EL KaOs UT News

Iran summons Ukraine’s envoy over drone attack comments

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:46:00 +0000

The Iranian foreign ministry has summoned the Ukrainian charge d’affaires in the country over comments made by a top presidential adviser, who appeared to link a recent drone attack in central Iran to the war in Ukraine.

The envoy was called on Monday to provide explanations over a Twitter post by Mykhailo Podolyak a day earlier, according to Nournews, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s National Security Council.

“Explosive night in Iran – drone & missile production, oil refineries,” Podolyak, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had written on Sunday, adding Ukraine “did warn you”.

Spanish police forcibly evict hundreds of migrant workers amid chaos

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:38:00 +0000

Amid chaos and confusion, Spanish police forcibly evicted an estimated 450 migrant workers from the El Walili settlement in the southern province of Almeria on Monday.

Dozens of police officers converged on the settlements as helicopters flew overhead to control the eviction of residents from places some had called home for years.

The plan was to demolish the entire shantytown, but first a fire broke out, causing residents to flee with whatever they could gather.

US Skeptical of UK Military: Sky News

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:25:00 +0000

A senior US military official confidentially told British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace that the UK’s armed forces are no longer on par with those of the leading world powers, Sky News claims.

The broadcaster, citing anonymous defense sources, said that years of cost-cutting measures by successive governments have made the country’s military a “hollow force.”

Continuing to send weapons to Ukraine could lead to a world war, Former Slovak Prime Minister says

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 12:42:00 +0000

Fueling the war in Ukraine by the European Union under the dictation of the United States is madness, stressed Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

In a televised interview published on his website, Fico warned that that continuing to send weapons to Ukraine could lead to igniting a world war.

Fico, who is also Leader of the Smer-Social Democracy party, added that in case his party wins early parliamentary elections that will take place this year and forms a government, it will stop sending any kind of weapons from Slovakia to Ukraine.

He noted that his country does not want to get involved in any war, especially against Russia.

Pakistan mosque blast: At least 32 killed after attack in Peshawar

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 12:37:00 +0000

At least 32 people have been killed and 150 injured in a bombing at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

A section of the building was destroyed and officials say people are buried under the rubble.

Most of those who died were part of the police force, and it is believed they were the target of the attack.

Preliminary Data Point To Israeli Involvement In Attack In Irans Isfahan - Reports

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 12:20:00 +0000

Tehran says that preliminary data point to Israel's involvement in the recent Isfahan attack, the Al Jazeera broadcaster reported on Monday, citing an Iranian official.
On Sunday, media reported that an explosion occurred in Isfahan's northern neighborhood, at one of the military enterprises of the Iranian Defense Ministry.

Mini-drones reportedly attacked an ammunition depot. No casualties were reported.

According to the official, drones that attacked the Ministry of Defense facility in Isfahan could have been launched from territory of Iran, close to the attack site.

The investigation will continue, the broadcaster added.

6.1 magnitude earthquake hits northwest China

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:23:00 +0000

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake was registered on Monday on the territory of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China in the northwest of the country, the China Earthquake Administration reported. At first, the agency reported a 6.6 magnitude seismological activity, but then corrected these data.

Tremors occurred at 07:49 Beijing time (02:49 Moscow time) in Shahyar county in Aksu district. The earthquake focus was a depth of 50 km.

The epicenter was located at a distance of 106 km southeast of the city of Aral with the population of 260,000 people.

The information about casualties or damage is being specified.

Magnitude    Mw 5.8
Region    SOUTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA
Date time    2023-01-29 23:49:39.1 UTC
Location    40.03 N ; 82.43 E
Depth    30 km
Distances    222 km ESE of Aksu, China / pop: 535,000 / local time: 05:49:39.1 2023-01-30
114 km ESE of Aral, China / pop: 260,000 / local time: 05:49:39.1 2023-01-30

[EMSC]

NATO chief asks South Korea to boost military support for Ukraine

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:13:00 +0000

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asked South Korea on Monday to “step up” military support for Ukraine, suggesting it reconsider its policy of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict.

Stoltenberg is in Seoul on the first leg of his Asia trip, which will also take in Japan, as part of a drive to boost ties with the region’s democratic allies in the face of the Ukraine conflict and growing competition from China.

Direct link established between Iranian, Russian banks: official

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:07:00 +0000

The Iranian top banker said on Sunday that a direct connection has been established between the banks of Iran and Russia, reported the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Mohammadreza Farzin, governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), said that within the framework of the joint action plan of banking cooperation signed last year by the two countries' central banks, the first step toward the implementation was taken on Sunday.

Farzin added that the Iranian banking network will also have a direct connection with other 106 foreign banks, stressing the banking channel between Iran and the world is being reinstated.

Russian official rules out talks with Ukraine or West

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:01:00 +0000

With the United States having decided to supply tanks to Ukraine, it makes no sense for Russia to talk to Kyiv or its Western "puppet masters," the RIA news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Monday.

Ryabkov said no one in the West has come up with any serious initiatives on resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

Drones used to attack Iranian defense facility launched from Iran’s territory

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 18:25:00 +0000

The type of drones used to attack an Iranian defense ministry facility in Isfahan indicates that these drones might have been launched from Iran’s territory, the Al Arabiya television channel said on Sunday.

The IRNA news agency said earlier in the day, citing its sources, that the attack involved three quadrotors with small bombs.

IRNA reported on Sunday night that a powerful explosion rocked the city of Isfahan in central Iran. Later, the Iranian defense ministry said that a drone attack had been attempted on one of its centers at about 23:30 local time on Saturday. One drone was downed and the other two got into defensive traps and exploded. No one was hurt, minor damage was incurred. However, Tehran did not say who it thought was responsible for the attack.

The US aviation has presumably participated in a drone attack on a defense ministry facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported on Sunday, citing sources.

The report said that the attack targeted a military warehouse containing ballistic missiles.

It added that Tehran received a message, which read that Iran would be "banned from having defense facilities" for ballistic missiles production.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry Admits Difficult Military Situation In Countrys East

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 18:18:00 +0000

The military situation in eastern Ukraine is "difficult but under control," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the CBC broadcaster on Sunday, citing Ukrainian generals.

Reznikov admitted that it would take some time to receive the tanks promised by the West and train personnel to use them. However, the minister expressed hope that the tanks would be delivered and combat-ready by March.

Earlier this week, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the supply of Western tanks to Ukraine would not change the situation, but would bring the West's confrontation with Russia to a new level.

In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.

IDF shoots at two armed men trying to cross Israel from Syria - The Jerusalem Post

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 18:13:00 +0000

IDF lookouts identified and shot at two armed men who were trying to cross the border from Syria to Israel on Sunday, according to the IDF Spokesperson Unit.

The men were hit with bullets, and the military gave them initial medical attention.

Germany's Scholz vows to continue "talks" with Putin to end Ukraine war

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 18:00:00 +0000

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he wants to continue direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

“I’ll be on the phone with Putin again – because we need to talk to each other,” Scholz told Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

“It’s up to Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine and end this terrible, senseless war that has already cost the lives of hundreds of thousands,” he added....etc

Biden brought world ‘to the brink of World War Three’, says Trump

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 04:45:00 +0000

Ex-US President Donald Trump thinks that incumbent leader Joe Biden has brought the world to the brink of a third world war.

"Joe Biden has brought us to the brink of World War Three. We're at the brink of World War Three, just in case anybody doesn't know it," he said at a rally in South Carolina on Saturday aired by Newsmax TV channel, one of Trump’s first rallies following his announcement that he intended to run in the 2024 presidential election. "As President I will bring back peace through strength, peace through strength, what had never happened," he asserted.

The Republican thinks that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would not have happened had he been elected president in 2020. According to him, "even now" he would have managed to conclude a "peace deal."

"I would have a peace deal negotiated within 24 hours," Trump insisted. That said, he added that "to protect Americans from the threat of hypersonic missiles and nuclear weapons I will build state-of-the-art next-generation missile defense shields."

On November 15, 2022, Trump announced that he intended to run again in the next presidential election. Biden said that he planned to run but cautioned that he would make a final decision in early 2023.

Argentina, Latin America Not Considering Arms Supplies To Ukraine

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 04:41:00 +0000

Argentina and other Latin American countries are not planning to send any weapons to Ukraine, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said.

"Argentina and Latin America are not going to, do not intend to send weapons to either Ukraine or any other conflict zone," Fernandez said on Saturday, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is currently on an official visit to Argentina.

The Argentine president added that his country hopes that peace can be restored in Ukraine as soon as possible.

Iran says explosion at military site in Isfahan caused by drone attack

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 04:35:00 +0000

A drone attack targeted a military site linked to Iran’s Defense Ministry in the central city of Isfahan late on Saturday, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement referred to the incident as an “unsuccessful attack.” It did not attribute responsibility to any specific country or group.

“On the evening of January 28, around 23:30, an unsuccessful attack was carried out using (drones) on one of the workshop complexes of the Defense Ministry, and fortunately … one of (the drones) was hit by the … air defence and the other two were caught in defense traps and blew up,” the statement read.

Netanyahu announces plans to arm Israelis after Jerusalem attack

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 04:28:00 +0000

Israel has announced plans to make it easier for Israelis to get firearms amid escalating violence in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the measure late on Saturday after convening a meeting of his security cabinet — filled with hardline politicians — over a pair of shootings that included an attack in occupied East Jerusalem.

Seven people were killed in the shooting outside the East Jerusalem synagogue on Friday.

“We deploy forces, we increase forces, and we do it in different arenas,” Netanyahu said on Saturday.

He promised to expedite gun permits for Israeli citizens and to step up efforts to collect “illegal weapons”.

Moscow accuses Ukraine of striking hospital in Luhansk, leaving 14 dead

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 16:18:00 +0000

Russia’s defense ministry on Saturday accused the Ukrainian army of striking a hospital in the eastern Luhansk region, leaving 14 dead and injuring 24 others.

On Saturday morning in the town of Novoaidar, “the Ukrainian armed forces deliberately attacked the building of a district hospital” with a US-made HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that 14 were killed and 24 wounded among the “hospital patients and medical staff.”

It said that the hospital has been providing “necessary medical assistance to the local population and military personnel for many months.”

“A deliberate missile strike on a known active civilian medical facility is, without doubt, a grave war crime by the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said.

If WWIII breaks out, it won’t start on tanks or fighter jets, warns Medvedev - TASS

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 16:12:00 +0000

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has lambasted Western attempts to justify arms deliveries to Kiev as an alleged effort to prevent a world war.

"Firstly, defending Ukraine, which nobody needs in Europe, will not save the senile Old World from retribution if anything occurs. Secondly, once the Third World War breaks out, unfortunately it will not be on tanks or even on fighter jets. Then everything will definitely be turned to dust," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

In this post, Medvedev commented, in particular, on Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto’s remarks that the Third World War would erupt if Russian tanks reached Kiev and "the borders of Europe", and that the weapons sent to Ukraine were meant to stop the escalation.

Medvedev equated his remarks to the calls from the United Kingdom to provide Kiev with all the weapons NATO has.

Russian Forces Hit 86 Ukrainian Army Units at Firing Positions: Defense Ministry – Al-Manar TV Lebanon

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 16:06:00 +0000

Russian forces hit 86 Ukrainian army units at firing positions in the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.

“Russian tactical aircraft, missile troops and artillery forces defeated 86 units at firing positions, hitting troops and military equipment in 124 areas,” he noted.

Over 30 Ukrainian troops were killed along the Donetsk frontline in the past 24 hours, Konashenkov added.

Three Dead In New Zealands Auckland Amid Floods - Reports

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 06:58:00 +0000

At least three people died in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland amid flooding caused by torrential rains, the country's public broadcaster RNZ reports.

The third death related to the flooding was caused by a landslide in the city center and was confirmed on Saturday afternoon, RNZ said citing police.

Another death was confirmed on Saturday morning, while the first fatality was reported in Wairau Valley on Friday night. One person is missing, according to RNZ.

On Friday, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown declared a state of emergency in the region due to widespread flooding.

US foreign arms sales increase significantly in fiscal 2022 mainly due to military support for Ukraine - China.org.cn | EL Ethos UT News

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 06:45:00 +0000

U.S. foreign arms sales grew significantly in fiscal year 2022, according to data released by the Department of State, which attributed the increase mainly to U.S. military support for Ukraine during the latter's conflict with Russia.

The total value of State Department-authorized government-to-government foreign military sales was 51.9 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal 2022, the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022, up 49.1 percent from the previous fiscal year's 34.8 billion dollars, the data showed.

The so-called direct commercial sales, or sales of weapons and military equipment to foreign governments by U.S. defense contractors, also ticked up in fiscal 2022, increasing 48.6 percent to 153.7 billion dollars, compared to 103.4 billion dollars in fiscal 2021.

At the end of fiscal 2022, 14,445 entities were registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to conduct defense trade activities, which is a slight increase from fiscal 2021, the department said in a press release dated Wednesday.

The State Department attributed the spike to continuous U.S. provision of military assistance to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, while claiming that "arms transfers and defense trade are important tools of U.S. foreign policy."

UN chief urges 'utmost restraint' from Israel, Palestinians - En attendant Godot

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 06:37:00 +0000

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "deeply worried" by the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory and urged "utmost restraint" on Friday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

He said Guterres strongly condemned the attack by a gunman on Friday that killed at least seven people and wounded 10 others in a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

North Korea condemns US sending battle tanks to Ukraine

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 06:32:00 +0000

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has condemned the decision by the United States to supply Ukraine with advanced battle tanks to help fight Russian forces, accusing Washington of crossing a “red line” and escalating a “proxy war” designed to destroy Moscow.

The comments on Friday by Kim Yo Jong underscored North Korea’s deepening alignment with Russia over the war in Ukraine while it also confronts the US and its Asian allies about its own growing nuclear weapons and missiles programme.