Gloria Blog

Germany will send armoured transport vehicles to Ukraine, but not battle tanks, as the wrangling over its military contributions continues. The country's defence ministry said its latest consignment would include two more Mars II rocket launchers and 50 Dingo armoured transport vehicles. Germany is also sending 200 missiles, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said. Soviet-made BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles will “very quickly” head to Ukraine, from Greece, as a deal with Berlin to replenish Athens' stocks with the more modern Marder armoured vehicles is close, Ms Lambrecht said. Ukraine has repeatedly asked for the German-made Marders and Leopard tanks. But neither is included in the list of the latest armaments pledged by Germany. Berlin has argued that it will not “go it alone” on weapons deliveries, and Ms Lambrecht has pointed out that no other ally has transferred western-made battle tanks to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been under pressure in recent days to sup...

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Friday for their first face-to-face discussion. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) summit in former Soviet state Uzbekistan. Mr Xi will meet Mr Raisi in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Chinese broadcaster CCTV said. The Chinese leader will also meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the meeting, the outlet said. China is one of the key members of the multilateral dialogue — alongside France, Germany, Britain, Russia and the US — that is trying to revive Iran's troubled 2015 nuclear deal. Iran, one of the SCO's four observer states, applied for full membership in 2008 but its bid was affected by UN and US sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme. Mr Raisi said on Wednesday that Iran still intends to pursue membership of the SCO. However, several members do not want a country under international sanctions in their rank...

McDonald's has announced that it plans to reopen restaurants in Ukraine, having closed them in March amid the conflict with Russia. The US fast-food company said that after extensive consultation with Ukrainian officials, suppliers and security specialists, and in consideration of employees’ request to return to work, it had decided to institute a phased plan to reopen some restaurants in Kyiv and western Ukraine, where other businesses have safely reopened. The company has continued to pay the salaries of more than 10,000 employees, and said that the reopening would "support a small but important sense" of normality. "And Ukrainian officials have advised that businesses resuming operations will support the local economy and the Ukrainian people," it said. McDonald's had 109 restaurants in Ukraine, but has not confirmed how many will reopen. It pulled out of Russia in May, after closing all 850 outlets in protest against the war in Ukraine. ​ READ MORE  : ht...

Afghanistan is the world's most dangerous country for the fifth consecutive year, but it is Ukraine which has recorded the largest deterioration in the Global Peace Index 2022. Since Russian troops invaded the Eastern European country in February, it has fallen 17 places, to 153, in terms of its peacefulness. Russia has also taken a hit, falling five places to 160 out of 163 countries. Both nations received a "very low" rating in the annual report. Iceland was ranked number one, a position it has held since the inception of the index in 2008. The five countries with the largest deteriorations were Ukraine, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Russia and Haiti, while the five countries that improved the most were Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Algeria. Europe is the most peaceful region in the world, where seven of the ten safest countries are located. Eight countries that appeared among the highest rankings in last year’s report remained among the top 10 again this year...