Germany launches additional measures against Russia's 'shadow fleet'
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany has pledged additional measures to further counter Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" operating in the Baltic and North Sea, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday in a statement.
Western sanctions aimed at cutting Russia's oil revenues following its invasion of Ukraine have led to the rise of a vast "shadow fleet" of tankers that helps Moscow to keep its crude exports flowing.
From Tuesday German authorities have begun questioning passing tankers about their insurance coverage against oil pollution damage, the foreign ministry said, adding that the insurance coverage of "shadow fleet" vessels is often unknown, as they avoid reputable insurers and European ports.
"Our goal is very clear: We are increasing the pressure on the Russian shadow fleet and protecting the Baltic Sea," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in the statement.
(Reporting by Maria MartinezEditing by Gareth Jones)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
PM Anwar arrives in Rome for official visit to strengthen Malaysia-Italy ties
ROME: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived here Tuesday for a three-day working visit to the third-largest economy in the European Union (EU). The aircraft carrying the Prime Minister landed at Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at 8.20 pm (2.20 am Wednesday, Malaysia time). On hand to welcome Anwar at the airport were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Malaysia's Ambassador to Italy Datuk Zahid Rastam, Italian Senior Ambassador for Protocol Affairs Fabrizio Romano and former Italian Ambassador to Malaysia Massimo Rustico. Anwar said he hoped the visit would strengthen Malaysia-Italy ties and deepen strategic cooperation, as well as to elevate ASEAN-EU engagement in a challenging global landscape. 'This visit, which comes at the invitation of my counterpart, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reflects our shared commitment to strengthening the long-standing bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Italy based on the principles and spirit of friendship, trust and mutual respect. 'Malaysia sees Italy as an important strategic partner in the European continent and we are committed to expanding cooperation in trade and investment, defence industry and the energy transition sector,' said Anwar. Furthermore, as ASEAN Chairman, Anwar said this visit will also enhance the value of the relationship between the Southeast Asian region and Europe in the increasingly challenging geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape. 'I am confident that this visit will open a new chapter that is more dynamic, yielding concrete benefits and taking Malaysia-Italy relations to a new and higher level,' he added. During the visit, Anwar is accompanied by Mohamad, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz. Also part of the delegation is Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir. Immediately upon arrival at the capital, Anwar and delegation attended a gathering with Malaysian diaspora in the country. On July 3, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart at Chigi Palace. According to Zahid, the meeting will provide an opportunity for both leaders to take stock of the current state of Malaysia-Italy relations and explore avenues to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in the fields of economy, defence technology, and energy. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the ASEAN-Italy Development Partnership, ASEAN-European Union Dialogue Relations, and the situation in the Middle East. As ASEAN Chair for 2025, Anwar is expected to also highlight Malaysia's priorities and ASEAN's efforts in addressing regional and global challenges. The Prime Minister will also officiate the Malaysia-Italy Economic Partnership Roundtable on Wednesday, which will bring together industry leaders from both countries to explore trade and investment collaboration. During the business engagement event, Anwar is set to meet captains of Industry from 36 Italian firms, including multinational companies such as Leonardo SpA, STMicroelectronics and Ferrero. Italy is the third-largest national economy in the EU and the world's eighth-largest by gross domestic product. He is also scheduled to meet leaders of the local Muslim community. Malaysia and Italy enjoy longstanding and multifaceted relations, underpinned by strong economic ties, growing trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Trump tours 'Alligator Alcatraz' as he pushes for more deportations
OCHOPEE, Florida (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday toured a remote migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" as his Republican allies advanced asweeping spending bill that could ramp up deportations. The facility sits some 37 miles (60 km) from Miami in a vast subtropical wetland teeming with alligators, crocodiles and pythons, fearsome imagery the White House has leveraged to show its determination to purge migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the country under former President Joe Biden's administration. Trump raved about the facility's quick construction as he scanned rows of dozens of empty bunk beds enclosed in cages and warned about the threatening conditions surrounding the facility. "I looked outside and that's not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon," Trump said at a roundtable event after his tour. "We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is really deportation." The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually and could house some 5,000 people, officials estimate. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said he will send 100 National Guard troops there and that people could start arriving at the facility as soon as Wednesday. In promoting the opening of the facility, U.S. officials posted on social media images of alligators wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats. The Florida Republican Party is selling gator-themed clothing and beer koozies. Two environmental groups filed a legal motion last week seeking to block further construction of the detention site, saying it violated federal, state and local environmental laws. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court, said construction will lead to traffic, artificial light and the use of large power generators, all of which would "significantly impact" the environment. The groups, Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity, said the site is located at or near the Big Cypress National Preserve, a protected area that is a habitat for endangered Florida panthers and other animals. "Putting aside whether intractable political gridlock over immigration reform constitutes an 'emergency,' it does not give license to the state and federal governments to simply disregard the laws that govern federal projects affecting environmentally sensitive lands, essential waterways, national parks and preserves, and endangered species," the groups wrote. Some local leaders, including from the nearby Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, have objected to the facility's construction and the construction has drawn crowds of demonstrators. Trump dismissed environmental concerns on Tuesday, saying in wide-ranging remarks that the wetlands' wildlife would outlast the human species. He said the detention facility was a template for what he'd like to do nationwide. "We'd like to see them in many states," Trump said. HARDLINE POLICIES The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to pass a bill that adds tens of billions of dollars for immigration enforcement alongside several of the president's other tax-and-spending plans. Trump has lobbied fiercely to have the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday, and the measure still needs a final sign-off from the House of Representatives. The Republican president, who maintains a home in Florida, has for a decade made hardline border policies central to his political agenda. One in eight 2024 U.S. election voters said immigration was the most important issue. But Trump's campaign pledges to deport as many as 1 million people per year have run up against protests by the affected communities, legal challenges, employer demands for cheap labor and a funding crunch for a government running chronic deficits. Lawyers for some of the detained migrants have challenged the legality of the deportations and criticized the conditions in temporary detention facilities. The numbers in federal immigration detention have risen sharply to 56,000 by June 15, from 39,000 when Trump took office, government data show, and his administration has pushed to find more space. The White House has said the detentions are a necessary public safety measure, and some of the detained migrants have criminal records, though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention statistics also show an eight-fold increase in arrests of people charged only with immigration violations. Trump has spoken admiringly of vast, isolated prisons built by El Salvador and his administration has held some migrants at the Guantanamo Bay naval base, in Cuba, best known for housing foreign terrorism suspects following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents a district near the Florida facility, said in an emailed statement that 'Trump and Republicans badly need this wasteful, dangerous, mass misery distraction' from a bill that would cause state residents to lose their health care benefits. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, Evelyn Hockstein and Maria Alejandra Cardona in Ochopee, Florida; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Ted Hesson; Editing by Mary Milliken, Colleen Jenkins, Nick Zieminski and Alistair Bell)
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
PM Anwar arrives in Rome for a three-day official visit
ROME: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived here Tuesday for a three-day working visit to the third-largest economy in the European Union (EU). The aircraft carrying the Prime Minister landed at Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at 8.18pm (2.18 am Wednesday, Malaysia time). On hand to welcome Anwar at the airport were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Malaysia's Ambassador to Italy Datuk Zahid Rastam, Italian Senior Ambassador for Protocol Affairs Fabrizio Romano and former Italian Ambassador to Malaysia Massimo Rustico. Anwar said he hoped the visit would strengthen Malaysia-Italy ties and deepen strategic cooperation, as well as to elevate ASEAN-EU engagement in a challenging global landscape. "This visit, which comes at the invitation of my counterpart, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reflects our shared commitment to strengthening the long-standing bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Italy based on the principles and spirit of friendship, trust and mutual respect. "Malaysia sees Italy as an important strategic partner in the European continent and we are committed to expanding cooperation in trade and investment, defence industry and the energy transition sector," said Anwar. Furthermore, as ASEAN Chairman, Anwar said this visit will also enhance the value of the relationship between the Southeast Asian region and Europe in the increasingly challenging geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape. "I am confident that this visit will open a new chapter that is more dynamic, yielding concrete benefits and taking Malaysia-Italy relations to a new and higher level," he added. During the visit, Anwar is accompanied by Mohamad, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz. Also part of the delegation is Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir. Immediately upon arrival at the capital, Anwar and delegation attended a gathering with Malaysian diaspora in the country. On July 3, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart at Chigi Palace. According to Zahid, the meeting will provide an opportunity for both leaders to take stock of the current state of Malaysia-Italy relations and explore avenues to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in the fields of economy, defence technology, and energy. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the ASEAN-Italy Development Partnership, ASEAN-European Union Dialogue Relations, and the situation in the Middle East. As ASEAN Chair for 2025, Anwar is expected to also highlight Malaysia's priorities and ASEAN's efforts in addressing regional and global challenges. The Prime Minister will also officiate the Malaysia-Italy Economic Partnership Roundtable on Wednesday, which will bring together industry leaders from both countries to explore trade and investment collaboration. During the business engagement event, Anwar is set to meet captains of Industry from 36 Italian firms, including multinational companies such as Leonardo SpA, STMicroelectronics and Ferrero. Italy is the third-largest national economy in the EU and the world's eighth-largest by gross domestic product. He is also scheduled to meet leaders of the local Muslim community. Malaysia and Italy enjoy longstanding and multifaceted relations, underpinned by strong economic ties, growing trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges. – MORE In 2024, total trade between Malaysia and Italy recorded a two per cent increase, reaching RM14.61 billion (USD3.18 billion) compared with 2023. For the period of January to May 2025, total trade grew by 3.3 per cent year-on-year to RM6.5 billion (USD1.48 billion). Italy remains Malaysia's fifth largest trading partner and third largest importer of Malaysian palm oil among European Union member states in 2024. The Prime Minister will undertake an official visit to France on July 3 and 4, 2025 concluding his visit to Italy. – BERNAMA
