BERLIN: The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Sunday said Germany should reconsider its membership of NATO if the US-led military alliance did not consider the interests of all European countries, including Russia.
“Europe has been forced to implement America’s interests. We reject that,” the AfD’s Tino Chrupalla told German daily Welt.
“NATO is currently not a defense alliance. A defense community must accept and respect the interests of all European countries — including Russia’s interests,” Chrupalla said.
“If NATO cannot ensure that, Germany must consider to what extent this alliance is still useful for us,” he added.
The far-right AfD is polling at around 18-19 percent ahead of snap elections on February 23, following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government last month.
The score puts the party ahead of Scholz’s Social Democrats on 16-17 percent and behind only the conservative CDU-CSU bloc, which is polling around 31-32 percent.
The AfD has little chance of forming a government because other parties have ruled out cooperation with the far-right group.
But it could continue a streak of strong electoral showings, after a landmark win in Thuringia, one of the regions in Germany’s formerly communist east.
The far-right party has been a vocal critic of Germany’s military support for Ukraine and has argued for a swift end to the war prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
“The German government must finally get to the point of wanting to end the war,” said Chrupalla, whose colleague Alice Weidel will lead the AfD into the election as the party’s candidate for chancellor.
“Russia has won this war. Reality has caught up with those who claim to want to enable Ukraine to win the war,” he said.
The conflict in Ukraine is set to be one of the major themes of the campaign, which will culminate on the eve of the third anniversary of the invasion.
Scholz has pledged sustained support for Ukraine but has counselled prudence, as he hopes to tap into pacifist currents among voters, which are particularly strong in the east.
The chancellor has resisted calls to send long-range missiles that Kyiv could use to strike Russian territory for fear of being drawn into the conflict, and recently reinitiated direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
German far-right leader questions NATO membership
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German far-right leader questions NATO membership
- ‘Europe has been forced to implement America’s interests. We reject that’
Bangladesh police use tear gas to disperse Islamist march in Dhaka
- Police were unable to control the crowd and had to use tear gas and sound grenades to disperse them
- The Dhaka Metropolitan Police had warned banned organizations against holding public meetings and rallies
Hundreds of activists chanting “Khilafat, Khilafat” gathered for the ‘March for Khilafat’ procession at the Baitul Mukarram Mosque after Friday prayers, defying police barricades.
Police were unable to control the crowd and had to use tear gas and sound grenades to disperse them, witnesses said. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police had warned banned organizations on Thursday against holding public meetings and rallies.
Hizb-ut-Tahrir, banned in Bangladesh since October 2009 for posing a threat to national security, has frequently organized protests and marches in defiance of a government ban on public gatherings.
The London-based Hizb-ut-Tahrir seeks to unite Muslims in a pan-Islamic state but says its means are peaceful.
The Muslim-majority country of 170 million people is one of the world’s largest and poorest democracies.
It has been grappling with political unrest since an interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, took over following protests that drove then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina out of the country.
Kumbh Mela: Massive clean up after India’s Hindu mega-festival ends
- Massive sanitation drive has been underway since the six-week gala drew to a close last week in the northern city of Prayagraj
- The Kumbh Mela is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, staged every 12 years
PRAYAGRAJ, India: Thousands of sanitation workers were toiling on Friday to clean up 20,000 tons of waste left behind by hundreds of millions of Hindu devotees after India’s Kumbh Mela mega-festival.
The massive sanitation drive has been underway since the six-week gala drew to a close last week in the northern city of Prayagraj.
Hundreds of millions of people visited the city during the festival according to government figures, with mounds of discarded clothing, plastic bottles and other waste now littering the grounds.
“We have deployed 15,000 workers to clear up some 20,000 tons of waste generated from the festival,” Prayagraj municipal commissioner Chandra Mohan Garg said.
The Kumbh Mela is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, staged every 12 years at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
It is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.
Workers were also busy dismantling a temporary infrastructure, that includes 150,000 portable toilets.
In several places, open areas were used as makeshift toilets, posing a challenge to the army of sanitary staff.
“The dedication toward cleanliness... will continue to inspire efforts to keep Prayagraj, and its sacred rivers, clean for generations to come,” the government said in a statement this week.
The Kumbh Mela was also a testament to the “collective spirit of maintaining a cleaner and more sustainable environment,” it added.
Kremlin: Russia may need to act to respond to EU ‘militarization’ plans to ensure its own security
- ‘We see that the European Union is now actively discussing the militarization of the EU and the development of the defense segment’
- ‘This is a process that we are watching closely, because the EU is positioning Russia as its main adversary’
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia may need to act to respond to what it called European Union plans to militarize the bloc that cast Russia as its main adversary.
European leaders on Thursday backed plans to spend more on defense and continue to stand by Ukraine in a world upended by Donald Trump’s reversal of US policies.
“We see that the European Union is now actively discussing the militarization of the EU and the development of the defense segment. This is a process that we are watching closely, because the EU is positioning Russia as its main adversary,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“This, of course, could potentially be a topic of deep concern for us and there could be a need to take appropriate measures in response to ensure our security.
“And, of course, such confrontational rhetoric and confrontational thinking that we are now seeing in Brussels and in European capitals is, seriously at odds with the mood for finding a peaceful settlement around Ukraine.”
Zelensky to visit South Africa on April 10: presidency
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last week invited Volodymyr Zelensky on a state visit
- Zelensky thanked Ramaphosa for supporting ‘Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’
JOHANNESBURG: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit South Africa next month, the African country’s presidency announced Friday.
“President Zelensky will be visiting South Africa on the 10th of April,” presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya said.
The visit “is a continuation of ongoing engagements” on “an inclusive peace process” between Russia and Ukraine, he said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last week invited Zelensky on a state visit, after heavy criticism of moves by Russia and the United States to negotiate an end to the war through a process to which neither Ukraine nor its European allies were invited.
“South Africa remains committed to supporting the dialogue process between Russia and Ukraine,” Ramaphosa said in a post on X.
The two leaders have a “constructive engagement” and agree on “the urgent need for an inclusive peace process that involves all parties,” Ramaphosa said.
Zelensky thanked Ramaphosa for supporting “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and said he hoped for peace this year.
“It is important that our countries share the same position: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Zelensky said on X last week.
Impeached South Korea president still in detention despite court order
- Impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyers filed a request to cancel his arrest warrant last month
- They argued his detention was unlawful because the prosecution had waited too long to indict him
SEOUL: A South Korean court canceled the arrest warrant of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, but he remains behind bars with the prosecution likely to appeal.
Yoon’s lawyers filed a request to cancel his arrest warrant last month, arguing his detention was unlawful because the prosecution had waited too long to indict him.
“It is reasonable to conclude that the indictment was filed after the defendant’s detention period had expired,” said a document from the Seoul Central District Court.
“To ensure procedural clarity and eliminate any doubts regarding the legality of the investigative process, it would be appropriate to issue a decision to cancel the detention,” the court added.
The president was impeached and detained for his December 3 declaration of martial law.
But his lawyers said the cancelation of his arrest does not necessarily mean that he will be released straight away.
“Even if the court decides to cancel the detention, the defendant is not immediately released,” Yoon’s lawyer, Seok Dong-hyeon, said Friday.
“The defendant will be released only if the prosecutor waives the right to appeal, or does not file an appeal within the prescribed period.”
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
The opposition Democratic Party slammed the court decision.
“The prosecution must immediately appeal, to ensure a ruling that aligns with the public’s sense of justice,” said opposition party floor leader Park Chan-dae.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, plunged democratic South Korea into turmoil in December by briefly suspending civilian rule and sending soldiers into parliament.
He has been charged with insurrection for his martial law declaration, which lawmakers voted down within hours before impeaching him.
The 64-year-old resisted arrest for two weeks, in a tense standoff between his security team and investigators at his official residence in Seoul. He was finally taken into custody on January 15.
He also faces an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, which will determine whether his removal from office is upheld.
The hearings for that case wrapped up last week, with the court’s eight judges to decide Yoon’s fate behind closed doors. A verdict is expected in mid-March.
South Korea must hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days if Yoon is removed.
Lawmakers at Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) hailed the court’s decision Friday.
“Although overdue, this is a very welcome decision,” said MP Kwon Young-se.
“The arrest itself raised numerous concerns, when considering the investigative process that led to it,” said Kwon.
“This is a crucial moment that reaffirms the rule of law and justice in South Korea,” he added.
Overjoyed supporters quickly gathered in front of Yoon’s house, waving Korean and US flags.
AFP reporters also saw at least 100 supporters in front of the detention center where Yoon is being held, chanting “dismiss the impeachment” and “for the president we voted.”
The court decision on Yoon’s detention is “entirely unrelated” to the ongoing impeachment trial, the opposition party spokesperson Han Min-soo said.
Friday’s ruling “will not affect the proceedings” regarding Yoon’s formal removal from office by the Constitutional Court, Han added.
Much of the impeachment trial has centered on whether Yoon violated the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.
The opposition has accused him of taking the extraordinary measure without proper justification.
Yoon’s lawyers have said he declared martial law to alert the country to the dangers of “legislative dictatorship” by the opposition.
