PRAGUE: The European Union has not yet done enough to boost its own arms production capacities in light of geopolitical threats, in particular Russia’s war on Ukraine, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
“Protecting Europe is first and foremost Europe’s duty. And while NATO must remain the center of our collective defense, we need a much stronger European pillar,” von der Leyen told the GLOBESEC forum, a security conference in Prague.
She also said it was an illusion that Europe had been doing enough on security at the beginning of this decade, adding that the second half of the decade will be high-risk.
“We Europeans must be on guard. We must refocus our attention on the security dimension of everything we do. We must think about our Union as intrinsically a security project.”
EU must step up arms production, play stronger role in defense, Commission chief says
https://arab.news/pqnqm
EU must step up arms production, play stronger role in defense, Commission chief says
- She also said it was an illusion that Europe had been doing enough on security at the beginning of this decade
Djokovic, Sabalenka win season-openers but Kyrgios loses on return
- Former world number one Novak Djokovic is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown in January in Melbourne
- Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios loses in three tight sets in his first singles match since June 2023
Former world number one Djokovic, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown in January in Melbourne, eased to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over wildcard Rinky Hijikata.
The 37-year-old Serb broke Hijikata once in the first set and twice in the second for a comfortable 74-minute win.
Djokovic, now ranked seven in the world, was all business against the young Australian and always looked in control as he set up a second-round clash against fellow veteran Gael Monfils.
“To start the new season with a win is obviously very important,” said Djokovic, who is pursuing an unprecedented 11th Australian Open title.
“But Hijikata was really good tonight and he made me work for it.”
Australian firebrand Kyrgios lost in three tight sets in his first singles match since June 2023.
Kyrgios went down 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3) to Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in almost two and a half hours as serve dominated.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios, 29, is making his comeback following wrist reconstruction and other injuries over the past couple of years.
Ahead of the Australian Open starting on January 12, big-serving Mpetshi Perricard said Kyrgios had shown enough to suggest that his comeback would be a success.
Kyrgios played and won in the doubles with Djokovic on Monday.
“Playing Nick here wasn’t a good match-up for me,” the 21-year-old Mpetshi Perricard said, asked about playing Kyrgios in front of his home crowd.
“He did some good things, he played with confidence.”
The Frenchman, who has risen from 205 in the world at the start of 2024 to his current ranking of 31, fired down 36 aces.
Women’s world number one Sabalenka kickstarted her bid to win the Australian Open for a third consecutive time with a straight-forward win after a sluggish start.
The Belarusian appeared bothered by the high humidity on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, particularly during an error-strewn first set against Renata Zarazua.
But after breaking Mexico’s Zarazua at 5-4, the 26-year-old surged through the second set to wrap up the match 6-4, 6-0 in 65 minutes.
“The first match is always a tricky one,” Sabalenka said.
“It was a tricky start for me but I’m glad that I closed it out in the first set, and in the second set I felt like whatever I tried to do it would work for me.
“So I’m really happy for the first win of the season.”
Sabalenka is bidding to be the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997-99 to win three Australian Opens in succession.
She will play Yulia Putintseva next after the Kazakh’s 6-2, 7-5 win over American Mccartney Kessler.
UN condemns Taliban ban on Afghan women working at NGOs
- Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women have been progressively erased from public spaces
- ‘No country can progress – politically, economically or socially – while excluding half of its population from public life’
GENEVA: UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday that Afghanistan’s governing Taliban authorities must reverse their ban on Afghan women working for NGOs.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women have been progressively erased from public spaces, prompting the United Nations to denounce the “gender apartheid” the administration has established.
“I am deeply alarmed at the recent announcement by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan that non-governmental organizations’ licenses will be revoked if they continue to employ Afghan women. This is absolutely the wrong path being taken,” Turk said in a statement.
He said that in a letter dated Thursday, the Taliban’s economy ministry ordered national and international NGOs to comply with a decree issued two years ago which bars them from employing Afghan women.
“The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains dire, with more than half the population living in poverty. NGOs play a vital role in providing critical life-saving assistance — to Afghan women, men, girls and boys — and this measure will directly impact the ability of the population to receive humanitarian aid,” said Turk.
“I once again urge the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to revoke this deeply discriminatory decree, and all other measures which seek to eradicate women and girls’ access to education, work and public services, including health care, and that restrict their freedom of movement.
“No country can progress — politically, economically or socially — while excluding half of its population from public life.
“For the future of Afghanistan, the de facto authorities must change course.”
Since the Taliban’s return to power, women have been progressively erased from public spaces, prompting the United Nations to denounce the “gender apartheid” the administration has established.
Taliban authorities have banned post-primary education for girls and women, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public places.
A recent law prohibits women from singing or reciting poetry in public under the Taliban government’s ultra-strict application of Islamic law. It also encourages them to “veil” their voices and bodies outside the home.
Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting female voices.
The Taliban administration claims that Islamic law “guarantees” the rights of Afghan men and women.
Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine hits multiple targets, including Kyiv
- Ukraine’s air force reported a ballistic missile threat at 3:00 a.m., with at least two explosions heard in Kyiv minutes later
- The air force also reported missiles and drones targeting several other regions of Ukraine
KYIV: Russia launched an aerial attack on Ukraine on Tuesday, striking the capital and other regions with multiple missiles and drones.
Ukraine’s air force reported a ballistic missile threat at 3:00 a.m. (0100 GMT), with at least two explosions heard in Kyiv minutes later. Another missile alert was issued at 8:00 a.m. followed by at least one explosion in the city. Missile debris fell in the Darnytskyi district of the capital with no reports of casualties or damage, the local administration said.
Authorities in the northeastern Sumy region reported strikes near the city of Shostka, where the mayor, Mykola Noha, said 12 residential buildings had been damaged as well as two educational facilities. He said some “social infrastructure objects” were destroyed, without providing detail.
The air force also reported missiles and drones targeting several other regions of Ukraine.
Around half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed during the war, and rolling electricity blackouts are common and widespread.
Kyiv’s Western allies have provided air defense systems to help Ukraine protect critical infrastructure, but Russia has sought to overwhelm its air defenses with combined strikes involving large numbers of missiles and drones.
Russian attacks come as uncertainty looms over the course of the nearly three-year conflict. US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to end the war and has thrown into doubt whether vital US military support for Kyiv will continue.
On Monday, President Joe Biden announced that the United States will send an additional $2.5 billion in weapons to Ukraine as his administration works quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kyiv fight off Russia before Trump takes office.
Russia has held the initiative this year as its military has steadily rammed through Ukrainian defenses in the east in a series of slow but steady offensives.
Militants attack a security post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing 2 people
- No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban
- Security forces have also stepped up intelligence-based operations against the Pakistani Taliban
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Militants armed with assault rifles attacked a security post in restive northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, killing a police officer and a civilian, officials said.
Another officer was also wounded in the attack at the Draban Post in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police official Abdullah Khan said, adding that the civilian was an employee of the Customs department.
He also said security forces returned fire and that “a group of insurgents” fled the scene.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, who often target security forces across the country, especially in the former tribal regions in the troubled northwest bordering Afghanistan.
Security forces have also stepped up intelligence-based operations against the Pakistani Taliban, emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
South Korea starts releasing Jeju Air crash victims to families
- Investigators race to determine why the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash landed and burst into flames
- Everyone aboard Jeju Air Flight 2216 was killed, save two flight attendants pulled from the wreckage
MUAN, South Korea: South Korean authorities began releasing the bodies of plane crash victims to families Tuesday, as investigators raced to determine why the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash landed and burst into flames.
US investigators, including from Boeing, arrived at the crash site in southwestern Muan, officials said, as South Korean authorities began assessing two black boxes retrieved from the burned-out wreckage of the aircraft.
The plane was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea when it made a mayday call and belly-landed before crashing into a barrier and bursting into flames.
Everyone aboard Jeju Air Flight 2216 was killed, save two flight attendants pulled from the wreckage.
South Korea is observing seven days of mourning, with flags flying at half-mast.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who has only been in office since Friday, said the accident was a “turning point” for the country, calling for a full overhaul of air safety systems.
He urged officials to “thoroughly reexamine the overall aircraft operation system... and immediately address any necessary improvements.”
“Today marks the final day of 2024,” he said Tuesday, urging citizens to “reflect on the past year and prepare for the new one.”
“I am well aware that whenever challenges arose, both domestically and internationally, all citizens and public officials united with one heart and mind to overcome these crises.”
At Muan airport, investigators combed over the wrecked fuselage and soldiers picked carefully through the fields around the airport Tuesday, as people left ritual offerings for victims – including food and letters – near the airport’s perimeter.
“Captain, first officer, and crew members, thank you so much for doing your best to save the passengers. I pray for your eternal rest,” one letter left on the fence said.
Inside the airport, where victims’ relatives have been camped out since Sunday, waiting for information, anger was growing over delays in identifying passengers on the doomed plane.
But officials said they had begun releasing the first bodies to relatives, even as work to identify all victims continued.
“Of the 179 victims, the bodies of four have completed the handover procedures to their bereaved families for funerals,” transport minister Park Sang-woo said at Muan airport Tuesday.
“For 28 victims, whose identities have been confirmed and autopsies completed, we will allow funeral procedures to begin from 2 p.m. (0500 GMT) today with the consent of their families,” he added.
One family lost nine members – including the oldest passenger on the plane, who was taking his first-ever overseas trip to celebrate his birthday, local broadcaster KBC reported.
The passenger, surnamed Bae, was traveling with his wife, his two daughters, one son in law, and four grandchildren, including a five-year-old.
The entire family was killed, with only one of the daughter’s husbands – who was not able to join the trip – left behind to face the loss of his wife and three children.
“Yesterday, the village chief went to Muan Airport and said the son-in-law was in utter despair, saying, ‘I should have gone with them and died with them,’” KBC said.
Memorial altars for the victims have been set up nationwide, including in Seoul.
At Muan airport, families were overseeing the set-up of a new altar Tuesday, with black-and-white funeral flowers filling the area.
A fuller account of what went wrong in the flight’s final moments is expected once authorities have analyzed the black boxes.
“Regarding the black box, surface contamination cleaning has been completed at the testing and analysis center, and its condition is currently being assessed,” deputy civil aviation minister Joo Jong-wan said.
“However, the flight data recorder’s data storage unit is still under evaluation,” he said, as it was found with a missing connector.
Technical reviews are underway to determine how to extract the data.
