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Most NATO members endorse Trump demand to up defence spending

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Most NATO members endorse Trump demand to up defence spending
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Most US allies at NATO have endorsed US President Donald Trump’s demand that they invest 5% of GDP on defence and are ready to ramp up security spending, the alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday.

“There’s broad support,” Rutte told reporters after chairing a meeting of NATO defence ministers at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters.

“We are really close,” he said, adding that he has “total confidence that we will get there” by the next NATO summit in three weeks.

European allies and Canada have already been investing heavily in their armed forces, as well as on weapons and ammunition, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

At the same time, some have balked at US demands to invest 5% of GDP on defence; 3.5% on core military spending and 1.5% on the roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports needed to deploy armies more quickly.

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Struggling to meet the goal

In 2023, as Russia’s war on Ukraine entered its second year, NATO leaders agreed to spend at least 2% of GDP on national defence budgets.

So far, 22 of the 32 member countries have done so, and others are still struggling to meet the target.

Trump and his NATO counterparts appear likely to endorse the new goal at a summit in The Hague on 24-25 June.

Trump insists that US allies should spend at least 5% so America can focus on security priorities elsewhere, mostly in the Indo-Pacific and on its own borders.

He has gained important leverage over other NATO countries by casting doubt over whether the United States would defend allies that spend too little.

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The new goal would involve a 1.5% increase over the current 2% goal for defence budgets. It means that all 32 countries would be investing the same percentage.

The United States spends by far more than any other ally in dollar terms.

But according to NATO’s most recent figures, it was estimated to have spent 3.19% of GDP in 2024, down from 3.68% a decade ago. It’s the only ally whose spending has dropped since 2014.

While the two new figures do add up to 5%, factoring in improvements to civilian infrastructure so that armies can deploy more quickly significantly changes the basis on which NATO traditionally calculates defence spending.

The seven-year time frame is also short by the alliance’s usual standards. The far more modest 2% target, set after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, was meant to be reached over a decade.

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US leadership at NATO

According to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump has done nothing less than save NATO.

He told reporters that European allies around the table on Thursday had said: “We hear you. We all need increased capabilities. We all need to spend more. Thank you, President Trump, for reviving this alliance. It was an alliance that was sleepwalking to irrelevance.”

The extra spending will also be needed should the Trump administration announce a force draw down in Europe, where around 84,000 US troops are based, leaving European allies to plug any security gaps.

Asked what the Pentagon’s plans are, Hegseth did not explain but he said: “It would only be responsible for the United States to continually assess our force posture, which is precisely what we’ve done.”

“America can’t be everywhere all the time, nor should we be and so there are reasons why we have troops in certain places,” he said, offering the assurance that any review would be done “alongside our allies and partners to make sure it’s the right size.”

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During the meeting, Hegseth and his defence counterparts also approved purchasing targets for stocking up on weapons and military equipment to better defend Europe, the Arctic and the North Atlantic.

The “capability targets” lay out goals for each of the 32 nations to purchase priority equipment like air defence systems, long-range missiles, artillery, ammunition, drones and “strategic enablers” such as air-to-air refuelling, heavy air transport and logistics.

Each nation’s plan is classified, so details are scarce.

The new targets are assigned by NATO based on a blueprint agreed upon in 2023, the alliance’s biggest planning shakeup since the Cold War, to defend its territory from an attack by Russia or another major adversary.

Under those plans, NATO would aim to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days, although experts suggest the allies would struggle to muster those kinds of numbers.

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Baby among 3 dead in holiday horror as Easter egg hunt turns deadly

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Baby among 3 dead in holiday horror as Easter egg hunt turns deadly

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Three people were killed, including a 10-month-old girl, after high winds toppled a tree in Germany during an Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning, according to authorities.

Around 50 people from a nearby residential facility for new mothers, pregnant women and children were attending the egg hunt in a wooded area near the town of Satrupholm at about 11 a.m. when a 100-foot tree fell on top of them, police said in a statement.

Four people became pinned under the tree, police said.

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A fallen tree lies in a wooded area south-east of Flensburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Daniel Reinhardt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

First responders arrived at the scene and first began treating a 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl, but both died at the scene.

The woman’s 10-month-old daughter also later died at the hospital.

An 18-year-old woman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital in a helicopter.

The residential facility is part of the state-funded child welfare system, supporting pregnant women and new mothers who need help, according to its website.

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Police officers stand next to a fallen tree in a wooded area south-east of Flensburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Benjamin Nolte/dpa via AP)

Grief counselors were sent to the scene after the fatal incident on Sunday.

Pictures from the scene showed several Easter eggs scattered on the ground as two of the victims were seen covered in white sheets.

The German weather service had put the area under a high winds warning.

ONE DEAD AND DOZENS INJURED DURING PREGAME EVENT AT PERU SOCCER STADIUM

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Rescue workers are on the scene after an accident in a wooded area south-east of Flensburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Benjamin Nolte/dpa via AP)

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Officials from the Schleswig-Holstein region, where the facility is located, said they were “deeply shaken” by the Easter tragedy.

“Our thoughts are with the family members of the dead, with the injured, and with everyone who had to experience this terrible occurrence,” regional Governor Daniel Günther, Interior Minister Magdalena Finke, and Youth and Families Minister Aminata Touré said in a joint statement to the dpa news agency.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Jet fuel crisis: Rationing triggered at four airports in Italy

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Four northern Italian airports introduce restrictions on jet fuel due to the energy crisis, with priority given to long-haul and medical flights. Meanwhile, Ryanair has warned that if the Iran war continues, summer flights are at risk across Europe.

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Surging UK Green Party pushes church-state split, critics warn of break from Britain’s Christian roots

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Surging UK Green Party pushes church-state split, critics warn of break from Britain’s Christian roots

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LONDON: The left-wing British Green Party has said it wants to separate the Church of England from the state if it wins the next general election, which must be held before August 2029.

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The Church of England has been the “established” church since the 16th-century Reformation, with the British monarch serving as its supreme governor. For traditionalists, this link is not merely ceremonial but is the foundational bedrock of British identity.

The Greens have come under fire for seeking to remove centuries of British history and tradition by separating the church from British politics, with critics characterizing it as the latest move against Christianity in the U.K.

GB News reported last month that the Green Party policy document stated: “No person shall hold office in the state, or be excluded from any such office, by virtue of their or their spouse’s membership or non-membership of any religion or denomination of religion.”

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King Charles ascended the throne in September 2022 following his mother’s death, and his coronation was in May 2023. (Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

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Michael McManus, the director of research at the Henry Jackson Society, a U.K. think tank, told Fox News Digital, “Britain is a tolerant society but with clear Christian origins and culture. Aiming to disestablish the Church of England could be seen as an attempt to reject that ethical foundation without being clear what would replace it instead.”

High-profile figures have also weighed in on the debate, with actor and comedian John Cleese responding to a comment about the Greens’ proposal by stating on X: “The UK has always been based at the deepest level on Christian values, regardless of dogma. Despite the many mistakes made by churches, for centuries British people have been influenced by Christ’s teaching. If these values are replaced by Islamic ones, this will not be Britain anymore.”

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The Greens are a growing political force, placing second behind Reform UK in a recent YouGov poll. Another YouGov poll linked the Greens’ rise in popularity with younger voters in the country, finding a majority of those between 18 and 24 supported them, while also doing well with women and other groups.

UK Green Party leader Zack Polanski. (Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

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A spokesperson for the Green Party told Fox News Digital, “We will be setting out our detailed plans for government at the time of the next General Election, just as we did at the last General Election. As always, our members will be shaping our priorities. These will again address the real and immediate needs of people and the planet, such as tackling the climate crisis, bringing down the cost of living and rebuilding our public services, including the NHS. Our focus is on the issues that impact ordinary people most.”

CHURCHILL, SHAKESPEARE AND THE UK FLAG ALL UNDER SIEGE IN MODERN BRITAIN, COMMENTATORS SAY

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has defended a secular state. He has also drawn criticism for his support of legalizing drugs such as heroin and cocaine, his climate policies and anti-Israel positioning.

A view of Christmas morning Eucharist service at Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, United Kingdom, on Dec. 25, 2022. (Stuart Brock/Anadolu Agency)

The timing of the Green Party’s push is particularly sensitive as it comes on the heels of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, which passed last month, removing the last hereditary aristocrats from Parliament. With the hereditary principle gone, the presence of the “Lords Spiritual” has become the next logical target for constitutional reformers. There are currently 26 seats reserved for Church of England archbishops and bishops in the House of Lords.

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As the U.K. heads toward a local 2026 election cycle, the “Church and State” debate looks set to become a wedge issue. For the Greens, it represents their commitment to a “diverse and inclusive” Britain. For their detractors, it is a dangerous move that risks “de-Christianizing” the country at a moment of profound social uncertainty.

Whether the proposal will mobilize a new “religious vote” or simply fade behind the urgency of other issues remains to be seen. What is clear, commentators say, is that the image of the established Church is increasingly being viewed through the lens of a much sharper and more polarized political fight.

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