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Arab News
10-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
UK, France to enable ‘co-ordinated' nuclear deterrent
LONDON: The UK and France will declare that the two nations' nuclear deterrents, while independent, can be co-ordinated and that they will jointly respond to any 'extreme threat to Europe,' both countries said Wednesday. The declaration, to be signed Thursday, will state that the respective deterrents of both countries remain under national control 'but can be co-ordinated, and that there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by both nations,' the UK's Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the French presidency said in an overnight statement. French President Emmanuel Macron will sign the agreement Thursday as he wraps up his three-day state visit to the UK with a bilateral summit, where the allies will 'reboot' defense ties with a focus on joint missile development and nuclear co-operation. France's leader and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-host the London summit, with the two sides also expected to discuss maintaining support for Ukraine and curbing undocumented cross-Channel immigration. Ahead of the gathering, which follows two days of varied events spanning pomp and politics, trade and culture, France and Britain announced their 'defense relationship' will be 'refreshed.' It will see London and Paris order more Storm Shadow cruise missiles — long-range, air-launched weapons jointly developed by the two countries and called SCALP by the French — while stepping up work on a replacement system. The missiles have been shipped to Ukraine in significant numbers in recent years to help Kyiv in its war with Russia. The new partnerships herald a new 'Entente Industrielle' making 'defense an engine for growth,' said the MoD. 'As close partners and NATO allies, the UK and France have a deep history of defense collaboration and today's agreements take our partnership to the next level,' Starmer said in the statement. Starmer and Macron will also on Thursday dial into a meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' on Ukraine, a group of countries backing the embattled nation.
Japan Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan and Canada ink key intel-sharing deal
Japan has taken another important step toward deepening ties with individual members of the Five Eyes intelligence group by inking a classified information-sharing deal with Canada. Designed to enable exchanges of national security-related data and facilitate two-way defense procurements, the Security of Information Agreement (SIA) was signed by Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, in a ceremony Tuesday in Tokyo. The legally binding instrument, which must still be ratified by parliament, will regulate how sensitive information will be shared, handled, stored and disposed of by the two sides. While the deal does not itself authorize information exchanges or specify what data will be exchanged, it is seen as an important step to deepen bilateral defense and security ties. 'With this agreement ... the sharing of confidential security information between Canada and Japan will become markedly smoother,' Iwaya said, highlighting the 'deep significance' of this move amid challenging geopolitical circumstances. Anand described the intelligence-sharing pact as an 'important milestone' in the strategic partnership as well as a 'critical step forward on all counts,' particularly following the launch of a bilateral 'action plan' in October 2022. The agreement gives the two sides 'the tools that we need to strengthen our security partnership, which is so very important, in times of global challenge,' said Anand, who is on a two-day visit to Japan. The result of over two years of negotiations, the SIA is expected to pave the way for greater levels of military and defense-industrial cooperation, including the signing of a bilateral defense equipment and technology transfer deal in the near future. According to the Canadian government, information security deals would normally also allow vetted firms access to classified data necessary to bid on sensitive procurements in foreign markets and facilitate business opportunities in industries such as defense, security, aerospace, marine, nuclear and space. The SIA and other steps to expand bilateral security ties were among the topics discussed by the countries' leaders, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, when they met on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, last month. The SIA comes as Canada, which is working to beef up its military-industrial base, has been gradually expanding its defense and security footprint in the Indo-Pacific by boosting bilateral and multilateral activities with Asian partners such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. For its part, Tokyo — which has signed several defense tech transfer deals with several countries in recent years to help boost exports — has been ramping up military cooperation with Canada in a number of areas, not only in the traditional air, sea and land domains, but also in space, cybersecurity and special forces operations. At the same time, Japan's efforts also suggest a push to forge closer ties with certain members of the Five Eyes grouping, which also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Tokyo already works very closely with the first three and is now also aiming to finalize an information security agreement with New Zealand. Tokyo has long stated its interest in becoming the group's sixth member, with Japan hosting a gathering last November of senior enlisted service members from the intelligence partnership — the first time a nonmember state has done so. In an interview with The Japan Times in May, New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins said that while there are no indications that Japan will be joining the club anytime soon, Tokyo has already occasionally benefited from intelligence provided by the grouping, something that is likely to continue 'when it's considered the right thing to do.' The recent agreement with Ottawa and the one being negotiated with Wellington are likely to help ease the flow of information with the grouping.
Arab News
08-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Turkish foreign, defense ministers to visit Pakistan Wednesday
ANKARA: Turkiye's foreign and defense ministers will visit Pakistan on Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss bilateral ties, regional issues, and defense industry cooperation, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday. Turkiye has strong ties with Pakistan and expressed solidarity with it during its military conflict with India in May, angering India. During the visit, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will express Turkiye's desire to deepen ties in every field and offer Ankara's support in taking steps toward regional peace, the source said. Fidan will stress the countries 'need to strengthen their cooperation in the defense industry,' the source said. Ankara also has cordial ties with India, but after its support for Pakistan, small Indian grocery shops and major online fashion retailers boycotted Turkish products, while New Delhi also canceled Turkiye-based aviation service provider Celebi clearance over 'national security' reasons.
ABC News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Zelenskyy meets King, British PM as further Russian strikes kill 10 in Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russia, Iran and North Korea as a "coalition of murderers" during a visit to the UK, in which he met with the British Prime Minister to discuss defence co-operation. Mr Zelenskyy was in London after a series of deadly strikes against Kyiv and as Keir Starmer prepared to meet with Donald Trump and other world leaders at a crucial NATO summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday. Mr Zelenskyy also met with King Charles III and senior members of the British government during the visit on Monday. The UK has been one of Ukraine's closest supporters since Russia's invasion began in February 2022, and more recently has led a push to create a "coalition of the willing" of countries willing to defend Ukraine's post-war sovereignty. Before landing in the UK, the Ukrainian president said he hoped to negotiate with the British government "new and powerful steps to increase pressure on Russia for this war and to put an end to the strikes". Waves of Russian drones and missiles in and around Kyiv overnight killed 10 people including one child, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. Mr Zelenskyy posted on social media prior during his UK visit that the latest onslaught was a warning to other countries neighbouring states like Russia, Iran and North Korea. "Everyone in countries neighbouring Russia, Iran, and North Korea should be thinking carefully about whether they could protect lives if this coalition of murderers persists and continues spreading their terror," he posted on X. Mr Zelenskyy began his visit by shaking hands with the King at Windsor Castle, the third such time they've met since the start of this year. The palace said Mr Zelenskyy "visited The King this afternoon and remained to luncheon". He later met with senior members of the British parliament, including the lower house speaker Lindsay Hoyle. The Ukrainian leader also visited Downing Street for a bilateral meeting with Mr Starmer. After the meeting, Mr Starmer announced an industrial military co-production agreement with Ukraine. "I'm really proud that ... we're able to announce an industrial military co-production agreement - the first of its kind so far as Ukraine and the UK are concerned - which will be a massive step forward now in the contribution that we can continue to make," he said. Mr Zelenskyy's visit to the UK came as Ukrainian cities continued to come under direct Russian attack. Russia has been launching near-daily drone and missile attacks against Ukraine in recent months, but their intensity has increased in recent weeks as talks to end the war yielded few results. US President Donald Trump has been attempting to broker a peace between the two sides, but negotiations has so far yielded little progress, though prisoner exchanges have been agreed. Strikes in Kyiv overnight on Monday lit up the night sky with fires in residential areas and damaged the entrance to a metro station bomb shelter. At least 34 people including four children were wounded in the attacks on Kyiv, the emergencies service said. From midnight until almost dawn, the city shook with explosions and rattling machine gun fire from anti-aircraft units aiming at the drones. Ukraine's air force said it had downed 339 of 352 drones and 15 of 16 missiles launched by Russia in the attack on four Ukrainian regions. Rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble of an apartment block in Kyiv's busy Shevchenkivskyi district, less than a kilometre from the US embassy. At least nine people died in the district, the interior ministry said. Valeriy Mankuta, 33, described clambering from his window to the third floor below to escape after his building was hit by what authorities said was a missile. Reuters photos showed several explosions above apartment buildings in the area. "There were bricks on me, there was something in my mouth. It was total hell. I woke up in the rubble," Mr Mankuta said. ABC/Reuters
The Guardian
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Zelenskyy calls Russia, Iran and North Korea a ‘coalition of murderers'
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russia, Iran and North Korea as a 'coalition of murderers' during a visit to London in which he held talks with Keir Starmer on defence cooperation and how to put further pressure on Moscow. Ukraine's president arrived in the UK on Monday, hours after the Kremlin launched another big air raid on Kyiv. It involved 352 drones – half of them were Iranian-designed Shaheds - and North Korean ballistic missiles in what Zelenskyy called 'a completely cynical strike'. At least 10 people were killed and five civilian apartment blocks badly damaged. 'A large number of drones and missiles were shot down by our air defenders — but not all,' Zelenskyy posted on social media. 'Everyone in countries neighbouring Russia, Iran, and North Korea should be thinking carefully about whether they could protect lives if this coalition of murderers persists and continues spreading their terror.' Zelenskyy has supported Donald Trump's missile strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and has accused Tehran of complicity in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons arsenal in the 1990s in exchange for US, British and Russian security guarantees. These failed, however, to prevent Vladimir Putin's 2022 attack. Zelenskyy's latest trip to the UK was to discuss how to compel Russia to stop its war, Ukrainian officials said. His previous visit in March followed a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump accused him of 'gambling with world war three' and the US vice-president, JD Vance, berated him for supposed ingratitude. Monday's discussions encompassed sanctions and the Trump administration, which has so far refused to punish Russia and has practically ended US weapons deliveries to Kyiv. Ukraine has been attempting to keep Washington onside diplomatically, despite its apparent pivot to Moscow. 'We will be negotiating new and powerful steps to increase pressure on Russia for this war and to put an end to the strikes,' Zelenskyy said of his London trip. As well as talks with Starmer, he met King Charles at Windsor castle and visited Ukrainian soldiers receiving military training in the UK. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Zelenskyy is likely to travel to this week's two-day Nato summit in The Hague and is scheduled to meet the alliance's secretary general, Mark Rutte. It is unclear if he will have a face-to-face meeting with Trump, who is expected to arrive on Tuesday and push for greater defence spending from Nato member states. Since Trump's return to the White House in January, Russia has dramatically stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine. It has refused Zelenskyy's offer of a 30-day ceasefire and continues to target civilians. Monday's strikes hit a residential area, hospitals and sports infrastructure. The most severe damage was in Shevchenkivskyi district, where a section of a five-storey apartment building collapsed. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said six people had been killed in the district. Ten others, including a pregnant woman, were rescued from a nearby high-rise that also sustained heavy damage. Oleksii Pozychaniuk, 29, who lives in the building next to the one struck, said he heard the whistle of a rocket approaching and 'froze in terror' before feeling the impact. 'Windows blew out, glass was flying everywhere,' he told the Associated Press. 'We barely made it downstairs with my child. Everything here was on fire.'
