BERLIN, 19 December 2022, (TON): The German army’s military equipment problems and technical issues may impede the fulfillment of the country’s NATO obligations, newsweekly Der Spiegel reported.

The Bundeswehr’s Puma armored vehicles suffered technical problems during a recent military exercise, leaving 18 of them currently inoperable, according to the report.

These armored vehicles of the 10th Panzer Division were planned to be deployed to the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force next month.

German Chief of Defense Gen. Eberhard Zorn acknowledged the military equipment problems, but promised that the German army will take necessary measures to meet its commitments to NATO.

QAMISHLI, 19 December 2022, (TON): Baran Ramadan Mesko had been hiding with other migrants for weeks in the coastal Algerian city of Oran, awaiting a chance to take a boat across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

Days before the 38-year-old Syrian Kurd was to begin the journey, he received news that a smuggler boat carrying some of his friends had sunk soon after leaving the Algerian coast. Most of its passengers had drowned.

It came as a shock, after spending weeks to get to Algeria from Syria and then waiting for a month for a smuggler to put him on the boat.

But having poured thousands of dollars into the journey, and with his wife and 4- and 3-year-old daughters counting on him to secure a life safe from conflict, the engineer-turned-citizen journalist boarded a small fishing boat with a dozen other men and took a group selfie to send to their families before they went offline.

RIYADH, 19 December 2022, (TON): the Saudi Press Agency reported “Saudi Arabia has condemned a terrorist attack which targeted Iraqi security forces in Kirkuk.”

The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack that killed nine federal officers.

The ministry of foreign affairs affirmed Saudi Arabia’s rejection of all forms of violence and terrorist activities and reiterated the Kingdom’s support for eliminating terrorism and extremism in all its forms and dismantling its funding, said a statement.

The ministry expressed sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

TIMBUKTU, 18 December 2022, (TON): Two peacekeepers in Mali were killed and four others wounded in an attack on Friday, the UN mission said, in the latest blow to the international operation.

Unidentified assailants opened fire on the police patrol in Timbuktu, according to the UN mission, known as MINUSMA.

MINUSMA statement said “the attack left two Peacekeepers’ dead, including a woman. Four other peacekeepers were injured, one of them seriously.”

Statement said “they are currently receiving appropriate care at the MINUSMA military hospital in Timbuktu.”

AMMAN, 18 December 2022, (TON): The country’s security agency said “Jordan has arrested dozens of people accused of involvement in protests against rising fuel prices in which a senior police officer was gunned down.”

Col. Abdul Razzaq Dalabeh, the deputy police chief of Maan province, died of a gunshot to the head in the town of Al-Husseiniya while confronting what the authorities called riots.

Public Security Directorate said in a statement “forty-four people who participated in the riots in a number of regions in the kingdom have been arrested and they will be brought before courts.”

It said reinforcements had been sent to the provinces, and accused “vandals and outlaws” of being behind violence in Maan, in the country’s south.

BERLIN, 18 December 2022, (TON): A U.S. company that helped build a huge aquarium in Berlin says it is sending a team to investigate the rupture of the tank, which sent a wave of debris, water and tropical fish crashing through the hotel lobby it was located in and onto the street outside.

Reynolds Polymer Technology, which says it manufactured and installed the cylinder component of the AquaDom tank 20 years ago, said in an emailed statement that “at this point, it is too early to determine he factor or factors that would produce such a failure.”

Police have said “they found no evidence of a malicious act but the cause of the spectacular collapse shortly before 6 a.m., in which two people were slightly injured, remains unclear. Berlin’s top security official, Iris Spranger, told German news agency dpa on Friday that “first indications point to material fatigue.”

CAIRO, 18 December 2022, (TON): Egypt has confirmed plans to use biogas technology to meet its energy needs.

Biogas is a renewable energy source that uses gases produced from raw materials including agricultural and municipal waste. It is already used in hundreds of places around the world.

Karima Hussein, an official at the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, told media “after the end of the climate summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh in November, the state took up the waste-disposal issue, which is closely related to climate change.”

After many successful experiments, implementation was proposed by the ministry.

KYIV, 18 December 2022, (TON): Ukraine was working to restore electricity to hospitals, heating systems and other critical infrastructure in major cities after Russia’s latest wave of attacks on the power grid prompted accusations of war crimes.

The volley of missiles unleashed Friday pitched multiple cities into darkness, cutting water and heat and forcing people to endure below-freezing temperatures.

In the capital, where the mayor said only a third of residents had heat or water, people wrapped in winter coats crammed into underground metro stations after air raid sirens rang out in the morning.

KYIV, 18 December 2022, (TON): Ukraine worked to restore electricity and water supplies after Russia’s latest wave of attacks pitched multiple cities into darkness and forced people to endure sub-zero temperatures without heating or running water.

The volley of missiles unleashed Friday came as President Vladimir Putin held extensive meetings with the military top brass overseeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up bombardments.

In the capital Kyiv, the metro had stopped running so that people wrapped in winter coats could take shelter at underground stations after air raid sirens rang out.

RIYADH, 18 December 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported early “Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins after a new government was approved by lawmakers this week.”

The king and crown prince sent cables to the prime minister, wishing success and prosperity for Latvia and its people.

A majority in Latvia’s parliament on Wednesday voted to confirm the country’s proposed coalition government, allowing Karins to stay in power following his win in the October general election.