Operation Spider Web: A serious threat for Putin? – DW – 06/05/2025
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Alexandr Burilkov – Assistant Director for Research at the GLOBSEC GeoTech Center. And an expert on military and security issues in Russia, China, and the post-Soviet space.
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Roman Goncharenko – Reporter from DW's Russian desk.
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Aylin Matlé – She is Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Security and Defense at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).
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Int'l Business Times
13 minutes ago
- Int'l Business Times
US Halting Some Shipments Of Military Aid To Ukraine
The White House said Tuesday it is halting some key weapons shipments to Ukraine that were promised under the Biden administration for Kyiv's battle against the Russian invasion. Stopping the delivery of munitions and other military aid including air defense systems likely would be a blow to Ukraine as it contends with some of Russia's largest missile and drone attacks of the three-year-old war. "This decision was made to put America's interests first following a DOD (Department of Defense) review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told AFP in an email. The curtailment of military aid signals a possible shift in the priorities of US President Donald Trump, who has pressed for Russia and Ukraine to speed up stalled peace talks. The Republican has moved on to playing a greater role in orchestrating a possible ceasefire in Gaza and toning down Iran-Israel tensions after a deadly 12-day conflict between the arch foes. The Pentagon review determined that stocks had become too low on some previously pledged munitions, and that some pending shipments now would not be sent, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, according to Politico which first reported the halt of military aid. "The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned -- just ask Iran," Kelly said, making a reference to the recent US bombings and missile strikes against the Islamic republic's nuclear facilities. Politico and other US media reported that missiles for Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles are among the items being held back. Last week at a NATO summit in the Netherlands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump and appeared to get a vague response from the US leader on Patriot air defense systems. "We're going to see if we can make some available," Trump said of the missiles that Kyiv desperately seeks to shoot down Russian attacks. "They're very hard to get," Trump added. Asked by AFP for comment on the halt of shipments and why it was occurring, the Pentagon did not respond directly. But its chief spokesman Sean Parnell said "America's military has never been more ready and more capable thanks to President Trump and Secretary (Pete) Hegseth's leadership."
DW
8 hours ago
- DW
Middle East: Charities urge end to US-backed GHF aid system – DW – 07/01/2025
Dozens of charities have called for an Israeli and US-backed Gaza aid group to be disbanded. Hundreds have been killed at or near sites guarded by the Israeli military since the group started its operations. DW has more. Aid groups and charities have called for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to be disbanded. The GHF relies on private US security and logistics firms to bring supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says allowed militants to divert aid. Since it began its work in late May, hundreds of people have been killed by gunfire at or around sites run by the group and guarded by the Israeli the Israeli army says it has launched a review into an airstrike on a popular Gaza seafront cafe that rescuers say has left 24 dead. Israel said it was targeting militants., At least seven Palestinians are confirmed dead after trying to reach aid late Monday and early Tuesday, hospitals report. Three people were shot dead by Israeli fire in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, while four others were killed in central Gaza. More than 65 people were wounded, according to Awda hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp and Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, which took in the casualties. Local health officials say Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the enclave have killed at least 112 people and injured more than 400 in the past 24 hours. Clusters of houses have been reported destroyed in Gaza City's Shejaia and Zeitoun districts, east of Khan Younis, and in the southern city of Rafah. More than 170 non-governmental organizations are calling today for a US- and Israeli-backed food aid plan in Gaza to be dismantled, saying it is putting civilians at risk of death and injury. Medical authorities in Gaza say more than 500 people have been killed in mass shootings near aid distribution centers or transport routes guarded by Israeli forces since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating in late May. The GHF relies on private US security and logistics firms to bring supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says allowed militants to divert aid. The United Nations has called the plan "inherently unsafe" and a breach of humanitarian impartiality rules. By early afternoon in Geneva on Tuesday, where the joint declaration was released, 171 charities had signed the call for countries to press Israel to stop the GHF scheme and return to UN-coordinated aid deliveries. "Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families," the statement said. Groups backing it include Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Amnesty International. In response, the GHF told Reuters it has delivered more than 52 million meals in five weeks and said other humanitarian groups have had "nearly all of their aid looted." "Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza," the GHF said. The NGOs accuse the GHF of forcing hungry and weak people to trek for hours, sometimes through active conflict zones, to reach food aid. The Israeli military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians have been harmed at aid distribution centers in Gaza, saying Israeli forces have been given new instructions after what it called "lessons learned." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Thanks for joining our Middle East blog!More than 170 charities have been calling for the US- and Israeli-backed food aid plan in Gaza to be scrapped, warning it's putting civilians in grave danger. Medical teams in Gaza have been reporting more than 500 deaths near aid routes since the private-run scheme began, with the UN insisting the plan has been breaching humanitarian rules. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces says it is reviewing an airstrike on a Gaza beach cafe that killed 24 people. This blog will bring you the latest on the situation in the Middle East, including in Iran, Israel and Gaza.
DW
8 hours ago
- DW
Germany updates: Iran's envoy summoned over suspected spy – DW – 07/01/2025
The German Foreign Ministry said it will not tolerate "any threat to Jewish life" in the country. Meanwhile, Germans have been grappling with Europe's first major heat wave this summer. Follow DW for the latest. Berlin has summoned the Iranian ambassador following the arrest of a Danish man suspected of spying on Jews in Germany. The man was arrested in the Danish city of Aarhus last Thursday. He is believed to have been tasked by an Iranian intelligence service early this year with gathering information on "Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals" in the German capital Berlin. Germany's Foreign Ministry stressed it does not tolerate "any threats to Jewish life" in the country. Berlin has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Germany over the arrest in Denmark of a Danish national accused of spying on Jews in Germany for Iran. "We will not tolerate any threat to Jewish life in Germany," the German foreign ministry said in a post on X, adding that the allegations needed to be "thoroughly investigated." According to German prosecutors, the man's suspected aim was to collect information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin. The man allegedly spied on three properties in June 2025 and prepared for further intelligence activities, possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets. A regional court in Braunschweig has suspended the criminal trial over the VW diesel scandal against former CEO Martin Winterkorn because of his ongoing illness. The court said his condition currently prevents the trial from continuing. It said Winterkorn was unfit to stand trial for now, leaving it unclear whether the case can ever be concluded. The economic crimes chamber will continue to monitor his health with the help of an expert to assess if he might become fit to appear in court again. If that happens, proceedings against the 78-year-old would resume. The VW emissions scandal broke in September 2015 when the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed the company had manipulated emissions tests on diesel vehicles. VW admitted to the cheating shortly before the announcement. Days later, Winterkorn resigned and the company faced one of the biggest crises in its history. The trial began in 2024, with Winterkorn denying the allegations and arguing that the affair had damaged his successful career. A serious accident led to the trial being interrupted just days after it opened. Following an altercation in a bar in Stuttgart, police shot an 18-year-old in the upper body, who died on the spot, despite resuscitation attempts. The 18-year-old is said to have injured a 29-year-old man in the neck with a sharp object, according to police and the public prosecutor's office in the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. The suspect then fled while the victim was taken to hospital. The suspect was then confronted by a police officer in a backyard. The exact sequence of events is the subject of an ongoing investigation, the statement continued. The investigation into the use of firearms has been taken over by the State Office of Criminal Investigation. Stuttgart is the capital city of the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. Poland said it would impose temporary checks on its borders with Germany and Lithuania starting on July 7. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the measure was aimed at reducing irregular migrant crossings. "We consider the temporary restoration of controls at the Polish-German border necessary to limit and reduce to a minimum the uncontrolled flows... of migrants back and forth," Tusk said, adding that similar checks would be imposed on the Lithuanian border. "We are aware that this decision entails certain consequences regarding the freedom of movement of people... There is no other way," he said. A Danish citizen has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, German prosecutors said Tuesday. According to the prosecutors, the man's suspected aim was to collect information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin. The man allegedly spied on three properties in June 2025, with him preparing for further intelligence activities, possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets. In accordance with the German privacy law, the man was identified only as Ali people were arrested across Germany in suspicion of growing and selling cannabis illegally. They are suspected to have generated millions of euros of income through the illegal sale of the drug. Some 30 buildings across three German states were searched as part of the investigation. Several arrested were suspected of belonging to an illegal gang, according to police. Among the states were North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the west and Hesse in central Germany. One person was killed and two were seriously injured by a man with a sharp object at a company in the southern state of Bavaria, police said. The stabbing took place in the town of Mellrichstadt in the Lower Franconia region, with a 21-year-old German man being arrested in connection with the incident. Neither the motive nor the company involved have been named by police, who said there is no further danger to the public. A wildfire broke out in the largest forest in the city of Dresden in Germany's eastern Saxony state. Around one hectare of forest went ablaze, with the fire already largely being under control. Twenty-six firefighter teams are on site and have already managed to reduce the fire to about 8,000 square meters, the local fire brigades told local outlet Tag24. In light of the heat wave in Germany, with expected temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, education trade unions have called for nationwide heat protection regulations in schools. "There must be uniform occupational health and safety regulations for students and school employees," said Anja Bensinger-Stolze, a board member of the Education and Science Union (GEW), in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) newspapers. In addition to modernizing schools with green roofs and shade sails, Bensinger-Stolze continued, a "nationwide supply of free drinking water" is necessary for all children, young people, and employees. Additionally, first aid and safety training on how to deal with heat must be offered across the board, she added. Gerhard Brand, the head of the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE), suggested that spaces outside the school should be used more often during hot times of the year "if it fits with the curriculum." Brand also believes that school authorities have a duty to equip existing school buildings so "learning can be guaranteed even during high outside temperatures." Due to the ongoing heat wave, German hospitals are requesting additional funding to retrofit clinics. "Severe heat poses challenges for hospitals and staff. Due to a lack of investment funds, only a few hospitals have air-conditioned rooms, offices, and waiting rooms," said Gerald Gaß, the head of the German Hospital Federation (DKG), in an interview with the newspaper. "In the long term, we need a climate protection and adaptation program to renovate old buildings," he said, adding that this is the only way clinics can protect patients and staff from the consequences of climate change. Currently, hospitals rely on measures such as shading facades and cooling packs, Gaß explained. Europe is currently experiencing an early and extreme heat wave. Temperatures as high as 40 degrees are expected in Germany by the middle of the week. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video , and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany, from sunny Bonn where we have been feeling the current heatwave that looks set to continue through Tuesday. Temperatures across Germany are set to rise. According to the German Weather Service, it will peak on Wednesday, with local temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and widespread temperatures between 34 and 38 degrees. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will receive Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Luc Frieden, in Berlin on Tuesday. The meeting will begin with a reception and military honors at the Federal Chancellery, followed by talks expected to cover foreign and European policy issues, as well as bilateral cooperation. For all of the latest news from Germany, stay tuned here.
