News in Brief-(2024-02-29)

FE Team | Published: February 28, 2024 23:29:51

US Army slashing thousands of posts in major
revamp to prepare for future wars
WASHINGTON, Feb 28: The U.S. Army is slashing the size of its force by about 24,000, or almost 5%, and restructuring to be better able to fight the next major war, as the service struggles with recruiting shortfalls that made it impossible to bring in enough soldiers to fill all the jobs. The cuts will mainly be in already-empty posts - not actual soldiers - including in jobs related to counterinsurgency that swelled during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars but are not needed as much today. About 3,000 of the cuts would come from Army special operations forces. —AP
UN peacekeepers pulling out from Congo
KAMANYOLA, Feb 28:- The United Nations kicked off Wednesday the withdrawal of MONUSCO peacekeeping forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo by handing over a first UN base to national police, an AFP team saw. During an official ceremony at the Kamanyola base, close to the Rwandan and Burundian borders, the flags of the United Nations and Pakistan, the countries of origin of the peacekeepers in charge, were replaced by those of the DRC. The DR Congo demanded the withdrawal despite UN concerns about rampant violence in the east of the country. — AFP
Organisers cancel 'white party' in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Feb 28: An organiser of a "white party" in Sri Lanka has apologised after the event sparked a backlash online. The event's advertisement specified a white dress code, but also had a line saying "Face control: White" - which was largely interpreted to mean the event was open only to white people. An organiser later said the event was "a bad idea", adding that it was meant to bring together expatriates. The party, which was due to take place last Saturday, was cancelled. Backlash against the event was swift, with many on social media calling it "disgusting" and "racist". — BBC
German navy repels Huthi's Red Sea attack
BERLIN, Feb 28: A German frigate sent to help secure merchant shipping in the Red Sea has successfully repelled an attack by Huthi rebels, the army said overnight to Wednesday. The "Hesse" navy frigate intercepted a drone on Tuesday evening, the army said on X, formerly Twitter. "A short time later, a second drone approached (the ship). The crew again initiated defence measures and also successfully engaged the target," the army said. — AFP