DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
WWII resistance fighter who thwarted Nazi nuclear plan dies A Norwegian man who led a daring raid to sabotage Nazi Germanyʼs nuclear weapon ambitions has died at the age of 99. The story of the World War II operation has been retold in books, TV series and a Hollywood film. Joachim Ronneberg, hailed as a war hero for carrying out a major attack against the Nazis in his native Norway, died Sunday at the age of 99. As a young soldier in 1943, he was chosen to head Operation Gunnerside, which destroyed part of the Norsk Hydro plant and put a stop to Germanyʼs nuclear weapons program. "Ronneberg is probably the last of the best known resistance fighters to pass away," Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg told the NTB news agency. "He is one of our great heroes." Born in 1919 in the town of Aalesund, Ronneberg fled Norway after German forces invaded in 1940, and ended up training with the Norwegian resistance in Britain. He returned to his occupied homeland in February 1943 to lead a six-man team in a major assault on the Norsk Hydro facility in the countryʼs south.
Ethiopia signs peace deal with rebel group in oil-rich region After being previously dubbed a "terrorist group," the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) signed a peace deal with Ethiopiaʼs government, officials announced on Monday. The agreement brings an end to a 34-year insurgency in eastern Ethiopiaʼs Somali Region State, also known as Ogaden. The ONLF has been fighting for the rights of ethnic Somalis living in the eastern state since 1984, including proposing secession. "The Ethiopian government and ONLF delegations held productive discussions and reached a historic deal that allows the ONLF to undertake a peaceful political struggle in Ethiopia," Ethiopiaʼs foreign ministry said.
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Britainʼs May says divorce deal with EU almost done The bad news? The Irish border belongs in the unsolved 5 percent
British Prime Minister Theresa May has told parliamentarians that 95 percent of a Brexit deal has been agreed with the EU. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday used a speech to Parliament to try and reassure lawmakers that an agreement on Britainʼs withdrawal from the European Union was almost complete, amid growing rebellion against her plans for Britainʼs future relationship with the bloc. She told Parliament that in the past three weeks agreement had been reached on everything from the status of theBritish Overseas Territory of Gibraltaron the European mainland and security cooperation with the EU. "The shape of the deal across the vast majority of the Withdrawal Agreement is now clear," she said. "Taking all of this together, 95 percent of the Withdrawal Agreement and its protocols are now settled," she added. However, May said there was "one real sticking point left": that of avoiding a return to a "hard" Irish border. The issue of the border between Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, an EU member, remains a major stumbling blockin negotiations over Britainʼs withdrawal from the bloc. Both sides are anxious to keep the border open, as this was a key part of
a 1998 peace deal that ended decades of sectarian bloodshed on the island of Ireland. As May said in her speech, she rejects the EU proposal for Northern Ireland to remain in a customs union with the bloc, as that could make trade with the rest of Britain more difficult, something that is opposed by the Pro-Brexit Northern Irish party DUP that has propped up her minority Conservative government. The prime minister told the Commons that her government wouldnʼt accept such a status "indefinitely." But May also sought to stress that this "backstop" issue was only supposed to be a contingency plan for both Brussels and Britain, and that neither side hoped for it to be needed. However, her own proposal tokeep all of Britain in the customs union beyond the current proposed end date of December 2020 has angered Conservative euroskeptics, who fear that such a deal will make Britain a "vassal state" of the EU indefinitely. Although May called any extension "undesirable," she said there were some circumstances in which it could be "desirable."
What is the INF nuclear treaty? The "Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the elimination of their Intermediate-range and shorterrange missiles," also known as "the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty," or "INF Treaty" sought to destroy both countriesʼ ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (300 to 3,400 miles), their launchers and associated support structures and support equipment. It led to the destruction of almost 2,700 missiles and their launchers by the June 1, 1991 deadline stipulated in the treaty. The INF treaty was the first US-Soviet agreement aimed at reducing the superpowersʼ nuclear arsenal and allow onsite inspections to verify the destruction of the missiles. It remained in force after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
John Bolton starts talks with Russia over nuclear treaty US National Security Adviser John Bolton has arrived in Moscow for what promises to be two days of hightension talks with senior Kremlin officials. The visit comes after President Donald Trump announced his intention towithdraw from a landmark nuclear weapons treaty. What did Trump say? The United States will withdraw from the Cold War-era ʼIntermediateRange Nuclear Forces Treatyʼ (INF) with Russia.Trump accused Russia of "violating the terms of the treaty" without giving any further details. The US would go ahead and develop nuclear weapons unless Russia and China signed up to a fresh agreement.
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