Author: TheStateLine

Washington, Feb 12 (IANS) US lawmakers pressed for greater clarity and consistency in President Donald Trump’s second-term policy toward Taiwan during a high-stakes congressional hearing on China’s efforts to marginalise the self-ruled island.At a Select Committee hearing titled “Lies, Lawfare, and Leverage: The CCP’s Gaslighting and Manipulation to Marginalise Taiwan” on Wednesday (local time), Ranking Member Ro Khanna questioned witnesses on whether the administration’s approach was strong and predictable enough to deter Beijing.“Would you say you have concerns about President Trump’s policy in his second term in terms of being clear and consistent enough to guarantee Taiwan security?” Khanna asked Shriley Kan, a founding member of the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute.Kan ...

Quetta, Feb 12 (IANS) As violence against civilians continues to escalate in Balochistan, leading human rights organisations brought to light the extrajudicial killing of another four civilians by Pakistani forces across the province.Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that the mutilated body of 32-year-old Pazeer Baloch was recovered on February 7, after being forcibly disappeared from the Washbud region of Panjgur district in Balochistan, on November 25, 2025, by a Pakistan-backed death squad.Condemning the brutal killing of Pazeer, human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) said, “The severe marks of torture on his body speak of inhuman cruelty and unbearable suffering. This is not just a killing, it is a crime against humanity.”In a separate ...

Washington, Feb 12 (IANS) A top military officer nominated by President Donald Trump to lead US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency has warned that China is aggressively seeking advanced American AI chips to power next-generation weapons systems.“I agree that China is aggressively seeking to acquire advanced AI chips to accelerate its development of AI-enhanced weapons,” Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd said in written responses to questions from Senator Elizabeth Warren.Rudd’s remarks came as Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, pressed him on the national security implications of chip exports to China.“A senior military officer nominated by President Trump is warning that Chi...

Dhaka, Feb 12 (IANS) With polling underway in Bangladesh for the 13th Parliamentary elections on Thursday, political parties in the fray have exuded confidence in forming a government in the violence-hit nation, while acknowledging that the fairness of thevoting might be compromised. The National Citizens Party (NCP), a member of the Jamaat–e–Islami–led 11-party alliance, stated that the coalition is set to assume power, local media reported.NCP convener Nahid Islam, candidate of the 11-party alliance in Dhaka-11 constituency, made the remarks after voting at AKM Rahmat Ullah University College Centre in Dhaka on Thursday morning.Responding to a question about election expectations, he said, "If the election is fair and the people can vote without any problems, then we are on the verge of ...