#Egypt sentences poet to prison three years after presidential pardon
#Australia’s central bank has already seen some signs that its interest-rate increases are starting to work through the economy, Governor Michele Bullock said
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U.S. tells #Canada, #Europe to boost #NATO air and naval forces as Washington steps back.
BRUSSELS/BERLIN - The U.S. expects European NATO allies and Canada to swiftly increase the number of manned and unmanned aircraft and ships they contribute to the alliance’s defence plans as Washington steps back in these areas, a top U.S. general said on Wednesday.
The statement by U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s top commander and the head of U.S. forces in Europe, followed a decision by the Trump administration to shrink the pool of U.S. military capabilities available to NATO in a crisis.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO and told its European members they will have to take over primary responsibility for the conventional defence of the continent.
The U.S. told allies last month of its decision to reduce its contribution to a framework known as the #NATO Force Model, which includes a pool of forces that could be activated during a crisis.
The U.S. did not publicly disclose details of the planned reductions. But they include cuts across a broad range of capabilities, including refueling aircraft, fighter jets, drones and navy ships, according to figures provided to Reuters by a military source.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. had not specified when the assets would no longer be available to NATO.
But Grynkewich’s statement, issued after a meeting of NATO military planners on Wednesday, was the first public indication of what areas the U.S. plans to cut first and where it expects allies to step in.
Manned and unmanned aircraft and naval vessels are two areas where Canada and European allies “can step up now and in the near term - as the United States reduces forces ‘sourced’ to the NATO Force Model in Europe and refocuses them elsewhere,” he said.
“There has been an unhealthy co-dependence in the NATO Force Model on U.S. forces,” Grynkewich said in his written statement. “President Trump, (Defense) Secretary (Pete) Hegseth and others have been clear that this needs to change, and it will change. The potential reality of simultaneous conflict in multiple theaters demands it.”
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#Canada made new and detailed proposals on trade to the US based on negotiating progress in recent weeks, said Canadian cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc.
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#GlobalNews: The International Fencing Union (FIE) has scrapped all previously imposed restrictions on Russian and Belarusian national fencers, allowing them to compete in international tournaments under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem, the FIE said in a statement on Tuesday.
Russian athletes are now allowed to participate under the colors and national symbols of their country at the 2026 FIE World Championships in China’s Hong Kong on July 22-30.
The next international fencing competition, however, is the 2026 European Fencing Championships in France on June 16-21, and the European Fencing Confederation is yet to make a decision regarding the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in that event.
"In December 2025, the FIE was one of the first international Olympic sports federations to allow Russian juniors and cadets to participate in its tournaments without restrictions," Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev stated on his Telegram channel.
"Exactly at that time, our fencers began showing decent results at the junior stages of the World Cup - the flag was raised many times and the anthem of the Russian Federation was played," he continued.
"Later on, our women's junior sabre fencing team won the gold at the World Championships in team competitions in Brazil, and then at the European Championships in Tbilisi [Georgia], the Russian team performed under the national flag and finished in the top of the overall medals standings," Degtyarev added.
Fencers from Russia and Belarus were previously barred from all FIE competitions due to the developments in Ukraine starting in 2022. In March 2024, the FIE allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international competitions under a neutral status and in line with recommendations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In December 2025, the FIE allowed Russian youth fencers to compete in international tournaments under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem.
In December 2025, the IOC Executive Board issued recommendations that allowed athletes in international federations from Russia and Belarus to participate in youth disciplines under the national flags and anthems. This recommendation applied to both individual and team sports. Numerous international sports federations followed the proposal.
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#Trump wants to formalize Iran's nuclear program concessions in memorandum — TV.
According to the TV channel, Iranian negotiators verbally assured the United States that the Islamic Republic would eventually agree to a number of conditions regarding its nuclear program, but Donald Trump considered these guarantees insufficient.
US President Donald Trump is seeking written concessions from Iran in the nuclear sphere as part of a preliminary agreement between Washington and Tehran, ABC News reported citing sources.
According to their information, Iranian negotiators verbally assured the United States that the Islamic Republic would eventually agree to a number of conditions regarding its nuclear program. However, the US President, during a meeting in the White House Situation Room on May 29, considered the guarantees received from Tehran insufficient.
ABC News recalls that the subject of negotiations between the US and Iran is a memorandum of understanding that would officially extend the ceasefire, ensure the gradual opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and establish a timeframe for further negotiations on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Last week, Iranian and US negotiators agreed on a draft agreement that they believed would satisfy both the Trump administration and the Iranian authorities, the television channel adds. As noted, this version included a written commitment from Iran not to seek nuclear weapons but did not contain specific commitments regarding the nuclear program as a whole.
Earlier, The New York Times, citing sources, reported that Trump had toughened the terms of the draft agreement on resolving the conflict with Iran and sent new proposals to #Tehran for consideration.
The #Iranian authorities have repeatedly stated that the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful in nature and that #Tehran has never wanted to possess an atomic bomb.
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#Mexico arrests suspected cartel hitman over Canadian mining murders.
MEXICO CITY — Mexico on Tuesday announced the capture of a suspect in the kidnapping and murder in January of 10 workers from a Canadian mining company in the violence-plagued state of Sinaloa.
The security ministry said the suspect, identified as Gabriel N., alias Gabito, was a hitman for a faction of the fearsome Sinaloa drug cartel.
The workers, all Mexicans, were kidnapped at gunpoint on January 23 from a silver mining project belonging to Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver in the country’s northwest.
The bodies of the 10 men, two of whom were engineers and one a geologist, were later found buried in clandestine graves.
Abductions by armed groups are common in Mexico, where more than 120,000 people have vanished since the 1950s, many of them abducted and killed by drug cartels.
It is rare, however, for international companies to be targeted.
The government said the workers were mistaken for members of a rival faction of the Sinaloa cartel, which has been ripped apart by internecine fighting since September 2024.
The security ministry said Gabriel N worked for a faction controlled by the sons of jailed druglord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
The ministry added that he was being investigated for kidnapping, extortion, homicide and drug-related offenses and that was found in possession of weapons, ammunition, drugs, cash and a vehicle.
The Sinaloa cartel has been designated a terrorist organization by Washington.
AFP
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