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Tag: vows

  • German chancellor vows ‘leadership’ with call to further arm Ukraine

    German chancellor vows ‘leadership’ with call to further arm Ukraine

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    MUNICH — Countries able to send battle tanks to Ukraine should “actually do so now,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday, trying to rally support for a Europe-wide fleet of tank donations.

    Speaking at the opening of the Munich Security Conference, a gathering of global political and security leaders, Scholz said “Germany acknowledges its responsibility for the security of Europe and the NATO alliance area, without ifs and buts.”

    This is, he added, “a responsibility that a country of Germany’s size, location and economic strength has to shoulder in times like these.”

    Concretely, the chancellor said Germany would “permanently” adhere to the NATO goal of spending 2 percent of its economic output on defense — a target that Berlin is currently set to miss this year and probably also next year, despite a massive €100 billion special fund for military investment.

    Germany needs to boost its defense industry and switch to “a permanent production of the most important weapons we are using,” the chancellor added.

    Scholz’s remarks came just hours after his defense minister, Boris Pistorius, told reporters in Munich Germany must commit to even higher spending targets to follow through on its security pledges.

    “It must be clear to everyone: It will not be possible to fulfill the tasks that lie ahead of us with barely two percent,” Pistorius said.

    Western allies are gathering in Munich for a series of high-level talks focused primarily on the war in Ukraine, one year after Russia invaded the Eastern European country.

    Scholz said it would be “wise to prepare for a long war” and to send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he’s making “a miscalculation” if he is counting on Ukraine’s Western allies eventually growing war-weary and pulling back from their military support.

    The German chancellor said Ukraine’s allies with German-made, modern Leopard 2 tanks in their stocks should join Berlin in delivering them to Ukraine, adding that his government would use the three-day Munich conference to “campaign intensively for this.”

    The German chancellor himself hesitated for months over whether to send Leopard 2 tanks, only changing course last month, when he vowed to build an international alliance that would give Ukraine 80 of the German-built tanks.

    But he is struggling to deliver on that commitment. Some allies like Finland are dragging their feet on tank donations, while others like Portugal are not sending as many as Berlin had hoped.

    Other countries like Poland or Spain are only sending an older version of the tank, the Leopard 2 A4. Scholz said he hopes “some more will also join” Germany in sending the more modern Leopard 2 A6.

    Scholz also said that Germany “will do everything it can to make this decision easier for our partners,” offering to provide logistical support or training Ukrainian soldiers on the tanks. “I see this as an example of the kind of leadership which everyone is entitled to expect from Germany — and I expressly offer it to our friends and partners.”

    Just before Scholz spoke, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that “speed is crucial,” underscoring the German leader’s point.



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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

  • ‘It was in my head’: England’s Harry Brook vows to put records out of mind

    ‘It was in my head’: England’s Harry Brook vows to put records out of mind

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    Harry Brook has decided to put records to the back of his mind after admitting a couple crept into his thinking when falling 11 runs short of a fourth Test century. Had the 23-year-old got there on day one of the first Test in New Zealand, he would have become the second Englishman to do so in four successive matches – a feat Ken Barrington managed twice in the 1960s.

    But despite saying he was aware of this possible slice of history during his seventh Test innings, and also seeing his latest tilt at beating England’s fastest Test century (76 balls) thwarted, Brook was still satisfied at stumps.

    He said: “[Brendon McCullum] has mentioned the fastest century and I went for it a couple of times in Pakistan. It was in my head a bit today, but I need to get that out of the back of my mind and concentrate on getting a hundred. It’s disappointing, but I’m not that bothered now because I would have bitten your hand off before the game to get 89.”

    Brook was not the only England batter to roll over his form from the 3-0 clean sweep in Pakistan in December, with Ben Duckett’s 68-ball 84 furthering his hopes of opening in this summer’s Ashes series.

    The left-hander was viewed as a possible horses-for-courses selection for the Pakistan tour, his array of sweeps ideal for subcontinental conditions. But he played a largely orthodox innings against a four-pronged seam attack once England were inserted at the toss and he said the pace of his knock was not deliberate. “I just see ball, hit ball.

    “I didn’t have any intention to try and score quickly – it just happened. They bowled full to me early on and I got off to a good start. I batted normally. I pride myself on hundreds, though, I was very disappointed with how I got out.”

    Both men expanded on the decision by Stokes to declare nine down on the opening day of this day-night series opener, a move repaid in the final session as Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson shared three precious wickets.

    Brook said: “The best time to bowl is under these lights. You can extract the most amount of swing and seam, so why not try and expose their top order to that? There was no plan at dinner to declare though, me and Ben Foakes were still batting together at that stage and if I hadn’t got out the plan would’ve been the same. But because I got out, the plan changed.”

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    Duckett said: “We might have batted into [day two]. It was more of a tactical thing. But if anyone was going to do it, we were.”

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    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Telangana: Revanth vows cylinder for Rs 500 once in power

    Telangana: Revanth vows cylinder for Rs 500 once in power

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    Telangana Congress chief made a bold announcement that, if the Congress wins the election, gas cylinders will be made available to the state’s poor for just Rs 500.

    He paid a visit to Manuguru on Monday as a part of the Haath Se Haath Jodo Yatra. In addition, he added, the party would provide each family who was financially struggling Rs 5 lakh to build a house. While promising to distribute pattas (land deeds) for podu lands if Congress takes office, he asked tribal farmers to vote for them.

    He stated that all communities in the state are served by Congress, which is committed to doing so.

    Revanth charged that K Chandrasekhar Rao, the chief minister, defrauded the Godavari flood victims by making fictitious pledges to construct homes for them. He met the flood victims on his tour and offered his support.

    Revanth travelled on foot from Gollagudem in Ashwapuram Mandal to the Ambedkar Center on the seventh day of the walkathon. Later, he spoke at a public gathering in the Manuguru Mandal-controlled village of Gollapalli.

    The TPCC president appealed to the people dissatisfied with the current administration to take into account Congress’ history of helping the people, accusing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi-led state government of defrauding all segments of society during the last eight years.

    Revanth made fun of the chief minister’s remarks during recent Assembly sessions. He asserted that Rao had lauded Manmohan Singh’s administration because he was courting Congress out of fear of the party’s influence in the state.

    After Telangana was announced, he referred to KCR as a ‘great cheat’ and questioned how he had deserted Congress. He chastised the chief minister for his contradictory political beliefs and behaviour.

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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • UK PM vows to do whatever it takes amid Chinese spy balloon fears

    UK PM vows to do whatever it takes amid Chinese spy balloon fears

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    London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday vowed to do “whatever it takes” to keep his country safe, amid mounting fears that suspected Chinese spy balloons could also target the UK, a day after the US military shot down a fourth flying object over the American airspace.

    During a hospital visit in northern England, Sunak said the UK was in constant contact with its allies across the Atlantic and remained in readiness for any safety response.

    Sunak’s response comes as his defence minister Ben Wallace confirmed the UK is launching a review into the security implications of the recent incursions into western airspace.

    “I want people to know that we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe,” Sunak told reporters.

    “We have something called the quick reaction alert force, which involves Typhoon planes kept on 24/7 readiness to police our airspace. I can’t obviously comment in detail on national security matters but we are in constant touch with our allies and as I said we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe,” he said.

    On Sunday, the US military shot down its fourth flying object, indicating that they were still trying to determine the details and did not yet rule out any explanation for the objects.

    “The UK and her allies will review what these airspace intrusions mean for our security. This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse,” said UK Defence Secretary Wallace.

    Tensions were rising since a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina last week.

    According to reports, US officials fear it was sent by Beijing to monitor sensitive sites but China has described it as a weather balloon.

    In the UK, Transport Minister Richard Holden said it was “possible” that Chinese spy balloons had already been sent to this country.

    “It is also possible, and I would think likely, that there would be people from the Chinese government trying to act as a hostile state. I think we have to be realistic about the threat these countries pose to the UK,” Holden told ‘Sky News’.

    Meanwhile, the diplomatic row continues to escalate as the Chinese foreign ministry claimed on Monday that the US has flown balloons into its airspace more than 10 times over the past year.

    “It’s not uncommon as well for the US to illegally enter the airspace of other countries,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a press briefing.

    “Since last year alone, US balloons have illegally flown above China more than 10 times without any approval from Chinese authorities.

    The first thing the US side should do is start with a clean slate, undergo some self-reflection, instead of smearing and accusing China,” he said.

    Washington is yet to respond to the allegations from Beijing.

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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Israeli PM vows to act ‘decisively, calmly’ after synagogue shooting attack

    Israeli PM vows to act ‘decisively, calmly’ after synagogue shooting attack

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    Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to act after a shooting attack killed at least seven people and wounded three others on Friday in a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

    Netanyahu, who arrived at the scene shortly after the attack, said the authorities “decided on a few immediate measures” and he convened a special security cabinet meeting on Saturday evening to discuss further measures.

    During the attack on Friday evening, a gunman opened fire on people near a synagogue. Israeli police said that the assailant, identified as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, was shot dead by a police officer, Xinhua news agency reported.

    The attack came a day after an Israeli military raid in the West Bank resulted in the killing of nine Palestinians. After the raid, Palestinian militant organisations vowed revenge.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is scheduled to visit the West Bank and Israel later this weekend, condemned the attack on his Twitter account.

    According to a statement from the White House, US President Joe Biden spoke to Netanyahu after the attack. The President “offered all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel over the coming days,” said the statement.

    (Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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    #Israeli #vows #act #decisively #calmly #synagogue #shooting #attack

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Cotton vows to block Biden nominees over classified documents flap

    Cotton vows to block Biden nominees over classified documents flap

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    Cotton’s stance threatens to shut down an already slow-moving Senate. The chamber has taken just one roll-call vote since being sworn in on Jan. 3: confirming an assistant defense secretary on Monday. The chamber will take its second floor vote on Thursday to dub January National Stalking Awareness Month.

    Otherwise, the chamber has been in a deep freeze, with no votes on Tuesday or Wednesday and continued haggling over committee assignments. If Cotton follows through on his objection, it will mean Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has to burn multiple days of valuable floor time to set up nominee votes.

    Classified documents have recently been found at the homes of both Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence and promptly turned over to the National Archives. Additionally, Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago was searched by the FBI last summer after he refused the Archives’ attempts to recover troves of classified records. Cotton said the administration would need to provide Congress with all the material seized from Biden, Trump and Pence to satisfy the Arkansas senator.

    “Congress has an absolute right to every single document or item or photo or box or picture or map that was at President Trump’s residence, President Biden’s residence and office, and for that matter, President Pence’s residence as well,” Cotton said. “I still have no clue what was in these documents. I’m not aware of any member of Congress that has any clue.”

    With agreement from all 100 senators, nominees can move immediately, although many nominees must go through a more laborious process. Nominees can be confirmed with simple majority votes, though any senator can still filibuster a nominee to delay their confirmation.

    “I’m sorry to see him try to find a way to obstruct the Senate. I’m hoping we can find a bipartisan way to get this done,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “The special counsel is investigating.”

    The special counsel probes into Biden’s and Trump’s handling of classified documents could complicate congressional oversight efforts. Administrations have historically been reluctant to share information with Congress that’s relevant to ongoing investigations, an issue that flared up during the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

    But senators noted that a precedent was established during the Russia investigation permitting lawmakers to receive preliminary briefings and the administration found ways to resolve inter-branch conflicts.

    Cotton has used this strategy in the past, holding up U.S. attorney nominees during the last Congress in protest against the Justice Department’s treatment of marshals who defended a courthouse in Portland, Ore., during Black Lives Matter demonstrations. But he also isn’t the only senator frustrated about the lack of detail provided by the intelligence chief.

    Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called the briefing “very unsatisfying … to say that they’re not going to share anything with us as long as the special counsel doesn’t allow them to share it with us? That’s an untenable position.”

    Cotton also alluded to Democratic unease over the administration’s stance. And Senate Intelligence Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) said that “the answers we received on that issue didn’t meet the mark, and I’ll have more to say later.”

    “I’m very disappointed with the lack of detail and a timeline on when we’re going to get a briefing,” Warner added. “We’re left in limbo until, somehow, a special counsel designates it’s OK for us to be briefed. And that’s not going to stand, and all things will be on the table to try to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

    He declined to comment on Cotton’s threat.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Frank Lampard vows to ‘dig in’ after Everton loss leaves him clinging to job

    Frank Lampard vows to ‘dig in’ after Everton loss leaves him clinging to job

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    Frank Lampard vowed to “dig in” after a damaging defeat by West Ham in a crucial clash at the bottom of the table left Everton’s manager clinging to his job.

    In a potentially significant development Everton’s majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, was at the London Stadium to watch Lampard’s side slip deeper into relegation trouble. Moshiri had not attended an Everton game since October 2021 and he could decide that it is time for a change of manager.

    Asked about Lampard’s future after the game, Moshiri said that it is not his decision to make. It was later clarified that any move would be agreed with the rest of Everton’s board. Having stayed away from Goodison Park before last weekend’s defeat by Southampton, the rest of Everton’s directors joined Moshiri at the London Stadium.

    They would have seen Everton’s fans hold up banners decrying “a board full of liars” and the team deliver another poor display. West Ham climbed out of the bottom three after two goals from Jarrod Bowen, potentially saving David Moyes from being fired, and left Everton in 19th place after a run of 11 defeats in 14 games in all competitions. It would come as little surprise if Lampard is fired.

    Lampard, who hopes to improve his squad before the transfer window shuts, vowed to fight on after being asked about his future. “Those things are not my choice, it is my job to work, focus and keep my head down,” he said. “I know there’s things going on at the club but it’s never been a consequence for me whether a chairman or board member is at the game.

    “I was at Chelsea for 18 months and the owner didn’t come to one competitive game. It’s not for me to guess what he thought about the game. We stayed up by the skin of our teeth last year and were five points shy of safety with not many games to go.

    “I’ve said that we might stay where we are, and was questioned whether that is competitive enough talk. But if you are in a club where the club has moved downwards with serious investment, the conditions now are that we don’t have that investment and we are trying to rebuild. That doesn’t mean straight away you start climbing stairs. It means you have to dig in as a club and I’m prepared to dig in.”

    Kenwright refused to discuss whether Lampard is at risk of being sacked. “It’s been a bad run of results for us all, and for Frank, but I would never say that to you,” he said. “We’ve just got to start winning, haven’t we?”

    West Ham’s first league win since 24 October was a huge boost for Moyes, who has been backed by his board. “I think it’s a relief to the club itself,” West Ham’s manager said. “I really hope Everton stick with Frank. He is a top bloke but I have to think about my position because winning one game doesn’t mean everything is fine.”

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    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )