World Bank to finance Syria with $146 million to restore electricity
DUBAI, June 25 (Reuters) - The World Bank approved a $146 million grant to help Syria restore reliable, affordable electricity and support the country's economic recovery, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
After 14 years of war, Syria's electricity sector has been suffering from severe damage to its grid and power stations, aging infrastructure, and persistent fuel shortages.
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Nato summit: ‘Daddy' Trump sorted out Middle East, says Nato chief
Israel's attack on Iran was a gamble even before Trump joined the assault with US 'bunker-buster' bombs. But Tehran's setback may only be temporary. Both the US president and Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, assumed that the bunker-buster bombs would 'get the job done'. That may not have been the case. 'It's far more likely now that Iran will withdraw from the non-proliferation treaty and make the decision to build nuclear weapons,' said Kelsey Davenport, the director for non-proliferation policy at the Arms Control Association. Read in full here. The partners of Nato's heads of government are visiting a Rotterdam art museum today together with Queen Máxima, the Dutch royal consort. Not everyone brought their other half to the alliance summit in The Hague. America's first lady, Melania Trump, did not travel to the Netherlands. The group were given a tour around the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, which contains the The (Little) Tower of Babel, a famous 1563 painting by Bruegel. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, who is often seen as the European leader closest to President Putin, earlier declared that 'Nato has no business in Ukraine'. He also praised President Trump as 'a man of common sense'. 'The biggest threat to Europe is not security, it's losing our competitiveness on global trade,' Orban added. Russia, he said, 'is not strong enough to present a real threat to us, we are much stronger.' Babcock International has upgraded its expected earnings for the coming years against already soaring profits. Shares in the military contractor, which have already enjoyed a stratospheric performance in 2025, rose to 11-year highs, up 13 per cent, or 137p better, at £11.70. The £5.8 billion FTSE 100 group has become the UK's second largest defence contractor after BAE Systems, running the naval dockyard in Devonport and maintaining the nuclear submarine fleets, building warships at Rosyth in Scotland, and plugged into multiple support programmes across the armed forces. • Read in full: Babcock International profits jump in 'new era of defence' A senior Hamas official has said that talks for a Gaza ceasefire with Israel had 'intensified in recent hours'. 'Our communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours,' Taher al-Nunu said. Hamas had, however, 'not yet received any new proposals'. President Trump has said that US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites could contribute to a breakthrough in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, and that he was 'very close' to striking a deal on that conflict. 'I think that it helped a little bit, it showed a lot of power,' Trump said. 'Separately, even before this, we were very close to making a deal on Gaza.' Earlier, Trump said that American B2 stealth bombers striking Iran last weekend had ended the war between it and Israel in the same way that the US dropping atomic bombs on Japan had ended the Second World War. Speaking at The Hague, Trump said: 'That hit ended the war. I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war. This ended that, this ended that war. If we didn't take that out, they would have been they'd be fighting right now.' There is no reference to Russian aggression against Ukraine but 'allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours'. In a development that will help Britain meet the new Nato spending target, the alliance will 'include direct contributions towards Ukraine's defence and its defence industry when calculating allies' defence spending.' Highlighting 'the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security' and unity 'in the face of profound security threats and challenge', Nato leaders agreed to increase military spending. 'Allies commit to invest 5 per cent of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations,' said the communiqué, which will be agreed later today. 'Our investments will ensure we have the forces, capabilities, resources, infrastructure, warfighting readiness, and resilience needed to deter and defend in line with our three core tasks of deterrence and defence, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security.' 'The trajectory and balance of spending under this plan will be reviewed in 2029, in light of the strategic environment and updated Capability Targets. The Nato communiqué reaffirms the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence clause after comments from Trump that appeared to call it into question. 'We have gathered in The Hague to reaffirm our commitment to Nato, the strongest alliance in history, and to the transatlantic bond. We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty — that an attack on one is an attack on all.' The Kremlin said it was too early for anyone to have an accurate picture of the extent of damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities by US bombing last weekend. Asked if Russia had its own information on the degree of damage, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said: 'No. I don't think that anyone can have realistic data now. It's probably too early, we need to wait until such data appears.' Russia has condemned the strikes on Iran as illegal, unjustified and unprovoked. Israel sent agents into Iran's Fordow nuclear site after US strikes earlier this week, according to President Trump. 'You know they have guys that go in there after the hit, and they said it was total obliteration,' he said. 'Israel is doing a report on it now, I understand, and I was told that they said it was total obliteration.' Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, also said the bunker-busting bombs 'landed precisely where they were supposed to. He described a 'flawless mission, right down where we needed to enter. It was devastation underneath Fordow.' Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, added: 'Everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape.' Iran's nuclear programme was 'way behind' compared with a week ago, he said, and dismissed US media reports based on a leaked intelligence assessments as a 'game these people play'. Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, has said his inspectors' highest priority was returning to Iran's nuclear facilities to verify its stocks of enriched uranium and assess the damage. Asked about a leaked US intelligence report suggesting that Iran's nuclear program had only been set back a few months, Grossi said: 'I don't like this hourglass approach. It's in the eye of the beholder.' It was 'not important whether it's two months or three months. We need a solution that will stand the test of time'. Grossi, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency, was asked if Iran had informed him of the status of its stocks of enriched uranium. He referred to a letter he received from Iran on June 13, saying that it would take 'special measures' to protect its nuclear materials and equipment. 'They did not get into details as to what that meant, but clearly that was the implicit meaning of that. We can imagine this material is there,' he said. The Nato summit communiqué is focused on the agreement to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence is an unusually brief 400 words, compared to last year's in Washington that ran to over 5,400. Here is the full text of the draft statement: 1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in The Hague to reaffirm our commitment to Nato, the strongest alliance in history, and to the transatlantic bond. We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty — that an attack on one is an attack on all. We remain united and steadfast in our resolve to protect our one billion citizens, defend the alliance, and safeguard our freedom and democracy.2. United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, allies commit to invest 5 per cent of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations, in accordance with Article 3 of the Washington Treaty. Our investments will ensure we have the forces, capabilities, resources, infrastructure, warfighting readiness, and resilience needed to deter and defend in line with our three core tasks of deterrence and defence, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security.3. Allies agree that this 5 per cent commitment will comprise two essential categories of defence investment. Allies will allocate at least 3.5 per cent of GDP annually based on the agreed definition of Nato defence expenditure by 2035 to resource core defence requirements, and to meet the Nato Capability Targets. Allies agree to submit annual plans showing a credible, incremental path to reach this goal. And allies will account for up to 1.5 per cent of GDP annually to inter alia protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation, and strengthen our defence industrial base. The trajectory and balance of spending under this plan will be reviewed in 2029, in light of the strategic environment and updated Capability Targets. Allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this end, will include direct contributions towards Ukraine's defence and its defence industry when calculating allies' defence spending.4. We reaffirm our shared commitment to rapidly expand transatlantic defence industrial cooperation and to harness emerging technology and the spirit of innovation to advance our collective security. We will work to eliminate defence trade barriers among allies and will leverage our partnerships to promote defence industrial cooperation.5. We express our appreciation for the generous hospitality extended to us by the kingdom of the Netherlands. We look forward to our next meeting in Turkey in 2026 followed by a meeting in Albania Opening the meeting, Mark Rutte, the secretary-general, said that Nato's leaders met at a 'dangerous moment', with war in the Middle East and a 'persistent challenge' from terrorism and other security threats. Rutte said: 'Our joint commitment to Article 5, that an attack on one is an attack on all, sends a powerful message.' But, he said, 'for too long' the US had 'carried too much of the burden of that commitment'. Confirming the alliance's 'concrete plan' to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence, he praised President Trump, saying: 'You made this change possible.' Sir Keir Starmer appeared to be deep in conversation with President Trump as the main meeting of the Nato summit began. Starmer entered alongside Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, and was seen speaking to Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, and President Macron, before taking his seat next to Trump. The pair spoke while the other world leaders watched an introductory video. Starmer was accompanied by John Healey, the defence secretary, David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and national security adviser Jonathan Powell. By Marc Bennetts, Tel Aviv The first full day of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran saw a noticeable lightening of the mood in Tel Aviv, even if questions remained about how long peace would last. 'If Iran's nuclear program really has been totally destroyed, then it was right to attack Iran,' said Issac in a crowded café in the city's Dizengoff Square. 'But if it hasn't been destroyed, then this was pointless. So many people would have lost their lives for nothing.' In a nearby street, city workers and locals continued to clear up the damage from Iranian missile strikes that destroyed several buildings. 'If Iran managed to hide its nuclear program in time and they start it up again soon, then of course we will need to attack again,' said Nikolai, the owner of Viking, a Russian restaurant that was badly damaged by an Iranian attack last week. 'War could start again in six months, a year, or five years. No one knows.' On the city's beachfront, people seemed reluctant to discuss the war and eager to get back to their lives, despite the carnage 45 miles away in the Gaza Strip. 'Let the fun begin!' read an advertisement for a swimming pool. As people sunbathed and played volleyball, more than half a dozen Israeli military helicopters flew by in the space of an hour. Dorin, who moved to Tel Aviv from Rome ten years ago, said: 'It's shit to live in a country where you never know when the next war is going to begin.' Asked why he hadn't left, he replied: 'Who said I am staying?' Nato is going to do 'big things' and become a renewed alliance, President Trump says. He dismissed the Biden era as 'dead' and took credit for Nato's new defence spending target of 5 per cent of GDP. 'They have very big things to announce today. I've been asking to go up to 5 per cent for a number of years and they're going up to 5 per cent, from 2 per cent, and a lot of people didn't even pay the 2 per cent,' he said. 'I think that's going to be very big news. Nato's going to become very strong with us.' Trump is a 'daddy' who sorts out warring parties in the Middle East, Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, has suggested. The US president, speaking at a press conference, compared Iran and Israel to 'two kids in a school yard'. 'Daddy sometimes has to use strong language,' said Rutte in response, referring to Trump's expletive-ridden outburst yesterday. Trump, before leaving for the Nato summit, had said: 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing.' Rutte has already raised eyebrows with his gushing messages to Trump, describing him as 'truly extraordinary', 'daring' and a 'big success'. They were shared by the US president online. Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister, said it was 'totally fine,' that Trump had shared the messages. 'I think it's a statement of fact,' he said. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said leaked intelligence reports were being 'spun to make the president look bad'. 'There is a political motivation here,' he said. The leaked preliminary US intelligence assessment said the US airstrikes had not destroyed Iran's nuclear capability and had only set it back a few months. Trump said: 'This is fake news. It is a disgrace' and described the US media outlets that reported the assessment as 'scum'. Hegseth said the damage to Iranian sites was 'moderate to severe'. The FBI is investigating the leak, he said. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, said that all 32 Nato members should commit themselves to the agreed spending target. 'The point of an alliance is to make sure that there is a fair burden-sharing and that there is no sense that certain countries are sort of freeriding on the defence commitment of other countries,' he said. 'So I think it is important to understand that these targets … should be binding and they should be binding for all 32 members of the alliance.' Greece is spending about 3 per cent of GDP on defence — nearly double the average for EU countries. Trump insisted that the US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites had set its atomic programme back by 'decades'. 'They're not going to be building bombs for a long time,' he said. Trump appeared to acknowledge that evidence following the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites was inconclusive, but also suggested the damage could have been severe. 'The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don't know. It could've been very severe. That's what the intelligence suggests,' Trump told reporters in the Hague. 'It was very severe. There was obliteration.' President Trump has said he is 'very proud' of Israel and Iran for agreeing to a 'very good' ceasefire. On the US intelligence reports that US bombing raids did not destroy Iran's nuclear sites, Trump disagreed and repeated his claim that they had been 'obliterated'. 'I believe it was total obliteration, I believe they didn't have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast. It's hard to remove that kind of material — very hard and very dangerous,' he said. 'It was oblieration.' Trump was also asked about Iranian threats to continue enriching uranium and said: 'The last thing they want to do is enrich anything right now. They want to recover. We won't let that happen.' Trump stayed the night at Huis ten Bosch palace and was the breakfast guest of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. The royal couple posed for a photo with the US president before he left for the summit in, according to Mark Rutte, the Nato chief, an 'excellent mood'. John Healey, the defence secretary, told journalists on the fringes of the Nato summit that Britain trusted US intelligence after President Trump appeared to dismiss a leaked preliminary report on his intelligence agencies' assessment of the attack on Iran's nuclear sites. 'We exchange intelligence together that no other two nations would every day. We trust what we share with them and what they share with us,' Healey said. Asked by The Times if he trusted US intelligence, he said: 'Yes, we trust what we receive from the US intelligence agencies.' President Trump has arrived at the Nato summit but, so far, has remained out of view. His motorcade was shown approaching the World Forum, the summit venue, but drew up at a specially-built covered stop. Footage showed special blue Nato doors being closed around the presidential 'Cadillac One', also known as the 'Beast' so he could enter in private. Sir Keir Starmer has said he will not comment on reports that US air strikes had delayed Iran's nuclear programme rather than destroyed it. 'I'm not going to comment on leaked intelligence reports,' he told LBC. 'We've long been of the view that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear capability, weaponry, and the US took action that alleviated that threat. 'But it is important that we ensure the ceasefire currently in place maintains and creates the space for the discussion, for Iran to come back to the table to negotiate a long-term settlement.' Germany and European allies are trying to keep Trump interested in the Ukraine war, said Boris Pistorius, the German defence minister. 'Keeping the Americans on board when it comes to Ukraine is important because there is more at stake here than just a regional conflict,' he said. 'We will continue to work to ensure that they do not withdraw. We will have to see whether we succeed in doing so.' Escort agencies and prostitutes in The Hague say demand is quieter than they would expect during a gathering of leaders, diplomats and support staff. 'Our target group is certainly at these kinds of big events,' Esmee, owner of the Eslabelle escort agency, told De Telegraaf. 'We have a few prominent guests.' Maria Scali, the director of Shop, an agency for prostitutes, told Algemeen Dagblad that demand was quieter than usual because of high security at delegates' hotels. Iran's parliament has voted to suspend co-operation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, which has previously monitored the country's nuclear programme. 'The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which refused to even marginally condemn the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, put its international credibility up for auction,' Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's Speaker, said. The Iranian parliament's national security committee approved the outline of a bill which would suspend surveillance cameras, inspections and the submission of reports to the IAEA for as long as the security of nuclear facilities was not guaranteed. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of State, has told Politico that Iran is 'much further away from a nuclear weapon' after a US strike on its three main nuclear sites. 'The bottom line is, they are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action,' he said. 'Significant, very significant, substantial damage was done to a variety of different components, and we're just learning more about it.' On his way to the Nato summit, President Trump cast doubt on US commitment to Article 5 — the collective defence pact at the core of the alliance. 'Depends on your definition. There are numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right? But I'm committed to being their friends,' he told reporters on Air Force One. 'I'm committed to saving lives. I'm committed to life and safety. And I'm going to give you an exact definition when I get there. I just don't want to do it on the back of an airplane.' To placate Trump, Nato members have hammered out a compromise deal to that earmarks 3.5 per cent of GDP for core military spending and 1.5 per cent on related support by 2035. Nato summits — meetings of the alliance's North Atlantic Council at leader level — are opened by the secretary-general, as chairman, who is followed by the president of the United States. This order will be followed at the Hague summit but, according to diplomats, Trump has also asked to speak at the end of the two-and-half-hour session before Mark Rutte, the Nato chief, closes the summit. This moment, given the refusal of Spain, Belgium and Slovakia to meet the new Nato target of 5 per cent of GDP spent on defence, could be the flashpoint of the summit. President Trump will meet President Zelensky today, it has been confirmed. Encounters between the US and Ukrainian presidents have been difficult. Earlier this year, Trump openly insulted Zelensky at the White House. Ukraine is not formally on the agenda for the Nato summit, which is focused on one issue — increased defence spending — but Zelensky is present. John Healey, the defence secretary, has suggested he would not trust leaked intelligence reports that US airstrikes only delayed Iran's nuclear programme by a few months. Asked by Times Radio if he was suggesting that he would put his faith in a US official government report on the damage, he said: 'No, I'm saying that ultimately the best guarantee both of peace and that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon is a diplomatic path and a nuclear settlement, and that's what we're working for.' Rutte said the alliance would try to 'equalise' spending on defence among the members and shift the burden away from the US. 'Yes, there is also an expectation which will be fulfilled today, that the Canadians and the Europeans will speed up their spending, making sure that we not only are able to defend ourselves against the Russians and others, but also to equalise, and this is fair, that we spend the same as the US is spending,' he said. 'What we now will do over the coming years is to bring down, step by step, shift the burden away from the United States, more towards the Europeans and the Canadians, which I think is fair.' America's support for Nato and its mutual defence clause Article 5 is solid if European and Canadian allies increase defence spending, Rutte says. He dismissed concerns after comments from President Trump that appeared to contradict the core principle of the alliance, that the US and others would come to the aid of any member that was attacked. 'For me, there is absolute clarity that the United States is totally committed to Nato, totally committed to Article 5,' he said. Setting one the themes for the summit, Rutte praised Trump for pressuring allies to spend more on defence. 'Would you really think that the seven or eight countries, not at 2 per cent [of GDP] at the beginning of this year, would have reached 2 per cent now if Trump would not have been elected president of the United States?' 'Trump is in an excellent mood,' said Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato, before what is expected to be a tense summit in the Hague. Rutte said that he was 'not worried' about a meeting where Nato allies will commit themselves to spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035 — except for Spain, which has refused to switch expenditure from welfare to the military. 'These are difficult decisions. Politicians have to make decisions,' Rutte said. 'Countries have to find the money. It is not easy. At the same time, there is absolute conviction with my colleagues at the table, that given the threat from the Russians, given the international security situation, there is no alternative. We've got to do this.' President Trump has shared a video showing B-2 warplanes dropping dozens of bombs to a soundtrack repeating the words 'bomb Iran'. The 60-second video the US president posted on his Truth Social platform features a parodied version of the Beach Boys' song Barbara Ann. The lyrics include: 'Old Uncle Sam's getting pretty hot. Time to turn Iran into a parking lot. Bomb Iran. Bomb. Bomb. Bomb.' The price of oil seems to have found a floor as investors assess the state of hostilities between Israel and Iran and the global stock market rally appears to have faded for now. The FTSE 100 is forecast to rise 1.5 points at the open. Asian markets were higher after gains on Wall Street, and the dollar and gold have strengthened. • Follow all the latest business developments live Trump's special envoy to the Middle East called the leaked intelligence assessment 'treasonous'. 'It's outrageous, it's treasonous, and it has to be investigated. Whoever's responsible for it should be held accountable,' Steve Witkoff told Fox News. He said he had read all the damage assessment reports and that there was 'no doubt' the three nuclear sites were 'obliterated'. Trump later posted a clip of the Fox interview and a quote from Witkoff on Truth Social. President Trump has said he is not seeking regime change in Iran because he does not want 'chaos.' 'No, if there was, there was, but no I don't want it. I'd like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible,' Trump said when asked to clarify a social media post in which he seemed to advocate regime change. 'Regime change takes chaos, and ideally we don't want to see so much chaos,' he told reporters on Air Force One. 'You know, the Iranians are very good traders, very good business people, and they've got a lot of oil. They should be fine. They should be able to rebuild and do a good job. They're never going to have nuclear but other than that, they should do a great job.' On Sunday, following US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump wrote: 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' President Trump has attacked US media, responding to leaked intelligence reports that US airstrikes only delayed Iran's nuclear programme. Trump and his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, have claimed the strikes destroyed Iran's nuclear programme. But the intelligence assessment suggested it had been delayed rather than destroyed, according to CNN, which was the first to publish details of the report, citing two anonymous sources. Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion, is set to resume normal operations following the ceasefire with Iran. 'Restrictions on the number of incoming and outgoing flights, as well as the number of passengers on each flight, have been lifted,' the Israel Airports Authority said. This will be good news for British tourists who were stranded in Israel when the war with Iran broke out on June 13. Some have already made their way home through neighbouring Jordan. Schools, offices and public transport are set to reopen in Israel after the lifting of restrictions that were imposed during the war with Iran. Residents of Tel Aviv slept through the night without the air raid warnings that had jolted them out of bed and sent them running for shelters from June 13 to June 24. Yet this is not a country at peace: the Israeli military announced today that seven of its soldiers had been killed during fighting in the Gaza Strip. Twenty of the hostages abducted by Hamas in October 2023 are still thought to be alive and there are renewed calls for an end to the fighting there. 'After 12 days and nights during which the people of Israel couldn't sleep because of Iran, we can finally go back to not sleeping because of the hostages,' a hostage family group said. Iran has hanged three men accused of spying for Israel. 'Idris Ali, Azad Shojai and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, who attempted to import equipment into the country to carry out assassinations, were arrested and tried for… co-operation favouring the Zionist regime,' Iran's judiciary said on Wednesday. 'The sentence was carried out this morning… and they were hanged.' The executions took place in Urmia, a northwestern city close to the border with Turkey, the judiciary said. It shared photos of the three men in blue prison uniforms. Israel's military said that seven soldiers from the IDF's Combat Engineering Corps were killed in combat in the southern Gaza Strip. They died in an explosion at 6.30pm in Khan Yunis on Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post reported. A soldier was severely injured on Tuesday in a separate incident in southern Gaza. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Tuesday that talks between the US and Iran were 'promising' and that Washington was hopeful for a long-term peace deal. 'We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising. We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran,' Witkoff told Fox News. 'Now it's for us to sit down with the Iranians and get to a comprehensive peace agreement, and I am very confident that we are going to achieve that.' The US airstrikes on Iran did not 'obliterate' Iran's nuclear programme and only set it back a few months, according to a leaked intelligence assessment that drew a furious response from the White House. President Trump has claimed that the American strikes on three sites had 'completely and totally obliterated' Iran's nuclear programme. But an assessment compiled by the Defence Intelligence Agency found that attacks on Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan did significant damage without destroying the facilities, it was reported on Tuesday night. The agency found that at least some of Iran's highly enriched uranium needed to create a nuclear bomb was moved before the strikes by US B-2 stealth bombers on Sunday. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, called the leak 'a clear attempt to demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran's nuclear programme'. She said: 'Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000lb bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Burundi commissions first phase of $320 mln power project
NAIROBI, June 25 (Reuters) - Burundi on Wednesday commissioned the first phase of a $320 million hydropower project financed by lenders including the European Investment Bank, the African Development Bank and the World Bank, according to a statement. Only 6% of the 13 million population have access to power in the small Central African nation, whose generation capacity is roughly 40 megawatts, according to the African Development Bank. The new project, with a combined generation capacity of 49.5 megawatts, involves two plants - Jiji and Mulembwe - developed on two small rivers in southern Burundi. Jiji was commissioned on Wednesday, while Mulembwe will be brought online in a few months, according to a joint statement issued by the lenders, who also include the European Union. "This new capacity will not only improve access to electricity for thousands of people, but will also boost productivity in key sectors such as health, education, agribusiness and ICT," said the statement. Edward Claessen, the European Investment Bank's head of regional hub for East Africa, was quoted as saying the project was part of the EU's strategy to develop clean and sustainable energy infrastructure in Africa to boost decarbonisation efforts.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Morning Bid: Fed rate bets surge as oil calms
LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan, opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets As the geopolitical center of gravity shifts from the Middle East to the NATO summit, Wall Street turns its attention back to the domestic economy and rising speculation about a U.S. interest rate cut as soon as September. I'll discuss all the market news below. Make sure to check out today's column, where I zero in on the U.S. economic metric that has just surged to its highest point since 2006. Today's Market Minute * NATO leaders were set to sign up on Wednesday to a big increase in defence spending at a short summit tailor-made for U.S. President Donald Trump, who struck a reassuring tone on his commitment to protecting fellow members of the alliance. * The ceasefire brokered by President Trump between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding on Wednesday, a day after both countries signalled their air war had ended, at least for now. * The contained move in oil prices during the Israel-Iran war highlights the increasing efficiency of energy markets and fundamental changes to global crude supply. ROI columnist Ron Bousso explains why Middle East politics may no longer be such a dominant force in oil markets. * The Reserve Bank of India's jumbo rate cuts in early June took economists by surprise, as many indicators point to an economy chugging along nicely. Manishi Raychaudhuri, CEO of Emmer Capital Partners, asks why the RBI needed to frontload monetary stimulus? * Financial markets have consistently overestimated the Federal Reserve's readiness to cut interest rates in recent years. But the latest Fed chatter, softening economic data and a dramatic reversal in oil prices suggest markets could be right this time. Read the latest from ROI columnist Jamie McGeever. Fed rate bets surge as oil calms Global stocks captured by MSCI's all-country index (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab, up more than 7% for the year-to-date, surged to record highs early on Wednesday. The ceasefire between Iran and Israel appears to be holding into Wednesday, as debate swirls about just how much damage was done to Tehran's nuclear program. President Donald Trump joins other NATO leaders in The Hague for an annual gathering of the alliance that will underscore a big boost to defense spending. But perhaps the market's big takeaway from the last two weeks of Middle East tensions is that the region is no longer the game changer it once was in global energy markets. Over the course of the near two-week conflict, global crude oil prices never hit the sort of danger zone that would shift the dial on inflation rates. And U.S. crude prices, back down at $65 per barrel on Wednesday, are now more than 20% lower than they were this time last year. That matters for central banks and the Federal Reserve trying to balance the outlook between rising import tariffs, a slowing economy, an ebbing workforce and - now falling oil prices. Even though Fed boss Jerome Powell remained non-committal on the timing of the next Fed rate cut at the first of his two-day congressional testimony on Tuesday, markets have latched on to more dovish soundings from other Fed policymakers. Fed futures now fully price a quarter-point rate cut by the September policy meeting, with previously hawkish Fed board governor Michelle Bowman indicating this week she may vote for a cut as soon as July. Futures pricing now sees some 60 basis points of cuts by year-end and the so-called "terminal rate" in the Fed's easing cycle has fallen close to 3.0% for February 2027 - almost 40bp lower than it was just a month ago and more than 130bp below current rates. While the oil price relapse has helped, emerging splits among Fed policymakers have intensified speculation about what happens when Powell ends his term as Chair in May next year. Incoming economic news is also fueling the rate chatter, with consumer confidence readings for June unexpectedly plunging and housing markets starting to wobble too. The Federal Housing Finance Agency showed single-family house prices fell 0.4% in April, the first decline since August 2022. That lowered the annual increase to 3.0% in April, the smallest rise since May 2023. And with pressure mounting on the Senate to pass Trump's fiscal bill as soon as this week, U.S. Treasuries have lapped up both the oil retreat and Fed talk - even as they negotiate more than $200 billion of new debt sales this week. Adding to the mix, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the date for the nation to reach its debt ceiling could change if courts interfere with Trump's tariff policies. Two and 10-year Treasury yields , fell to six-week lows on Wednesday regardless. And the dollar is bearing the brunt of the easier rate horizon. The euro hit new three-year highs on Tuesday and held above $1.16 today as Germany outlines details of the big spending, borrowing and defense push this week. Wall Street stocks (.SPX), opens new tab caught the tailwinds of easier energy, rates and the dollar - rallying more than 1% on Tuesday and futures held those gains overnight. The gains in Asian and European stocks over the past two days have been just as impressive, leading the global index to new all-time highs. The twin impact of easier oil and the dollar is a major relief for crude importers. And with NATO aiming to lift defense spending targets to some 5% of GDP, European defence stocks (.SXPARO), opens new tab that already up almost 50% this year added another 1% on Wednesday. In company news, FedEx FDX.N shares dropped nearly 6% in pre-market trading after the logistics giant sounded caution for the full year and forecast current-quarter earnings below expectations as it battles pressures from U.S. tariffs. Tesla's TSLA.O new car sales in Europe fell 27.9% in May from a year earlier even as fully-electric vehicle sales in the region jumped 27.2%. And Worldline ( opens new tab fell over 20% after an investigation by 21 European media outlets alleged the French digital payments company covered up client fraud to protect revenue. Chart of the day: a href=" target="_blank">NATO leaders were set to sign up to a big increase in defense spending at a short summit tailor-made for U.S. President Donald Trump, who struck a reassuring tone with his commitment to protect fellow members of the alliance. The summit is expected to endorse a higher defense spending goal of 5% of GDP, reflecting demands by Trump and Europeans' fears that Russia poses a growing threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Defense spending across virtually all NATO members has risen over the past 10 years to an average of about 2.5% of collective GDP. Only the United States - the fourth biggest spender as a share of national output – has seen its defense bill fall as a percentage of GDP since 2014. Today's events to watch * U.S. May new home sales (10:00 AM EDT) * Fed Chair Jerome Powell reprises semi-annual monetary policy testimony before Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee (10:00 AM EDT) * Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid speaks; Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill and BoE policymaker Clare Lombardelli speak * U.S. Treasury sells $70 billion 5-year notes, and $28 billion of 2-year floating rate notes * U.S. corporate earnings: Micron Technology, General Mills, Paychex Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
