NATO Chief Urges 400% Increase in Alliance's Air Defense

FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands before their meeting, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine April 15, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands before their meeting, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine April 15, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
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NATO Chief Urges 400% Increase in Alliance's Air Defense

FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands before their meeting, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine April 15, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands before their meeting, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine April 15, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday was due to urge a "400-percent increase" in the transatlantic alliance's air and missile defense capacities in response to the threat from Russia.

"We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies," Rutte was due to say in a speech to the Chatham House think-tank in London, according to comments quoted in a statement.

To maintain credible deterrence and defense, he was to say that NATO needs "a 400-percent increase in air and missile defense".

His comments come ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands this month where US President Donald Trump is pressuring alliance members to announce a major boost in their military budgets.

Trump is pushing NATO members to increase their defense spending to five percent of their gross domestic product (GDP), up from the current target of two percent.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said last week in Brussels that the allies were close to an agreement on the five-percent target, which could be formalized at the summit in The Hague.

NATO members have been scrambling to bolster their defense capabilities since Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022.

"Danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends," Rutte was to say, according to AFP.

"We need a quantum leap in our collective defense... We must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defense plans in full."

"Our militaries also need thousands more armored vehicles and tanks, millions more artillery shells."

Rutte will visit London next week, where he is expected to welcome Britain's new defense strategy.

Britain announced plans last week to build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines and six munitions factories to rearm the country in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
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Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war with Israel and the United States continues.

"If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force," said the Guards on their website Sepah News.

 


Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
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Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)

Pakistan said on Sunday its forces had attacked military facilities in southern Afghanistan, as well as "terrorist hideouts", in the latest strikes between the two sides.

Security sources said troops "effectively destroyed technical support infrastructure and equipment storage facility in Kandahar", which is home to the Taliban administration's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Another strike targeted a tunnel in Kandahar purportedly used by the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban militant group or TTP, which Islamabad blames for a wave of strikes, they added.

Local residents in Kandahar told AFP they saw jet planes flying over the city and heard explosions during the night.

"Military planes flew over the mountain where there is a military facility, and an explosion followed," one said, adding flames could be seen.

An air strike was also heard in Spin Boldak, southeast of Kandahar, residents said, while authorities in the eastern border province of Khost said there were clashes on Saturday night.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP that the strikes caused some damage to a drug rehabilitation center and an empty container in Kandahar.

"The places they are talking about are far away from these two places," he added.

Pakistan said on Saturday it had thwarted "drone attacks" launched by Afghanistan which were intercepted on Friday night.

At least three locations were targeted, including the Pakistani military headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, authorities said.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's office said the Afghan Taliban had "crossed a red line" by targeting civilians and promised a response.

Islamabad launched a military operation against Afghanistan last month, targeting what it said were Islamist extremists following attacks in Pakistan.

The Taliban government has denied any involvement or the use of Afghan territory for militancy, while Pakistan insists it does not target civilians.

There have been repeated clashes at the border in recent weeks, hampering trade and forcing nearby residents to leave their homes.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said on Friday that at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of the clashes since February 26.


American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
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American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

The American flag was raised Saturday over the US Embassy in Venezuela for the first time since 2019, a move that highlighted the recent shift in relations between the two countries since then President Nicolás Maduro was captured by American troops in January.

Though the flag is now waving, the building is undergoing renovations and it remains unclear when it will fully reopen.

The move comes after several statements from US President Donald Trump in support of Maduro’s successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who has tried to keep negotiations open with the American government.

The flag was raised "exactly seven years after it was taken down,” the US Embassy team said in a statement published on its social media channels.

The American flag being raised drew immediate attention from local residents.

“It’s a good thing, really, what a joy,” said Caracas resident Luz Verónica López. “Other countries must come back too because that’s what we need; progress, to move forward with good relations with the rest of the world, as it should be.”

Alessandro Di Benedetto, another Caracas resident, noted the positive atmosphere among those witnessing the moment.

“I found several people here surprised and happy because today they raised the US flag at the embassy,” he said. “This is positive; this is another step.”

Despite the initiative, large chunks of Venezuelan society and the political establishment remain critics of Trump, his decision to forcefully remove Maduro from office and jail him in New York with his wife, and growing US influence in the South American country's oil industry.