The UN Secretary-General ‘unequivocally’ condemned the reported strikes this Saturday in the port of Odesa. The attack took place less than 24 hours after the signing of the Black Sea agreements on the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
Lebanon’s women-led cooperatives are helping communities to cope with the country’ recent wave of crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial crisis, and the notorious August 2021 Beirut Port Explosion.
Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development about food shortages and drought in the Horn of Africa.
Washington and its allies intend to provide Kiev with up to 30 multiple-launch rocket systems, a senior US congressman said
The United States and its Western allies intend to provide Ukraine with additional 25-to-30 rocket systems, Adam Smith, the head of the Armed Forces Сommittee of the US House of Representatives, revealed on Saturday.
That will include both high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) from the UK and some other countries, Smith said in an interview with Radio Liberty. The committee chair admitted that the number of weapons is lower than what Kiev had requested but offered assurance that the US and its partners will provide as much artillery and missiles for the systems as possible.
Smith made the announcement following his visit to Kiev last week, in which he and several other members of Congress met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Andrey Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said Sunday that the logistics of delivering the of ammunition for the Western MLRS is key for the effective use of the launchers “on various sectors of the front.”
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Diversity of Western weapons creates trouble for Ukraine – media
Following the meeting with Zelensky, the American delegation issued a statement pledging to continue “to seek ways to support President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people as effectively as possible.”
Ahead of the gathering, the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram that his country especially needs “HIMARS launcher systems, shells and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Earlier in July, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov said that Kiev needed about 50 HIMARS systems for effective defense, and a least 100 for “an effective counteroffensive.”
As of July 22, the US provided 16 HIMARS systems to Ukraine. Overall security assistance to the country since the launch of the Russian offensive in late February has amounted to $7.6 billion.
Last week, the Russian military claimed that in a period between July 5 and 20, it had destroyed four of the US-supplied systems in Ukraine. One US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, insisted that no HIMARS launchers sent to Ukraine had been destroyed. Meanwhile, the government in Kiev has accused Moscow of spreading “misinformation” calculated to dissuade the West from sending Ukraine more weapons.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has lost over 760 multiple-launch rocket systems and more than 3,100 artillery pieces since the beginning of Russia’s military operation.
Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against sending weapons to Kiev, saying that this would only prolong the conflict, increase the number of casualties and lead to long-term consequences.
The EU has given Kiev only ‘a tiny fraction’ of what Washington has, the former president says
The US has too many problems of its own to hand money and weapons to Ukraine for its conflict with Russia, former US President Donald Trump has said. It’s Europe that should be providing more help to Kiev as it’s far more affected by the situation, he insisted.
Speaking at the Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, Trump recalled how he pushed for NATO members in the EU to increase their defense spending to 2% of their GDP during his presidency. Back then, the US was “taken advantage of by Europe,” and now the same thing is happening again over Ukraine, he said.
“We’ve so far given more than $60 billion to Ukraine. Well, the European countries, who are obviously far more affected than us, have given a tiny fraction of that number,” the ex-president noted.
If he were still in office, he “could’ve gone over there [to Europe] and said: ‘Listen, you’re going to put up the same money or more money than us.’ And they would’ve done it gladly,” Trump claimed.
“But we just give money out. And we have $35 trillion in debt. We have all of these problems,” he said, referring to record inflation in the US, the energy crisis, and other issues.
Trump also doubted whether even the massive levels of US assistance would change the situation on the ground in Ukraine. “Now, it’s much tougher to solve,” he said about the crisis. “Russia has 35 times the fire power. And they’re looking to obliterate the weapons as we send them in. A lot of bad things are happening,” he added.
During his term, the US had “no problem” with Russia, China or North Korea, and “nobody even talked about” Ukraine, the ex-president claimed.
But in just two years under Joe Biden, the US “has gone from the strongest that it has ever been… to perhaps the weakest, especially when you include recognition and respect from all around the world. We’re not respected any longer by anybody,” said Trump.
“Two years ago we were energy independent… Now we are a beggar nation, with Biden down on his knees pleading for energy from all over the globe; going to Venezuela, Saudi Arabia. Going to countries all over the world, asking for help,” he added.
Washington and its allies intend to provide Kiev with up to 30 multiple-launch rocket systems, a senior US congressman said
The United States and its Western allies intend to provide Ukraine with additional 25-to-30 rocket systems, Adam Smith, the head of the Armed Forces Сommittee of the US House of Representatives, revealed on Saturday.
That will include both high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) from the UK and some other countries, Smith said in an interview with Radio Liberty. The committee chair admitted that the number of weapons is lower than what Kiev had requested but offered assurance that the US and its partners will provide as much artillery and missiles for the systems as possible.
Smith made the announcement following his visit to Kiev last week, in which he and several other members of Congress met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Andrey Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said Sunday that the logistics of delivering the of ammunition for the Western MLRS is key for the effective use of the launchers “on various sectors of the front.”
Following the meeting with Zelensky, the American delegation issued a statement pledging to continue “to seek ways to support President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people as effectively as possible.”
Ahead of the gathering, the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram that his country especially needs “HIMARS launcher systems, shells and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Earlier in July, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov said that Kiev needed about 50 HIMARS systems for effective defense, and a least 100 for “an effective counteroffensive.”
As of July 22, the US provided 16 HIMARS systems to Ukraine. Overall security assistance to the country since the launch of the Russian offensive in late February has amounted to $7.6 billion.
Last week, the Russian military claimed that in a period between July 5 and 20, it had destroyed four of the US-supplied systems in Ukraine. One US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, insisted that no HIMARS launchers sent to Ukraine had been destroyed. Meanwhile, the government in Kiev has accused Moscow of spreading “misinformation” calculated to dissuade the West from sending Ukraine more weapons.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has lost over 760 multiple-launch rocket systems and more than 3,100 artillery pieces since the beginning of Russia’s military operation.
Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against sending weapons to Kiev, saying that this would only prolong the conflict, increase the number of casualties and lead to long-term consequences.
Beijing has touted its jabs by noting that Xi Jinping and all other top leaders received domestically produced inoculations
China has made a renewed push to promote the safety and effectiveness of its Covid-19 vaccines by pointing out that they were good enough for the country’s entire leadership, including President Xi Jinping, to fully rely on them.
“All China’s incumbent party and state leaders have completed vaccination against the coronavirus with domestically developed vaccines,” Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission (NHC), told reporters on Saturday. He added that Chinese leaders have demonstrated a high level of trust in the Covid-19 inoculations developed by their own country.
The statement comes as China tries to crack down on flareups of the virus by imposing lockdowns or mass testing programs in such cities as Shanghai. More than 92% of China’s population has received at least one Covid-19 shot, while nearly 90% is considered fully vaccinated. Just under 71.7% have had a booster shot.
Like vaccines developed in other countries, the Chinese jabs haven’t fully halted the spread of the virus. However, the homegrown vaccines protect well against severe illness and death caused by Covid-19’s Omicron variants, said Feng Zijian, secretary general of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association.
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Research and development work is proceeding on new vaccines to deal with Omicron sub-variants, and some of those jabs are already undergoing clinical trials, Chinese officials added.
With China achieving high inoculation rates in its own population, the world’s largest, and providing billions of jabs to low- and middle-income countries, Beijing’s Sinopharm and CoronaVac have been among the most heavily used vaccines globally. China leads the world by far in doses administered domestically, at more than 3.4 billion, nearly six times the US total.
The assailant who tried to stab a would-be New York governor has been hit with a federal charge after his release in a state case
The man who was quickly released from jail after trying to stab New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin during a speech is now facing federal prosecution and a potentially long prison term.
The suspect, David Jakubonis, was arrested by federal authorities on Saturday and charged with assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon, according to an announcement by US Attorney Trini Ross in Rochester, New York. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as many as 10 years in prison.
The arrest came one day after Jakubonis was released from jail on a state assault charge without even being required to pay bail. He had been jailed for only about six hours before being let go under a 2020 state law that prohibits New York judges from imposing bail requirements on suspects charged with nonviolent crimes.
Apparently because Jakubonis didn’t succeed in stabbing Zeldin – he was pulled to the ground and apprehended after approaching the candidate on stage with a double-pronged weapon – he was charged with attempted assault, which is categorized as a nonviolent offense under New York law.
Zeldin’s supporters, such as state Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy, pointed to the case as an example of how public safety has been shrugged off in New York under Democratic Party leadership, including incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul. “Only in Kathy Hochul’s New York could a maniac violently attack a candidate for governor and then be released without bail,” Langworthy said.
The story might have ended there, except Zeldin also happens to be a sitting member of Congress, representing much of Long Island in the House of Representatives since 2015. While trying to stab a garden-variety politician would be a matter left exclusively to state law enforcement authorities, it’s a federal felony to assault a member of Congress.
Jakubonis, a 43-year-old US Army veteran, will be kept in federal custody until at least next Wednesday, when his bail hearing is scheduled to be held.
Beijing has touted its jabs by noting that Xi Jinping and all other top leaders received domestically produced inoculations
China has made a renewed push to promote the safety and effectiveness of its Covid-19 vaccines by pointing out that they were good enough for the country’s entire leadership, including President Xi Jinping, to fully rely on them.
“All China’s incumbent party and state leaders have completed vaccination against the coronavirus with domestically developed vaccines,” Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission (NHC), told reporters on Saturday. He added that Chinese leaders have demonstrated a high level of trust in the Covid-19 inoculations developed by their own country.
The statement comes as China tries to crack down on flareups of the virus by imposing lockdowns or mass testing programs in such cities as Shanghai. More than 92% of China’s population has received at least one Covid-19 shot, while nearly 90% is considered fully vaccinated. Just under 71.7% have had a booster shot.
Like vaccines developed in other countries, the Chinese jabs haven’t fully halted the spread of the virus. However, the homegrown vaccines protect well against severe illness and death caused by Covid-19’s Omicron variants, said Feng Zijian, secretary general of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association.
Research and development work is proceeding on new vaccines to deal with Omicron sub-variants, and some of those jabs are already undergoing clinical trials, Chinese officials added.
With China achieving high inoculation rates in its own population, the world’s largest, and providing billions of jabs to low- and middle-income countries, Beijing’s Sinopharm and CoronaVac have been among the most heavily used vaccines globally. China leads the world by far in doses administered domestically, at more than 3.4 billion, nearly six times the US total.
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