All five crewmembers survive two separate Navy crashes, US warship docks in Trinidad and Tobago to boost military pressure on Venezuela, South Korea fires warning shots at North Korean soldiers.
1. All five crew members survived separate crashes Sunday of a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter and an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the South China Sea, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Both aircraft were operating from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, according to the fleet. “At approximately 2:45 p.m. local time, a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the ‘Battle Cats’ of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73 went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz,” the fleet posted Monday on X. “Search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11 safely recovered all three crew members.”
2. A U.S. warship docked in Trinidad and Tobago ‘s capital Sunday as the Trump administration boosts military pressure on neighboring Venezuela and its President Nicolás Maduro. The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation is in addition to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela. Maduro criticized the movement of the carrier as an attempt by the U.S government to fabricate “a new eternal war” against his country. U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Maduro of being the leader of the organized crime gang Tren de Aragua. Government officials from the twin-island nation and the U.S. said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can carry out training exercises.
3. South Korean troops fired warning shots at two North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the fortified inter-Korean border not long after another soldier defected to the South in that area, South Korean authorities said Monday. The two soldiers came within 220 yards of a South Korean guard post on Oct. 19, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman told reporters during a routine briefing. “We issued warning broadcasts and fired warning shots, and they immediately retreated,” he said. Some South Korean government officials are required to speak to media on condition of anonymity. Earlier that day, a defecting North Korean soldier crossed inside the Demilitarized Zone near the border’s central area, the spokesman said.
4. U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he will solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis “very quickly,” as peace talks between the warring neighbors entered a second day. The two countries are embroiled in a bitter security row, with each side saying they were responding to aggression from the other during clashes earlier this month. It was the deadliest fighting between them in several years, marking a low point in relations while also causing alarm in a region where armed groups like al-Qaida are trying to resurface. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to militants who cross the border for attacks, a charge the country’s Taliban rulers reject. The second round of talks between them began in Istanbul on Saturday, focusing on transforming a fragile ceasefire, achieved earlier this month in Doha, into a durable framework for peace and border security.
5. A group of active-duty members of the Ukrainian armed forces crossed the finish line Sunday at the 50th Marine Corps Marathon. Another of their brothers in arms was supposed to be with them, but he recently died in combat. The Ukraine defenders — Yaroslav, Andrii, Velisha, Andrii, Volodymyr and Oleksandr, plus Maj Gen. (Ret.) Volodymyr Havrylov — ran in his honor, getting him across the finish line in spirit. “That’s the reality of war,” said Yaroslav, who finished first from Team Ukraine with a time of 2:41:23. The soldiers’ last names were not disclosed for safety reasons, according to an official from United Help Ukraine, because they are actively serving in combat. United Help Ukraine is a nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian, medical and psychological aid to people affected by the ongoing conflict.
- Security