5A Friday, April 19, 2024 myRGV.com Call 956.683.4104 Today! Nobody Delivers Like We Do! my RGV Direct Mail, Door Hangers more with Highly Targeted and Effective Marketing Programs Digital Adverting, Website Services, Video, Email Social Media Marketing Covering The Rio Grande Valley Since 1892 BY IAIN ROGERS BLOOMBERG NEWS German authorities arrested two men sus- pected of spying for Russia and member- ship of a terror group planning acts of sabo- tage, in a case the inte- rior minister called The Federal Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe named the pair of German- Russian citizens as Dieter S. and Alexander J. and said the alleged members of a pro- Kremlin group known as the were taken into custo- dy Wednesday in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Dieter S. had been in contact with an indi- vidual connected to a Russian intelligence service since October last year about ble sabotage against military and industrial sites in including Germany, U.S.
installations, the General Prosecutor said Thursday in an emailed statement. this back- ground, the accused declared to his inter- locutor that he was pre- pared to carry out explosive and arson it said, adding that the intention was particular to under- mine the military sup- port provided from Germany to The arrests are the evidence of latest apparent Russian spy- ing in Germany, a phe- nomenon that strained between relations Berlin and Moscow even before full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Foreign German Annalena Minister Baerbock has sum- moned the Russian ambassador in Berlin to her ministry to dis- cuss the case, accord- ing to a spokesperson. BY ETHAN BRONNER BLOOMBERG NEWS When Iraq fired doz- ens of Scud missiles on Israel in early 1991, the U.S. implored then Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir not to respond.
Shamir said he had to act. After days of late-night calls, high-level visits and long cabinet meetings, Israel stood down and the US led a 42-nation alliance that defeated Iraq in what became the Gulf War. decision to launch 350 missiles and drones at Israel last week- end was the first time since then that a sover- eign nation carried out such an assault on the Jewish state. Another hardline Likud party lead- er, Benjamin Netanyahu, is prime minister and an equally frantic set of calls and visitors is urging him not to react while cabinet meetings focus on the need to do something. But while offering many parallels, the latest events are different from 1991 in at least one sig- nificant way: powerful Western allies offering to do the fighting for it.
Rather, suggesting that no one challenge Iran mili- tarily just now. And many in Israel, including in hard-right coalition, say that will not fly. Iran has said its mis- sion is over after seeking to avenge an attack on its diplomatic compound in Syria. Israel claimed suc- cess after repelling the barrage with virtually no damage or deaths. Yet the urgent question remains whether the two plunge into a deeper direct con- flict with repercussions beyond the Middle East, and how much of the answer comes down to Israeli politics and survival instincts.
absorb this Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Army Radio on Wednesday. are at a crossroads regarding our place in the Middle East, as well as that of our chil- dren. Our deterrence is in a problematic spot, and a weak response is danger- U.S. President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have told Netanyahu all week to the referring to the fact that with their help and that of neighboring Arab states Israel stopped of the projectiles aimed at it. The Israeli govern- ment and public are in fact torn about how to proceed.
A poll from Hebrew University pub- lished on Wednesday showed half believing Israel should not respond and half saying it should, even if it means extend- ing the current round of the conflict. Then how to do it, and whether to do it alone. Brigadier General Zvika Haimovich, a for- mer head of aerial defense, said no way Israel will do noth- ing, but think it is very important for Israel not to stand alone against Many commentators abroad express frustra- tion that allies give it such support, yet Netanyahu seems to blow them off for his own polit- ical survival. He needs his hard-right partners like Smotrich to stay in office, the argument goes, and so instead of pursuing best, he listens to them. Netanyahu is already the longest serving prime minister in the history.
But while the 74-year-old is deeply unpopular because of the way his far-right govern- ment has pushed populist policies and failed to anticipate the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, few in Israel even among his critics think the dilem- ma over Iran is mostly about him. BLOOMBERG NEWS As ammuni- tion stocks dwindle some of the biggest allies are expressing growing concern that it may not be able to defend itself for much longer against invasion. Group of Seven foreign ministers gathering on the Italian island of Capri will call for stronger sup- port. Foreign German Minister Annalena Baerbock, speaking to reporters Thursday before meeting with her G7 counterparts, said Ukraine needs more air defense urgently.
ferry ride here was stormy and was perhaps also a sign of how stormy our times Ukraine is struggling to fend off military pres- sure from Russia in the face of a lack of ammuni- tion and with a $61 billion US aid package stuck in Congress. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling for more air defense systems to be sent to Ukraine as Kremlin troops exploit the weakness in that arena in order to step up missile attacks on power stations, electrici- ty grids and residential areas across the country. countries, Japan, Canada, the U.S., Europe, have to take quicker decisions in order to support Ukraine more because we cannot afford the foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the G7. deci- sions have to be taken in order to send Ukraine more air defense other- wise the electricity sys- tem of Ukraine will be destroyed, and no coun- try can fight without The G7 ministers will agree to step up ship- ments of military equip- ment to Kyiv and will reaffirm their ing to support Ukraine as it defends itself, according to a draft statement from the meeting seen by Bloomberg. express our resolve in particular to bolster air defense capabilities as this is the best way to save lives and protect critical according to the draft, which could still change.
will also work with partners toward this Elsewhere in Europe, at a meeting of EU lead- ers in Brussels, some were voicing impatience at what they saw as a wid- ening gulf between rheto- ric and action. all the words that were said in the last years here in Brussels about common defense could be changed into bullets and rocket posted Prime Minister Donald Tusk to the social media site would have become the strongest power in the Three Russian mis- siles hit close to the cen- ter of Chernihiv on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people and leav- ing more than 77 wound- ed. While Vladimir forces regularly shell the surrounding region that borders on Russia, mis- sile barrages against the provincial capital, about 79 miles north of Kyiv, have been rare. Officials expressed optimism on the news that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson would move ahead with new assistance for Ukraine, which has long been held up by Congress.
The plan is an attempt to break a six-month-long Republican blockade of aid that has left Ukraine increasingly vulnerable to Russian assaults. these stormy times, a hopeful sign that there are now signals from the U.S., from the Republicans, that support for Ukraine can be con- tinued Baerbock said. Germany arrests two alleged Russian spies planning sabotage allies see bleak times ahead without more air defenses Netanyahu is caught between hitting Iran and heeding allies ABIR SULTAN EPA AP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in the prime office in Jerusalem, June 25, 2023. GIL COHEN-MAGEN AFP GETTY TNS German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock briefs the press at Ben Gurion International Airport on April 17, 2024. GREGORIO BORGIA POOL TNS U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, right, attend a bilateral meet- ing on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on Capri Island, April 18, 2024..
