Trump-backed Polish nationalist Nawrocki wins presidency
WARSAW (Reuters) -- Nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki narrowly won Poland's presidential election, results released on Monday show, delivering a blow to the centrist government's efforts to cement Warsaw's pro-European orientation.
In a victory for European conservatives inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump, Nawrocki secured 50.89% of the vote, election commission data shows. The outcome presages more political gridlock as Nawrocki is likely to use his presidential veto to thwart Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal policy agenda.
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The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Ukraine has dominated NATO summits since Russia's invasion. Not this time with Trump
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The war in Ukraine and the existential threat that Russia poses to European security has dominated NATO's agenda in each of the summits the military alliance has held since Moscow launched its invasion in 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sat at the head of NATO's table and been uniformly praised for his leadership. Ukraine's place within the ranks of the world's biggest military organization seemed assured once the war was over. But three weeks before U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts gather in the Netherlands, it remained unclear whether Zelenskyy would even get a seat, or how much support Ukraine might win in the final summit communique. Asked on Wednesday about Ukraine's role at the top-level meeting on June 24-25 in The Hague, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said only that it "will be discussed and on the agenda." Ahead of previous summits, NATO envoys have a labored to craft statements that encompass Ukraine's "irreversible path to membership," with enduring pledges of support, while insisting that Russia poses the greatest threat to NATO security. Asked whether Zelenskyy would be invited this time, Rutte said that the meeting program would be available soon. A NATO-Ukraine Council -- standard fare at recent summits -- will not be held, so it's unclear how he would take part if he was. Invited to comment on Ukraine's covert weekend drone attack in Russia -- described as the most significant of the war by some officers and experts -- Rutte said: "I take note," underlining only that the drones had hit military targets. Responding to a similar question on Wednesday, Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said: "This war needs to come to an end." He said Trump "feels very strongly about that" and sees no military solution to end the war. What is clear is that Trump will take center-stage in The Hague, along with his demand that all 32 NATO allies invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense. Zelenskyy should not be allowed to steal the limelight. "A new defence investment plan will be at the heart of the NATO summit in The Hague," said Rutte, speaking on the eve of a meeting of the organization's defense ministers at its Brussels headquarters. He said this should involve "a huge increase in defense spending to make sure that we can keep ourselves safe, not only now, but also in the future." Rutte said defense companies "need to know that we are spending more" so they will ramp up production. Whitaker said that the 5% target "is not going to be a pledge -- this is going to be a commitment." He said that the U.S. wants to see concrete plans, budgets and timelines from European allies and Canada on how they intend to get there. He told reporters that the defense industries of NATO allies "must outpace" Russia. He added: "We have no choice. Let me be clear: the time is now." NATO's members are weighing a demand from Rutte that they each spend 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2032, plus a further 1.5% on military-related infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, airfields and ports. Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain are not yet spending 2%, though Spain expects to reach that goal this year. Without a strong show of support for Ukraine at the summit -- and the acknowledgement that Russia remains NATO's biggest security threat -- some member nations may struggle to convince voters of the need to boost defense spending at the expense of other budget demands.
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Japan Today
China issues bounty for hackers it says are linked to Taiwan
FILE PHOTO: A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Guangzhou has put up an undisclosed bounty for more than 20 people it suspects carried out cyber attacks in China, the official news agency Xinhua said on Thursday, stepping up accusations against Taipei. The authorities said the hackers were linked to the Taiwan government and named one of them as Ning Enwei. There was no information on the size of the bounty in Chinese state media. Chinese authorities accused Taiwan of organizing, planning and premeditating attacks on key sectors such as military, aerospace, government departments, energy and transportation, maritime affairs, science and technology research firms in China as well as in special administration regions Hong Kong and Macau, Xinhua said. Xinhua, citing a cybersecurity report, said the Taiwan "information, communication and digital army" has cooperated with U.S. anti-Chinese forces to conduct public opinion and cognitive warfare against China, secretly instigate revolution and attempt to disrupt public order in China. Taiwan's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that the Chinese allegations were invented, saying Beijing was trying to shift the focus from Czech and European scrutiny over alleged Chinese hacking activities there. "They fabricated a false narrative to shift the focus. It's a very typical behavior by the Chinese Communist Party," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. "No amount of storytelling can change the fact that Beijing is not only a regional trouble maker, but also a common international threat to the online world." China also said Taiwan had longstanding cooperation with the U.S. National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies for the United States' "Asia-Pacific Strategy", calling it Taiwan's attempt to gain independence through relying on the United States. "The US intelligence department has long provided personnel training and technical equipment support for Taiwan's 'information, communication and digital army', and many police stations have sent 'hunting' teams to Taiwan, to launch a cyber attacks on China," according to a social media post by an account linked to Chinese state television. Last week authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of the southern Guangdong province, attributed a cyberattack on an unnamed technology company to the Taiwan government, saying Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party supported the "overseas hacker organisation" responsible. The accusation prompted Taiwan to blame China for peddling false information, saying it was China who was carrying out hacking against the island. China views Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan's democratically elected government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims. Chinese courts and legal bodies have no jurisdiction in separately governed Taiwan, whose government has repeatedly complained about Beijing's "long armed jurisdiction" efforts. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yomiuri Shimbun
5 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Reuters file photo The United Nations flag flies in front of the Secretariat Building at the United Nations headquarters in New York City September 18, 2015. UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO/JERUSALEM, June 4 (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that demanded an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire' between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the war-torn enclave. The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month. 'The United States has been clear: We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,' Acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote, arguing that it would also undermine U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire. Washington is Israel's biggest ally and arms supplier. The Security Council vote came as Israel pushes ahead with an offensive in Gaza after ending a two-month truce in March. Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel said a soldier died in fighting. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward criticized the Israeli government's decisions to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict humanitarian aid as 'unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive.' Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told the council members who voted in favor of the draft: 'You chose appeasement and submission. You chose a road that does not lead to peace. Only to more terror.' Hamas condemned the U.S. veto, describing it as showing 'the U.S. administration's blind bias' towards Israel. The draft Security Council resolution had also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and others. RIVAL AID OPERATIONS The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians. Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble. Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited U.N.-led deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later a controversial new aid distribution system was launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the U.S. and Israel. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Israel and the U.S. are urging the U.N. to work through the GHF, which is using private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites. 'No one wants to see Palestinian civilians in Gaza go hungry or thirsty,' Shea told the Security Council, adding that the draft resolution did not 'acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of the prior method of aid delivery.' The U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral, militarizes aid and forces the displacement of Palestinians. No aid was distributed by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Wednesday as it pressed the Israeli military to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its so-called secure distribution sites after a deadly incident on Tuesday. The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to 'guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks' near military positions, provide clearer civilian guidance and enhance training of soldiers on civilian safety. 'DELAYS AND DENIALS' The GHF posted on Facebook that 'ongoing maintenance work' would delay the opening of its distribution sites on Thursday. It said on Tuesday that it has so far distributed more than seven million meals since it started operations. Despite U.S. and Israeli criticism of the U.N.-led Gaza aid operation, a U.S. ceasefire plan proposes the delivery of aid by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. Israel has agreed to the ceasefire plan but Hamas is seeking changes that the U.S. has rejected as 'totally unacceptable.' Ahead of the U.N. Security Council vote, U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher again appealed for the U.N. and aid groups to be allowed to assist people in Gaza, stressing that they have a plan, supplies and experience. 'Open the crossings – all of them. Let in lifesaving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in. Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials,' Fletcher said in a statement. The U.N. has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone. 'Enough of suffering of civilians. Enough of food being used as a weapon. Enough is enough is enough,' Slovenia's U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told the Security Council. A similar humanitarian-focused draft resolution is now expected to be put to a vote in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where no countries have a veto power and it would likely pass, diplomats said. Danon warned: 'Don't waste more of your time, because no resolution, no vote, no moral failure, will stand in our way.'
