International
NATO celebrates 75th birthday, gifts Ukraine more air defence systems
Washington, July 10 (IANS) US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced dozens of additional air defence systems for Ukraine to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, a defence alliance of 32 countries of North America and Europe, up from just 12 when it was born after the Second World War in 1949.
NATO is also expected to announce an “irreversible” path for Ukraine to join the alliance.
The three-day summit is being hosted by the US, which had hosted the first in 1949, also in Washington DC. Leaders and officials from the allied countries are meeting in groups and bilaterally to discuss the threat posed to the alliance by Russia and China chiefly, and Iran and North Korea.
“Today I’m announcing a historic donation of air defence equipment for Ukraine,” President Biden said at the opening of the NATO summit in Washington, at the same venue where the inaugural summit had been held in 1949.
“The United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Italy will provide Ukraine with the equipment for five additional strategic air defence systems.”
He added: “Make no mistake, Russia is failing in this war. More than two years into Putin’s war of choice, his losses are staggering: more than 350,000 Russian troops dead or wounded; nearly 1 million Russians, many of them young people, have left Russia because they no longer see a future in Russia.”
The summit is being attended by leaders of the 32 allied countries and those of partner countries, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The White House has said allies will announce their intention to provide a minimum baseline funding of 40 billion euros ($43.2 billion) over the next year. They will also ensure sustainable levels of security assistance for Ukraine to prevail. The alliance has seen unusual turmoil in recent years caused chiefly by former President Donald Trump’s unorthodox and critical views of its present and future. He threatened to leave the alliance if the member countries did not meet the mutually agreed target of spending at least 2 per cent of their country’s GDP on defence.
Biden kept his foot on the pedal and, as he reported in his remarks, 23 of the countries will have reached that goal or crossed in 2024. The remaining countries are expected to get there soon.
“It’s remarkable progress — proof that our commitment is broad and deep, that we’re ready, that we’re willing, and we’re able to deter aggression and defend every inch of NATO territory across every domain: land, air, sea, cyber, and space,” he said.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan noted in an OpEd in The New York Times that for the first time since the inception of the alliance, “that our European partners have carried more of the burden than the United States in a major conflict”. He was referring to the NATO contributions to Ukraine, which have faced questions at home in the US about how long can it be funded.
–IANS
yrj/vd
International
Venezuela to sever diplomatic ties with Peru
Caracas, July 31 (IANS) Venezuela has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Peru due to Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea’s statement on the presidential election results in the country, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on social media on Wednesday.
“We are forced to make this decision after the reckless statements of the Peruvian Foreign Minister that ignore the will of the Venezuelan people and our Constitution,” Gli said on social media platform X.
He added that the decision was made based on Article 45 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, Xinhua news agency reported.
This came after Peru refused to recognise the presidential election results of Venezuela.
Additionally, the Peruvian Foreign Minister said that he recognised Edmundo Gonzalez, the Venezuelan Opposition candidate, as the country’s President-elect.
Several countries, including the United States and Japan, have also raised “serious concerns” about Maduro winning the presidential election once again, citing that “doubts have been raised both domestically and internationally” about the transparency of the entire election process.
On Monday, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that Nicolas Maduro has won the presidential election for the third time and will govern the country from 2025 to 2031.
Maduro was running against nine presidential candidates. Of all the candidates, Edmundo Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, was seen as a significant challenge to Maduro.
–IANS
int/sd/svn
International
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Tehran
Tel Aviv, July 31 (IANS) The political head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated in Tehran, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Haniyeh was killed alongside one of his bodyguards at his residence in the Iranian capital while he was in the town to attend Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.
There are no further details on the killing from the IRGC.
As per several television analysts in Iran, the blame has been put on Israel.
Reacting to the news, Israel War Room posted a video on X showing Haniyeh celebrating the October 7 attack on Israeli citizens.
“This was Hamas chief Haniyeh’s reaction to the Hamas massacre on October 7. He’s not celebrating anymore,” it captioned the video.
Haniyeh was the face of Hamas and was active in several peace negotiations.
–IANS
aal/sd/kvd
International
Venezuelan President blames opponent for post-election violence
Caracas, July 31 (IANS) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has blamed the opposition’s presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, for the post-election violence unleashed across the nation.
“I hold you responsible, Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, for everything that is happening in Venezuela, for the criminal violence, for the criminals, for the injured, for the dead, for the destruction,” the president said in a message broadcast to the nation during a joint meeting of the Council of State and the Defense Council on Tuesday.
The President also announced the creation of a fund to aid victims of the violence, Xinhua news agency reported.
Up to 749 people have been arrested for participating in violent riots following Sunday’s presidential election, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Tuesday.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council on Monday declared Maduro the winner of the election, paving the way for his third six-year term, from 2025 to 2031.
–IANS
int/sha
International
4.7-magnitude earthquake jolts Tokyo area: JMA
Tokyo, July 31 (IANS) An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 on early Wednesday rocked the Tokyo metropolitan area, the country’s weather agency said.
The temblor occurred at 01:47 a.m. local time, measuring 3 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in areas in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba Prefecture, said the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
At a depth of 120 km, the epicentre was located in Tokyo’s 23 wards at a latitude of 35.7 degrees north and a longitude of 139.6 degrees east, Xinhua news agency reported.
The tremors were felt strongly in central Tokyo, with no tsunami warnings issued.
There have been no reports of damage or casualties due to the temblor.
–IANS
int/sha
International
Iran, Egypt hope for speedy resumption of ties
Tehran, July 31 (IANS) Iran and Egypt have expressed hope that bilateral ties will be resumed as soon as possible.
In a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty exchanged views on bilateral relations, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement published on the website of the Iranian president’s office.
Pezeshkian said Iran and Egypt were two “brotherly” countries whose peoples had a “heartfelt” interest in one another, pointing to the two countries’ “age-old, brilliant and glorious” civilizational backgrounds.
He hoped that the problems hindering the normalisation of bilateral ties would be completely resolved as soon as possible.
Pezeshkian said Iran and Egypt could help resolve many of the region’s problems, noting Iran is ready to cooperate and exchange experiences, capabilities, and bilateral capacities with Egypt.
The Egyptian foreign minister, who was in Iran to attend Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony held on Tuesday, said the two countries adopted close positions on issues such as non-interference in other states’ affairs, protecting the multilateral international system and defending humanitarian rights.
He added the normalisation of bilateral ties was continuing on its path, hoping that the two countries would manage to officially begin cooperation with each other as soon as possible to safeguard mutual interests.
Iran and Egypt severed diplomatic relations in 1980. In recent months, both countries have expressed willingness to mend ties by settling differences on certain issues.
In November 2023, late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and current Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi held their first meeting in Riyadh on the sidelines of the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit to end the Gaza conflict.
–IANS
int/sha
-
Video1 year ago
PM Modi Attacks Congress in Karnataka with “Kerala Story”
-
Cricket1 year ago
CSK players rejoice 5th IPL title with their families (Pics)
-
Politics1 year ago
Siddaramaiah & DK Shivakumar sworn in as Chief Minister & Deputy CM respectively
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Karan Deol weds his longtime Girlfriend Drisha Acharya (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Urvashi Rautela dazzles on Cannes 2023 red carpet (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Sunny Leone gets ready for Kennedy premiere in Cannes (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Alia Bhatt looks crazy beautiful in Prabal Gurung creation at MET GALA 2023 (Pics)
-
Sports6 years ago
History Of Official FIFA WORLD CUP Match balls