WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is launching a partnership with India that President Joe Biden hopes will help the countries compete against China on military equipment, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Washington wants to deploy more Western mobile phone networks in the subcontinent to counter China’s Huawei Technologies, to welcome more Indian computer chip specialists to the United States and to encourage companies from both countries to collaborate on military equipment such as artillery systems. The White House faces an uphill battle on each front, including U.S. restrictions on military technology transfer and visas for immigrant workers, along with India’s longstanding dependence on Moscow for military hardware. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, are meeting with senior officials from both countries at the White House on Tuesday to launch the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies.

 

***

MOSCOW (RT) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that the United States, by its actions, has undermined the principles of implementing the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)  Zakharova made the remarks at Sputnik Radio in response to the U.S. allegation that Russia violated the New START. She said that Moscow remains committed to the treaty but does not see the same commitment from Washington. The New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty in force between the two nuclear superpowers, can be extended by a maximum of five years with the consent of the two countries. Russia and the United States officially extended the treaty by five years on Feb 3, 2021.

 

 ***

 WASHINGFTON (AFP) - The FBI on Wednesday was conducting a planned search of President Joe Biden’s Rehoboth Beach, Delaware home as part of its investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents, the president’s personal lawyer said.  The search follows a 13-hour, top-to-bottom review of his Wilmington, Delaware home on Jan. 20, when agents located additional documents with classified markings and also took possession of some of his handwritten notes.

 

 *** 

LIMA (AFP) - Peruvian lawmakers on Tuesday once again failed to agree on a plan to bring forward elections in a bid to end weeks of deadly protests that have brought parts of the South American country to a standstill.  Peru has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily demonstrations since December 7, when then-president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to diIn seven weeks of demonstrations, 48 people -- including one police officer -- have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to the human rights ombudsman’s office.  Protesters are demanding immediate elections, the dissolution of Congress, a new constitution, and the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, who as his vice president took over with Castillo gone.

 

 *** 

SEOUL (RT) - South Korea is planning to test-launch a new “high-power” ballistic missile later this week, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday. The rocket, named Hyunmoo-5, is meant to act as deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, it said. The news agency cited an “informed source” as saying the test-firing of the missile would take place on Friday, some 150 kilometers southwest of the capital, Seoul. As proof, Yonhap cited a navigational warning issued for Friday and Saturday, said to cover 300 kilometers.

 

*** 

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing bid farewell to an icon, delivering its final 747 jumbo jet as thousands of workers who helped build the planes over the past 55 years looked on. Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA’s space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft. It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight. Boeing set out to build the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport, the C-5A. The idea was to take advantage of the new engines developed for the transport — high-bypass turbofan engines, which burned less fuel by passing air around the engine core, enabling a farther flight range — and to use them for a newly imagined civilian aircraft.