MUNICH: In 2009, then-US Vice President Joe Biden came to Munich to “press the reset button” with Russia. A decade later he came again to offer the world better relations, this time with his own country.
Promising that “America will be back” once Donald Trump leaves office, Biden won a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference from delegates who find the president’s brusque foreign policy stance hard to like.
But their elation also exposed the weakened state of Western diplomacy in the face of Trump’s assertiveness, according to European diplomats and politicians who were present.
Biden’s successor, Mike Pence, was met with silence at a reception in the palatial Bavarian Parliament on Friday evening after he delivered his signature line: “I bring you greetings from the 45th president of the United States, President Donald Trump.”
His four-day trip to Europe succeeded only in deepening divisions with traditional allies over questions such as Iran and Venezuela and offered little hope in how to deal with threats ranging from nuclear arms to climate change, diplomats and officials said.
Misgivings about Washington’s role in the world are being felt by ordinary people as well as foreign policy specialists.
In Germany and France, half the population see US power as a threat, up sharply from 2013 and a view shared by 37 percent of Britons, the Washington-based Pew Research Center said in a report before the Munich foreign policy gathering.
Asked about European anxiety over Trump’s leadership style, a senior US official on Pence’s Air Force Two plane said the vice president’s Munich conference speech on Saturday at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof would “help give them a different perspective.”
But if the Europeans did not like the “America First” message, there was no concerted response to it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on her own after a last-minute cancelation by French President Emmanuel Macron.
That caused some to lament the failure of the West to uphold the rules-based international order that Washington itself championed in the 70 years that preceded the arrival of Trump in the White House.
“The tit-for-tat logic is unfortunately prevailing ... I think that takes us back to the question of enlightened leadership,” said Thomas Greminger, secretary general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a security and human rights watchdog.
“We need leaders again who do not believe exclusively in short-termism,” he told Reuters.
It fell to China to aid Merkel in her defense of the post-World War Two order, as the country’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, spoke in flawless English for over 20 minutes about the virtues of open trade and global cooperation.
Pence’s message was, in fact, that the pillars of US foreign policy were being rebuilt on a different foundation: isolating Iran, containing China, bringing American troops home and requiring European powers to fall into line.
After using a speech in Warsaw on Thursday to accuse Britain, France and Germany of trying to undermine US sanctions on Iran, Pence called in Munich for the European Union to recognize Venezuelan congressional leader Juan Guaido as president over Nicolas Maduro, whom he called a dictator.
That drew an angry response from Spain’s Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, who said the European Union could acknowledge Guaido as interim president until new elections, in line with the Venezuelan constitution.
French foreign minister Jean-Yves LeDrian said he was mystified by US policy on Syria after Trump’s decision to withdraw troops because it would only benefit Iran, which Washington wants to be tough on.
European diplomats and officials also took issue with Pence’s insistence that EU governments stay away from Chinese telecoms companies as they build the latest generation of mobile networks, preferring first to have an internal discussion about the potential risks and US claims of Chinese espionage.
“US pressure has a tendency to make us do the opposite. US pressure is counterproductive. It’s best that they don’t try and pressure us,” a senior French diplomat said.
Whatever the threats, officials seemed to be mainly talking past each other.
Kumi Naidoo, global head of Amnesty International, said security was often defined too narrowly, failing to address the wider dangers of climate change.
“The narrative here at the Munich Security Conference is broken. They are talking about the right topics but in the wrong language. The mentality here is that security is only a national issue,” Naidoo told Reuters.
Trump policies unite allies against him at European security forum
Trump policies unite allies against him at European security forum
- “America will be back” once Donald Trump leaves office, Biden won a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference
SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket blasts off on its most complex test flight yet
- For the second time, SpaceX used giant mechanical arms to catch its Starship rocket back at the pad minutes after liftoff
- “Every Starship launch is one more step closer toward Mars,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said via X ahead of liftoff
SpaceX’s colossal Starship rocket blasted off Thursday on its most complex test flight yet, with Elon Musk looking to repeat a booster capture with giant mechanical arms and adding a new twist.
The 400-foot (123-meter) rocket soared from the southern tip of Texas, heading out over the Gulf of Mexico in late afternoon.
Founder and CEO Musk aimed to score another booster grab at the launch pad several minutes into the flight, replicating last October’s feat. SpaceX beefed up the catch tower after a retry the following month ended up damaging sensors on the chopstick-like arms, forcing the team to forgo a capture attempt. The booster was steered into the gulf instead.
SpaceX insisted everything had to be perfect in order for the booster to return to the launch site at Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border. This booster was the first to use a recycled engine — one from October’s successful catch.
The company also upgraded the spacecraft for the latest demo, packing it with 10 dummy satellites for release in space. They’re the same size as SpaceX’s Starlink Internet satellites and will follow the same flight path as the spacecraft, ending up destroyed upon entry. The spacecraft will ditch into the Indian Ocean to close out the hourlong mission.
Musk plans to launch actual Starlinks on Starships before moving on to other satellites and, eventually, crews.
It was the seventh test flight for the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. Musk’s goal is Mars.
“Every Starship launch is one more step closer toward Mars,” Musk said via X ahead of liftoff.
Hours hours earlier in Florida, another billionaire’s rocket company — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — launched the newest supersized rocket, New Glenn. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight, successfully placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. But the first-stage booster was destroyed, missing its targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic.
Charities urge UK authorities to ‘hold Israel accountable’ after Gaza ceasefire
- 18 organizations accuse British government of failing to act when UN accused Israel of war crimes
- Letter calls for permanent end to hostilities and says truce must be a ‘starting point for justice and accountability’
LONDON: UK charities and other organizations have called on the British government to ensure the ceasefire in Gaza marks the start of a process that ends Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and ensures “justice and accountability.”
An alliance of 18 groups, including the Council for Arab-British Understanding, Oxfam and Amnesty International, on Thursday signed a letter welcoming the Gaza ceasefire agreement, upon which the Israeli parliament was due to vote on Thursday evening.
But the groups said the temporary truce, expected to take effect on Sunday, must become permanent and represent a “starting point for justice and accountability.”
The letter stated: “This deal alone will not end Palestinian suffering in Gaza, and therefore must be the beginning, and not the end, of a process that will rapidly bring a comprehensive ceasefire, with a lifting of the 17-year long blockade, and end of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.”
The agreement to end 15 months of devastating war in Gaza, during which at least 46,000 Palestinians were killed, was reached on Wednesday. It calls for a six-week ceasefire, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the freeing of hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel during which 1,200 people were killed. Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel will also be released and a mammoth humanitarian aid operation launched in Gaza.
The letter calls for a halt to deliveries of arms to Israel, “including components for F-35 fighter jets sent indirectly,” as part of a series of actions that would “ensure accountability and justice for Palestinians.”
It outlines the terrible suffering endured by Palestinians during the war, including the forced displacement of more than 1.9 million people, representing nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s population.
It also accuses the UK government of failing to act in any meaningful way in response, despite a UN Commission of Inquiry accusing Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict.
The UK, the letter says, “has neither secured a permanent ceasefire nor shown willingness to hold Israel accountable.”
Israeli authorities were repeatedly accused during the conflict of restricting deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza that could have alleviated the suffering of the civilian population. The organizations that signed the letter called for full humanitarian access now to be granted “to avert the risk of famine.”
They continued: “This is a moment of truth for the UK. To continue shielding Israel from accountability is to abandon the principles of justice and human rights that it claims to uphold.”
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, welcomed the ceasefire agreement and said the focus should turn now to humanitarian aid and efforts to secure a better, long-term future for the region.
"After months of devastating bloodshed and countless lives lost, this is the long-overdue news that the Israeli and Palestinian people have desperately been waiting for,” he said.
The UK, the US and other European allies of Israel faced criticism throughout the conflict for failing to put pressure on Israel to end its military operations.
Morocco’s ambassador to UK meets his 400-year-old predecessor
- Envoy views famous portrait of Moroccan emissary sent to Britain to meet Queen Elizabeth I in 1600
- Painting, displayed at Birmingham University gallery, considered a powerful symbol of historic ties
LONDON: Morocco’s ambassador to the UK has come face to face with his predecessor — from 400 years ago.
During a visit to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham this week, Hakim Hajoui took time to reflect on how the job he does has changed over the centuries when he viewed a historic portrait of the Moroccan ambassador Abd El-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun. The masterpiece is thought to be the earliest known surviving British painting of a Muslim.
The ambassador led a diplomatic mission to London in 1600, to the court of Queen Elizabeth I, with the aim of enhancing trade and diplomatic ties between Britain and Morocco. He also hoped to forge an alliance against Spain, which had launched a failed attempt to invade Britain with the Spanish Armada in 1588.
The subject of the painting is believed by some historians to have been the inspiration for Shakespeare’s “Othello,” which the playwright began working on within a year of the ambassador’s arrival in Britain.
“This portrait is a powerful symbol of the deep historical ties between Morocco and the United Kingdom, dating back over eight centuries,” Hajoui said.
“Seeing it here at the Barber Institute at the University of Birmingham underscores the vital role academic and cultural institutions play in preserving and celebrating our shared history.”
The portrait was painted by an unknown artist during the ambassador’s stay in London, which lasted almost a year. He was sent by the ruler of Morocco, Ahmad Al-Mansur, who was also keen to garner support for an invasion of Algerian territories held by the Ottoman Empire.
Historians say that despite his efforts and the attention his party attracted in London, the ambassador failed to secure the British support his country sought. Both the Moroccan and British rulers died just a few years later, in 1603.
Still, the portrait presents a powerful image of the ambassador, with his stern gaze, flowing robes, turban and ornamental sword, from a time when relations between Britain and Muslim regions were growing.
“Abd El-Ouahed’s visit to the court of Queen Elizabeth I represented a major event in the history of diplomatic and cultural exchanges between Europe and the Islamic world,” said Clare Mullett, Birmingham University’s head of research and cultural collections.
“His arrival highlighted a shift in foreign policy and demonstrated England’s willingness to engage with nations outside Europe.”
She described the paining as one of the most vivid souvenirs of British history at the turn of the 17th Century.
Hajoui viewed the painting on Tuesday during a visit to the university to learn about its connections with Morocco and the wider Middle East and North Africa region. It opened a campus in Dubai in 2018.
Patients dying in corridors as UK hospital standards ‘collapse’
LONDON: UK patients are “coming to harm” with hospitals so overwhelmed people are dying in corridors awaiting treatment amid a “collapse in care standards,” a report said Thursday.
In the latest indictment of Britain’s beleaguered state-funded National Health Service, nine in 10 NHS nurses surveyed by the country’s nurses union said “patient safety is being compromised.”
Nearly seven in 10 (66.8 percent) said they were delivering care in “overcrowded or unsuitable places” on a “daily basis,” including in corridors, converted cupboards, car parks and even bereavement rooms.
“The experiences of over 5,000 nursing staff across the UK highlight a devastating collapse in care standards, with patients routinely coming to harm,” said the Royal College of Nursing.
The report condemned the “normalization” of so-called “corridor care,” with nurses unable to access lifesaving equipment in cramped spaces.
One nurse in east England said corridor care in their hospital trust was “not an exception, it’s the rule.”
FASTFACT
The report condemned the ‘normalization’ of so-called ‘corridor care,’ with nurses unable to access lifesaving equipment in cramped spaces.
Last month, some 54,000 patients in emergency departments in England had to wait over 12 hours until a hospital bed was available, up 23 percent from December 2023.
The report is a result of a Royal College of Nursing request at the end of December, asking members to fill out a short survey.
The report includes “the raw, unedited and often heart-breaking comments” of the thousands of nursing staff working across the UK who responded, the RCN said.
There are some 7.5 million people on the NHS waiting list, with more than 3 million having faced delays longer than 18 weeks for treatment.
Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was elected in July on a ticket which included fixing the NHS, rolled out a plan at the start of the year which included expanding community health centers to reduce pressure on hospitals.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Wednesday said corridor care was “unsafe” and “undignified” but it would “take time to undo the damage” to the NHS.
German Christmas market attack suspect held ‘anti-Islam, far-right’ views
- Suspect was “massively Islamophobic and close to right-wing extremist ideologies,” German interior minister said
- Lack of oversight was among factors that kept authorities from intervening early to stop the attack, she said
BERLIN: The suspect in a deadly car ramming attack on a German Christmas market was mentally unwell, “massively Islamophobic and close to right-wing extremist ideologies,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Thursday.
His erratic behavior over the years had come to the attention of law enforcement on at least 105 occasions without triggering a response, Faeser added.
The figure, compiled after the December 20 attack, showed the need for “better data management by the federal and state security authorities,” Faeser said.
“Police data must be centrally and securely bundled” to identify threats, she told journalists at an event to commemorate the victims in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
The suspect, 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, who lived in Germany, was arrested at the scene of the ramming, which left six people dead and over 200 wounded.
Investigators had pieced together the profile of a perpetrator who suffered “psychological issues” and was “influenced by incoherent conspiracy theories,” Faeser said.
The suspect was “massively Islamophobic and close to right-wing extremist ideologies,” she added, and “His hatred is directed against both the German state and against individuals.”
A large amount of information on the suspect had been available before the attack, including a slew of social media posts, Faeser said.
However, “no one had all of the facts,” she said.
The lack of oversight was among the factors that kept authorities from intervening early to stop the attack, she said.
As well as centralising data from different federal and regional authorities, “large amounts of data must also be able to be analyzed using AI” in future, she said.
“We also need new, more precise criteria and action plans to assess the danger posed by people who do not fit the existing mold.”
The attack in Magdeburg came almost eight years to the day after another at a Christmas market in 2016, when a lorry plowed into a crowd in Berlin.
The previous attack, which left 13 people dead, was carried out by an extremist Tunisian and claimed by Daesh.
