Tuesday morning news: August 16, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

China more military drills » China has announced more military drills around Taiwan after another group of US lawmakers visited the island.

TSAI: [Speaking in Mandarin]

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown the threat that authoritarian nations pose to the global order.”

TSAI: [Speaking in Mandarin]

Democratic Sen. Ed Markey led the five-member U.S. delegation to Taiwan. He said Monday…

MARKEY: At this moment of uncertainty, we must do everything we can to maintain peace and stability for Taiwan.

After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit, China fired missiles over the island and into the Taiwan Strait. It also moved warplanes and navy ships across the waterway’s midline, which has long been a buffer between the sides that split amid civil war in 1949.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan its property, said Monday that it will take “strong measures to defend … territorial integrity.”

Taliban celebrates takeover anniversary » The Taliban on Monday celebrated the one-year anniversary of its takeover in Afghanistan as US forces withdrew.

AUDIO: [Sound of Taliban]

Bearded Taliban fighters, some hoisting rifles, staged small victory parades in Kabul. One group marched past the former U.S. Embassy, chanting “Death to America.”

But not everyone in Afghanistan is celebrating. The Taliban’s takeover sent the country’s economy into a tailspin and triggered a massive food shortage.

And one Afghan woman said her rights have disappeared.

AUDIO: [Speaking in Dari]

She said women are strictly limited in their right to work and many girls are prevented from getting an education.

GOP report blasts Afghanistan pullout » Meantime, House Republicans have compiled a scathing new report about the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan last August.

GOP Congressman Ronny Jackson:

JACKSON: It outlines the lack of planning, the lack of urgency by the White House, by the National Security Council, by the State Department.

Michael McCaul is the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He told CBS that the intelligence community warned that Kabul could quickly fall to the Taliban.

MCCAUL: The military told us the same thing. And then we went to State and the White House and they paint a very rosy picture.

The report says the Biden administration ignored warnings and badly mishandled the withdrawal.

But the Biden administration pushed back. The National Security Council claimed the report was riddled with inaccuracies.

And State Dept. spokesman Ned Price told reporters…

PRICE: One year later, we are in a stronger position as a country because of the president’s decision, better able to focus on the threats and challenges, but also the opportunities of today.

He said the recent air strike killing al-Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan shows that America can still keep terrorists from using the country as a base of operations. But critics say it only shows that al-Qaeda is once again operating openly in Afghanistan.

FBI raid latest » The Justice Department on Monday rebuffed efforts to publicly release the affidavit supporting the search warrant for former President Trump’s Florida estate.

Several news groups have sought to unseal the affidavit. And Republicans have been calling for its release for days.

Senator Chuck Grassley:

GRASSLEY: Full transparency is going to be when they release the affidavit.

The search warrant and property receipt documents have been released. They outline generally what authorities seized at Trump’s home.

But the Justice Department says unsealing that affidavit that supported that warrant would reveal “highly classified” material and other information that would—quote—“cause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation.”

Former President Trump has accused the FBI of corruption in the matter. He said—his words—“This is an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our Country.”

Americans in Israel shooting » Three Americans from Brooklyn were among the eight people wounded in a shooting at a bus stop in Jerusalem.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is from Brooklyn, said one American was wounded as he bent down over his family to shield them from the bullets.

SCHUMER: He was shot in the neck and they had him on a respirator, but it looks like his condition is improving. His son was shot in the arm as he protected his son.

A pregnant woman from the U.S. was also shot in the abdomen. She had an emergency C-section, and her baby was in a neonatal hospital unit Monday.

The suspect is reportedly a 22-year-old Palestinian man. He turned himself in after the shooting on Sunday.

The motive was not immediately clear. The attack came amid heightened tensions between Israel and Palestinians.

Aung San Suu Kyi » The ruling military in Myanmar has convicted the country’s ousted democratic leader of more supposed crimes. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: The Myanmar military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi in February of 2021—the day she was set to win her fifth term as an elected leader of the country.

The ruling junta then charged and convicted her of sedition and corruption.

She’s currently serving an 11-year sentence, but a new conviction on political corruption charges could bring her total up to 17 years.

And she faces additional charges that could add decades to her sentence.

The U.S. and other Western governments say the military has been stacking up manufactured charges to keep Suu Kyi locked away.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the new sentencing and demanded her release.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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