International
Stoltenberg calls on the NATO bloc to “urgently” offer anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the member states of the bloc to offer Ukraine anti-aircraft defense systems or financial support and lamented that “every delay costs lives and damage” in the face of the Russian invasion.
“We are working with all our allies and asking them to provide air defense systems such as the Samp/T or others,” he assured the media upon his arrival at the summit of foreign ministers of the G7 on the Italian island of Capri (south), when asked if other countries, in addition to Germany, could offer ‘Patriots’ to Kiev.
Stoltenberg encouraged the bloc’s allies who cannot provide anti-aircraft systems to the Ukrainian resistance to give it financial support.
In this sense, he stressed that the Netherlands has confirmed a package of 4 billion euros in additional military aid for Kiev, while Denmark has announced a new remittance.
And he celebrated as “an encouraging sign” Washington’s decision, after months of delays, to discuss the approval of other funds for $61 billion, with the commitment of US President Joe Biden to ratify it immediately.
NATO, he said, has given 99% of the aid to Ukraine but if it stops doing so “they will not be able to defend the country.”
“That’s why we have to do more and that’s why we’re here,” said the leader of the Atlantic Alliance, who will meet tomorrow with the Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelenski.
In his opinion, accelerating aid to Ukraine is “urgent” because “every day delays cost deaths and damage” in that country in the face of a Russia that puts pressure on the defensive lines.
Stoltenberg finally promised “maximum surveillance” in NATO countries against Russian espionage, after the recent arrest in Germany of two men on suspicion of espionage under the orders of Moscow.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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