World
China makes semi-secret delivery of missiles to Serbia
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Russian ally Serbia accepted the supply of a complicated Chinese language anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend amid Western considerations that an arms buildup within the Balkans on the time of the conflict in Ukraine might threaten the delicate peace within the area.
Media and navy consultants stated Sunday that six Chinese language Air Drive Y-20 transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport early Saturday, reportedly carrying HQ-22 surface-to-air missile techniques for the Serbian navy.
NATO SAYS FOR THE FIRST TIME IT MUST INCLUDE CHINA’S ‘GROWING INFLUENCE’ IN ITS DEFENSE STRATEGY
The Chinese language cargo planes with navy markings had been pictured at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. Serbia’s protection ministry didn’t instantly reply to AP’s request for remark.
The arms supply over the territory of at the very least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by consultants as an illustration of China’s rising international attain.
“The Y-20s’ look raised eyebrows as a result of they flew en masse versus a sequence of single-aircraft flights,” wrote The Warzone on-line journal. “The Y-20′s presence in Europe in any numbers can also be nonetheless a reasonably new growth.”
Serbian navy analyst Aleksandar Radic stated that “the Chinese language carried out their demonstration of drive.”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic all however confirmed the supply of the medium-range system that was agreed to in 2019, saying Saturday he’ll current “the most recent satisfaction” of the Serbian navy on Tuesday or Wednesday.
CHINA ACCUSES US, TAIWAN OFFICIALS OF ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’ WITH UKRAINE COMPARISONS
He had earlier complained that NATO international locations, which characterize most of Serbia’s neighbors, are refusing to permit the system’s supply flights over their territories amid tensions over Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.
Though Serbia has voted in favor of U.N. resolutions that condemn the bloody Russian assaults in Ukraine, it has refused to hitch worldwide sanctions in opposition to its allies in Moscow or outright criticize the obvious atrocities dedicated by the Russian troops there.
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In 2020, U.S. officers warned Belgrade in opposition to the acquisition of HQ-22 anti-aircraft techniques, whose export model is called FK-3. The U.S. stated that if Serbia actually desires to hitch the European Union and different Western alliances, it should align its navy gear with Western requirements.
The Chinese language missile system has been broadly in comparison with the American Patriot and the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile techniques, though it has a shorter vary than extra superior S-300s. Serbia would be the first operator of the Chinese language missiles in Europe.
AMERICA NEEDS A STRATEGIC RESET TO CONFRONT THE NEW AXIS OF RUSSIA, CHINA, IRAN
Serbia was at conflict with its neighbors within the Nineteen Nineties. The nation, which is formally searching for EU membership, has already been boosting its armed forces with Russian and Chinese language arms, together with warplanes, battle tanks and different gear.
In 2020, it took supply of Chengdu Pterodactyl-1 drones, recognized in China as Wing Loong. The fight drones are in a position to strike targets with bombs and missiles and can be utilized for reconnaissance duties.
There are fears within the West that the arming of Serbia by Russia and China might encourage the Balkan nation towards one other conflict, particularly in opposition to its former province of Kosovo that proclaimed independence in 2008. Serbia, Russia and China don’t acknowledge Kosovo’s statehood, whereas the USA and most Western international locations do.
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World
Brazil's leftist president concerned Biden can't beat Trump: 'I think Biden has a problem'
President Biden is now facing calls from members of the international community who want him to quit the 2024 presidential race, with even leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warning that “Biden has a problem.”
“He’s moving more slowly, he is taking longer to answer questions,” Lula explained to a local radio station, according to Bloomberg. “The U.S. elections are very important for all the world.”
Biden’s first presidential debate against former President Trump last month proved to be a debacle, leading Biden to admit just days later that he “screwed up.”
“I had a bad night,” Biden, 81, said Thursday in an interview with radio host Earl Ingram. “And the fact of the matter is that, you know, I screwed up.”
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN CALLS OUT ‘ARROGANT’ BIDEN CAMPAIGN RESPONSE TO DEBATE FALLOUT
While Republicans predictably criticized the performance, even Democrats have fallen into a panic, and the president has had to hold crisis talks with close allies to reassure them he’s still up to the job — and will be for another four years.
The debate, however, sent shock waves through the international community, with some allies refusing to stay quiet about an issue that they see as being too important to treat delicately.
Matteo Renzi, who served as Italian prime minister from 2014 to 2016 and who proved to be a close friend to Democrats during his tenure, wrote on social media platform X that “Joe Biden can’t do it.”
TRUMP CHALLENGES BIDEN TO SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE — BUT THERE’S A CATCH
“As Senator, Vice President, President he served the United States of America with honor,” Renzi wrote. “He doesn’t deserve an inglorious ending, he doesn’t deserve one. Changing horses is a duty for everyone.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski struck a similar tone in a cryptic message on X that some have taken to be an unfavorable comparison between Biden and the great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
“Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor, but he screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commodus (He, from the Gladiator) whose disastrous rule started Rome’s decline),” Sikorski wrote. “It’s important to manage one’s ride into the sunset.”
Marie-Agness Strack-Zimmermann, a German politician and current Chair of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag, told one outlet, “The fact that a man like Trump could become president again because the Democrats are unable to put up a strong candidate against him would be a historic tragedy that the whole world would feel,” The Guardian reported.
WHITE HOUSE STAFF ‘MISERABLE’ AMID PRESSURE ON BIDEN: REPORT
Other European officials have reportedly started to privately argue that Biden should step aside in favor of someone with a stronger chance of beating Trump, with Vice President Kamala Harris one of the leading candidates to assume the task.
Bloomberg reported that sources familiar with high-level discussions between European officials worry about the U.S. election due to its potential impact on Ukraine and NATO at a time when Russia remains aggressive.
Biden will have a chance to reassure America’s allies during a NATO summit that he will host in the U.S. next week, with his every action under intense scrutiny. One official at the G-7 meeting in Italy last month told Bloomberg that an air of worry hung around the meetings due to Biden’s apparent cognitive issues.
One person familiar with those conversations told The Washington Post that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had seen Biden as “mentally on top of his game” but physically weak — concerns that grew more pronounced following the debate.
In Asia, Japan and South Korea, uneasiness has increased about a return to the strained relations of the Trump era, when his administration urged greater financial contributions for military assistance and tensions rose due to aggressive trade practices, Reuters reported.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Remy Numa contributed to this report.
World
Slovakia's PM attends first public event since May 15 shooting
A gunman shot the Slovakian prime minister five times as he greeted supporters in the town of Handlová in May.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has made his first public appearance since he was shot on May 15 in an apparent assassination attempt.
He spoke at an event at Devín Castle in the capital Bratislava to mark Saint Cyril and Methodius Day, a national holiday in Slovakia to commemorate the day the two Christian missionaries arrived in what was then Moravia.
He made only one reference to his shooting, referring to it only as an “unfortunate event”, and used his speech largely to talk about the need to build a barrier against progressivism which he said is spreading “like a cancer”.
“They are ideologies that are damaging this country. They are ideologies that were created perhaps only the day before yesterday. I do not want Slovakia to be one of the countries that make a caricature of Western civilisation. We are a proud nation,” he said.
He also used his speech to caution against the war in Ukraine spiralling into a broader regional conflict.
“If we do not do something in the coming days and months, the situation that is developing in Ukraine could get out of hand and we could see an uncontrolled war,” he warned.
Handlová shooting
The 59-year-old populist prime minister was shot in the abdomen at close range as he greeted supporters following a government meeting in Handlová on 15 May.
Videos showed him approach people gathered at barricades and reach out to shake hands as a man stepped forward, extended his arm and fired five rounds before being tackled and arrested.
Fico underwent a five-hour surgery to treat multiple wounds he suffered in the shooting, followed by another two-hour surgery two days later to remove dead tissue from his gunshot wounds.
In late May, he was airlifted from the hospital in Banská Bystrica to the capital, Bratislava, where he was nursed at home.
Fico has since said he forgave his attacker and felt “no hatred towards the stranger who shot me”.
“I will not take any active legal action against him or seek damage compensation. I forgive him and let him sort out what he did and why he did it in his own head,” he said.
In early June, Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák, who also serves as minister of defence in Fico’s government, said Fico’s condition was gradually improving but that he would likely have permanent health issues.
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