Why Italy's defence spending lags far behind
The mood when Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, met Donald Trump on April 17th could not have been sweeter. Mr Trump's guest was 'a great prime minister' doing 'a fantastic job'. He was even 'very proud to be with her'. When Ms Meloni slipped into MAGA-speak to suggest she and the president could 'make the West great again', he assented.
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Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Albanese still awaiting crucial meeting with Donald Trump
Anthony Albanese is jetting off abroad to meet other world leaders, yet has been criticised for failing to secure an official meeting with Donald Trump as the US administration applies pressure on Australia's defence spending. The Prime Minister will leave Canberra on Friday to meet his 'dear friend', the Prime minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, before then travelling on to Seattle for a meeting of world business leaders. His next stop will be the G7 summit in the mountainous Canadian town of Kananaskis where Albanese will cross paths with the US President, just days after the Pentagon announced it was launching a review into the $368bn AUKUS submarine deal. 'I look forward to working productively with world leaders to discuss how we tackle some of the most challenging issues facing Australia, our region, and the world,' Albanese said. But the Opposition has been critical of his inability to lock in a meeting with Trump, at time when the AUKUS deal hangs in the balance and Australia has not been able to get an exemption to US trade tariffs. It also comes at a time when the US President has put pressure on Australia to increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP - up from the current rate of around 2.3 per cent. Albanese has spoken over the phone twice to President Trump since he was re-elected in November last year but the pair are yet to meet face-to-face. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said on Friday morning she was 'concerned' about the US review into the AUKUS deal by Defence Under Secretary for Policy, Elbridge Colby, who she claimed was a 'a sceptic of AUKUS'. Under the $368 billion submarine program, Australia is set to acquire at least three nuclear-powered Virginia-class boats from the US in the early 2030s before a new fleet is built for delivery from the 2040s. The pact between Australia, the US, and the UK is aimed at countering China's expanding presence in the Indo-Pacific. But the Pentagon review will assess whether the deal meets Trump's 'America First' objectives. Ley acknowledged that it was 'really hard' to secure a meeting with the US President, but she insisted Albanese had failed where others had succeeded. 'Lots of other world leaders have had that meeting. We haven't,' Ley told KIIS FM. However, Trump is yet to lock in any meetings with other world leaders at the summit, The Australian reported. The G7 brings together seven of the world's largest advanced economies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – and the European Union. Climate and security are expected to dominate the diplomatic talks between leaders. Australia is not a member of the G7, but Canadian prime minister Mark Carney extended an invitation to Albanese. He is expected to meet with the US president on the sidelines of the conference, where he could try to carve out a tariff exemption. Australia is facing 10 per cent tariffs on goods exported to the US and - like every US trading partner except the UK - has been hit with 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel sent to America.
Telegraph
39 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump's ‘big beautiful bill' to make wealthy even richer and punish poor
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
LA protests live: Appeals court pauses ruling for Trump to return National Guard control to Newsom
A US appeals court allowed president Donald Trump to temporarily maintain the National Guard deployed in Los Angeles, moments after a federal judge had ordered him to return control of the troops to California governor Gavin Newsom. The decision by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals paused a lower court ruling blocking the mobilisation of the National Guard by Trump. Judge Charles R Breyer had ruled on Thursday that Trump's actions were 'illegal' and 'he must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith". The appeals court paused Mr Breyer's ruling. California senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference being held by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday when he attempted to question her on the Trump administration's response to unrest in LA. Some 700 Marines deployed to the city were expected to support up to 4,000 National Guard troops to protect ICE agents conducting immigration raids from Friday. This plan had been in limbo after Trump was ordered to return the troops to Newsom. The Independent found. Morale among California National Guard and Marines deployed in LA is underwater, report claims The 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 US Marines sent to Los Angeles in response to the ongoing anti-immigration raid protests are reportedly suffering from low morale, according to members of the veterans community, amid allegations of a chaotic initial deployment and widespread concerns of the military being drafted into domestic law enforcement. 'Among all that I spoke with, the feeling was that the Marines are being used as political pawns, and it strains the perception that Marines are apolitical,' Marine Corps veteran Janessa Goldbeck, who runs the Vet Voice Foundation, told The Guardian. 'Some were concerned that the Marines were being set up for failure. The overall perception was that the situation was nowhere at the level where Marines were necessary.' 'The sentiment across the board right now is that deploying military force against our own communities isn't the kind of national security we signed up for,' added Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative in an interview with the outlet. Josh Marcus reports. Morale among National Guard and Marines deployed in LA is underwater, report claims State leaders in California have sharply criticized Trump administration decision to ignore their wishes and send military troops to respond to Los Angeles protests 13 June 2025 06:00 Hundreds of protesters assembled outside of Portland ICE detention center At least 400 protesters assembled outside of a Portland ICE detention center Thursday night, The New York Times reported. The crowd chanted, 'Say it loud and say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!' Rachel Dobkin13 June 2025 05:40 Ramming cars and raiding churches: The ways ICE is becoming more aggressive in arresting migrants Ramming cars, sledgehammering windows and raiding churches in pursuit of migrants appears to be the new norm for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Trump's America. Democratic lawmakers have questioned 'the appropriateness, proportionality, and execution of ICE tactics, ' while immigration attorneys say the agency's approach has escalated after a series of high-profile incidents over recent weeks. 'When ICE was first active in 2003, it was supposed to protect Americans and people living within the United States,' immigration attorney Michael Cataliotti told The Independent. 'Not any more. These days, ICE is a tool being used to scare, arrest, detain, and fill up the prison systems under the guise of 'Protecting America.'' Cataliotti said that under previous administrations, ICE had more 'humanity' compared to now. 'This is astonishingly different,' the New York-based attorney said. 'It's a tremendous violation of norms, like going into churches, which were always considered off-limits, or, simply, assault and battery and reckless endangerment, when they're driving cars into folks.' Rhian Lubin reports. Ramming cars and raiding churches: ICE getting more aggressive in arresting migrants Tactics deployed by ICE agents to detain migrants are becoming more aggressive, a catalogue of recent high-profile incidents show Rachel Dobkin13 June 2025 05:20 Newsom slams Trump with Marvel movie reference California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed President Donald Trump, telling reporters Thursday night, 'He creates a problem and then he tries to be a hero in his own Marvel movie.' Newsom's comments were in response to a reporter's question about Trump admitting on Truth Social Thursday his 'aggressive' immigration policy is deporting 'very good, long time' farmers and that America 'must protect our farmers.' Here is the president's full Truth Social post: 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!' Rachel Dobkin13 June 2025 05:00 Curfew on downtown Los Angeles is in effect for the third night Starting 8 p.m. Pacific/11 p.m. Eastern, a curfew was enforced on Los Angeles for the third night. Officials first announced the curfew Tuesday after anti-ICE protests in the city got criminal after dark. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Tuesday the curfew would be in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time 'to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting.' She later said the curfew would remain in effect indefinitely. According to New York Times reporter Orlando Mayorquin reporting from Los Angeles, local police were arresting the few protesters that remained after the curfew. Rachel Dobkin13 June 2025 04:42 Appeals court pauses judge ruling for Trump to return National Guard troops to Newsom An appeals court has paused a judge's ruling for President Donald Trump to return the thousands of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles in response to anti-ICE raids back to California Governor Gavin Newsom. Judge Charles R. Breyer had ruled Thursday night that Trump's actions were 'illegal,' and 'he must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.' The Trump administration appealed Breyer's ruling, which led to the pause. Rachel Dobkin13 June 2025 04:35 In pictures: Anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles today Protests against President Donald Trump's immigration raids continued in Los Angeles on Thursday. 13 June 2025 04:20 Trump team sends removal notices to more than half a million migrants allowed into the country under Biden program The Department of Homeland Security started handing out termination notices to thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela this week after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a decision that allows the Trump administration to end a Biden-era humanitarian parole program. Notices reviewed by CNN warned the migrants that if they do not leave voluntarily, they could face enforcement measures including detention and removal, 'without an opportunity to make personal arrangements and return to your country in an orderly manner.' The humanitarian parole program, introduced by the Biden administration, granted eligible migrants permission to enter the United States on a two-year stay. Approximately 530,000 citizens from the four countries were allowed in under the program. The Trump administration has criticized the program, claiming that it allowed 'poorly vetted' migrants into the country. But the program does require applicants to pass background checks and secure a financial sponsor to ensure they would not become a public burden. Andrea Cavallier reports. Rachel Dobkin13 June 2025 04:00 Rachel Dobkin13 June 2025 03:38
