Briefly

UNITED STATES

New IS chief added to terrorist blacklist

The US State Department announced on Tuesday that it will designate Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, the new head of the Islamic State group, as a "specially designated global terrorist". The department said in a statement that following the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Mawla succeeded him as the leader of the group. Mawla had been active in IS' predecessor organization, al-Qaida in Iraq, and directed global operations of the IS, the statement added. Baghdadi was killed in a US military operation in Syria in October.

NORTH MACEDONIA

Last hurdle cleared for joining NATO

North Macedonia on Tuesday cleared the final hurdle to becoming the 30th member of the NATO military alliance after the Spanish Senate ratified its accession. Spain's office at NATO said that 259 of the 264 senators endorsed the move. The bill was immediately signed by King Felipe and will be submitted to the US State Department for official confirmation within the next 72 hours. It marks the end of a long quest for the former Yugoslav republic. But a dispute with neighboring Greece over the country's name stalled progress for more than two decades. North Macedonia previously was known as Macedonia, a name it shared with a Greek province. Under a 2017 deal with Athens, the country changed its name and Greece agreed to drop objections to its NATO and eventual European Union membership.

UNITED KINGDOM

Equipment delays weak link for military

The fighting capability of Britain's armed forces is being put at risk by delays in producing important new pieces of equipment, the government's spending watchdog warned on Wednesday. Delays have hit a wide range of projects including the F-35 fighter jets, offshore patrol vessels and battlefield communication systems. A report by National Audit Office found about a third of the military's 32 most important projects are behind schedule. The new equipment is on average more than two years late before it can be at full operating capability, the report said. According to the report, a persistent problem is equipment delivered either late or faulty by suppliers.

Xinhua - Agencies