With the Ottawa Treaty under threat, an expert warns landmines won't keep Europe safe
'It's an outdated technology that can quite quickly be rendered useless,' said Gary Toombs, a senior explosive disposal technician with the charity Humanity and Inclusion.
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Winnipeg Free Press
15 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
A Ukrainian suspected in the Nord Stream pipeline blasts is arrested in Italy
BERLIN (AP) — A Ukrainian citizen man suspected to be one of the coordinators of the undersea explosions in 2022 that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany has been arrested, German prosecutors said Thursday. The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested overnight by officers from a police station in Misano Adriatrico, near the Italian city of Rimini, federal prosecutors said. Explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged the pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources, following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Investigators have been largely tightlipped on their investigation, but said two years ago they found traces of undersea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that was searched as part of the probe. In a statement Thursday, prosecutors said Serhii K. was one of a group of people who placed explosives on the pipelines and is believed to have been one of the coordinators. They said he is suspected of causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage and the destruction of structures. He was arrested on a European arrest warrant that was issued on Monday. The suspect and others used a yacht that set off from the German port of Rostock, which had been hired from a German company using forged IDs and with the help of intermediaries, prosecutors said. They didn't give any information on the other people aboard the yacht or say anything about who else might have been involved in coordinating the suspected sabotage, or about a possible motive. German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig praised what she called 'a very impressive investigative success.' She said in a statement that the explosions must be cleared up, 'so it is good that we are making progress.' The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was Russia's main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies at the end of August 2022. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. They also damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February of that year. Russia has accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge Washington has denied. The pipelines were long a target of criticism by the U.S. and some of its allies, who warned that they posed a risk to Europe's energy security by increasing dependence on Russian gas. In 2023, German media reported that a pro-Ukraine group was involved in the sabotage. Ukraine rejected suggestions it might have ordered the attack and German officials voiced caution over the accusation. German prosecutors didn't say when they expect Serhii K. to be handed over to German authorities. Swedish and Danish authorities closed their investigations in February 2024, leaving the German prosecutors' case as the sole probe.
Winnipeg Free Press
40 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
US and EU frame the ongoing deal between the trading partners and solidify some commitments
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and the European Union on Thursday issued a joint statement that frames the ongoing deal between the trading partners and solidifies some trade commitments. 'This Framework Agreement will put our trade and investment relationship — one of the largest in the world — on a solid footing and will reinvigorate our economies' reindustrialization,' the document reads. Together, the U.S. and the EU have 44% of the global economy. Key points in the letter include a 15% U.S. tariff rate on most European goods, with specifics on auto tariffs tied to EU legislative actions. In addition, the EU agrees to eliminate tariffs on industrial goods and many agricultural products, while the U.S. will reduce tariffs accordingly. The agreement also covers $750 billion in energy purchases and $600 billion in EU investments by 2028. The agreement also addresses non-tariff barriers, digital trade and environmental regulations. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. In July, President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland and announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15% tariffs on most European goods, warding off Trump's threat of a 30% rate if no deal had been reached by Aug. 1. Before the Republican U.S. president returned to office for his second term, the U.S. and the EU maintained generally low tariff levels in what is the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, with about $2 trillion, around 1.7 trillion euros, in annual trade.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Iran's navy launches country's first military drill since 12-day war with Israel
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran launched its first military exercise since the end of its 12-day war with Israel, state television reported Thursday, with navy vessels launching missiles at targets at sea in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. While such drills are routine in the Islamic Republic, the 'Sustainable Power 1404″ exercise comes as authorities in Iran are trying to project strength in the wake of a war that saw Israel destroy air defense systems and bomb nuclear facilities and other sites. The state TV report said naval vessels would fire cruise missiles at targets and use drones over the open water. It did not immediately air any footage from the exercise. Iran's navy, estimated to have some 18,000 personnel, apparently avoided any major attack during the June war. The navy, based out of the port city of Bandar Abbas, patrols the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean and the Caspian Sea, and broadly leaves the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz, to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The Guard's naval forces are known for seizures of Western vessels during the breakdown of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, as well as closely shadowing passing U.S. Navy vessels coming into the region. Since the end of the war, Iran has increasingly insisted that it is ready to counter any future Israeli attack. Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh said that the country has equipped its forces with new missile, in remarks reported Wednesday by the state-run IRNA news agency. 'In response to any potential enemy adventurism, our forces are prepared to use these new missiles effectively.' Meanwhile, Iran has suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been monitoring its nuclear sites as Tehran enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels amid the tensions. France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the European parties to Iran's nuclear deal, have warned that if Tehran doesn't reach a 'satisfactory solution' to its dispute with the IAEA by Aug. 31, they will trigger a 'snapback' reimposition of all United Nations sanctions on it previously lifted by the accord. While already stung by American sanctions since 2018, analysts warn that renewed U.N. sanctions could further weaken the country's ailing economy.
