NATO to respond if Baltic Sea pipeline damage deliberate — alliance chief

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference during a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on October 11, 2023. (REUTERS)
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Updated 12 October 2023
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NATO to respond if Baltic Sea pipeline damage deliberate — alliance chief

  • Damage to pipeline and telecom cable being investigated
  • Pipeline and cable connect NATO members Finland, Estonia

HELSINKI/BRUSSELS: NATO will discuss damage to a gas pipeline and data cable running between member states Finland and Estonia, and will mount a “determined” response if a deliberate attack is proven, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
Damage to the Balticconnector pipeline and telecommunications cable was confirmed on Tuesday after one of the two pipeline operators, Finland’s Gasgrid, noted a drop in pressure and possible leak on Sunday night during a storm.
Helsinki, which is investigating, has said the damage was probably caused by “outside activity.” That has stoked concern over regional energy security and pushed gas prices higher.
“The important thing now is to establish what happened and how this could happen,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of the military alliance.
“If it is proven to be a deliberate attack on NATO-critical infrastructure, then this will be, of course, serious, but it will also be met by a united and determined response from NATO.”
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation said “external marks” had been found on the seabed beside the damaged pipeline and that it was reviewing the movements of vessels in the area at the time of the rupture.
“We are now focusing on the technical investigation of the pipe damage site and examining the seabed at the scene,” bureau chief Robin Lardot told reporters on Wednesday.
Risto Lohi, the bureau’s chief investigator, told a news conference that anchor damage had not been ruled out, adding: “At the moment it looks like the damage was caused by mechanical force, not an explosion.

The pipeline runs between Inkoo in Finland and Paldiski in Estonia across the Gulf of Finland, part of the Baltic Sea which stretches eastward into Russian waters and ends at the port of St. Petersburg.

NATO defense ministers will discuss the damage on Thursday when they gather for a second day of meetings in Brussels, Finnish defense minister Antti Hakkanen told reporters late on Wednesday.
“We do know that the infrastructure is vulnerable and needs to be better protected,” Hakkanen said.
Balticconnector is jointly operated by Estonian electricity and gas system operator Elering and Finnish gas transmission system operator Gasgrid, which each own half of the pipeline.
The operators said in a statement that planning and carrying out repairs to the pipeline would take at least five months, with gas transfers unlikely to resume before April.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the incident as “disturbing” and told a regular news briefing that the September 2022 attack on the Nord Stream pipelines that cross the Baltic Sea between Russia and Germany have set a dangerous precedent.
Those larger gas pipelines were damaged by explosions that authorities have said were caused by sabotage.
Henri Vanhanen, research fellow at the Finnish Institute for International Affairs, said the central issue was how NATO would react if there was evidence that a state actor was behind the new pipeline damage.
“I think the big question in the long term is ... do we have a clear set of potential countermeasures for such (sabotage) activities? What is the deterrence?” he said.
President Sauli Niinisto and other officials were briefed on Wednesday and preparedness levels raised at critical infrastructure facilities, the Finnish government said. Meanwhile, Norway and Lithuania moved to tighten security at onshore energy installations.
Pipeline ‘pulled from one side’
“It can clearly be seen that these damages are caused by quite heavy force,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told Reuters, with possible causes including “mechanical impact or mechanical destruction.”
The pipeline and telecoms cable run in parallel at a “significant” distance from each other, according to the cable operator, Elisa.
The two were damaged “within the same time frame” early on Sunday, Finnish investigators said, with the pipeline break believed to have been in Finnish waters while the cable breach was in Estonian waters.
The pipeline, encased in concrete for protection, looks like “someone tore it on the side,” Estonian Navy Commander Juri Saska told public broadcaster ERR. “The concrete has broken, or peeled off, specifically at that point of injury.”
The damage would not impact Finland’s electricity system, grid operator Fingrid said. Gas accounts for 5 percent of Finland’s energy needs.
The Balticconnector pipeline opened in December 2019 to help integrate gas markets in the region, giving Finland and the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania more flexibility of supply.
 


Norway to extradite man to Rwanda for trial on murder charges in 1994 genocide

Updated 3 sec ago
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Norway to extradite man to Rwanda for trial on murder charges in 1994 genocide

The Oslo district court ruled in September 2023 that the conditions for extradition had been met

COPENHAGEN: Norway will extradite a man to Rwanda on the East African country’s request, to stand trial on charges of committing murder during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, Norwegian police said on Tuesday.
The Oslo district court ruled in September 2023 that the conditions for extradition had been met, and Norway’s supreme court in June last year affirmed the ruling after the defendant appealed the initial decision, police said in a statement.
Norway’s justice ministry decided on February 14 that the man, who was arrested in the Nordic country in 2022, should be extradited to Rwanda, citing its obligation under the United Nations Genocide Convention to do so, police said.

Suicide bombers detonate and breach wall of a military facility in Pakistan’s northwest

Updated 20 min 33 sec ago
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Suicide bombers detonate and breach wall of a military facility in Pakistan’s northwest

  • Plumes of gray smoke rose into the air and there were gunshots after the explosions
  • Bannu is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban are active

PESHAWAR: Twin blasts struck a military facility Tuesday in the northwest Pakistani city of Bannu after suicide bombers blew themselves up to breach the wall, officials said.
Plumes of gray smoke rose into the air and there were gunshots after the explosions, said police officer Zahid Khan.
The army said two suicide bombers detonated near the wall of a sprawling military area in Bannu, which mainly houses offices and homes of security forces.
Bannu is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban are active.
“After a breach in the wall, five to six more attackers attempted to enter the cantonment but were eliminated. Operations in the area are still ongoing,” the army said in a statement.
The blasts happened after sunset, when people would have been breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, Jaish Al-Fursan, claimed responsibility for the attack, the third militant assault in Pakistan since Ramadan started Sunday.
In a statement, Jaish Al-Fursan said its fighters had killed dozens of security personnel. The army did not immediately provide casualty figures.
Armed groups have targeted Bannu several times. Last November, a suicide car bomb killed 12 troops and wounded several others at a security post.
In July, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle and other militants opened fire near the outer wall of the military facility.


Hungary PM Orban to meet French president for talks on Ukraine on Wednesday

Updated 43 min 43 sec ago
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Hungary PM Orban to meet French president for talks on Ukraine on Wednesday

  • Orban also said that he sees more chance to find ways to cooperate on common EU security

BUDAPEST: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday that he would meet French President Emmanuel Macron to talk about Ukraine on Wednesday ahead of an extraordinary summit of European Union leaders scheduled for Thursday.
Orban also said that he sees more chance to find ways to cooperate on common EU security than on Ukraine at Thursday's summit. Replying to a reporter's question Orban confirmed that he had a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump in Sunday and that they discussed 'everything.'


Ukraine ‘determined’ to maintain US ties after aid halt

Updated 04 March 2025
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Ukraine ‘determined’ to maintain US ties after aid halt

  • “Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the US,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said
  • “The US is an important partner and we need to preserve this“

KYIV: Ukraine on Tuesday sought to maintain bonds with Washington after President Donald Trump ordered US military aid deliveries be suspended following a public clash with counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump’s stunning decision strengthened fears in Ukraine and in many European capitals that America was pivoting away from its allies — and toward Moscow.
“Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the US,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told reporters, adding: “The US is an important partner and we need to preserve this.”
US and Western security guarantees were “existentially important” for Ukraine and for Europe, he said, adding Kyiv was ready “at any time” to sign a strategic minerals extraction deal demanded by Trump.
The prime minister’s outreach followed Trump’s decision, which sent shockwaves across Ukraine, but which was also hailed by Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a “solution which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process.”
“If the United States stops (military supplies), this would probably be the best contribution to peace,” Peskov said.
The European Union, which along with Ukraine, has been excluded from US-Russian negotiations toward a potential truce in Ukraine, has been scrambling to up its support for Kyiv.
That urgency heightened on Friday, when Trump and Zelensky clashed in the White House, with Trump warning his Ukrainian counterpart “won’t be around very long” without a ceasefire deal with Moscow.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday presented an EU plan to mobilize some 800 billion euros ($840 billion) for Europe’s defense.
She said the funding would permit EU countries to “massively step up their support to Ukraine” and provide “immediate military equipment for Ukraine.”
Poland’s government noted that America’s decision was made without consulting NATO allies, and the impact was already being seen at a weapons and aid logistics hub for Ukraine it hosts.
“Reports coming in from the border, as well as from our (logistics) hub... also confirm the announcements made by the American side,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said without elaborating.
The US pause has gone into effect immediately and impacts hundreds of millions of dollars of weaponry in the process of being sent to Ukraine, The New York Times reported.
Ordinary Ukrainians who spoke to AFP were shocked and angry at what they viewed as a betrayal by Trump.
“It’s like a stab in the back,” a 33-year-old financial assistant in Kyiv who gave only her first name, Sofia, told AFP.
Trump “wants Ukraine’s surrender, the deaths of our people, the surrender of our territories,” one army volunteer, Sergiy Sternenko, said on Telegram.
With the US aid pause, “everything can change,” a 48-year-old military recruiter in Kyiv, Volodymyr Perkhrest, told AFP. “I don’t think Europe is able to meet these needs,” he said.
Ukraine’s prime minister vowed in a news conference that “we will do everything to hold out” despite the US aid cut.
A Zelensky aide, Mykhailo Pdolyak, said on X his country was “discussing options with our European partners.”
Zelensky has yet to comment publicly on the halt of the US aid.
Last week, he visited Washington to sign the multi-billion-dollar minerals deal — but ended up not doing so after his showdown with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
Trump — who has labelled Zelensky a “dictator” — said Ukraine should be “more appreciative” of US support.
Zelensky has accused Trump of succumbing to “a disinformation space” created by Russia, which he says is not serious about pursuing peace.
Ukraine is seeking tough security guarantees around an end to the war.
With the United States opposing its bid to join NATO, Kyiv is turning to other measures backed by Western countries.
After weekend crisis talks in London, Britain and France are investigating how to propose a one-month Ukraine-Russia truce “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure” — potentially backstopped by troops on the ground.


Germany suspends new financial aid to Rwanda over alleged support for M23 rebels in Congo

Updated 04 March 2025
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Germany suspends new financial aid to Rwanda over alleged support for M23 rebels in Congo

  • The ministry said Tuesday that, “in consultation with partners,” it will further restrict bilateral cooperation with Rwanda
  • It said that it will review existing development cooperation with Kigali

NAIROBI: Germany’s development ministry said Tuesday it will suspend new financial commitments to Rwanda over that country’s alleged support of the M23 rebels in neighboring eastern Congo.
The ministry said Tuesday that, “in consultation with partners,” it will further restrict bilateral cooperation with Rwanda.
It said that it will review existing development cooperation with Kigali, suspend high-level participation in development events organized by the Rwandan government and seek “an appropriate reaction” regarding multilateral programs.
Germany said Rwanda was informed of the decision in advance in a conversation in which the position of the European Union and expectations of Rwanda — particularly withdrawal of its troops and an end to support for M23 — were again underlined.
Germany is the latest country to announce measures aimed at piling pressure on Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who previously has been defiant over his country’s efforts to secure its border with a largely lawless part of eastern Congo.
Rwanda recently said similar restrictive measures introduced by the UK were doing nothing to “help (Congo), nor do they contribute to achieving a sustainable political solution to the conflict in eastern (Congo).”
About 4,000 Rwandan troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels in eastern Congo, where the rebels now control the capitals of the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, according to a report by UN experts.
M23 is the most powerful of the many armed groups vying for a foothold in Congo’s east, a region possessing trillions of dollars in largely untapped mineral resources crucial for global technology.