NATO Summit Praises Trump for Pushing Defense Spending to 5 Percent

Welcome again to world brief, where we look at it NATOThe goal of the new defensive spending, anti -government protests in Kenyaand Israel Iran The effect of conflict on oil prices.

The target of 5 percent

NATO leaders have agreed to a significant increase in the minimum requirements of defense spending in the coalition on Wednesday, which represents a major transformation of the security strategy in Europe amid Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as a political victory for US President Donald Trump.

Under this policy, NATO members will increase their defensive spending from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP over the next ten years, with 3.5 percent focused on basic defense, such as forces and weapons, and 1.5 percent on broader measures, such as cybersecurity, infrastructure, and protecting pipelines. If all 32 member states achieve this goal, an estimated $ 4.26 trillion will be added to NATO defense expenditures.

“It is difficult to exaggerate the transformative impact that this will make,” said Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson on Wednesday. “The pledge of 5 percent is in fact a historical teacher, and creates the capabilities of Europe to assume more responsibility for its security.”

“Now,” Johnson added, “What we need to do is convert economic influence into combat power.”

However, not all NATO countries on board with new requirements. Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid will not exceed the standard of 2.1 percent,; Spain is currently one of eight countries that have failed to achieve the original goal of 2 percent. On Wednesday, NATO seemed to give Spain some spaces to maneuver, as she wrote in a short statement of five points that the “allies”-and not “all allies”-are committed to the goal.

Sanchez said on Wednesday that Madrid would like to thank NATO president Mark Retti and “all allies for their respect for her sovereignty in Spain and their willingness to understand each other and reach an agreement.”

While many NATO powers seemed ready to satisfy Spain’s decision, although the United States was not one of them. Trump has spent less than 24 hours in The Hague NATO summit for this week in a deliberate move that NATO members hope to keep Trump’s attention and ensure that he did not undermine the coalition efforts in the unit. But the American president is still able to threaten one of his members.

“I think Spain is terrible, what they did,” Trump said on Wednesday, adding that the Madrid economy “can be detonated directly from water when something bad happens.” He threatened to punish Spain by forcing it to “pay twice as much” in a future commercial deal between Washington and the European Union. It is not clear how it can do this, as the White House negotiates with the entire European Union, not individual countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned: “We cannot say that we will spend more, and then, in the heart of NATO, we launch a commercial war,” describing Trump’s comments “deviation.” Paris suggested that the US tariff is very slope could harm trade across the Atlantic and become an obstacle to the capabilities of countries to achieve the goal of 5 percent.

However, the coalition was fast in setting the success of the goal of spending on Trump, which led the charge to increase the sharing of the burden for the security of Europe. “You will achieve something that an American president cannot achieve for decades,” Roti wrote to Trump in a text message before the summit. “Europe will pay in a big way, as it should, and it will be your victory.”

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What we are following

Dhikr protests. Thousands of demonstrators moved to the streets throughout Kenya on Wednesday to celebrate the first anniversary of the deadly anti -government protests. But they faced a violent reaction from the state authorities, which seemed excited to avoid any future calls for the resignation of President William Roto.

Last June, Kenyan civilians launched a week -long protest against a controversial financing bill, which suggested that $ 2.7 billion of taxes on major goods and services – such as bread, vehicles and social health services – to help reduce the country’s debt crisis. Roto ultimately acknowledged the demands of the demonstrators and agreed not to sign the legislation, but the youth continued to mobilize to call for the resignation of Roto.

On Wednesday, the Kenyan authorities ordered all television and radio stations to stop broadcasting the demonstrations, on the pretext that live footage violates the country’s laws, and threatened organizational measures against the outlets that do not stop broadcasting immediately. Local police also fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. At least 16 people have been killed and 400 people were injured so far.

Strong request. Oil prices flourished a little on Wednesday as a fragile and medium deal in the United States that stopped shooting between Israel and Iran held for the second day. Brent crude futures increased by 0.8 percent by mid in the afternoon on Wednesday, reaching $ 67.68 a barrel, and western Mediterranean crude increased by 0.9 percent to $ 64.92 a barrel. “While the fears related to the display in the Middle East have shrunk at the present time, they have not completely disappeared, and there is still stronger demand for the immediate offer,” analysts wrote in a client’s memo seen by Reuters.

After the preliminary strikes of Israel on the Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure on June 13, oil prices of up to 13 percent jumped, as experts were afraid that the struggle would be suspended in the hormone strait and destabilizing the wider region. But oil prices have largely ignored the United States’ attack on the main Iranian nuclear facilities during the weekend, and they continued to decline as it became clear that Iran’s response was silent.

“Everyone, keep oil prices. I’m watching! You are playing in the hands of the enemy. Don’t do it!” Trump posted on the social truth on Monday, a day before the armistice deals between Israel and Iran.

Meanwhile, cautious optimism surrounds the conflict, as both Israel and Iran in the Middle East are back to normal operations. Trump said on Wednesday that the United States will hold talks with Iran next week, although it seemed to reduce the importance of securing a nuclear deal, which previously gave the White House priority.

“I don’t care if I have an agreement or not,” Trump said. According to an early evaluation by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the American attack did not destroy Iran’s main program and instead it returns it only for several months.

Local missile test. The Japanese army tested a short -range missile on Tuesday for the first time on Japanese soil. The exercise launched a 88th rocket from the surface to a ship on a drone boat about 24 miles off the southern coast of the island of Hokkaido. Tokyo claimed that the test was successful and said he was planning to hold another similar exercise on Sunday.

Japanese forces usually perform missile training in bases in the United States or Australia, noting a limited area in Japan. However, these training sessions are expensive and often restrict the number of employees who can participate. Since Tokyo is looking to make its army more self -sufficient to face the growing Chinese aggression in the Indian Pacific Ocean, Japan is looking for other ways to enhance its security position.

“These exercises are” very important to us to preserve the islands and other regions, given the current cruel security environment. ” Among the threats related to the Tokyo Agency is the modern joint military exercises between China and Russia near the coast of Japan.

Difficulties end

For more than 65 million dollars, India, Poland and Hungary launched astronauts on Wednesday for the first time in more than 40 years. The two -week task has been used for two weeks for two weeks to send individuals to the International Space Station. The crew-drain American astronaut Baiji Whitson, Indian Air Force Pilot Chophncho Chocolate, Hungarian mechanical engineer Tipur Kabo, and Polish radiation expert Salouus Oznenski and Heganesi-brought the dishes that represented their countries. Since watching the moon revolves around the Earth, the Earth is always better when you can eat a snack on the Indian curry and rice with mango nectar, spare spicy pepper paste, and the frozen Polish Pierogies while doing this.