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Arab News
25-02-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Ahead of Starmer meeting with Trump, UK to raise defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027
LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged Tuesday to raise UK defense spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2027, saying Europe is in a new era of insecurity that requires a 'generational response.'The announcement came two days before Starmer is due at the White House to try to persuade US President Donald Trump to maintain American support for Ukraine and the NATO alliance.'We must stand by Ukraine, because if we do not achieve a lasting peace, then the economic instability and threats to our security, they will only grow,' Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons.'And so as the nature of that conflict changes, as it has in recent weeks, it brings our response into sharper focus, a new era that we must meet as we have so often in the past, together, and with strength.'The UK currently spends 2.3 percent of gross domestic product on defense, and the government had previously set a 2.5 percent target, without setting a told lawmakers that the increase amounts to an additional 13.4 billion pounds ($17 billion) a year. He said the goal is for defense spending to rise to 3 percent of GDP by pay for it, overseas development aid will be slashed from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of national income, he said that his announcement amounted to the 'biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War,' and necessary because 'tyrants like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin only respond to strength.'The announcement came as European countries scramble to bolster their collective defense as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to quickly end the war in has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the US provides security to European countries that don't pull their is due to meet with Trump at the White House on prime minister has offered to send British troops to Ukraine as part of a force to safeguard a ceasefire under a plan being championed by the UK and France, but says an American 'backstop' will be needed to ensure a lasting peace. Trump hasn't committed to providing security guarantees for Ukraine, saying Monday after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House that 'Europe is going to make sure nothing happens.'Starmer's center-left government is seeking closer defense cooperation with Europe, as part of a 'reset' with the European Union after years of bitterness over also wants good relations with Washington, even as Trump, who advocates an 'America First' foreign policy platform, disparages allies, threatens tariffs on trading partners and labels Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — but not Putin — a 'dictator.''We must reject any false choice between our allies, between one side of the Atlantic and the other,' Starmer said. He said that he would tell Trump: ''I want this relationship to go from strength to strength.''
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Ancient Roman Landmark Found Under London Office Building
London's origins as a city date back to the days of the Roman Empire, after the invaders arrived to Great Britain and established the town of Londinium. Nearly two millennia later, remnants of the Romans' presence are still being found in the U.K. capital. Developers were preparing to demolish an office building from the 1930s in the heart of London when archaeologists at the site unearthed parts of the city's first Roman basilica in the basement of the building. It was built around 80 C.E., nearly four decades after the Romans invaded Great Britain, and functioned as a forum and town hall for the ancient city of Londinium where officials often made major political, judicial, and commercial decisions. "There could be political discussions happening. It could have been business transactions and big business deals," Andrew Henderson-Schwartz, communications head for Museum of London Archaeology, which led the excavation, told NBC News. "Essentially, it's like shooting forward 2,000 years in time and finding the speaker chair to the House of Commons."The discovery was made near London Bridge and the Tower of London, placing the ancient multipurpose government building smack dab in the middle of Londinium. "It really is the heart of Roman London, where the big decisions that were made impacted the rest of London and also the wider Roman world in Britain," Henderson-Schwartz said. "We knew that this was potentially the site of the first Roman basilica, but what we didn't know was how well these remains had survived."Luckily, if you're interested in experiencing the ancient building for yourself, you don't have to wait until the pieces are installed behind glass in a museum. The MOLA team is now working with architectural firm Woods Bagot to fully excavate the Roman treasured and incorporate them into new office building plans. "It's part of a new plan to celebrate these amazing discoveries and put them on public display," Historic England archaeology adviser Helen Hawkins said. Henderson-Schwartz added that guests will be able to travel back in time themselves in the future. "They will really experience what it was like to stand on the stage of Roman London,' he the meantime, you can check out the British Museum for extensive collections pertaining to Roman London.
