Clashes, arrests mark start of German far-right AfD congress

Clashes, arrests mark start of German far-right AfD congress
Above, Alternative for Germany’s co-leader Alice Weidel passes by co-leader Tino Chrupalla during the party congress in Essen on June 29, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 29 June 2024
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Clashes, arrests mark start of German far-right AfD congress

Clashes, arrests mark start of German far-right AfD congress
  • Around 600 AfD delegates began a two-day meeting with authorities expecting up to 80,000 people to join demonstrations
  • AfD notched up its best EU election result since its creation in 2013, winning 16% of the vote to take second place

ESSEN, Germany: Clashes between hooded demonstrators and police on Saturday marked the start of a party congress of Germany’s far-right AfD, weeks after it scored record EU election results despite multiple scandals.
About 1,000 police deployed in the western city of Essen as around 600 delegates began a two-day meeting with authorities expecting up to 80,000 people to join demonstrations.
“Several disruptive violent actions occurred in the Ruettenscheld quarter. Demonstrators, some of them hooded, attacked security forces. Several arrests were made,” the police of North Westphalia, where Essen is located, said on X.
A top regional official had warned that “potentially violent far-left troublemakers” could be among the protesters.
“We are here and we will stay,” said AfD co-president Alice Weidel, opening the congress and drawing sustained applause.
“We have the right like all political parties — to hold a congress,” she added.
Adding to the security forces’ headache is the Euro 2024 football tournament, with the last 16 clash between hosts Germany and Denmark taking place Saturday in Dortmund — not far from Essen.
In early June the Alternative for Germany (AfD) notched up its best European Union election result since its creation in 2013, winning 16 percent of the vote to take second place.
It was behind the main conservative CDU-CSU opposition bloc but ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), which is in power at the head of a troubled three-party coalition.
Buoyed by a surge in immigration and a weak performance by Europe’s top economy, the party hit as high as 22 percent in opinion polls in January.
However their support faltered amid a welter of scandals that mainly implicated their top EU election candidate, Maximilian Krah.
“I believe that the party has learnt a lot in recent months and will be very careful when we put forward leading candidates in the future,” party co-president Weidel, who is standing for re-election, told the Politico news outlet Thursday.
Krah initially faced allegations of suspicious links to Russia and China.
He then sparked widespread anger by telling an Italian newspaper that not every member of the Nazis’ notorious SS was “automatically a criminal.”
The comments prompted the AfD’s expulsion from its far-right group, Identity and Democracy (ID), in the European Parliament, in which France’s National Rally (RN) and Italy’s League had been its partners.
While the AfD has sought to shift the blame for all its recent woes onto Krah, there were signs of problems even before.
The RN had already distanced itself from the AfD after reports emerged in January that the German party had discussed the expulsion of immigrants and “non-assimilated” citizens at a meeting with extremists.
The reports caused shock in Germany and triggered weeks of mass protests.
Following the EU polls, the AfD ejected Krah from the delegation it sends to Brussels but the ID group does not seem ready to re-admit them, leaving the party searching for new partners.
At the congress, delegates will be asked to vote on a motion proposing an end to the practice of having two party co-presidents.
Instead, there will be just one president alongside a general secretary.
If the motion is approved, then Tino Chrupalla — the party’s second co-president alongside Weidel — could lose his position, German media have reported.
He has been highly critical of Krah, meaning he could be targeted by the disgraced politician’s supporters.
Both Chrupalla and Weidel have backed introducing the post of secretary general as they believe it could help professionalize the AfD ahead of Germany’s 2025 parliamentary elections.
The congress comes ahead of three key elections in September in states that once formed part of communist East Germany, and where the AfD has been topping opinion polls.


Putin says Europe is needed in Ukraine talks, but suggests deal still distant

Putin says Europe is needed in Ukraine talks, but suggests deal still distant
Updated 59 min 36 sec ago
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Putin says Europe is needed in Ukraine talks, but suggests deal still distant

Putin says Europe is needed in Ukraine talks, but suggests deal still distant
  • Ukraine and Kyiv’s European allies both objected to not having been invited to the initial round of talks on Ukraine

MOSCOW: Europe’s participation in Ukraine peace talks will be needed eventually but Moscow first wants to build trust with Washington, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, while suggesting that a deal to end the conflict may still be far off.
As Ukraine marked the third anniversary on Monday of Russia’s invasion that has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions, US President Donald Trump suggested the war could end within weeks. But he did not elaborate.
Putin told Russian state television that Trump was approaching the Russia-Ukraine conflict rationally and not emotionally, but gave the impression it might not end as soon as Trump would like.
Both his telephone conversation with Trump and recent talks between the United States and Russia in Riyadh touched on the issue of resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, Putin added.
“But it was not discussed in detail,” he said in an interview. “We only agreed that we would move toward this. And in this case, of course, we are not refusing the participation of European countries.”
Ukraine and Kyiv’s European allies both objected to not having been invited to the initial round of talks on Ukraine, held last week in Saudi Arabia by the United States and Russia.
Putin said Europe had “nothing with” the talks in Riyadh, as they were focused on establishing trust between Moscow and Washington, which he said was key.
“In order to resolve complex and rather acute issues, such as related to Ukraine, both Russia and the United States must take the first step,” Putin said.
“What does it consist of? This first step should be devoted to increasing the level of trust between the two states,” he added.
“But what do the Europeans have to do with it?”
The next few rounds of talks and high-level contacts will be devoted to building that trust, he said, but once the talks turn to reaching a settlement to the conflict, the presence of European partners will be logical.
“Their participation in the negotiating process is needed. We never rejected that, we held constant discussions with them.”
Michael Froman, president of the US Council on Foreign Relations thinktank, said it would be a mistake for a ceasefire deal to come at the cost of the transatlantic alliance.
“To secure peace through strength, it would be in Trump’s interest to work in tandem with our European partners, who will bear the burden of Ukraine’s financial and economic survival,” he wrote in a note last week.
Halving defence budgets
Putin also said he approved a suggestion that Russia and the United States could discuss deep cuts, of as much as half, in military spending.
“We could come to an agreement with the United States. We’re not against that,” Putin said.
“The idea seems like a good one to me. The United States reduces theirs by 50 percent and we reduce ours by 50 percent. And China could join us later if it wishes.”
Putin dismissed any notion that Trump’s sharp alteration of Washington’s policy on Ukraine, including criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and suggestions that Kyiv might not recover all lost territory, was based on emotion.
Trump, he said, was acting logically and free of the constraints of promises to Ukraine made by European leaders.
“Unlike them, the new president of the United States has his hands free from shackles that don’t allow you to move forward,” he said.
“He is moving in a straightforward manner and without particular constraints. He is in a unique position: he doesn’t just say what he thinks, he says what he wants. This is the privilege of the leader of one of the major powers.”


British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan

British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan
Updated 25 February 2025
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British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan

British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan
  • Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, have spent 18 years running training projects in Afghanistan 
  • Taliban sources tell BBC couple was arrested for working for NGO, using plane without notifying authorities

LONDON: A British couple in their seventies were arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan earlier this month, it was reported on Sunday.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, who have spent 18 years running training projects in the country, were detained on Feb. 1 while returning to their home in Bamiyan.

Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told the BBC she had not heard from her parents in more than two weeks. Initially, they were able to send text messages from detention, with Afghan authorities assuring the family that they were “fine.”

However, communication ended three days later, leaving their children in the dark about their well-being since.

Speaking from Daventry in Northamptonshire, Entwistle said: “It’s been over two weeks since the messages stopped and they were taken into custody. We would like the Taliban to release them to go back to their home and continue their work.”

The couple, who met at the University of Bath and married in Kabul in 1970, have been running educational initiatives in Afghanistan since 2009.

Their work included training programs in five schools in Kabul and a project for mothers and children in Bamiyan, reportedly approved by local authorities despite the Taliban’s restrictions on female education and employment.

Entwistle told The Sunday Times: “They said they could not leave when Afghans were in their hour of need. They were meticulous about keeping by the rules even as they kept changing.”

She also expressed concern for her father’s health: “My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and (he) needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke. They were just trying to help the country they loved. The idea they are being held because they were teaching mothers with children is outrageous.”

Entwistle and her three brothers have written to the Taliban, pleading for their parents’ release.

“We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest,” they said in the letter.

“They have communicated their trust in you, and that as Afghan citizens they will be treated well.”

They also distanced their parents from any potential prisoner exchange.

“Our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would rather sacrifice their lives than become part of ransom negotiations or be traded,” they said.

Taliban sources told the BBC that British nationals had been arrested in Bamiyan province for allegedly working for a nongovernmental organization and using a plane without notifying local authorities. The Taliban has imposed strict regulations on NGOs, banning women from working for them in 2022 and threatening closures for non-compliance.

The UK Foreign Office has acknowledged the detention of two British nationals in Afghanistan but has limited capacity to assist, as Britain does not recognize the Taliban and has no embassy in Kabul.


US Coast Guard ship in Tasman Sea did not interact with Chinese navy, commander says

US Coast Guard ship in Tasman Sea did not interact with Chinese navy, commander says
Updated 25 February 2025
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US Coast Guard ship in Tasman Sea did not interact with Chinese navy, commander says

US Coast Guard ship in Tasman Sea did not interact with Chinese navy, commander says
  • The US Coast Guard national security cutter Midgett arrived in port in Sydney on Saturday from New Zealand
  • China likely testing the diplomatic resolve of Australia, New Zealand and Australia’s security ally the US

SYDNEY: A US Coast Guard cutter crossing the Tasman Sea as part of maritime security cooperation with Australia and New Zealand knew Chinese naval ships were in the area but had no interaction with them, its commanding officer said on Tuesday.
China’s navy held live-fire exercises on Friday and Saturday in international waters between Australia and New Zealand that Australian officials have described as unprecedented. The drills forced airlines to change the paths of 49 commercial flights for safety reasons.
The movements of the People’s Liberation Army Navy frigate, cruiser and refueling vessel involved are being monitored by Australian and New Zealand defense forces.
The US Coast Guard national security cutter Midgett arrived in port in Sydney on Saturday from New Zealand.
“We were aware of their presence,” Captain Matthew Rooney, commanding officer of the Midgett, told reporters in Sydney of the Chinese ships on Tuesday.
“It did not affect our operations. We follow international norms, regulations for preventing collisions at sea and we had no encounters and we would expect the Chinese navy to do the same,” he added.
Euan Graham, senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was the furthest south the Chinese navy had held exercises, and showed China did not need a naval base in the South Pacific to project power.
China was likely testing the diplomatic resolve of Australia, New Zealand and Australia’s security ally the United States, he said.
“This is a clear signal that China doesn’t feel deterred from operating close by (the US’s) closest Pacific ally,” he said.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said on Friday the People’s Liberation Army Navy had been conducting exercises and training in distant waters and upheld safety standards in accordance with international laws and practices.
The US Coast Guard has increased operations in the South Pacific since 2024, patrolling for illegal fishing by distant fleets including from China, at the invitation of Pacific Island countries.
China registered dozens of coast guard vessels for fisheries patrols in the Pacific Islands for the first time in 2025, although none have deployed yet.
China uses its coast guard to enforce its maritime border claims in the South China Sea.
Rooney said the US Coast Guard was in the Pacific to “assist nations in maintaining their national sovereignty through bilateral invitations — bilateral maritime agreements to support operations within their exclusive economic zone to prevent malign behaviors, and also to prevent poaching of marine resources.”
The commanding officer for the HMAS Kuttabul fleet base in Sydney, Captain Rebecca Levitt , said Australia has “a very large patch of ocean that we need to protect and provide that stability within the region and we can’t do that without the United States.”
The Midgett will next travel to Papua New Guinea on an illegal fishing patrol.


Trump’s Pentagon shakeup puts military in political spotlight

Trump’s Pentagon shakeup puts military in political spotlight
Updated 25 February 2025
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Trump’s Pentagon shakeup puts military in political spotlight

Trump’s Pentagon shakeup puts military in political spotlight
  • Trump announced late Friday that he was firing top US military officer General Charles “CQ” Brown less than two years into his four-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has launched a sweeping shakeup of the Pentagon, firing top officers and moving to lay off thousands of civilian workers as he seeks to align the US military with his priorities.
The removal of the officers has pushed the Pentagon into the political spotlight, with Democrats accusing Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of seeking to politicize the military and ensure it is led by people personally loyal to the president.
Remaining above the political fray is a core principle for the US armed forces, with troops even barred from engaging in some types of political activity in order to maintain the military’s neutrality.
Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, saying “there is civilian control of the military. Nothing about this is unprecedented.”
Trump “deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team,” Hegseth told “Fox News Sunday.”
But Senator Jack Reed — the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee — argued that “what Trump and Hegseth are trying to do is to politicize the Department of Defense.”
“It’s the beginning of a very, very serious degradation of the military,” Reed said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Trump announced late Friday that he was firing top US military officer General Charles “CQ” Brown less than two years into his four-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Hegseth then said he was also seeking a replacement for top US Navy officer Admiral Lisa Franchetti, as well as the Air Force vice chief of staff and three top military lawyers.
The shakeup of senior personnel came after the Pentagon announced it aims to cut at least five percent of its more than 900,000-person civilian workforce, saying the decision was taken “to produce efficiencies and refocus the department on the president’s priorities.”

Representative Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said Trump fired Brown as well as thousands of federal employees “not because they weren’t competent or good at their jobs, but because Trump wants sycophants.”
“Anyone who doesn’t pledge loyalty has to go,” Smith said in a video posted on X, adding: “That really undermines the competence and capability of the people serving our country.”
Trump administration officials have defended the firings, with Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson arguing that the removal of the senior officers is in keeping with past presidential actions.
“Truman fired General MacArthur. Lincoln fired General McClellan. Obama fired General McChrystal. Yet the Fake News still claims we’re in ‘uncharted territory,’” Wilson wrote on X.
But those generals were fired due to specific problems — Douglas MacArthur for overstepping his authority and defying orders, George McClellan for insufficient aggression on the battlefield and Stanley McChrystal because he and his aides reportedly criticized US officials.
No accusations of misconduct have been made against the recently removed officers, with Hegseth saying Brown is “an honorable man” but “not the right man for the moment.”
Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that while there are various examples of senior officers being relieved, “it has generally been for competence issues.”
“This does not appear to have been, at least to a significant degree, about the competence of General Brown, for example,” and if the removals were not based on performance, “then this is uncommon.”
Jones said he does not however think that “at this point... the vast majority of the uniformed military has been politicized.”
It is when civilian and uniformed leaders disagree that “you judge whether the military has been politicized. Are they giving their best military judgment on an issue, which is what they’re sworn to do? So we’ll have to see,” he said.
 

 


Musk eyes Starlink terminal deployment in US airspace network, Bloomberg News reports

Musk eyes Starlink terminal deployment in US airspace network, Bloomberg News reports
Updated 25 February 2025
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Musk eyes Starlink terminal deployment in US airspace network, Bloomberg News reports

Musk eyes Starlink terminal deployment in US airspace network, Bloomberg News reports

WASHINGTON: Elon Musk’s SpaceX is looking to deploy Starlink satellite Internet terminals to speed up the information technology networks that support the US Federal Aviation Administration’s national airspace system, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.