Latest news with #Kiesewetter
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Previewing the 2025 season for Penn State's Karson Kiesewetter with his player profile
Previewing the 2025 season for Penn State's Karson Kiesewetter with his player profile Going into the 2025 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will examine each player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover the player's background, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season. He hasn't seen any snaps through two seasons on campus, but safety Karson Kiesewetter may get his first snaps in 2025. The former quarterback has been transitioning to a new position but may be acclimated enough for some playing time next season. Preseason Player Profile Hometown: Altoona, Pennsylvania Height: 5-10 Weight: 194 lb Class in 2025: Redshirt sophomore Recruiting Rankings Class of 2025: Unranked Kiesewetter wasn't ranked by any major recruiting service but was named the 2021 Pennsylvania 1A Player of the Year. A lack of competition at the 1A level likely led to him being overlooked during his recruitment. Depth Chart Overview There's no lack of depth in the safety room, and it'll be difficult for Kiesewetter to get involved this season due to his lack of experience at the position and size limitations. It's possible he contributes on special teams.
Telegraph
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
German missiles to Ukraine could depend on British backing
Germany may be forced to abandon its plan to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine if it doesn't receive British endorsement soon, a member of Berlin's incoming government has warned. Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior Christian Democrats (CDU) MP, said in-fighting between his party and its coalition partner, the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD), was holding up a final decision by Friedrich Merz, the chancellor-in-waiting. But he suggested that 'UK leadership' might be able to break the deadlock and give Mr Merz the support he needs to deliver the powerful, long-range missile system. 'The Taurus delivery remains a point of contention for the time being ... I do not yet see any consensus here, especially as the parties have not agreed on the key security policy issues in the coalition agreement,' Mr Kiesewetter said. 'I don't yet see the Taurus being delivered. Any influence by UK leadership to finally convince Germany to deliver Taurus might help and is highly welcomed,' he added. His remarks came after Mr Merz suggested in an interview this week that Germany was finally ready to send Taurus missiles to Kyiv – but only with agreement from Britain and France. 'Our European partners are already supplying cruise missiles. The British are doing it, the French are doing it, and the Americans are doing it anyway ... this must be jointly agreed. And if it's agreed, then Germany should take part,' Mr Merz said. His announcement immediately caused a rift with the centre-Left SPD party, which said there were 'many good arguments' against sending Taurus to Ukraine, as well as some in favour, as it sought to play down hopes the deliveries will happen. While Britain already provides Kyiv with Storm Shadows, and France has sent Scalp missiles, Olaf Scholz, the outgoing German chancellor, stubbornly refused to provide the Taurus system to Ukraine, fearing it would drag Germany into direct conflict with Russia. Storm Shadows and Scalps are shorter in range than the Taurus, which could potentially be used by Ukrainian forces to bomb the Kremlin in Moscow or destroy the strategically important Kerch Bridge in annexed Crimea. Mr Merz's Taurus announcement earlier this week was widely viewed as a sign that Germany will get much tougher on Russia under his leadership than under Mr Scholz. But Mr Kiesewetter warned that the political debate in his coalition on sending the Taurus missiles remained open, and that there was still resistance in the SPD party. 'The question for the SPD is whether it is prepared to distance itself from the delaying tactics and appeasement under Scholz in order to pave the way for greater German responsibility in European foreign and security policy,' Mr Kiesewetter said. The SPD's Boris Pistorius, who is expected to remain defence minister in the new CDU-SPD coalition, has said the argument against sending Taurus missiles is based on confidential national security reasons. But Mr Kiesewetter argued that the Scholz government's refusal to send the Taurus system has ended up emboldening Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, a mistake that this new government could be doomed to repeat. 'The delay and blockade of the delivery of this far-reaching system by chancellor Scholz was a major mistake and a de facto failure to provide assistance, which has weakened European security and led to more victims in Ukraine,' he said. 'Taurus is and remains a very effective means of destroying Russian command structures and supply routes and thus preventing Russian attacks in advance. It is important that Chancellor Merz orders the delivery immediately and, if possible, without ultimatums or preconditions,' the CDU MP added.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany under attack from China, warns intelligence insider
Germany is under 'attack' from China, a senior opposition MP has warned, as Berlin grapples with a fresh wave of cyber attacks and espionage plots. Roderich Kiesewetter, the crisis prevention spokesman for the centre-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said Germans needed to stop thinking of China as a 'partner'. 'Many in Germany are turning a blind eye… China is no longer a partner, but a systemic rival that is attacking us,' Mr Kiesewetter, a former colonel in the Bundeswehr, told The Telegraph. 'Germany is at the centre of Chinese hybrid influence operations in Europe – it uses all the tools in its toolbox; espionage, sabotage, lawfare, repression and disinformation,' added Mr Kiesewetter, who is also the deputy chairman of the German parliament's intelligence committee. His comments are a major intervention in Germany, where China wields immense influence over the German economy despite rising tensions over Beijing's tacit support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and apparent plans to invade Taiwan. Polls suggest Mr Kiesewetter's CDU party, led by Friedrich Merz, will comfortably win next month's elections and lead the government, but it will have to contend with the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as opposition. Mr Kiesewetter warned that China, which is accused of planting spies in the AfD's European parliament offices, had recently become 'particularly interested in German military technology' and in buying up 'critical infrastructure' for Germany, such as wind turbines in the North Sea. He said China felt more confident engaging in espionage in Germany than other EU member states due to Germany's 'naive' foreign policy and security stance. 'China has been particularly active in espionage, not only in terms of cyber attacks but the extraction of data through various methods and platforms,' he said. 'Espionage activities are also enormous and fall on fertile ground in Germany in view of China-friendly naivety, a lack of sensitivity and weak protective measures, particularly in the area of counterintelligence.' Germany earlier this month arrested three German citizens on suspicion of spying for China, accusing them of trying to pass on military secrets to China. Last summer Jian Guo, an aide to an AfD MEP, was arrested as a suspected Chinese spy, with his alleged accomplice 'Yaqi X' then arrested in October. German prosecutors allege that Yaqi X gathered information about German military technology, and an unnamed German defence firm, and then transferred it to Mr Jian. China has rejected such accusations as an attempt by Germany to 'politically manipulate the image of China and defame China'. A study by German IT trade body Bitkom found that nearly 50 per cent of German businesses were hit by Chinese cyber attacks in 2024, whereas just 39 per cent of cyber attacks in the same period came from Russia. The most severe recent data breach concerned Volkswagen, which between 2010 and 2015 lost 19,000 documents – including intellectual property material – to Chinese hackers, according to a 2024 investigation by German broadcaster ZDF. Mr Kiesewetter expressed concerns that if Germany's China policy does not change then its response to any future invasion of Taiwan would be just as weak as its initial response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 'I am afraid that support for Taiwan would be even lower if there is no fundamental change in our China policy. Germany is pursuing an approach of appeasement and self-deterrence towards China, allowing itself to be lulled into complacency,' he said. Germany faced an avalanche of criticism over its initial reaction to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, such as offering helmets to Kyiv instead of urgently needed weapons and ammunition. The sluggishness of Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, was at that time largely due to fears of angering Russia, as well as Germany's heavy reliance on cheap Russian gas. Mr Merz has said he wants to 'face up to China with confidence' and prove himself as far tougher on global security than Mr Scholz. In a further hardening of his stance, Mr Merz last week told German business leaders that there was 'great risk' in investing in China and that they should not come to the state for help if their businesses fold. 'My heartfelt request to all companies... limit the risk you take in order to avoid endangering your own company if it triggers an immediate write-off. If you take this risk and if you have to write off these investments from one year to the next, then please do not, under any circumstances, come to the state... for help,' he said. But experts say Germany is 'extremely misaligned with Europe' as it continues to invest billions in Chinese trade at a time where other allies, like France and Britain, are pulling away from Beijing over security concerns. 'You still have policymakers and especially a chancellor [Olaf Scholz] intent on building the relationship with China and terrified of China retaliating, and closing off access for those big German firms,' Agatha Kratz, a senior China analyst at Rhodium Group, said. Earlier this month, The Telegraph revealed that Germany has launched a new initiative, 'Project Lionheart' to try and wean German companies off Chinese imports of lithium, a crucial ingredient in car and phone batteries. The project, led by energy firm Vulcan, aims to locally produce enough lithium from brine water in the Rhinelands for up to half a million electric car batteries per year. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
