EU Agrees to Push Ahead on Joint Arms Buying to Aid Ukraine

08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)
08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)
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EU Agrees to Push Ahead on Joint Arms Buying to Aid Ukraine

08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)
08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)

European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to speed up supplies of artillery rounds and buy more shells to help Ukraine but still have to work out how to turn these aims into reality.

Under a plan drawn up by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, EU states would get financial incentives worth 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) to send more of their artillery rounds to Kyiv while another 1 billion euros would fund joint procurement of new shells.

"There has been a general agreement on this procedure but there are questions pending. Everything has to be discussed in detail," Borrell said after a meeting of EU defense ministers in Stockholm also attended by their Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov.

Borrell said he hoped the plan would be finalized at a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers on March 20.

Reznikov had urged the ministers in Stockholm to support an Estonian plan for EU countries to club together to buy 1 million 155-millimeter shells this year at a cost of 4 billion euros to help fight Russia's invasion and launch a counter-offensive.

Borrell's plan is smaller in scale but would still be a landmark step for the EU as defense procurement has largely been the preserve of the bloc's individual member governments.

Boosting capacity

EU officials say if the bloc places a large order on behalf of member governments, they will get a better price and give arms firms a strong incentive to invest in increasing capacity.

However, officials said there was still much work to be done to hammer out details such as how the funding would work and who would take the lead in sealing deals with arms firms.

Ukraine is burning through shells faster than its allies can make them, officials say, prompting a renewed search for ammunition and ways to ramp up production.

Reznikov said Ukraine wanted 90,000 to 100,000 artillery rounds per month. "We need to move forward as soon as possible," he told reporters before the meeting.

But EU ministers and officials have been unable to say how much capacity Europe's defense industry has to provide the shells Ukraine needs.

Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said she had proposed that industry leaders join the March 20 meeting.

"We are talking a lot about industry. I suggested we should also talk with industry," she said.

Funding will also be a subject for further debate.

While Estonia said EU countries should provide fresh money for joint procurement, Borrell has proposed using cash already allocated to an EU-run fund, the European Peace Facility.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday's discussions about joint procurement were "right and necessary" but should not distract from the fact that it would take time for industry to ramp up capacity.

"We have to face the truth. Just because we all place more orders does not mean there is more ammunition. It has to be produced before it can be delivered," he said.



Russia’s Prigozhin Says Ukraine Has Retaken Part of Settlement North of Bakhmut

Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. (Reuters)
Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. (Reuters)
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Russia’s Prigozhin Says Ukraine Has Retaken Part of Settlement North of Bakhmut

Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. (Reuters)
Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. (Reuters)

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had retaken part of the settlement of Berkhivka, north of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, calling it a "disgrace".

Prigozhin's private Wagner militia captured Bakhmut last month after the longest battle of the war and handed its positions there to regular Russian troops. Ukrainian forces have continued to attack areas close to the city.

"Now part of the settlement of Berkhivka has already been lost, the troops are quietly running away. Disgrace!" Prigozhin said in an audio message published by his press service.

He urged Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, to come to the front to rally the troops.

"Come on, you can do it!" he said. "And if you can't, you'll die heroes."

Prigozhin has waged a public feud with Shoigu and Gerasimov for months, frequently accusing them of failing to provide sufficient ammunition and support for Wagner in the field, and so causing it to suffer needlessly heavy losses.


Israel’s Netanyahu Appoints New Media Advisor, Journalist Who Had Called Biden ‘Unfit,’ Report Says 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
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Israel’s Netanyahu Appoints New Media Advisor, Journalist Who Had Called Biden ‘Unfit,’ Report Says 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a new media advisor who has tweeted critically against President Joe Biden, the daily Haaretz reported.

The appointment comes at a time when US-Israel relations are strained.

Gilad Zwick, a journalist with a conservative Israeli TV station, has in his tweets called Biden “unfit” to rule and said that he was “slowly but surely destroying America." He also posted tweets suggesting he supported President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 US election was rigged. The tweets were still online Monday.

Both Netanyahu's office and Zwick did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zwick previously worked for Israel Hayom, a pro-Netanyahu daily.

Zwick's appointment comes as ties between Israel and its closest ally, the United States, are fraught over a contentious Israeli government plan to overhaul the judiciary and over the government's ultranationalist character.

Biden has publicly expressed concern over the Netanyahu government's plan to reshape the legal system, which has sparked mass protests that continue weekly even after the plan was put on hold.

The Biden administration has also voiced unease about Netanyahu’s government, made up of ultranationalists who were once at the fringes of Israeli politics and now hold senior positions dealing with the Palestinians and other sensitive issues.

Amid the tensions, Biden has so far denied Netanyahu a typically customary invitation to the White House after his election win late last year.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of gradually shifting Israel from a bipartisan matter to a wedge issue in US politics. They point to him appearing to openly support Republican candidates as well as his 2015 speech to Congress which was seen as a slight to the Obama administration over its nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu says Israel's bond with the US is unbreakable and downplays any rifts as disagreements between friends.

Last month, Israel's parliament hosted US House speaker Kevin McCarthy, who became just the second House speaker to address the Knesset, after Republican Newt Gingrich in 1998.


World's Intelligence Chiefs Meet in Secret Conclave in Singapore

Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
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World's Intelligence Chiefs Meet in Secret Conclave in Singapore

Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Senior officials from about two dozen of the world's major intelligence agencies held a secret meeting on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend, five people told Reuters.

Such meetings are organized by the Singapore government and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the security summit for several years, they said. The meetings have not been previously reported.

The US was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the head of her country's intelligence community, while China was among the other countries present, despite the tensions between the two superpowers.

Samant Goel, the head of India's overseas intelligence gathering agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, also attended, an Indian source said.

"The meeting is an important fixture on the international shadow agenda," said one person with knowledge of the discussions. "Given the range of countries involved, it is not a festival of tradecraft, but rather a way of promoting a deeper understanding of intentions and bottom lines.

"There is an unspoken code among intelligence services that they can talk when more formal and open diplomacy is harder - it is a very important factor during times of tension, and the Singapore event helps promote that."

All five sources who discussed the meetings declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A spokesperson for the Singapore Ministry of Defence said that while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, "participants including senior officials from intelligence agencies also take the opportunity to meet their counterparts."

"The Singapore Ministry of Defence may facilitate some of these bilateral or multilateral meetings," the spokesperson said. "Participants have found such meetings held on the sidelines of the (dialogue) beneficial."

The US Embassy in Singapore said it had no information on the meeting. The Chinese and Indian governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operate what is called the Five Eyes network to gather and share a broad range of intelligence, and their intelligence officials meet frequently.

Larger meetings of the intelligence community are rarer, and almost never publicized.

Although few details were available on the specific discussions in Singapore, Russia's war in Ukraine and transnational crime figured in the talks on Friday, the person with knowledge of the discussions added. On Thursday evening, the intelligence chiefs held an informal gathering.

No Russian representative was present, one of the sources said. Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Volodymr V. Havrylov, was at the Shangri-La Dialogue but said he did not attend the intelligence meeting.

Another of the sources said the tone at the meeting was collaborative and cooperative, and not confrontational.

At the main security dialogue, more than 600 delegates from 49 countries held three days of plenary sessions, as well as closed-door bilateral and multilateral meetings at the sprawling Shangri-La Hotel.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave the keynote address while US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu and counterparts from Britain,

Japan, Canada, Indonesia and South Korea also spoke.

Haines was among the official US delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue. At a discussion on cybersecurity in the main meeting, she said in response to a question from a Chinese military officer that cooperation between countries was essential.

"It is absolutely critical, even when there is distrust, and even when you are facing in effect adversaries, that you still try to work through and cooperate on issues of mutual interest and also try to manage the potential for escalation," she said.

US officials said on Friday that CIA Director William Burns visited China last month for talks with Chinese counterparts as the Biden administration seeks to boost communications with Beijing.


Russia Says it Thwarted Major Ukrainian Offensive, Killed Hundreds

FILE PHOTO: Russian service members guard the entrance to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Russian service members guard the entrance to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo
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Russia Says it Thwarted Major Ukrainian Offensive, Killed Hundreds

FILE PHOTO: Russian service members guard the entrance to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Russian service members guard the entrance to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo

Russia said on Monday that its forces had thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive at five points along the front in the southern Ukrainian region of Donetsk and killed hundreds of pro-Kyiv troops.

It was not immediately clear whether or not the reported attack represented the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive which Kyiv has been promising for months to recapture territory taken by Russian forces after the invasion of February 2022, Reuters said.

Russia's defense ministry said Ukraine had attacked with six mechanized and two tank battalions in southern Donetsk, where Moscow has long suspected Ukraine would seek to drive a wedge through Russian-controlled territory.

"On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction," the defense ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram at 1:30 a.m. Moscow time (2230 GMT).

"The enemy's goal was to break through our defenses in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front," it said. "The enemy did not achieve its tasks, it had no success."

Reuters was unable to immediately verify the Russian statement and the Ukrainian defense ministry and military did not immediately respond to written requests for comment.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov published a cryptic message on Twitter on Sunday, quoting Depeche Mode's track "Enjoy the Silence".

"Words are very unnecessary. They can only do harm," his tweet said.

Ukraine last week published a flashy video depicting troops preparing for battle and reciting a rousing blessing, which was later aired as a recruiting clip.

Russia's defense ministry released video of what it said showed several Ukrainian armored vehicles in a field blowing up after being hit.

Russian forces killed 250 Ukrainian troops as well as destroying 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armored combat vehicles, the ministry said.

Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who is in charge of Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, was in the area of the Ukrainian attack, the ministry said.

"(Gerasimov) was at one of the advanced command posts," the ministry said.

COUNTER-OFFENSIVE?

For months, Ukraine has been preparing for a counter-offensive against Russian forces which officials in Kyiv and CIA Director William Burns have said will pierce Russian President Vladimir Putin's hubris.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Saturday that he was ready to launch the counteroffensive but tempered a forecast of success with a warning that it could take some time and come at a heavy cost.

"I don't know how long it will take," he told The Journal. "To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready."

After seeking tens of billions of dollars of Western weapons to fight Russian forces, the success or failure of the counter-offensive is likely to influence the shape of future Western diplomatic and military support for Ukraine.

Ukraine has in recent weeks sought to weaken Russian positions but its specific plans have been shrouded in secrecy as it seeks to strike yet another blow against the much larger military of Russia.

Moscow was last month struck by drones which Russia said was a Ukrainian terrorist attack while pro-Ukrainian forces have repeatedly crossed into Russia proper in recent days in the Belgorod region.

After a two-month lull, Russia has launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Ukraine since early May, chiefly on Kyiv, with Ukraine saying the targets were its military and critical infrastructure facilities.

WAR IN UKRAINE

Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 last year in what the Kremlin expected to be swift operation but its forces suffered a series of defeats and had to move back and regroup in swathes of eastern Ukraine.

Russia now controls at least 18% of what is internationally recognized to be Ukrainian territory, and has claimed four regions of Ukraine as Russian territory.

For months, tens of thousands of Russian troops have been digging in along a front line which stretches for around 600 miles (1,000km), bracing for a Ukrainian attack which is expected to try to cut Russia's so-called land bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Ukraine says it will not rest until it has ejected every last Russian soldier from its territory, and casts the invasion as an imperial-style land grab by Russia, the world's biggest nuclear power.

Russia says the war is escalating and says the West is fighting what amounts to a hybrid war against Russia which is aimed at sowing discord and ultimately carving up Russia's vast natural resources.

The West says it wants Ukraine to defeat Russia but denies that it wants to destroy Russia. US President Joe Biden said last year that a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia would mean World War Three.


Ukraine's Military Urges 'Silence' Ahead of Expected Counteroffensive

FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian military helicopter takes off to carry out a mission, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during military drills in the north of Ukraine, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian military helicopter takes off to carry out a mission, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during military drills in the north of Ukraine, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo
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Ukraine's Military Urges 'Silence' Ahead of Expected Counteroffensive

FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian military helicopter takes off to carry out a mission, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during military drills in the north of Ukraine, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian military helicopter takes off to carry out a mission, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during military drills in the north of Ukraine, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

The Ukrainian military on Sunday renewed its plea for operational silence around a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces, the latest in a stream of messages by Kyiv as it prepares for the assault.

Anticipation has mounted around what is expected to be a broad attack by Ukrainian forces to retake Russian-occupied territory in the east and south.

But Ukrainian officials have repeatedly discouraged public speculation over the operation, saying it could help the enemy.

Authorities in recent days have also cracked down on citizens sharing images or footage of air defense systems shooting down Russian missiles.

"Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start," the ministry said in a video posted to official Telegram channels, apparently referring to the counteroffensive.

The sleekly-produced footage featured masked and well-armed front-line troops holding their fingers against their lips, gesturing for silence amid the distant rumble of artillery and gunfire, Reuters reported.

It ended with images of soaring F-16 fighter jets - long coveted by Kyiv as it seeks to boost its air defense against Russian missiles and drones.

Kyiv's Western allies in recent months have provided weapons, armor and ammunition for the counteroffensive, which military experts have said could prove difficult against dug-in Russian forces.

In an interview published on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv was prepared for the operation but avoided making any predictions.

"To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different," he told the Wall Street Journal. "But we are going to do it, and we are ready."

Other senior officials, including Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, have similarly sought to tamp down expectations.

In some cases, however, the military has also fed the anticipation. Social media outreach by Kyiv has often been intended to intimidate the Kremlin.


Netanyahu Accuses UN Nuclear Watchdog of 'Capitulating' to Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Israeli government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Israeli government
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Netanyahu Accuses UN Nuclear Watchdog of 'Capitulating' to Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Israeli government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Israeli government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the International Atomic Energy Agency on Sunday of ineffectually policing Iran's nuclear activities and suggested the UN watchdog risked becoming politicized and irrelevant.

The unusual criticism followed an IAEA report last week that Iran had provided a satisfactory answer on one case of suspect uranium particles and re-installed some monitoring equipment originally put in place under a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal.

With Iran having enriched enough uranium to 60% fissile purity for two nuclear bombs, if refined further - something it denies wanting or planning - Israel has redoubled threats to launch preemptive military strikes if international diplomacy fails.

"Iran is continuing to lie to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency's capitulation to Iranian pressure is a black stain on its record," Netanyahu told his cabinet in televised remarks, according to Reuters.

"If the IAEA becomes a political organization, then its oversight activity in Iran is without significance, as will be its reports on Iran's nuclear activity."

The IAEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, it reported that after years of investigation and lack of progress, Iran had given a satisfactory answer to explain one of three sites at which uranium particles had been detected.

Those particles could be explained by the presence of a Soviet-operated mine and lab there and the IAEA had no further questions, a senior diplomat in Vienna said.

In an apparent reference to this, Netanyahu said: "Iran's excuses ... regarding the finding of nuclear material in prohibited locations are not only unreliable, they are technically impossible."

However, the Vienna diplomat also told Reuters the IAEA's assessment remained that Iran carried out explosives testing there decades ago that was relevant to nuclear weapons.

After then US President Donald Trump quit the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Tehran ramped up uranium enrichment. Israeli and Western officials say it could switch from enrichment at 60% fissile purity to 90% - weapons-grade - within a few weeks.

In a 2012 UN speech, Netanyahu deemed 90% enrichment by Iran a "red line" that could trigger preemptive strikes. Experts are divided, however, on whether Israel - despite having an advanced military believed to be nuclear-armed - can deal lasting damage to Iran's distant, dispersed and well-defended facilities.

"In the event that we reach decision-point, where the two options are the Iranians breaking out to a bomb or us taking action, we will take action," Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz, a member of Netanyahu's national security cabinet, said.


Khamenei Slams West, Blames Protests on 'Thugs and Villains'

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Photo: Supreme Leader's website
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Photo: Supreme Leader's website
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Khamenei Slams West, Blames Protests on 'Thugs and Villains'

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Photo: Supreme Leader's website
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Photo: Supreme Leader's website

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran's enemies and blaming recent anti-government protests on “thugs and villains.”

Ali Khamenei's remarks come amid an intensifying standoff with Western countries over Iran's nuclear program, which has made major advances in the five years since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US from an international accord that restricted it.

Trump restored crippling sanctions on Iran that have contributed to a severe economic crisis without forcing any concessions from its leaders. Iran has also lent support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supplying armed drones that have wreaked havoc on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

“Some people are mistaken to think if we back down from our stances in certain cases that will cause the enmity of the US, the global arrogance, or Israel toward us to diminish," said Khamenei, who has the final say on all major Iranian policies. "This is a mistake."

He spoke at an annual speech marking the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, his predecessor.

Khamenei alluded to nationwide protests last fall sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code.

Iranian authorities have blamed the protests on a foreign conspiracy, without providing evidence, while the demonstrators said they were protesting over decades of repression and economic mismanagement.

“Thugs and villains did what they did and malicious individuals chanted such slogans," Khamenei said. "According to their plot they thought the Islamic Republic was finished and they could take the Iranian nation as servants. These fools, once again, were wrong. Once again, they failed to know our people.”


Belgian Prime Minister Briefly Knocked Out in Bike Fall

FILE PHOTO: Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrives for a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium December 15, 2022.  REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrives for a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
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Belgian Prime Minister Briefly Knocked Out in Bike Fall

FILE PHOTO: Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrives for a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium December 15, 2022.  REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrives for a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo fell from a bicycle and briefly lost consciousness but hospital tests revealed no lasting effects, national news agency Belga reported.
The incident happened when De Croo, 47, was on a bike ride with his son late on Saturday afternoon near his home in the Flanders region, according to Belga, citing the prime minister's office.
De Croo lost consciousness for a few moments and was taken to hospital for checks, Belga reported.
The accident was not expected to affect the premier's schedule for the coming week, Belga said.


5 Drones Shot Downed in Crimea's Dzhankoi

Firefighters work at a house on fire following a shelling, which, according to the regional governor, was by Ukrainian forces, in the village of Sobolevka, Belgorod region, Russia, in this handout image released June 2, 2023. Governor of Russia's Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Firefighters work at a house on fire following a shelling, which, according to the regional governor, was by Ukrainian forces, in the village of Sobolevka, Belgorod region, Russia, in this handout image released June 2, 2023. Governor of Russia's Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
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5 Drones Shot Downed in Crimea's Dzhankoi

Firefighters work at a house on fire following a shelling, which, according to the regional governor, was by Ukrainian forces, in the village of Sobolevka, Belgorod region, Russia, in this handout image released June 2, 2023. Governor of Russia's Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Firefighters work at a house on fire following a shelling, which, according to the regional governor, was by Ukrainian forces, in the village of Sobolevka, Belgorod region, Russia, in this handout image released June 2, 2023. Governor of Russia's Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

Five drones were shot down and four were jammed and did not hit their targets in Dzhankoi in Crimea, a Russian-installed official in the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 said on Sunday.

There were no casualties but windows were broken in several houses, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea's administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.

He added that one unexploded drone was found on the territory of a residential house, forcing the temporary evacuation of about 50 people in the area.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Russia has a military air base near Dzhankoi. Ukrainian officials have long said the city and surrounding areas have been turned into Moscow's largest military base in Crimea.


US Says 'Unsafe' Action by China Near American Ship In Taiwan Strait

  American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (FILE/Reuters)
American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (FILE/Reuters)
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US Says 'Unsafe' Action by China Near American Ship In Taiwan Strait

  American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (FILE/Reuters)
American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (FILE/Reuters)

A Chinese Navy ship maneuvered in an "unsafe manner" near an American destroyer transiting the Taiwan Strait, the US military said Saturday.

It is the second close encounter between American and Chinese military assets in less than 10 days, following what the US military said was an "unnecessarily aggressive maneuver" by one of Beijing's fighter's near one of Washington's surveillance planes last week.

The Chinese ship "executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon," an American destroyer, during the Saturday transit, the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said in a statement.

Beijing's ship "overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 (knots) to avoid a collision," the statement said, AFP reported.

It then "crossed Chung-Hoon's bow a second time starboard to port at 2,000 yards (meters) and remained off Chung-Hoon's port bow," coming within 150 yards at the closest point, the US military said, adding that the "US military flies, sails, and operates safely and responsibly anywhere international law allows."

The incident occurred as the Chung-Hoon sailed through the Taiwan Strait with a Canadian warship in a joint mission through the sensitive waterway that separates self-ruled Taiwan from China.

The Chinese military said it had monitored the passage, but made no mention of a close encounter.

"The relevant countries are intentionally creating trouble in the Taiwan Strait, deliberately stirring up risks, and maliciously undermining regional peace and stability," said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, the spokesman of China's Eastern Theatre Command.

US warships frequently sail through the strait. The last joint US-Canada passage was in September 2022.

China claims Taiwan as its territory -- vowing to take it one day, by force if necessary -- and has in recent years ramped up military and political pressure on the island.

The Taiwan Strait ship encounter followed what the US military characterized as a risky maneuver by a Chinese jet that "flew directly in front of and within 400 feet of the nose" of an RC-135 surveillance plane on May 26 over the South China Sea.

Beijing blamed US "provocation," with a foreign ministry spokeswoman saying the "United States' long-term and frequent sending of ships and planes to conduct close surveillance on China seriously harms China's national sovereignty and security."