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ISLAMABAD: Foreign ministers of ten countries across Europe, South America and Asia have strongly condemned renewed Israeli interceptions of the Global Sumud Flotilla and demanded the immediate release of detained activists.&nbsp;More than 50 boats departed last week from the Turkish port of Marmaris on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and draw attention to the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians, the Global Solidarity Flotilla said. The Israeli military intercepted several vessels off the coast of Cyprus on Monday.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 874px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2056577918520988130&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F5985%2F&sessionId=85363305a5447e1d6fe618b5ca1670f77e9231a8&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, the Maldives and Spain expressed &ldquo;serious concern&rdquo; for the safety and security of civilian participants and called for &ldquo;full respect&rdquo; for their rights and dignity.&nbsp;The ministers recalled previous Israeli interventions against flotillas in international waters and condemned continued &ldquo;hostile acts targeting civilian vessels and humanitarian activists.&rdquo;&nbsp;They said such actions &mdash; including attacks on vessels and the arbitrary detention of activists &mdash; amount to &ldquo;blatant violations of international law and international humanitarian law.&rdquo;&nbsp;The statement urged the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities to protect civilians and humanitarian missions, and to take concrete steps to end impunity and ensure accountability for these violations.&nbsp;&ldquo;We call for the immediate release of all detained activists and for unfettered respect for humanitarian efforts seeking to alleviate civilian suffering,&rdquo; the ministers said.

Europe

Middle East

Asia

Ten countries of the world, including Pakistan, condemn the Israeli assaults against the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing international attention to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people.

Pakistan, 9 nations condemn Israeli interception of Gaza-bound global flotilla

ISLAMABAD: Europe was the fastest-warming continent in 2025, with heatwaves reaching inside the Arctic Circle, ocean temperatures at an all-time high, and wildfires burning more land than ever before measured, according to a joint report released Wednesday by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Rising temperatures across the continentThe European State of the Climate 2025 report found that at least 95% of the continent recorded above-average temperatures last year and has been warming at more than twice the global average rate since the 1980s.<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/36bb727c-1826-4164-9fe2-1b8dd0acae03.png" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Date taken from: European State of the Climate 2025 report European land temperatures are now running approximately 2.4&deg;C above pre-industrial levels, the report said. &quot;Europe is the fastest-warming continent, and the impacts are already severe,&quot; said Florian Pappenberger, Director-General of the ECMWF, which co-produced the report. &quot;Almost the whole region has seen above-average annual temperatures.&quot; The WHO said in a statement accompanying the report that the continent experienced &quot;record heatwaves from the Mediterranean to the Arctic,&quot; alongside continued glacier retreat and rising sea surface temperatures. Oceans and glaciers in net lossAccording to the report summary, the annual sea surface temperature for the European ocean region was the highest on record in 2025, the fourth consecutive year that the record was broken. Glaciers across Europe recorded net mass loss, with Iceland experiencing its second-largest glacier loss on record.<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/b11539b3-cff0-4bee-ac31-3b01a8228086.png" style="width: 475px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Date &nbsp;taken from: European State of the Climate 2025 report The Greenland Ice Sheet lost around 139 billion tonnes of ice, &quot;equivalent to losing 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools every single hour&quot;, said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which operates Copernicus. Wildfires and emissions surgeAround 1,034,000 hectares burned across Europe in 2025, an area larger than Cyprus, the report said, with wildfire emissions also reaching their highest recorded levels. Spain accounted for roughly half of those emissions, with fires across the Iberian Peninsula in August proving particularly destructive. Above-average spring rainfall had produced abundant vegetation that summer heat subsequently dried into fuel. Cyprus, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany each set national records for wildfire emissions. The report warned that peatland fires, which can smolder underground for months and release large stores of long-sequestered carbon when they burn, posed a compounding threat to both biodiversity and the climate. Biodiversity at riskThe report devoted significant attention this year to the accelerating link between climate change and biodiversity loss, finding that 2025&#39;s droughts, wildfires, and marine heatwaves caused measurable harm to species and habitats across marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The European Union&#39;s Biodiversity Strategy 2030, which includes legally binding targets to restore at least 20% of land and sea areas by 2030, had seen roughly half its recommended actions completed or underway by the end of 2025, the report said, but cautioned that progress must accelerate to keep pace with ecological loss. In a post on X, the agency described the findings as further evidence of accelerating climate change across the region, warning that the impacts are becoming increasingly severe and widespread.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2049322923572236613&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=cbbdbe87abe73c43dad314e8dd9a05a25de16f68&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div> The Copernicus Climate Change Service warned that if warming continues at its present rate, the Paris Agreement&#39;s 1.5&deg;C long-term limit could be breached before the end of this decade, more than a decade ahead of the timeline envisioned when the accord was signed.

The Greenlandia expedition's sailing boat 'Kamak' sails between icebergs released by glaciers around Milne Land in the Scoresby Sound Fjord, Eastern Greenland, on August 15, 2023. (AFP)

Climate

The European State of the Climate 2025 report found that at least 95% of the continent recorded above-average temperatures last year and has been warming at more than twice the global average rate since the 1980s.

Europe warming 'twice as fast as global average': Report

MUNICH: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure a nervous Europe on Saturday, saying that Washington wanted to &quot;revitalize&quot; the transatlantic alliance so that a strong Europe could help the US on its mission of global &quot;renewal&quot;. Washington&#39;s top diplomat struck a markedly reassuring tone as he addressed a security conference in Munich after months of turmoil in US-European relations sparked by US President Donald Trump&#39;s vows to seize Greenland and his often derisive remarks about Washington&#39;s allies. &quot;We do not seek to separate, but to revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history,&quot; Rubio said. &quot;What we want is a reinvigorated alliance.&quot; &#39;Belong together&#39; &quot;We want Europe to be strong. We believe that Europe must survive,&quot; Rubio said, adding that the continent and the US &quot;belong together.&quot; The United States will be &quot;driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and as vital as our civilization&#39;s past,&quot; he said. &quot;And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe,&quot; he said. Rubio&#39;s speech marked a sharp contrast to that of US Vice President JD Vance a year ago, when he used the same stage to attack European policies on immigration and free speech, shocking European allies. &#39;Destabilizing societies&#39; Rubio reiterated the Trump administration&#39;s stance that immigration is &quot;destabilizing societies&quot; but otherwise largely avoided the MAGA flashpoint and culture war issues that, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, had deepened a &quot;rift&quot; between US and Europe. Bruised by Trump&#39;s designs on Greenland and his often hostile comments about America&#39;s traditional allies, European leaders who have gathered at the Munich Security Conference have pledged to shoulder more of the burden of shared NATO defences. &#39;Right time&#39;&nbsp; Key leaders have pushed the message that this is essential for Europe to counter a hostile Russia, with NATO chief Mark Rutte saying that &quot;a strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever&quot;. French President Emmanuel Macron told the gathering on Friday that &quot;this is the right time for a strong Europe,&quot; that would be &quot;clear in the support of Ukraine&quot; and &quot;building its own architecture of security&quot;. &quot;This Europe will be a good ally and partner for the United States of America,&quot; he said. &#39;A sleeping giant&#39; British leader Keir Starmer was expected to tell the conference that Europe is &quot;a sleeping giant&quot; and must rely less on the United States for its defence. The Trump administration&#39;s new National Security Strategy similarly launched an unprecedented attack against Europeans, charging that the continent is threatened with &quot;civilizational decline&quot;. Ties plunged further last month when Trump stepped up threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark, forcing European nations to stand firm in protest. Ukraine war in focus&nbsp;German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday had appealed to Washington: &quot;Let&#39;s repair and revive transatlantic trust together.&quot; The high-powered Munich meeting of government leaders, diplomats, defense and intelligence chiefs comes shortly before Russia&#39;s full-scale war on Ukraine is set to enter its fifth gruelling year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been in Munich since Friday and meeting multiple allies, was expected to address the meeting on Saturday.&nbsp; No Russian officials have been invited. At the White House on Friday, Trump urged him to &quot;get moving&quot; to end the war. &quot;Russia wants to make a deal... He has to move,&quot; the US leader said. &quot;We don&#39;t know if the Russians are serious about ending the war,&quot; Rubio said in his speech on Saturday. A German government source said Merz and Rubio met at the conference on Friday and discussed &quot;Ukraine, the status of negotiations with Russia and further support for the country, particularly in terms of military aid&quot;. &#39;An aggressive Russia&#39; They also discussed Europe&#39;s role in NATO, and &quot;Rubio praised Germany&#39;s steps to strengthen the alliance&quot;, the source added. Macron said a new framework was needed to deal with &quot;an aggressive Russia&quot; once the fighting in Ukraine ends. Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said he feared &quot;a new cold war&quot; between Europe and Russia in the coming decade, making reopening dialogue with Moscow essential. &quot;If it makes sense to talk, we are willing to talk,&quot; said Merz, but he also charged that &quot;Russia is not yet willing to talk seriously&quot;.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 14, 2026, in Munich, southern Germany. (Photo: AFP)

Americas

Washington's top diplomat strikes a markedly reassuring tone as he addresses a security conference in Munich after months of turmoil in US-European relations sparked by US President Donald Trump's vows to seize Greenland and his often derisive remarks about Washington's allies.

Rubio tells allies US and Europe 'belong together'

NEW DELHI: The leaders of India and the European Union will <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/instability-in-south-asia-stems-from-indias-illegal-occupation-of-jammu-and-kashmir" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">announce</a>&nbsp;a trade deal on Tuesday when they meet in New Delhi to formalize a pact reached after two decades of negotiations. EU chiefs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi aim that the pact, which Indian officials said was concluded on Monday, will help&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/replace-nursery-rhymes-with-firearms-training-hindu-nationalist-tells-indian-parents" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">shield</a>&nbsp;against challenges from the world&rsquo;s two leading economies, the United States and China. &quot;Official level negotiations are being concluded, and both sides are all set to announce&quot; the conclusion of talks at the Tuesday summit, Indian commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal told AFP late Monday. Feted Monday as guests of honor at India&#39;s Republic Day parade, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa are set to meet Modi late Tuesday morning. &quot;The EU stands to gain the highest level of access ever granted to a trade partner in the traditionally protected Indian market,&quot; von der Leyen said on Sunday, adding that she expected exports to India to double. &quot;We will gain a significant&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/india-antiminority-speeches-at-rss-centenary-convention" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">competitive advantage</a>&nbsp;in key industrial and agri-good sectors.&quot; Talks went down to the wire on Monday, focusing on a few sticking points, including the impact of the EU&#39;s carbon border tax on steel, according to sources familiar with the discussions. &#39;Clear choice&#39;&nbsp;The accord comes as both Brussels and New Delhi have sought to open up new markets amid US tariffs and Chinese export controls. India and the EU were also expected to conclude an accord to facilitate the movement of seasonal workers, students, researchers, and highly skilled professionals, as well as a security and defense pact. New Delhi, which has relied on Moscow for key military hardware for decades, has sought to reduce its dependence on Russia in recent years by diversifying imports and boosting domestic manufacturing. Europe is doing the same with regard to the United States.

India has tried to cut its dependence on Russia in recent years by diversifying imports and pushing its own domestic manufacturing base; Europe is doing the same with regard to the United States.

EU, India conclude trade deal after decades of negotiation: report

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in Brussels on Thursday to convince European partners to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, despite Washington pressuring EU countries against the plan, a Ukrainian official told AFP. The European Union has laid out a plan to use the frozen assets to harness 90 billion euros ($105 billion) for a loan to help Ukraine repel Moscow&#39;s forces, with the money to be paid back by any eventual Russian reparations to Ukraine. &quot;The US administration is pressuring European countries to abandon the idea of using Russian assets to support Ukraine,&quot; a senior Ukrainian official said Wednesday. The plan has the strong backing of many member states, including Germany, but has drawn opposition from others, including Belgium -- home to international deposit organisation Euroclear, which holds most of the assets -- whose leaders fear Russian reprisals. The Ukrainian official said that seven countries so far opposed the plan. Zelensky &quot;is going to Brussels to motivate European countries to adopt this decision&quot; and tap the frozen assets, the source said. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has been in the spotlight over his opposition to using Russian assets for Ukraine, but there had been speculation that US President Donald Trump&#39;s administration was also weighing in on the debate. Washington appears to view the assets as a key bargaining chip and has looked to tempt Moscow to play ball by dangling the prospect it could get back some of the cash. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Wednesday that the Europeans were &quot;quietly asking us to intervene on this matter as they do not want to be publicly against it&quot;. &quot;They are afraid of the long-term damage it will do to long-term investments in their system and the credibility of their institutions,&quot; they added. A previous version of Trump&#39;s plan to end the war also provided for Washington to use some frozen Russian assets for a US-led reconstruction of the war-torn country. Around 200 billion euros in Russian central bank assets were frozen over Moscow&#39;s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said: &quot;Both the Ukrainians and the Russians have clearly stated positions regarding the frozen assets, and our only role is to facilitate a back-and-forth that can ultimately result in a deal.&quot;

President Zelensky seeks EU support to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, despite reported US pressure opposing the plan over fears of retaliation, investment risks, and use of assets as leverage

US 'pressuring' EU not to use frozen Russian assets for Kyiv: senior Ukraine official

PARIS: For US President Donald Trump, speaking after the release of an American security strategy that warned Europe was on the verge of &quot;civilisational erasure&quot;, the continent&#39;s immigration policy is a &quot;disaster&quot; that will result in many European countries no longer being &quot;viable&quot;. Speaking in a Politico interview published on Tuesday, Trump said Europe wants to be &quot;politically correct and they don&#39;t want to send them (migrants) back to where they came from&quot;, drawing a contrast with the hardline policy of his administration. Europe does keep welcoming workers, partly because ageing populations and falling birthrates are whittling away at its labour force. But Trump&#39;s broadside ignores a much more nuanced wider picture, with a tightening crackdown on illegal immigration in Europe leading to a decrease in asylum applications and irregular arrivals. The European Union&#39;s statistical agency Eurostat counted some 29 million third-country nationals as of January 1, 2024, representing 6.4 percent of the population. In 2021, this figure was 23.8 million. But countries issued eight percent fewer first residence permits last year than in 2023, according to Eurostat, suggesting a slight drop in legal arrivals. Germany, Spain, France, and Italy account for nearly 70 percent of foreign nationals living in the European Union. &quot;Part of our economy is based on immigration,&quot; Matthieu Tardis, co-director of the independent research centre Synergies Migrations, told AFP, citing France as an example where &quot;the industrial revolution was built on Italian and Polish labour&quot;. Today, in certain sectors, &quot;foreigners are overrepresented&quot; compared to their proportion of the European population, particularly in healthcare and construction, he added. Foreign doctors represent 22 percent of physicians in Germany, 18 percent in France, and 41 percent in the United Kingdom, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). - Germany sharpens policy -At the end of 2024, Eurostat recorded 1 million asylum seekers in Europe, down 11 percent compared to 2023. During 2024, some 438,000 people were granted refugee status giving them the right to stay. The number of asylum seekers has never again reached the level of the 2015 migration crisis, when hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the war arrived in Europe. At that time, 1.3 million asylum seekers were recorded. In terms of irregular immigration, nearly 200,000 arrivals were recorded on European shores in 2024, five times fewer than in 2015, according to the United Nations. Experts attribute this decrease in part to agreements reached with countries including Turkey, Libya, and Tunisia to crack down on boat departures, which have aroused criticism over human rights implications. In Germany, which hosts the most foreigners in the European Union, conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has implemented a stricter asylum policy since coming to power in May elections where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved its best ever result. As of the beginning of November, the number of asylum applications in Germany had decreased by more than half compared to 2024. - Italy, Hungary and UK -Italy has already signed a controversial agreement with Albania to outsource the processing of asylum seekers intercepted at sea. But the measure is currently stalled due to multiple legal challenges in Italian courts. Since her election in 2022, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, has made combating illegal immigration one of her priorities. At the same time, the Italian government has increased the number of work visas issued (450,000 between 2023 and 2025, compared to 75,700 in 2022) in order to address labour shortages as the population ages and birth rates decline. This pattern has been repeated in Hungary under nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, where only 29 asylum seekers -- excluding those from Ukraine -- were registered in 2024. But the number of foreigners residing in the country has increased over the past 10 years, through his &quot;guest&quot; worker policy, rising from nearly 146,000 to over 255,000 expected by 2025. Outside the European Union, in the United Kingdom, net immigration plummeted by nearly 69 percent year-on-year, the Office for National Statistics reported at the end of November. This data confirms a downward trend since the peak reached in 2023, largely due to the policies of the previous Conservative government, although there has been no let up in irregular Channel crossings.

US President Donald Trump warned Europe was on the verge of "civilisational erasure", the continent's immigration policy is a "disaster" that will result in many European countries no longer being "viable"

Trump slams Europe immigration policies as EU tightens borders

BRUSSELS: NATO said Wednesday it had been informed in advance of US plans to reduce some of its troops deployed on the alliance&#39;s eastern flank, describing the move as an &quot;adjustment&quot; and nothing &quot;unusual.&quot; Washington&#39;s commitment to the alliance remained &quot;clear,&quot; and its presence in Europe sizeable, a NATO official told AFP. &quot;Even with this adjustment, the US force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years, with many more US forces on the continent than before 2022,&quot; the official said. The US has been expected to announce drawdowns in Europe following a review of its military deployments worldwide &mdash; but no move has been officially communicated yet. Romania&#39;s Defense Ministry, however, previewed the scale-down Wednesday, saying Washington was to halt the rotation of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. The prospect of a US pullout is fraying the nerves of allies, especially given fears that Russia could look to attack a NATO country within the next few years if the war in Ukraine dies down. But NATO swiftly downplayed the significance of the planned US reduction in personnel. &quot;The US commitment to NATO is clear,&quot; the official said. &quot;NATO has robust defense plans in place, and we are working to ensure we maintain the right forces and capabilities to deter potential aggression and provide for our collective defense.&quot;

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Oct. 22, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Images via AFP)

NATO said Wednesday it had been informed in advance of US plans to reduce some of its troops deployed on the alliance's eastern flank, describing the move as an "adjustment" and nothing "unusual."

Reduced US military presence in Europe an 'adjustment': NATO

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine needs European financial support to continue fighting Russian forces for another two or three years. Kyiv has been largely dependent on military and financial support from allies abroad to hold off Moscow&#39;s army, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. &quot;I emphasized this again to all European leaders. I told them that we are not going to fight for decades, but you must show that for some time you will be able to provide stable financial support to Ukraine,&quot; Zelensky said in comments released Tuesday. Russia&rsquo;s frozen assets&nbsp;&quot;And that is why they have this program in mind &ndash;- 2-3 years,&quot; Zelensky said, referring to Brussels&#39; plans to tap Russia&#39;s frozen assets to help Kyiv. EU leaders last week tasked the European Commission to move ahead with options for funding Ukraine for two more years, leaving the door open for a mammoth loan using tens of billions of euros in Russian state assets that the bloc has frozen. &quot;If the war ends in a month, we will spend this money on recovery. If it does not end in a month, but after some time, then we will spend it on weapons. We simply have no other choice,&quot; Zelensky added. &lsquo;Strong moves&rsquo;&nbsp;The Ukrainian leader also urged US President Donald Trump to pressure Chinese leader Xi Jinping to cut his support for Russia when the two leaders meet later this week. &quot;I think this may be one of (Trump&#39;s) strong moves, especially if, following this decisive sanctions step, China is ready to reduce imports&quot; from Russia, Zelensky told journalists, including AFP, at a briefing released Tuesday. Trump hit two major Russian oil companies with sanctions last week and has been urging buyers of Moscow&#39;s vital energy exports -- specifically China and India -- to cut their purchases that Washington and Kyiv say fund Russia&#39;s invasion. As the war drags through its fourth year, Russia is pushing forward across the front line, at significant cost. &lsquo;Main target&rsquo;Zelensky conceded that Russian forces have gained a foothold in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, an important former rail hub that Moscow has been trying to capture for over a year. &quot;Around 200 Russians are located there in various places -- we see this from drones. Pokrovsk is currently the main target for the Russians,&quot; Zelensky said.

Kyiv has been largely dependent on military and financial support from allies abroad to hold off Moscow's army, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Zelensky says needs European support for 2-3 more years of fighting

BRUSSELS: NATO will hold its major annual nuclear exercise next week, the alliance&rsquo;s chief announced Friday, with an important part of the drill to focus on protecting the weapons before they&#39;re ever used. The long-planned &ldquo;Steadfast Noon&rdquo; exercise, which starts on Monday, is taking place amid heightened security around military facilities in Europe due to a series of mysterious drone incidents, some of them blamed on Russia. Steadfast Noon will run for about two weeks. It will be led by the Netherlands and involve 71 aircraft from 14 NATO countries. The exercise has been held at roughly the same time each year for over a decade. &ldquo;We need to do this because it helps us to make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, and as safe, and as secure, and as effective as possible,&quot; NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a video statement. &quot;It also sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats,&rdquo; he said. Bomber aircraft and fighter jets that can carry nuclear warheads are taking part, but no nuclear weapons or live munitions will be used. The bulk of the exercise is being held in the North Sea, far from Russia and Ukraine. It will involve military bases in Belgium, Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The United States and Britain, with their nuclear forces, are key to NATO&rsquo;s strategic deterrence. France also has nuclear weapons, but is not a part of the organization&rsquo;s nuclear planning group. NATO officials would not say what kind of scenarios would be used to test the 32-nation alliance&#39;s nuclear readiness, but they insisted that it is not directed toward any particular country, nor does it relate to current international events. The United States is providing F-35 jets capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons, refueling planes, and other support aircraft. Finland and Poland are sending fighter jets. Electronic warfare equipment and reconnaissance and intelligence systems will also be used. A big part of the exercise will focus on protecting nuclear weapons on the ground, said Col. Daniel Bunch, Chief of NATO Nuclear Operations at the alliance&rsquo;s military headquarters in Mons, Belgium. Bunch said there are &ldquo;a variety of different threats that we assess and that we must defend against because these are highly protected assets that require the utmost security and safety.&rdquo; Asked whether drones are a particular concern given the recent incidents, notably near military facilities in Belgium and Denmark, he said: &ldquo;Drones are not a new threat to us. Drones are something we understand.&rdquo; &ldquo;The more frequent incursions are something we&rsquo;re obviously keeping an eye on,&rdquo; Bunch acknowledged, but he added: &ldquo;Ultimately, we&rsquo;re going to stay one step ahead of the adversary.&rdquo; The Washington Summit declaration agreed by the alliance&rsquo;s leaders last year states that &ldquo;the fundamental purpose of NATO&rsquo;s nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression.&rdquo; &ldquo;As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance,&rdquo; it said. James Stokes, the head of NATO&rsquo;s Nuclear Policy Directorate, told reporters that despite the Kremlin&rsquo;s continued and heated rhetoric, the allies &ldquo;haven&rsquo;t seen any change in Russia&rsquo;s nuclear posture&rdquo; recently. He underlined that Russia is not a focus of the exercise, but said that NATO continues to monitor Russian military activities, including its use of dual-capable missiles in Ukraine, which could be fitted to carry nuclear warheads.

NATO will launch its annual nuclear exercise next week, involving 14 nations and 71 aircraft. The drill will focus on nuclear security, with no live weapons used, amid increased drone-related security concerns.

NATO Plans annual nuclear drill as security tightens in Europe

COPENHAGEN: Ukraine&#39;s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Europe on Thursday that recent drone incursions showed Russia was looking to &quot;escalate&quot; its aggression, as he offered his country&#39;s war-honed expertise to help counter the threat. The warning came at a summit of European leaders from just under 50 countries, who converged on a conference centre in Copenhagen under tight security after mystery drone flights rattled Denmark last month. The drone sightings in Denmark and high-profile aerial incursions by Moscow in Estonia and Poland have heightened fears that Russia&#39;s assault on Ukraine could spill over Europe&#39;s borders. &lsquo;Never just about Ukraine&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;The recent drone incidents across Europe are a clear sign that Russia still feels bold enough to escalate this war,&quot; Zelensky said. &quot;It was never just about Ukraine; Russia has always aimed to break the West and Europe.&quot; Russian President Vladimir Putin waived the accusations, but said Russia was &quot;closely monitoring the rising militarisation of Europe&quot;, adding that Moscow&#39;s response will be timely and &quot;significant.&quot; Putin accused Europe of stoking &quot;hysteria&quot; to excuse rising military spending, and said Russia did not pose a threat. &lsquo;Just calm down&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;Just calm down,&quot; Putin said. European leaders are keen to work with Ukraine&#39;s war-tested expertise as they seek to bolster their own defenses, and are discussing plans for a &quot;drone wall.&quot; &quot;If the Russians dare to launch drones against Poland, or violate the airspace of northern European countries, it means this can happen anywhere,&quot; Zelensky said. &quot;We are ready to share this experience with our partners.&quot; French President Emmanuel Macron said Western countries should be willing to take a tougher line when confronted by Russian drones, to sow doubt in the Kremlin. &lsquo;Big risk&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s very important to have a clear message. Drones which would violate our territories are just taking a big risk. They can be destroyed, full stop,&quot; Macron said. Romanian Prime Minister Nicosur Dan, whose country has seen Russian drones crossing over from Ukraine, warned that his forces would shoot down the next one to violate their airspace. As Russia&#39;s full-scale war on Ukraine drags on through a fourth year, Europe is scrambling to keep up pressure on Moscow and secure funding for Kyiv. Macron said it was key to step up efforts to counter the so-called shadow fleet of ageing oil tankers to &quot;kill&quot; the business model Russia uses to circumvent restrictions on exporting its oil. &lsquo;Shadow fleet&rsquo;&quot;It is extremely important to increase the pressure on this shadow fleet, because it will clearly reduce the capacity to finance this war effort,&quot; said Macron -- pointing at France&#39;s move this week to hold a blacklisted tanker linked to Russia. In a bid to ensure Ukraine has the necessary financing, the European Union is exploring a proposal to utilize frozen Russian assets to fund a new 140-billion-euro ($ 165 billion) loan. Proponents argue that the move is necessary to help Ukraine address budget shortfalls &mdash; and that Russia, not European taxpayers, should ultimately bear the cost. Belgian reservations&nbsp;But Belgium, where the vast majority of frozen assets are held, has deep reservations over the plan, which some leaders fear could spook other investors or draw Russian retaliation. &quot;We&#39;re going to move to uncharted waters. This is very, very risky,&quot; Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said. He insisted he wanted clear commitments from all EU leaders that they would share the potential liability with Belgium to shield it from any Russian retribution. EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that it was clear the risk should not fall solely on Belgium&#39;s shoulders and that she would &quot;intensify&quot; talks on the proposal.

Ukrainian President Zelensky has warned Europe that recent drone incursions signal Russia’s intent to escalate the war beyond Ukraine. European leaders discuss bolstering defenses, sharing Ukrainian expertise, and utilizing frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv.

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