Latest news

The shift in power in the US  The future of NATO
Hegseth in conversation with Rutte: Wants to see a more effective NATO

NATO members should increase their defense spending. That is the conclusion after an initial telephone conversation between the newly appointed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“They discussed their shared commitment to building a more effective NATO alliance,” the Pentagon wrote in a press release.

The EU countries that are members of NATO will probably decide to raise the two percent target at a summit in June, European Council President Antonio Costa told Reuters.

Donald Trump wants to see five percent of GDP, a level that neither the US nor any other NATO country meets today and that analysts believe will be difficult to reach.

Security around the Baltic Sea
Norway stops ship – suspected of involvement in cable breach

A ship suspected of having been involved in cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea has been stopped and brought to port in northern Norway, Norwegian police announced in a press release, according to several media outlets.

The ship, Silver Diana, has a Russian crew but is Norwegian-owned. The ship's route is between Saint Petersburg and Murmansk, according to Troms police district, writes GP.

The ship is suspected of involvement in the cable sabotage that recently took place in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Latvia.

The police are on board to conduct a search, hold interviews and secure evidence. The shipping company denies any wrongdoing, according to Norwegian TV2.

Russian invasion  The fighting
NATO: Russia planned to assassinate defense chiefs

Russia planned to assassinate Armin Papperger, CEO of the German defense group Rheinmetall, NATO confirms to Dagbladet.

According to NATO Deputy Secretary-General James Appathurai, the Russian sabotage campaign had extensive plans to derail trains, start fires, attack politicians' properties and threaten to attack European industrial leaders.

- Papperger was one of them, but there were also other targets, he says.

The US quickly warned Germany about the assassination plans when they received information about them, CNN reported this summer. However, it is only now that NATO has confirmed the information.

US: Jihadist leader killed in Syria - "precision strike"

Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, who has been the leader of an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria, has been killed by US military.

"US forces carried out a precision airstrike in northwestern Syria," the US military wrote in a statement according to AFP. The operation reportedly took place on Thursday.

al-Zabir's organization, Hurras al-Din, announced a few days earlier that it was ceasing all activities at the behest of the newly appointed president.