What kind of world does Trump want?
America's transatlantic allies had reason to be worried ahead of the NATO summit at The Hague this week.
After a manic few days for US foreign policy that included American air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, the US president seemed in no mood for pleasantries.
Financial Times

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West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Woman venting about Donald Trump being elected US president among most moronic 000 calls made to WA Police
A woman calling to vent her frustrations about Donald Trump being elected US president, a male asking for help to change his car tyre and even a person requesting assistance to find their lost television remote. These are among the thousands of moronic and time-wasting triple-0 requests received by WA Police last year. Of the 44,275 triple-0 calls made to police in 2024, one in 10 were regarded as 'non-emergencies' and redirected to a lower priority queue. These included a woman reporting ducks crossing a busy highway, a man asking for help to change a tyre, a person needing help finding their TV remote and a woman calling to rant about American politics. Bizarrely, one man even called triple-0 because his neighbour's tree was blocking his view. Superintendent Rohan Ingles, of the state communications division, said the vast majority of people called triple-0 for the right reasons, but said there were a 'handful' of people who did not. He said these calls wasted critical time that could be used to save people's lives. 'Misusing the emergency line by reporting trivial or non-urgent matters delays our ability to respond to genuine emergencies and puts lives at risk,' Supt Ingles told The West. 'Triple-0 is a critical service. When someone calls for police help in a life-threatening situation, every second is crucial.' Supt. Ingles urged callers to call 131 444 in non-emergency situations and said non-essential triple-0 calls 'tied up critical resources'. Of the 1.2 million calls made to WA Police in the past 12 months, 786,500 were made to 131 444. 'There are many situations which are clearly not emergencies, and those calls tie up critical resources,' Supt Ingles said. 'There is no benefit to calling triple-0 in the hope of a faster service than 131 444. 'Non-urgent calls are quickly identified and rerouted to a lower priority queue.' Triple-0 should only be reserved for emergencies, including situations where someone is seriously injured or in need of urgent medical help, witnessing a serious accident or crime, or when life or property is at risk. People misusing triple-0 in WA can be charged with creating a false belief — an offence which carries a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment and a $12,000 fine.

Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Coalition says Australia needs ‘immediate action' needed to solve 'desperate situation' in Australian Defence Force
The federal Coalition has reiterated the need for Australia to boost its defence spending, with the shadow defence minister warning the situation was becoming 'desperate' and 'immediate action' is needed. The Albanese government has rejected the Trump administration's calls for Australia to increase it's defence spending, despite NATO agreeing to increase it's target to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035. Defending the position on Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia's defence spending should be driven by the capabilities we need, not an arbitrary target. "We start with the capability. We don't start with the dollars," Mr Burke told Sky News Australia. But shadow defence minister Angus Taylor said the Albanese government wasn't even meeting the goals set out in its own Defence Strategic Review. 'It should be based on need, but his own defence strategic review has laid out where the money needs to be spent, and it's not being spent. I mean, this is the point, this government's not even meeting its own goals,' Mr Taylor told Sunday Agenda. 'Forget the pressure being put on by the United States, this is about what's appropriate for us. 'We are seeing authoritarian regimes across the globe flexing their muscles, and open democratic societies like ours need to stand up for what we believe in. 'And if we are to have control of our own destiny, if we're to play the role we need to play in ensuring we have peace through deterrence in our region, the spending is too low. And the government's own plan demonstrates that." Mr Taylor said defence experts were warning that Australia risked having a 'paper ADF'. 'This is a desperate situation now, and it needs immediate action,' the shadow minister added. The shadow defence minister said there were 'a whole series of areas' in defence that are currently underfunded. 'Our naval surface fleet is not where it needs to be,' he said. 'Right now we're even seeing ships that are not getting the appropriate level of maintenance and sustainment, so they're not in operation as they should be. 'We know we need to increase spending on recruitment and making sure we're getting the people we need into our defence force. We are thousands and thousands of people short of where we should be. "But we also know we need hardening of our northern facilities in places like Tyndall, in Darwin, in Townsville. 'We need to make sure that the Henderson sub facility is getting the investment it needs to be able to build the subs, and also play our role in maintenance and sustainment. 'We need to invest in that drone and counter-drone technology, which we know is playing such an important role in conflicts across the globe. 'All of these things desperately need investment. The underinvestment is really showing.' Mr Taylor said keeping Australians safe and making sure we have peace in the region was the 'first and most important imperative' for government and an inability to do this is a major failure. 'If a government is not in a position to make the investments necessary to achieve peace through deterrence in the region it is in, then it has failed its people,' he said.

Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
US Congressional Report shows eSafety Commissioner aided in attempt to hinder free speech on X
Sky News host James Morrow discusses a US Congressional Report which shows emails from Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, attempting to regulate free speech on X with the help of the Global Alliance For Responsible Media. 'Thanks to this Congressional Report from the House Judiciary Committee, we have learned more about Inman Grant's activities, including her communications with the head of this advertising cartel, the Global Alliance For Responsible Media, or GARM, Which happily has been shut down but which, according to Daily Wire Dot Com used 'its control of the global advertising spending to bankrupt conservative publishers, was working with regulators in Europe and Australia to force Twitter, now X, to fall in line with its censorship demands'. 'The scary thing is, this report suggests that they may have been an Australian bureaucracy, headed by an American-born woman, and created by a supposedly Liberal centre-right government, to do it.'