‘That Adds up to 2.3 Percent': Albanese Resists US Request to Boost Defence Spending
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is continuing to reiterate that Australia will make its own decisions on defence spending amid a call to arms from the United States.
This comes after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Australia to lift its defence investment to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as soon as possible during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
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New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Our Regression on Gender Is a Tragedy, Not Just a Political Problem
When Donald Trump stormed into the White House in 2016, horrified Americans debated, almost endlessly, whether the shocking result was an expression of widespread racism (backlash to a Black president resulting in the election of a birther) or economic anxiety (the industrial Midwest especially feeling abandoned by globalization and the China shock). Each was probably a factor, then, and each strand is still present in the Trump coalition, reflected in tariff wars and efforts to redirect civil rights law on behalf of whites. But in 2025, MAGA seems much more distinctively molded by gender politics. Gender backlash is here, and before we think through the implications for partisan politics, we need to recognize it as a phenomena that goes beyond them. On the surface, the Trump coalition might appear powered by an unapologetic, rakish U.F.C. party-bro energy — think of the glimpses we've gotten of Pete Hegseth's naked torso or the way his confirmation hearings were meme-ified as a hard-ass man, accused of sexual assault, staring down a hectoring panel of hysterical grandmas. Or for that matter, the time when the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, invited her Instagram followers to observe her working out in a sports bra. And there may not be a more representative clip about the vibe shift of 2024 than the comedian and podcaster Andrew Schulz explaining his supposed defection from the Democrats by explaining that he liked the dudes that have sex — using a crude term for female anatomy — and say whatever they want. Of course, in the aftermath of Dobbs, Republicans have pushed further to limit reproductive rights, state by state, and a bill recently introduced in Congress could ban online pornography outright. With a case threatening sites like Pornhub pending at the Supreme Court, 17 states have already instituted pre-emptive blackouts of the site. Questions have risen as to whether the White House intervened to lift travel restrictions on Andrew Tate, who faces rape and human-trafficking charges in Britain and a trafficking and money laundering investigation in Romania. More recently Trump didn't rule out a pardon for Sean Combs. 'It's so odd how there are internal contradictions that are explained by 'powerful men get to do whatever they want with impunity,' is there a word for this,' the writer Irin Carmon noted sarcastically in December. In case you missed her meaning: 'It's called patriarchy.' It's not just in policy or party leadership where you see the shift. In 2022, fewer than 30 percent of Republican men believed the proposition that 'women should return to their traditional roles in society,' according to the Views of the Electorate Research Survey assessed by a group of political scientists writing for The Times. Two years later, that number was 48 percent. Republican women underwent a similar surge — from 23 percent in 2022 to 37 percent in 2024. And over the past few years, Democrats, too, have been trending in the wrong direction, though those shifts have been smaller. Today, the political scientists note, 79 percent of Republican men and 67 percent of Republican women say they believe American society has gotten too 'soft and feminine,' with 43 percent of the country overall agreeing. (In 2023, the number got as high as 48 percent.) According to Pew, the share of Republicans who say American society has gotten too accepting of men taking on traditionally female roles — like nurses, presumably, or schoolteachers — has grown by 40 percent since 2017. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Miami Herald
7 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Footage Shows Chinese Ships Near US Ally's Disputed Island Base
The Philippines has released footage showing Chinese maritime forces operating near its largest outpost in the South China Sea's disputed Spratly Islands archipelago. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Philippine military for comment via written requests. China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, citing "historical rights," which puts it at odds with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Indonesia. In 2016, an arbitral tribunal in the Hague dismissed the sweeping claims featured in China's "nine-dashed line" map as incompatible with maritime law. Beijing rejected the decision. The Philippines has mounted a stiff challenge to expanding Chinese activities in its exclusive economic zone. The resulting standoffs between Chinese and Philippine government vessels have raised concerns that Manila's Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington could pull the U.S. into a conflict with its East Asian rival. On Wednesday, the People's Television Network, a Philippine state-owned broadcaster, released footage showing Chinese vessels operating off the coast of Thitu Island, well within the 12-nautical-mile (13.8-mile) territorial sea claimed by Manila. The ships included a Chinese coast guard cutter, a People's Liberation Army Navy warship and what appeared to be two vessels from China's so-called Maritime Militia. The agency did not specify when the footage was taken. Administered by the Philippines since 1971, Thitu is the largest of the Spratly Islands under the country's control and hosts a small permanent population. The island is also home to a small coast guard station, military garrison and airstrip, modest yet vital assets for maintaining Manila's force posture in the area. This is especially necessary given the proximity of China's more heavily militarized artificial islands. The waters around Thitu, and a nearby cluster of sandbars known as Sandy Cay, have at times become a flashpoint in the South China Sea dispute. In late May, Manila released video showing a Chinese coast guard ship using a water cannon against a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel. The Chinese ship also "sideswiped" the smaller craft and damaged its bow, according to Philippine authorities. Major General Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China's National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore: "It must be pointed out that the Philippines has always been the provocateur and China's actions have been legitimate responses. Here, I solemnly warn the Philippine side: The South China Sea is not a place where the Philippines can act recklessly." Gilberto Teodoro, the Philippine secretary of defense, told Newsweek on Sunday: "Unfortunately, they [China] are the cause of instability here. Nobody denies it. Nobody supports their nine-dash line here, and I made that clear in my condemnation-and a lot of people condemn their behavior because no right-minded person would agree with what they're doing here in the South China Sea." The Philippines is expanding infrastructure on Thitu Island, including a recently completed extension of its airstrip to 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles)-long enough to accommodate light transport aircraft and some fighter jets. A sheltered port is also in the works, which would enhance the operational range of Philippine maritime forces in surrounding waters. Related Articles Video Shows US Ally Confronting China in Contested WatersUS Ally Sends Strong Warning to ChinaMap Tracks Chinese Aircraft Carrier Near US AlliesChina Warns US Ally With Show of Force 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
9 hours ago
Ukraine's backers meet to drum up arms and ammo. The Pentagon chief is absent for the first time
BRUSSELS -- Senior officials from almost 50 nations gathered Wednesday to drum up more weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, with the Pentagon's chief absent for the first time since the group organizing the military aid was set up three years ago. The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters is going to be chaired by the United Kingdom and Germany. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would only arrive in Brussels after it's over. He will participate in a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Thursday. His absence is the latest in a series of steps that Washington has taken to distance itself from Ukraine's efforts to repel Russia's full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to U.N. estimates, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides. Before Wednesday's meeting, the U.K. said that it plans a tenfold increase in drone production to help Ukraine. Drones have become a decisive factor in the war, now in its fourth year. U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said that British companies are using lessons learned from the battlefield 'to develop advanced new drones to help protect Ukraine's civilians and also strengthen our own national security.' Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, created the group after Russia launched all-out war on Ukraine in 2022. Since then, Ukraine's backers have collectively provided around $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including more than $66.5 billion from the U.S. The United States hasn't chaired a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group since the Trump administration took office in January. European NATO allies are concerned that the U.S. might withdraw troops from Europe to focus on the Indo-Pacific. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that abandoning Ukraine would erode U.S. credibility in deterring any conflict with China over Taiwan.
