World
‘If we don’t support Ukraine, it’ll fall in a matter of days’: Borrell
Talking in Florence, Josep Borrell mirrored on the transformational modifications which have swept the EU for the reason that Kremlin launched the invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine will succumb to the invading Russian forces “in a matter of days” with out navy assist from Western international locations, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s overseas coverage chief, stated on Friday, insisting that the current state of affairs contained in the war-torn nation just isn’t conducive for launching formal peace talks.
“Unhappily, this isn’t the second for diplomatic conversations about peace. It is the second of supporting militarily the warfare,” Borrell instructed Euronews’ Méabh McMahon on the State of the Union occasion hosted by the European College Institute (EUI) in Florence.
“In order for you peace, push Russia to withdraw. Push Russia to cease the warfare. Do not inform me to cease supporting Ukraine, as a result of if I cease supporting Ukraine, definitely the warfare will end quickly,” he went on.
“We can’t simply end as a result of (if we do) Ukraine is unable to defend itself and it has to give up. And the Russian troops can be within the Polish border and Ukraine will develop into a second Belarus. Would you like this type of ending the warfare? No.”
The overseas coverage chief described the 10-point proposal promoted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the one factor that might be known as a peace plan” and dismissed China’s 12-point doc as “wishful considering.”
“Even when they’re on the facet of Russia, I believe China has a job to play. China is a everlasting member of the (UN) Safety Council. China is the one who has the largest affect in Russia,” Borrell added.
“Let’s face the fact. Prefer it or not, the fact is Putin continues saying: ‘I’ve navy targets and so far as I do not get these navy targets, I’ll proceed combating.’ So the peace plans are good however you want somebody that wishes to speak about peace.”
In the course of the dialog, Borrell mirrored on the transformational modifications which have swept the European Union for the reason that Kremlin determined to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, upending worldwide legislation, meals provide chains and vitality costs.
Though technically the bloc’s prime diplomat, Borrell admitted he these days feels extra like a “defence minister” due to the rising give attention to supplying ammunition to Ukraine: the EU is dashing to satisfy its promise to ship a million artillery shells over the subsequent 12 months, which Kyiv urgently requires to mount its anticipated counteroffensive.
“I spend fairly an necessary a part of my time speaking about arms and ammunition. I by no means thought that we had been going to want to spend a lot time excited about what number of pictures of artillery we are able to present,” Borrell stated.
This week the European Fee proposed a €500-million plan to ramp up industrial manufacturing of ammunition, which is presently hampered by a sequence of entrenched bottlenecks and shortfalls. The plan, dubbed ASAP, contains an choice that might permit member states to place further cash on the desk by redirecting a share of their allotted cohesion and COVID-19 restoration funds.
“We did not need this warfare. We weren’t searching for it. However the warfare is a actuality and you need to face it. And all people needs peace. Sure, however in the interim, unhappily, Putin is continuous the warfare and Ukraine has to defend (itself),” Borrell stated when requested in regards to the doable use of restoration funds to spice up Europe’s arms trade.
“If we do not assist Ukraine, Ukraine will fall in a matter of days. So, sure, I would like to spend this cash rising the well-being of the individuals, hospitals, faculties, cities, and so forth. However we do not have a selection.”
The commercial plan is the newest addition to an ever-expanding listing of consequential coverage choices the bloc has taken up to now 15 months, a lot of which solely got here to fruition after protracted, tortuous and generally divisive negotiations between the 27 member states.
Nonetheless, Borrell appears happy with the ultimate outcome and believes that, regardless of inside bickering, the EU stays united in its assist for Ukraine and its opposition to Russia’s aggression.
“The warfare has united us. There’s nothing that may unite you greater than an enemy, a menace, and the sensation of going through a menace. An actual existential menace has united us greater than any speech, any theoretical strategy in regards to the want for integration,” Borrell stated.
“One of many errors of Putin was to assume that the Europeans wouldn’t be united due to the vitality dependency, for instance, and that the general public opinion in Europe would get bored with supporting Ukrainians and that the US and Europe would quarrel about who does what and which shares the burden. This isn’t the case.”
Borrell then defended the effectiveness of the ten rounds of sanctions the bloc has imposed on Russia and which critics declare have didn’t dent the Kremlin’s warfare machine.
“Actually they work, however they don’t seem to be instantaneous. It is like a weight loss plan: for those who go on a weight loss plan, you are not going to lose 30 kilos in a single week,” the diplomat quipped.
Talking extra broadly in regards to the shifting world order, Borrell expressed his private need for a greater understanding between “the West and the remaining,” a reference to international locations which can be outdoors the normal group of liberal democracies and usually refuse to embrace their political viewpoints.
“The worldwide challenges (are) not solely local weather. It is the debt and is improvement,” he stated.
“We nonetheless have a an excessive amount of Eurocentric strategy to the remainder of the world.”
World
Jay-Z’s Accuser Can Remain Anonymous, Judge Criticizes His Lawyer’s ‘Relentless’ Filings
The woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 can proceed anonymously (“at least for now”) in her lawsuit against the rappers, a judge ruled Thursday.
New York Judge Analisa Torres also condemned the legal team representing Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) for the “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks [on accuser’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee],” according to a court order obtained by Variety. “Since Carter’s attorney first appeared in this case seventeen days ago, he has submitted a litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff’s lawyer [Buzbee].”
Judge Torres continues, calling the complaints “inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client [Jay-Z].”
Jane Doe, who filed her original lawsuit against Combs in October, and re-filed it with Carter’s name in early December, will remain anonymous at this early stage of the litigation. She could still be required by the court to reveal her identity.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Carter, recently asked the judge to dismiss the entertainer from the woman’s lawsuit. He cited a report from NBC News that revealed the accuser had admitted to some “inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in her allegations. His team has also issued public statements referring to Buzbee as a “1-800 lawyer” who is “in the pursuit of money and fame.”
Judge Torres denied Carter’s request to dismiss the case. Representatives for Carter did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
In the last few weeks, Buzbee issued his own lawsuit against Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by Carter, claiming they are using “shadowy operatives” to bribe his former clients into filing “frivolous” complaints against him. Carter has also sued Buzbee for defamation.
Jane Doe, who alleges she was 13 when Combs and Carter raped her in 2000, says she encountered the pair at an afterparty for the MTV Music Video Awards.
Carter responded to the allegation almost immediately. “You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Carter wrote in a letter addressing Buzbee. “I’m not from your moral world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”
Combs has been held in a Brooklyn jail since September. He will remain there until his trial is scheduled to begin in May.
World
China unveils world's largest amphibious warship
China has launched the first of its new line of amphibious assault ships and its biggest warship yet, strengthening what is already the world’s largest navy.
The Sichuan, a type 076 new-generation amphibious assault ship, was put into the water at a launch and naming ceremony on Friday.
With a full load displacement of 40,000 tons, the warship ranks among the world’s largest amphibious assault ships, featuring a dual-island superstructure and full-length flight deck, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) said in a statement.
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China Bugle, an news outlet associated with the PLAN’s news media center, reported the ship will play a key role in transforming and developing the Chinese navy and enhancing its combat capabilities in the far seas.
The Sichuan is capable of launching fighter jets and unmanned drones from an electromagnetic catapult. It is designed to carry ground troops in landing craft with air support.
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The ship also features “arrester technology” that Chinese researchers boast will allow fighter jets to land on its deck, similar to an aircraft carrier.
China launched its first amphibious assault ship, a type 075 class warship called the Hainan, in 2019.
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The PLANmi has been working on modernizing its forces for more than a decade, with the aim of being able to operate globally rather than being restricted to waters near the Chinese mainland. China first managed to launch fighter jets with the new electromagnetic technology on its homemade aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which launched two years ago.
The Sichuan will now undergo additional tests at sea.
China has the largest navy in the world and is consistently trying to upgrade its fleet. Recently, researchers found that the country is working on designing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which would allow it to deploy its ships in distant waters without needing a base to refuel.
The U.S. Navy currently has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers deployed in strategic locations globally, including in the Asia-Pacific.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Health worker displaced by Israeli attacks in Gaza dies of ‘extreme cold’
Many people in Gaza lack adequate shelter and are malnourished after more than a year of Israeli attacks and blockades.
A Palestinian healthcare worker has died due to “extreme” weather conditions, according to a statement by the enclave’s Ministry of Health, as severe cold compounds the hardship faced by people displaced by Israel’s relentless attacks.
The body of Al-Hakim Ahmed al-Zaharneh, who worked at the European Gaza Hospital, was found inside his tent in al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, the ministry said on Friday.
“This incident comes in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions that displaced citizens are experiencing, as the suffering of Gaza residents increases due to low temperatures and the lack of heating means in tents,” the ministry said.
The ministry said earlier that four Palestinian babies have died in tents in recent days amid the cold weather and widespread malnutrition.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said that the number of casualties in vulnerable groups is increasing due to worsening weather conditions.
“For 14 months now, people here have been lacking basic necessities to help them survive these difficult conditions – even in summer,” he said.
“Now in winter, the temperature has dropped very low, [and] people in tent camps feel the cold as being [colder] than the actual levels.”
He said that mothers often lack the strength or ability to breastfeed as they are malnourished and unwell.
“The conditions are worse for vulnerable groups like babies and, in the absence of [humanitarian aid], it is natural that deaths will happen.”
The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once since war broke out with the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023, with many people living in tents that offer little protection from the cold, rain and flooding.
The United Nations and other organisations have repeatedly decried the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as Israeli attacks and blockades severely curtail access to food, water, medicine and other supplies.
A leading United States government organisation monitoring food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel’s “near-total blockade,” after the US asked for its retraction, US officials told The Associated Press.
The move follows public criticism of the report from the US ambassador to Israel.
The report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) had warned that a “famine scenario” was unfolding in northern Gaza where Israel launched a renewed offensive in early October.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the director of Gaza’s Health Ministry told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few remaining medical facilities in north Gaza, and forced the 350 people there to evacuate, including all the patients and staff. He said contact with the hospital had been lost.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 45,436 Palestinians and wounded 108,038 since October 7, 2023, according to figures released on Friday by Gaza’s Health Ministry.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
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