Saturday, December 27

World Top News

Nato spending pledge is Trump’s biggest foreign policy success, Rutte tells BBC

EPA Nato countries' pledge to spend 5% of their economic output on defence is Donald Trump's "biggest foreign policy success," the alliance's chief has said. In an interview with the BBC, Mark Rutte said it was thanks to Donald Trump that Nato was "stronger than it ever was", adding that Trump "is good news for collective defence, for Nato and for Ukraine". The US leader has harshly criticised European allies for spending very little on defence - even threatening to withdraw US protection if they fail to do so. The Nato chief has warned that Russia could attack allies within the next five years. Russia's President Vladimir Putin dismissed such talk as "hysteria" on Wednesday. "I've said it repeatedly - it's a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense, about some imaginary Russian t...

EU leaders face crunch decision on loaning Russia’s frozen cash to Ukraine

Ukrinform/NurPhoto Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is yet to be convinced that the money held in Belgium should be loaned to Ukraine (file pic) European Union leaders are gathering for a Brussels summit where a momentous decision will be taken on whether to loan Ukraine tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to fund its military and economic needs. Most of Russia's €210bn (£185bn; $245bn) worth of assets in the EU are held by Belgium-based organisation Euroclear, and so far Belgium and some other members of the bloc have said they are opposed to using the cash. Without a boost in funding, Ukraine's finances are set to run dry in a matter of months. One European government official described being "cautiously optimistic, not overly optimistic" that a de...

US seizure of oil tanker off Venezuela about ‘regime change’: senator

President Donald Trump has said the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Using US forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration's latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the US. The US has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from Congress. The US is ramping up military pressure on the South American country. (US Department of Defence) "We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large ta...

US plans social media check on Australians and other overseas visitors

Australians are among some visitors to the US who may soon have to provide their social media history from the prior five years to enter the country, according to a new Trump administration proposal. The proposal, posted on the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection, suggests travellers coming from countries that are part of a visa waiver program would need to give additional personal information as part of an electronic application. The requirement would be for travellers using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, as part of a visa waiver program for citizens from 42 countries, including Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and Qatar, as well as many other European countries. Overseas travellers to the US, including Australia...

US Justice Department can unseal records from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case, judge says

Secret grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 sex trafficking case can be made public, a US judge has ruled, joining two other judges in granting the Justice Department's requests to unseal material from investigations into the late financier's sexual abuse. US District Judge Richard M Berman reversed his earlier decision to keep the material under wraps, citing a new law that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. The judge previously cautioned that the 70 or so pages of grand jury materials slated for release are hardly revelatory and "merely a hearsay snippet" of Epstein's conduct. Jeffrey Epstein was a notorious child sex trafficker and friend to many powerful people. (US Attorney of the Southern D...

The widening rift between Trump and Europe is a gift to Putin

US President Donald Trump's emissaries to the Kremlin may have been spinning their wheels during talks last week in Moscow on a possible Ukraine peace deal, but the Russians can now press a new advantage: the deepening divisions between Washington and Europe. Overnight, Trump doubled down on his administration's criticism of Europe, saying in a newly published interview with Politico that European nations were "weak" and "decaying" because of their immigration policies. He also argued that Russia had the "upper hand" in its war on Ukraine and that it was time for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to "start accepting things" when it comes to efforts to end the conflict. US President Donald Trump is interviewed by Politico about the state of Europe amid the Russia-U...
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