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 Germany to shoot down drones near military sites

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Drone
Drone

 Germany’s cabinet has decided to autho­rise the army to shoot down suspicious drones seen near military sites or other critical infrastructure.

A statement from Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser said that, “especially since [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, we have seen that drones are being used more and more frequently, which poses an increasing challenge for the police and their cur­rent technology”.

Russia is suspected of launching a “shadow war” against Western countries supporting Ukraine – a charge it denies.

This has included alleged attempts to blow up interna­tional airliners, attack infra­structure – or interfere with democratic elections.

“I can only confirm that Russia planned acts of air terror, not just against Poland but against airlines across the globe,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednes­day.

He did not give any details, but his statement appeared to be confirmation of a New York Times report that US President Joe Biden had warned Putin over the alleged plans.

In November, Polish prosecutors said a series of parcel fires targeting courier companies in Europe were dry runs by groups aiming to sabotage flights to the US and Canada.

Tusk was hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zel­ensky in Warsaw, a day after Nato announced a new mis­sion to increase the surveil­lance of ships in the Baltic Sea after critical undersea ca­bles were damaged or severed last year.

Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Febru­ary 2022.

There have been several instances of unidentified drones flying over military bases recently.

At least 10 such drones had been seen flying above Manching Air Base near the city of Ingolstadt on Sunday evening, German police said.

Last month, there were sightings at Manching and nearby Neuburg an der Donau.

Drones were also spotted at the US air base at Ramstein and at an industrial zone near it in the North Sea.

In her statement, Interior Minister Faeser said “espio­nage or sabotage are regu­larly considered as a possible reason”.

Under the current rules, the German Army can only help police to force drones to move away or to land – but also to fire warning shots to make this happen.

Under the new proposals – which still need parliamen­tary approval – soldiers may shoot a drone down if they think that is the only way to deal with the danger it poses “against the lives of people or against a critical facility”.

Western security officials believe that they were part of an orchestrated campaign by Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.

Russia denies being behind acts of sabotage.

But it is suspected to have been behind other attacks on warehouses and railway net­works in EU member states this year, including in Sweden and in the Czech Republic.

-BBC

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 Drug violence in Brussels: House shot at 23 times in Anderlecht

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• The scene after the gunshots

 A house in the Brussels mu­nicipality of Anderlecht was shot at in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The shooting occurred at 1:40 a.m. on the facade of a building, com­posed of a professional room and a dwelling, near Place Lemmens in Anderlecht, the Brussels Public Pros­ecutor’s Office has now confirmed.

Initial reports suggested that the shooting took place on the corner Place Clemenceau, but the scene was later confirmed to be about a ten minutes’ walk away.

The Brussels Public Prosecutor also confirmed that 23 bullet holes and two failed molotov cocktails had been found at the scene. Initial unconfirmed reports suggested 15 shots and one molotov cocktail had been found.

It is not yet known whether there is a link with the shootings that took place in the past few days on Saint-Guidon Square, or with pre­vious shootings at the Clemenceau metro station and in the Peterbos neighbourhood in Anderlecht.

Since the beginning of February, those shootings, linked to the drug environment, have already left two dead and three wounded.

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 Passengers on crashed Toronto plane offered US$30,000 each

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 DELTA Air Lines is offer­ing US$30,000 (£23,792) to each person on board a plane that crash-landed in Toronto on Monday – all of whom survived.

As it landed in the Canadian city, the plane skidded along the runway in flames before flipping over and coming to a halt upside down. Passengers described their amaze­ment as most of them walked away without injuries.

It remains unclear what caused the inci­dent, which is under investigation.

There were 76 passengers and four crew on the flight, which had travelled from the US city of Minneapolis before making its crash-landing in Canada.

A spokesperson for Delta said the money offer had no strings attached and did not affect customers’ rights.

The plane crew and emergency respond­ers were praised for their quick work in removing people from the wrecked vehicle. The plane’s various safety features have also been credited for ensuring no loss of life.

All but one of the 21 passengers who were taken to hospital had been released by Wednesday morning, the airline said.

Delta’s chief told BBC’s US partner CBS News that the flight crew were experienced and trained for any condition.

The airline’s head Ed Bastian told CBS the plane crew had “performed heroically, but also as expected”, given that “safety is embedded into our system”. He said Delta was continuing to support those affected.

Several theories about what caused the crash have been suggested to the BBC by experts who reviewed footage, including that harsh winter weather and a rapid rate of descent played a role.

One passenger recalled “a very forceful event”, and the sound of “concrete and met­al” at the moment of impact. Another said passengers were left hanging upside down in their seats “like bats”.

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered from the wreckage. The investigation is being led by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB), supported by US officials.

The accident was the fourth major air in­cident in North America in a space of three weeks – and was followed on Wednesday by a crash in Arizona in which two people lost their lives when their small planes collided.

Experts continue to insist that air travel is overwhelmingly safe – more so than other forms of transport, in fact.

That message was emphasised by US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who told CBS on Wednesday there was no pattern behind the incidents, each of which he said was “very unique”. -BBC

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Peru declares state of emergency ….following bomb attack against Public Ministry

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Peru declared a state of emer­gency on Monday, following the detonation of explosives attacking the Public Ministry of Tru­jillo. Monday’s incident marks the second attack in Trujillo this year.

During the emergency state de­clared by President Boluarte to stop delinquency, the Presidency of Peru stated that “the Armed Forces and the police will take control of the city due to the state of emergency.” The Superior Court of Justice of La Libertad declared its commitment to “not succumb to any acts of violence.”

An unidentified individual posing as a delivery driver attacked the Pub­lic Ministry of Trujillo by leaving a package with explosive material that later detonated. Two explosions were detected, one originating from the package, which led to another car explosion.

Public Minister Delia Espino­za said in an interview that initial signs link the tragedy with illegal mining. Espinoza also revealed that days earlier, someone threatened a comptroller working on an orga­nized crime case.

According to Espinoza, these events show that the Minister of Interior makes promises he cannot fulfil, stating, “Constitutionally, the labor of prevention is for the police, there is no police intelligence.” Recent research shows that the disapproval of the current Minister of Interior, Juan José Santiváñez, peaked at 80 per cent in December 2024.

Former minister of Interior Oscar Valdés criticised the low efficiency of the state of emergency because of the intelligence system, argu­ing that the government failed to address illegal mining and drug trafficking as the real threats to the country.

Illegal mining has been a contro­versial issue in Peru. On December 1, 2024, the Peruvian Congress ex­tended temporary permits for “in­formal miners,” which critics argue are a part of systemic corruption that legitimised illegal mining and helped circumvent environmen­tal regulations. In April 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights also found that Peru’s failure to regulate mining activities violated inhabitants’ basic right to a healthy environment.

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