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Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Trump's June 2025 schedule: Summits, celebrations, and more
June 2025 is slated to be a busy month for President Donald Trump. With important summits and a national celebration on the list, here are the confirmed events on Trump's schedule for next month. Also Read: Thousands sign petition to cancel Trump's birthday parade: Here's why Doubling down as the President's 79th birthday as well as the US Army's 250th anniversary, June 14 is a special day in Trump's calendar. To mark the momentous occasion, a multimillion-dollar parade is being organized in Washington DC- something that Trump wanted to do during his first term in office as well but ultimately canceled due to budget constraints. Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of tanks and aircrafts are being deployed as part of the grand celebrations in the capital. 'President Trump will travel to the G7 leaders' summit in Canada from June 15 through the 17th,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a daily press briefing on Thursday (May 22). The summit marks the 50th anniversary of the first G7 Summit. Under Canada's presidency this year, the summit is being held in Kananaskis, Alberta from June 15 to June 17. The official website says, 'From international peace and security to global economic stability and growth, to the digital transition, today's global challenges and opportunities require us to work together to find shared solutions.' Trump's visit comes at a particularly distraught time in US-Canada relations with the President's repeated calls for the country to join the United States of America and become its '51st state." The imposition of heavy tariffs by the US has also been a serious point of contention between the two sides. However, Canada's newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney made a significant visit to the White House soon after his appointment in a meeting that was considered a step in the right direction. Also Read: Bernie Kerik cause of death: Ex-NYPD Commissioner had been unwell, recently hospitalized On April 4, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced that Trump would be attending the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague. 'I am pleased to announce that the 2025 NATO Summit will be held at the World Forum in The Hague from 24 to 26 June 2025. We are grateful to the Netherlands for agreeing to host this meeting for the first time,' said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. 'The Netherlands is a founding member of NATO and makes critical contributions to the deterrence and defense of the Alliance. At our Summit, Leaders will make decisions to continue to adapt and strengthen our Alliance for a rapidly changing security environment. Together, we are stronger and safer in NATO.' The announcement came soon after Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement regarding the President's commitment towards the organization and desire to remain an active member of the alliance. Trump has, however, expressed his criticism of the organization in the past by blaming many member states for lack of sufficient defense spending as compared to the advantages they seek. His administration has also clearly signaled a strategic shift from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region. Trump's hopes of seeing the Russia-Ukraine conflict brought to an end in the summit also remain dim since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has received an official invite to attend yet. In February this year, Trump had secured a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom on special request of King Charles III. The letter was personally delivered by the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, no official date has been announced for the visit as of yet.
Metro
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Metro
Ex-CIA chief reveals where in Europe he thinks Putin will invade next
An ex-CIA chief has delivered a chilling forecast on Vladimir Putin's next invasion target if his war in Ukraine drags on. David Petraeus, a retired US Army general who served as a commander in both Iraq and Afghanistan, sounded the alarm that Russia is preparing to invade a Nato nation next. He revealed that the Kremlin could launch an incursion into the Baltics to test whether the West would back down before bearing the cost – or as a precursor to a wider offensive. Lithuania, the veteran warned, is particularly exposed to Putin's quest to resurrect the Soviet empire. Speaking at the Policy Exchange think-tank in London, Petraeus said: 'Once [Ukraine is] done, you are going to see Russians focus on one of the Baltic states. 'Lithuania has featured prominently in Putin's speeches – and we should be listening. 'We should have listened a lot more when he answered that question about what was the worst geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century… and his response was the dissolution of the Soviet Union. 'That gives you an insight into Putin's grievance-filled revisionist history.' Throughout Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Baltics have been warned about getting caught in the crosshairs. Lithuania's government is also taking the threat seriously – the government reinstated conscription in 2015, and in January, it committed to spending between 5% and 6% of its GDP on defence annually until at least 2030. Focusing on the current US administration and its impact on the war, the general insisted that Donald Trump had given Putin way too many 'second chances' and indulged behaviour that was 'absolutely crazy'. He said that such indulgence has weakened the West's moral clarity and emboldened the dictator. Russia's eventual aim, Petraeus said, was to topple Volodymyr Zelensky in order to 'install a puppet leader and to control all of Ukraine'. In his speech, the general also criticised the former Biden administration for repeatedly arming Ukraine 'too little, too late'. More Trending Whether it was F-16 supersonic fighter jets, long-range rocket systems or cluster munitions, the White House has been locked in a cycle of hesitation followed by concession. Petraeus stressed: 'It was very unhelpful for the Ukrainians to go through the process, where each time they would ask for it [weapons], but be told no or a maybe and then eventually get it – instead of the swift and decisive action which would have been so much more helpful. 'The bottom line is that we should have done so much for the Ukrainians that they could change the dynamic on the battlefield to one that showed Moscow they can not achieve additional gains… 'If we want to get Russia negotiating seriously, they have to be convinced that they cannot achieve incremental gains.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
Hindustan Times
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Thousands sign petition to cancel Trump's birthday parade: Here's why
President Donald Trump is planning to host a multimillion-dollar parade through Washington DC to commemorate the US Army's 250th anniversary next month. Coincidentally, the occasion also falls on the President's 79th birthday; a connection that has urged many people to get together and sign a petition for canceling the festivities. An account called 'Left Action' created a petition titled 'Cancel Trump's birthday parade NOW' on Care2 Petitions and has received 23,000 supporters for its cause out of the current target of reaching 25,000 signatories. The statement published on the official website reads, 'America's armed forces are there to defend our nation -- not act as play toys for a wannabe dictator. But Trump is forcing thousands of them to march through DC on his birthday, along with tanks, planes, and God only knows what else, in order to satisfy Trump and his massive ego. This will cost a fortune, at a time when the GOP is gutting critical programs, and it is a horrible idea. Trump must cancel it NOW. And if he won't, Congress should defund it. Add your name, and demand Trump's parade not go forward.' The White House had previously confirmed Trump's plans to hold a military parade in Washington on June 14 which the President called a way to honor those who have 'fought, bled, and died to keep us free' with a parade 'that is worthy of their service and sacrifice' on Truth Social. Millions of dollars, thousands of soldiers, and hundreds of workers are being employed to help put the event together. Many critics of the decision have blasted the President for the high running costs of the event, citing the event as a personal vanity project for him to commemorate his birthday in a way. A Veterans Day military parade was being planned in 2018 under Trump's first term in office but was ultimately canceled due to budgeting issues.
New York Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Former NYPD Commissione Bernie Kerik dead at 69
Ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, whose career included White House stints under President Trump and former President George W. Bush, died Thursday after being hospitalized with cardiac illness. He was 69. Kerik's high-profile career was peppered with both success and controversy. Born in Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 4, 1955, he served in the US Army before joining the NYPD in 1986. Former NYPD Commissioner and national security expert Bernie Kerik has died at age 69. FREELANCE In 1994, he left the force and joined the Department of Corrections, being named its commissioner four years later by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who also tapped him as the city's top cop in 2000. Kerik was at the helm of the NYPD and received wide praise for deploying cops during the department's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that downed the Twin Towers, earning the nickname 'America's Cop.' In 2003, following the US invasion of Iraq, then-President George W. Bush named Kerik to head up a provisional police force in the post-war Middle Eastern nation. The former top cop later founded Kerik Group, a private crisis and risk management consulting firm. Kerik was hospitalized with an unnamed cardiac illness before his death on Thursday. FREELANCE Bush nominated Kerik to head the US Department of Homeland Security in 2004, but the ex-commissioner withdrew his nomination while admitting he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny — which led to his guilty plea to ethics violations in the Bronx in 2006. His legal troubles worsened in 2009, when he pleaded guilty to eight federal felonies, including charges that he evaded taxes on a $255,000 gift for home repairs and made false statements to federal officials while being considered for the Homeland Security post. Kerik served four years in federal prison before he was pardoned by Trump in 2020 during his first term in the White House. More recently, Kerik was grilled by Congress during hearings stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol and was subpoenaed to disclose privileged Trump administration documents reportedly linked to the investigation. He is survived by his wife, Hala Matil Kerik, and three children, including a son with ex-wife Jacqueline Llerena.
RNZ News
16 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Rocket Lab signs $460 million deal to build missile defence system
An Army Tactical Missile System being tested in December 2021, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Photo: AFP / John Hamilton / US Army California-based Rocket Lab says it has done a deal with a company capable of helping build the Golden Dome missile defence system. It has signed up to buy the parent holding company of Arizona firm Geost for $460 million. Geost develops electro-optical and infrared technology used in missile warning and tracking, surveillance and reconnaissance, Rocket Lab said. These were "core capabilities" for the likes of the Pentagon's proposed constellation of low-orbit satellites, as well as for the Dome, the company said on its website . The aim of the Dome is to create a shield that can shoot down all sorts of missiles including nuclear warheads. US President Donald Trump last week put the cost of the Golden Dome at $300 billion, but many analysts say it will cost much more. Critics have said it risks undermining global security by fuelling a new arms face involving space. Sir Peter Beck said the Geost deal positioned Rocket Lab as a "disruptive prime" - meaning major - contractor to US national security. "Rocket Lab was founded to disrupt the traditional space industry and we're doing just that," Beck said on the firm's website. "By bringing these mission critical payloads in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for US national security," the website said. The acquisition to be settled later this year would take the company's staff numbers to 2600 in factories and at test and launch sites in New Zealand, California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto and Arizona. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
