World
Taiwan calls China’s increased military drills ‘abnormal’, risks accident
Taiwan’s Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng says frequency of Chinese military drills increases risk of accidental clash.
Taiwan’s defence minister has described China’s increased military activities around the island as “abnormal” and warned that it increased the risk of an accidental clash and the situation “getting out of hand”.
Over the past two weeks, dozens of Chinese fighter jets, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese carrier, the Shandong, have been observed off democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.
Taiwan’s Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Saturday that the risk of an accidental clash “is something we are very worried about”.
“The risks of activities involving aircraft, ships, and weapons will increase, and both sides must pay attention,” Chiu said, speaking to reporters.
Warships from China’s southern and eastern theatre commands have been operating together off Taiwan’s east coast, the minister said, in apparent combat drills.
Chiu said that when China’s Shandong aircraft carrier was out at sea, which Taiwan first reported on September 11, it was operating as the “opposing force” in the drills. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang added that China’s Eastern Theatre Command forces were the “attacking force”, simulating a battle scenario.
On Monday, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry reported a “recent high” of 103 Chinese warplanes monitored around the island within a 24-hour period. Dozens more planes have been detected since Monday, with many briefly crossing a so-called median line bisecting the Taiwan Strait – a 180-kilometre (110-mile) waterway separating the island from China.
On Friday morning, the Defence Ministry said 32 Chinese aircraft were detected within the previous 24 hours, publishing a map that illustrated the flight path of 17 planes crossing the median line. Two aircraft ventured around Taiwan’s southern tip, according to the map.
“Our enemy’s recent movements are really quite abnormal,” Defence Minister Chiu said on Friday.
“Our initial analysis is that, up to September, they have been doing joint exercises, including land, sea, air and amphibious,” he said.
China has not commented about the military drills, and its Defence Ministry has not responded to requests for comment, Reuters news agency reported.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry also said this week that it was “monitoring [China’s] long-range artillery, rocket forces and ground troops around Fujian province’s Dacheng Bay” – an area facing the island across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan’s traditional military planning for a potential conflict with Beijing has been to use its mountainous east coast, especially the two largest air bases there, as a place to regroup and preserve its forces given it does not directly face China, unlike the island’s west coast.
But China has increasingly been flexing its muscles off Taiwan’s more distant east coast, and generally displaying its ability to operate much further away from China’s own coastline.
Ten Chinese military aircraft and five vessels were detected off the Taiwanese coast on Saturday, according to the ministry of defence, and Taiwan’s air force, navy, and land-based missile systems had kept track of their activities.
10 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. pic.twitter.com/Fp1JRD2SvD
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) September 23, 2023
Earlier this week, United States officials from the Pentagon said a direct invasion by China would not be easy due to Taiwan’s mountainous terrain and lack of landing beaches.
They also said combining amphibious and airborne assault operations would be “extremely complicated” for China.
An estimated 104 journalists lost their lives in 2024, with Palestine the most dangerous territory.
An estimated 104 journalists were killed worldwide over the past year, according to data shared earlier this month by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Another report by NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) puts the figure at 54, but its methodology means it only includes killings that are considered “directly related” to journalists’ professional activity.
Both organisations say that Palestine is the deadliest place on earth for journalists. More than half (55) of the 104 killings reported by IFJ were Palestinian media professionals in Gaza, while a further six were killed in Lebanon.
At least 138 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on 7 October 2023, making the country one of the “most dangerous in the history of modern journalism, behind Iraq, the Philippines and Mexico,” according to the IFJ.
Reporters without Borders has described the number of killings in Gaza as “an unprecedented bloodbath”.
Israel firmly denies it has intentionally targeted any journalists, but has recognised some that have been killed in its airstrikes on Gaza.
The 104 total killings reported by the IFJ is a slight decrease on the 129 they reported on in 2023, which is considered the bloodiest year for journalists since 1990.
How do other world regions fare?
Asia Pacific is the world’s second most dangerous region for journalists, after the Middle East, according to the IFJ.
It recorded 20 deaths in the region in 2024, of which 70% happened in the southern Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
The region has seen an “upsurge” in violence, according to the IFJ, with deaths increasing sharply from the 12 recorded in 2023.
Africa was the third most dangerous region for journalists at eight deaths, five of them in war-torn Sudan.
The number of journalists killed in south, central and north America has dropped sharply over the past two years, from 30 in 2022 to six in 2023, and another six in 2024. Mexico, considered to be one of the deadliest places in the world to do journalism, continues to see “threats, intimidation, kidnappings and murders” against journalists, particularly due to reporting on drug trafficking.
Number of journalists behind bars on the rise
According to IFJ estimates on 10 December, there were 520 journalists in prison across the world, considerably more than in 2023 (427) and 2022 (375).
China, including Hong Kong, accounts for most of journalists behind bars, followed by Israel and Myanmar.
The IFJ says the figures show how “fragile” the independent press is and how “risky and dangerous” the profession of journalism has become.
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)
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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH
After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
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