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German leaders defend US missiles as 'necessary' given Russian threat
German leaders justified an agreement with the United States to station long-range missiles in the country by citing the increased threat posed by Russia to European security. The agreement between Berlin and the White House, announced on Wednesday, calls for placing long-range US missiles in Germany by 2026 that would have the range to strike well into Russia. It will be the first time since the end of the Cold War that such weapons have been deployed on German territory. "We know that there has been an incredible arms build-up in Russia, with weapons that threaten European territory," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said...
US announces further Ukraine military aid package worth $255 million
The United States announced a further military aid package for Ukraine worth $255 million on Thursday to help the country battle against the ongoing Russian invasion. The new package includes the Patriot air-defence system already announced by the US, as well as NASAMS anti-aircraft missiles, HIMARS multiple rocket launchers as well as 155-millimetre and 105-millimetre artillery ammunition, according to the Pentagon. The weapons will be provided from existing US military stocks, it said. Shortly before the announcement, US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met for talks on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. The US and other NATO states had already promised Ukraine extensive new aid to defend against Russian air attacks at the start of the summit. According to the Pentagon, the US has now provided Kiev with military aid amounting to more than $53.7 billion since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
iPhone owners warned by manufacturer Apple of spyware attacks
Owners of iPhones in dozens of countries have been warned of mercenary spyware attacks by manufacturer Apple Inc. Apple recently issued a global warning to iPhone users in 98 countries about potential spyware threats. This is the second time this year that the company has sent out such alerts, with the previous one being in April to users in 92 nations. The warning, aimed at those believed to be targeted, states that "Apple detected that you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID -xxx-." Apple emphasized the seriousness of the...
Police suspect organized crime behind violence in western Germany
Police in western Germany are investigating a possible bloody conflict between drug dealers after an explosion in front of a commercial building in central Dusseldorf in the early hours of Thursday morning. Links between the blast and previous explosions in Cologne, Engelskirchen and Duisburg and an armed hostage stand-off last Friday in the Rodenkirchen district of Cologne are being investigated, prosecutors in Dusseldorf and the Cologne police announced on Thursday. The Cologne police have taken over the investigation. Nobody was injured by the detonation in Dusseldorf, but there was considerable damage to the building entrance. According to witnesses, a person in dark clothing drove...
French firefighters stop blaze in spire of medieval Rouen Cathedral
The large tower of Rouen Cathedral in northern France caught fire during construction work on Thursday, but firefighters managed to put out the blaze at the famed landmark. The fire broke out in the spire of the landmark cathedral in the capital of the northern French region of Normandy. According to the local fire brigade, workers discovered the fire at a height of around 120 metres at midday and raised the alarm. The fire brigade arrived with numerous fire engines and around 100 firefighters, who reached the tower using a giant ladder. A black cloud of smoke from the spire was visible from...
Zelensky urges NATO arms donors to allow strikes deeper into Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged NATO countries supplying his forces with arms to allow the weapons to be used to strike targets deeper into Russian territory. Some NATO countries, such as Lithuania, are giving Ukraine arms without restrictions, other than the limits of international law. But others impose strict rules on how they can be used, especially when it comes to striking targets in Russia. For example, the United States only allows strikes on the Russian side of the border in order for Ukraine to return fire in the vicinity of Kharkiv. Italy, meanwhile, only allows its weapons to be used against targets on Ukraine's territory. "If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations," Zelensky said at a press conference in Washington.
Pentagon says operations at temporary Gaza pier will soon end
A temporary dock for humanitarian aid set up by the US military on the coast of the Gaza Strip will soon cease operations completely, the Pentagon announced on Thursday. The pier broke away and was badly damaged due to rough seas in June, and was towed to Ashdod on the Israeli coast. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said on Thursday that US military personnel unsuccessfully attempted to re-anchor the pier on the beach in Gaza on Wednesday but failed due to technical and weather-related issues. "The pier will soon cease operations, with more details on that process and timing available in the coming days,"...
Russian ambassador to Berlin warns against deployment of US missiles
Russia's ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechayev, has warned the German government of a further deterioration in relations between Moscow and Berlin if the United States stations long-range missiles there as announced. "It is to be hoped that the German political elites will reconsider whether such a destructive and dangerous step, which contributes neither to the security of the Federal Republic of Germany nor the European continent as a whole, is advisable," Nechayev said. "Not to mention the irreparable damage to German-Russian relations." The US and German governments announced on Wednesday plans to station long-range US weapons systems in Germany capable of striking...
Israel sends delegation to Cairo to continue indirect hostage talks
The Israeli government has announced the continuation of the indirect negotiations on a hostage deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. A delegation from the Israeli domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet and the Israeli military will travel to Cairo shortly, the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem announced on Thursday. At the same time, the office confirmed that a team of negotiators had returned from the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday night. Israeli delegates had met there with top representatives of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, all of which are acting as mediators in the talks. Qatar in particular is in direct contact...
NATO leaders meet Zelensky and Indo-Pacific leaders in Washington
NATO leaders gathered in Washington are meeting the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Ukraine on Thursday, on the third and final day of a summit that marked the alliance's 75th anniversary. On Tuesday and Wednesday, NATO leaders announced further military support for Ukraine's efforts to repel the Russian invasion, including air-defence systems and a pledge to spend €40 billion ($43 billion) in the next year. They also declared Ukraine's future path to NATO membership "irreversible." The final day of the summit is devoted to external relations: first a meeting with the four Indo-Pacific partners of Japan, South Korea,...
Hamburg sign Davie Selke from second division rivals Cologne
SV Hamburg have signed forward Davie Selke from second division rivals Cologne, the club said on Thursday. Hamburg didn't disclose further details of the contract, such as the length of the deal. Selke's contract with Cologne ended last month and, therefore, he joined the new club on a free transfer. "HSV is one of the most exciting clubs in German football and the thought of helping to get the club back in the Bundesliga had me interested right away," Selke said. The striker has plenty of experience in German football, having also played for Werder Bremen, RB Leipzig and Hertha Berlin. Hamburg finished fourth in the second division's past season. They were relegated for a first time in 2018 and since then had three previous fourth-place finishes while losing play-offs in 2022 and 2023 after coming third. Cologne, meanwhile, were directly relegated from the Bundesliga last season after finishing 17th.
UN warns nearly 500,000 face 'catastrophic levels of hunger' in Gaza
Almost half a million people in the Gaza Strip are suffering from "catastrophic levels of hunger," the United Nations warned on Thursday. "Limited access & supplies has meant families often don't receive the food assistance they need," the UN said in a post on X. The UN World Food Programme remains on the ground, but needs reliable access and relief supplies, the post said. After more than nine months of war and severe destruction in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation for the population is in severe crisis, according to aid organizations. An end is not yet in sight. Israel has been blockading and bombarding large parts of the Gaza Strip in a war launched after the Palestinian militant group Hamas led unprecedented attacks on Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,200 people and included brutal massacres of civilians. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, more than 38,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war. The figure, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, cannot currently be independently verified by dpa.
Scholz: Europe faces threat from 'incredible arms build-up' by Russia
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has justified the planned deployment of long-range US cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometres to German territory by pointing to the threat posed by Russia to European security. "We know that there has been an incredible arms build-up in Russia, with weapons that threaten European territory," Scholz said on Thursday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. There had been lengthy discussions on how to respond with conventional deterrence in addition to the NATO nuclear umbrella. The deployment of long-range weapons had already been laid down a year ago in Germany's first...
Sweden reacts to Orbán's trip to visit Putin in Moscow
Sweden will for the time being not send any ministers to meetings in Hungary in reaction to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's recent visit to Russia without consultation with other EU member states. Hungary's actions had been harmful, and there had to be consequences, Swedish EU Affairs Minister Jessika Roswall said. Roswall is set to become the country's European commissioner. Sweden will participate in meetings in Hungary during July only at civil servant level as Hungary takes up the six-month presidency of the European Union. Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Poland are also intending to react to Orbán's actions in a similar way, according to Roswall. Discussions are proceeding in other countries. Orbán travelled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, without consultation with Brussels. The visit drew criticism from other EU leaders. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described the visit at the time as "irresponsible and disloyal." During the NATO summit in Washington this week he accused Orbán of misusing the EU presidency for his own purposes. Hungary's presidency of the bloc means that a series of informal ministerial meetings should take place in Budapest, with ministers from the member states gathering. The meetings now appear set to occur at a lower level.
Russia pays compensation to athletes barried from 2024 Games
Russian athletes not admitted at the 2024 Paris Olympics have received a financial compensation, the Ria Novosti news agency quoted the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) director general Vladimir Sengleev as saying. Athletes who were unable to take part in international competitions to qualify for the games and those who didn't receive neutral status to take part in the Games have received the money. A total of 200 million roubles ($2.09 million) were paid out to 245 Russian athletes. "We made the last payments on June 23, the All-Russian Olympic Day," Sengleev said. Athletes from Russia and Belarus are only allowed to compete as neutral athletes in Paris under certain conditions due to Russia's war against Ukraine. However, some Russian sports federations, including judo and wrestling, have decided to refuse participation at the Games, complaining about "humiliating conditions" imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The 2024 Paris Games take place on July 26-August 11.
Seventeen people injured in clashes between English and Dutch fans
A total of 17 people were slightly injured in clashes between fans on the sidelines of the Euro 2024 semi-final between the Netherlands and England on Wednesday. The figure includes seven police officers, the Dortmund police said on Thursday. A total of 23 Dutch and three English fans were taken into custody, but have been released. In total, the police had to intervene in 22 incidents. Fans had clashed in three different pubs in the Dortmund city centre before the match. According to the police, chairs and bottles were thrown, while emergency services were promptly on the scene to prevent further escalation. In addition, some fans had climbed over fences and entered the fan zones with public viewing without going through the security checks and when the events were already at full capacity. The police also provisionally arrested three men for suspected fraud. They are accused of selling matchday tickets without actually sending them to the buyers. England set up a clash with Spain in Sunday's final after defeating the Netherlands 2-1.
Is vaping near kids less harmful than smoking near them?
In further evidence that vaping is generally less damaging than smoking tobacco, if only slightly, a study of children in the US has found they absorb much less nicotine when exposed to vapes than from second-hand cigarette smoke. "These findings suggest that switching from smoking to vaping indoors may substantially reduce, but not eliminate, children’s second-hand exposure to nicotine and other noxious substances," according to the University College London scientists who undertook the research. While parents and adults have long been warned not to light up around children due to the ill-effects of passive smoking, the researchers said that the increasing prevalence...
Fire extinguished in French mediaeval cathedral tower in Rouen
A fire in the large tower of the cathedral in the French city of Rouen has been extinguished, the fire brigade said on Thursday. Workers had discovered the fire during construction work and raised the alarm. The flames had broken out at a height of 120 metres. The fire brigade arrived with numerous fire engines and dozens of firefighters, who reached the tower using a giant ladder. A black cloud of smoke was visible from afar. The cathedral was evacuated and the surrounding area was cordoned off. The Mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, said the cause of the fire was initially unclear. There were no reports of injuries.
Kenya's president dismisses Cabinet after anti-government protests
Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday dismissed almost the entire Cabinet following fierce protests against his government. Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi was the only exception, Ruto said in a speech at his official residence. The attorney general was dismissed with immediate effect. The duties of the ministers would be taken over by the state secretaries until a new Cabinet is appointed. "I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government," Ruto said. He promised a "lean, inexpensive, effective and efficient" new government. Protests over the past three weeks, which included a storming of the Parliament, have been directed against a controversial tax law, Ruto's conduct in office, corruption and the waste of public funds. At least 39 people were killed when the police fired live ammunition at the demonstrators.
Milan's main international airport now named after Silvio Berlusconi
The main international airport in the northern Italian city of Milan now bears the name of the late former prime minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. Milan Malpensa Airport, which lies about 50 kilometres outside of the city, is now officially called Aeroporto Silvio Berlusconi. Far-right Transport Minister Matteo Salvini fast-tracked the name-change and gave final approval on Thursday, despite criticism from the opposition. The centre-right Forza Italia party, which Berlusconi founded, is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government in Rome. Milan Mayor Beppe Sala, a centre-left politician, argued that the airport's name could not be changed because of a rule that public...
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