Day: April 2, 2025

The Chinese military staged a second day of exercises around Taiwan on Wednesday, launching live-fire strikes in the East China Sea and practicing blockade operations near crucial shipping lanes to the east and west of the island.

China has ramped up the frequency and complexity of its military drills around Taiwan in recent years – exercises that analysts say serve both as critical preparation and strategic cover for a potential future invasion of the self-governing island.

On Wednesday, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched exercises – codenamed “Strait Thunder-2025A” – in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait, focusing on testing the troops’ capabilities of “joint blockade and control” and “precision strikes on key targets,” the Eastern Theater Command’s spokesperson Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement.

As part of the drills, the ground army of the Eastern Theater Command conducted “live-fire long-range strike drills in designated areas of the East China Sea,” Shi said.

China’s military launches live-fire exercise in escalation of blockade drills near Taiwan https://t.co/iTEzQ2eMZi

— primenews (@primeNPU) April 2, 2025

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Val Kilmer, star of “Top Gun,” “The Doors” and several other classic films, died Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to his family.

Val’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, told the New York Times — which first reported the death — her dad died of pneumonia. He had been diagnosed with a throat tumor back in 2014, and had to be rushed to UCLA Medical Center in 2015 to treat severe bleeding in his throat. The tumor was the result of oral cancer.

Val famously played the lead role of rock star Jim Morrison in the film about The Doors, and also starred as Bruce Wayne in “Batman Forever.”

One of his most beloved roles was at Iceman in “Top Gun” … a character he managed to reprise in the 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick” despite his health challenges at the time.

The filmmakers used AI to recreate Val’s voice, which he’d lost at that point, due to the throat cancer.

Prolific American actor Val Kilmer, who was propelled to fame with "Top Gun" and went on to starring roles as Batman and Jim Morrison, has died at age 65, the New York Times has reported. https://t.co/iSQaKijCQ7 pic.twitter.com/kXMmdtgJY7

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 2, 2025

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