First Thing: Nato ready to defend ‘every inch’ of territory as Russian drone hits Romania
Mark Rutte says Moscow’s ‘reckless behaviour is a danger to us all’ after drone hit apartments during attack on Ukraine. Plus, Paul McCartney on how old bandmates – and Oasis – inspired his nostalgic new album
Good morning.
The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, has said the alliance is “ready to defend every inch” of its territory after a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, a member state, during an overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
The incident in Galați, which injured two people, prompted swift condemnation and the threat of repercussions.
“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Rutte wrote on social media after a call with the Romanian president, Nicuşor Dan. “I affirmed that Nato stands ready to defend every inch of allied territory.”
Dan convened an emergency meeting of the country’s supreme council of national defence today and the foreign ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador.
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What else is happening? Sweden will donate 16 of its Gripen fighter jets by next year to Ukraine, which will go on to buy an initial 20 of the latest model, they announced on Thursday, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited an airbase in Uppsala, 45 miles (70km) north of Stockholm.
Netanyahu orders Israeli army to seize ‘70% of Gaza Strip’, violating ceasefire deal
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he has given orders to the Israeli army to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip, a move that threatens to torpedo an already fragile ceasefire and create catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the devastated territory.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire in October, the Israeli army withdrew to a demarcation line that gave Israel direct control of 53% of the occupied territory. Since then, Israeli forces have steadily advanced their positions westward into the Hamas-controlled half, and declared an ever-expanding no man’s land west of that, within which they claim the right to decide who can enter, and open fire on anyone perceived as a threat.
In recent days, Israeli-backed armed militias have taken a leading role in emptying the territory along the ceasefire line, telling residents to vacate their homes or shelters.
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What did Netanyahu say? The Israeli prime minister, who is struggling for his political survival before elections in the next few months, said: “We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60% of the territory in the strip. You know, we were at 50, we moved to 60. My directive is to move to … 70%.”
Trump’s Memphis crime taskforce accused of using ‘immense force’ in intimidation campaign
An anti-crime taskforce ordered by Donald Trump on to the streets of Memphis has been accused of targeting community observers with widespread intimidation including “immense force”.
Agents have been “retaliating against, intimidating and harassing” observers attempting to monitor the federal taskforce’s activity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee, which alleges that officials have tailed cars, surveilled homes and even “falsely arrested” a community observer.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit this month against Tennessee state and federal officials administering the anti-crime initiative.
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Why was the taskforce ordered? It was launched last September by Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, after an executive order by Trump, who cited the persistently high rate of violent crime in Memphis. Lee promptly activated the National Guard and flooded his state’s second largest city with more than 2,000 state and federal police officers.
In other news …
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A co-founder of the group Students for Trump was arrested on Tuesday on domestic violence charges. Washington DC’s Metropolitan police department arrested Ryan Fournier, 30, and charged him with simple assault and threats of bodily harm, Defector first reported.
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Nasa’s plans to build a lunar base and return humans to the moon in the next two years were thrown into jeopardy after a New Glenn rocket from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin company exploded. A massive fireball engulfed and destroyed the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center seconds after the start of the scheduled “hotfire” test.
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The White House is pushing Congress to approve a $250 bill bearing Donald Trump’s portrait, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has said. It would require changing longstanding federal law that prohibits any living person from appearing on US currency.
Stat of the day: California’s ‘Los Gatos party mom’ sentenced to 35 years in prison
A judge has sentenced a San Francisco Bay Area mother to 35 years in prison after her conviction for a slew of crimes resulting from hosting drunken sex parties for young teenagers. Widely known as the “Los Gatos party mom”, 52-year-old Shannon O’Connor was convicted of four dozen crimes in March.
Culture pick: A girl’s best friend – Marilyn Monroe remembered by her closest confidants
A few days before what would have been her 100th birthday, Hollywood legends look back on their friendships with the immortal screen goddess Marilyn Monroe. The picture that emerges is very different from the tragic tabloid fable we have been sold.
Don’t miss this: ‘I can gauge John’s reaction: that’s good, stick that in’ – Paul McCartney on how old bandmates – and Oasis – inspired his nostalgic new album
At 83, Paul McCartney is looking back for his 18th solo LP, to formative flirtations, family singalongs, even his own birth – and the febrile times that mirror our own. It’s given him “every hope that we’ll get through”. He talks to Laura Barton about songwriting, music and memories.
Climate check: Will Jamaica be the next country to drill and what does that mean for its green pledges?
Jamaica is closer than ever to drilling for oil. The Caribbean island imports all its fuel, at an annual cost of up to $2bn – nearly half as much as the income generated by tourism, the country’s biggest earner – so the demand for energy security and economic development is prevailing over environmental concerns.
Last Thing: Cigarette butts for free food? How one group is asking people to rethink litter
Using cigarette butts to buy buttery Dutch pancakes? That is the deal one food truck is offering at festivals in the Netherlands. The WasteBar food truck hopes the eye-catching deal will change people’s attitude to waste in a country where hundreds of millions of cigarette butts are produced every year.
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