Greece has challenged NATO and allies, not Türkiye by locking its air defense systems on Turkish jets carrying out NATO reconnaissance mission, says Turkish president
Cape Town — South Africa's Defense Minister Thandi Modise has arrived in Russia for a Moscow-hosted conference on international security. The visit comes amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and as Russian forces there are occupying Europe's largest nuclear power plant. It also comes just days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Africa in part to try to win more African support against Russia's invasion.
Despite South Africa repeatedly proclaiming its neutrality in the Russia/Ukraine war, several analysts say Modise's attendance at the 10th Moscow Conference on International Security shows the country is siding with Russia.
"We have not seen any condemnation of Russia, despite the dire impact of the war on the supply of goods and services in South Africa, said Ralph Mathekga, a political analyst at Geopolitical Intelligence Services. "And, also, when you look at attending a defense-kind of a forum in a moment such as this, I mean I cannot imagine any stronger indication of support of Russia," he said.
Mathekga believes it's a blow to South African-U.S. relations, considering U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Africa just last week.
"It actually says that South Africa is nailing its colors to the mast.," he said. "I think it was a frustrating visit for the secretary of state because South Africa did not hold back on their indication that they are not going to pick sides on this, they are not going to be bullied by global powers in their continued cold war as it's being called."
Mathekga warns that while South Africa may be willing to rely on its bigger partners in the BRICS alliance, namely China and India, to help it through these turbulent economic times, it should not ignore the reality that the European Union and America are two of its biggest trading partners.
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Sipho Mantula, a researcher at the Thabo Mbeki African School on Public and International Affairs, says it's likely South Africa couldn't ignore the invitation because of its status as a member of the African Union's Peace and Security Council.
He says Russia also has a close relationship with many African states whose freedom fighters it helped train during the 1960s and 1970s.
"The conflict of Russia and Ukraine is absent from this official program. The key issues that will come out will be around dealing with international global terrorism, the issues of the Middle East and North Africa," he said.
However, he conceded that while South Africa may call for peaceful negotiations to end the Russian/Ukraine war, the gathering in Moscow may be a sign of a potential military alliance.
"One will assume so because Russia is trying by all means to galvanize its support politically, economically, militarily. So one would assume that they are trying by all means because this is a very high-level technical meeting that is taking place. And one will assume yes, it is part of mobilizing allies, mobilize those who can say they are friendly states towards Russia," he said.
Defense Minister Modise is due to address the Moscow security conference Tuesday.
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The Florida prosecutor who was suspended by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for his refusal to charge doctors or abortion patients for illegally terminating pregnancies is vowing to put up a "vigorous defense" legally.
DeSantis suspended Andrew Warren, a Democrat state attorney, on Aug. 4 during a news conference where he said that the prosecutor didn't enforce duly-passed laws that crack down on child sex change surgeries and certain abortion procedures.
"We had the individual here from Hillsborough County say and [sign] letters that there are certain laws he just won't enforce and won't prosecute," DeSantis told Fox News. "[State's] attorneys that put their ideology over the rule of law are not satisfying their oath of office."
Without providing specifics, Warren said on Sunday that he would fight the suspension.
GOV. RON DESANTIS SAYS PROSECUTORS WITH ‘MILITANT AGENDAS’ WON'T ‘GET AWAY WITH IT’ IN FLORIDA
Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren talks to a voter during the NAACP Hillsborough County Branch Souls to the Polls voter drive on November 1, 2020, in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
"I'm not going down without a fight. I'm a former federal prosecutor, the duly elected state attorney, a native Floridian and a proud American. I refuse to let this man trample on your freedoms, to speak your mind, to make your own health care decisions, and to have your vote count. I hope you'll stand with me," Warren said.
Warren was elected in 2016 and 2020.
In the video, Warren said that the governor is attempting to overthrow an election.
FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS SUSPENDS ‘SOROS-BACKED’ STATE ATTORNEY WHO REFUSED TO ENFORCE ABORTION BAN
The Florida prosecutor who was suspended by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for his refusal to charge doctors or abortion patients for illegally terminating their pregnancy is vowing to put up a "vigorous defense" legally. (REUTERS/Joe Skipper)
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"Ron DeSantis is trying to overthrow democracy in Florida. His plot to suspend me blatantly violates the most fundamental basis of our democracy. Your vote. He's trying to overturn the results of a fair and free election in abusing his power to serve his own political ambition," he said.
A press release from DeSantis' office states that he "has the authority to suspend a state officer under Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Florida."
After suspending Warren, DeSantis appointed Hillsborough County Court Judge Susan Lopez as his replacement.
"It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida. I have the utmost trust that Judge Susan Lopez will lead the office through this transition and faithfully uphold the rule of law," DeSantis said in the press release.
A law in Florida banning abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions such as if an abortion is needed to save a mother's life, cases of rape or incest, and more went into effect on July 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Monday evening that the U.S. conducted a drone strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan, a revelation expected to degrade the terror group's ability to operate.
"He carved a trail of murder and violence against American citizens, American servicemembers, American diplomats and American interests," Biden said of the pre-dawn precision strike that killed al-Zawahiri.
"We made it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide if you are a threat to our people the United States will find you and take you out," Biden added.
Two people briefed on the strike confirmed to NBC News that the strike that killed al-Zawahiri was conducted by the CIA.
A senior Biden administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to share details of the strike, said U.S. intelligence analysts identified al-Zawahiri's location earlier this year.
The official said the U.S. watched al-Zawahiri's movements for months and determined that he was living in a safe house in Kabul with his family.
"We identified al-Zawahiri on multiple occasions for sustained periods of time on the balcony where he was ultimately struck," the official said.
"Al-Zawahiri's family members were present in other parts of the safe house at the time of the strike and were purposely not targeted and were unarmed. We have no indication that civilians were harmed in this strike," the official added.
The official said Biden received his final intelligence briefing on the matter on July 25 before approving the strike which involved an unmanned aerial vehicle and two Hellfire missiles.
Al-Zawahiri, 71, a physician and founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad before ascending to the top ranks in the al-Qaeda network, was one of the architects behind the devastating Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In the weeks that followed the Sept. 11 attacks, the Taliban provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda while America mobilized for what would become its longest war.
Al-Zawahiri succeeded Osama bin Laden as the head of al-Qaeda in 2011.
Al-Zawahiri was previously indicted by the U.S. government for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.
The State Department had previously offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to his apprehension.
Sunday's drone strike is the first known CIA counterterrorism operation since Kabul fell to the Taliban last year. The senior administration official said that the U.S. did not coordinate the strike or give notice to the Taliban.
China has given no details on what sorts of units will take part in exercises planned for opposite Taiwan. In this file photo, a missile launches from a Chinese submarine.
China Photos | Getty Images News | Getty Images
China said it was conducting military exercises Saturday off its coast opposite Taiwan after warning Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives to scrap possible plans to visit the island democracy, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
The ruling Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army, was conducting "live-fire exercises" near the Pingtan islands off Fujian province from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Maritime Safety Administration warned ships to avoid the area.
Such exercises usually involve artillery. The one-sentence announcement gave no indication whether Saturday's exercise also might include missiles, fighter planes or other weapons.
Pelosi, who would be the highest-ranking American elected official to visit Taiwan since 1997, has yet to confirm whether she will go. President Xi Jinping warned his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, in a phone call Thursday against "external interference" in Beijing's dealings with the island.
China says Taiwan has no right to conduct foreign relations. It sees visits by American officials as encouragement for the island to make its decades-old de facto independence official.
The Ministry of Defense warned Washington this week not to allow Pelosi, who is Biden's equal in rank as leader of one of three branches of government, to visit Taiwan. A spokesman said the PLA would take unspecified "strong measures" to stop pro-independence activity.
The PLA has flown growing numbers of fighter planes and bombers near Taiwan and has in the past fired missiles into shipping lanes to the island.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war that ended with a communist victory on the mainland.
The two governments say they are one country but disagree over which is entitled to national leadership. They have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs the supervisory board meeting of the presidential forum "Russia - Land of Opportunity" at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 20, 2022.
Mikhail Tereshchenko | Sputnik | via Reuters
WASHINGTON – World leaders swiftly condemned the Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian port, a dramatic revelation amid a U.N.-brokered deal that secured a sea corridor for grains and other foodstuff exports.
A day prior, representatives from the U.N., Turkey, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement to reopen three Ukrainian ports, an apparent breakthrough as the Kremlin's war on its ex-Soviet neighbor marches into its fifth month.
The deal, signed in Istanbul and set to be implemented in the next few weeks, follows a months-long blockade of dozens of Ukrainian ports sprinkled along the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
The strike on Odesa, Ukraine's largest port, illustrates yet another anxious turn in fruitless efforts to mitigate a mounting global food crisis.
A general view shows a fire engine at a scene of a burning building after a shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues in a location given as Odesa, Ukraine in this picture obtained from social media released on July 19, 2022.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine | Via Reuters
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia "predictably worthless" on the heels of the attack.
"The ink has not had time to dry out, yet there are two vile provocations: attack on a seaport in Odesa and a statement by Russia's Defense Ministry that Ukraine ports are "dangerous for shipping," wrote Mykhailo Podolyak on Twitter.
"Not even 24 hours had passed before these grain terminals, the territory of Odesa and the port were struck," Zelenskyy told a U.S. delegation of lawmakers visiting Ukraine.
Among those visiting Zelenskyy, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Russian President Vladimir Putin "violated the spirit of that agreement with more missile strikes."
"He simply cannot be trusted," Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. strongly condemns the Russian missile attack and said Russia bears responsibility for deepening the world's food crisis.
The attack "undermines work of the U.N., Turkey and Ukraine to get critical food to world markets," Blinken said in a statement.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unequivocally" condemned the missile strike on the port.
"Full implementation [of the deal] by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey is imperative," the U.N. chief wrote.
Bridget Brink, President Joe Biden's Ambassador to Ukraine, urged the global community to hold Russia to account.
"The Kremlin continues to weaponize food. Russia must be held to account," Brink wrote on Twitter.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Russia's missile strike on Odesa "reprehensible."
"Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible again demonstrates Russia's total disregard for international law and commitments," Borrell wrote on Twitter.
Spanish celebrity chef and restaurateur Jose Andres, who brought his humanitarian organization to Ukraine to alleviate the food crisis triggered by Russia's war, also slammed the missile strikes on Odesa.
"Why are you attacking the grain that needs to be exported? Why? Stop please and let's feed the world," wrote the two-star Michelin chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen, a group dedicated to feeding vulnerable communities.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said the missile strikes were "all you need to know about deals with Russia."
"Today, Russian missiles hit the port of Odesa. That's all you need to know about deals with Russia. The world must help Ukraine fight the aggressor," she wrote.
— Reuters contributed to this report.
Last Updated: July 23, 2022, 23:58 IST
The Indian Navy had on July 2 begun the recruitment process under the scheme. (Representational Image/File Photo)
The Indian Navy has received 3.03 lakh applications under the Agnipath military recruitment scheme till Friday, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday. The Indian Navy had on July 2 begun the recruitment process under the scheme.
“A total of 3,03,328 applications received so far for Agniveer in the Indian Navy…3,03,328 applications received as on July 22,” a Defence Ministry spokesperson tweeted. Under the Agnipath scheme, youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure, while 25 per cent of them will be subsequently inducted for regular service.
The scheme was unveiled on June 14, following which there were violent protests against it in several states for nearly a week and several opposition parties demanded its rollback. The government had on June 16 increased the upper age limit for recruitment under the scheme to 23 years from 21 for the year 2022, and subsequently announced a slew of placatory steps like a preference for Agniveers in central paramilitary forces and defence public sector undertakings upon their retirement.
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