Brussels // Donald Trump on Thursday berated America’s Nato allies for not doing enough on terrorism and meeting their commitments on defence spending.
The US president also failed to give a public endorsement of the alliance’s mutual defence pact.
Mr Trump’s broadside at fellow leaders during his first Nato summit came as he unveiled a 9/11 memorial at the alliance’s new US$1.2 billion (Dh4.4bn) headquarters in Brussels which is meant to highlight allied unity and purpose.
Mr Trump said the bombing in Manchester on Monday, claimed by ISIL, showed that “terrorism must be stopped in its tracks”.
“The Nato of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and Nato’s eastern and southern borders,” the president said.
He denounced allies for not paying their fair share, saying that even if they met a commitment to allocate two per cent of GDP to defence, it would still not be enough to meet the challenges.
“Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defence,” Mr Trump said.
“This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years,” he said, repeating a charge he had raised constantly on the campaign trail.
Ahead of Mr Trump’s visit, the White House had sent signals that the US would stay in Nato’s mutual defense pact, known as Article 5, which has been invoked just once: after the September 11 attacks. But Mr Trump made no mention of Article 5 during his speech.
Asked about this, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: “It goes without saying. His presence at this event underscores our commitments and treaty obligations.”
The German chancellor Angela Merkel struck an entirely different note as she unveiled a memorial made up of a section of the Berlin Wall to mark the end of the Cold War.
“Germany will not forget the contribution Nato made in order to reunify our country. This is why we will indeed make our contribution to security and solidarity in the common alliance,” she said.
The surprising mention of immigration was in line with one of Mr Trump’s key election promises to build a wall to keep out immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico, a plan widely derided in Europe.
His harsh words came despite Nato saying it would formally endorse joining the US-led coalition against ISIL at the summit, in the face of reservations in France and Germany about getting involved in another conflict.
Mr Trump’s carefully choreographed visits to the European Union and Nato in Brussels had been designed to heal divisions caused by the billionaire’s criticism of both institutions on the campaign trail. He had called Nato “obsolete” and praised Britain’s Brexit vote to leave the EU.
But differences immediately emerged after his talks with the EU’s top officials Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker on climate change, trade, and above all Russia, whose alleged ties to current and former members of the Trump administration are under investigation in the US.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure that we can say today – ‘we’ means Mr President and myself – that we have a common position, common opinion about Russia,” said Mr Tusk, a former prime minister of Poland.
Mr Trump had made restoring relations with Russia a key campaign promise but he has faced bitter opposition in Washington and has since become embroiled in scandal over the alleged links to Moscow.
Mr Tusk also called for “western values” to be promoted, challenging Mr Trump’s world view that self-interested deals best settle international problems.
The US president came to Brussels direct from a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, after visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
On his arrival on Wednesday in Brussels, the city he once said had been turned into a “hellhole” by Muslim immigration, the president was greeted by around 9,000 protesters saying “Trump not welcome.”
* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
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Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
