for two such attacks and announced the suspension of diplomatic ties with Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Australia to take stronger action against antisemitism and criticised Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state. The Bondi Beach incident is the deadliest shooting in Australia in three decades. Australia introduced strict gun control measures after a 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, where 35 people were killed. Since then, mass shootings have been rare. Notable incidents include murder-suicides in 2014 and 2018 and a 2022 shooting involving police and extremists in Queensland that resulted in six deaths. Albanese said the government is moving toward tougher gun regulations following the attack.

European leaders are set to reaffirm backing for Ukraine on Monday as Washington pressures Kyiv to quickly accept a U.S.-brokered peace plan, amid ongoing high-level talks in Berlin. Peace discussions involving U.S. envoys, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European officials resumed Monday morning as part of efforts to secure regional stability in the face of Russia’s growing assertiveness. The second day of talks began shortly before noon local time. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, a key intermediary between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy, was seen in downtown Berlin Monday morning. Zelenskyy met Sunday with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner at the German federal chancellery to explore ways to end the nearly four-year conflict. The U.S. has sought to balance the demands of both sides, with Trump pressing for a swift resolution. Key hurdles remain, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, largely occupied by Russian forces. Following a five-hour meeting, the U.S. said via Witkoff’s social media account that “a lot of progress was made.” Zelenskyy earlier indicated readiness to drop Ukraine’s NATO bid if Western countries provide security guarantees comparable to NATO members. However, Kyiv continues to reject U.S. proposals to cede territory to Russia. Moscow demands Ukraine withdraw from parts of Donetsk under Kyiv’s control and abandon its NATO ambitions, which Russian President Vladimir Putin cites as a security threat. Zelenskyy stressed that any Western assurances must be legally binding and backed by the U.S. Congress. The Kremlin said Monday it expects updates on the Berlin talks once concluded. Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called predicting a peace deal timeline “a thankless task,” adding that Putin is open to serious negotiations but not to stalling tactics. In London, new MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli is set to warn that Putin’s global ambitions are reshaping conflict and security challenges. Meanwhile, Russia launched 153 drones at Ukraine overnight Sunday into Monday. Ukraine’s Air Force reported neutralizing 133 drones, with 17 hitting targets. Russia claimed to have destroyed 146 Ukrainian drones, including 18 over Moscow, temporarily halting flights at Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports. Damage and casualties are not yet confirmed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, leading European support for Ukraine alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said Saturday that the era of “Pax Americana” is largely over for Europe and Germany. He warned that Putin aims to redraw European borders and restore the former Soviet Union. Macron affirmed France’s commitment to Ukraine’s security and sovereignty on Sunday, pledging to help build lasting peace in Europe. Ciobanu reported from Warsaw. Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin, Illia Novikov in Kyiv, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester contributed.    

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski arrived for an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, direct from a dentist appointment. The 63-year-old veteran human rights advocate was experiencing a return to daily life after more than four years behind bars in Belarus. He was suddenly released on Saturday. Medical assistance in the penal colony where he served his 10-year sentence was very limited, he said in his first sit-down interview after release. There was only one option of treating dental problems behind bars — pulling teeth out, he said. Bialiatski recalled how in the early hours of Saturday he was in an overcrowded prison cell in the Penal Colony no. 9 in eastern Belarus when suddenly he was ordered to pack his things. Blindfolded, he was driven somewhere: “They put a blindfold over my eyes. I was looking occasionally where we were headed, but only understood that we’re heading toward west.” In Vilnius, he hugged his wife for the first time in years. “When I crossed the border, it was as if I emerged from the bottom of the sea and onto the surface of the water. You have lots of air, sun, and back there you were in a completely different situation — under pressure,” he told the AP. Bialiatski was one of 123 prisoners released by Belarus in exchange for the U.S. lifting sanctions imposed on the Belarusian potash sector, crucial for the country’s economy. A close ally of Russia, Belarus has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years. Its authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been repeatedly sanctioned by the West for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In an effort at a rapprochement with the West, Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024. Bialiatski won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 along with the prominent Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. Awarded the prize while in jail awaiting trial, he was later convicted of smuggling and financing actions that violated the public order — charges widely denounced as politically motivated — and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The veteran advocate, who founded Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, Viasna, was imprisoned at a penal colony in Gorki in a facility notorious for beatings and hard labor. He told AP that he wasn’t beaten behind bars — his status as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, perhaps, protected him from physical violence, he said. But he said he went through much of what all political prisoners in Belarus go through: solitary confinement, arbitrary punishment for minor infractions, not being able to see your loved ones, rarely being able to receive letters. “We can definitely talk about inhumane treatment, about creating conditions that violate your integrity and some kind of human dignity,” he said. Bialiatski is concerned about two of his Viasna colleagues, Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovic, who remain imprisoned, and about all 1,110 political prisoners still behind bars, according to Viasna. “Despite the fact that prisoners are being freed right now, new people regularly end up behind bars. Some kind of schizofrenia is taking place: with one hand, the authorities release Belarusian political prisoners, and with the other they take in more prisoners to trade, to maintain this abnormal situation in Belarus,” he said. The advocate vows to continue to fight for the release of all political prisoners, adding: “There is no point in freeing old ones if you're taking in new ones.” He intends to use his status as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate — of which he learned in prison and couldn't initially believe it — to help Belarusians “who chose freedom.” “This prize was given not to me as a person, but to me as a representative of the Belarusian civil society, of the millions of Belarusians who expressed will and desire for democracy, for freedom, for human rights, for changing this stale situation in Belarus,” he told AP. “And it was a signal to the Belarusian authorities, too, that it's time to change something in the life of the Belarusians.”

Israel on Saturday said it killed a top Hamas commander in Gaza after an explosive device detonated and wounded two soldiers in the territory's south. Hamas in a statement did not confirm the death of Raed Saad. It said a civilian vehicle had been struck outside Gaza City and asserted it was a violation of the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10. Saad served as the Hamas official in charge of manufacturing and previously led the militant group's operations division. The Israeli statement described him as one of the architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, and said that he had been “engaged in rebuilding the terrorist organization” in a violation of the ceasefire. The Israeli strike west of Gaza City killed four people, according to an Associated Press journalist who saw their bodies arrive at Shifa Hospital. Another three were wounded, according to Al-Awda hospital. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of truce violations. Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 386 Palestinians since the ceasefire took hold, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has said recent strikes are in retaliation for militant attacks against its soldiers, and that troops have fired on Palestinians who approached the “Yellow Line” between the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza and the rest of the territory. Israel has demanded that Palestinian militants return the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, from Gaza and called it a condition of moving to the second and more complicated phase of the ceasefire. That lays out a vision for ending Hamas’ rule and seeing the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision. The initial Hamas-led 2023 attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Almost all hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals. Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,650 Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community. Much of Gaza has been destroyed and most of the population of over 2 million has been displaced. Humanitarian aid entry into the territory continues to be below the level set by ceasefire terms, and Palestinians who lost limbs in the war face a shortage of prosthetic limbs and long delays in medical evacuations.

Football icon Lionel Messi’s much-hyped “GOAT Tour of India” began in Kolkata on Saturday but was marred by chaos and mismanagement at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan, forcing the event to be cut short amid fan unrest. Messi virtually unveiled a 70-foot statue of himself earlier in the day, marking the start of his three-day India tour. The statue, installed by the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club at Lake Town, shows the Argentine great holding the FIFA World Cup trophy and is the first of its kind in India. However, moments after Messi appeared at the Salt Lake Stadium, the situation spiralled out of control as angry fans protested over alleged mismanagement and lack of access. Visuals showed vandalism inside the stadium, while security personnel rushed to escort Messi out as tensions rose. As a result, several scheduled activities were curtailed. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, who were expected to attend the programme, could not take part after the event was abruptly ended. Promoter Satadru Datta and security officials whisked Messi away from the venue as fans shouted slogans and expressed frustration, calling the situation an “absolute disgrace” and blaming poor planning. Earlier in the day, Messi met Shah Rukh Khan and industrialist Sanjiv Goenka and expressed happiness over the statue, according to state minister Sujit Bose, who said Messi and his team had approved the installation. Messi arrived in Kolkata on Saturday morning and is scheduled to leave for Hyderabad in the evening, where he is set to take part in a football clinic and a celebrity match. The India tour will continue in Mumbai on December 14 and conclude in New Delhi on December 15. Despite the disorder in Kolkata, organisers said the remaining legs of the tour would go ahead as planned under tighter security arrangements.   With inputs from NDTV

Supporters of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi said Friday that Iranian authorities have arrested the prominent human rights activist. According to the foundation that bears her name, Mohammadi was detained in the northeastern city of Mashhad while attending a memorial service for a human rights lawyer who was recently found dead under unclear circumstances. Mashhad is located about 680 kilometers from Tehran. A local official reportedly confirmed that arrests took place but did not specifically identify Mohammadi, who is 53. It remains uncertain whether she will be sent back to prison, where she had been serving a sentence before being granted temporary medical leave in December 2024. Her detention comes amid an intensified crackdown by Iranian authorities on activists, intellectuals, and dissidents as the country grapples with economic hardship, international sanctions, and fears of renewed conflict with Israel. The arrest could increase pressure from Western governments at a time when Tehran has signaled interest in restarting nuclear negotiations with the United States. The Norwegian Nobel Committee expressed serious concern over Mohammadi’s arrest, urging Iranian authorities to immediately clarify her whereabouts, ensure her safety, and release her unconditionally. Supporters said Mohammadi was forcibly detained by security and police forces during the memorial, where other activists were also reportedly arrested. The ceremony honored Khosrow Alikordi, a 46-year-old lawyer and human rights advocate whose death was officially described as a heart attack, though its timing has raised questions amid heightened security measures. More than 80 lawyers have called for greater transparency surrounding his death. Human rights advocates condemned the arrests, describing them as an assault on basic freedoms. They said detaining people for attending a memorial reflects deep fear of accountability within the government and highlighted the courage of Iranians who continue to protest peacefully. Video shared by Mohammadi’s supporters showed her speaking to the crowd without wearing a hijab and leading chants in honor of Majidreza Rahnavard, who was publicly executed in 2022. Additional footage appeared to show anti-government slogans being shouted during the gathering. Mashhad’s governor said prosecutors ordered the temporary detention of several participants after what he described as the chanting of inappropriate slogans. He claimed the measures were preventive, though he did not address allegations that force was used during the arrests. Mohammadi had been on extended medical furlough for several months after her release from prison late last year. Although initially granted for three weeks, the leave was repeatedly extended, possibly due to international pressure. During that time, she continued her activism, participating in protests and speaking to international media, including appearing outside Tehran’s Evin prison. She had been serving a sentence of nearly 14 years on charges related to national security and propaganda against the state and was a vocal supporter of protests following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. Mohammadi has suffered serious health issues while imprisoned, including heart attacks and surgery for a bone lesion that doctors feared could be cancerous. Medical professionals have warned that returning her to prison without adequate care could seriously endanger her health. An engineer by profession, Mohammadi has been jailed multiple times over the years, receiving sentences totaling more than three decades. Her most recent imprisonment began in 2021 after she attended another memorial linked to nationwide protests.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to restore a ceasefire after several days of deadly fighting, but officials from both countries indicated that hostilities had not fully stopped and that key issues remain unresolved. Trump announced the renewed truce on social media after separate phone calls with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. He said both sides had agreed to halt all shooting and return to the original peace agreement reached earlier this year with support from Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. However, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry later challenged Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been finalized, without offering further details. A spokesperson for Thailand’s defense ministry said clashes were continuing, while Cambodia’s defense ministry reported that Thai forces carried out strikes early Saturday. Those claims could not be independently confirmed. Before Trump’s social media announcement, Anutin said he had told the U.S. president that Thailand would continue military operations until Cambodia no longer threatened its sovereignty. He said Thailand wanted concrete actions from Cambodia, including halting attacks, withdrawing forces, and clearing land mines, rather than declarations alone. Trump credited Malaysia’s prime minister with playing a key role in efforts to prevent what he described as a potentially major war between two neighboring countries. The original ceasefire was reached in July through Malaysian mediation and U.S. pressure, with Trump warning of possible trade consequences if the deal was not accepted. The agreement was later formalized in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia. Despite that arrangement, tensions persisted, marked by propaganda campaigns and sporadic cross-border violence. The conflict is rooted in long-standing territorial disputes dating back to colonial-era maps from 1907, which Thailand disputes, and a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded disputed territory to Cambodia. Recent fighting has included Thai airstrikes on what it says are Cambodian military targets and Cambodia’s use of BM-21 rocket launchers. Thai media reported that at least six Thai soldiers were killed by rocket shrapnel, and the Thai military said Cambodian rockets damaged homes near the border. Thailand also reported destroying a crane near the historic Preah Vihear temple, alleging it was being used for military surveillance. Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for helping resolve multiple international conflicts since returning to office and has openly expressed interest in receiving a Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking to reporters later Friday, he said his administration had successfully eased the Thailand-Cambodia crisis and described the situation as stable. Other ceasefires Trump has cited as diplomatic successes are also facing difficulties. A recent peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda is under strain as violence has escalated in eastern Congo. The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes expressed deep concern and urged all parties to honor their commitments and de-escalate tensions. Meanwhile, Trump’s internationally backed plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza remains unresolved, with intermittent fighting continuing and negotiations over a key second phase still ongoing.

Scientists in Britain say ancient humans may have learned to make fire far earlier than previously believed, after uncovering evidence that deliberate fire-setting took place in what is now eastern England around 400,000 years ago. The findings, described in the journal Nature, push back the earliest known date for controlled fire-making by roughly 350,000 years. Until now, the oldest confirmed evidence had come from Neanderthal sites in what is now northern France dating to about 50,000 years ago. The discovery was made at Barnham, a Paleolithic site in Suffolk that has been excavated for decades. A team led by the British Museum identified a patch of baked clay, flint hand axes fractured by intense heat and two fragments of iron pyrite, a mineral that produces sparks when struck against flint. Researchers spent four years analyzing to rule out natural wildfires. Geochemical tests showed temperatures had exceeded 700 degrees Celsius (1,292 Fahrenheit), with evidence of repeated burning in the same location. That pattern, they say, is consistent with a constructed hearth rather than a lightning strike. Rob Davis, a Paleolithic archaeologist at the British Museum, said the combination of high temperatures, controlled burning and pyrite fragments shows “how they were actually making the fire and the fact they were making it.” Iron pyrite does not occur naturally at Barnham. Its presence suggests the people who lived there deliberately collected it because they understood its properties and could use it to ignite tinder. Deliberate fire-making is rarely preserved in the archaeological record. Ash is easily dispersed, charcoal decays and heat-altered sediments can be eroded. At Barnham, however, the burned deposits were sealed within ancient pond sediments, allowing scientists to reconstruct how early people used the site. Researchers say the implications for human evolution are substantial. Fire allowed early populations to survive colder environments, deter predators and cook food. Cooking breaks down toxins in roots and tubers and kills pathogens in meat, improving digestion and releasing more energy to support larger brains. Chris Stringer, a human evolution specialist at the Natural History Museum, said fossils from Britain and Spain suggest the inhabitants of Barnham were early Neanderthals whose cranial features and DNA point to growing cognitive and technological sophistication. Fire also enabled new forms of social life. Evening gatherings around a hearth would have provided time for planning, storytelling and strengthening group relationships, which are behaviors often associated with the development of language and more organized societies. Archaeologists say the Barnham site fits a wider pattern across Britain and continental Europe between 500,000 and 400,000 years ago, when brain size in early humans began to approach modern levels and when evidence for increasingly complex behavior becomes more visible. Nick Ashton, curator of Paleolithic collections at the British Museum, described it as “the most exciting discovery of my long 40-year career." For archaeologists, the find helps address a long-standing question: When humans stopped relying on lightning strikes and wildfires and instead learned to create flame wherever and whenever they needed it.

U.S. strategic bombers joined a fleet of Japanese fighter jets in a joint military exercise meant to demonstrate their military cooperation around Japan's airspace, defense officials said Thursday, as tensions with China escalate. The exercise showcasing joint Japanese-U.S. air power came a day after Chinese and Russian bombers flew together around western Japan, prompting Tokyo to scramble fighter jets, though there was no airspace violation. It also follows China's military aircraft locking radar on Japanese jets Saturday, another incident that has caused Tokyo-Beijing relations to further deteriorate. Early Friday, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his U.S counterpart, Pete Hegseth, held telephone talks on “increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident,” the Japanese defense ministry said in a statement. It did not mention the flight drills. It said the ministers expressed serious concern over any actions to increase regional tensions, as “China's actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability.” Koizumi reiterated that Japan will firmly and steadily continue surveillance and monitoring activities in the airspace and waters surrounding the country. Japan's Air Self Defense-Force and the U.S. military conducted the joint exercise Wednesday as “the security environment surrounding our country is becoming even severer,” the Japanese Joint Staff said. It said the allies “reaffirmed the strong resolve to prevent unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force and the readiness between the SDF and the U.S. forces.” Two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers and three Japanese F-35 stealth fighter jets and three F-15 jets conducted their joint flight drills near Japan’s western airspace, above the waters between the country and South Korea, officials said. Exercises held as the security environment grows more tense The Joint Staff denied that the exercise was conducted in response to a specific incident, but acknowledged Chinese military aircraft’s recent radar-locking on Japanese jets and the China-Russia joint bomber exercises Tuesday as examples of a worsening security environment around Japan. Relations between Japan and China have deteriorated after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in early November that Japan's military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. The row escalated over the weekend when separate Chinese drills involving a carrier near southern Japan prompted Tokyo to scramble jets and to protest that Japanese aircraft were targeted by repeated radar-locking — a move considered as possible preparation for firing. Tokyo protested to Beijing, asking for an explanation and preventive measures. China denied the allegation and accused Japanese jets of interfering and endangering the Chinese exercise. Washington stressed its “unwavering” alliance with Japan, saying the incident was not “conducive to regional peace and stability." The exercise came one day after Chinese and Russian strategic bombers conducted joint long-distance flight from the waters between Japan and South Korea down to the Pacific, the Joint Staff said. Two Russian strategic bombers Tu-95 that flew down from the airspace east of the Korean Peninsula joined a pair of Chinese H-6 bombers over the East China Sea for a joint flight down to the Pacific off the southern coast of Japan's Shikoku island. The four bombers were also joined by four Chinese J-16 fighters as they flew back and forth between two Japanese southwestern islands Okinawa and Miyako, the area where China is expanding its military presence.