Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on the alliance members on Monday to step up their defence spending beyond their common goal of 2% of GDP, which had been set a decade ago and is now considered too low due to new challenges posed by Russia. Rutte spoke in Lisbon alongside Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who only reiterated Portugal’s pledge to meet its 2% goal by 2029. In 2023, the country spent 1.5% of its GDP on its NATO commitments. “We know that the goal of 2%, now set a decade ago, will not be enough to meet the challenges…
Ukrainian air defences downed 57 out of 104 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Monday, with officials saying infrastructure was hit in several regions. The air force said that 39 drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones. The military said Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kyiv regions were affected by the attack. “Infrastructure facilities, apartment blocks and private houses were damaged. Preliminary reports of no casualties,” it said on the Telegram messenger. Governors of Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions confirmed that drones hit “critical infrastructure” but gave no further…
The Kremlin said on Monday it had yet to receive any signals from the United States about arranging a possible meeting between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, but remained ready to organise such an encounter. “So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “(Russia’s) readiness (for a meeting) remains, and the same readiness, as far as we have heard, remains on the American side. Apparently, a certain amount of time is required (to set something up),” he said. Putin said on Friday that he and…
The Kremlin said on Monday that it celebrated the victory of Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election in Belarus on Sunday and dismissed Western criticism of the vote as “predictable”. Lukashenko, in power in Belarus since 1994, clinched 86.8% of the vote in an election which European politicians said was neither free nor fair. Independent media are banned in the former Soviet republic and all leading opposition figures have either been jailed or forced to flee abroad.
The Central Intelligence Agency has assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely to have emerged from a lab than from nature, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday. The agency had for years said it could not conclude whether COVID-19 was the result of a lab incident or originated in nature. But in the final weeks of the Biden administration, former CIA Director William Burns asked CIA analysts and scientists to make a clear determination, stressing the pandemic’s historical significance, according to a senior U.S. official. The CIA says it has “low confidence” in its assessment that a “research-related origin…
Air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over Russia and two sea drones in the Black Sea, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday. Eight drones were downed over the Ryazan region, six drones were destroyed in the Kursk region and one drone was hit over the Belgorod region overnight, the ministry said. Ryazan governor Pavel Malkov said on Sunday there were no casualties in the latest drone attack but authorities were still estimating the damage. Sources told Reuters Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil refinery in the city of Ryazan in a Friday attack, causing a fire and damaging equipment…
An undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday morning, likely as a result of “external influence”, Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported, citing the cable operator. The cable linked the Latvian town of Ventspils with Sweden’s Gotland island, Latvian State Radio and Television Centre said.
Riccardo Calafiori’s goal earned Arsenal a 1-0 win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday after a contest which ended with both sides down to 10 men, and the visitors keep their Premier League title hopes alive with a hard-fought victory. The win keeps Arsenal second in the standings, six behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand. Arsenal move three points ahead of Nottingham Forest, while Wolves remain just above the relegation zone in 17th place on 16 points. Arsenal had Myles Lewis-Skelly controversially sent off just before the break while Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes received his marching orders with…
Elon Musk made a surprise appearance during Germany’s AfD (Alternative fuer Deutschland) election campaign event in Halle in eastern Germany on Saturday, speaking publicly in support of the far right party for the second time in as many weeks. Addressing a hall of 4,500 people alongside party leader Alice Weidel, Musk spoke live via video link about preserving German culture and protecting the German people. “It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Musk said. Last week, the U.S. billionaire caused uproar after he made…
The White House has instructed the U.S. military to release a hold imposed by Joe Biden’s administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, Axios reported on Saturday, citing three Israeli officials. The move was widely expected. Biden put the hold on the delivery of the 2,000-pound bombs due to concern over the impact they could have in Gaza during the war that began with Hamas’ deadly cross-border raid on Oct. 7, 2023.