Nato chief warns Russia will help China invade Taiwan by distracting Europe
Mr Rutte suggested this scenario is highly probable and necessitates strong deterrence against both Beijing and Moscow.
He said deterrence strategies include a robust Nato and enhanced cooperation with the Indo-Pacific region.
Mr Rutte highlighted that Donald Trump advocates for increased collaboration with the Indo-Pacific on defence and innovation.
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province, with president Xi Jinping having threatened to use force to "reunite" the island with the mainland.
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The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK military chief meets US counterparts for Ukraine talks
The head of Britain's armed forces has met with his Nato counterparts as Europe continues to push for security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin met senior US defence officials alongside other European military chiefs in Washington DC on Wednesday to discuss military options to secure peace in Ukraine. He later attended a virtual meeting of Nato's military committee, described by its chairman Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone as 'candid'. On Tuesday evening, Admiral Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, had dined with his US counterpart General Dan Caine. The meetings come amid renewed planning for a 'coalition of the willing', led by the UK and France, that would guarantee Kyiv's security in the event of a ceasefire. Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired a meeting of the coalition, in which members of the group also discussed the possibility of further sanctions on Russia. Western security guarantees, strongly resisted by Moscow, are one of the central issues for any peace deal for Ukraine, which fears Russia could otherwise use a ceasefire to regroup and launch a renewed invasion. So far, only the UK and France have indicated they could commit troops to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. In an interview on Tuesday Donald Trump ruled out an American ground contribution but suggested the US could be willing to provide some form of air support. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had earlier suggested the US could offer Ukraine a mutual defence agreement similar to Nato's Article 5, without Kyiv formally joining the alliance. Renewed talks among the 'coalition of the willing' follow last week's summit between Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska as the US president continued to push for an end to a conflict he had promised he could finish on his first day in office. Those talks appeared to result in little progress towards a deal, but sparked concern among some in Europe that Mr Trump could seek to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into accepting a deal without sufficient security guarantees. On Monday, Sir Keir and Mr Macron joined other European leaders in travelling to Washington in a show of support for Mr Zelensky during a meeting with Mr Trump. Meanwhile, the UK and Russia traded sanctions as London sought to increase the pressure on Moscow to end its invasion. Europe minister Stephen Doughty unveiled sanctions on a series of organisations linked to Kyrgyzstan's financial services sector, saying they had been involved in Kremlin attempts to 'soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks'. Russia in turn sanctioned 21 individuals, including former Labour MP Denis MacShane, several journalists, and the Government-appointed independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall.
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump administration to expand review of Smithsonian museums to ‘get Woke out'
Amid the Donald Trump administration's heavy-handed review of Smithsonian museums, the Guardian has seen a document compiled by the White House that argues the widely visited cultural institutions have overly negative portrayals of US history, from a Benjamin Franklin exhibit that links his scientific achievements to his ownership of enslaved people and a film about George Floyd's murder that it says mischaracterizes the police. The document, based on public submissions shared with the administration, shows that seven museums have so far been flagged for review: the National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Latino, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of African Art, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Museum of Asian Art. 'President Trump will explore all options and avenues to get the Woke out of the Smithsonian and hold them accountable,' a White House official said. 'Until we get info from the Smithsonian in response to our letter, we can't verify the numbers of artifacts that have been removed because the Smithsonian has removed them on their own.' Trump announced the initiative on Truth Social earlier this week, writing: 'The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been.' The administration argues exhibits at these museums focus excessively on oppression rather than American achievements. At the National Museum of American History, the document flagged the ¡Presente! Latino history exhibition for allegedly promoting an 'anti-American agenda' by examining colonization effects and depicting the US as stealing territory from Mexico in 1848. Examples from the document also shames the museum's Benjamin Franklin exhibit for linking his scientific achievements to his ownership of enslaved people, and the Star-Spangled Banner display for focusing on American historical failures and controversies rather than celebrating national achievements. The National Portrait Gallery is being singled out for focusing on how the Chinese Exclusion Act and other racist immigration laws contradicted the Statue of Liberty's welcoming message. The African art museum is targeted over the George Floyd film. And the Asian art museum is flagged for exhibitions for claiming to impose western gender ideology on traditional cultures. Last week, the White House budget director, Russ Vought, sent letters to eight museums demanding information about exhibits within 30 days and instructing officials to implement 'content corrections' including replacing 'divisive' language. The review follows similar Trump administration pressure on universities, which resulted in institutions paying hundreds of millions to the government and walking back diversity initiatives. Separately, the Smithsonian has already made changes to exhibits referencing Trump, removing all mention of his impeachments from a presidential power display at the American history museum in July, leaving only generic references to three presidents facing potential removal from office. The Smithsonian Institution did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Epping's win over asylum hotel is glorious but I know where they'll put evicted migrants & it's bad news for some Brits
SHAZAAM! And in one glorious moment, the government's asylum seeker policies lay in complete ruins. Now, they are in BIG trouble. I say a glorious moment — and it is. For years it has quietly infuriated the ordinary people of England that asylum seekers are housed at our expense in hotels. 8 8 8 And even in some cases get gym membership, or hair extensions! And come down every morning to a full English. While you are pouring milk on your last Weetabix and wondering how to feed the kids. It's no use the lefties howling. 'No, no, it's not like that at all! And in any case most of the migrants go for the continental breakfast option. You know, croissants and stuff.' It is EXACTLY like that, as we have seen. Not to mention the stress on local communities who suddenly get a whole bunch of young men from a different culture dumped on them. Not all of the young men being as nice as pie. Anyway, Epping — where the residents protested about migrants in a local hotel — has won its court battle. As a result there will be no more migrants staying in that hotel. Victory! And now lots of other councils have followed suit. They too will be kicking out the illegals. The government is absolutely spitting feathers. The problem now, then, is where are these migrants to go. My suggestion last week was tents. Or South Georgia. Or Rockall. But the Government won't buy that idea, sadly. And this is where we need to watch them very carefully. To see what they come up with. Because it's largely in the south that migrants are held in hotels. In the north of England, because of cheap property prices, they tend to be housed in what are called Houses in Multiple Occupation. 16 arrested after protests outside Epping migrant hotel as ring of steel ramps up around TWO asylum seeker centres And so with the hotel option being closed down, it may be that the Government decides to swamp the north of England with migrants. Because it can do so cheaply. It may think (being pretty stupid) that is the only option. The local councils in the north need to shout out a big fat NO to that notion. These are the areas of the UK that already have the biggest social problems. They are also our poorest regions. The last thing these communities want or need is for boatload after boatload of asylum seekers to be dumped on their doorsteps. I think we can trust the councils run by Reform UK to oppose this idea completely. And so the Government will expect the Labour-run councils to help them out. And that means more and more problems for the Government. Because the voters will see that its Reform which says no to housing illegal asylum seekers. And the Labour Party which says yes. And that will be another few hundred thousand votes lost to Sir Keir Starmer at the next election. In the meantime, we might hope that this all sharpens the Government's concentration a little. And that they step up with more measures to stop the asylum seekers arriving here in the first place. As I said last week, a law that says anyone who tries to come here illegally will be barred from ever being allowed to stay would be the first thing to do. But I bet Labour doesn't have the gonads to do it. YES, inflation is up again. Almost double the Bank of England 's target rate. That means no reduction in interest rates. And further down the line, another cash crisis for the poorest of us. Is there any section of the economy Labour hasn't hurt? GET SET FOR AN EXODUS 8 RACHEL Reeves ' next plan to bankrupt everybody in the country is to put a tax on our homes. Don't forget, we've already been taxed on the money we spent on our homes. Now it is reported that she wants a property tax. But only at the more expensive end of the market. Anything that seems aspirational, anything that rewards hard work – the Chancellor will tax it. Soon we'll be left with a country full of skanks. Because everybody who works hard and saves dosh will have fled. DANGER DOLPHIN A DOLPHIN called Reggie has been attacking women off the Dorset coast. Especially if he sees that they are wearing a wetsuit. He swims up to them and seemingly tries to push their heads under water by jumping on their backs. I suspect it's because he's bored stiff with them making awe-stricken 'oohs' and 'ahhs' whenever he hoves into view. And taking selfies. He's basically saying: 'Go on, shove this on WhatsApp, you ditzy cow.' PANTS FOR PC VICTIM WHILE searching through Lea-Ann Sullivan's bedroom drawer, a copper found a pair of her knickers and quickly put them in his back pocket. The policeman, Marcin Zielinski, resigned from the force and has since been sent to prison. Lea-Ann is not happy, though. She said she is constantly thinking: 'What did he want them for? Why did he take them? What's he going to do with them? How many more people has he done it to?' Well, I could give Lea-Ann the answer to some of those questions. All but the last one, in fact. It is not recorded if PC Perv was allowed to keep the knickers. NAIVE ZOE SO WRONG 8 THERE was a woman on the BBC Newsnight programme who showed exactly why asylum seekers have become such a problem. She was called Zoe Gardner. Probably still is. And she thought the protests against the asylum seekers had been organised by ' Nazis and fascists'. She said a solution to the problem would be to build 'not for profit' homes for ALL of the asylum seekers. And that none of them were 'illegal'. She had a grasp of the subject you might have expected in a reasonably responsive four-year-old child. An absolute halfwit. Naive and hating of her own countrymen. And absolutely certain she was right. KEEP IT FIT FOR MOOR THE Government is proposing to ban the winter burning of heather moorland. Good. Come February the moors near me resemble a warzone. All of this activity to protect one bird – the grouse. The Moorland Association, which represents landowners, says the Government should think again. Controlled burning prevents wildfires, the association says. What rubbish. In fact, the so-called controlled burning can lead to wildfires itself, according to the RSPB. We need to reform the grouse moors. And make them fit habitats for a vast array of wildlife, not just grouse. TWISTS ON THE BORING NAME OLIVER 8 8 OK, so the most popular name for baby boys in the UK is Muhammad. But Oliver is high up on the list too. In fact, everywhere I looked in the country, Oliver was coming out near the top. I think I marginally prefer Muhammad, no offence. Know what the most popular girl's name was? Olivia. Have we lost our imaginations? We'll soon be an entire nation of Olivers and Olivias. If you're about to pup, here are a few suggestions for racy alternatives to Oliver and Olivia, with a bit of back history so you can explain the reasoning to rellies. Sputnik – to commemorate the first satellite. Gnasher – to commemorate Dennis the Menace's dog. PraiseGod Barebones – to commemorate a roundhead politician from the 17th century. Reeves – in homage to our brilliant Chancellor. Bakelite – to honour the first commercially available plastic. Nebuchadnezzar – after the Babylonian king. Ngerulmud – 'because she was conceived when we were on holiday on Palau. It's the capital, you know.'
