The 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks pledged by Germany to support Ukraine in its war against Russia have arrived in Ukraine, a security source said on Monday, confirming a report by Spiegel news magazine.
Germany agreed in January to supply the tanks, regarded as among the best in the West's arsenal, overcoming misgivings about sending heavy weaponry that Kyiv says is crucial to defeat Russia's invasion but Moscow casts as a dangerous provocation.
Besides the 18 main battle tanks, 40 German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and two armoured recovery vehicles had also reached Ukraine, the security source said.
The German army trained the Ukrainian tank crews as well as the troops assigned to operate the Marder vehicles for several weeks on training grounds in Muenster and Bergen in northern Germany.
Beyond the German vehicles, three Leopard tanks donated by Portugal also reached Ukraine, according to the security source.
At least 14 infants were killed in a fire at a state-run hospital in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Wednesday, the prime minister said, with the health minister attributing the tragedy to a blast in the nursery ward.
The US military said on Tuesday four people have been killed in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean, the latest in a series of attacks that Washington says target "narco-terrorists" but human rights groups condemn as extrajudicial killings.
Torrential floods in the Himalayan border areas of Nepal and China's Tibet killed at least nine people and destroyed roads, bridges and power projects on Wednesday, as authorities in both countries braced for more casualties and worse damage.
Canada on Tuesday announced retaliatory tariffs on C$27.6 billion ($19.94 billion) worth of United States goods, matching dollar-for-dollar new duties imposed by Washington, and unveiled financial support for Canadian businesses and workers caught in the escalating trade war.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi has held talks in Iran with his Iranian counterpart, Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, focusing on the resumption of safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, has affirmed the UAE's full support with Lebanon in a phone call with Lebanese Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam.