Europe

    Russia just issued a serious challenge to the US with a deployment of treaty-violating nuclear-capable cruise missiles that could pose a serious threat to Western Europe, The New York Times reports. The missiles violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or the INF, because they have a range of between 620 and 3,420 miles and fire from ground-based launchers, enabling Russia to hit European capitals from their homeland. Jeffrey Lewis, founding publisher of Arms Control Wonk, told Business Insider in an interview that the missiles in question were likely 9m729s, a ground-based adaptation of Russia's Kalibr missiles that famously debuted by striking targets in Syria 1000 miles away from the Caspian sea. "We knew it was coming for a long time," said Lewis of the tr...

    Donald Trump has told Vladimir Putin he does not want to renew a 2010 arms control treaty that limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons the US and Russia can deploy. Trump angrily denounced the New Start Treaty in a 28 January phone call to the Russian leader, according to sources briefed on the call. Reuters, which first reported Trump’s remarks, said the new US president also had to pause the hour long call to ask what the New Start Treaty was. The White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, confirmed that the call was paused but said it was because the president wanted to solicit the views of his aides. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what was being said, Spicer said. He wanted an opinion on something. He did not give any further details, describing the hour-long conversati...

    Eiffel Tower security to be intensified with the addition of a bullet-proof wall Four people including a 16-year-old girl have been arrested on suspicion of planning a suicide attack in Paris. According to French media, the four were arrested in Montpellier in the south of the country. They were allegedly planning to detonate an explosive belt in a tourist area of Paris. Computer equipment and explosive substances were allegedly also discovered at the suspects' homes.

    Russia's air force has been ordered to prepare for a time of war. President Vladimir Putin has ordered a snap check of the country's armed forces, according to defense minister Sergey Shoigu. As well as checking whether agencies and troops are ready for battle, the same order will ensure that systems are ready to fight, according to state news agency TASS. Those preparations have already begun, according to Russian ministers. Putin says prepare for time of war In accordance with the decision by the Armed Forces Supreme Commander, a snap check of the Aerospace Forces began to evaluate readiness of the control agencies and troops to carry out combat training tasks," he said, according to TASS. Special attention should be paid to combat alert, deployment of air defense system...

    Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares his military forces, gigantic infantry and tank exercises, serving as a warning shot at the West. The show of military force is part of the army’s efforts to nail the Suvorov Attack army competition, the Russian Pacific Fleet’s naval infantry unit exercises. The competition will be joined by five countries: Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela and Kazakhstan. It is scheduled to take place in the middle of the year. The Russian naval infantry's show of fighting prowess may serve as a warning to Britain as tensions are on the rise from both sides. During the drills, troops fired AK47s and launch rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Soldiers endured the cold as they dash it with heavy-duty ammunition. In December last year, the US and the UK h...

    The man who attacked soldiers in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris is believed to be an Egyptian, French authorities have said. The 29-year-old, who was living in the United Arab Emirates, is in a life-threatening condition in hospital after being shot, prosecutor Francois Molins said. He said the man’s identity has not been formally confirmed but the French soldiers’ quick reactions put an end to a terror attack at one of Paris’ most iconic tourist attractions. He said everything shows that the assailant was very determined. French president Francois Hollande told reporters at an EU summit in Malta that there was “no doubt” the attack was of a terrorist nature. He said the situation around the landmark museum is “totally under control but the overall threat to France re...

    A French soldier has shot a man after he tried to enter the Louvre museum in Paris carrying a machete and two backpacks. Paris police chief Michel Cadot said the attacker shouted "Allahu akbar (God is greatest)" as he launched himself at the soldier in the Carrousel du Louvre area of the popular attraction. The soldier - part of a four-man patrol - fired five times, hitting the man in the legs and stomach and seriously injuring him. French police officers and soldiers patrol in front of the Louvre The assailant became violent when he was told he could not enter with his bags. Two machetes were found at the scene. Mr Cadot said: We are dealing with an attack from an individual who was clearly aggressive and represented a direct threat, and whose comments lead us to believe ...

    Angela Merkel has condemned Donald Trump’s ban on people travelling to America from seven Muslim countries, after Theresa May has doggedly tried to avoid commenting in detail on it. The German Chancellor said his executive order went against her interpretation of the basic tenants of international refugee support and cooperation. She told a press conference on Monday: The necessary and decisive fight against terrorism does not justify a general suspicion against people of a certain belief in this case people of Muslim belief or people from a certain country... That way of thinking is against my interpretation of the basic tenants of international refugee support and cooperation. By contrast, May has said simply: We do not agree with this kind of approach. She had initially...

    Guy Verhofstadt Britain could be handed an accelerated path to re-join the European Union if it decides to reapply for membership after it has left the bloc, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator has claimed. Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister and arch European federalist, said that future British governments would have a way back into Europe if they decided to reverse course after Brexit, possibly even on a fastrack. That is always possible, he said in an interview in the US during the visit of Theresa May, They can always reintroduce a request for membership of the European Union. Certainly, we have enough experience to make it a little bit a faster process than what is normal, he added. Mr Verhofstadt’s remarks to Al Jazeera English reflect a s...

    A Russian aircraft carrier used to wage a massive offensive on the Syrian city of Aleppo is on its way back to Russia, Britain's defence minister said Wednesday, calling it a ship of shame. We will keep a close eye on the Admiral Kuznetsov as it skulks back to Russia, Defence Minister Michael Fallon said in a statement. The Russian warship travelled through the North Sea to Syria last year, to help Moscow ally President Bashar al-Assad's troops recapture rebel areas of Aleppo city after four years of fighting there. The offensive forced thousands of civilians and rebels to flee the city, after years of intense bombing and clashes that ravaged swathes of Syria's former economic capital. Fallon called the aircraft carrier a ship of shame whose mission has only extended the s...