Spain says NATO 5% spending target is 'unreasonable'
24/06/2025
Iran-Israel conflict: NATO countries 'setting out parameters and objectives' ahead of summit
Middle East
24/06/2025
Macron and Støre denounce 'illegal' US strikes on Iran, call for 'diplomatic solution'
Europe
21/06/2025
Vatican: Saint Peter Basilica's cupola gets a makeover
Europe
21/06/2025
Fete de la musique: a French celebration of music that has gone international
Europe
21/06/2025
Italy's Meloni touts €1.2 bn plan to boost Africa economies: mirage or reality?
Europe
21/06/2025
Ukraine: Life in a partially destroyed building in Kyiv
On the ground
Europe
16/06/2025
An independent Russian website reveals links between Telegram and Russian FSB
Europe
16/06/2025
Spaniards turn water guns on visitors in Barcelona and Mallorca to protest mass tourism
Europe
12/06/2025
Climate change disrupting species' habitats and altering both productivity and seasonality
Environment
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Euronews
40 minutes ago
- Euronews
France, Indonesia evacuate citizens stranded in Israel and Iran
102 French citizens arrived in Cyprus on Tuesday aboard a French military aircraft after evacuation from Israel. The French Ambassador to Cyprus, Clélia Chevrier Kolačko said the plane flew from Tel Aviv to Larnaca. 'I really need to thank them very much (Cypriot authorities), we are offering them shelter here in Larnaca. And tomorrow they will go back to Paris,' said Kolačko. France's Foreign Ministry arranged the flight out and more are expected to arrive to Cyprus on Wednesday, according to the ambassador. Jeremie Khiat said he arrived in Israel 15 days ago for a vacation with friends and family, when the missiles started flying at the start of the war between Israel and Iran on 8 June. He said the original plan was to flee to Egypt by bus on Monday, but the French embassy notified them that a military aircraft would fly them out of Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday. The Parisian said he was relieved to leave. 'There was like a few attacks that were very scary, but everyone is doing great,' noted Khiat. Cyprus has become a key transit hub for people evacuated from Israel to be repatriated following the start of the war. Thousands of Israeli citizens stranded abroad have come to Cyprus to either catch a flight or return home aboard a cruise ship that brought evacuees. Cyprus has activated its ESTIA plan for the brief hosting and repatriation of third country nationals from regional conflict areas. The plan is enacted by the foreign ministry in emergencies and national crises. Meanwhile, the first commercial flight evacuating Indonesian citizens from Iran landed in the country's capital on Tuesday amid escalating regional tensions. The first round of 29 evacuees were initially scheduled to fly home on three flights from Azerbaijani capital, Baku. However, only eleven of them arrived at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday evening on a Turkish Airlines flight. Travel plans for the remaining evacuees were rescheduled after two Qatar Airways flights were impacted by the closure of Qatar's airspace, following Iran's attacks on the US' Al-Udeid Air Base in retaliation for Washington's strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Indonesia recently ordered the evacuation of its citizens from the warring Iran and Israel. About 386 Indonesians were residing in Iran, many of whom were studying in the country's metropolis, Qom. As of Tuesday, only 96 Indonesians had left Iran using land routes via Azerbaijan – 93 of which were civilians and three embassy staff. Andy Rachmianto, an Indonesian diplomat currently in charge of coordinating the evacuation of Indonesian citizens from Iran said their embassies in the Gulf region are receiving more requests for evacuations as 'the escalation of the conflict is still ongoing and is still very dynamic.' The Indonesian diplomat added that the government plans to carry out a second phase of evacuations for its citizens in the region soon.
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Trump rattles NATO allies as he descends on summit
US President Donald Trump swept into NATO's Hague summit Tuesday, June 24, with allies hoping a pledge to ramp up defense spending will keep the mercurial leader of the military superpower committed to protecting them. Trump joined leaders from NATO's 31 other members to kick off the two-day gathering with a dinner hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander in the ornate Orange Hall at his royal residence. The alliance hopes to keep Trump bound to its mutual defense vow by meeting his demand for a headline figure of 5% of GDP on defense spending. But Trump refused to say he was committed to NATO's Article Five clause and protecting Europe in comments that will likely rattle his counterparts on the continent. "Depends on your definition. There's numerous definitions of Article Five," Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One. "I'm committed to being their friend." To keep Trump on board, NATO members have thrashed out a compromise deal to dedicate 3.5% to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5% to broader security-related areas such as cybersecurity and infrastructure. NATO says the military build-up is crucial to deter Russia, which officials warn is rapidly rebuilding its forces depleted by the war in Ukraine and could be ready to attack the alliance in five years. But it is just as important for keeping Trump engaged as Washington warns it may shift forces from Europe to face the threat from China. "They're going to be lifting it to 5%, that's good," Trump said. "It gives them much more power." But while the promise of more spending could win Trump over, deep divisions remain over the approach to Europe's key security issue: Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump said he would probably meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky while in The Hague, with Kyiv hoping it can avoid a repeat of the pair's infamous Oval Office bust-up. 'The Europe of defense has finally awakened' European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told an audience in The Hague that NATO's "historic" spending pledge showed that "the Europe of defense has finally awakened." Alliance leaders, meanwhile – many of whom are struggling to find the money that will be required – lined up to argue that the threats facing the continent required bold steps. "We must navigate this era of radical uncertainty with agility," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in announcing the UK's commitment to meet the target. Starmer, on Wednesday, will formally announce that his country is buying a dozen F-35A fighters, capable of carrying atomic weapons to support NATO's nuclear mission. The purchase marks an expansion of Britain's nuclear deterrence, which is currently limited to submarine-launched missiles. A statement late Tuesday from Starmer's office quoted NATO Chief Mark Rutte as saying: "I strongly welcome today's announcement," calling it "yet another robust British contribution to NATO." Separately, powerhouse Germany announced plans to hit the 3.5% figure for core defense needs by 2029 – six years before the timeline. At the other end of the scale, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has risked Trump's ire by insisting his country doesn't have to meet the five percent target. For its part, the Kremlin attacked NATO for its "rampant militarisation", with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: "This is the reality that surrounds us." New Since storming back to power, Trump has upended the West's approach to the three-year conflict by turning his back on Kyiv and opening the door to closer ties with Moscow. Zelensky was set to play less of a central role than at recent NATO gatherings and will not attend the main working session. But Ukraine's president said he would discuss with Trump buying a package of weapons made up mainly of air defenses. Zelensky would also push Trump on imposing new sanctions on Russia as Moscow has stalled peace efforts being pressed by Washington, Kyiv said. "There are no signs that Putin wants to stop this war. Russia rejects all peace proposals, including those from the US. Putin only thinks about war," the Ukrainian leader told a defense forum held alongside the summit. Trump did briefly meet on the sidelines of the summit late Tuesday with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who urged "close dialogue" to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Rutte said allies would send the message that support for Kyiv was "unwavering and will persist." But despite his insistence that Ukraine's bid for membership remains "irreversible," NATO will avoid any mention of Kyiv's push to join after Trump ruled it out.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
France's Socialists' file no-confidence measure after pensions talks crumble
France 's Socialists filed a no-confidence measure against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou after pension talks collapsed, a senior party lawmaker said on Tuesday, but it seems unlikely to pass after the far-right indicated it would not follow suit. Months-long talks between French trade unions and employers over reforms to the pension system crumbled late on Monday, prompting Bayrou to summon both sides for talks to find a way forward. The failure of those talks makes Bayrou vulnerable, as his centrist government, grouping President Emmanuel Macron 's Ensemble alliance and the conservative Republicans, could fall anytime if left-wing and far-right parties band together to back a motion of no-confidence. It also augurs badly for what are likely to be even tougher talks over the 2026 budget bill, with the government seeking to push through 40 billion euros ($46 billion) in spending cuts. Boris Vallaud, leader of the Socialists in the lower house, told parliament that Bayrou had not kept his promise to put a new pension reform bill to parliament. "This compels us to file a motion of censure," Vallaud said. The hard-left France Unbowed has previously supported the idea of a confidence vote, but without support from Marine Le Pen 's far-right National Rally (RN), the measure looks unlikely to pass. Gaëtan Dussausaye, an RN lawmaker, said the RN was not looking to topple the government, and Le Pen did not mention such a move when she addressed parliament. "We don't censure for nothing — but that's exactly what the left is proposing here," said Dussausaye. Bayrou finds himself in a similar situation to the previous prime minister, Michel Barnier, whose three-month-long administration was propped up by the RN until it backed a no-confidence measure in December over his belt-tightening 2025 budget bill. In parliament on Tuesday, Bayrou said he was still convinced that "there is a path, albeit a very difficult one, that can lead us out of this impasse". In what were billed as last-chance talks, pension negotiators failed to agree on how to amend an unpopular 2023 overhaul of the pension system that will gradually raise the retirement age to 64 from 62. Unions wanted to allow workers with physically taxing jobs to retire earlier, and to give more weight to maternity leave, while employers were wary of concessions that could weigh on the system's finances. Bayrou, a centrist and long-time debt hawk, had called the union-employer talks in a bid to prevent the Socialists withdrawing their support for him.
