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Israel Buys Three Military Submarines from Germany

A file picture shows former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a speech next to an INS Tanin, a Dolphin AIP class submarine, during a ceremony upon its arrival at a naval base in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, on September 23, 2014 Amir Cohen POOL/AFP/File
A file picture shows former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a speech next to an INS Tanin, a Dolphin AIP class submarine, during a ceremony upon its arrival at a naval base in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, on September 23, 2014 Amir Cohen POOL/AFP/File
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Israel Buys Three Military Submarines from Germany

A file picture shows former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a speech next to an INS Tanin, a Dolphin AIP class submarine, during a ceremony upon its arrival at a naval base in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, on September 23, 2014 Amir Cohen POOL/AFP/File
A file picture shows former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a speech next to an INS Tanin, a Dolphin AIP class submarine, during a ceremony upon its arrival at a naval base in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, on September 23, 2014 Amir Cohen POOL/AFP/File

Israel announced Thursday a deal with Germany to develop and purchase three submarines from German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp for three billion euros ($3.4 billion).

"The new submarines will upgrade the capabilities of the Israeli navy, and will contribute to Israel's security superiority in the region," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement.

According to analysts, negotiations between Israel and Germany on the deal were delayed and complicated by a suspected corruption affair involving Israel's last purchase of German submarines.

The deal new includes the purchase of three "Dakar" submarines, the first of which will be delivered to the Israeli navy within nine years.

It also includes the creation of a training simulator in Israel, and the supply of spare parts.

The defense ministry said the German government will fund part of the deal through a special grant, in line with an accord signed by the two countries in 2017.

In addition, a €850-million agreement was signed with the German economics and technology ministry to invest in Israeli industries, including defense companies.

The deal was signed Thursday "at the end of a several-year planning and negotiation process", the ministry said.

An alleged massive bribing scheme in Israel's 2012 deal to buy Thyssenkrupp submarines has implicated several high-ranking military officials and close associates of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Last year, Netanyahu's former chief-of-staff as well as several other senior officials were indicted in the case.

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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)

The Philippines ordered evacuations Wednesday ahead of Typhoon Usagi's arrival, as the UN's disaster office sought $32.9 million in aid for the country after recent storms killed more than 150 people.

The national weather service said Usagi -- the archipelago's fifth major storm in three weeks -- would likely make landfall Thursday in Cagayan province on the northeast tip of main island Luzon.

Provincial civil defense chief Rueli Rapsing said mayors had been ordered to evacuate residents in vulnerable areas, by force if necessary, as the 120 kilometers (75 miles) an hour typhoon bears down on the country.

"Under (emergency protocols), all the mayors must implement the forced evacuation, especially for susceptible areas," he told AFP, adding as many as 40,000 people in the province lived in hazard-prone areas.

The area is set to be soaked in "intense to torrential" rain on Thursday and Friday, which can trigger floods and landslides with the ground still sodden from recent downpours, state weather forecaster Christopher Perez told reporters.

He urged residents of coastal areas to move inland due to the threat of storm surges and giant coastal waves up to three meters (nine feet) high, with shipping also facing the peril of 8–10-meter waves.

A sixth tropical storm, Man-yi, is expected to strengthen into a typhoon before hitting the center of the country as early as Friday, Perez said.

With more than 700,000 people forced out of their homes, the successive storms have taken a toll on the resources of both the government and local households, the UN said late Tuesday.

About 210,000 of those most affected by recent flooding need support for "critical lifesaving and protection efforts over the next three months", the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

"Typhoons are overlapping. As soon as communities attempt to recover from the shock, the next tropical storm is already hitting them again," UN Philippines Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez said.

"In this context, the response capacity gets exhausted and budgets depleted."

The initiative "will help us mobilize the capacities and resources of the humanitarian community to better support government institutions at national, regional and local levels," Gonzalez added.

More than 28,000 people displaced by recent storms are still living in evacuation centers operated by local governments, the country's civil defense office said in its latest tally.

Government crews were still working to restore downed power and communication lines and clearing debris from roads.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the archipelago nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people and keeping millions in enduring poverty.

A recent study showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.