NATO summit faces tricky diplomacy over Trump's defense spending demands
NATO leaders gather in Ankara hoping to mollify Trump, while the Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner faces sexual assault allegations. Also, a US airman avoids UK trial.
Diplomatic challenges at NATO summit
NATO leaders are convening in Ankara on Wednesday for the latest summit after a turbulent six months, aiming to appease Donald Trump as Washington pushes allies to boost defense spending. On Friday, Trump posted a graphic on his Truth Social platform comparing the US defense budget of $999 million with smaller contributions from European nations, calling the situation "ridiculous" and "one-sided". The US plans to reduce the number of troops and equipment it would assign to Europe in the event of a war with Russia.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged allies to present "clear, concrete and credible plans" to meet spending targets. "President Trump fully expects that all allies will step up immediately and get on the path to 5% and do it with urgency," Rutte said.
Since threatening to take control of Greenland from Denmark, Trump has failed to consult European leaders before the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran, and complained that countries including the UK did not allow US jets to bomb Iran from their territory. He also accused Italy's Giorgia Meloni of being obsessed with him, and relations with Canada's Mark Carney are strained.
Allegations against Senate candidate Graham Platner
Calls are growing for Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Maine, to withdraw after a woman accused him of sexual assault. Platner denied the claims, but many top Democratic figures quickly called for him to step down.
Maine's Democratic party leadership said Platner should withdraw, and in a joint statement, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Kirsten Gillibrand said Platner should "immediately withdraw". "The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot," they said.
The allegations, detailed in a Politico exclusive, come from Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated Platner. She claimed he forced her to have sex despite her repeated objections. Platner stated the allegations were "troubling, serious, and false".
US airman avoids British trial over indecent exposure
A US airman who allegedly exposed himself to a 16-year-old girl and four young women in England avoided the UK justice system after the US military took over the case. Cambridgeshire police received complaints that airman Hannes Marschalek had indecently exposed himself to women walking past his home in 2022.
Marschalek later faced a court martial at his airbase in 2023, where he and prosecutors negotiated a plea bargain. He later won an appeal in a US military court that overturned his conviction on technical grounds.
The case echoes that of Capt Jacob Wulfson, a US fighter pilot who strangled a British woman in Cambridge. In both cases, Cambridgeshire police handed over investigations to the US military despite the crimes occurring on English soil while the perpetrators were off duty.
