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The effort off the coast of South Carolina is expected to take days, and Navy and Coast Guard ships have been sent to the scene. U.S. officials are watching for retaliation from China.

Beijing registered “strong discontent and protest.” But there may be little it can do to retaliate.

Recovery of the wreckage could give the United States insight into China’s spying capabilities, officials say
The US military said it is searching for remnants of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon it , in a dramatic spy saga that has further strained American-Chinese relations.
The US navy is working to recover the balloon and its payload and the coast guard is providing security for the operation, general Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American aerospace defence command and US northern command said on Sunday.

Here is what we know about the balloon.

Pete Buttigieg says president ‘considered safety of American people’ but Marco Rubio criticizes eight-day wait
The US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, rejected Republican criticism of Joe Biden over the eight-day wait to shoot down a which flew over military sites.
“The president gave instructions to have it shot down in a way that was safe,” Buttigieg told CNN’s State of the Union, of the operation off the Carolina coast on Saturday.
Associated Press contributed to this report

Also, Pervez Musharraf died and Beyoncé could have a big night at Grammy Awards.

When US military fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend, it wasn't the end of the political episode, but the very beginning.

Was Beijing trying to sabotage talks with the US, monitor the speed of its military response, or just test Joe Biden’s mettle?
Now the in a puff of smoke and debris by a US air-launched missile, after perplexing Washington with its three-day odyssey over the continental US, the question is: what was it all for?
Once the balloon was spotted, Beijing claimed it was a weather observation airship that had been blown off course, drawing a snort of derision from the Pentagon, which said the balloon was able to manoeuvre and had made some deliberate turns, bringing it at one point over Montana, home of some of the US arsenal of silo-based nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Death collection | State school success | Ballooning problem | Rose-tinted Brexit | Passport to the polls
“It’s not who we are,” says British Gas in response to criticism of its bullying tactics (). Oh, yes it is. This is a company with a “bereavement team” that is, in fact, a debt collection agency. Nothing could surprise me now about British Gas. Edith Nicoll Menstrie, Clackmannanshire
• In response to Janet Mansfield (), as a politics teacher at Loreto sixth-form college in Manchester, I can confirm that John Harris is one of many alumni who have gone on to excel in their careers of choice after having gained places at Oxford, Cambridge and Russell group universities. We are proud of all our students, past and present, at this large, diverse, stated funded college. Kate Boon Chorlton, Manchester

The United States is working to recover a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, according to a statement released by the Pentagon on Sunday.

Lowy Institute ranks country sixth overall in the Asia Power Index, behind US, China, Japan, India and Russia
Australia has enjoyed a big increase in its diplomatic influence in Asia over the past year, according to the latest ratings of power across the region.
The Lowy Institute’s , published on Monday, also shows Australia’s standing has emerged unscathed from pandemic-era disruptions, unlike the region’s big players the US and China and many other countries.