WASHINGTON: The US will send 31 M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, senior administration officials said Wednesday, reversing months of persistent arguments by the Biden administration that the tanks were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.
The US decision came on the heels of Germany agreeing to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its own stocks. Germany had said the Leopards would not be sent unless the US put its Abrams on the table, not wanting to incur Russia’s wrath without the US similarly committing its own tanks.
Since then, both sides had participated in “good diplomatic conversations” that had made the difference and were part of the “extraordinary shift in Germany’s security policy” over providing weapons to Ukraine since Russia invaded 11 months ago, said a senior administration official, who briefed reporters Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to describe the new tank package in advance of the announcement.
The $400 million package announced Wednesday also includes eight M88 recovery vehicles — tank-like tracked vehicles that can tow the Abrams if it gets stuck.
Altogether, France, the UK, the US, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden will send hundreds of tanks and heavy armored vehicles to fortify Ukraine as it enters a new phase of the war and attempts to break through entrenched Russian lines.
But there were few answers about what US tanks would be sent — whether they would be pulled from the existing stockpile of more than 4,000 Abrams and retrofitted, or whether the US would use the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to buy new systems to possibly backfill allies who send their own or buy new systems outright for Ukraine.
Either way, using the assistance initiative funding route means that while Abrams have now been promised to Ukraine, it will likely be many months before the tanks are actually on the battlefield, and not in time for Russia’s anticipated Spring offensive.
Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev on Wednesday called Berlin’s decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine “extremely dangerous.”
Nechayev said in an online statement that the move “shifts the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians about their reluctance to get involved in it.”
“We’re seeing yet again that Germany, as well as its closest allies, is not interested in a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine crisis, it is determined to permanently escalate it and to indefinitely pump the Kyiv regime full of new lethal weapons,” the statement read.
Until now, the US has resisted providing its own M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, citing extensive and complex maintenance and logistical challenges with the high-tech vehicles. Washington believes it would be more productive to send German Leopards since many allies have them and Ukrainian troops would need less training than on the more difficult Abrams.
Just last week, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters that the Abrams is a complicated, expensive, difficult to maintain and hard to train on piece of equipment. One thing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been very focused on, he said, “is that we should not be providing the Ukrainians systems they can’t repair, they can’t sustain, and that they, over the long term, can’t afford, because it’s not helpful.”
For the Abrams to be effective in Ukraine, its forces will require extensive training on combined arms manuevuer — how the tanks operate together on the battlefield, and on how to maintain and support the complex, 70-ton weapon. The Abrams tanks use a turbine jet engine to propel themselves that burns through at least two gallons a mile regardless of whether they are moving or idling, which means that a network of fuel trucks is needed to keep the line moving.
Despite concerns, US to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine
https://arab.news/6fkss
Despite concerns, US to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine
- The US decision came on the heels of Germany agreeing to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its own stocks
- The $400 million package announced Wednesday also includes eight M88 recovery vehicles
Settlers and Palestinians clash in West Bank village
- Several Israeli military jeeps arrived at the scene and soldiers fired a few shots in the air, causing Palestinians to withdraw back to the village
SINJIL, Palestinian Territories: Dozens of Israeli settlers and Palestinians clashed Friday in the occupied West Bank village of Sinjil, where a march against recent settler attacks on nearby farmland was due to take place.
AFP journalists saw local residents and activists begin their march before locals reported that settlers had appeared on a hill belonging to the village.
Palestinian youths marched toward the hill to drive away the settlers, setting a fire at its base while the settlers threw rocks from the high ground.
Local Palestinians told AFP that settlers also started a fire.
Several Israeli military jeeps arrived at the scene and soldiers fired a few shots in the air, causing Palestinians to withdraw back to the village.
Anwar Al-Ghafri, a lawyer and member of Sinjil’s city council, told AFP that such incidents are not new, but have intensified in recent days in the area, just north of the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“A group of settlers, with support and approval from the Israeli army, are carrying out organized attacks on citizens’ land,” he told AFP.
“They assault farmers, destroy crops, and prevent people from reaching or trying to reach their land,” he said, describing the events that had prompted Friday’s march.
The settlers involved in Friday’s clashes could not be reached for comment.
Israeli authorities recently erected a high fence cutting off parts of Sinjil from Road 60, which runs through the entire West Bank from north to south, and which both settlers and Palestinians use.
Mohammad Asfour, a 52-year-old resident, told AFP that the fence was isolating his community, like other Palestinian cities and towns that recently had gates erected by Israel to control access to the outside.
“Sinjil is suffering greatly because of this wall. My house is near it, and so are my brothers’ homes. The settler has the right to come to Sinjil — but the sons of Sinjil aren’t allowed to climb up this hill,” Asfour said.
Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023 triggered the Gaza war.
Since then, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 947 Palestinians, including many militants, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.
Syrian authorities evacuate citizens amid major forest fires
- “Our teams recorded losses in the orchards due to the widespread spread of the forest fire in several areas of the Latakia countryside,” the civil defense added, calling on citizens to report anyone they suspect of starting fires
DAMASCUS: Syrian rescuers evacuated residential areas in Latakia province because of major forest fires, authorities said on Friday.
Fires have spreading across large parts of Syria, particularly on the coast, for several days, with firefighters struggling to control them due to strong winds and a drought.
Abdulkafi Kayyal, director of the Directorate of Disasters and Emergencies in Latakia province, told the state SANA news agency that fires in the Qastal Maaf area had moved close to several villages, prompting the evacuations.
Syria’s civil defense warned residents of “the spread of rising smoke emissions to the northern section of the coastal mountains, the city of Hama, its countryside, and southern Idlib areas.”
“Our teams recorded losses in the orchards due to the widespread spread of the forest fire in several areas of the Latakia countryside,” the civil defense added, calling on citizens to report anyone they suspect of starting fires.
Syrian minister of emergency situations and disasters Raed Al-Saleh said on X that he was following events and “we will exert our utmost efforts to combat these fires.”
With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has been battered by heatwaves, low rainfall and major forest fires.
In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization told AFP that Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years,” noting that an unprecedented drought was on course to push more than 16 million people into food insecurity.
The country is also reeling from more than a decade of civil war leading up to the end of the iron-fisted rule of Bashar Assad in December.
Kayyal said the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance was hindering the work of rescuers, along with strong winds spreading the fires.
How Saudi Arabia is using innovation, research, and regulation to turn waste into a circular economy success
- Engineering, AI and cross-sector partnerships are driving sustainable solutions to manage 110 million tons of waste annually
- New laws, financial incentives and rising investor interest are reshaping the Kingdom’s waste management and recycling landscape
RIYADH: As Saudi Arabia accelerates toward a circular economy under Vision 2030, experts say universities, research institutions, and business leaders are playing a crucial role in developing innovative waste management solutions that align with national sustainability goals.
In early 2024, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture announced a waste management plan aiming to recycle up to 95 percent of waste and add SR120 billion ($31.99 billion) to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product.
Saudi Arabia generates more than 110 million tons of waste each year, much of it originating from cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. Its waste management market is projected to grow from $5.97 billion in 2025 to $8.72 billion by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence.
To meet this challenge, academic partnerships, regulatory reforms and emerging technologies are coming together to reshape the sector, Sultan Al-Muaythir, chairman of the civil engineering department at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, told Arab News.
Forming knowledge-sharing agreements with leading countries in waste management, he said, is a strategic step toward building a sustainable, locally adapted system that draws on global best practices and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s circular economy ambitions.
To drive innovation in the sector, Al-Muaythir emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary support. Fields like civil engineering, landfill and waste management, geotechnical engineering, and soil sciences all contribute to the design and development of critical infrastructure.
Mechanical engineering plays a key role in advancing collection and treatment equipment, while chemical, agricultural and biotechnology engineering disciplines help analyze waste composition and develop transformation processes.
Electrical engineering, he added, is essential for operating smart systems and managing energy generated through treatment.
Al-Muaythir also pointed to the Kingdom’s updated regulatory landscape, particularly the introduction of the Waste Management Law and its executive regulations, as a strong foundation for encouraging innovation and investment in sustainable practices.
He explained that the next phase calls for faster plan implementation, broader international research collaboration and direct incentives for advanced processing technologies — steps that would speed up the Kingdom’s progress toward its environmental and development goals.
While government action is essential, Al-Muaythir said innovation in waste management is not a luxury, but a necessity for building a clean environment and a functioning circular economy.
He added that individual responsibility plays an equally important role. “Adopting conscious behaviors towards waste and committing to sorting and reuse/recycling constitute the first building blocks in creating a more sustainable future,” he said.
Expanding on this vision, Abdullah Alakel, chairman of the Saudi Scientific Research and Innovation Association, said waste management innovation is a cornerstone of Vision 2030’s broader goal to build a circular and sustainable economy.
He told Arab News that scientific research is a key driver in tackling environmental challenges — from recycling and waste-to-energy technologies to the use of artificial intelligence to improve sorting and collection processes — ultimately boosting operational efficiency and reducing environmental harm.
To support this ecosystem, the association provides business incubators and innovation accelerators, offering technical and financial assistance. It also facilitates connections between researchers, donors and investors to help turn ideas into market-ready solutions.
Alakel noted that several joint initiatives with academic and industrial partners are already underway, including efforts to convert organic waste into economic products such as fertilizers and biofuels.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Saudi Arabia aims to recycle up to 95 percent of its waste by 2040. Waste management sector is projected to contribute $32bn to GDP by 2040.
• Half of the Kingdom’s waste comes from Riyadh (21 percent), Jeddah (14 percent) and Dammam (8 percent).
(Sources: Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the National Center for Waste Management)
Other projects aim to develop scalable recycling technologies and improve overall waste management efficiency.
Beyond research, the association works to foster a culture of sustainability across society. Alakel said it organizes public awareness campaigns, educational workshops in schools and universities, and national competitions that encourage creative, environmentally responsible solutions.
He added that the association plays a critical role in bridging academia and implementation by hosting scientific conferences, building strategic partnerships and supporting national innovation deployment in alignment with Vision 2030’s environmental goals.
Farah Al-Gharib, CEO of Precision & Choice Environmental Solutions, echoed those views, underscoring the opportunity to enhance coordination between stakeholders as Saudi Arabia moves toward a circular economy.
She told Arab News that aligning regulations, expanding infrastructure for sorting and collection, and stimulating private investment remain key challenges. Raising public awareness and promoting innovation are also essential to achieving sector-wide transformation.
To accelerate progress, Al-Gharib called for a more integrated and flexible system that encourages public-private partnerships. Activating source-level sorting and offering financial incentives to investors, she said, would help drive growth in the sector.
Clear metrics, such as waste reduction, cost savings and job creation, should be used to measure success.
Looking ahead, she expects more companies to invest in smart technologies and expand their collection and treatment networks. Seamless integration across the entire waste value chain — from source to processing and redistribution — is essential, she said, to avoid bottlenecks and uphold the core principles of the circular economy.
“Based on our experience in the sector, we believe that unifying and updating regulations under a single, clear, and transparent regulatory framework would directly contribute to attracting investors, reducing the complexity of procedures and the classification of recyclable products, thereby accelerating regulatory processes and stimulating production,” said Al-Gharib.
She concluded that clear legislation and coordinated responsibilities across authorities are key to scaling up circular economy initiatives effectively and sustainably.
Fluminense stun Al-Hilal to reach Club World Cup semifinal
Brazil’s Fluminense continued their fairy-tale run at the Club World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal on Friday in Orlando, Florida, to book their place in the semifinals.
The tournament underdogs struck first through Matheus Martinelli in the opening half before Al-Hilal hit back after the break when Marcus Leonardo found the net.
But Fluminense refused to be denied and regained their lead in the 70th minute through Hercules to secure a memorable win over Al-Hilal in the first meeting between the two clubs.
The Brazilian side, who entered the tournament as one of the biggest long shots, will now face the winners of Friday’s other quarter-final clash between Palmeiras and Chelsea.
US judge briefly pauses deportation of 8 migrants to South Sudan
- US District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington made the ruling at an emergency hearing on July 4
- The administration has detained the men for six weeks on a military base in Djibouti
WASHINGTON: A federal judge briefly halted the Trump administration on Friday from placing eight migrants on a plane destined for conflict-ridden South Sudan, to give lawyers for the men time to make their argument to a court in Massachusetts.
US District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington made the ruling at an emergency hearing on July 4, when courts are otherwise closed for the Independence Day holiday.
The group of migrants had filed new claims on Thursday after the Supreme Court clarified that a federal judge in Boston could no longer require US Department of Homeland Security to hold them.
The administration has detained the men for six weeks on a military base in Djibouti rather than bring back to the United States.
The order stops the US government from moving the men until 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. They were scheduled to be removed to South Sudan on a 7 p.m. flight.
The case is the latest development over the legality of the Trump administration’s campaign to deter immigration by shipping migrants to locations other than their countries of origin pursuant to deals with other countries.
A lawyer for the US said during the hearing that court orders halting agreed-upon deportations pose a serious problem for US diplomatic relations and would make foreign countries less likely to accept transfers of migrants in the future. The group of men have been convicted of various crimes, with four of them convicted of murder, the US Department of Homeland Security has said.
South Sudan has long been dangerous even for locals. The US State Department advises citizens not to travel there due to violent crime and armed conflict. The United Nations has said the African country’s political crisis could reignite a brutal civil war that ended in 2018. The eight men, who their lawyers said are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Burma, Sudan and Vietnam, argue their deportations to South Sudan would violate the US constitution, which prohibits “cruel and unusual” punishment.
Moss said that he would transfer the case to Massachusetts rather than hear it himself, but remarked that if they proved their allegations about the motives of US authorities, they would likely have a valid claim.
“It seems to me almost self-evident that the United States government cannot take human beings and send them to circumstances in which their physical well-being is at risk simply either to punish them or send a signal to others,” Moss said during the hearing.
