Redcuban1959

The summit reflected NATO’s shift toward U.S.-centric theatrics, with Europe’s core concerns largely pushed aside. The two-day NATO summit that concluded Wednesday in the Netherlands will be remembered less for its policy outcomes than for a flippant moment that dominated headlines: the now-infamous “Daddy” joke.

During the summit, U.S. President Donald Trump likened Israel and Iran to unruly children, while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, in a display of flattery, compared Trump to a “dad” stepping in to discipline them. “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop,” Rutte said.

Trump appeared quite pleased with Rutte’s “Daddy” nickname, telling reporters at a later press conference Wednesday that the remark was meant “very affectionately.” “Daddy, you’re my Daddy,” Trump mimicked.

Rutte later defended the comment, but only doubled down on the flattery, calling Trump a “good friend” and insisting that his military strike on Iran “deserves all the praise.”

While the “Daddy” joke went viral, the actual summit yielded little of substance. Media outlets noted that the fawning “Daddy” joke ended up stealing the spotlight, underscoring a sobering reality: The summit reflected NATO’s shift toward U.S.-centric theatrics, with Europe’s core concerns largely pushed aside.

The final communique, just five paragraphs long, was the shortest in NATO’s history and focused heavily on military spending, at Washington’s insistence. Britain and the Netherlands indeed announced new military aid packages for Ukraine.

However, these commitments were made bilaterally rather than through NATO’s collective framework. Notably, the summit’s final communique omitted the 2024 declaration that Ukraine’s path to NATO membership was “irreversible,” signaling a potential shift in the alliance’s stance.

In their place came a symbolic commitment to boost defense spending, largely intended to appease Trump. NATO members agreed to raise military spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, more than doubling the previous 2-percent guideline.

Yet even as Trump made clear that the United States would not be bound by the new target, he insisted that others must comply. Spain, Slovakia, and Belgium openly questioned the feasibility of such increases, citing domestic constraints and economic priorities.

Amid chuckles and laughters prompted by the “Daddy” jest, a fact about NATO is evident: Europe has to give in from time to time while Washington never forgets to take advantage of the situation.

Moscow, Jun 30 (Prensa Latina) Russia is concerned about the situation surrounding its journalists who are in the capital of Azerbaijan, said today the spokeswoman for the Eurasian nation's Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

“We are concerned that for more than two hours Russian diplomats in Baku have been unable to establish contact with journalists, citizens of Russia,” the spokeswoman told Sputnik news agency.

According to Zakharova, “the staff of the consular department of the Russian embassy is not allowed access to Russian journalists,” nor “has any information been provided about the reasons for these actions.”

The diplomat added that the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service of Azerbaijan were informed about this, but Moscow has not yet received any response.

Earlier on Monday, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry reported an ongoing raid on Sputnik's Baku office, without specifying the reason for the intervention.

According to one of Sputnik Azerbaijan's employees, the police summoned all media employees who were not at work in Baku to come to the office. At the same time, security forces cordoned off the perimeter of the building.

On June 28, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian chargé d'affaires in Baku, Petr Volkov, due to the arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg of Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin within the framework of a murder investigation. Zakharova stated that the diplomat offered relevant explanations and that the case was under control of the competent authorities.

Santiago de Chile, Jun 30 (Prensa Latina) After winning the primary elections of the Unity for Chile pact, Jeannette Jara called for the unity of progressivism to continue working today for the country and offer it an alternative in the next elections.

Jara, who competed for the Communist Party (CCP), was elected this Sunday as the ruling party's candidate for the November presidential elections, with 60.20 percent of the votes.

"This is a collective project in which everyone has played a fundamental role. I have said it several times, I do not come to sell empty promises, nor easy solutions. I do not come with miracles, but with the guarantee that we will work tirelessly for our country," she said.

The representative of the PCCh, supported by Acción Humanista and the Christian Left, won widely against Carolina Tohá, of the Partido por la Democracia, who obtained 28.07 points, despite having the support of the Socialists, Radicals, Liberals and Christian Democrats.

Gonzalo Winter, of the Frente Amplio (9.02) and Jaime Mulet, of the Federación Regionalista Verde Social (2.74) also participated in the race.

"This road has been traveled together by two men and two women who accepted the challenge of building a common path from our positions. Without them none of this would be possible and it is with them that we are going to continue walking," he said.

Before a crowd gathered at Ricardo Cumming Avenue, in this capital city, Jara especially greeted the Communist Party of Chile, of which he is a member, as well as the other left-wing, progressive and social-democratic groups that make up Unity for Chile.

She also thanked former President Michelle Bachelet for charting the way forward for the women of this country.

The also former Minister of Labor considered among the main tasks of her program to advance economic growth, achieve a living wage for all workers, strengthen and modernize the health system, emphasize mental health and continue with housing programs. Public safety will also be among his priorities, in order to ensure that people live in peace in neighborhoods, towns and workplaces.

Jara will face Evelyn Matthei of the conservative Chile Vamos alliance, José Antonio Kast of the far-right Republican party, Francesca Muñoz of the Social Christian party and Johannes Kaiser of the National Libertarian party at the polls next November.

In his speech, he called "not to let go of our hands, but to keep them together to face the far right from the widest possible political and social unity and stop it. That is our task for what is to come," he said.

Tokyo, Jun 30 (Prensa Latina) The Japanese government headed by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces a complex situation today when half of the voters indicated that they plan to back other options in next month's parliamentary elections.

This is reflected in a national survey conducted by the Kyodo News Agency on voting intentions for the elections to the Upper House of the Japanese Parliament, which will take place on July 20.

According to the survey, 50.2 percent of those polled want the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Ishiba, and its coalition partner, Komeito, to lose their majority in the Upper House of the National Assembly, while 38.1 percent maintain their support for the LDP.

The ruling party obtained the worst result in the last 15 years in the legislative elections of the Lower House (House of Representatives), held in October.

According to Kyodo, when voters were asked which key election issue matters most in deciding which party or candidate to vote for, 31.9 percent of respondents cited measures against price hikes, while 16.9 percent chose pensions and other social welfare measures.

On the other hand, Ishiba's cabinet approval rating stood at 32.4 percent, while the disapproval rating was 57.8 percent.

In July 2025, the six-year term of office of half of the current deputies comes to an end, and if the LDP also loses its majority in the Upper House, pressures for the prime minister to resign could increase in a particularly complex context.

Japan is facing an economic crisis aggravated by harsh tariff policies imposed in recent months by US President Donald Trump.

The results of the Tokyo regional assembly elections earlier this month dealt another blow to the LDP, which won a record low number of seats.

In view of the tough economic situation, the electoral campaign - scheduled to begin on July 3 - is expected to focus on measures to alleviate and overcome the crisis, as well as to support the people in the face of so many difficulties.

Lima, Jun 29 (Prensa Latina) Statements made by the Minister of Justice, Enrique Alcántara, published today, ruled out the possibility of Peru accepting an eventual request from the United States to receive detainees in that country.

Alcántara said that it would be counterproductive “to receive extradited or criminals of any other nationality in our country” and added that “this possibility does not exist because it does not comply with the current regulations” in Peru.

He also explained that Peru cannot receive inmates from other countries because its prisons are overcrowded, which is why five new prisons are being built.

He also reminded that there is only an agreement with the United States on the exchange of prisoners, only for cases in which nationals of one country who commit crimes in the other serve their sentences in their country of origin, if they so request.

The head of state thus clarified versions to the contrary citing previous statements of his that were misinterpreted, he said, and pointed out that he only affirmed that Peru does not rule out any measure that contributes to the fight against citizen insecurity.

“We were referring exclusively to the possibility of sending inmates to other countries, not to receive them,” he said about the possibility, under analysis, of sending very dangerous criminals from here to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.

He added that the Government has not made any decision on this issue and is analyzing the conditions under which prisoners could be sent to El Salvador for a certain period of time, if the Peruvian Constitution and laws allow it.

Jurists and former prison authorities consider this possibility unfeasible due to the high cost that Peru would have to pay to the Central American country, besides the existence of legal obstacles.