EU

Magyar, Tusk tout Hungary's return to Europe in post-Orban era

diplomacy

US charges former Cuban president with murder as pressure builds

BY GERARD MARTINEZ WITH SHAUN TANDON IN WASHINGTON AND JORDANE BERTRAND IN HAVANA

  • "Raul Castro should be held accountable for the murder of Americans over international waters.
  • The United States on Wednesday indicted Cuba's former leader Raul Castro on murder charges, fueling speculation that President Donald Trump will try to topple the communist state.
  • "Raul Castro should be held accountable for the murder of Americans over international waters.
The United States on Wednesday indicted Cuba's former leader Raul Castro on murder charges, fueling speculation that President Donald Trump will try to topple the communist state.
The charges against the former president -- who at 94 years old remains influential in Cuban politics -- stem from the deadly 1996 downing of two civilian planes manned by anti-Castro pilots.
Castro is the younger brother of Fidel Castro, the late iconic US nemesis who led Cuba's 1959 communist revolution.
"We expect that he will show up here by his own will or by another way and go to prison," acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a news conference in Miami attended by cheering Cuban-Americans.
In addition to murder, Castro has been charged with conspiracy to kill Americans and destruction of aircraft.
The US government previously seized on a domestic indictment to justify military action in January that toppled and seized Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, a staunch ally of Cuba.
Trump hailed the indictment on Wednesday as a "very big moment" but played down prospects of moving on Cuba, whose economy has been in deepening crisis for months amid a US oil blockade.
"There won't be escalation. I don't think there needs to be. Look, the place is falling apart. It's a mess, and they sort of lost control," he told reporters.
The Cuban government in a statement said that the 1996 shootdown was "legitimate self-defense" against an airspace violation.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X that the charges carry no legal basis and "add to the file they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba."
Five other Cubans were also charged, including the air force pilots who shot down the planes.
Four people died in the 1996 incident, sending relations plummeting. Two decades later, Raul Castro joined US president Barack Obama in an effort to reconcile.
Trump reversed Obama's effort to improve relations and has been steadily tightening sanctions on the island, already under a US embargo almost continuously since the communist revolution.

'New path'

Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be next after Venezuela to fall to US pressure, and earlier this month even said Washington would be "taking over" the Caribbean island, about 90 miles (145 km) from Florida, "almost immediately."
In a video message to the Cuban people in Spanish, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, himself a Cuban-American, accused the Havana leadership of theft, corruption and oppression.
"President Trump is offering a new path between the US and a new Cuba," Rubio said in the message on the day Cuban-Americans mark the island's independence from Spain.
"A new Cuba where you have a real opportunity to choose who governs your country and vote to replace them if they are not doing a good job."
The US ousting of Maduro has hit Cuba hard, cutting off a supply of free Venezuelan oil to the island which has suffered major blackouts.
Rubio has dangled an offer of $100 million in aid to Cuba if it takes steps to open up.
"Currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country," Rubio said.
The renewed focus on Cuba comes as Trump struggles to end an unpopular war he launched on Iran, which has rebuffed his demands for concessions.

'Pretext' for war

Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned against war and urged Trump to return to the Obama-era policy.
"Raul Castro should be held accountable for the murder of Americans over international waters. But this indictment looks less like a pursuit of justice and more like a pretext for escalation, potentially even an illegal invasion of Cuba," Meeks said.
Trump has described his stance as a reward to Cuban-Americans who helped him win the electorally crucial state of Florida.
At the Versailles restaurant, a historic gathering point for Miami's Cuban diaspora, Francys Fabelo, a 67-year-old writer originally from Cuba, said the community has been waiting for charges against the Castros for decades.
"You don't mess with President Trump. I think this is serious. We hope, the people of Cuba hope, that this is serious," she said.
gma-md-sct/des

layoffs

Zuckerberg says he feels 'weight' of Meta layoffs

  • In a memo to staff Wednesday, posted by Business Insider, Zuckerberg expressed thanks to departing employees and sought to reassure those remaining.
  • Meta began laying off roughly 8,000 employees Wednesday -- about 10 percent of its global workforce -- as co-founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg pushes to redirect resources toward an ambitious artificial intelligence agenda.
  • In a memo to staff Wednesday, posted by Business Insider, Zuckerberg expressed thanks to departing employees and sought to reassure those remaining.
Meta began laying off roughly 8,000 employees Wednesday -- about 10 percent of its global workforce -- as co-founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg pushes to redirect resources toward an ambitious artificial intelligence agenda.
According to Bloomberg, notifications went out beginning in the early morning hours, with Singapore-based workers among the first to be informed.
In addition to the cuts, Meta said in April it would cancel plans to hire 6,000 people and shift 7,000 other employees into AI workflow-related roles.
In a memo to staff Wednesday, posted by Business Insider, Zuckerberg expressed thanks to departing employees and sought to reassure those remaining.
"It's always sad to say good-bye to people who have contributed to our mission and to building this company," he wrote. "I feel the weight of that."
Zuckerberg said he did not expect additional company-wide layoffs this year, and acknowledged the company had fallen short in its communications with staff.
He struck an optimistic tone about the company's direction, saying Meta was "one of the few companies positioned to help define the future" and reaffirming his goal of delivering "personal superintelligence" to users worldwide.
The restructuring is the largest company-wide round of cuts since Zuckerberg's 2022-2023 "Year of Efficiency" campaign, which eliminated roughly 21,000 positions.
The move comes as Meta dramatically ramps up spending on AI infrastructure.
Meta has forecasted capital expenditures to reach between $125 billion and $145 billion for the year -- more than double the company's 2025 outlay.
arp/mjf

economy

Embattled Bolivia leader promises 'to listen' to protesters

BY GONZALO TORRICO

  • It has also announced plans to deploy police to take down the roadblocks.
  • Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday announced plans to reshuffle his cabinet to make it more inclusive following weeks of anti-government protests.
  • It has also announced plans to deploy police to take down the roadblocks.
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday announced plans to reshuffle his cabinet to make it more inclusive following weeks of anti-government protests.
Bolivians began demonstrating and erecting roadblocks three weeks ago to demand salary increases, stable fuel supplies and measures to mitigate the worst economic crisis in 40 years.
The protests have since snowballed into a revolt, marked by calls for Paz's resignation, just six months after he took office.
The government has accused the protesters of trying to stage a "coup" but in his first remarks to the press in nearly a week Paz sounded a conciliatory note.
"We need to reorganize a cabinet that must be able to listen," he said, without giving details.
He added that he would also set up an "economic and social council" to allow the Indigenous groups, farmers, miners and other workers who have been in the street to have a say in government policy.
But he was adamant he would not "negotiate with vandals" -- a reference to the looting and arson that marred mass protests in La Paz on Monday -- while assuring his "door is always open to those who respect democracy."
On Wednesday, a march by hundreds of Indigenous farmers and transport workers in La Paz passed off peacefully, in marked contrast to Monday's violent clashes between protesters and police.
Romer Cahuaza, a striking transport worker demanding improved fuel supplies, warned however of "bloodshed" if Paz's government did not step aside.
Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo accused the demonstrators of trying to "disrupt the democratic order."
The election of the US-backed Paz -- part of a right-wing tide sweeping Latin America -- brought an end to two decades of socialist rule launched by Indigenous coca farmer Evo Morales.
Paz's government accuses Morales, who is wanted on charges of trafficking a minor, of fomenting the recent unrest.
"The United States stands squarely in support of Bolivia's legitimate constitutional government," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X on Wednesday,
Alluding to the role of Morales' heartland in Bolivia's cocaine trade, Rubio added that Washington would "not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected leaders in our hemisphere."

Food, fuel shortages

Paz attempted to rescue the economy from the brink of collapse by scrapping fuel subsidies that ate into the country's dollar reserves.
But the measures have yet to bear fruit.
The roadblocks erected by demonstrators on roads to La Paz have triggered shortages of fuel, food and medicine in the city.
"We have almost nothing left, it's impossible to even find an egg," Sheyla Caya, 43, told AFP as she queued to buy a chicken.
The government has been forced to fly in meat and vegetables to La Paz from the central city of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz in the east.
It has also announced plans to deploy police to take down the roadblocks.

'Geopolitical arrogance'

The situation is being closely watched across the region for signs of who will prevail -- Paz or the protesters.
On Wednesday, Bolivia said it was expelling Colombia's ambassador following "interference" by left-wing President Gustavo Petro in its affairs.
The outspoken Petro, who crossed swords with US President Donald Trump in the past, labelled Bolivia's protests a "popular insurrection" against "geopolitical arrogance."
He slammed the expulsion of his ambassador, saying it showed a drift to "extremism" under Paz.
gta-mis/cb/mjf

US

US needs to 'put its footprint back on Greenland': Trump envoy

BY AIKO NIELSEN

  • "I think it's time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland," US envoy Jeff Landry told AFP as he wound up his first visit to the island since his appointment in December 2025.
  • The US special envoy to Greenland, the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, told AFP on Wednesday that Washington needs to rebuild its presence in the Danish autonomous territory.
  • "I think it's time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland," US envoy Jeff Landry told AFP as he wound up his first visit to the island since his appointment in December 2025.
The US special envoy to Greenland, the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, told AFP on Wednesday that Washington needs to rebuild its presence in the Danish autonomous territory.
At the height of the Cold War, Washington had 17 military facilities in Greenland, but closed them over the years and currently has just one -- the Pituffik base in the north of the island.
Trump has repeatedly argued the United States needs to control Greenland because of national security concerns, claiming that if it does not, the island risks falling into the hands of China or Russia.
Greenland is on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States. It is also believed to have untapped rare-earth minerals and could be a vital asset as the polar ice melts and new shipping routes emerge.
"I think it's time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland," US envoy Jeff Landry told AFP as he wound up his first visit to the island since his appointment in December 2025.
"I think that you're seeing the president talk about increasing national security operations and repopulating certain bases in Greenland," he said.
"Greenland needs the US," he added.
The United States wants to open three new bases in the south of the territory, according to recent media reports.
A 1951 defence pact, updated in 2004, already allows Washington to ramp up troop deployments and military installations on the island provided it informs Denmark and Greenland in advance.

Independence?

Trump backed down from threats to seize Greenland in January, and a US-Danish-Greenlandic working group was set up to address his concerns.
Even if a "master's" desire to "secure control of Greenland... is completely disrespectful... we are obliged to find a solution", Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters on the sidelines of a Greenland economic forum on Tuesday.
US envoy Landry, who is also the Republican governor of Louisiana, arrived in Greenland's capital Nuuk on Sunday.
He was not officially invited and his presence has stirred controversy on the island.
Greenlandic and Danish officials have repeatedly said that only Greenland can decide its future.
Landry met with Nielsen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Egede on Monday.
Nielsen said the talks were "constructive" but noted there was "no sign... that anything has changed" in the US position.
In an interview published in Greenlandic daily newspaper Sermitsiaq on Wednesday, Landry fanned Greenland's dreams of independence.
While polls show a majority of Greenlanders are in favour of gaining independence from Denmark someday, the government has no such immediate plans, as many issues remain unresolved -- primarily regarding the island's economy, which is heavily dependent on Denmark.
"I think there are some incredible opportunities that can actually lift Greenlanders from dependency to independence," Landry said in the interview.
"I think that the president of the United States would like to see the country become economically independent. And I think it's possible here," he said.
Adding to the controversy around Landry's visit was the fact that he was accompanied by a US doctor, who told Danish television TV2 he was there "to assess the medical needs" in Greenland.
Denmark and Greenland in February rejected Trump's offer to send a naval hospital ship "to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there".
Greenland's health minister Anna Wangenheim criticised the US doctor's presence.
"Greenlanders are not guinea pigs in a geopolitical project," she said.
str-po/jhb

US

US needs to 'put its footprint back on Greenland': US envoy to AFP

  • "I think it's time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland," US envoy Jeff Landry told AFP on his first visit to Greenland since his appointment in December 2025.
  • The US special envoy to Greenland, the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, told AFP on Wednesday that Washington needs to rebuild its presence in the Danish autonomous territory.
  • "I think it's time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland," US envoy Jeff Landry told AFP on his first visit to Greenland since his appointment in December 2025.
The US special envoy to Greenland, the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, told AFP on Wednesday that Washington needs to rebuild its presence in the Danish autonomous territory.
At the height of the Cold War, Washington had 17 military facilities in Greenland, but closed them over the years and currently has just one -- the Pituffik base in the north of the island.
Trump has repeatedly argued the US needs to control Greenland because of national security concerns, claiming that if the US does not control it, the island risks falling into the hands of China or Russia.
Greenland is on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States. It is  believed to have untapped rare earth minerals and could be a vital player as the polar ice melts and new shipping routes emerge.
"I think it's time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland," US envoy Jeff Landry told AFP on his first visit to Greenland since his appointment in December 2025.
"I think that you're seeing the president talk about increasing national security operations and repopulating certain bases in Greenland," he said.
The United States wants to open three new bases in the south of the territory, according to recent media reports.
A 1951 defence pact, updated in 2004, already allows Washington to ramp up troop deployments and military installations on the island provided it informs Denmark and Greenland in advance.
Trump backed down from threats to seize Greenland in January, and a US-Danish-Greenlandic working group was set up to address his concerns.
Even if a "master's" desire to "secure control of Greenland... is completely disrespectful... we are obliged to find a solution", Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters on the sidelines of a Greenland economic forum on Tuesday.
US envoy Landry, who is also the Republican governor of Louisiana, arrived in the Greenland capital Nuuk on Sunday.
He was not officially invited and his presence has stirred controversy on the island.
Landry met with Nielsen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Egede on Monday.
Nielsen said the talks were "constructive" but noted there was "no sign ... that anything has changed" in the US position.
str-po/ach 

Castro

Raul Castro: the other leader of Cuba's revolution

BY LETICIA PINEDA

  • When the revolution triumphed in January 1959, Raul Castro became second-in-command to Fidel.
  • Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel Castro and the last surviving cast member of the Cuban revolution, relinquished power in 2021 but remains an influential figure in national politics.
  • When the revolution triumphed in January 1959, Raul Castro became second-in-command to Fidel.
Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel Castro and the last surviving cast member of the Cuban revolution, relinquished power in 2021 but remains an influential figure in national politics.
In a further spike in US-Cuba tensions, a court in Florida on Wednesday unsealed an indictment against the 94-year-old and charged him with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destroying aircraft.
The charges relate to the downing of US civilian planes by Cuban forces on February 24, 1996.
Raul lived for decades in brother Fidel's shadow before emerging as a pragmatic leader who initiated much-needed reforms in Cuba without ever abandoning allegiance to the one-party state.
The revolutionary leader still follows Washington-Havana negotiations "very closely" and takes part in "decision-making," his daughter Mariela Castro told AFP in April.

Brothers in arms

Raul took over from Fidel in 2006 and led the communist island-nation for the next 15 years.
He still makes occasional public appearances, increasingly frail but always dressed in his military uniform.
During the most recent on May 1, at a rally in front of the US embassy in Havana, he had to sit down before the ceremony's conclusion.
Castro was born on June 3, 1931 in a village in eastern Cuba, the fourth of seven children raised by a Spanish father, Angel Castro, and a Cuban mother, Lina Ruz. 
Aged 22, with no military experience, he joined big brother Fidel in an attack on a garrison in a failed attempt to topple dictator Fulgencio Batista.
The siblings spent two years in prison before leaving together for exile in Mexico to plan Batista's final ouster.
The Castros returned home in December 1956 aboard the "Granma" yacht, loaded with rebels for the start of a guerrilla campaign.
When the revolution triumphed in January 1959, Raul Castro became second-in-command to Fidel.

'Brutal'

The younger Castro gained a reputation as an organizer and administrator, but those in the know also describe him as an uncompromising hardliner.
"As brutal or more brutal than Fidel Castro," Brian Latell, a former US Central Intelligence Agency analyst, had said of Raul.
With his troops, Rahul showed a different side.
"He liked to chat, to joke and have a drink with his officers...there was something about him his soldiers liked," Hal Klepak, professor emeritus of history and strategy at the Royal Military College in Canada, told AFP.
As minister of defense for five decades, Castro shaped Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) into a fighting force focused on repelling a potential US invasion.
He allocated substantial funds for the purpose, a strategy credited with helping the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) survive after the fall of the Soviet Union -- a key ally and funder -- in 1991.
During this time, Cuban Air Force MiG fighters downed two planes belonging to a Cuban-American exile group.
Four members of the Miami-based anti-Castro humanitarian group, "Brothers to the Rescue," were killed, and their bodies were never found.
That incident in 1996 was behind Wednesday's indictment.

'Perfecting socialism'

Taking over from his ailing brother in an acting capacity in 2006, Castro became president two years later and leader of the PCC in 2011.
He launched unprecedented reforms, opening the single-party state's economy to the private sector.
The leader also authorized Cubans to travel abroad, to sell cars or homes, and he even freed some jailed dissidents. 
Critics said he never went far, but Castro himself had said he was "elected to defend, maintain and continue perfecting socialism -- not to destroy it."
Alongside then-US president Barack Obama, Castro was credited with negotiating a previously unthinkable rapprochement with the United States only for Donald Trump to rip it up during his first term.
Castro entered semi-retirement in 2018, giving up the presidency for a younger generation embodied by new leader Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Three years later, he also gave up the leadership of the Cuban communist party, where the real power lies.
A family man unlike Fidel, Raul married fellow revolutionary Vilma Espin, with whom he had four children. She died in 2007.
bur-mlr/cb/iv/cc/bgs

diplomacy

1996 Cuban downing of two US planes behind Raul Castro indictment

  • Castro, the brother of longtime leader Fidel Castro, was defense minister when the two Cessnas belonging to a Cuban-American exile group were shot down by air-to-air missiles in international airspace.
  • The criminal indictment on Wednesday of Raul Castro, Cuba's former president, springs from the downing three decades ago of two civilian US planes by Cuban Air Force MiG fighters.
  • Castro, the brother of longtime leader Fidel Castro, was defense minister when the two Cessnas belonging to a Cuban-American exile group were shot down by air-to-air missiles in international airspace.
The criminal indictment on Wednesday of Raul Castro, Cuba's former president, springs from the downing three decades ago of two civilian US planes by Cuban Air Force MiG fighters.
Castro, the brother of longtime leader Fidel Castro, was defense minister when the two Cessnas belonging to a Cuban-American exile group were shot down by air-to-air missiles in international airspace.
Four members of a Miami-based anti-Castro humanitarian group known as Brothers to the Rescue were killed, including three Americans. Their bodies were never found.
According to a report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the pilots of the Cessnas were not given any warning before being shot out of the sky by the air force jets.
Relatives of the victims, US lawmakers and members of the Cuban exile community in the United States have pushed for years for Castro to face charges.
The 94-year-old Castro is charged in the indictment unsealed by a federal district court in Florida with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destroying aircraft.
The charges come as President Donald Trump ramps up the pressure on Cuba's communist leadership, even saying recently that the United States would be "taking over" the Caribbean island.
Prior to the February 24, 1996 incident, unarmed Brothers to the Rescue planes would drop anti-Castro leaflets over Havana and help the US Coast Guard locate Cubans who were fleeing the island for the Florida coast aboard makeshift rafts and boats.
The group was founded in 1991 by Jose Basulto, a Cuban exile, licensed pilot and veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Basulto was flying a third plane on the day of the shootdown but was not targeted.
Basulto, 85, told USA Today in a recent interview that he has been haunted for years by seeing his fellow Brothers to the Rescue members shot down.
"I have navigated these years with a pain in my heart, seeing that a crime remained unpunished," he told the newspaper.
cl/sms

US

War in Middle East: latest developments

  • A third of the world's fertiliser supply also passed through the strait before the war, and officials have warned that farmers could face shortages during the summer growing season. - 26 ships crossed Hormuz - Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said they allowed over 25 vessels including oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours. 
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - Oil down, stocks up - Oil prices fell five percent and stock markets advanced as Iran said it had allowed around two dozen ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about the apparent impasse on ending the war in the Middle East.
  • A third of the world's fertiliser supply also passed through the strait before the war, and officials have warned that farmers could face shortages during the summer growing season. - 26 ships crossed Hormuz - Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said they allowed over 25 vessels including oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours. 
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

Oil down, stocks up

Oil prices fell five percent and stock markets advanced as Iran said it had allowed around two dozen ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about the apparent impasse on ending the war in the Middle East.
Yields on US Treasury bonds tumbled Wednesday after President Donald Trump said American negotiators were close to a potential peace accord with Iran.

Iraq told to prevent attacks

The UAE demanded that Iraq "immediately" prevent further attacks from its territory, following an accusation by the Emirates that a drone targeting a nuclear plant was launched from there.
The foreign ministry called on "Iraq to prevent all hostile acts originating from its territory urgently and without conditions".

Israel army on top alert

Israel's army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir said the military was at its highest alert level, as Tehran and Washington traded threats of war.
"At this moment, the IDF (military) is on the highest level of alert and prepared for any development," Zamir said at a meeting of all division commanders, according to a statement issued by the military.

'US trying to start new war'

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the United States was seeking to restart the war and hoping the Islamic republic would surrender. 
"The enemy's movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war," Ghalibaf said in an audio message on his official website. 

UN warning on food crisis

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz could "trigger a severe global food price crisis" in the coming months.
Hormuz accounted for a fifth of global oil shipping before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran, which prompted Tehran to effectively shut down the strait to tanker and cargo traffic.
A third of the world's fertiliser supply also passed through the strait before the war, and officials have warned that farmers could face shortages during the summer growing season.

26 ships crossed Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said they allowed over 25 vessels including oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours. 
"Over the past 24 hours, 26 vessels -- including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels -- transited the Strait of Hormuz," said the Guards' navy in a post on X. 
It added that the ships passed after "coordination and security provided by the IRGC navy". 

Pakistan minister in Tehran

War mediator Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi headed to Iran for the second time this week amid an impasse between Tehran and Washington over a proposal to end the conflict, Iranian state media reported, citing diplomatic sources in Islamabad.
Naqvi had been in Tehran on Saturday to "facilitate" the process between Tehran and Washington, according to Iranian media.

Jordan shoots drone

The Jordanian military announced it had shot down a drone of unknown origin in its airspace. No casualties were reported.
"This morning, the Jordanian Armed Forces engaged with a drone of unknown origin that entered Jordanian airspace and was brought down in Jerash Governorate, without any injuries," the military said of an area located around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the capital Amman.
burs-ach/phz

EU

Magyar, Tusk tout Hungary's return to Europe in post-Orban era

BY STANISLAW WASZAK

  • Magyar said Poland had much to teach Hungary about how to restore the rule of law, fight corruption and unblock EU funds.
  • Hungary could learn from Poland on fighting corruption and restoring ties with Europe, new Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Wednesday, bidding to turn the page on the acrimony of the Viktor Orban years.
  • Magyar said Poland had much to teach Hungary about how to restore the rule of law, fight corruption and unblock EU funds.
Hungary could learn from Poland on fighting corruption and restoring ties with Europe, new Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Wednesday, bidding to turn the page on the acrimony of the Viktor Orban years.
Magyar chose Poland for his first foreign visit after his election win over Hungary's longtime leader Orban, a Kremlin-friendly nationalist who oversaw years of tensions with both Poland under Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the European Union.
Hailing Magyar's crushing of Orban at the ballot box in April, Tusk told his Hungarian counterpart their two countries would work to defend their common interests in Brussels in the post-Orban era.
"Through our daily work, we shall show that Hungary and Poland are one," the pro-European leader told a joint news conference with Magyar. He praised Budapest's "return to Europe, to high standards, to honesty, to a genuine democracy".
Tusk also vowed to "work together in Brussels on geopolitical issues and to defend our various common interests, because we have practically nothing but common interests".
Magyar said Poland had much to teach Hungary about how to restore the rule of law, fight corruption and unblock EU funds.
Drawing parallels between the two leaders' electoral wins over entrenched nationalist, authoritarian leaders, Magyar said his host in Warsaw "was also faced with similar problems".
"And I am counting heavily on the experience of the prime minister of Poland," he added. "Hungary will be a partner of Poland in all areas."

Blocked funds

In 2023, Tusk's coalition ended eight years of rule by the nationalist and populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, an ally of Orban on the European stage.
Since then, relations between Orban's Hungary and Poland have been poor, with Tusk, a firm ally of Ukraine, frequently butting heads with pro-Kremlin Orban.
Now Hungary's new leader is counting on Tusk's backing to try to recover billions of euros of EU funds frozen by Brussels as relations with Budapest deteriorated during Orban's rule.
Piotr Serafin, the EU's current budget commissioner, was Tusk's chief of staff when Tusk was president of the European Commission between 2014 and 2019.
A delegation from the commission is expected in Budapest this week, and Magyar hopes to finalise a deal with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen when he visits Brussels next Monday.
Tusk also promised Hungary his help with any future diversification of its energy supply. Budapest is highly dependent on Russian fossil fuels.
In contrast to Orban, Magyar repeated his support for Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russian attacks, despite his country's longstanding disputes with Kyiv, including over the status of its Hungarian-speaking minority.
"Ukraine is the victim, and it has every right to defend its territorial sovereignty and integrity by all means at its disposal," he insisted, expressing hope for "a new chapter in relations between Hungary and Ukraine".

Austria next

Besides Tusk, Magyar also met the country's nationalist president on Wednesday, Karol Nawrocki -- who had travelled to Budapest to support Orban in the final days of the Hungarian election campaign.
Magyar also met with Polish Nobel Peace Prize-winner Lech Walesa, who was instrumental in the fall of communism in Poland in 1989.
Poland is Hungary's second-largest economic partner after Germany.
On Wednesday evening, Magyar is expected in Austria, where economic cooperation and migration policy will be key topics.
"I would like to strengthen relations between Hungary and Austria for historical, but also cultural and economic reasons," he has said.
The two countries are closely intertwined, both historically within the former Austro-Hungarian empire, and economically today.
Austria is the second-largest investor in Hungary after Germany, having ploughed in more than 11 billion euros ($12.8 billion).
Vienna has long sought to deepen its ties with Budapest and other states in the region.
sw/sbk/jj/cw

leisure

Airbnb expands into hotels, cars, groceries

  • The updated app adds grocery delivery through Instacart in more than 25 US cities, as well as airport and train station transfers and luggage storage services in more than 160 cities worldwide.
  • Airbnb, facing tighter local regulations on short-term home rentals, announced Wednesday it is adding boutique hotels, car rentals and grocery delivery to its app in a bid to transform itself into a one-stop travel shop.
  • The updated app adds grocery delivery through Instacart in more than 25 US cities, as well as airport and train station transfers and luggage storage services in more than 160 cities worldwide.
Airbnb, facing tighter local regulations on short-term home rentals, announced Wednesday it is adding boutique hotels, car rentals and grocery delivery to its app in a bid to transform itself into a one-stop travel shop.
The rollout marks the latest step in Airbnb's push to capture more of the travel spending that currently flows to competitors like Booking.com and Expedia.
This evolution -- 18 years after the company's scrappy beginnings in San Francisco -- is one of Airbnb's answers to increasingly tough restrictions on short-term rentals in key markets.
In December, Spain hit the company with a 65-million-euro ($75 million) fine over more than 65,000 non-compliant listings, and Barcelona decided not to renew thousands of rental licenses when they expire in 2028.
New York has banned nearly all short-term private rentals since 2023, and Paris stepped up its crackdown on illegal listings in 2026.
"Travel shouldn't just be convenient. It should be meaningful," CEO Brian Chesky said in a statement. "The best trips help you explore, learn, and come home a little different than when you left."
The updated app adds grocery delivery through Instacart in more than 25 US cities, as well as airport and train station transfers and luggage storage services in more than 160 cities worldwide.
The platform will also offer car rentals, though the company has not yet named its partners.
The app is also getting a range of artificial intelligence features, including a virtual support assistant available in 11 languages.
Airbnb posted revenue of $2.68 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 18 percent from a year earlier.
bl/arp/bgs

health

DR Congo Ebola risk high regionally, low worldwide: WHO

BY NINA LARSON

  • Following a meeting of the WHO's emergency committee, he said the agency "assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level".
  • The risk from a deadly Ebola outbreak is high in central Africa but remains low globally, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, adding that the virus had likely been spreading for months.
  • Following a meeting of the WHO's emergency committee, he said the agency "assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level".
The risk from a deadly Ebola outbreak is high in central Africa but remains low globally, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, adding that the virus had likely been spreading for months.
The outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever was declared in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last Friday. 
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the past half-century, and the UN health agency has declared the latest surge an international health emergency.
The 17th Ebola outbreak to hit the DRC is already suspected of having caused 139 deaths from around 600 probable cases.
"We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
"Given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago," said Anais Legand, WHO technical officer on viral haemorrhagic fevers.
At a hospital near conflict-torn Ituri's main city, Bunia, equipment to isolate suspected cases of Ebola and full protective gear for nurses has only just begun arriving.
"We dig graves and bury dead people without gloves or any protection," said Salama Bamunoba, a youth organisation representative.
On Sunday, Tedros declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern -- the second-highest level of alarm under the legally-binding International Health Regulations (IHR).
But he said Wednesday it had been determined that the situation was "not a pandemic emergency".
Following a meeting of the WHO's emergency committee, he said the agency "assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level".
The European Commission in Brussels insisted that the risk of infection in the EU was "very low" and that "there is no indication" that Europeans should take specific measures.

No vaccines

Ebola is a deadly viral disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.
The WHO has highlighted the complexity of detecting and responding to the current outbreak, which has been spreading in hard-to-reach areas of the DRC's conflict-torn Ituri province.
Complicating things further, the rare Bundibugyo strain behind the outbreak does not show up on tests for the more common Zaire strain of Ebola.
And with no vaccines or specific treatment available for Bundibugyo, measures to curb its spread are limited.
The WHO has said it is examining whether any candidate vaccines or treatments could be used to rein in the outbreak.
WHO officer Legand stressed though that the organisation's priority was to "cut the transmission chain" through contact-tracing, isolation and care for all suspected and confirmed cases.

Travel restrictions

With the recent cases largely concentrated in remote areas, few samples have been laboratory-tested and figures are based mostly on suspected cases.
So far, 51 cases have been confirmed in the DRC's eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, while two cases have been confirmed in the Ugandan capital Kampala, including one death.
A US doctor who contracted Ebola in the DRC has been admitted to a hospital in Germany that will also treat his family, health officials told AFP Wednesday.
WHO's emergency alert and response director Abdi Rahman Mahamud stressed that "all contacts, all cases should not travel".
Washington said Tuesday it was screening air passengers from outbreak-hit areas and temporarily suspending visa services, although a State Department official said the DRC football team would be allowed to travel to the United States for the World Cup.
Bahrain announced a 30-day ban on visitors from the DRC, South Sudan and Uganda.

'Lack of understanding'

WHO experts said investigations were under way into the origins of the current outbreak.
The first identified case was a nurse, who went to a health centre on April 24 in the city of Bunia, the capital of Ituri province.
But the epicentre of the outbreak is about 90 kilometres (56 miles) away, in Mongbwalu, which suggests the outbreak originated there and that the cases then spread.
The WHO has said it was alerted to the emergence of a highly lethal disease on May 5, with the first positive Ebola test on May 15.
Tedros has hit back at criticism over the response time from the United States, which under President Donald Trump has announced its withdrawal from the WHO.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio charged that the WHO "was a little late to identify this thing".
Asked about the US criticism, Tedros said that could stem "from lack of understanding" of how international health regulations work, "and the responsibilities of WHO".
"We don't replace the countries' work, we only support them."
bur-nl/rjm/rh/rlp

conflict

Board of Peace report accuses Hamas of blocking Gaza progress

  • "At this stage, the principal obstacle to full implementation remains Hamas' refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza," said a copy of the report seen by AFP. Nickolay Mladenov, the board's high representative for Gaza, will present the report to the UN Security Council Thursday.
  • Hamas is "the principal obstacle" to moving to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, the Board of Peace initiative created by US President Donald Trump said in its first report to the UN Security Council.
  • "At this stage, the principal obstacle to full implementation remains Hamas' refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza," said a copy of the report seen by AFP. Nickolay Mladenov, the board's high representative for Gaza, will present the report to the UN Security Council Thursday.
Hamas is "the principal obstacle" to moving to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, the Board of Peace initiative created by US President Donald Trump said in its first report to the UN Security Council.
In its findings, the group, established by Trump in January to oversee the end of fighting in Gaza and its reconstruction following the deadly Israel-Hamas war, criticized repeated ceasefire violations.
"At this stage, the principal obstacle to full implementation remains Hamas' refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza," said a copy of the report seen by AFP.
Nickolay Mladenov, the board's high representative for Gaza, will present the report to the UN Security Council Thursday.
"Institutions, resources and plans are in place to take the next steps," the report said. "The nature and sequencing of those next steps will be shaped by the decisions the parties make now."
Despite an October ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by daily violence as Israeli strikes continue, with both the military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce.
Ceasefire "violations continue to occur on a near daily basis, some of which are serious, and their human consequences -- civilians killed, families living in fear, and continued impediments to humanitarian access — cannot be minimized."
Trump's administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated the ceasefire to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza.
In January, Washington said it was moving into the second phase of the peace plan that calls for the disarmament of Hamas, whose unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the massive offensive.
It also calls for the gradual retreat of Israeli forces and the deployment of an international stabilizing force.
The first phase of the truce saw the release of the last hostages seized in October 2023, in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.
The transition to the second phase -- involving Hamas's disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, which still controls more than 50 percent of the Gaza Strip -- has been stalled for weeks, while international attention has been focused on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
The report added that decommissioning of Hamas weapons was "critical for reconstruction to begin, for a timebound Israeli forces withdrawal, and for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood to be pursued."
abd-gw/md

trade

EU agrees to implement US trade pact after Trump threats

BY JANA HEMMERSMEIER AND EMMA CHARLTON

  • There were clear compromises too, with the text notably giving the United States until the end of the year to drop surtaxes above 15 percent on steel components, rather than making it a precondition as parliament wanted.
  • The EU reached a deal Wednesday to implement its side of a nearly year-old trade pact with the United States, a major step towards ending a roller coaster of transatlantic tariff battles with President Donald Trump.
  • There were clear compromises too, with the text notably giving the United States until the end of the year to drop surtaxes above 15 percent on steel components, rather than making it a precondition as parliament wanted.
The EU reached a deal Wednesday to implement its side of a nearly year-old trade pact with the United States, a major step towards ending a roller coaster of transatlantic tariff battles with President Donald Trump.
Hailing the "good news", German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it showed the bloc was "delivering on its commitments" and bringing "security and stability" for European businesses, which faced a new Trump tariff threat unless the deal kicks in by July 4.
The 27-nation bloc struck an accord with Washington last July setting levies on most European goods at 15 percent, but to Trump's frustration it had yet to make good on its pledge to scrap levies on most US imports in return.
Negotiators from the EU's parliament and capitals wrangled late into the night in Strasbourg, finally emerging long after midnight with news of an agreement to move forward.
"This means we will soon deliver on our part," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on social media, calling for the implementation process to be quickly finalised as Trump's deadline looms.
"Together, we can ensure stable, predictable, balanced, and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade," she said.
The EU agreement puts the bloc on track for ratification by July 4 -- short of which Trump has threatened "much higher" tariffs. He has already vowed to raise duties on European cars and trucks from 15 to 25 percent.
The US envoy to the EU, Andrew Puzder, said Washington was "encouraged by the progress this step represents", while adding that officials would "review the details closely".
Trump's tariff blitz targeting steel, aluminium, car parts and other sectors hit the bloc hard before the deal struck with von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland last year -- and has jolted it to cultivate trade ties around the world.
But the EU cannot afford to neglect the 1.6-trillion-euro ($1.9-trillion) relationship with the United States, its largest trade partner.

'Get what you need'

The EU parliament gave the deal a conditional green light in March, after months of delay caused by Trump's designs on Greenland and a US Supreme Court ruling striking down many of his tariffs.
Parliament was under pressure to drop several amendments the Americans considered unacceptable, but trade committee head Bernd Lange -- who managed to forge a common stance between haggling factions -- played down the scale of concessions from lawmakers.
"One of my favourite songs from the Rolling Stones is, 'You can't always get what you want'. But if you try, you will get what you need -- and indeed, we got what we need," he told reporters Wednesday.
"We need a safety net in the relation with the United States," Lange said, calling US trade policy under Trump "totally unsecure and unpredictable".
Among the safeguards built into the final text, the European Commission can move to suspend the accord if the United States fails to meet its commitments or disrupts trade and investment, including by "discriminating against or targeting EU economic operators". 
It also gives the EU means to address spikes in US imports "that cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic producers", with suspension once again a possible outcome.
There were clear compromises too, with the text notably giving the United States until the end of the year to drop surtaxes above 15 percent on steel components, rather than making it a precondition as parliament wanted.
Another concession was over so-called "sunrise" and "sunset" clauses under which the EU side of the accord would kick in once the US makes good on its pledges, and would expire unless renewed in 2028.
The sunrise clause was removed altogether, while the sunset was pushed back to the end of 2029.
The pan-European agri-business group Copa-Cogeca welcomed a "step towards greater certainty for farmers" but vowed to remain vigilant over the deal's potential impacts.
Similarly, Germany's auto industry association VDA broadly welcomed the agreement but warned its safeguards risked upsetting the apple cart with the US side, saying matters must now be finalised "as quickly as possible".
jhm-ec-pau/raz/js

diplomacy

Colosseum selfies, 'Melody' toffee and trade: Modi visits Rome

  • It was the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to Italy in 26 years, although Modi visited Italy in 2021 for a G20 meeting and again in 2024 for a G7 summit. 
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Wednesday in talks to strengthen ties and boost trade, a day after a night-time tour of the Colosseum.
  • It was the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to Italy in 26 years, although Modi visited Italy in 2021 for a G20 meeting and again in 2024 for a G7 summit. 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Wednesday in talks to strengthen ties and boost trade, a day after a night-time tour of the Colosseum.
It was the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to Italy in 26 years, although Modi visited Italy in 2021 for a G20 meeting and again in 2024 for a G7 summit. 
"Today, here in Rome, we are elevating our relationship to the level of a special strategic partnership -– the highest ever achieved in relations between our two nations," Meloni said following the talks held at the Villa Pamphili, a 17th-century villa where foreign leaders are often officially received.
"We can say without fear of contradiction that Italy and India are now closer than ever, and that our relations are now in a position to realise their full potential," added Meloni.
The two leaders targeted a rise in bilateral trade between the countries to 20 billion euros ($23 billion) over the next three years from 14 billion euros today, she said. 
Modi's visit to Italy, the end of a six-day tour to the United Arab Emirates and Europe, follows a free trade agreement sealed between India and the EU in January, a deal Modi has dubbed the "mother of all deals".
On Wednesday, Meloni said the "innovative dynamism" of the world's most populous country, its size and digital infrastructure complemented Italy's strengths in manufacturing and industry. 
"Clearly, this is an integration that opens up opportunities for business, investment, high-quality employment, and industrial cooperation, and from this perspective we are determined to explore all these opportunities to the fullest," she said.
In recent months, India has become Italy's second-largest trading partner in Asia after China, according to Italy's foreign affairs ministry.
Those ties account for 2.1 percent of Italian exports and 0.9 percent of imports. While India greatly lags China, it has overtaken Japan and South Korea in trade with Italy. 

Textiles and tech

Modi cited "limitless opportunities for collaboration" in the civil sector, noting that "artificial intelligence, quantum computer, space and nuclear energy" were areas in which India and Italy could partner. 
Boosted investment could come in areas such as "textiles, clean technologies, semiconductors, automotive, energy, tourism, pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, digital technologies, critical raw materials, steel, ports and infrastructure", the countries said in a joint declaration. 
Earlier Wednesday, Meloni posted a lighthearted video on X thanking Modi for bringing along a packet of "Melody" toffees on his visit -- a play on their names -- with the two leaders seen chuckling over the gift. 
Modi also planned to visit the Rome headquarters of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) "strengthening India's commitment to multilateralism as well as global food security".
Modi's Rome visit wraps up a European tour, in which he visited the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. 
dt-ams/jj

Philippe

French presidential candidate Philippe targeted in embezzlement probe

BY PHILIPPE GRELARD AND CéLINE CORNU

  • A former senior official with the local authority has accused Philippe of possible misconduct over the awarding in 2020 of the management of a digital hub in Le Havre to an association presided by one of his deputies.
  • French investigators are probing allegations of embezzlement involving high-profile presidential candidate Edouard Philippe over the allocation of a digital hub contract in the northern port city of Le Havre where he is mayor, prosecutors have said.
  • A former senior official with the local authority has accused Philippe of possible misconduct over the awarding in 2020 of the management of a digital hub in Le Havre to an association presided by one of his deputies.
French investigators are probing allegations of embezzlement involving high-profile presidential candidate Edouard Philippe over the allocation of a digital hub contract in the northern port city of Le Havre where he is mayor, prosecutors have said.
The 55-year-old centrist, an ex-prime minister seen as one of the strongest contenders in next year's election to replace President Emmanuel Macron, denies the accusations.
Polls suggest that Philippe, a centrist with his Horizons party, could successfully take on the far right and win the vote.
His team told AFP that he took note of the probe and would "answer the questions put to him by the judiciary as he has always done in a very serene manner".
Contacted by AFP, his lawyer did not wish to comment.
A former senior official with the local authority has accused Philippe of possible misconduct over the awarding in 2020 of the management of a digital hub in Le Havre to an association presided by one of his deputies.
Philippe, who was prime minister from 2017 to 2020, has previously rejected all accusations.
An investigation into suspicions of embezzlement of public funds, favouritism, unlawful taking of interest and extortion was ordered earlier this month, the national financial prosecutor's office told AFP on Tuesday.
The complaint, seen by AFP, stated that the investigating magistrate would have to assess whether a pact had been concluded between the mayor and his deputy involving "political, financial and relational support in return for managing" the digital hub.

'Considerable sums'

France's rights ombudswoman last year gave the civil servant who made the complaint the whistleblower status, a label Philippe has rejected.
The former civil servant says her contract for 2020 to 2023 was not renewed and she was bullied after she made the allegations.
An association called LH French Tech was awarded the contract to run the digital hub in July 2020 after being the sole contender to call for bids. 
Under a deal, the association -- created that same month, and presided by the deputy mayor -- was to receive more than 2 million euros ($2.3 million) for several years to run the space supposed to encourage digital innovation.
The ex-civil servant alleged there was a conflict of interest as the deal allowed the mayor and his deputy "control over considerable sums" of money.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen hopes to run for president for a fourth time in 2027.
But if an appeals court in July bars the 57-year-old from public office over an alleged fake jobs scam in European Parliament, her lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 30, is expected to run in her place.
In another case, European Union prosecutors in May launched a probe into a possible misappropriation of EU funds, after a complaint alleged Le Pen's party had used European grants to benefit Bardella.

Gifted statuettes

Another former minister who is expected to run for president next year, right-winger Dominique de Villepin, is also under investigation over two statuettes he allegedly received while foreign minister between 2002 and 2004, financial prosecutor Pascal Prache said on Wednesday.
A preliminary investigation was opened on Tuesday into alleged "handling of embezzled public funds" by de Villepin, he said.
De Villepin would be "calmly at the disposal" of investigators, his team said.
Foreign minister under Jacques Chirac, de Villepin won international prominence in 2003 with his articulate condemnation of the US-led invasion of Iraq at the UN. He also later served as prime minister.
De Villepin earlier this month admitted he had made a "mistake" in accepting the two gifts, but defended himself saying there had been "no guidelines on these kinds of situations at the time".
A source close to de Villepin told AFP that the statuettes -- allegedly paid for Blaise Compaore, when he was president of Burkina Faso, and an Italian businessman -- were handed over to the foreign ministry. 
cco-pgr/ah/sjw/cw

Europe

NATO chief says US troop withdrawals from Europe won't hurt defences

  • While the focus has so far been on US forces stationed in Europe, the US is also expected to announce it is reducing the overall pool of soldiers it puts at NATO's disposal in case of a crisis. 
  • NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday that the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe would not harm defences, with Washington also expected to cut the forces it puts at the alliance's disposal.  
  • While the focus has so far been on US forces stationed in Europe, the US is also expected to announce it is reducing the overall pool of soldiers it puts at NATO's disposal in case of a crisis. 
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday that the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe would not harm defences, with Washington also expected to cut the forces it puts at the alliance's disposal.  
"When it comes to this announcement, the 4,000 to 5,000, it is rotational forces not having an impact on NATO's defence plans," Rutte told journalists.
Washington announced this month it was pulling 5,000 troops out of Germany after a spat between President Donald Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war in Iran. 
The abrupt nature of the decision and subsequent confusion over whether the force reduction would end up hitting Germany or Poland has rattled Europe.
But the Trump administration had long been telling European countries that the United States was looking to pull out forces as it focuses on other threats around the world.
"We know that adjustments will take place. The US has to pivot more towards, for example, Asia," Rutte said. 
"This will take place over time in a structured way."
Trump has lashed out at Europe over its response to his war with Iran and threatened repeatedly that he could consider quitting NATO. 
The Pentagon on Tuesday said it was reducing the number of US troop brigades in Europe from four to three, taking the deployment back to 2021 levels.
US Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that a deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland had been delayed rather than cancelled. 
NATO's European members will seek to get some clarity from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting in Sweden this week.
They will also look to smooth over the tensions ahead of a summit of NATO leaders in Turkey in July. 
While the focus has so far been on US forces stationed in Europe, the US is also expected to announce it is reducing the overall pool of soldiers it puts at NATO's disposal in case of a crisis. 
European diplomats said they expect the US to confirm it is cutting its contribution to NATO's force model at a meeting of senior officials in Brussels on Friday. 
The NATO force model is the number of troops from across the alliance that are available to its commanders within 180 days if needed. 
"This is normal business. So this was to be expected. I think it is only right that it happens," Rutte said.
del/rlp

conflict

Ukraine war widow buries her daughters killed by Russia

BY JONATHAN BROWN WITH MYKOLA ZAVGORODNIY

  • Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said it was likely a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that exploded into the bottom floor of the girls' home, buckling the foundations and collapsing one floor on top of the next.
  • As concrete dust was settling around the remains of her home, pulverised by a Russian missile in Kyiv last week, Tetiana Yakovlieva understood her missing children could only be in one of two places.
  • Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said it was likely a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that exploded into the bottom floor of the girls' home, buckling the foundations and collapsing one floor on top of the next.
As concrete dust was settling around the remains of her home, pulverised by a Russian missile in Kyiv last week, Tetiana Yakovlieva understood her missing children could only be in one of two places.
Either her 12- and 17-year-old were trapped alive beneath the mound of rubble that was once their nine-storey housing bloc in the leafy neighbourhood of the Ukrainian capital.
Or her daughters were dead, and already with their father, who volunteered to fight when Russian forces invaded Ukraine and was killed in combat three years earlier.
"It's so painful -- these words won't mean anything to you until you feel it yourself," she told a local television crew in shock at the strike site during the hours-long rescue operation and painful wait for answers.
Five days later, on Tuesday, Yakovlieva hunched ashen-faced and gently rocking back and forth before her daughters' closed coffins under the golden domes of Saint Michael's church in Kyiv, as an Orthodox priest intoned their funeral mass.

'Pain of loss'

"No words of compassion can ease this pain of loss, this burden of great suffering, when one must bury young people," the priest told black-clothed mourners, weeping or clutching flowers and holding each other.
"This is a tragedy not only for your family, it is a tragedy for our entire Ukrainian state today."
Air raid sirens warning against the threat of a Russian attack echoed out during the funeral service for Vira, 17, and Liubava, 12, whose body was pulled from the rubble first.
Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said it was likely a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that exploded into the bottom floor of the girls' home, buckling the foundations and collapsing one floor on top of the next.
Each projectile carries a price tag of around $1.2 million, Ukrainian defence analysts estimate.
AFP journalists at the strike site saw emergency service workers hauling those killed and wounded from the scene on stretchers while bystanders, including the sisters' classmates, speculated who the victim could be.
"It's hard to say anything when children are killed. Especially children when they were sleeping. It's barbarity," Natalia, whose son was killed alongside the girls' father told AFP at the funeral in Kyiv.
Olga, another mourner who taught the younger daughter to draw, said both sisters were talented and outgoing, and described their death as an "inexpressible pain".

Rising infant toll

Hours after the strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote that Russia "deliberately destroys lives" and pleaded with allies to step up pressure on Moscow to end its war.
"It is Ukraine that is defending Europe and the world so that such strikes, in which children are killed, do not spread further," he added.
The Kremlin said its forces had struck Ukrainian military facilities. It denies the Russian army targets civilians.
But the girls are now among at least 704 Ukrainian children to have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Thousands more have been wounded or are missing, police say.
Before processing to the cemetery, the priest asked the mourners to believe that the girls -- whose names translate to "faith" and "love" -- were now in a better place and with God.
"In a place where there is no war, no pain, no grief, no suffering, no sighing, but eternal blessed life."
bur-jbr/pdw

virus

Worried and under-equipped, Ebola-hit east DR Congo awaits medical aid

  • But equipment to isolate and treat those infected by Ebola, which is transmitted through close contact, only began arriving in Rwampara on Monday, several days after the outbreak was declared.
  • At the hospital in Rwampara, one of the epicentres of a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a simple plastic strip marked off the isolation centre for patients, yet to be built.
  • But equipment to isolate and treat those infected by Ebola, which is transmitted through close contact, only began arriving in Rwampara on Monday, several days after the outbreak was declared.
At the hospital in Rwampara, one of the epicentres of a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a simple plastic strip marked off the isolation centre for patients, yet to be built.
The response is slow to get off the ground in the vast central African country, where its 17th flare-up of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever has hit hard-to-reach eastern regions beset for years by armed groups.
The hospital is only about 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from Bunia, the main city in Ituri, one of the country's most violence-hit provinces.
But equipment to isolate and treat those infected by Ebola, which is transmitted through close contact, only began arriving in Rwampara on Monday, several days after the outbreak was declared.
In front of the hospital gates, a guard in a surgical mask did his best to keep track of all the comings and goings.
A few basins for handwashing have been set up near the blue-painted buildings of the hospital, where around a hundred suspected Ebola patients are already being cared for, according to an official.
Inside, nurses had no full protective gear before Friday. The residents of the area are even worse off.
"We dig graves and bury dead people without gloves or any protection," said Salama Bamunoba, a youth organisation representative.
No vaccine or specific treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, responsible for the new outbreak, which Congolese authorities say is suspected to have killed more than 130 people.
The measures aimed at trying to curb its spread rely essentially on adherence to preventive steps and the rapid detection of cases.
"Setting up an appropriate area for triage and isolation was our main concern," Bamunoba said.
But, he added, "the government and its partners really dragged their feet".
In town, the dusty streets were busy as usual with people and motorcycles and shoppers still strolled around market stalls, while schools remained open.

'Full of suspect cases'  

In Rwampara and other villages outside the city of Bunia, home to more than a million people and tens of thousands of others displaced by conflict, worry has begun to spread among the population.
"We treated this epidemic like a joke, but today we can see that the situation is becoming more and more serious," resident Gims Maniwa said.
"Here, in Congo, a lot of things are done carelessly and that's not good," he added.
Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamaba has said that the authorities have "everything that healthcare providers will need".
The government spokesman on Tuesday highlighted the DRC's long past experience in handling Ebola outbreaks, mostly without the use of vaccines.
The previous large-scale surge of Ebola in the country's east, plagued for three decades by conflict, killed nearly 2,300 people, out of 3,500 cases between 2018 and 2020.
On the tarmac at Bunia airport, dozens of staff of the World Health Organization (WHO) in fluorescent vests busily unloaded boxes from a cargo plane.
Protective kits and tents were among 12 tonnes of medical supplies that the WHO announced on Tuesday had been delivered to the regions hit by the virus.
Tonnes of supplies piled up in the warehouses of the NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Bunia, including crucial personal protective equipment kits intended for health teams, who are particularly exposed.
The Ebola outbreak has struck as NGOs struggle with cuts in international aid especially in the United States since President Donald Trump's return to the White House last year.
The protective gear "is going to be a huge relief for a lot of our teams", MSF emergency programme manager Trish Newport said.
She said the health facilities in the region were full of suspected cases.
"Every facility they (the MSF team) called said: 'We are full of suspect cases. We don't have any space'. This gives you a vision of how crazy it is right now," she added.
"What is really important is that we get material on the ground as quickly as possible."
str-clt/kjm/rlp

conflict

Lithuanians briefly head to bunkers over drone alert

BY BENAS GERDZIUNAS

  • The alert came at around 10:20 am local time (0720 GMT) on mobile phones: "Air raid alert!
  • Residents of Lithuania's capital city Vilnius on Wednesday briefly fled to underground shelters as transport ground to a halt after the defence ministry sent a drone alert to mobile phones.
  • The alert came at around 10:20 am local time (0720 GMT) on mobile phones: "Air raid alert!
Residents of Lithuania's capital city Vilnius on Wednesday briefly fled to underground shelters as transport ground to a halt after the defence ministry sent a drone alert to mobile phones.
Such alerts have become increasingly common in recent months in the Baltic states as Ukraine steps up strikes against Russian targets in the Saint Petersburg region, close to Estonia and Finland.
But Wednesday's alarm was the first in an EU and NATO member country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022 to trigger an order for the population -- including the president, prime minister and MPs -- to take shelter.
Political leaders were ushered into bunkers following a drone alert last year, but not the general population.
Lithuania's allies rallied around the country on Wednesday, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen saying Russia and Belarus bore "direct responsibility" for any drone incidents on the bloc's eastern flank.
NATO chief Mark Rutte added that even if the drones crash-landing in Baltic countries were launched by Ukraine, it was not the country's fault.
"(The drones) are there because of the reckless, illegal, full-scale attack of Russia," he said.
The alert came at around 10:20 am local time (0720 GMT) on mobile phones: "Air raid alert! Go immediately to a shelter or a safe place, take care of your family members and wait for further instructions."
Immediately, in offices and apartment buildings, civilians went down into basements or designated shelters, according to an AFP correspondent.
"I got dressed and went down to the basement," photographer Andrej Vasilenko, who was in his apartment when the alert sounded, told AFP.  
"I was alone, no other residents of the building were there.
"My child was at school and had gone down into a shelter, so I felt reassured. It was strange, but at the same time so many people in Ukraine have been living with this for four years."

Latvia fallout

President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, as well as lawmakers, were taken to shelters, their offices told the BNS news agency.
Flights at Vilnius International Airport were suspended, while trains were brought to a halt.
The army said a radar signal had been detected in Belarusian airspace "with characteristics typical of an unmanned aerial vehicle".
"The NATO air-policing mission was activated," the military added.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the head of the National Crisis Management Centre, told public radio LRT that a drone had been spotted "in the Vilnius district", without elaborating on its fate.
The alert, which also applied to Lithuanian regions bordering Belarus, was lifted at around 11:00 am and people were told they could leave the shelters.
The government had been criticised after earlier drone sightings and incursions from Belarus for failing to issue alerts.
Several Russian or Ukrainian drones have crashed in Lithuania, as well as in Estonia and Latvia, though they have not caused serious damage or casualties.
Latvia's prime minister Evika Silina, however, lost her job in a political row over drones crash-landing in her country.
str-gab/jxb/sbk

diplomacy

Key takeaways from Putin-Xi meeting

  • And while Trump left Beijing with few concrete announcements, Xi and Putin signed a slew of agreements on trade, media, and energy.
  • China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin met in Beijing on Wednesday, just days after Donald Trump left the Chinese capital, seeking to underscore their close ties.
  • And while Trump left Beijing with few concrete announcements, Xi and Putin signed a slew of agreements on trade, media, and energy.
China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin met in Beijing on Wednesday, just days after Donald Trump left the Chinese capital, seeking to underscore their close ties.
Here are the key takeaways from the talks between the two leaders:

Outdoing Trump

Xi and Putin -- who have met dozens of times over the past decade -- were keen to showcase their unshakeable relations in the aftermath of Trump's visit to Beijing.
Neither leader referred to the United States directly on Wednesday, but Putin said ties were at an "unprecedentedly high level", while Xi described relations as "unyielding".
The Chinese leader also made an apparent swipe at the United States when he warned of "unilateral and hegemonic countercurrents running rampant" in the international system.
And while Trump left Beijing with few concrete announcements, Xi and Putin signed a slew of agreements on trade, media, and energy.
They also extended their treaty of "friendly cooperation" as both leaders lauded their countries' special ties.
Putin also invited Xi to visit Russia next year, and said he intended to be at November's APEC summit in Shenzhen -- which Trump has also said he will try to attend.
- Iran - 
Xi told Putin that the Middle East was at a "critical juncture" and called for an "early end to the conflict", in particular to secure energy supplies.
"A comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important," he said.
The two sides stressed the need for dialogue and negotiations, according to a joint statement released by the Kremlin.
Xi's priorities may differ from the Russian president's, however, as the pinch on crude and gas flows from the Middle East gives an opportunity to Putin to offer Russian energy sources as an alternative.
The Russian leader described the energy sector as "the locomotive of economic cooperation", adding that Russia would remain a "reliable supplier" of resources to China against the backdrop of the war.

 No pipeline breakthrough

China is the world's top buyer of Russian fossil fuels, making it a key economic partner of Moscow, which is facing Western sanctions on oil and gas over the Ukraine war.
But the Kremlin said Wednesday that there had been no breakthrough on the proposed "Power of Siberia 2" natural gas pipeline, pushed for years by Moscow.
It would carry 50 billion cubic metres of gas a year, and help make up for the exports Russia used to send to Europe before it launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media on Wednesday that while the two sides had reached a "basic understanding" -- including on the route and how it will be built -- there was no "clear timeline", and "there are still some details to be worked out".
Beijing is wary of becoming over-reliant on any one country for energy and, as Russia's main economic backer, it remains in a strong position to negotiate on price.

 Ukraine

The two sides agreed that there needed to be a solution to the "root causes" of the Ukraine conflict, while supporting "the search for a solution through dialogue and negotiations".
Beijing has regularly called for talks to end the war in Ukraine, but has never condemned Russia for sending in troops and continues to prop up Russia's economy with vital revenue and dual-use equipment.
Xi has stuck to this stance during talks with Trump, and now with Putin.  
"The Russian side positively assesses the objective and unbiased position of the Chinese side regarding the situation in Ukraine and welcomes China's aspiration to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis by political and diplomatic means," the joint statement said.
sam/dhw/fox