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☆ Germany pauses purchases of Puma tanks after operational problems
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Rachel More | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares in Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE), which manufactures the tanks together with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), were down 7% after the minister's announcement. A statement from the German defence ministry said the goal was to make the Puma tanks operational as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the German Bundeswehr military would use Marder tanks, the predecessor model to the Puma, from Jan. 1, in what a ministry spokesperson called a "fall-back solution". Neither Rheinmetall nor KMW would comment on the issues with the Puma model. The Spiegel magazine reported over the weekend that 18 Puma tanks intended for NATO's very high readiness joint task force next year were not operational after problems arose during a firing exercise.

☆ Putin sounds out military commanders on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Joint Headquarters of the Russian armed forces involved in military operations in Ukraine, in an unknown location in Russia, December 17, 2022. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERSSummary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Dec 17 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin has sought proposals from his armed forces commanders on how they think Russia's military campaign in Ukraine should proceed, during a visit to the operation's headquarters, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Putin was then shown at the head of another conference table at the joint task force headquarters, inviting suggestions from a row of military commanders. "We will listen to the commanders in each operational direction, and I would like to hear your proposals on our immediate and medium-term actions," Putin said. Putin spent the whole of Friday at the task force headquarters, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax news agency.

☆ Nigerian Army massacred children in war on insurgents, witnesses say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

CJTF members provide the army with intelligence on suspected insurgents, serve as interpreters and help soldiers navigate sometimes unfamiliar terrain. Bello Danbatta, a spokesman for the CJTF, told Reuters that the military and CJTF forces did not target civilians. During combat operations, soldiers told Reuters, it was common to take aim at anyone they came across in areas the army did not fully control. And in a war in which insurgents have forced minors to fight, soldiers said they couldn't even trust in the innocence of children. Soldiers told the women that their children needed injections for malaria and other afflictions, she said.

☆ German economy ministry calls for joint EU response to U.S. inflation act
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Germany wants a joint European response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that would involve simplifying rules on state support and expanding funding opportunities, according to a German economy ministry document seen by Reuters on Friday. The ministry document also suggests member states could anchor sustainability criteria more firmly in public tenders at the national level as well as extend or increase traditional subsidy programmes, but warned against local content requirements which favour domestic industry. These would not only likely contradict World Trade Organization (WTO) law, according to the document, but also contribute to "a further erosion of the world trade order". The EU and Washington have established a joint task force in hope of resolving the dispute over the $430 billion act. (This story has been corrected to specify that the document is from the economy ministry, not finance ministry; and to clarify in the headline that the ministry calls for, not lays out, a joint response.)

☆ Biden's climate plan strains trade ties with Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The European Union and United States — together responsible for one third of global trade — have been at loggerheads in recent weeks over US President Joe Biden’s landmark $370 billion climate plan. While a trade war is unlikely, the plan is testing the transatlantic alliance and pushing Europe to consider mobilizing its own package of subsidies. The IRA is now law, and there is little appetite to bring it back to Congress to make substantive changes, he told CNN Business. The European Union has a couple of options at its disposal, analysts told CNN Business. On Monday, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said that the bloc should create its own “European IRA plan,” according to a Reuters report.

☆ Syrian rebels say anti-ISIS operations with the U.S. have stopped and ISIS fighters may escape from prisons and a refugee camp
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

If security forces abandon the prisons and refugee camps, thousands of ISIS fighters could be released into Syria and threaten the region and the West, say U.S. military officials. Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces inspect tents at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp on Aug. 28, during a security campaign by the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS "sleeper cells" in the camp. Three U.S. military officials say, however, that patrols with the SDF continued at a reduced rate and without aggressive counter-ISIS missions. So far, the Syrian rebels and the U.S. military say they have not seen signs of de-escalation from the Turks. But if Turkish military operations escalate, say U.S. officials, more SDF fighters will move toward the border, leaving detention facilities and refugee camps with inadequate security, say U.S. officials.

☆ Biden says can 'tweak' Inflation Act to include European countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference at the White House, Biden said "There are tweaks that we can make that can fundamentally make it easier for European countries to participate and/or be on their own." Biden said he makes no apologies for promoting American manufacturing of essential goods, but said large legislation often requires tweaks to deal with unintended consequences. "We're going to continue to create manufacturing jobs in America but not at the expense of Europe," Biden said. Semi-conductors, batteries, hydrogen," Macron said on Thursday during a joint press briefing. Reporting by Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw Editing by Chris Reese and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The climate bill that favors domestic production could possibly restrict trade, European countries say. Europe's industry fears that the bill, which gives tax credit for each eligible renewable energy component produced in a U.S. factory, would take away potential investment from the continent. The IRA, which was signed into law in August, also provides a tax credit of 30% of the cost of new or upgraded factories that build renewable energy components. "We're going to continue to create manufacturing jobs in America but not at the expense of Europe," Biden said. Biden in August signed the $52.7 billion semiconductor chips manufacturing subsidy and research law, which subsidizes U.S. chip manufacturing and expands research funding.

Magnitsky sanctions aim to punish those accused of corruption or enabling human rights abuses. The U.S. Treasury Department, which is responsible for Magnitsky sanctions, declined to comment. U.S. officials in Brazil and the United States have already begun the process of identifying and investigating specific targets, the source said, with potential punishments ranging from visa blacklists to Global Magnitsky sanctions. It is unclear when or if the United States could sanction specific targets, as the investigations can take a while. Targeting environmental criminals with Global Magnitsky sanctions is unusual but not unprecedented.

☆ Inside the Syrian refugee camp where supplies are low and ISIS fears run high
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Members of the Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces inspect tents at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, on Aug. 28, 2022, during a security campaign by the Syrian Democratic Forces against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp. While most ISIS fighters were killed or captured, their families were bused to the refugee camp as a temporary holding place, but with no long-term alternatives. In September, the SDF conducted an operation to root out ISIS fighters inside the camp. Over 24 days, they rounded up about 300 ISIS fighters, killed several more, and confiscated weapons and explosives. U.S. military officials warn that ISIS has divisions of troops waiting to fight inside Hasakah and the other prisons.

Two men with access to weapons were arrested at New York City's Penn Station early Saturday in connection with a probe of threats to the Jewish community, authorities said. The senior law enforcement sources said Brown had the swastika armband on him when he was arrested at the train station. NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said in a statement that authorities first identified "a developing threat to the Jewish community" Friday. Three law enforcement sources said threats against the Jewish community were posted online. "Today, we’re extremely grateful to NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners who uncovered and stopped a threat to our Jewish community," Sewell tweeted Saturday.

Over recent years, NATO allies and Russia have scaled up military exercises in the region; Chinese and Russian warships conducted a joint exercise in the Bering Sea in September. Four Arctic experts say it would take the West at least 10 years to catch up with Russia's military in the region, if it chose to do so. "NATO is increasing its presence in the Arctic with more modern capabilities," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters. Now NATO and Arctic allies are changing their stance. Sweden and Finland have begun investing in surveillance and deterrence capabilities and military hardware including jets so their air forces can fight alongside Arctic NATO allies.

☆ Ukraine says sniper killed Russian soldier almost 1.7 miles away, which it claims is the second-longest kill on record
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's army claimed on Wednesday to have made the world's second-longest sniper kill. The shot would be roughly three times the height of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. The 24 seconds of grainy thermal imaging footage show a figure identified by Ukraine's armed forces as "the occupier," suggesting the apparent kill took place in occupied Ukraine. In the post, Ukraine's armed forces gave a nod to British former sniper Craig Harrison as having formerly held the record for second-longest shot, and who the Ukrainian army claims to have nudged into third place. Another pre-existing claim to second place is a kill by an unnamed member of Australia's second commando regiment in 2012, at 1.3 miles, or 2.81 km.

☆ NATO is pouring concrete to support new 'battlegroups' in 4 countries amid rising tensions with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

NATO now has some 40,000 troops under its direct command in Eastern Europe — 30,000 of them in those eight battlegroups. More than a tripwireUS soldiers at a base in Latvia to support NATO's battlegroup there on February 25. Hungary had refused to accept NATO troops, with its foreign minister saying before Russia attacked Ukraine that Hungary's military could defend the country. Following Russia's invasion, Hungary was persuaded to host a few hundred NATO troops in a battlegroup that it would lead. Accommodating and integrating an influx of NATO troops is not easy, even for countries that are eager to counter Russia.

☆ Guatemala: Gender-based violence at epidemic levels
▼ + stars: | 2015-04-02 | by ( Julie Guinan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CARE/Josh EsteyA 2012 Small Arms Survey says gender-based violence is at epidemic levels in Guatemala and the country ranks third in the killings of women worldwide. The taboo topic of gender-based violence is also being acknowledged and recognized in a popular program targeting one of Guatemala’s most vulnerable groups, indigenous Mayan girls. If approved, it would make reducing levels of gender-based violence a U.S. foreign policy priority. Adelma Cifuentes shares her story to empower women and bring about awareness of Guatemala's history of gender-based violence. While there is tempered optimism and hope for change, the problem of gender-based violence in Guatemala is one that needs international attention and immediate action.

☆ I'm a photographer who covered 9/11 and its aftermath. Here are the most gripping photos I took, and the stories behind them.
▼ + stars: | 2001-09-11 | by ( Alan Chin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

A month after that, I got an assignment to go to northern Afghanistan. Their soldiers had repelled a Taliban offensive in 1997, and massacred thousands of the Taliban prisoners they had captured. Air Force flights from as far away as Germany were dropping American military and humanitarian food packets in an effort to win hearts and minds. This was taken aboard the ferry connecting the east and west sides of the American military base. Even as the American war in Afghanistan ends in both ignominy and relief, the conflicts there and in dozens of other places continue.

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