El Salvador's Bukele swears in military captain as education minister
"If we want to build the country we deserve, we must break paradigms," Bukele said in a post on X.
In the post, Bukele included photos of the ceremony where Trigueros, who is also a medic, appeared in military uniform.
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Trump-Putin latest: Vlad's peace demands revealed after summit as he tells Don he will ask for Ukrainian land
VLADIMIR Putin told Trump he wants the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions as part of their peace deal, it has been revealed. It comes just hours after the pair met in Alaska to discuss terms to end the bloody war. 7 7 7 In exchange for the Donetsk region, the Russian leader said he would halt further military advances in southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Mad Vlad also vowed to halt any new attacks if he is handed Donetsk. Moscow currently controls over 70 per cent of the highly-contested region - but capturing it entirely could allow Putin's forces to cause major disruption to supply lines on the eastern front. Speaking to top officials in Moscow a day after his talks with Trump, Putin said he and his US counterpart had discussed ways of ending the conflict in Ukraine "on a fair basis". He added the summit with Trump had been "timely" and "very useful", according to images published by the Kremlin. Sources close to Volodymyr Zelensky suggest the Ukrainian leader would not agree to the demands but that he would be open to negotiating land with Trump in his upcoming visit to Washington on Monday. The US President has previously said Russia and Ukraine both believe a full peace deal is "the best way" to end the war - rather than a short term ceasefire. Now diplomatic sources have revealed some of the initial details of the potential agreement, according to news agency AFP. The US has reportedly proposed an agreement that would see Ukraine not join Nato - but instead be offered Nato-esque protections similar to Article 5. Trump reportedly floated the plan with Zelensky and European leaders during a call after his meeting with Putin. The source said: "As one of the security guarantees for Ukraine, the American side proposed a non-NATO Article 5 type guarantee, supposedly agreed with Putin." Another insider with knowledge of the matter confirmed the NATO-like guarantees had been discussed. It is unclear what Ukraine would have to give up to secure such a deal. Kyiv has long aspired to join Nato - something fiercely opposed by Russia and cited by one of the reasons for their invasion in 2022. 7 7 7 But Trump has repeatedly ruled out Ukraine joining the Western military alliance. Don hailed his talks with Putin as "great and very successful" as he detailed the next steps in securing peace in Ukraine. The US delegation left Alaska in Air Force One after a busy day and landed back in Washington shortly after 7am local time. Trump held a lengthy phone call with Zelensky during the flight and invited the Ukrainian President to Washington in just 48 hours time. Nato leaders were also updated on the summit in a separate call with Trump. The US President revealed on Truth Social that he informed the European side and Zelensky of Putin's main wish for a complete end to the war instead of a ceasefire.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Military airstrike on gem mining town kills at least 21 in Myanmar
An airstrike by Myanmar's military on the town of Mogok, the center of the Southeast Asian country's lucrative gem-mining industry, has killed at least 21 people including a pregnant woman, an armed opposition group, local residents and Myanmar's online media said Saturday. The incident was the latest in a series of frequent and deadly military airstrikes, often causing civilian casualties, that have intensified in a bid to reclaim territory from resistance groups amid the ongoing civil war that erupted after the army seized power in February 2021. The attack occurred Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Shwegu ward in Mogok township, about 115 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, said Lway Yay Oo, a spokesperson for the the Ta'ang National Liberation Army. The TNLA is one of the powerful ethnic militias fighting against the army near the Chinese border. 'About 21 civilians were killed. Seven others were injured. Homes and Buddhist monastery buildings were also damaged,' Lway Yay Oo said. Mogok, the ruby-mining center in the upper Mandalay region, was seized in July 2024 by the TNLA, a member of an alliance of ethnic militias that seized a large swath of territory in northeastern Myanmar in an offensive that began in late 2023. The group's statement released Friday night on its Telegram social media channel said 16 women were among the victims killed in the airstrike that appeared to target a Buddhist monastery in Mogok's Shwegu ward. It said 15 houses were also damaged when a jet fighter dropped a bomb. Two Mogok residents told The Associated Press on Saturday that the death toll had risen to nearly 30, though the exact casualties could not be independently confirmed. The residents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were afraid of being arrested by the military, said the death toll was high because one of the bombed houses had been hosting visitors to the pregnant woman. Independent online media, including Myanmar Now and Democratic Voice of Burma, released pictures and videos said to be of debris in the aftermath of the airstrike. The military did not comment on the incident in Mogok. In the past, the army has said it only attacks legitimate targets of war, accusing the resistance forces of being terrorists. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. The military government has stepped up airstrikes against the armed pro-democracy People's Defense Force and ethnic militias that have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades. The resistance forces have no defense against air attacks. The TNLA's statement said that another 17 people including two Buddhist monks had been killed and 20 others were injured in the first two weeks of August by airstrikes in areas controlled by the group. About 16 people, mostly truck drivers, were killed in airstrikes last Monday on a convoy of trucks that were parked on the road due to heavy fighting near the town of Sagaing in central Myanmar, according to independent Myanmar media reports. Opponents and independent analysts estimate the army now controls less than half the country while maintaining a tenacious grip on much of central Myanmar, including the capital, Naypyidaw. It has accelerated counter-offensives ahead of the election it has promised to hold at the end of this year in order to retake areas controlled by opposition forces. Critics say the elections won't be democratic because there is no free media and most leaders of Suu Kyi's party have been arrested. The plan is widely seen as an attempt to legitimize and maintain the military's rule. Several opposition groups have said they would seek to derail the election.
The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
Meet China's shady ‘Sea Dragons' – the elite unit training for Taiwan invasion with underwater pistols & pirate battles
THIS secretive Chinese special forces unit could play a key role in dictator Xi Jinping's plot to seize Taiwan. Ever since Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine, the world has held its breath to see if Beijing will follow suit and annex its neighbour. 13 13 13 13 Unlike the Russian army, China's military suffers from a chronic lack of recent battlefield experience. Beijing's troops haven't seen active combat in a full scale war since the 1970s, when China fought briefly against Vietnam. But China's elite 7th Marine Brigade - also known as the Sea Dragons - is kept at "high readiness" for conflict, and has experience in operations around the world. This secretive unit has been deployed in China's counter-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden - and played a key role in evacuating Chinese nationals from the war in Yemen. They are often seen as China's answer to the elite US Navy Seals. As Beijing's sabre-rattling across the Taiwan Strait grows louder, The Sun has spoken to leading military experts to find out how this unit could play a devastating role in such a war. Analyst Alexis Turek of the Coalition Defense of Taiwan Project said: "Any sort of amphibious operation in Taiwan is incredibly difficult. "It's going to be significantly more difficult than the Normandy invasion [in 1944]. "Part of that is because China is very unprepared and they haven't done this before." She explained that one Chinese dictator Xi Jinping's main military goals has been expanding the power of the Chinese Navy to prime Beijing's war-readiness. Huge fleet of terrifying new Chinese 'tank boats' takes to water as Taiwan launches huge war drills Over the past decade, China has vastly expanded its naval capabilities, including building two massive home-grown aircraft carriers. "It's certainly true that they're not quite at the level of the US," Turek added. "There's a difference between having very powerful forces, and knowing how to conduct these sorts of operations." But while the rest of the Chinese military remains untested in battle, the Sea Dragons' experience and training could make them a force to be reckoned with. Alison O'Neil, a China researcher at the Institute for the Study of War, told The Sun: "This brigade is specifically trained for urban warfare and urban counter-terrorism. The 7th Brigade is kept at high readiness." Much of their experience comes from battling pirates in the Gulf of Aden, where the Sea Dragons have cut their teeth in amphibious operations. Armed with specialist assault rifles and pistols that work underwater, they are especially adept at recon and sabotage operations. 13 13 13 13 "They have been sent to do a lot of these overseas power projection efforts, so that includes anti-piracy and counter-terrorism," Turek added. Taiwan's geography as a highly mountainous island with densely populated cities makes planning an invasion fraught with difficulty for China. One of the first tasks for China would be to assess Taiwan's coastline for potential landing spots. And the Sea Dragons' expertise in naval reconnaissance would put them right at the forefront. "They would probably be the ones identifying where the targets are and where they should strike," Turek said. "We would also see them probably engaging in some of their own targeted strikes." The Sea Dragons would also likely play a key role in psychological warfare to try and force Taiwan into submission, Turek said. This could see them sabotage ports, major airports and other vital infrastructure in a brutal campaign to terrorise the island's population. The unit has even been seen wielding terrifying hidden drones that are disguised to look like birds, The War Zone previously reported. Turek said attacks would be intended to convince Taiwan "that the Taiwanese military is not up to snuff and the Taiwanese government is not being effective." While not a member state of the United Nations, Taiwan is a functionally independent country with its own government, currency and military. But China sees the island as a breakaway province that should be under Beijing's control, and President Xi Jinping has long refused to rule out the use of force to achieve this. Many US officials believe that Xi wants China's military to be ready to take Taiwan by 2027. However, Dr Turek added that Beijing would struggle to mount a surprise attack given the scale of machinery and equipment that would need to be deployed. "China has not really experienced any sort of urban warfare before," she said. "A lot of this is going to be pretty unseen territory." Dr Turek added: "It will likely be a pretty devastating conflict. It is likely to be a protracted war." However, China could instead opt to blockade Taiwan in an attempt to throttle it into submission - instead of sending troops in to fight and die. Either a blockade or an invasion would likely have devastating impacts on the global economy, as the Taiwan Strait is one of the busiest shipping lanes for international trade. Taiwan is also a key producer of semicondutors - which are crucial component in the manufacturing of electronics around the world. But Dr Turek cautioned that an invasion "is always on the table". "We've certainly seen them preparing for it. We have seen them conduct exercises that resemble blockades." However, she added: "Xi Jinping and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) right now are pretty risk averse. "They are not going to invade unless they think they will be successful." Why is Taiwan under threat of Chinese invasion? TAIWAN is under threat of a Chinese invasion as a result of its political and historical ties to China and its strategic importance After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the defeated Nationalist government (Kuomintang) fled to Taiwan while the Communists took control of mainland China Since then, Taiwan has evolved into a self-governed democracy But the People's Republic of China (PRC) sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland Taiwan has never formally declared independence, partly to avoid provoking a military response from China Chinese President Xi Jinping has tied 'national rejuvenation' to reunifying Taiwan with the mainland Most countries, including the US, do not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent nation, but they do support Taiwan militarily and economically China views foreign support of Taiwan, especially arms sales and diplomatic visits, as provocations Taiwan is strategically important as it sits in a vital geopolitical position in the Asia-Pacific This makes its location a gateway to the South China Sea 13 13 13 13
