NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg Prepares to Leave Ahead of Vilnius Summit
Welcome back to World Brief, where we're looking at who may be NATO 's next secretary-general, former U.S. President Donald Trump's criminal court appearance, and a dangerous cyclone speeding toward Pakistan and India .
Welcome back to World Brief, where we're looking at who may be NATO's next secretary-general, former U.S. President Donald Trump's criminal court appearance, and a dangerous cyclone speeding toward Pakistan and India.
After almost a decade calling the shots, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is ready to pass the torch. The bloc's chief met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, in part to discuss the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July--as well as who will be leading it. "The plan was to be here for four years; I have been there for nine years," Stoltenberg told PBS. "So I think the good thing for everyone is now to have another person at the helm of the alliance."
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When and where will the next NATO summit take place?
But who that might be is still up in the air. Currently, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is reportedly the front-runner. As the youngest prime minister in Denmark's history, Frederiksen has made waves curtailing transportation emissions and enacting a far-right immigration policy. If Frederiksen becomes secretary-general--a position that is decided via diplomatic channels, not a public vote--she would be the first woman leader in NATO's almost 75-year history.
Stoltenberg is the second-longest-running NATO chief in the alliance's history, having extended his tenure three times since beginning in October 2014. His achievements include balancing an increasingly isolationist United States under former U.S. President Donald Trump with European desires for greater cooperation, overseeing NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, welcoming Finland into the alliance, and coordinating the bloc's response to Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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What role does the United States play in NATO's actions towards Ukraine?
Miami vice. Trump appeared before a Miami federal court on Tuesday to face charges that he illegally retained classified information and obstructed justice. He is the first former U.S. president to face federal criminal charges. The 37-count indictment was initially unsealed last Friday and fell into three categories: withholding national defense information, concealing the possession of classified documents, and making false statements. According to a 2021 audio recording of Trump released by federal prosecutors, some of the documents appear to be related to a proposed U.S. attack on Iran. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Cyclone fears. Thousands of people in South Asia are under a severe weather alert as Cyclone Biparjoy prepares to make an expected landfall on Thursday, though that could change as the storm surges. Pakistani officials are readying evacuations of around 80,000 residents along the country's southern coast, and thousands more in western India are already seeking shelter. Public gatherings along the coastline have been closed, fishers are being called back to shore, and two of India's largest ports have closed.
Climate experts predict that Cyclone Biparjoy could be the most powerful storm to hit the region since 2022, when devastating floods killed more than 1,700 people, caused $30 billion in damages, and left a third of Pakistan's territory underwater. "The destructive effects of the flooding are exacerbated by years of poor ecological governance," FP's Michael Kugelman reported at the time, specifically blaming the state's inattention to water infrastructure, deforestation and emissions record, poor drainage system, and unregulated construction policies.
Welcoming back Asmara. After nearly 16 years, Eritrea on Monday rejoined the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a now eight-nation African trade bloc. The East African country originally left the bloc in 2007 after the group chose Kenya to oversee Eritrea's border dispute with Ethiopia--a move Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki felt would favor Ethiopia. Afwerki told reporters that he hoped the move to rejoin would revitalize the regional organization.
Forget the new Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie. In South Korea, locals in Seoul witnessed a real-life Miles Morales on Monday when British free climber George King-Thompson scaled the first 72 floors of Lotte World Tower, the fifth-tallest completed building in the world, with nothing but his bare hands. King-Thompson said he was carrying a parachute and had planned to BASE jump from the top but was detained before he got the chance.