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Japan conducts its first missile test on its own territory
Japan’s army says it has conducted a missile test for the first time on Japanese territory as the country accelerates its military buildup to deter an increasingly assertive China
Russian attacks kill 13 civilians in Ukraine as Zelenskyy seeks more Western aid
Officials say Russian drones, missiles and artillery have killed at least 16 civilians and injured almost 100 others in Ukraine
Germany to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP in 2029
Germany’s finance minister has vowed to lift the country’s defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product in 2029
Pope Leo XIV offers an uplifting message urging seminarians to be joyful and honest
Pope Leo XIV is kicking off a weeklong celebration of Catholic clergy for the Holy Year
World leaders gather for historic NATO summit with unity on the line
NATO leaders are gathering in the Netherlands for the start of a historic two-day summit that could unite the world’s biggest security organization around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions among the 32 allies
EU help in healing Cyprus' ethnic split could bring benefits to all, officials say
Officials say the European Union can help resolve Cyprus’ decades-old ethnic division by underscoring that a peace accord could bring benefits and a significant improvement in relations with the 27-member bloc
Aukus vital to ‘deter Chinese aggression’, say US lawmakers, as Trump urged to recommit to submarine deal
Alliance in best interests of Australia, UK and US, say lawmakers, after Trump administration announced 30-day review of pactAustralia news live: latest politics updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Aukus pact is vital to “deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region”, Republican and Democrat lawmakers in the US have told the Pentagon, urging the US to recommit to the nuclear submarine deal with Australia and the UK.The Trump administration announced this month it would undertake a 30-day review of the Aukus agreement – the deal struck in 2021 that would see US nuclear submarines sold to Australia, and new-design nuclear-powered Aukus submarines built in the UK and Australia.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
'Find an offramp — quickly': Expert delivers grim warning to Trump
One foreign policy expert is warning President Donald Trump that he should "find an off-ramp" in his conflict with Iran. National security analyst Joe Cirincione, who serves as the vice chair of the board of directors of the Center for International Policy, told MSNBC on Monday afternoon that Iran appears to be taking steps forward to publicly ramp up its effort to build nuclear weapons. MSNBC host Katy Tur cited reports that the Iranian parliament agreed to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, which seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy."Well, that could be seen as a step towards their withdrawal from the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. They are a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty," Cirincione explained. "It bans them from having nuclear weapons. This is the kind of step they would take if they were, in fact, intending to move towards the construction of a nuclear bomb."Tur asked if that was the case, what advice he would give the United States. "Find an off ramp quickly, as the IAEA director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told the U.N. Security Council over the weekend, it looks like Iran has," Cirincione urged. "In fact," he added, they "moved some of their highly enriched uranium gas out of the facilities that we're in. We know from satellite imagery, we could see trucks moving into some of these facilities before the airstrikes, apparently moving some of this gas. We don't know where it is. The IAEA doesn't know where it is. We've seen no indication from the administration that they know where it is. And this is the danger. While these strikes have certainly conducted damage to the facilities, as you were just discussing, it doesn't appear that we got the 400 kg of 60% enriched uranium."He noted that it could be "fed back into centrifuges" at other sites, which are unknown to the intelligence community. They could convert it to the core of a bomb within five days and "build 10 bombs" within two weeks. "They may have already done it."See his clip in the video below or at the link here. - YouTube youtu.be
MTG won't support effort to rein in Trump despite public break on Iran strikes
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told Punchbowl News on Monday that she won't be supporting congressional authorization for President Donald Trump's war against Iran. Following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, debate ignited in Congress's halls over the president’s authority to engage in military action without lawmakers' explicit approval. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced War Powers Resolutions aiming to limit Trump’s ability to further strike Iran without their authorization. While Greene has publicly opposed further U.S. military involvement in the country, she told Punchbowl News she does not support the effort to limit Trump's authority over potential new strikes.Greene revealed she hadn't yet spoken to Trump over the matter, but she indicated her opposition in an X post Monday morning. "I spent millions of my own money and TRAVELED THE ENTIRE COUNTRY campaigning for President Trump and his MAGA agenda and his promises," she wrote. "And Trump’s MAGA agenda included these key promises: NO MORE FOREIGN WARS. NO MORE REGIME CHANGE. WORLD PEACE. And THIS is what the people voted for. Only 6 months in and we are back into foreign wars, regime change, and world war 3. It feels like a complete bait and switch to please the neocons, warmongers, military industrial complex contracts, and neocon tv personalities that MAGA hates and who were NEVER TRUMPERS!"She also noted that Trump claimed "complete success," only to find out that the nuclear facilities were only "partially damaged" and "we don't know where their enriched uranium is."Greene also told Punchbowl that there's a big difference between her and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who also attacked Trump's bombing of Iran. Massie, she said, is not MAGA brand, while her opposition is a result of her MAGA loyalty.Greene also said she wants to completely cut off aid to Israel. Greene told Steve Bannon's "War Room" that no one slept better after Trump bombed Iran. She commented that the U.S. is now being threatened about "sleeper cells" on American soil, and that Americans living abroad are being told to shelter in place out of fear of retaliation. Read the full report here.
Trump: Israel and Iran have agreed to ceasefire 'in approximately six hours'
President Donald Trump announced on Monday evening that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran would begin shortly."CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED! Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World.""During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL," Trump wrote. "On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, 'THE 12 DAY WAR.' This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!""God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!" Trump concluded.This comes after Trump ordered a series of strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Canada and EU sign defence pact amid strained US relations and global instability
Amid Trump’s disrespect of old allies, EU and Canada vow more support for Ukraine and joint work on climate crisisCanada has signed a wide-ranging defence pact with the EU, as Donald Trump and global instability prompt traditional US allies to deepen their alliances.Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, on Monday joined European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and head of the European Council, António Costa, in Brussels, where they signed a security and defence partnership, pledged more support for Ukraine, as well as joint work on issues from the climate crisis to artificial intelligence. Continue reading...
'Strange': MSNBC host flags moment Trump seemed 'less confident' speaking to US
One MSNBC host said that she couldn't help but notice President Donald Trump seemed less confident when he spoke to the nation Saturday night about bombing Iran. In a conversation with Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig, host Katy Tur asked what her sources were saying about where the president's "head" was after Iran fired missiles at a U.S. air base in Qatar. Loennig said those close to Trump say he feels "vindicated" for taking "very strong, bold steps," which she said were his favorite kinds of words. He is "not apologetic or regretful" about the bombing, she added. She cited a long-ago comment from former Trump national security adviser, John Bolton, that "the most unpleasant position is to be somewhere where he cannot reverse his decision the next day, and that is the one problematic thing for Donald Trump right now. He can't reverse this decision."Tur recalled that to get him to authorize strikes in Syria, he had to be shown images of children being gassed during his first term. "And just watching him on Saturday night as he was delivering the address to the nation, alerting us all of the decision to bomb these nuclear sites, there was something strange about his energy," said Tur. Leonnig asked Tur what she would call his behavior on Saturday during the speech. "He seemed maybe nervous," said Tur. "I don't know, he seemed tense and a little less — just a little less confident than he normally is when he's making those sorts of announcements. A little less sure of himself."Leonnig recalled another Bolton comment that there are no take-backs in these situations. "So, I would be nervous too. But the president also was basically relying on a group of people that are not really loyalists per se, but are hawks," she continued. "And he was, when he made his decision, he was basing it on the intelligence assessment, for example, of [United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander,] General Eric Carrillo, who commands our forces in the Middle East and Central Command."He was more pessimistic about Iran being able to produce nuclear bombs quickly, and that leaders there didn't want to. That said, Trump's top leaders said publicly that national intelligence showed there were no plans to create a nuclear bomb at that time. "He also relied on Benjamin Netanyahu, who said to him, I think actually in a kind of a goading way, remember, they tried to kill you twice," said Leonnig. See the discussion in the video below or at the link here. - YouTube www.youtube.com
