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Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine

Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine
People walk past an installation with a power transformer, damaged by a Russian military strike, in the city center, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv. (Reuters)
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Updated 15 sec ago
AFP
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Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine

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
Updated 15 sec ago
AFP
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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.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Germany

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UPDATE 1-Germany says Moldova could be next in line if Ukraine falls

UPDATE 1-Germany says Moldova could be next in line if Ukraine falls
Updated 2 min 22 sec ago
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UPDATE 1-Germany says Moldova could be next in line if Ukraine falls

UPDATE 1-Germany says Moldova could be next in line if Ukraine falls
Updated 2 min 22 sec ago
“Everything that we do to support Ukraine also means fostering stabilization with regards to Moldova,” Baerbock said
“It is clear what the greatest concern of the people here is: that if Ukraine falls, Moldova is the next country in line“

CHISINAU: Support for Ukraine guarantees the survival of neighboring Moldova, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday at a conference to address concerns about broadening Russian interference in the region.
“Everything that we do to support Ukraine also means fostering stabilization with regards to Moldova,” Baerbock said. “It is clear what the greatest concern of the people here is: that if Ukraine falls, Moldova is the next country in line.”
Baerbock was visiting Chisinau for the Moldova Partnership Platform, together with her counterparts from France, Romania, Poland, the Netherlands and Lithuania.
Germany, one of Kyiv’s main military supporters in Europe, initiated the platform after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, painting it as part of broader efforts to stabilize Moldova’s economy and shield it from Russian disinformation.
Moldova, which has a Romanian-speaking majority and large Russian-speaking minority, has alternated between pro-Russian and pro-Western governments since the fall of the Soviet Union, and now has a strong Western-oriented administration. Moscow has troops stationed in a region where pro-Russian separatists broke from Chisinau’s control in a short war in the early 1990s.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who has accused Russia of trying to overthrow her government, said Moldova still faces serious challenges and urged partners to increase their support.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine, which we condemned from the very first day, has caused enormous damage to our economy,” Sandu said.
“The uncertainty caused by the war continues to seriously hinder our economic development and will continue to hinder it as long as the war lasts,” she added.
Within the framework of the platform, agreements were signed to provide Moldova with more than 300 million euros ($334 million) in loans and 80 million euros in grants, the government’s press service said.
Allies also welcomed Moldova’s efforts to join the European Union. Under Sandu, Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and NATO and EU member Romania, hopes to join the bloc by 2030.
France, Germany and Poland voiced their “unwavering and continuous support for Moldova” in its bid to join, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters following a meeting of the three countries’ top diplomats.
The countries, known as the Weimar Triangle, also promised support to the Moldovan armed forces to defend the country, both bilaterally and as EU partners.
In May, Moldova signed a security and defense partnership with the EU, the first country to agree such a deal with the bloc.

Turkiye, Sweden to hold first security talks since NATO entry

Turkiye, Sweden to hold first security talks since NATO entry
Updated 6 sec ago
Reuters
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Turkiye, Sweden to hold first security talks since NATO entry

Turkiye, Sweden to hold first security talks since NATO entry
  • The meeting will take place during a visit to Ankara by Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard
Updated 6 sec ago
Reuters

ANKARA: Turkiye and Sweden will hold their first meeting on Wednesday addressing a security pact the sides agreed to ensure Ankara’s approval of Stockholm’s NATO membership bid, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday.
The meeting will take place during a visit to Ankara by Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, and it carried “special importance” in terms of improving cooperation on terrorism, the source said.
Turkiye approved Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance in January after a more than year-long delay over concerns about Sweden’s stance on groups and individuals it deems terrorists, and over an arms embargo that Stockholm later lifted.
As part of the approval, Ankara demanded that Stockholm amend anti-terrorism laws and crack down on members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) — also labelled a terrorist group by the United States and European Union — as well as a group it accuses of orchestrating a 2016 failed putsch.
The formation of the “Security Compact” was agreed by NATO’s then-chief Jens Stoltenberg and Turkish and Swedish leaders at an alliance summit in 2023. The parties had also agreed that Stockholm would present a “roadmap” on counter-terrorism.
Sweden joined NATO in March.
“Cooperation in the field of security, especially the fight against terrorism, will be discussed within the framework of the road map,” the source said, adding that the talks aimed to pave the way for additional steps on the PKK and its Syrian offshoots, as well others.
Turkiye’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, and Stenergard will also discuss bilateral ties during the meetings, the source added.

Topics: Turkiye Sweden

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Portugal battles wildfires as death toll climbs to four

Portugal battles wildfires as death toll climbs to four
Updated 8 min 9 sec ago
Reuters
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Portugal battles wildfires as death toll climbs to four

Portugal battles wildfires as death toll climbs to four
  • More than 1,000 firefighters worked through the night to control a cluster of four blazes in the northwestern Aveiro district
  • Authorities have closed several motorways, including a stretch of the main highway linking Lisbon and Porto
Updated 8 min 9 sec ago
Reuters

NELAS, Portugal: Four people have died so far in wildfires raging in central and northern Portugal and over 40 have been injured, state news agency Lusa reported on Tuesday, as authorities evacuated more villages overnight.
The civil protection authority accounted for three deaths as of Monday night and would not comment on Lusa’s report.
More than 1,000 firefighters worked through the night to control a cluster of four blazes in the northwestern Aveiro district.
Reuters footage showed local residents pouring buckets of water on advancing flames near the town of Nelas about 50 km (31 miles) east of Aveiro.
There were 48 active wildfires in mainland Portugal mobilizing around 5,000 firefighters.
In Aveiro alone, the blazes have burned through more than 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of forest and scrubland in the past two days, officials said, roughly the same acreage that was consumed by fires through the end of August in the entire country.
National emergency and civil protection commander Andre Fernandes said late on Monday the Aveiro fires could engulf a further 20,000 hectares.
Authorities have closed several motorways, including a stretch of the main highway linking Lisbon and Porto, and suspended train connections on two railroad lines in northern Portugal.
Portugal and neighboring Spain have recorded fewer fires than usual after a rainy start to the year, but both remain vulnerable to the increasingly hot and dry conditions that scientists have blamed on global warming.
Temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) across the country over the weekend, when the fires first broke out and were fanned by strong winds. The meteorology agency IPMA forecasts they would stay above 30 C (86 F) for the next two days, amid extremely low humidity.
The danger of fires will remain ‘high, very high or maximum’ in the northern and central regions, it said.
“We need to be realistic. We will have difficult hours in the coming days and we have to get ready for it,” Prime Minister Luis Montenegro told reporters on Monday night.
The government on Monday requested help from the European Commission under the EU civil protection mechanism, leading Spain, Italy and Greece to send two water-bombing aircraft each.

Topics: Portugal wildfires Aveiro

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India condemns Iran supreme leader’s comments on treatment of minorities

India condemns Iran supreme leader’s comments on treatment of minorities
Updated 17 September 2024
Reuters
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India condemns Iran supreme leader’s comments on treatment of minorities

India condemns Iran supreme leader’s comments on treatment of minorities
  • India and Iran have typically shared a strong and close relationship
  • India signed contract in May to develop, operate Iran’s Chabahar port
Updated 17 September 2024
Reuters

NEW DELHI: India has condemned comments made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the treatment of Muslims in the South Asian nation, calling his remarks “misinformed and unacceptable.”

“We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in Myanmar, Gaza, India, or any other place,” Khamenei said in a social media post on Monday.

In response, India’s foreign ministry said it “strongly deplored” the comments.

“Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” the foreign ministry spokesperson said.

The two countries have typically shared a strong relationship, and signed a 10-year contract in May to develop and operate the Iranian port of Chabahar.

India has been developing the port in Chabahar on Iran’s south-eastern coast along the Gulf of Oman as a way to transport goods to Iran, Afghanistan and central Asian countries, bypassing the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan.

Khamenei, however, has been critical of India in the past over issues involving Indian Muslims and the troubled Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.

Topics: India Iran

Zimbabwe to cull 200 elephants to feed people left hungry by drought

Zimbabwe to cull 200 elephants to feed people left hungry by drought
Updated 17 September 2024
Reuters
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Zimbabwe to cull 200 elephants to feed people left hungry by drought

Zimbabwe to cull 200 elephants to feed people left hungry by drought
  • The El Nino-induced drought wiped out crops in southern Africa, impacting 68 million people and causing food shortages across the region
Updated 17 September 2024
Reuters

HARARE: Zimbabwe plans to cull 200 elephants to feed communities facing acute hunger after the worst drought in four decades, wildlife authorities said on Tuesday.
The El Nino-induced drought wiped out crops in southern Africa, impacting 68 million people and causing food shortages across the region.
“We can confirm that we are planning to cull about 200 elephants across the country. We are working on modalities on how we are going to do it,” Tinashe Farawo, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson, told Reuters.
He said the elephant meat would be distributed to communities in Zimbabwe affected by the drought.
The cull, the first in the country since 1988, will take place in Hwange, Mbire, Tsholotsho and Chiredzi districts. It follows neighboring Namibia’s decision last month to cull 83 elephants and distribute meat to people impacted by the drought.
More than 200,000 elephants are estimated to live in a conservation area spread over five southern African countries — Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Namibia — making the region home to one of the largest elephant populations worldwide.
Farawo said the culling is also part of the country’s efforts to decongest its parks, which can only sustain 55,000 elephants. Zimbabwe is home to over 84,000 elephants.
“It’s an effort to decongest the parks in the face of drought. The numbers are just a drop in the ocean because we are talking of 200 (elephants) and we are sitting on plus 84,000, which is big,” he said.
With such a severe drought, human-wildlife conflicts can escalate as resources become scarcer. Last year Zimbabwe lost 50 people to elephant attacks.
The country, which is lauded for its conservation efforts and growing its elephant population, has been lobbying the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to reopen trade of ivory and live elephants.
With one of the largest elephant populations, Zimbabwe has about $600,000 worth of ivory stockpiles which it cannot sell.

Topics: Zimbabwe

Latest updates

Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine
Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine
Germany says Moldova could be next in line if Ukraine falls
Germany says Moldova could be next in line if Ukraine falls
Turkiye, Sweden to hold first security talks since NATO entry
Turkiye, Sweden to hold first security talks since NATO entry
Portugal battles wildfires as death toll climbs to four
Portugal battles wildfires as death toll climbs to four
Saudi Arabia’s Commander of Joint Forces visits officers wounded in Yemen operation
Saudi Arabia’s Commander of Joint Forces visits officers wounded in Yemen operation

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