Author: Justin M. Larson

WARSAW, Poland — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged Thursday to push ahead with a “great modernization program” for his country’s military, a day after Russian drones crossed into Poland and forced the NATO alliance to confront a potential threat in its airspace for the first time.European officials described Wednesday’s incursion, which occurred during a wave of unrelenting Russian strikes on Ukraine, as a deliberate provocation. It deepened longstanding fears that the three-year war between Poland’s neighbors could precipitate a wider conflict. U.S.-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to get traction.The…

Read More

Osama bin Laden had made targeting the United States a top priority of his al-Qaida terrorist organization. Al-Qaida translates from Arabic as “the base” – a base that bin Laden hoped to use to influence Muslims around the world to oppose Western influences and states and to establish fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Bin Laden’s motives were rooted in his extremist interpretation of Islamic theology, resentment over U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and a desire to overthrow the existing world order.The “base” was so-called due to it being a centralized, hierarchical organization that provided funding, training and logistical support to…

Read More

The FBI said it is working alongside state and local law enforcement “to fully investigate and seek justice in the fatal shooting” of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.The FBI asked for tips from the public as the manhunt for the perpetrator continued, urging anyone with information, photos and video from the incident to share it with investigators.FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier the agency “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”Officials are due to hold a press conference at 9…

Read More

Orla GuerinSenior International Correspondent, IstanbulBBCFor 13 terrifying seconds on 23 April this year, Turkey’s largest city was shaken by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. It was so strong that 151 people leapt from buildings in Istanbul in panic causing injuries, but no deaths.But the Mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, could not lift a finger to help the city he was first elected to run in 2019.He was behind bars in a high-security prison complex in the district of Silivri, on the western edge of the city – ironically close to the epicentre.Imamoglu is accused of a raft of corruption charges, which he strongly…

Read More

Several European countries including Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and France have announced new LNG projects or the expansion to existing ones in response to shutdown of Russian gas pipelines.Michael Sohn | Afp | Getty ImagesSo I’m sure you would have all seen U.S. President Donald Trump this week urged the European Union to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China to stop them buying cheap Russian oil.A move that the U.S. administration said it would also match in an approach designed to ratchet up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk seriously about peace in…

Read More

An individual clutching a Palestine flag caused a crash on stage 15. The team time trial on stage five was also disrupted when the Israel-Premier Tech team, owned by Israeli-Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, were stopped on the road by a group of protesters holding Palestinian flags.Tuesday’s stage 16 ended eight kilometres before the scheduled finish, while several other stages of this year’s race including stage 11 – which was shortened without a winner – have suffered the same issues.Prior to Wednesday’s stage, riders in the peloton voted to neutralise the stage in the event of a disruption, rather than race…

Read More

Adam Easton in Warsaw andJaroslav LukivPoland closest to open conflict since World War Two, warns PMAt least three Russian drones were shot down by Polish and other Nato aircraft in Poland’s airspace during overnight attacks on Ukraine, the Polish prime minister has said.Donald Tusk said Poland had recorded 19 drone incursions, with some flying deep enough to temporarily close four airports, including Warsaw’s main hub Chopin.”This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two,” he said. This is the first time Russian drones have been downed over Nato territory since Moscow’s full-scale invasion…

Read More

Wednesday morning’s incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace led to jets being scrambled, an emergency government meeting being called – and concerns that Europe and Nato’s resolve against Moscow may not be up to the test.Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Polish airspace was violated 19 times and at least three drones were shot down by Warsaw’s jets, aided by Dutch F-35s and an Italian early warning aircraft. Russia has pushed back against accusations that the incursion was deliberate – though it also stopped short of denying its drones had trespassed sovereign Polish airspace. “No objects on Polish territory…

Read More

Paul AdamsDiplomatic correspondent’Not thrilled’: Trump on Israeli air strike in QatarInto the two big foreign policy arenas sucking up much of the Trump administration’s time and effort come two major challenges in less than 24 hours.Israel’s air raid on the offices of Hamas in Doha and a Russian drone incursion deep into Polish airspace represent two massive headaches for the White House.And, arguably, two major affronts to the president’s authority.After all, these are conflicts – Ukraine and Gaza – US President Donald Trump said he would deal with swiftly and decisively.In each case, a leader he sees as a natural,…

Read More