SYDNEY: The Australian government said on Friday it would send more drones to Ukraine to aid its fight against Russia on the anniversary of the invasion, and imposed new targeted financial sanctions against 90 Russian individuals and 40 entities.
The latest targets include Russian ministers overseeing energy, resources and industry sectors, and key players in defense including arms manufacturer Kalashnikov Concern, aviation firm Tupolev and submarine developer Admiralty Shipyards.
“We continue to stand with Ukraine,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement. “(The uncrewed aerial systems) provide a battlefield intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
He did not specify how many drones would be shipped, the models involved, and whether they would be armed.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and troops on both sides are believed to have died and millions forced to flee since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, which he calls a “special military operation” to rid its neighbor of extremists, a year ago.
Putin talked up Russia’s nuclear arsenal on the eve of the war’s anniversary, while the United States and NATO accused China of considering supplying arms to Russia, a strategic partner of Beijing. China dismissed the accusation.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told ABC television that she would urge China to take steps to de-escalate the conflict.
Australia, one of the largest non-NATO contributors to the West’s support for Ukraine, has been supplying aid, ammunition and defense equipment and has banned exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia.
Since the conflict began, Australia has provided around A$500 million ($340 million) in military support to Ukraine. It has also deployed soldiers to Britain to help train Ukrainian troops there and has sanctioned more than 1,000 Russian individuals and entities.
The United States will announce new sanctions against Russia on Friday, the White House said, when President Joe Biden virtually meets G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Australia sending drones to Ukraine, imposes more sanctions on Russia
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Australia sending drones to Ukraine, imposes more sanctions on Russia
- Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and troops on both sides are believed to have died
US concerned by reports of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia
WASHINGTON: The United States is “concerned” by reports of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine, a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week accused North Korea of transferring personnel to Russia’s armed forces, saying his intelligence agencies had briefed him on “the actual involvement of North Korea in the war” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has dismissed the allegation as “fake news.”
White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said the involvement of North Korean troops in Ukraine, if true, would mark a significant increase in the North Korea-Russia defense relationship.
“Such a move would also indicate a new level of desperation for Russia as it continues to suffer significant casualties on the battlefield in its brutal war against Ukraine,” Savett said in a statement.
Washington says North Korea has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and ammunition. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied arms transfers but have vowed to boost military ties, possibly including joint drills.
The US Army’s Indo-Pacific commander, General Charles Flynn, told an event in Washington that North Korean personnel being involved in the conflict would allow Pyongyang to get real-time feedback on its weapons, something that had not been possible in the past.
“That’s different because they are providing capabilities and – open source reporting – there’s manpower that is also over there,” he said at the Center for a New American Security.
“That kind of feedback from a real battlefield to North Korea to be able to make adjustments to their weapons, their ammunition, their capabilities, and even their people – to me, is very concerning,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when he visited Pyongyang in June, and said it included a mutual assistance clause under which each side agreed to help the other repel external aggression.
Harris mocks Trump after rally turns into bizarre dance-a-thon
WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris spent much of Tuesday questioning Donald Trump’s mental state and fitness for office after the 78-year-old Republican’s latest televised town hall veered into a surreal, impromptu music session.
“Hope he’s okay,” the Democratic candidate posted on X.
Harris’s campaign, which has begun to aggressively challenge Trump on his health and mental stability, said that he appeared “lost, confused, and frozen on stage” during the Monday event.
Former president Trump defended the event in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, saying it was “so different.”
“It was amazing! The Q and A was almost finished when people began fainting from the excitement and heat,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network.
“We started playing music while we waited, and just kept it going. So different, but it ended up being a GREAT EVENING!“
He hit out at Vice President Harris, who released a White House medical report at the weekend that said she was fit for the highest office and challenged Trump to do the same.
“With all of the problems that she has, there is a real question as to whether or not she should be running for President! MY REPORT IS PERFECT — NO PROBLEMS!!!” Trump wrote.
For about half an hour, the event in Oaks near Philadelphia was standard fare ahead of the November 5 election, as Trump took friendly questions from supporters on the economy and cost of living.
But it ended with a bizarre 39 minutes of music and dancing as Trump swayed awkwardly on stage following interruptions because of medical emergencies in the crowd.
“Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?” he said.
Trump has made a brief, jerky dance his signature at the end of rallies for years, nearly always to his exit song — the Village People’s 1978 disco anthem “YMCA.”
On Monday, however, he stayed on stage for nine songs, ranging from opera to Guns N’ Roses and Elvis, with the ex-president alternating his dance moves with standing in place and staring into the crowd.
Harris and Trump are locked in a dead heat, according to polls, and the election is set to be decided by seven swing states where the margins could come down to barely 10,000 votes each.
With only three weeks to go, the 59-year-old Democrat has increasingly been homing in on Trump’s health and age.
It was the topic of her closing argument as she sat down with popular radio host Charlamagne tha God in an effort to boost her messaging to Black male voters — a part of the electorate where Trump has made gains.
After setting out her policies for improving the lives of Black men, she turned to Trump’s rallies and repeated a claim that riled him during their September debate — that bored supporters were leaving his rallies early.
“I will point out what everyone knows, which is that the people who worked the closest with Donald Trump when he was president — worked with him in the Oval Office, saw him at play in the Situation Room, his chief of staff, two secretaries of defense, his national security adviser and his former vice president — have all said he is dangerous and unfit to serve,” Harris said.
Trump’s own campaign schedule began with an Economic Club of Chicago event, where he said he was for slapping “obnoxious” tariffs on trading partners like Mexico so that companies move factories to the US.
“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff,” Trump said, before heading for a rally in swing-state Georgia.
Trump is now the oldest person ever to be nominated for a presidential bid, after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race following a disastrous debate that sparked fears about his own age.
He has not released a recent comprehensive report on his state of health, prompting fierce criticism from Harris.
Assault against rabbi in Maryland probed as hate crime, police says
- The suspect was charged with felony assault and related crimes, police said, adding that the victim, who was not identified, suffered minor injuries
WASHINGTON: Police in Maryland said on Tuesday that an assault against a rabbi who was attacked with a wooden stake was being probed as a hate crime and a suspect was arrested.
The incident took place in Silver Spring in Maryland.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Rights advocates have noted rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the eruption of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.
Some recent incidents that have raised alarm over antisemitism include threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York City Jewish center and a physical assault against a Jewish man in Michigan.
KEY QUOTE
“For unknown reasons, the male suspect, identified as 47-year-old Junior Michael Reece, swung a wooden stake at the victim, striking him,” Montgomery County Police Department said in a statement. “This incident is being investigated as a hate crime.”
The suspect was charged with felony assault and related crimes, police said, adding that the victim, who was not identified, suffered minor injuries.
CONTEXT
Other recent violent US incidents with Muslim and Arab victims include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Muslim girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Muslim man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York and a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California.
Albanian port awaits first migrant transfer from Italy
- The five-year deal with Albania, estimated to cost Italy 160 million euros ($175 million) annually, covers adult male migrants intercepted by Italian vessels in international waters, but within Italy’s search and rescue area
SHENGJIN, Albania: The fishermen in Shengjin barely give a look at the temporary cabins built on one side of the Albanian port that Italy considers a groundbreaking scheme in Europe’s campaign against undocumented migrants.
Sixteen men from Bangladesh and Egypt, rescued in the Mediterranean on Sunday, are set to become the first residents at the Shengjin migrant center on Wednesday.
The migrant scheme could be discussed at a European Union summit this week. But Arben Leli is more worried about whether the fish bite.
“I don’t care about migrants, when they arrive, when they leave, what they do,” Leli told AFP as he tended his nets.
“I have the sea, I want to fish, that’s my life,” the 56-year-old added.
Nearby, Dashamira Deda was pulling fish from a net.
The mother-of-two, who works with her husband on a boat, said that “human nature is to think first of ourselves and then of what’s going on around us... the best thing was to leave us alone.”
Deda said the people of Shengjin, with its population of about 8,000, did not want to appear callous, but they have other pressing concerns, including making a living.
“We are just hoping it’s for a good cause without harming our lives,” the 42-year-old added, without even a glance at the center’s high walls.
But this center, and another in nearby Gjader, has been drawing growing European attention since Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni struck a deal with Albanian counterpart Edi Rama to become the first EU country to create migrant processing centers outside the bloc.
Shengjin’s seaside hotels are a summer tourist draw. But Albania’s third largest port has seen its size reduced by 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet) so that the migrant camp, protected by high gates and Italian soldiers and police, could be built.
The five-year deal with Albania, estimated to cost Italy 160 million euros ($175 million) annually, covers adult male migrants intercepted by Italian vessels in international waters, but within Italy’s search and rescue area.
An initial screening at sea will determine which migrants are from countries considered “safe,” which could make repatriation simpler.
In Shengjin, migrants will undergo registration and health checks, and then they will be sent to the other center in Gjader to await the processing of asylum claims.
The Gjader facility includes a section for migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, as well as a small jail.
Human rights groups have questioned the protections offered for asylum seekers. Amnesty International has called the centers a “cruel experiment (that) is a stain on the Italian government.”
Meloni on Tuesday called it a “courageous” move that could be set up in other non-EU countries.
Macron says Israel PM ‘mustn’t forget his country created by UN decision’
- “Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” Macron told the weekly French cabinet meeting
- “Therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN“
PARIS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not forget his country was created as a result of a resolution adopted by the United Nations, French President Emmanuel Macron told cabinet on Tuesday, urging Israel to abide by UN decisions.
Tensions have increased between Netanyahu and Macron with the French leader last week insisting that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to stop the conflicts.
France has also repeatedly denounced Israeli fire against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, who include a French contingent.
“Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” Macron told the weekly French cabinet meeting, referring to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.
“Therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN,” he added, as Israel wages a ground offensive against the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the UN peacekeepers are deployed.
His comments from the closed door meeting at the Elysee Palace were quoted by a participant who spoke to AFP and asked not to be named.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 states that only the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL should be deployed in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu on Sunday called on the UN to move the 10,000 strong peacekeeping force, who include 700 French troops, deployed in south Lebanon out of “harm’s way,” saying Hezbollah was using them as “human shields.”
Later on Tuesday, Netanyahu hit back at Macron’s comments, saying the country’s founding was achieved by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, not a UN ruling.
“A reminder to the president of France: It was not the UN resolution that established the State of Israel, but rather the victory achieved in the war of independence with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors — including from the Vichy regime in France,” Netanyahu said to a statement.
