Early Bird: The Czech expedition to the Olympics has 114 athletes. According to the NATO chief, Europe needs the United States for defense too
The Czech Republic has gained another spot in downhill skiing for women, filled by twenty-two year old Elise Maria Negri. Thanks to this, the most numerous Czech team of athletes in the history of the Winter Olympic Games will compete in Italy. The main star will be the Olympic champion in Super-G from 2018, Ester Ledecká. NATOs General Secretary Mark Rutte said that Europe should not make the mistake of thinking it can defend itself without the support of the United States.
The largest team of Czech athletes in history is preparing for the Olympics
The alpine skier Elise Maria Negri has been additionally added to the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Czech Olympic Committee reported. Consequently, the Czech team has expanded to 114 athletes after another redistribution of places. This is one more than there was at the previous record-breaking winter games in Beijing four years ago. The biggest star of the skiing part of the Olympic team will be Ester Ledecká, the Olympic winner in super-G from 2018. In women's downhill skiing, she will be joined by Labastova and Negri, as well as Martina Dubovska and Barbora Novakova, said the website Ceskenoviny.cz.
NATO chief says Europe cannot defend itself without the USA
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe should not make the mistake of thinking that it can defend itself without the support of the United States.
"We need each other,"
Rutte said on Monday during a speech to the European Parliament in Brussels.
The NATO chief warned European countries that if they "really want to do it themselves," they will have to increase defense spending to 10 percent. He added that they would need to build their own nuclear capabilities, which would cost billions of euros, wrote the television server CNN.
Brussels has classified part of the WhatsApp application among platforms with stricter regulation
The European Commission has decided to classify the communication service WhatsApp of the American company Meta Platforms among the major internet platforms, which are subject to stricter regulation under the Union's Digital Services Act (DSA). The reason is that its "Channels" feature has reached the threshold value of at least 45 million users in the European Union. However, this stricter regulation will not apply to sending private messages, noted the server Ceskenoviny.cz.
Former Philippine President Duterte to go to court
Judges from the International Criminal Court have decided that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial. This happened after they postponed the earlier hearing due to concerns about the health of this eighty-year-old man. Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity for alleged involvement in dozens of murders as part of his so-called war on drugs. And it was during his tenure first as the mayor of one of the southern Philippine cities, and later as the president of the country, the agency pointed out AP.
Lawyers Accuse Mexico of Law Violation
A group of lawyers and family members of prominent members of one of the Mexican cartels accused the local government of breaking the law by extraditing nearly one hundred Mexican citizens to the United States without having the authority to do so. This happened less than a week after the administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sent 37 detained cartel members to the USA. Observers described this as an offer from the Mexican authorities to balance out the increasing threats from US President Donald Trump, targeting military actions against local cartels, reported by the agency AP.
Sources: Ceskenoviny, AP, Al Jazeera
