NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (right) with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda in Brussels. Lithuania is to spend up to 3.5 percent of its GDP on defence and also agreed to build an artillery shell manufacturing factory. Photo: NATO EUROPE needs to spend a lot more than 2 per cent of its GDP on defence, NATO…
Ukrainian crews training on Leopard 2 tanks in Zagan, Poland. Photo: NATO EUROPE needs to adopt a wartime mindset — again, NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte says. He was speaking at a conference organised by the Carnegie Europe think-tank in Brussels, home to NATO last week (Thursday local time). “The security situation does not look good. It’s…
Ukrainian troops lead an IAEA delegation to a Russian checkpoint near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in September. Photo: Fredrik Dahl / IAEA Continuing Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid is starting to affect the safety of nuclear power plants, the UN nuclear watchdog says. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi’s warnings follows…
Underseas cables linking North America and Europe are part of a network of subsea cables. Photo © US Navy / Joshua Knolla NATO military and civilian experts have met in Brussels today to ramp up co-operation in responding to attacks on undersea cables. A NATO statement says the experts were joined by industry representatives, including…
Picture: stock GLOBAL leaders have called for unity, and a transitional government, in Syria after president Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia. Al-Assad fled just before rebel forces captured the capital, Damascus, after 13 years of civil war. Moscow has reportedly confirmed it had given al-Assad and his family asylum, according to overseas media reports. It…
The North Atlantic Council meets during the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels. Photo: NATO NATO foreign ministers have agreed to do more in the face of a Russian sabotage campaign against member states after a two-day meeting in Brussels which was also attended by King Abdullah II of Jordan. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says…
Picture: stock Australia and New Zealand have joined in calls to ban Russia and North Korea’s ‘shadow fleet’ of illegal oil tankers. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says they are “deeply concerned” about the rise in ‘shadow fleet activity’. She says the fleet is a threat to the environment, maritime safety, international trade and security,…
A Danish tank trains in Latvia, among 3500 troops from 13 NATO allies taking part in Exercise Resolute Warrior 24. Photo: NATO Russia’s war in the Ukraine is escalating to dangerous levels amid long-range missile attacks and the involvement of North Korean troops. The warnings were delivered by speakers at a meeting of the UN…
A gunner from Ukraine’s 24th Mechanised Brigade. Picture: Ukraine Ministry of Defence Russian missiles damaged residential buildings in the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Odesa as drones caused temporary power cuts in the Mykolaiv region and targeted the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. International news media say that Russia is making territorial gains…
Photo: UNRWA/Ashraf Amra Vetoes by Russia and US of United Nations draft calls for a ceasefire in Sudan and Gaza have triggered outrage and debate among member states. A US decision to veto a draft call for a ceasefire in Gaza was only the fourth time it had used that. The BBC reports that 14…