US announces $8b in security aid for Ukraine
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced US$6 billion (S$8 billion) in new military aid for Ukraine on April 26 as Washington rushes to fill gaps left by months of limited American assistance.
The package is the second this week, following another valued at US$1 billion that was announced just after US President Joe Biden signed a much-delayed Bill to provide new funding for Ukraine as it struggles to hold back Russian advances.
“I’m... pleased to announce today an additional commitment of US$6 billion through our Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative,” Mr Austin told journalists following the conclusion of a virtual meeting of dozens of Kyiv’s international supporters.
“This is the largest security assistance package that we’ve committed to date,” Mr Austin said, adding that it will include air defence munitions, counter-drone systems, artillery ammunition and maintenance and sustainment support.
Woman stabbed in Israel, minister is hurt in car crash
A young woman was stabbed and her attacker killed near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on April 26, while the country’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was injured in a car crash as he returned from addressing journalists at the scene, officials said.
The young woman was stabbed in the city of Ramla and taken to hospital, police and paramedics said. They said the attacker was killed, without giving details.
On his way back from addressing journalists at the scene, minister Ben Gvir and three other people were injured in a spectacular car crash.
King to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis
Britain’s King Charles will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said on April 26.
In February, the palace revealed that the 75-year-old king had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer detected in tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate.
Although Charles continued with official state business, the diagnosis led him to postpone public engagements to begin treatment and rest.
Emergency slide falls off Delta plane after takeoff
The emergency exit slide fell off a Delta Airlines jet after taking off from New York en route to Los Angeles on April 26, Delta said.
Delta said that crew on the flight, which had 183 people on board, declared an emergency and returned to John F. Kennedy International Airport, that it “supporting retrieval efforts.”
Delta said the Boeing 767 aircraft, which will be “thoroughly” evaluated, has been removed from service.
Blinken buys Taylor Swift, Dou Wei albums in Beijing
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken snapped up a Taylor Swift album along with one by classic Chinese rocker Dou Wei during an unexpected detour to a Beijing record store on April 26, after talks in China meant to ease superpower tensions.
En route to the airport after a visit that included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Mr Blinken popped into the LiPi record store in the Chinese capital’s arts district where the owner handed him an album by Dou Wei, which he bought along with Swift’s 2022 record Midnights.
One of the aims of Mr Blinken’s trip has been to emphasise the importance of what the State Department calls “people-to-people ties” as part of efforts to improve relations.
