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Tag: hunting

  • Introduced in 1840’s by Maharaja for hunting; Wild boars stage massive comeback in Kashmir

    Introduced in 1840’s by Maharaja for hunting; Wild boars stage massive comeback in Kashmir

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    Umaisar Gull Ganie

    Srinagar, Apr 04: Brought to Kashmir for hunting purpose in 1840’s by the then Maharaja Gulab Singh, Wild boars have staged a massive comeback across the Valley after vanishing in mid-80’s completely. Even though experts believe global warming may be the reason for resurgence of the wild animal, they sounded alarm stating the boars can affect the Hangul’s habitat besides damaging the crops of every nature.

    Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Wildlife warden Shopain Intisaar Suhail, who has co-authored a publication on wild-boars, are not the native animal. “It was introduced in some areas of Kashmir like Dachigam by the then Maharaja for hunting. Then it started to decline and in mid 80’s it became a rare specie. In 2015, it was again sighted. We had found a dead specimen at north Kashmir’s area and in South Kashmir, we rescued one.”

    Suhail said that the boars are getting revived in Kashmir. “It’s revival can have beneficial as well as adverse impact which needs to be studied thoroughly. Firstly, it’s the prey for Leopards but at the same time this animal shares the habitat of Hangul. So how far it can affect the habitat of Hangul needs to be studied,” he said.

    He said that global warming may be the main reason for the animal’s revival in Kashmir.

    Aakib Hussain Paul, Project Associate of Research Study on Ecological Aspects of Wild Boars at Dachigam National Park, told KNO that the team led by him conducted a study on the ecological aspect of the Boar’s revival in the Park. “We studied the animals food habits and co-related the same with that of Hangul. Hangul and Boars share the same habitat and food. For us, this was an alien specie. In 2013, camera trap image of Boars were found in some parts of Kashmir. Today, we can say that Boar population is growing rapidly in Kashmir,” he said. “It was in 1840’s when the then Maharaja introduced Boars in Kashmir for hunting and fun purposes.”

    Paul said that Boars are considered a big threat for habitat degradation. “Our study is still in the process of publication as we haven’t covered all aspects so far. We started our study in October last and time period was for six months,” he said.

    Asked about whether the animal may prove dangerous for the Hangul and other crops in Kashmir, Paul said that Boar is a very dangerous animal and if comes out the park, it an dig up everything. “In apple orchards, it can dig up to the roots and in the open area, it can eat anything even saffron seeds etc. If the animal reaches the streets of Srinagar, it can tear apart everything as food remains littered on streets of the city,” he said. Pauls said that since Boars and Hangul share similar habitats that include food and shelter, Hanguls may face a threat from these animals, which, however,  needs to be studied further. He urged the government to allow to cover other aspects of the study as well. “It is not enough to cover every aspect in just six months. It needs some more to co-relative what we saw physically with what we see in the laboratory,” he said—(KNO)

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    #Introduced #1840s #Maharaja #hunting #Wild #boars #stage #massive #comeback #Kashmir

    ( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

  • ‘Hunting rifles’ — really? China ships assault weapons and body armor to Russia

    ‘Hunting rifles’ — really? China ships assault weapons and body armor to Russia

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    china ukraine explainer 48009

    Russian entities also received 12 shipments of drone parts by Chinese companies and over 12 tons of Chinese body armor, routed via Turkey, in late 2022, according to the data.

    Although the customs data does not show that Beijing is selling a large amount of weapons to Moscow specifically to aid its war effort, it reveals that China is supplying Russian companies with previously unreported “dual-use” equipment — commercial items that could also be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.

    It is the first confirmation that China is sending rifles and body armor to Russian companies, and shows that drones and drone parts are still being sent despite promises from at least one company that said it would suspend business in Russia and Ukraine to ensure its products did not aid the war effort.

    The confirmation of these shipments comes as leaders in the U.S. and Europe warn Beijing against supporting Russia’s efforts in Ukraine. Western officials have said in recent weeks that China is considering sending weapons to Russia’s military, a move that could alter the nature of the fighting on the ground in Ukraine, tipping it in Russia’s favor. Officials are also concerned that some of the dual-use material could also be used by Russia to equip reinforcements being deployed to Ukraine at a time when Moscow is in desperate need of supplies.

    Da-Jiang Innovations Science & Technology Co., also known as DJI, sent drone parts — like batteries and cameras — via the United Arab Emirates to a small Russian distributor in November and December 2022. DJI is a Chinese company that has been under U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2021 for providing the Chinese state with drones to surveil the Uyghur minority in the western region of Xinjiang.

    In addition to drones, Russia has for months relied on other countries, including China, for navigation equipment, satellite imagery, vehicle components and other raw materials to help prop up President Vladimir Putin’s year-old war on Ukraine.

    It’s currently unclear if Russia is using any of the rifles included in the shipment data on the battlefield — Tekhkrim, the Russian company, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. But the DJI drones have been spotted on the battlefield for months. DJI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The National Security Council did not comment on the record for this story. The Chinese embassy in Washington said in a statement that Beijing is “committed to promoting talks for peace” in Ukraine.

    “China did not create the crisis. It is not a party to the crisis, and has not provided weapons to either side of the conflict,” said embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu.

    Asked about the findings in the data obtained by POLITICO, Poland’s Ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sadoś said that “due to the potential very serious consequences, such information should be verified immediately.”

    Although Western sanctions have hampered Moscow’s ability to import everything from microchips to tear gas, Russia’s still able to buy supplies that support its war effort from “friendly” countries that aren’t following the West’s new rules, like China or the Gulf countries.

    “Some commercial products, like drones or even microchips, could be adapted. They can transform from a simple benign civilian product to a lethal and military product,” said Sam Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center of Naval Analyses Russia Studies in Washington, noting that dual-use items could help Russia advance on the battlefield.

    Experts say it is difficult to track whether dual-use items shipped from China are being sold to buyers who intend to use the technology for civilian purposes or for military means.

    “The challenge with dual-use items is that the export control system we have has to consider both the commercial sales possibilities as well as the military use of certain items,” said Zach Cooper, former assistant to the deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism at the National Security Council.

    In cases where the Kremlin craves specific technology only produced in say the U.S., EU or Japan, there are wily ways for Moscow to evade sanctions, which include buying equipment from middlemen located in countries with cordial trade relations with both the West and Russia.

    Russia managed to import almost 80 tons of body armor worth around $10 million in December last year, according to the customs data from Import Genius. Those bulletproof vests were manufactured by Turkish company Ariteks and most were imported straight from Turkey, although some of the shipments arrived to Russia via the United Arab Emirates. Russia also imported some body armor from Chinese company Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co.

    Trade data also shows that Russian state defense company Rosoboronexport has imported microchips, thermal vision devices and spare parts like a gas turbine engine from a variety of countries ranging from China to Serbia and Myanmar since 2022.

    Dual-use items could also be a way for China to quietly increase its assistance to Moscow while avoiding reprisals officials in Washington and Europe have been threatening in recent weeks if China goes ahead with sending weapons to the Russian military.

    Most recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters last week that there would be “consequences” if China sent weapons to Russia, although he also said that he’s seen “no evidence” that Beijing is considering delivering arms to Moscow.

    “We are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I’m relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case,” he said.

    Among the military items China has been considering shipping to Russia are drones, ammunition and other small arms, according to a list that has circulated inside the administration and on Capitol Hill for months, according to a person who read that document. And intelligence briefed to officials in Washington, on Capitol Hill and to U.S. allies across the world in the last month, suggests Beijing could take the step to ship weapons to Russia.

    “We do see [China] providing assistance to Russia in the context of the conflict. And we see them in a situation in which they’ve become increasingly uncomfortable about the level of assistance and not looking to do it as publicly as might otherwise occur and given the reputational costs associated with it,” Avril Haines, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said in a congressional hearing March 8. “That is a very real concern and the degree of how close they get and how much assistance they’re providing is something we watch very carefully.”

    As data about dual-use item shipments to Russia becomes available, Western countries are expected to ramp up efforts to quell these flows.

    “We’ve already started to see sanctions against people [moving] military material to Russia. I’m sure we’re going to be seeing the EU and other countries target those people that are helping a lot of this material to get to Russia,” said James Byrne from the Royal United Services Institute, a U.K.-based defense think tank.

    Beijing continues to deny that it is ramping up support for Russia in Ukraine. However, several of its top officials have recently traveled to Moscow. President Xi Jinping is expected to make an appearance there in the coming weeks. China recently presented a 12-point peace proposal for the war in Ukraine, though it was criticized by western leaders for its ambiguity and for its lack of details about the need for the withdrawal of Russian troops.

    Leonie Kijewski contributed reporting from Brussels.

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    #Hunting #rifles #China #ships #assault #weapons #body #armor #Russia
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • House GOP hates Biden’s budget — but is still hunting for its own formula

    House GOP hates Biden’s budget — but is still hunting for its own formula

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    20230307 mccarthy 1 francis 4

    Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a former GOP budget chief, summarized the goals for his party by saying that Republicans should write “a ‘Hippocratic’ budget, that does no harm to our majority,” but one that also stays “responsible enough” to force a reckoning over spending.

    Womack also warned, accurately, of the political risks in a budget that reaches too far:

    “That likely becomes the next 30-second television ad against you.”

    The lack of cohesive GOP vision so far is an ominous sign as McCarthy and his team wade knee-deep into talks on their own budget, which — along with Biden’s blueprint — raise the curtain for this year’s multiple high-stakes spending dramas in Washington. And there’s already tangible proof of House Republicans’ struggle, as their timetable for a budget release slips later into the spring, following Biden’s own budget delay.

    Republicans and Democrats alike are most worried about the brewing fight over the nation’s debt limit, which could get ugly as a new speaker navigates one of the House’s narrowest majorities in decades with the U.S. credit rating hanging in the balance. And while the GOP’s budget resolution is unlikely to contain an exact prescription to resolve the debt limit, it would still be the first real movement in Biden and Republicans’ long-frozen discussion on where to go next.

    House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington predicted his panel’s blueprint would take “at least” 30 more days to finish, while also stressing there’s “no timeline” for a release. But Arrington said he’s confident he can navigate both the narrow margin of his own panel and, more critically, on the floor. Even in his committee, Republicans can lose just two votes.

    “We’re working on it,” Arrington (R-Texas) said. “218 is absolutely doable, but it’s going to take some work.”

    Privately, some senior Republicans are digging up their budgetary playbook from 2011 — steered by then-House budget chief Paul Ryan — as a kind of model for future action.

    Specifically, they’re discussing the party’s 2011 bill, known as “cut, cap and balance”, which that year’s GOP-led House passed amid Congress’ famously fractious Obama-era “fiscal cliff” debate. That bill, which included more than $1 trillion in cuts and capped federal spending to a set percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, never became law.

    Still, GOP leaders saw it as a critical marker in talks with the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House that ultimately led to a massive 10-year spending cap deal.

    “We’ll figure out something we can all vote for,” one GOP lawmaker familiar with the discussions said of the path forward for the House budget, requesting anonymity to speak candidly. “No way the Senate will take it up, but it’ll force them to respond.”

    As for the GOP budget itself, Republicans are looking to a more recent era: the Trump one. Former President Donald Trump’s former budget chief, Russ Vought, has been advising Republicans in both chambers as they plot fiscal strategy.

    Any conversation about specifics, though, is likely still weeks away. Instead, much of the early discussions have centered on where exactly to propose cuts. McCarthy himself has led the talks, which include top GOP lawmakers from various factions of the party, in a group he calls his “five families” — an apparent reference to “The Godfather.”

    (Some Republicans are working on their own plan: the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus will meet Friday on the issue of the debt limit, a venue for its 64 members can begin to pitch their own ideas to resolve the looming stalemate.)

    And while many conservatives had plenty to complain about in Biden’s budget, few were willing to suggest where the GOP might look for their own cuts. Asked about his preferred way to slash domestic spending, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) instead trashed Biden’s budget for its lack of fiscal trims.

    “I think the real question that’s on my mind — he can’t identify any savings whatsoever? No savings?” Roy said. When asked how much further the cuts should go, he said: “I don’t have a specific number for it. But we’ve got to do real work.”

    “We’re working on it. When we come out with our list, I’ll let you know,” added Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), another conservative who fought for fiscal austerity during McCarthy’s speaker race this year.

    Clyde, who is also a House appropriator, stressed the importance of bringing spending down to fiscal year 2022 levels — a key part of McCarthy’s deal to secure the top gavel earlier this year. But the Georgian acknowledged that another conservative demand, balancing the budget over a decade, could take a little longer: “I think we should work toward that.”

    Some, though, had ideas on where to cut. “The woke, the Green New Deal, some of the military green programs, reallocations, the Covid dollars that we will reclaim,” said Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), another original McCarthy dissenter during the speaker race. “This is gonna be the most transparent budget that’s been put out in a long time.”

    Any cuts to the Pentagon budget, however, won’t be an easy sell across the GOP conference.

    “People need to realize the DoD budget hasn’t been keeping pace with the other federal budgets. So that shouldn’t be the first place we go to look for [cuts],” said Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), a former Navy pilot who sits on the House spending panel. “I’ve been pushing for military pay increases and taking care of our troops.”

    Still, the California Republican predicted that the GOP’s budget panel would ultimately come up with a blueprint that can get consensus: “I think, eventually, we will get there. There may be an emotional event, but we have no choice, so we’ve got to get there.”

    And some Republicans vowed that their colleagues would ultimately get behind a blueprint even if it doesn’t tick every one of their boxes, because unity is more important than squabbling over a symbolic document.

    “I think most members understand that budgets are aspirational,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-N.D.), who leads the GOP’s centrist Main Street Caucus.

    Caitlin Emma, Olivia Beavers and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

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    #House #GOP #hates #Bidens #budget #hunting #formula
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Russians hunting property in Finland hit a new wall of suspicion

    Russians hunting property in Finland hit a new wall of suspicion

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    KANKAANPÄÄ, Finland — In October, three Russian citizens arrived in the border town of Imatra and filed the paperwork to buy a rambling former old people’s home outside the small town of Kankaanpää, a five-hour drive away in Finland’s southwestern reaches. 

    The applicants ticked a box saying the property would be used for “leisure or recreational purposes” and all gave the same contact email and street address: a nondescript suburban apartment block in Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg.

    The story didn’t fly. 

    Two months later, the Finnish defense ministry announced it had blocked the purchase, citing national security concerns to justify the move — the first time such reasoning had been used during the war on Ukraine.

    The authorities’ problem with the transaction was a simple one: the building was a stone’s throw from the Niinisalo Garrison, an army training center for troops assigned to national defense and overseas operations. In May last year, the joint Finnish and NATO training exercise Arrow 22 — testing the readiness of armored brigades — was run out of the garrison. 

    On a recent weekday, green military transport vehicles could be seen entering and exiting the Niinisalo base. The old people’s home had a clear view of some of the roads in and out.

    In the nearby town of Kankaanpää, locals were bemused by the Russians’ attempt to buy the old people’s home. Juhani Tuori, an estate agent, said he had heard about the planned deal and thought it odd. Tuori said he had been involved in trying to sell the old people’s home before, but had no role this time. 

    “I wondered why such a trade was made,” he said. “Especially given the state of the world.”

    In a statement, the Finnish government said the transaction had been rejected because of the “special role” the city of Kankaanpää plays in securing Finland’s national defense. 

    “According to the Ministry of Defence, it is possible that the large property in the vicinity of the Niinisalo Garrison could be used in a manner that could hinder the organization of national defense and safeguarding of territorial integrity,” the statement said.

    The Russian buyers did not respond to an emailed request for comment sent to the address they provided on their application to the defense ministry. They had 30 days from the date of the decision to appeal. As of February 9, they had not done so. 

    New suspicion 

    The Kankaanpää case shows how suspicions about Russian activity — official and civilian — have spiked in neighboring states as the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine looms. 

    For more than two decades after the end of the Cold War, Russians enjoyed increased freedom to buy assets across much of Europe, and Finland was no exception, despite a bloody recent history that saw Finland fight two wars with the Soviet Union in the middle of the last century. 

    Three Russian billionaires bought a leading Finnish ice hockey team and entered it in the Russian league. A Finnish energy company announced a joint plan with Russian state-run firm Rosatom to build a nuclear power plant in Finland. 

    Across the Nordic state, Russians also snapped up holiday homes in forests, on picturesque lake shores, and on remote Baltic Sea archipelagos in what were widely seen at the time as innocent investments in an economically stable neighboring state. 

    But now, with the Russian army’s aggression in Ukraine intensifying and the activities of its intelligence wing the GRU increasingly visible across Europe, Russian property purchases are being viewed with much greater skepticism.

    Finland, which has a 1,340 km border with Russia, sees itself as especially vulnerable to covert Russian operations and has begun to take a much greater interest in which Russians are buying what assets: a Finn recently bought back the ice hockey team and the nuclear power plant plan was scrapped last year.

    The defense ministry was granted powers in 2020 to block property sales to Russians and other citizens from outside the EU and the European Economic Area, but had never used them before the Kankaanpää case on national security grounds, a spokesman for the ministry said. The only other application rejection was because of an unpaid processing fee.

    Experts say the officials are likely concerned the old people’s home could have been used as a base for special forces on covert missions, or more routinely as a place to run monitoring of comings and goings around the army base. 

    “This kind of place would not necessarily be part of some Russian masterplan, but could theoretically be there in case it was needed,” said Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a researcher at the Finnish Institute for International Affairs, a think tank. 

    In its ruling, the Finnish defense ministry said the Russian would-be buyers of the old people’s home had changed their story several times about what they intended to use the building for. Their explanations were “not credible,” the ministry said. 

    Visited on a recent weekday, the empty old people’s home, standing unheated in sub-zero temperatures, was clearly in need of some attention. The front door was yellow with rust. The driveway was covered in thick ice. 

    The old people’s home appeared to have around 100 bedrooms as well as extensive parking and other surrounding land. It could be accessed by vehicle from two sides with the edge of the Niinisalo Garrison area accessible from the property via wooded back roads as well as the main approach. 

    The tightening of Finnish property policy comes at a sensitive time for the Nordic country as it proceeds with applications to join NATO alongside nearby Sweden. 

    Vladimir Putin has threatened what he called a “military-technical response” to those bids, which has led to calls for heightened vigilance in both states. 

    Officials in Sweden, where there has been a flurry of arrests recently of suspected Russian spies, are likely watching closely to see what lessons can be learned from the Finnish rule change, experts say.

    The state-run Swedish Defense Research Agency recently produced a report taking stock of Russian investments in Sweden.

    In Finland, security experts have welcomed the country’s new property rules as part of a reckoning with Russian investment in the country, which some suggest was overdue. 

    “This is a problem which has long been recognized and now there are tools to at least fix some of it,” said researcher Salonius-Pasternak.



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    #Russians #hunting #property #Finland #hit #wall #suspicion
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )