Chinese balloon over US airspace.

China has said that a balloon spotted over American airspace  was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite US suspicion it was spying.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned weekend diplomatic visit to Beijing and weighs a broader response. The balloon was flying over sensitive sites in the western United States. After initially hesitating to say that the object was Chinese, Beijing in a statement admitted ownership.

One of the places the balloon was spotted was over Montana, which is home to one of the country's three missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

The US had prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon if ordered. However, the US has assessed that the balloon has "limited'' value in terms of providing intelligence that couldn't be obtained by other technologies, such as spy satellites.

My take

A frenzied over reaction by a high-strung 'super power' which is suspicious about everyone on earth! But China is equally capable of carrying out a perfidy!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9.

A leisurely Saturday. Our fruit basket was ordered and received.

Watched the 606th version of Aazhchakkoottam, on YouTube from 1630 to 1730 hrs, where Advocate K Prakash Babu, CPI central committee member spoke on the "Controversy in the appointment of judges".