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America’s European burden: How the Continent still leans on the US for security

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

This article is part of the Europe’s strategic impotence Special Report.PRISTINA, Kosovo — There is no statue of France’s Jacques Chirac in Kosovo’s capital, no square named for Gerhard Schröder and no boulevard for Spain’s Javier Solana.One will find all of the above, however, for Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright and the other American leaders who spearheaded the 1999 NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia to prevent Serbian forces from massacring Kosovo’s Albanian population.While many member countries contributed to the NATO operation, Kosovars have no illusions about who really saved them from genocide.Thanks to the U.S., “we have our freedom and democracy and were able to build the state of Kosovo,” the country’s then-Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj told Clinton at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the NATO intervention in 2019.Little has changed in the nearly 25 years since the NATO action. If anything, Europe is more reliant on American security today than it was then.Just a...

The US wants Europe to buy American weapons; the EU has other ideas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

This article is part of the Europe’s strategic impotence Special Report.At NATO summit after NATO summit, European leaders get a clear public message from Washington — increase spending on defense.In private, there’s another message that’s just as clear — make sure a lot of that extra spending goes on U.S. weapons.European leaders are resisting.“We must develop a genuinely European defense technological and industrial base in all interested countries, and deploy fully sovereign equipment at European level,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava last month.The decades of cajoling from Washington are paying off. Although most EU countries aren’t yet meeting NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense, the alliance has seen eight years of steady spending increases. In 2022, spending by European countries was up by 13 percent to $345 billion — almost a third higher than a decade ago — much of it a reaction to Russ...

‘A desire for love’: Italy bids farewell to showman Berlusconi

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

Amid the Armani suits, aviator sunglasses and diamonds, Italy’s farewell to its most flamboyant politician was a surprisingly solemn affair.The sun shone over the glittering spires and buttresses of the Duomo, Milan’s most beloved landmark, for Silvio Berlusconi’s state funeral on Wednesday, as an A-list cast of Italian politics, finance and media gathered to pay their respects. Milan made a fitting venue for Berlusconi’s send-off — it was the city where the three-times prime minister, media mogul and billionaire playboy had made his money.Wreaths were stacked against the facade of the cathedral while giant screens set up outside allowed workers from Berlusconi’s media empire, and fans from the football clubs he owned over the years, to watch from the surrounding piazza. While some waved black and red AC Milan flags, one lone detractor wore an “I am not in mourning” T-shirt. Covered in red and white roses, Berlusconi’s coffin was driven the 30 km from his hom...

Europe’s military buildup: More jaw jaw than war war

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

This article is part of the Europe’s strategic impotence Special Report.War is usually a boon for the military-industrial complex. But that’s not happening for Europe’s defense industry — yet. More than a year into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, contracts have been slow to materialize, the Continent’s industrial base is still in tatters following decades of underinvestment, and fierce competition looms from outside Europe.Politicians eager to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s aggression and beef up the Continent’s forces are urging defense companies to produce more, faster and at a lower cost. But companies say they can’t move until they get binding deals from governments.“It’s somehow like a chicken and egg question,” said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur. “Which one is first?” Some companies — including Sweden’s Saab, the Nordics’ Nammo, Germany’s Rheinmetall and France’s Nexter and MBDA — have started to ramp up using their own cash. Now, they are call...

Greek parties halt election campaign after dozens of migrants drown

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

ATHENS — Greek parties halted pre-election campaigning on Wednesday after dozens of migrants drowned in a deadly shipwreck off Greece’s southern Peloponnese peninsula.At least 79 bodies were recovered by Wednesday afternoon and more were feared missing after an overloaded fishing boat en route to Italy capsized and sank. More than a hundred people have been rescued so far and hundreds of others are thought to be missing, according to initial reports. All of the political parties sent representatives to the region where the migrants were rescued. With the country’s election just 11 days away, the parties issued separate statements that their pre-election gatherings and speeches would be halted.“The priority now is to save as many lives as possible,” said New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is expected to return to the PM’s office after the election, as he maintains a significant lead in polls. “This new incident, however, dramatically demonstrates that migration remains a p...

Better together: The European effort on joint defense projects

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

This article is part of the Europe’s strategic impotence Special Report.Europe’s NATO members have a GDP that’s almost as large as that of the United States, but that doesn’t translate into comparable military heft.A big reason is that the alliance’s 29 European members often scatter their defense purchases on rival programs that dissipate their effectiveness.The European Union has been aware of the problem for years, but industrial rivalries and different military priorities have made it very difficult to coordinate efforts on jointly producing weapons. While that may not have mattered much in the comfortable post-Cold War world of low defense spending and distant threats, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the calculus.Although there have been joint defense projects before — like the Eurofighter developed in the 1990s by the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain — there’s now an effort to do more together. “Defence cooperation coupl...

After Russia’s invasion, Brussels is a military player but not a military power

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

This article is part of the Europe’s strategic impotence Special Report.The EU has its roots in an effort to end war in Europe, but it’s latest spat is over an effort to finance the production and delivery of a million artillery shells to Ukraine.It’s a sign of how Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine is helping to transform the bloc from a purely economic and regulatory power into one that has some military teeth.The war was a “big wake-up call,” said retired General Tom Middendorp, former chief of defense of the Netherlands who now heads the International Military Council on Climate and Security.The core of the EU’s effort to help Ukraine militarily is the off-budget European Peace Fund (EPF) — which has €1 billion to partly reimburse member countries for ammunition and missiles sent to Kyiv from their stockpiles, and another €1 billion for EU countries to jointly buy ammunition. The bloc sent 220,000 rounds of ammunition in May as well as 1,300 missiles,&nb...

‘Some crimes defy understanding’: Morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, others charged for selling stolen body parts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

Several people, including the morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, are facing federal charges for the sale and transportation of stolen body parts, according to officials.An indictment filed in the United States District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania described how at least four people are facing federal charges after authorities say they took part in the sale of body parts stolen from cadavers donated to HMS. Court paperwork identified Cedric Lodge, 55, as the manager of the medical school’s morgue and detailed how, since 2018, he and the three other defendants, listed as Denise Lodge, 63, Katrina Maclean, 44, and Joshua Taylor, 46, worked to move, sell or purchase the body parts.“CEDRIC LODGE was employed as Morgue Manager at Harvard Medical School and, as such, had access to the morgue and the donated cadavers stored in the morgue,” the indictment stated. “At times, CEDRIC LODGE stole dissected portions of donated cadavers… without the knowledg...

No injuries after bucket truck tips over in Concord, Mass.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

No injuries were reported after a bucket truck fell on its side in Concord, Mass., according to officials.Old Road to 9 Acre Corner was closed off to traffic as police and firefighters responded to the scene of the tip over just before 10 a.m., according to the Concord Police Department.Officials at the scene said the operator was reportedly able to get out of the wreckage and appeared to be uninjured.As of noontime, authorities had not yet determined how the vehicle ended up on its side, especially since the truck’s crane was apparently not extended at the time.

Fed keeps rates unchanged for first time in 15 months but signals 2 more potential hikes this year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:35 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday after having raised it 10 straight times to combat high inflation. But in a surprise move, the Fed signaled that it may raise rates twice more this year, beginning as soon as next month. The Fed’s move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years, suggests that it believes the much higher borrowing rates it’s engineered have made some progress in taming inflation. But top Fed officials want to take time to more fully assess how their rate hikes have affected inflation and the economy. “Holding the target rate steady at this meeting allows the committee to assess additional information and its implications” for the Fed’s policies, the central bank said in a statement. The central bank’s 18 policymakers envision raising their key rate by an additional half-point this year, to about 5.6%, a...