Germany has summoned China’s ambassador to protest after a Chinese warship used a laser against a German surveillance aircraft operating in the Red Sea, Berlin said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred earlier this month during an EU maritime security mission known as Aspides, which is aimed at protecting civilian shipping from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Germany’s Defence Ministry said the aircraft was targeted “without any reason or prior contact” while on patrol.
A spokesperson for the ministry said the laser posed a risk to personnel and equipment, prompting the mission to be aborted as a precaution. The aircraft landed safely at a base in Djibouti and has since resumed operations.
The German Foreign Office described the incident as “entirely unacceptable”, adding in a post on X that it endangered German personnel and disrupted a lawful international mission.
The Chinese government has not publicly commented on the incident.
The EU’s Aspides mission is focused solely on the defence of civilian vessels and does not engage in offensive military operations. The Red Sea has become a flashpoint due to repeated attacks by Houthi rebels, who continue to target shipping lanes in the region.
On Tuesday, Yemeni Houthi forces targeted a Liberian-flagged cargo vessel, days after claiming to have sunk another commercial ship, raising fears of further escalation in one of the world’s most critical maritime routes.
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Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, has resigned months after a $102 million daylight heist at the museum, which prompted a parliamentary inquiry.
Ukraine signalled its readiness for fast-track European Union membership in Kyiv on Tuesday (24 February), as European leaders pledged continued political and financial backing and insisted Russia would gain nothing at the negotiating table.
Four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war can be measured not only in lives and territory, but in money. In Part One, the war’s cost was measured in casualties and kilometres. In Part Two, it is measured in billions of dollars.
The Taliban in Kabul has rejected Russian claims that more than 23,000 militants from around 20 international terror groups are currently operating within Afghanistan.
Italy said a fond farewell to the Winter Olympics on Sunday with an open-air ceremony in the ancient Verona Arena that celebrated art and sporting achievement at a Games lauded as a model for how to stage such events.
The United States and Iran will hold a new round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva on Thursday as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to reach a potential agreement, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Sunday.
Further Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday (26 February) as diplomacy resumes over Tehran’s nuclear programme following earlier mediation efforts. But will the talks move Iran-U.S. negotiations closer to a deal, and what should be expected from the meeting?
The European Parliament’s trade chief has urged a temporary suspension of the EU–U.S. trade agreement approval, citing “tariff chaos” following President Donald Trump’s new 15% tariffs and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating his previous global tariff programme.
Syria has secured a $50 million financing package from the World Bank to support transport infrastructure projects as the country advances its economic recovery efforts, Syrian media reported on Sunday.
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, has resigned months after a $102 million daylight heist at the museum, which prompted a parliamentary inquiry.
Twenty-two people have died and hundreds have been displaced in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state on Tuesday (24 February) after relentless, record-breaking rainfall triggered landslides and flash floods.
The military spokesperson for the M23 rebel movement, Willy Ngoma, was killed in an army drone strike in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Tuesday (24 February), according to a regional diplomat, a senior rebel figure and a Western adviser to the government.
Ukraine signalled its readiness for fast-track European Union membership in Kyiv on Tuesday (24 February), as European leaders pledged continued political and financial backing and insisted Russia would gain nothing at the negotiating table.
U.S. military forces have seized a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from Caribbean waters, the Pentagon said on Tuesday (24 February), adding that it was the third such operation.
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