BERLIN — Germany wants to fight back against a surge in suspicious drone activity over critical infrastructure and military sites in the country by allowing its military to shoot down the unmanned aircraft. The federal Cabinet approved a draft law on Wednesday that will allow Germany’s armed forces, or Bundeswehr, to fire at drones over sensitive … Read more
The civilian airliner was flying on Wednesday from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic. After passengers reported hearing a blast, the plane diverted hundreds of kilometers from its route and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. There were 29 survivors. The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal probe into the … Read more
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that Lavrov intended to make the trip to Vedomosti, while Malta’s Embassy in Russia said invitations to the Dec. 5-6 meeting “will be sent to all OSCE delegations in due course.” The last time Lavrov visited an EU country was a trip to Stockholm for an OSCE gathering … Read more
An Israeli airstrike Friday on a refugee camp in northern Gaza killed at least 33 people including 21 women, the BBC reported, citing the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-run health authorities. Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya reiterated the Palestinian group’s position that no hostages would be released “unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops,” France24 reported. Iran’s Supreme Leader … Read more
The German Air Force said separately on Saturday that it had identified five Russian jets flying over the Baltic Sea and had deployed Eurofighters to escort them. This is far from the first time Russian aircraft have wandered toward EU and NATO airspace. Earlier this month, Latvia’s defense ministry said a Russian drone crashed in the Rēzekne … Read more
Latvia’s defense ministry said Sunday that a unmanned Russian drone had crashed in Rēzekne region in the east of the country, having flown in through Belarus. The country’s armed forces also informed the NATO chain of command about the incident, which it is investigating. “This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the … Read more
Singapore Airlines, British Airways ICAG.L and Lufthansa LHAG.DE have increased their flights over Afghanistan after years of largely avoiding it now the Middle East conflict has made it seem a relatively safe option. The carriers mostly stopped transiting Afghanistan, which lies on major routes between Asia and Europe, three years ago when the Taliban … Read more
Iran has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) for scheduled gun firing exercise in the airspace over Tehran until August 14, the US Defense Internet NOTAM service reported on Saturday night. The no flight order covers the OID29 area of Tehran, which is near Iran’s Nojeh air base in Hamadan. The gun firing exercises … Read more
During the NATO summit in Washington this month, a communique signed by every member of the 32 member alliance accused Beijing of acting as “a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” and demanded that it halt shipments of “weapons components” and other technology that can be used in weapons manufacturing. The unprecedented exercise forced … Read more
At a debate between candidates for the next Commission presidency on Thursday, von der Leyen voiced support for the leaders’ statement: “We have to have a common air defense shield for all of Europe, like it was proposed by Mitsotakis and Tusk,” she said. With the two-week countdown to the EU election on, von der … Read more
