BRUSSELS (Euro News) - Germany is hosting NATO’s biggest ever air exercise over Europe next week with 250 planes from member countries simulating the alliance’s response to an attack on Europe. The exercise could cause some disruption to civilian flight schedules and create extra noise. Germany is preparing to host the biggest air deployment exercise in NATO’s history, a show of force intended to impress allies and potential adversaries such as Russia, German and American officials said Wednesday. The Air Defender 23 exercise starting next week will see 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 nations respond to a simulated attack on a NATO member country. The United States alone is sending 2,000 U.S. Air National Guard personnel and about 100 aircraft to take part in the June 12-23 training maneuvers. 

 

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MOSCOW (RT) - Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has warned that the vast quantities of foreign arms sent to Ukraine could ignite chaos elsewhere in the world after the conflict with Russia ends, voicing fears of new crises in “unstable regions.” Delivering the keynote address at the Budapest Peace Forum, Szijjarto outlined the government’s stance toward the ongoing conflict, saying it will have broader consequences beyond Ukraine’s borders. “There are many regions of the world where even a small part of the weapons sent to Ukraine could lead to serious instability. Violence and terror may increase in the already unstable regions, which could lead to another wave of migration,” he said. “What guarantee is there that the weapons delivered to Ukraine will not be transferred to other countries?”

 

 

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The Hague (DW) - A UN court based in the Hague said Felicien Kabuga was unfit for trial, and called for an alternative legal procedure that does not involve conviction. He was arrested in Paris in 2020. The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, based in The Hague, has declared that Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga, is unfit for trial. Judges at the UN court have instead called for an “alternative” legal procedure. “Mr Felicien Kabuga is unfit to participate meaningfully in his trial and is very unlikely to regain fitness in the future,” the judges said in a statement. The UN judges were looking to “adopt an alternative finding procedure that resembles a trial as closely as possible, but without the possibility of a conviction.” Kabuga is in his late 80s, although his exact age is disputed. The coffee and tea tycoon is one of the few remaining Rwandan genocide suspects awaiting justice, as 62 individuals have already been convicted by the tribunal.

 

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BERLIN (AP) — Six people have been arrested in Romania, Germany and Bulgaria in raids targeting a network alleged to have smuggled hundreds of migrants into Romania and Germany, authorities said Wednesday  Fifteen properties were searched, 11 of them in Romania, German federal police said in a statement. Four of the arrests were made in searches of accommodation in Romania used to house migrants. Three cars were seized, along with cellphones, cash and other evidence. There was one arrest apiece in Germany and Bulgaria. The suspects are accused of smuggling more than 560 people into Germany and more than 300 into Romania, according to German police.

 

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A group of climate activists claimed responsibility on Wednesday for deflating the tires of sport utility vehicles in Denmark’s capital. More than 100 vehicles were vandalized, police said. The Tyre Extinguishers said on its website that “we are defending ourselves against climate change, air pollution and unsafe drivers.” The group has been active in other countries. Copenhagen police appealed for witnesses to come forward, saying “we are investigating the vandalism and would like to hear from citizens who have seen something” late Tuesday or early Wednesday.