Northrop banks $1.1B Navy contract for electronic warfare upgrades

Northrop Grumman secured a potential $1.16 billion contract to provide electronic attack (EA) capability improvements for the AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system for installation aboard the Navy's for aircraft carrier and amphibious assault ships.

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2020/10/05/northrop-lands-navy-contract-sewip-3.html

Demolition of US-built facility at Southeast Asian base raises new fears about a secret Chinese military deal

Cambodia demolished a US-built building at a naval base there last month, adding to concerns about a secret deal allowing China's military to use the base, even as Cambodia played down its actions.

Satellite images published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last week showed the building, the Tactical Headquarters of the National Committee for Maritime Security, was torn down in September.

Another US-built facility nearby, the Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat Ramp and Boat Maintenance Facility, is still standing in the photos, taken on October 1.

Tea Banh, Cambodia's deputy prime minister and defense minister, confirmed the demolition but dismissed concerns. "We moved the facility to a new location. We can no longer keep it, and the building is already old," he told AFP on Sunday.

The destruction revives concerns raised by a July 2019 Wall Street Journal report, citing US officials, describing a secret pact between Cambodia and China granting the latter access to the Ream Naval Base for decades, permitting Beijing to station military personnel, store weapons, and dock warships.

According to the report, China also agreed to build two piers, one for it and one for Cambodia, though experts said dredging would be needed for Chinese warships to use the facility.

On Saturday, the chief of Cambodia's navy general staff confirmed that China was supporting a project to expand the port and build a ship repair facility there. The plan included dredging to deepen waters around the base, the officer told Nikkei Asia.

https://www.businessinsider.com/cambodia-ream-base-changes-concerns-about-china-military-presence-2020-10

Liverpool man paid 9-year-old girl $5 for hug, charged with sex abuse, police say

Syracuse, N.Y. — A Liverpool man was arrested this weekend on charges that he paid a 9-year-old girl $5 for a hug before grabbing the girl’s buttocks and offering her additional money for a kiss.

Syracuse police said in court documents that Michael Cotanch, 40, approached the girl around 2:30 p.m. Friday and told her he would give her $5 for a hug.

She agreed to the offer, at which time Cotanch led the girl and her 8-year-old friend into the entryway of a residence at 713 E. Division St. in Syracuse, police said.

Cotanch told the friend to go upstairs, leaving the 9-year-old girl alone with him downstairs. Police said he then got on one knee to hug the girl.

When she approached him, Cotanch grabbed the girl’s buttocks with both hands and pulled her toward him, police said.

When the girl pushed back, Cotanch puckered his lips and offered the girl $20 for a kiss on the lips. Police said he made the same offer to the 8-year-old friend.

The girls refused and left.

Cotanch was arrested Saturday and charged with first-degree sexual abuse and luring a child—both felonies—as well as two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/liverpool-man-paid-9-year-old-girl-245-for-hug-charged-with-sex-abuse-police-say/ar-BB19IQ6w