Nato

• Die Senatoren Ron Johnson und Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bezeichneten den Umgang des Bundes mit den COVID-Ursprüngen und Impftodesfällen als „großen Skandal“ mit mutmaßlichen Vertuschungsaktionen. • Sie verwiesen auf neue Beweise, die auf Laborlecks und nicht gemeldete unerwünschte Ereignisse hindeuten. • Die Behauptungen befeuern Forderungen nach Untersuchungen, während das öffentliche Vertrauen in die Gesundheitsbehörden schwindet.

• Der Chef der Royal Navy erklärte, dass eine vereinigte Marinekraft künftige russische Bedrohungen an der „offenen Seegrenze“ im Norden abschrecken werde. • Großbritannien hat zugestimmt, gemeinsam mit neun europäischen Ländern eine vereinheitlichte Marinekraft zu bilden, um künftige russische Bedrohungen an der „offenen Seegrenze“ im Norden abzuwehren, wie der Kopf der Royal Navy bekannt gab. • Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins betonte, dass trotz der anhaltenden Krise im Nahen Osten, wo die Straße von Hormus nach dem US-Israel-Krieg im Iran weiterhin geschlossen ist, „Russland die schwerwiegendste Bedrohung für unsere Sicherheit bleibt“.

Bemerkungen zum 250. Jahrestag der amerikanischen Unabhängigkeit sagen US-Gesetzgebern: „Die Taten dieser großen Nation zählen“

TPOR poll of 1,018 likely voters puts Talarico ahead of John Cornyn by three percentage points and Ken Paxton by fiveUS politics live – latest updatesDemocrats’ hopes of winning control of the US Senate in November’s midterm elections have been boosted by a poll showing James Talarico, the party’s candidate in Texas, leading in a head-to-head matchup against two potential Republican opponents.The Texas public opinion research (TPOR) survey has Talarico, a Democratic state legislator, ahead of the GOP incumbent senator, John Cornyn, and his internal party challenger, Ken Paxton, in one-on-one contests. Continue reading...

Images in Helen Polley’s post included a marching band, people laying wreaths and ex-serving members giving speeches set to a track by US rapper ChingyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA federal Labor senator has deleted a social media video which mistakenly included audio of an explicit rap song over a carousel of photos of Anzac Day commemorations.Senator Helen Polley, a former shadow minister and current chair of parliament’s committee on law enforcement, posted a video compilation of images paying respect to Australia’s defence forces. Continue reading...

• NATO announced Friday the deployment of 5,000 additional personnel to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, citing concerns over Russian military buildups near the Ukraine border and increased reconnaissance flights in NATO airspace. • The alliance activated contingency protocols allowing individual member states to request reinforcements without full consensus; Poland alone will receive 2,500 troops, primarily from the United States and Germany. • Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned the deployment as "provocative" and pledged countermeasures, while NATO Secretary-General stated the move was "defensive and proportional" to regional security threats.

Overnight incident in Romania did not lead to hostilities as potential target stayed within Ukrainian airspaceTwo RAF Typhoons have been scrambled from a Romanian air base to engage Russian drones close to Nato air space although did not fire or shoot any down.British defence sources said the fighter jets did not enter Ukrainian airspace, contradicting reports that Russian drones had been shot down by the RAF there, an event which would have represented a major escalation in hostilities between the western alliance and Moscow. Continue reading...