FRANKFURT, Germany: A German military base was sealed off for several hours Wednesday as authorities investigated suspected sabotage while a NATO air base in the country faced an attempted trespassing incident, officials said.
The Bundeswehr base in Cologne-Wahn was locked down because of “a suspicion of an attempted intrusion and a suspicion of sabotage,” defense ministry spokesman Col. Arne Collatz told reporters in Berlin.
A hole was discovered in a fence near drinking water storage facilities, the military’s territorial command said on X.
The perpetrators had not been found and the site’s water was being checked as a precaution. The base re-opened later in the day, it added.
Der Spiegel magazine reported that soldiers and civilians on the Bundeswehr base had been advised not to drink the tap water over concerns that the water supply “may be contaminated.”
The Cologne-Wahn base, located near Cologne-Bonn airport, houses several military and civilian facilities of the German armed forces as well as aircraft used by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ministers for government travel.
The base is also an important hub for military support for Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers regularly fly home from there, via Poland, after receiving training in Germany, Der Spiegel added.
A NATO base in the western German town of Geilenkirchen meanwhile faced an attempted trespassing incident late Tuesday, the military alliance said in a statement.
An individual attempted to enter the base but was stopped and sent away, a spokesman said, adding that a “routine” sweep of the site and people there was conducted afterwards. Police are investigating the incident.
Following the lockdown at the Cologne-Wahn base, the NATO site also increased its security level and conducted routine checks of its water supply but added it had no concerns with the safety of its supply.
The base, home to NATO AWACS reconnaissance aircraft, was not sealed off and continued operating at full capacity, the spokesman said.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Der Spiegel that the authorities “reacted quickly” at both sites by sealing off access, alerting investigators and ordering laboratory analyzes to check for possible contamination.
“These incidents show we must remain vigilant,” he added.
Marcus Faber, a German lawmaker from the liberal FDP party and chairman of parliament’s defense committee, told Bild daily that with the two incidents coming so close together “one can assume that an enemy actor wants to demonstrate his sabotage skills.”
Germany — a key ally of Kyiv — has been on high alert for sabotage and attacks on military facilities in the country in the wake of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In April, investigators arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany — including on US army facilities — to undermine military support for Ukraine.
Military, NATO bases in Germany hit by security scares
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Military, NATO bases in Germany hit by security scares
- Perpetrators had not been found and the site’s water was being checked as a precaution
Russia says shot dead Ukrainian agent who tried to blow up car
MOSCOW: Russia’s FSB security service said Tuesday it shot dead a Ukrainian agent who attempted to plant explosives under the car of a senior defense industry official.
The suspect, whom it did not name, allegedly worked for Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency and targeted a “senior employee of a defense enterprise in the Sverdlovsk region,” the FSB said.
He was detained while “placing an improvised explosive device in a hiding place, put up armed resistance and was neutralized by return fire,” the FSB added.
A pistol with ammunition was found at the scene, while law enforcement seized components used for making explosives during a search of his residence, it continued.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Ukraine has often targeted Russian officials it believes are complicit in the Kremlin’s full-scale military assault on its territory, which began in 2022.
In December 2023, pro-Russian Ukrainian defector Illia Kyva was shot dead near Moscow in an attack claimed by Kyiv’s security services.
Kremlin says Russian army expansion needed to address growing threats on western flank
- Putin on Monday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to be increased by 180,000 troops
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that an order by President Vladimir Putin to transform Russia’s army into the second largest in the world was needed to address growing threats on Russia’s western borders and instability to the east.
Putin on Monday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to be increased by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active servicemen in a move that would make it the second largest in the world after China’s.
“This is due to the number of threats that exist to our country along the perimeter of our borders,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
“It is caused by the extremely hostile environment on our western borders and instability on our eastern borders. This demands appropriate measures to be taken.”
Climate fund chief targets poor countries
- The GCF’s priority target list includes Algeria, the Central African Republic, Chad, Iraq, Lebanon, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and South Sudan.
- Also on the list is war-torn Somalia, hit by major floods last year and still reeling from its worst drought in decades
PARIS: Green Climate Fund chief Mafalda Duarte is on a mission to help vulnerable nations that have yet to receive a penny from the world’s largest dedicated source of climate finance.
The United Nations’ flagship organization for chanelling climate funding was set up for developing countries worst hit by climate impacts even if they are least responsible for carbon pollution that drives warming.
Money disbursed helps nations to draw down their greenhouse gas emissions, on the one hand, and adapt to storms, droughts and heatwaves made worse by climate change, along with sea level rise, on the other.
The fund, which began doling out grants a decade ago, has identified 19 climate-vulnerable nations that have received no or very limited funding.
“We are deliberately targeting those,” Duarte told AFP in an interview, taking stock of her first year in charge and outlining her ambitions.
The GCF’s priority target list includes Algeria, the Central African Republic, Chad, Iraq, Lebanon, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and South Sudan.
“Our goal is to equip the organization such that it becomes a partner of choice for the most vulnerable... and that it delivers where the funds are most needed,” said the Portuguese development economist.
Also on the list is war-torn Somalia, hit by major floods last year and still reeling from its worst drought in decades.
The GCF has pledged to invest more than $100 million over the next year to help the East African nation unlock investments and develop climate projects.
These include funding off-grid solar energy in rural communities, boosting resilience of the agricultural sector and helping with access to more money in the future.
“We need to adjust our mechanisms to be responsive to this type of country with weak institutional capacity,” she said, insisting on the need for projects to reach isolated populations despite security challenges.
The GCF was first funded by wealthy nations a decade ago as a key component in the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement.
It funnels grants and loans for projects mostly in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean.
But its ambitions have been hindered by limited resources and a cumbersome bureaucracy, making it hard for some of the world’s most at-risk countries to access funding.
How to streamline the process for getting money in a timely manner will be critical issues at November’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan.
Duarte aims to triple the GCF’s capital to $50 billion by 2030 — an ambitious goal, but a small fraction of the trillions experts say is needed overall.
Founded in 2010, the fund today has some 250 partners implementing projects on the ground, spanning UN agencies, development banks, government ministries and agencies, the private sector and NGOs.
Another 200 have expressed interest in aligning with the fund.
“If we are able to work with this vast network of partners that are closer to the realities on the ground where investments are happening, we can make a really big difference,” she said.
As of last month, the fund has committed $15 billion to 270 projects.
In the last 12 months, the GCF approved close to $790 million for the world’s poorest countries — a fourfold increase compared to 2022.
But it remains a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed, experts say.
Currently, donor nations decide what contributions they make to the fund.
At COP29, countries are expected to set a new global climate finance goal, though divisions over its size and scope have hampered negotiations.
As discussions enter a critical phase, Duarte has a simple message for governments: “Be bold. We don’t have the luxury of waiting.”
Top opponent of India PM Modi quits after release from jail
- The Supreme Court granted him bail last week on the condition that he refrained from signing official files or visiting his office
- Kejriwal responded by tendering his resignation to seek a fresh mandate from the public in Delhi polls slated for early next year
NEW DELHI: A top political opponent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi quit as chief minister of the capital Delhi on Tuesday, days after being released on bail in a corruption case.
Arvind Kejriwal, a key leader in an opposition alliance that battled Modi in national elections this year, was detained in March on accusations his city government received kickbacks from allocating liquor licenses.
He is among several opposition figures facing graft probes. His party has described his arrest as a “political conspiracy” orchestrated by Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Supreme Court granted him bail last week on the condition that he refrained from signing official files or visiting his office.
Kejriwal responded by tendering his resignation to seek a fresh mandate from the public in Delhi polls slated for early next year.
The capital’s education minister Atishi, who goes by one name, will replace him in the interim.
“Atishi steps up to lead Delhi until the upcoming elections, carrying the weight of both CM Arvind Kejriwal’s vision and the national capital’s future,” a statement from their Aam Aadmi Party said.
Kejriwal, 56, began his career as a tax collector but quit his civil service job to become a national anti-corruption crusader, bringing him national fame.
Hundreds of cheering supporters greeted him as he left jail on Friday, accusing the government of trying to “break him” by putting him behind bars.
“My resolve is stronger than before,” he said. “God is by my side.”
Kejriwal refused to resign from his position while in custody despite questions over whether his jailing would prevent him from carrying out his official duties.
Atishi, 43, suggested after her nomination that she would still be looking to her predecessor for guidance.
“Delhi only has one chief minister. It is Arvind Kejriwal,” she said.
Kejriwal’s administration was accused of corruption when it liberalized the sale of liquor in the capital three years ago, surrendering a lucrative government stake in the sector.
He is among several prominent Modi opponents to face criminal investigation or trial in recent years.
US think tank Freedom House said this year that the BJP had “increasingly used government institutions to target political opponents.”
Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine
- Moscow has pounded Ukraine’s energy network throughout the two-and-a-half year war
- Moscow is also targeting the country’s energy reserves
BERLIN: Germany will provide 100 million euros ($111 million) in aid to help Ukraine through the coming winter as it weathers Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
“Ukraine is facing another winter of war and Putin is waging a brutal war of cold,” the ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine’s heat and energy supply. This is why Germany is providing a further 100 million euros in winter aid for the (Ukrainian) energy supply.”
Moscow has pounded Ukraine’s energy network throughout the two-and-a-half year war, destroying swathes of the country’s infrastructure and causing severe power shortages and blackouts.
Russian forces have recently shifted their focus from shelling energy distribution networks to targeting energy production facilities, which are much more costly and take years to repair or rebuild.
Moscow is also targeting the country’s energy reserves.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal last week laid out plans to repair and protect the country’s power system ahead of the winter, including reinforcing facilities against drone attacks and impacts from missile fragments.
Shmygal said all hospitals and more than 80 percent of schools across the country were equipped with generators, but there was still “an urgent need for another 1,800 high-capacity generators.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in June that Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities had destroyed half of its electricity generation capacity since last winter.
In early September, the EU announced 40 million euros in humanitarian aid for Ukraine to help with repair work, electricity, heating and housing ahead of the coming winter.
