China began sea trials for the third aircraft carrier for its People’s Liberation Army on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported. The official Chinese military website announced the carrier sea trials in a three-paragraph dispatch from Shanghai.

The Biden administration is considering banning imports of enriched Russian uranium using executive authority as congressional efforts to block the Kremlin’s shipments of the reactor fuel stall, people familiar with the matter said. Officials from the White House National Security Council, the Department of Energy and other corners of the administration have been in talks on limiting Russian uranium imports, including a ban similar to legislation that easily passed the House last year, the people said. To be sure, no decisions have been made on the issue. The administration — and the nuclear industry — still prefer the matter to be handled by Congress, because undoing a law is harder than overturning actions done using executive power, the people said. “We continue to urge Congress to take that step, which would provide assurance to industry, allies, and partners that the U.S. has made a clear decision to establish a secure nuclear fuel supply chain, independent of adversarial influence, for decades to come,” the National Security Council said in a statement. Russia provided almost a quarter of the enriched uranium used to fuel America’s fleet of more than 90 commercial reactors, making it the No. 1 foreign supplier, according to Energy Department data. Those sales provide an estimated $1 billion a year to Russia, and the White House has said dependence on Russian sources of uranium “creates risk to the U.S. economy.” At the same time, replacing that supply could be a challenge and is poised to raise the costs of enriched uranium by as much as 20%. Adding urgency to the issue is that $2.7 billion made available by Congress earlier this year to stand up a domestic uranium industry is contingent on limits or a prohibition on enriched Russian uranium being put in place, either by law or administrative

The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), in cooperation with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Canadian Embassy in Jordan, launched on Monday an initiative aimed at increasing the participation of women in the King Abdullah II Special Forces Group. The project is designed to support the group’s efforts to integrate female personnel into various military roles through the construction of a purpose-built facility, specifically tailored to meet the needs of female officers and recruits, in addition to fostering an environment conducive to increasing female participation in the Jordanian Special Forces, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The director of the Border Security Directorate and the commander of the special forces expressed gratitude to the Canadian government and the IOM for their support in empowering women in the military and creating a conducive working environment. Chief of Mission IOM Jordan Tajma Kurt commended Canada for its unwavering support of these crucial efforts related to enhancing women’s programmes, peace and security. She also lauded the JAF’s commitment, cooperation, and partnership with the IOM. A representative of the Canadian Embassy underscored that this initiative for female recruits aligns with the armed forces’ strategy to integrate a gender perspective. ___ (c) 2024 the Jordan Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.