'Radar anomaly' triggers airspace closure; senator warns of EMP risks amid balloon, unmanned craft incidents



The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction over a portion of Montana on Saturday, briefly classifying the area as "[national] defense airspace."

The FAA issued the Notice to Air Missions (formerly Notice to Airmen) at 3:20 pm local time that covered airspace over Havre, Montana. The TFR was lifted about an hour later.

Saturday evening, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command issued a statement attributing the issue to a "radar anomaly."

"NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate," the agency said in a press release.

"Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits," the agency also said, adding that they will "continue to monitor the situation."

\u201cStatement from NORAD & U.S. Northern Command\u201d
— North American Aerospace Defense Command (@North American Aerospace Defense Command) 1676168925

The NOTAM warned that pilots who violated the TFR "may be intercepted, detained and interviewed by law enforcement" as well as subjected to a litany of civil and criminal penalties and charges.

"I've been warning for years about the risk of a high-altitude nuclear blast," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) told Fox News Channel's Maria Bartiromo Sunday morning.

Johnson was addressing a pair of high-altitude balloons shot down by American fighter jets over Alaska and Canada, and another balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier in the week.

"It could create an electromagnetic pulse that could wipe out our electronics. Even a geomagnetic disturbance could do the same thing," Johnson continued.

"We are not prepared for this. . .we do not have the A-team on the field right now, and that should alarm Americans."

Montana lawmakers responded quickly with public statements following the "radar anomaly" that triggered airspace closure on Saturday.

"I am aware of the object in Montana air space and remain in close contact with senior DOD and Administration officials," Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) tweeted shortly after the FAA issued the TFR.
"I am closely monitoring the situation and am receiving regular updates. I will continue to demand answers for the American public," Tester added.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) echoed his colleague's comments.

"I’m in direct contact with the Pentagon regarding the object in Montana’s airspace & will receive frequent updates," Daines said in a tweet.

"Montanans still have questions about the Chinese spy balloon that flew over our state last week. I’ll continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace," Daines added.

Rep. Matt Rosendale similarly took to Twitter to update Montanans and other Americans about the then-ongoing flight restriction. According to Rosendale, the Department of Defense planned to resume its efforts to address the "object" in the light of day.

"Airspace is closed due to an object that could interfere with commercial air traffic — the DOD will resume efforts to observe and ground the object in the morning," the Congressman added.

\u201cI am in direct contact with NORCOM and monitoring the latest issue over Havre and the northern border. Airspace is closed due to an object that could interfere with commercial air traffic \u2014 the DOD will resume efforts to observe and ground the object in the morning.\u201d
— Matt Rosendale (@Matt Rosendale) 1676165006

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Putin suspended as 'honorary president' of the International Judo Federation



Russian President Vladimir Putin has been suspended as the honorary president of the International Judo Federation.

On Sunday, the IJF released a statement saying that it was suspending Putin from his position as the “Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation,” Reuters reported.

The IJF’s statement said, “In light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine, the International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Mr. Vladimir Putin’s status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation.”

Putin, who is 69 years old, holds a black belt in judo and has even co-authored a book titled “Judo: History, Theory, Practice” and has previously trained alongside the Russian Olympic judo team.

Black belt Putin shows off judo moves with Olympic athletes www.youtube.com

He also holds the rank of grandmaster in taekwondo. He was granted this title in 2013 by the president of the World Taekwondo Federation.

Putin being stripped of this honorary title is just the latest, and the most benign, of the measures taken against him in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On Saturday, leaders from the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States released a joint statement that said the Western allies were committed to “ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed form the SWIFT messaging system.”

By removing Russian banks from the SWIFT network, the Western leaders committed to restricting Russia’s ability to manipulate its currency to reduce the immediate fiscal impact of Western sanctions and specifically targeting Russian officials and oligarchs who encouraged military aggression with sanctions.

Restricting Russian access to the SWIFT network will greatly damage the Russian economy and make engaging in international commerce extremely difficult. This move will isolate Russia and stands to prevent it from exporting natural gas and fossil fuels.

The British Petroleum Company plans to divest from state-owned energy firms in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, despite having done business with them for more than three decades.

BP Chairman Helge Lund said, “Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression which is having tragic consequences across the region. BP has operated in Russia for over 30 years, working with brilliant Russian colleagues. However, this military action represents a fundamental change.”

On Sunday, the leadership of the European Union announced that it would be closing Europe’s airspace to all aircraft of Russian origin.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said, “We are shutting down the EU airspace for Russians. We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered, or Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off, or overfly the territory of the EU.”

The Egyptian government extends the stays of Ukrainian tourists for free in wake of the Russian invasion



The Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry allows tourists affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine to extend their stay at Egyptian hotels free of charge until it is safe to return home.

On Thursday, Ahram Online, Egypt's largest online news organization, reported that Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled Anani, made this decision following the closing of Ukraine's airspace.

The Hotel Association of Egypt also issued a directive to all of its member hotels to extend the stays of Ukrainian and Russian tourists until Russian and Ukrainian airspace reopens, enabling them to return home safely.

Hotels were instructed to provide these stranded tourists with their resort's full amenities free of charge.

The South Sinai Hotels Chamber issued a statement to the general managers of hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh that implored them to extend the stays of Ukrainian tourists who had returned from the airport after having their flights canceled.

The chamber also told hotel management that they should provide stranded Ukrainians with whatever assistance they need and not let "any tourist leave any hotel."

The chamber's statement encouraged hotel management to be careful moderating potential confrontations between Ukrainian and Russian tourists.

The Ukrainian embassy in Egypt shared the Hotel Association of Egypt's directive and the South Sinai Hotels Chamber's statement on its official Facebook page and encouraged stranded Ukrainian tourists to present these documents to hotel management if necessary.

Prior to the Ministry's announcement, the Ukrainian embassy said that it was cooperating with officials in tourism and tour operators to help provide stranded Ukrainians with resources due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the temporary closure of Ukrainian airspace.

The embassy also said that it was working to find routes of entry into Ukraine through Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary so that the stranded Ukrainians can return home.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace, Ukrainian citizens abroad should stay in place, closely follow events, and register in the ministry's digital communications system that connects Ukrainians with their embassies and consulates abroad.

The head of Egypt's National Company for Air Navigation, Ihab Mohi El-Din, said that on Thursday prior to Ukraine barring commercial flight from its airspace, Egyptian airports received hundreds of Ukrainian civilians from airports in Kiev and Lviv.

Egypt is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Ukrainians. In 2019, nearly 1.5 million Ukrainians visited and during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 over 700,000 Ukrainians vacationed in Egypt.