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Nato, EU aim to bolster drone defences

Mexican authorities discover 60 bodies MEXICO CITY: The state

relation to the case. Violence has increased in Sonora due to clashes between criminal groups fighting for control of routes for drug and migrant trafficking to the United States. – Reuters

“Identification has been achieved through scientific evidence for each and every one of the victims, who have already been released to their families,“ it said, adding that at least five people have been arrested in

In a statement, it said the bodies found in January and February in the state capital Hermosillo belonged to people kidnapped in a wave of “score settling” between criminal organisations operating in the area.

prosecutor’s office on Wednesday said the bodies of 60 men were found earlier this year in a rural area of the northern Mexican state of Sonora, which borders Arizona.

BRUSSELS: Nato and the EU on Wednesday sought ways to boost anti-drone defences, as Europe scrambles to counter the threat from Russia after a series of air incursions. High-profile incidents in Poland and Estonia have set off a flurry of activity from European officials to plug gaps in the continent’s defences. Nato has launched a new mission and beefed up forces on its eastern border, but it is playing catch-up as it tries to tap Ukraine’s experience and get to grips with the drone threat from Moscow. Alliance head Mark Rutte said Nato was now “testing integrated systems that would help us detect, track and neutralise aerial threats” for use on its eastern flank. The push from the military alliance comes as the EU is itself debating a“drone wall” to address the menace. The EU was presenting a roadmap to ministers on Wednesday and hopes to get approval next week. “We are not doubling the work that Nato is doing. Actually, we are complementing each other,“ said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. The drone initiative is one of several flagship EU projects aiming to prepare the bloc for a potential attack. The initial focus of the drone proposal was on bolstering the EU’s eastern border states, but it has since been broadened. “It is clear for every member state that the drones could come from anywhere,“ Kallas said. While Nato looks to address potential threats to the alliance, it also seeks to bolster Ukraine’s current fight against Russia. – AFP US plane makes emergency landing WASHINGTON: A plane carrying US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was forced to make an emergency landing in Britain on Wednesday due to a crack in the aircraft’s windshield. A spokesperson said Hegseth was returning to the United States from a Nato defence ministers meeting in Brussels when his plane made the unscheduled landing at an unnamed airport in Britain. “The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe,“ Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on social media. “All good. Thank God. Continue mission!” Hegseth posted in reply. – AFP

Trump greenlights CIA operations in Venezuela

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The New York Times first reported the classified directive, citing US officials familiar with the decision, saying the Trump administration’s Venezuela strategy aims to remove Maduro from power. The administration has offered US$50 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction on drug

o Decision based on US-Venezuelan migration, drug trafficking activities

Badenoch earlier told parliament: “This all stinks of a cover-up”. Starmer’s office said he was told the case was in danger of collapsing a couple of days before it happened but that it would have been inappropriate to intervene. A Conservative Party spokesperson responded to the release of the documents, saying: “What has been published shows the extent of the threat that China poses to the UK, and makes it all the more shocking that the prime minister knew of the imminent collapse of this trial, but did nothing to stop it.”– Reuters shipments at sea, and that additional efforts were now focused on overland routes. “We are looking at land now, because we have got the sea very well under control.” Historically, the agency’s involvement in such operations has varied widely from direct paramilitary engagement to intelligence gathering and support roles, with little to no physical footprint. The CIA has a long history of operations in Latin America, particularly during the Cold War, and helped topple South America’s cocaine trafficking empires at the end of the 20th century. The Venezuelan government said Trump’s remarks constituted a violation of international law, adding that US actions were aimed at legitimising a “regime change” operation with the goal of seizing the country’s oil resources. “Our Permanent Mission to the UN will raise this complaint with the Security Council and the secretary-general tomorrow, demanding accountability from the United States government,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement on social media. Trump has repeatedly accused Venezuela of being a hub for trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl, but records have shown that Mexico is the main source of the narcotic. Trump was asked by a reporter why he did not have the Coast Guard stop suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been US practice for decades. Trump called such efforts “politically correct”, adding that they had not worked. – Reuters

trafficking charges. The Times reported that the new authority would allow the CIA to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean. When asked why he authorised the CIA to operate in Venezuela, Trump told reporters his reasons were migration of Venezuelans to the United States and drug trafficking. “I authorised it for two reasons

really. Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. They came in because we had an open border. And the other thing are drugs,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. Trump has not provided evidence for his claim that Venezuela is sending former prisoners to the US. He added that the US has made progress intercepting drug

SILT SLOG ... A woman trudges over mud and debris following floods in Poza Rica, Mexico. – REUTERSPIC

British prime minister publishes China spy case evidence LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday published a senior official’s evidence in the prosecution of two men charged with spying for China, seeking to demonstrate that the case did not collapse because of government manipulation. evidence showing that the UK considered China a threat to national security, but the government had not provided it after months of requests. accusations from the UK’s economic security”. A statement dated Aug 4 contained a section on the government’s assessment of the threat from China, including details of what he called the “active espionage threat that China posed to the UK”.

opposition parties that the government was responsible because it did not want to jeopardise ties with China. Seeking to draw a line under the issue on Wednesday, Starmer published witness statements by Britain National Security Deputy Adviser Matthew Collins, which the prime minister said were made without involvement from ministers or political advisers. In a document dated Feb 21, Collins said: “China and the UK both benefit from bilateral trade and investment, but China also presents the biggest state-based threat to

While the newly published documents detailed Chinese malign activity, they did not unequivocally state that China posed a threat to UK national security. Starmer had earlier said the fault lay with the previous Conservative administration, which was in power when the men were charged and which had only described Beijing as an “epoch-defining challenge”. The trial’s collapse has led to

In an unexpected move last month, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped charges against two British men who had denied passing politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent. The CPS said the case was dropped because it needed

A subsequent section in that document added: “It is important for me to emphasise, however, that the UK government is committed to pursuing a positive relationship with China to strengthen understanding, cooperation and stability”. Conservative Party leader Kemi