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Europe
Hungary
(Monday), September 16, 2024 09:58 Hungary expects near-record water levels as flooding slams Central Europe. Hundreds of specialists and soldiers prepare defenses. The National Technical Steering Group of Water Affairs coordinate flood protection works in the country. More than 500 of its employees set off and are constantly arriving in the area of the North-Transdanubian and West-Transdanubian Water Directorates, which are most at risk of flooding, to help their colleagues who serve on the state defense lines. In the next six days, there is a prospect of water levels exceeding the third level in the Danube up to Adony, and in several places exceeding the level of preparedness for the first and second level of flood protection. The specialists of the National Water Warning Service currently believe that the water level in the section up to Budapest and in the capital will be about 40 centimeters lower than during the 2013 flooding peaks. Since it is still raining in the catchment areas of the Traun, the Enns, and the Vienna basin, this data will still need to be clarified, the spokesperson of the OVF, Siklós said.The most serious situation can be expected along the Szigetköz and Lajta, she added. A near-record amount of water will arrive with the flood in Szigetköz - the tidal wave on the Danube first reaches Hungary there, where more than 500 specialists of the National Directorate General of Water (OVF) are already present. In addition, the Tisza water affairs staff are also on hand to help as needed and the redeployment of forces and rescue workers is ongoing, including flooding and water management experts from the western Transdanubian who were defending themselves along the Rába and the Mura 24 hours ago. Preparations are also ongoing at the local governments, where the water technical managers are there, as well as the disaster prevention specialists. There are also state defense lines on the Danube for about a thousand kilometers, where the water experts can use the help of the soldiers for the work if necessary. Siklós indicated that “those who want to participate in flood defense can apply to the mayors”, who coordinate the defense of those self-defending settlements where the help of volunteers is needed. At Lajta, experts expect the peak flooding to approach the highest values ever measured. In defense of Mosonmagyaróvár, preparations are also underway for the opening of the Lajta reservoir. At Rába and Mura, peaks will also reach significantly high levels. In Budapest, the water can reach the lower quay, which lines the Danube, on tomorrow. On Sunday, Viktor Orbán inspected the water level of the Danube on the Római-part in Budapest. Experts are confident they can fight the crisis because the flood level will not be higher than the highest so far, so they will be able to cope with it. Mayor Karácsony wrote that the Budapest section of the Danube is also on level three flood protection alert, the Buda and Pest lower quays will be closed from 8 p.m. today. He indicated that the new protection facilities built after the great flood of 2013 in several flood protection sections are being tested live for the first time. Due to the rapid rise in the water level and the strong flow of the river, the mayor asks everyone who goes near the Danube to be extra careful in the coming days. Dömötör, a Hungarian lawmaker and former minister in the prime minister’s office, indicated that the Hungarian Defense Forces is providing 17,000 people, vehicles, and helicopters for flood protection. Hungarian Minister of the Interior Pintér visited Győr, where he reported that his ministry is properly organizing the defense on the Danube and Lajta. “The government has authorized the Ministry of the Interior to organize flood protection,” he said, adding that they will prevent the water from breaking through the dams of the Danube and Lajta. According to the forecasts, the water level of the Danube and the Lajta will reach a height similar to or higher than the flood of 2013, so special protection is needed on the two rivers, he said. (Source: rmx.news *)
* Remix, a Hungarian online news site. Provides news in English on Central Europe
France
16/09/2024 - 08:33 ’EU to name new defence tsar - but is the job a dud?” European Commission President von der Leyen has promised to name a new, designated defence commissioner as a key part of her new top team, ’to boost Europe's efforts to rearm’. What would it actually mean in practice? There are now major doubts over how much power it will actually have. During von der Leyen's first five years at the helm, the defence industry was overseen by powerful French commissioner Breton as part of his wide-ranging mandate. Now the defence brief is expected to be spun off to a dedicated new commissioner - with Breton promoted to a more senior role overseeing industrial growth across the bloc. Heavyweight EU member states no longer seem so keen to snaffle up the role, set to be unveiled as part of the bloc's new line-up in the coming days. The new defence commissioner is not a sort of EU defence minister - the 27-nation bloc has no army of its own and is not planning to set up one any time soon. Instead the main focus will be overseeing efforts to try to bolster the continent's defence sector. Since Moscow's all-out invasion, the EU has yet to come up with the major sums needed to match its ambitions on defence. Countries jealously guard their defence industries and have been reluctant to cede more control in the sector to Brussels. While von der Leyen has estimated that the bloc will need to invest 500 billion euros ($550 billion) overall on defence over the next decade - the figures on the table at an EU level are far below that. Convincing member states to spend chunks of their tightly guarded budgets on EU efforts will be a tough ask - as will getting them to open up their national producers to competition. And unless the new commissioner has considerable funds to play with, their job risks lacking firepower - defence budget of 100 billion would obviously have a bigger impact than a budget of 10 billion. Von der Leyen could fold in other responsibilities, the new EU defence commissioner could take over broader security responsibilities to increase the heft of the new job: cyber security, protecting critical infrastructure, space, or efforts to boost the ability to transport troops from one part of Europe to another. Breton will likely be looming from one side and on the other ’will be’ new foreign policy chief Kallas, whose role involves overseeing the bloc's security policy. Diplomats say the questions swirling over the new job have seen EU powerhouses such as France and Poland switch their priorities to obtaining other positions - with defence now a fall-back option. (Source: france24 / AFP)
European Parliament
(Monday), 16/09/2024 10:13 A four-day sitting of the European Parliament kicks off today, with Commission President von der Leyen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the headlining acts. But question marks hang over the appearance of both leaders. Von der Leyen's line-up of new Commissioners risks unravelling at the last minute. Major flooding in central Europe could dissuade the Hungarian premier from travelling to Strasbourg. Von der Leyen has been convened to unveil her 26-strong team of nominated European Commissioners - and the policy portfolios she will ask them to steer - during a meeting with the parliament’s president and political leaders tomorrow morning. But today, Breton - the French European Commissioner who had been nominated for another term - abruptly resigned from his post and pulled out from the race, accusing von der Leyen of personally lobbying France to withdraw his candidature 'You asked France to withdraw my name - for personal reasons that you have in no instance discussed directly with me - and offered, as a political trade-off, an allegedly more influential portfolio for France in the future College,' Breton's resignation letter, shared on X, reads. Orbán will address the Strasbourg plenary on Wednesday in a routine speech part of Hungary’s six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. On Tuesday, MEPs will debate the Hungarian decision to open up its “National Card” worker visa scheme to Russian and Belarusian nationals, 'paving the way towards permanent residency". The EU executive has asked for clarifications in a letter to Budapest. The Hungarian government has responded to that letter. Migration policy: Budapest ’threatened’ to bus irregular migrants from the Hungarian-Serbian border to Brussels - a direct retaliation for a €200-million lump-sum fine imposed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in June. Orbán claims the EU owes his government money for failing to cover the €2 billion it has spent on “protecting the EU’s external borders.” (Source: euronews)
Russia
Mon 16 September 2024 at 6:19 pm CEST President Putin has ordered the regular size of the Russian army to increase by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million soldiers. In a decree published on the Kremlin’s website, Mr Putin ordered the overall size of the armed forces to be increased to 2.38 million people, of which he said 1.5 million should be active servicemen and women. Since 2022 Mr Putin had previously ordered two official increases in the number of combat troops – by 137,000 and 170,000 respectively. Russia mobilised over 300,000 soldiers in September and October 2022 in an exercise. The Kremlin has said that no new mobilisation is planned for now. The idea is to continue to rely on volunteers signing up to fight in Ukraine on lucrative contracts. The new order came as overnight Ukraine’s air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones in the Kyiv region. Air defence units destroyed nearly 20 drones that were heading towards Kyiv, the Ukrainian military said. Meanwhile Russian troops continue to advance on Pokrovsk, a key city in eastern Ukraine. In Russia’s Kursk region – where Ukraine launched an audacious cross-border incursion on 6 August – Russia’s Defence Ministry said its troops had retaken the settlements of Uspenovka and Borki from Kyiv’s control. Kursk’s governor Smirnov also said Russians had been ordered to evacuate the region within 15km of the Ukrainian border today. (Source: uknews.yahoo / Independent)
Europe
Monday 16 September 2024 20:12, UK At least 16 people have died after heavy flooding across eastern and central Europe. Over the weekend heavy rain and surging water levels forced evacuations, collapsed bridges and damaged houses and cars in central Europe. The floods have claimed one life in Austria. In the Czech Republic at least three people had died, while seven others were missing. Receding waters in mountainous areas today left behind destroyed homes, bridges and roads. Several towns and cities were submerged on Sunday in the northeast, where thousands were forced to evacuate. Czech authorities have declared a state of emergency in two northeastern regions which have seen the worst of the flooding. Today a broken barrier in the northeastern city of Ostrava led to hundreds more being evacuated. The number of flood victims in southwestern Poland rose to five after the body of a surgeon returning from hospital duty was found in the town of Nysa today morning. Earlier the bodies of two women and two men were found in the region. Today afternoon the mayor of the Polish town of Nysa, which has a population of around 40,000, called on residents to evacuate immediately after a nearby floodbank was damaged. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a state of natural disaster in the flooded areas, in order to facilitate evacuation and rescue operations and expedite financial support for the victims. Many Polish cities have called for food donations for those in the flooded areas. Experts are warning of a further flood threat in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, and the city of Wroclaw, where 640,000 people live and where flooding was expected on Wednesday. The floods have already claimed seven lives in Romania. Flooding is predicted to impact Slovakia and Hungary next, as a low-pressure system from northern Italy has dumped record rainfall in the region since Thursday. People in Slovakia's capital Bratislava and the Hungarian capital Budapest were both preparing for possible flooding as the River Danube rose. The mayor of Budapest has warned residents the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital during the week. (Source: news.sky )
North America
United States
Sep 16th, 2024, 11:47 am Former President Trump directly blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris for a gunman targeting him at his West Palm Beach golf club yesterday – the second assassination attempt since the near-deadly July shooting in Pennsylvania. “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said, claiming, “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country - both from the inside and out,” Trump today morning claimed. He pointed to Biden and Harris’ past comments casting Trump as a 'threat to democracy,” while telling Americans they are "unity' leaders. “These are people that want to destroy our country.” „They are the real threat,” Trump added, appearing to use the exact same kind of language he claims the Democrats are using that inspired the shootings. 'They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in. These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to - that is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one,' Trump said. 'They use highly inflammatory language,' Trump later added. 'I can use it too - far better than they can - but I don’t.” (Source: mediaite *)
* an American news website focusing on politics
September 16, 2024 9:03 AM A gunman attempted to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Trump on Sunday (Sept 15) at Trump's golf course in Palm Beach. The suspect is Routh, 58, of Hawaii. On X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, three accounts bearing Routh's name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia. The New York Times had interviewed Routh in 2023 for an article about Americans who were volunteering to help the Ukraine war effort. Routh told the Times he'd traveled to Ukraine and spent several months there in 2022 and was trying to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight in Ukraine. On X in 2020, Routh expressed support for Democratic US presidential candidate Sanders and mocked Biden as "sleepy Joe”. (Source: asiaone *)
* Headquartered Singapore
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