Motaz Azaiza: Documenting the horror of life in Gaza
01:45
26/06/2025
James Webb telescope discovers its first exoplanet
26/06/2025
Several dead in Kenya protests against police brutality and poor governance
26/06/2025
Comparing US Iran strike to Hiroshima, Trump plays down intelligence report
26/06/2025
Several killed in nationwide anti-government rallies in Kenya
Africa
26/06/2025
Trump reduces Iran's nuclear capacity but "increases their intent to dash towards nuclear weapons"
Middle East
26/06/2025
Zelensky, Council of Europe rights body sign agreement for Ukraine war tribunal
26/06/2025
Spain refuses to commit to 5% NATO defence spending target
26/06/2025
NATO leaders agree to increase defence spending to 5%
26/06/2025
NATO Summit: 'Everyone is trying their best to roll out the red carpet for Trump'
Europe
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Euronews
16 minutes ago
- Euronews
FIFA faces quandary over US and Iran involvement at 2026 World Cup
FIFA is facing questions about how it will manage the involvement of both the US and Iran at next year's World Cup, just days after Donald Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities. The US became involved in the recent 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, which ended with an American-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday, when it dropped bunker-buster bombs on several targets inside Iran over the weekend. The mission was hailed by the Trump administration as a profound blow to Iran's nuclear programme, despite a US intelligence report later casting doubt on its effectiveness. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei claimed on Thursday that the US had "achieved no gains from this war". Amid the tension between the two countries, questions have been raised about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US and in which Iran will compete. Next year, Iran can only avoid matches in the US if they are placed in Group A, which is exclusively played in Mexico, another of the tournament's three hosts. According to the tournament system, if Iran tops Group A, it will play its round of 32 and round of 16 matches in Mexico. However, if they advance further into the knockout rounds, they would have to move to the US, potentially opening the door to unprecedented diplomatic and security issues. Under FIFA regulations, there is no provision that would prevent Iranians from playing on US soil, even though the Trump administration recently imposed a travel ban on Iranian nationals. An exemption could apply to Iran's football squad and its staff. Internal FIFA consultations are expected to be held ahead of the draw for the tournament in December. The final decision on the groupings will be made by the FIFA Council, which is chaired by the organisation's President Gianni Infantino, who has close ties to Trump. The FIFA Competitions Organising Committee - which includes representatives from the hosts Canada, Mexico and Iran and which is chaired by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin - will play an advisory role. The European position could set a precedent, as UEFA decided in 2022 to separate Ukraine and Belarus in the draw for European competitions, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Euronews has reached out to FIFA for comment about the US and Iran's involvement at next year's tournament. The Iranian national team secured its qualification to the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time in March. It competed in the last tournament in Qatar in 2022, where it faced its American counterpart in a match that attracted widespread political and media attention.
LeMonde
19 minutes ago
- LeMonde
Trump turns NATO summit into a solo act
"Fantastic." Euphoric after the success of the Israeli–American offensive against Iran, which he described as a resounding triumph, United States President Donald Trump, exultant, presented his participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in The Hague on Wednesday, June 25 as yet another accomplishment. Trump had plenty of reasons to be pleased with how the summit unfolded. Every detail of the event was carefully tailored with one objective in mind: Don't provoke the US president, and avoid anything that might expose divisions within the Western alliance. From that perspective, the 76 th NATO summit could be counted as a success. Trump dominated it from start to finish and flew back to Washington with what he saw as a symbolic victory – the commitment from allies to raise defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP). That's what mattered most to him. He could now tell his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base that he had secured what his much-criticized predecessors never could: a more equitable sharing of the burden for European security, which the United States has underwritten since World War II. In this regard, the details were secondary – how the 5% would be divided between investments and operational expenses, the vagueness around timelines and the absence of any enforcement mechanisms. For European leaders, the outcome was far less impressive. To placate their narcissistic and unpredictable partner, they had to engage in extraordinary levels of flattery – sometimes bordering on the absurd – as in the case of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. In exchange for the 5% pledge, they managed to secure a reaffirmation in the final declaration of the "unwavering commitment to collective defense" among all allies – a nod to the enduring relevance of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. But how meaningful is that commitment coming from a US president who, even on the eve of the summit, repeatedly cast doubt on the value of Article 5? The most troubling European concession to Washington involved Russia and Ukraine. The final declaration, stripped to the bare minimum, made no mention of Russian aggression or the ongoing war in Ukraine – glaring omissions, given Trump's refusal to hold Vladimir Putin accountable. Nor did the document include even the faintest promise that Ukraine might eventually join NATO. Compared to previous summits, this was a clear step backward. Russia was referred to only as a "long-term threat," even though it has been bombing civilian targets daily in the heart of Europe and waging hybrid warfare against NATO members. Trump did agree to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky. In a show of magnanimity, he even called the Ukrainian president "likable". But he made no commitment to continuing US military aid to the country. Despite appearances, the Europeans found themselves effectively on their own. It now falls to them to stand tall and prepare for the concrete disengagement of the United States and the likely withdrawal of some of the 100,000 American troops stationed on the continent. They must help Ukraine continue to resist Russian aggression, coordinate their fragmented defense industries and reduce their dependency on the United States. Those 5% of GDP will have to be found, not to placate Trump, but to ensure Europe's own security.
France 24
20 minutes ago
- France 24
After NATO deal, how far will EU go for trade peace with Trump?
Time is running out. The European Union has until July 9 to reach a deal or see swingeing tariffs kick in on a majority of goods, unleashing economic pain. The European Commission, in charge of EU trade policy, has been in talks with Washington for weeks, and will update leaders on the state of play at Thursday's summit. The leader of the bloc's biggest economy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, set the tone upon arrival. "I support the commission in all its efforts to reach a trade agreement quickly," said Merz, signalling he wants negotiators to close a deal as soon as possible -- even if it means an unbalanced outcome with the Europeans agreeing to some level of US tariffs. The EU has put a zero-percent tariff proposal on the table -- but it's widely seen as a non-starter in talks with Washington. According to several diplomats, the goal at this point is rather to let Trump claim victory without agreeing a deal that would significantly hurt Europe. One diplomat suggested leaders would be happy with a "Swiss cheese" agreement -- with a general US levy on European imports, but enough loopholes to shield key sectors such as steel, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and aeronautics. This would be less painful than the status quo with European companies currently facing 25-percent tariffs on steel, aluminium and auto goods exported to the United States, and 10 percent on a majority of EU products. Merz on Monday hit out at the EU's approach to talks with Washington as "too complicated", urging "rapid, joint decisions for four or five major industries now". The issue will be discussed over a summit dinner Thursday, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen planning to test leaders' red lines in negotiations. If no agreement is reached, the default tariff on EU imports is expected to double to 20 percent or even higher -- Trump having at one point threatened 50 percent. Keeping calm Unlike Canada or China, which hit back swiftly at Trump's tariff hikes, the EU has consistently sought to negotiate with the US leader -- threatening retaliation only if no agreement is reached. "We will not allow ourselves to be provoked, we will remain calm," said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, urging the EU to avert an all-out trade war with Washington. "We are negotiating and we hope to reach an agreement," but "if this is not the case, we will obviously adopt countermeasures", he warned. Speaking at NATO's summit in The Hague on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said a trade war among alliance partners "makes no sense" at a time when they are pledging to spend more their common defence. "We can't say to each other, among allies, we need to spend more... and wage trade war against one another," Macron said. Talks between EU and US negotiators have intensified in recent weeks. "The problem is that on behalf of the United States, we have a heavyweight dealmaker -- on our side, European Union, have light capacity and capability leaders to negotiate," said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Trump divides the Europeans. Orban and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are both vocally supportive of Trump -- while others are more wary. Meloni on Wednesday declared herself "quite optimistic" about reaching a deal and echoed Macron, albeit in a softer manner, saying spending more on defence among NATO allies went hand in hand with avoiding trade spats. Pro-trade countries in Europe's north are especially keen to avoid an escalation. The EU has threatened to slap tariffs on US goods worth around 100 billion euros, including cars and planes, if talks fail to yield an agreement -- but has not made any mention of those threats since May. The United States is also using the negotiations to try to extract concessions on EU rules -- particularly digital competition, content and AI regulations, which Washington claims unfairly target American champions such as Apple, Google, and Meta. Europeans are ready to discuss common transatlantic standards, but the EU's digital rules are a red line for Brussels.
