Briefly

GERMANY

Berlin aims for best NATO army division

Germany is confident it will have the best equipped army division among European NATO allies in 2025, Army Chief Alfons Mais told Reuters. At the moment, Berlin does not have a single combat-ready division, a military unit comprising more than 20,000 troops. It aims to have the first of three divisions operational by 2025, with the second to follow in 2027. Lieutenant general Mais said Germany would provide two mechanized brigades first, a more lightly armed, medium brigade later, and be reinforced by a Dutch brigade. A brigade has some 5,000 troops. Divisions are the land forces' main organizational building blocks that would be needed to handle a conflict with a peer adversary.

AUSTRALIA

Sailor, dog rescued after 2 months at sea

An Australian sailor and his dog have been rescued after two months adrift in the Pacific Ocean, surviving the ordeal by drinking rainwater and snacking on raw fish. Tim Shaddock and his dog Bella set off in a catamaran from Mexico's seaside city of La Paz in April, and planned to sail about 6,000 kilometers before dropping anchor in tropical French Polynesia. But they soon found themselves stranded in the vast Pacific Ocean after rough seas damaged the vessel and knocked out its electronics. In an unlikely rescue reminiscent of the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away, the bedraggled amateur yachtsman was plucked from the water two months later by a Mexican tuna trawler. Shaddock and Bella would soon be ferried back to Mexico.

UNITED KINGDOM

Doctors in England reject pay deal

Senior doctors in England will hold two days of strikes in August, their union the British Medical Association said on Monday, dismissing a 6 percent pay rise announced by government last week as a "savage" real-terms wage cut. Consultant-level doctors in Britain's publicly funded National Health Service will strike on Aug 24 and 25, adding to previously announced strikes on July 20 and 21 and underscoring the failure of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's bid to fully end months of industrial action across public services. Sunak last week described recent public sector pay increases as a final settlement, warning they would cost billions, require budget cuts elsewhere, and would not be subject to further negotiation.

Agencies - Xinhua