作者： root

Pro-US conservative faces leftist in Peru’s high-stakes presidential runoff

June 7, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News

‘We welcome the Trump administration’s renewed perspective on Latin America and, especially, on Peru,’ presidential candidate Keiko Fujimora says

By Armando Regil Velasco Fox News

Peru heads to runoff election as country cycles through 9 presidents in 10 years

Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez advance past 33 candidates to face off June 7 as surging violence dominates voter concerns. (AP video.)

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/fdb71bc6-44cc-40d6-85da-e4580a426e5f

Listen to this article

6 min

Peruvians head to the polls in a pivotal presidential runoff June 7 in an election that could reshape not only the country’s future but also the balance of power across Latin America.

Two candidates are vying to become the country’s ninth president in just 10 years. Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori is campaigning on law and order, free-market policies and closer ties with the United States, while left-wing challenger Roberto Sánchez represents a political movement that many see as a continuation of the leftist currents that have challenged U.S. interests in the region.

José Ignacio Beteta, executive director of Asociación de Contribuyentes, a think tank in Peru, told Fox News Digital, “Peru’s June 7 runoff carries consequences well beyond its borders. When analyzed against the current U.S. National Security Strategy, this election will determine whether Peru consolidates its alignment as a U.S. partner or devolves into deeper geopolitical contention. Peru’s institutional weakness has already allowed China to expand into strategic sectors.”

MEET ‘CHINA’S MAN IN LIMA’ WHO JETTED OVER TO US TO COLLECT TRAINS DONATED BY BIDEN ADMIN

Peru’s presidential candidates Keiko Fujimori (right) for the Fuerza Popular party, and Roberto Sanchez (left) for the Juntos por el Peru party, wave during a debate in Lima on May 31, 2026, ahead of the presidential runoff election on June 7.(Ernesto Benavides/AFP Via Getty Images)

Beteta added, “Meanwhile, the vote is seen as a choice between a return to freer and more competitive economic and security policies with Fujimori and a second attempt at left-wing governance with Sanchez, a binary that mirrors South America’s broader ideological fractures.”

The election follows years of political instability in Peru, a country that has seen multiple presidents removed from office over the past decade and remains deeply divided between urban and rural constituencies.

Sunday’s election’s outcome is expected to be very close, with the possibility of a final result not being known for days, according to the Associated Press.

For Washington, Peru’s election represents more than a domestic political contest. It is another test of the broader political direction of Latin America. Over the past several years, several countries in the region have experienced electoral shifts toward center-right or conservative governments, including Argentina under Javier Milei and Ecuador under Daniel Noboa who are all more friendly to Washington.

A Fujimori victory would reinforce that trend and could position Peru alongside a growing bloc of governments favoring tougher approaches to crime, stronger ties with the United States and market-oriented economic policies.

Peru’s presidential candidate for the Fuerza Popular party, Keiko Fujimori, waves to supporters during her closing campaign rally in Lima on June 4, 2026. Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sanchez will face off in Peru’s presidential runoff on June 7, 2026.(Anthony Nino de Guzman / AFP via Getty Images)

Presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori told Fox News Digital that if she wins, “My government’s foreign policy will be based on a very clear premise: defending Peru’s interests. Specifically, regarding the United States, my government will seek a relationship of cooperation, mutual respect and investment promotion. We welcome the Trump administration’s renewed perspective on Latin America and, especially, on Peru, which occupies a strategic geopolitical position in the region.”

Fujimori continued: “We want to seize this opportunity by generating greater stability, legal certainty, and confidence for investment. Peru must always be a country open to the world, committed to freedom, free competition, and the free market. Our goal is to lay the groundwork so that investors from the United States and around the world find in Peru a reliable, stable, and attractive country in which to invest, produce, and create jobs.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sánchez’ campaign but did not get a response.

ALLIANCE WITH US ‘DISMANTLED’ BY LEFTIST PETRO REGIME, COLOMBIA’S FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

Peru’s presidential candidate for the Juntos por el Peru party, Roberto Sanchez, speaks during a campaign rally at the Plaza Tupac Amaru in Cusco, Peru, on June 2, 2026.(Jose Angulo / AFP via Getty Images)

Peruvian analyst and legal expert Lucas Ghersi told Fox News Digital, “Roberto Sánchez represents a rather radical left. His platform includes nationalizations and expropriations, and he is close to Evo Morales and Nicolás Maduro. This election is highly polarizing Peruvian society.”

Ghersi continued, “If Keiko Fujimori wins, she would have a good relationship with the United States. She is a reasonable person who defends the constitutional framework and the rule of law, and she has ties to the United States because she has done academic work at Florida International University (FIU).

“Roberto Sánchez, on the other hand, would create tension in the relationship with the United States. During his campaign and in the presidential debate, he bitterly criticized Peru’s purchase of F-16 jets from the United States. He said that Peru shouldn’t buy from the United States and should instead use that money for health or education. He also has ties to illegal mining and has been accused of drug trafficking. This could create tensions in the relationship with the United States.”

TRUMP LOOMS LARGE AS BIDEN SET TO MEET CHINA’S XI DURING LATIN AMERICA SUMMITS

Supporters of Peru’s presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, for the Fuerza Popular party, shout slogans outside the Lima Convention Center ahead of her debate with Roberto Sanchez, for the Juntos por el Peru party, in Lima on May 31, 2026. Peru will hold the presidential runoff election on June 7.(Connie France/AFP via Getty Images)

Ghersi concluded, “Peru is a very strategic country and has been the focus of competition between the United States and China. Peru has one of the largest proven copper reserves and is a major gold producer. Therefore, both China and the United States are vying for influence in Peru, and China has been promoting mega-investment projects there, such as a mega-port that is already operational. In response, the United States offered to renovate the Peruvian Navy’s base and invest in large port projects.”

A Fujimori victory would likely be interpreted in Washington as a continuation of the recent trend toward center-right governance in parts of Latin America. Fujimori has campaigned on restoring public security, strengthening economic growth, and maintaining Peru’s market-oriented model. Her supporters argue that these policies could encourage greater foreign investment and closer cooperation with the United States on security and economic issues.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A Sánchez victory would present a different scenario. Although he has recently moderated portions of his platform, emphasizing respect for private property, free trade agreements and macroeconomic stability, questions remain about how his administration would approach relations with Washington and regional left-wing movements.

The next Peruvian president will help determine whether one of South America’s most important countries moves closer to Washington, or charts a leftward course.

The Associated Press reports that voting is mandatory in Peru for citizens from the ages of 18 to 70, with more than 27 million people registered.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Armando Regil reports on Mexico and Latin America. You can follow Armando on Twitter @armando_regil

由于难以采购石脑油衍生油墨，日本薯片制造商卡乐比用黑白包装袋（右）取代标志性的橙黄包装袋。 （法新社）

（东京／新德里综合电）中东战争导致的能源价格飙升问题，持续冲击亚洲老百姓，日本食品和日用品价格面临上涨，印度的家用烹饪用气价格也攀升。

《日经亚洲》的调查显示，超过半数的日本食品和日用品生产商已经涨价、计划涨价或正在考虑涨价。

中东战争导致原油衍生产品石脑油价格飙升，而石脑油广泛用于生产各种塑料和其他包装材料。成本上涨正向下游传递，加重了家庭负担。

《日经亚洲》联系了100多家消费品生产商，其中大部分是上市公司，截至6月初，共收到73家公司的回复。

三家公司表示已经提高主要产品的价格，14家公司计划提价，另有23家公司正在考虑，总计超过50%。

许多计划涨价的公司说，他们将在7月至9月期间这么做。在这一类别的14家受访者中，有七家表示涨幅将介于10%到少于20%，有三家正在考虑20%到少于30%的涨幅。

在除提价之外应对燃油成本上涨的措施中，21家公司（约占30%）提到了改变包装规格，另有八家公司采取了涨价和改变包装相结合的方式。

巧克力和乳制品制造商明治正在推广在部分产品包装中使用替代油墨，并表示“产品外观将保持不变”。由于难以采购石脑油衍生油墨，包括薯片制造商卡乐比在内的多家公司已转而采用单色包装。

其他应对燃油成本上涨的措施还包括：18家公司更换原材料供应商；10家公司削减促销和广告支出；八家公司停止或暂停销售部分产品；以及七家公司推迟或取消新产品上市。

印度家用液化石油气价格二度提价

自伊朗战争2月底爆发以来，印度第二次上调家用液化石油气价格，以帮助国有零售商减少因折扣销售燃料而造成的损失。

印度政府说，6月7日起，全国14.2公斤装液化石油气钢瓶的价格上涨29卢比（约0.39新元）。最新一轮涨价将进一步加剧家庭预算压力。

由于难以采购石脑油衍生油墨，日本薯片制造商卡乐比用黑白包装袋（右）取代标志性的橙黄包装袋。 （法新社）

（东京／新德里综合电）中东战争导致的能源价格飙升问题，持续冲击亚洲老百姓，日本食品和日用品价格面临上涨，印度的家用烹饪用气价格也攀升。

《日经亚洲》的调查显示，超过半数的日本食品和日用品生产商已经涨价、计划涨价或正在考虑涨价。

中东战争导致原油衍生产品石脑油价格飙升，而石脑油广泛用于生产各种塑料和其他包装材料。成本上涨正向下游传递，加重了家庭负担。

《日经亚洲》联系了100多家消费品生产商，其中大部分是上市公司，截至6月初，共收到73家公司的回复。

三家公司表示已经提高主要产品的价格，14家公司计划提价，另有23家公司正在考虑，总计超过50%。

许多计划涨价的公司说，他们将在7月至9月期间这么做。在这一类别的14家受访者中，有七家表示涨幅将介于10%到少于20%，有三家正在考虑20%到少于30%的涨幅。

在除提价之外应对燃油成本上涨的措施中，21家公司（约占30%）提到了改变包装规格，另有八家公司采取了涨价和改变包装相结合的方式。

巧克力和乳制品制造商明治正在推广在部分产品包装中使用替代油墨，并表示“产品外观将保持不变”。由于难以采购石脑油衍生油墨，包括薯片制造商卡乐比在内的多家公司已转而采用单色包装。

其他应对燃油成本上涨的措施还包括：18家公司更换原材料供应商；10家公司削减促销和广告支出；八家公司停止或暂停销售部分产品；以及七家公司推迟或取消新产品上市。

印度家用液化石油气价格二度提价

自伊朗战争2月底爆发以来，印度第二次上调家用液化石油气价格，以帮助国有零售商减少因折扣销售燃料而造成的损失。

印度政府说，6月7日起，全国14.2公斤装液化石油气钢瓶的价格上涨29卢比（约0.39新元）。最新一轮涨价将进一步加剧家庭预算压力。

No English content available

No English content available

Why most politicians are not calling for data center bans despite voters’ anger

2026-06-07T10:00:00.000Z / The Washington Post

HILLIARD, OHIO — Annette Singh and Annie Cannelongo will vote in November in this midterm battleground with one issue at the top of their minds: data centers.

The full-time moms say their fury over the massive computer-filled warehouses has consumed them ever since Amazon Web Services broke ground on a data center site that stretches from the lush playground their kids use close to the elementary school that Singh’s child attends. Singh can no longer see deer peeking out from the trees and farmland that used to abut the park, and Cannelongo, her friend, laments that she can now hear the roaring highway from her house.

Their opposition to data centers has led Singh to collect signatures at her book club and in her suburban neighborhood for a longshot ballot initiative to ban them statewide. This campaign is hardly a one-off. Voters across the nation are concerned that the centers are driving up electricity prices and polluting the air. More than 70 percent of Americans oppose building the centers in their local area, according to a recent Gallup survey.

“It affects me personally,” said Cannelongo, 46, a former teacher. (Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon, owns The Washington Post.)

The political energy is slowly beginning to catch up to voter anger. Lawmakers in both parties who have touted the centers as economic boons in their states are backpedaling.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) paused new tax breaks for the centers last month after an independent report estimated that they had cost the state more than $1 billion in lost revenue last year. And Republicans and Democrats running for office say they want AI companies to offset their electricity usage to tame skyrocketing power bills.

But few politicians are embracing grassroots demands for a pause or ban on data center construction, which some on the left see as a missed opportunity for Democrats to distinguish themselves ahead of a midterm election that they hope will hinge on cost-of-living concerns.

Democrats are divided because some trade unions support the centers, which create construction jobs, and because the powerful industry behind them has poured millions into attacking political opponents. Republicans have largely supported the centers, spurred by President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic backing, and have only recently been raising concerns as they hear from their enraged base.

The data centers’ footprint encompasses states that are midterm battlegrounds and will be crucial to determining which party controls the House and the Senate next year. Ohio is home to more than 200 data centers, the sixth-most of any state, according to data compiled by the industry group Data Center Map. Georgia, Virginia and Texas host even more of the centers.

A handful of progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), have pushed legislation to temporarily ban data center construction. Local lawmakers in more than 10 states also introduced bills this year to pause construction. Last week, residents of Monterey Park, California approved the nation’s first permanent ban on data centers, with more than 86 percent of voters supporting the prohibition.

But even Sanders-endorsed candidates in competitive races, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Graham Platner in Maine, have not taken up that mantle.

“What I don’t want to do is inadvertently exit the playing field… and then cede the policymaking space to folks who don’t want to impose any limitations,” El-Sayed told The Washington Post.

On Monday, Sanders called for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund seeded with a 50 percent tax on AI companies’ stock, so that Americans would own a piece of the industry. Sanders, in an interview, touted the policy.

“But I think it’s good politics, as well,” he said. “You are tapping into the concerns that the American people have, and you win elections when you do that.”

Democratic candidates are largely calling for smaller-scale policy interventions, with many saying the centers should pay for their electricity usage and stop obscuring details of their development from the communities in which they are built.

“We need to make sure if [data centers] are going to come here and benefit, you need to bring your own energy, you need to not make all of us pay for it,” Amy Acton, the Democrat running for Ohio governor, said in a recent roundtable.

Former senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat mounting a comeback bid in Ohio, said he was unaware of the push to get a data center ban on the ballot in the state. “With data centers, we make sure the investors pay for electricity. Not the people who live in Zanesville or Coshocton or in Cambridge,” he said.

The issue animated a May debate among the Democratic candidates running for Michigan’s open Senate seat, with El-Sayed calling artificial intelligence a “tsunami” coming toward Americans that merits regulations of the same stringency as those governing public utilities. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow touted her plan to tax the industry to pay for job training, and Rep. Haley Stevens, the most centrist Democrat in the race, said she supported building the centers so long as they pay for their own resources. “I’m eager to see Michigan lead on the moonshots of the 21st century,” she said.

Many Republican candidates previously followed the lead of Trump, who signed an executive order last summer to speed data center construction. But in recent months, more are beginning to respond to grassroots anger.

The Republican candidates for governor and Senate in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted, have a history of backing the centers. But both have recently expressed concern about the centers’ electricity usage and said they should offset it. “The goal is to support America’s growing technology infrastructure while helping ensure reliable, affordable energy for local residents,” Husted said in a statement. The senator joined Trump for a roundtable with technology companies in March to celebrate their leaders signing a pledge to offset their electricity costs. Former congressman Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, says data centers need to pay for their energy.

“We’re going to have to grapple with it,” said Alex Triantafilou, chair of the Ohio Republican Party, pointing to an uptick in community-level anger on the right.

To the activists pushing for sweeping change, the response has not been swift or substantive enough.

“The big corporations that have money are donating to both sides, so it’s hard for anyone to oppose them,” said Cannelongo, who has not organized for the moratorium but supports other efforts.

AI companies have poured tens of millions of dollars into the midterms, backing pro-AI candidates and working to defeat those who seek to regulate the industry. Many unions, which have considerable leverage in the Democratic Party, also support data centers, which experts say create thousands of short-term construction jobs but fewer permanent ones.

“These are creating good union jobs, both in the construction, but also in the keeping them secure and maintaining them,” said Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO.

In Ohio, 71 percent of voters said in a recent poll that they support a temporary ban on data centers. Majorities said data centers have a bad effect on the environment, energy prices and the quality of life of people who live near them.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesman said the company is committed to delivering “meaningful local benefits“ to communities and has invested $70 billion in Ohio since 2016.

“There are folks that believe that if the Democratic Party would become a party of no data centers that a Democratic Party could … run the table,” said Chris Gibbs, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party’s rural caucus.

Gibbs said that would be shortsighted, however, and that the better path is to help communities strike better deals with tech companies so they benefit more financially from the centers’ presence.

“Just to be the party of ‘no’ all the time I don’t think is good for the Democratic Party’s future,” Gibbs said.

For Singh and Cannelongo, the slow-moving debate has been hard to watch.

“This area is so great,” Singh, 36, a political independent, said of the peaceful Columbus suburb. “I feel like this taints it a little bit. Like puts a black spot on it.”

“I’m frustrated,” she added. “I want better politicians.”

5 taken to the hospital after strong winds at NCAA tournament in West Virginia

2026-06-07 07:01:43 EDT / CBS/AP

Five people were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries sustained when a strong wind tore through an area occupied by fans at the Morgantown Super Regional NCAA baseball tournament game between West Virginia and Cal Poly on Saturday, according to the university.

https://www.facebook.com/melissa.mcbeeanderson/videos/1320026240230146/showed rain and wind that reached speeds of 40 mph tearing up a tent, with one person flying through the air while trying to hold it down as another person rolls uncontrollably down a hill.

Other fans scrambled for safety from an area known as Randy’s Ridge near the Kendrick Family Ballpark.

“I was just trying to hold my weight on the pole with the cement block, and then it started sliding, and then another guy joined in, and he’s trying to hold another pole, and then a big gust of wind came,” West Virginia fan Keith Hill told WAJR radio. “It just started sliding really hard, and people got caught up in the ropes and the poles.”

The storm led to thousands of people across the nearby Pittsburgh area were without power on Saturday afternoon, CBS Pittsburgh reported.

West Virginia University police confirmed that five people were transported to a hospital.

The game was in a weather delay at the time.

“We have been in touch with health-care providers in the area to ensure those affected are supported in their recovery,” West Virginia athletics spokesperson Michael Fragale said in a statement.

West Virginia won the game 17-1 to advance to the College World Series for the first time in program history.

US troops, families adjust to new normal of Iran war

2026-06-07T10:05:21.515Z / Reuters

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) – Fourteen weeks after President Donald Trump ordered an attack on Iran, the U.S. military is adjusting to an unusual state of conflict that is not full-scale war, but also far from peace.

On ships and bases in the Middle East, U.S. troops — some recovering from injuries — operate amid exchanges of fire with Iran every few days as the Navy blockades Iran’s ports. At home, the Pentagon is scrambling to bolster production of depleted munitions as families of service members cope with the stress of extended deployments.

Counterattacks from Iran continue against U.S. allies in the region, such as Bahrain and Kuwait, which Iran targeted in a ballistic missile attack on Friday.

Trump declared his ceasefire with Iran in April, but the war has settled into a stalemate, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz largely closed to shipping and Trump threatening a return to full-scale bombings of Iran if peace negotiations fail.

The threat requires U.S. troops to maintain an acute state of readiness.

That means everything from stocking bases with missiles and interceptors to scouring intelligence from drones and satellites to update lists of targets inside Iran should large-scale fighting resume.

“To maintain this constant state of ‘Level 10’ alert vigilance, to be ready to go at the drop of a hat, is a very stressful and difficult operational mission,” said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Joseph Votel, the former commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, described the current conflict phase as “a very, very dangerous period for us.” He said keeping troops ready during the ceasefire is no small challenge.

“It puts on a lot of pressure on leaders to make sure that people are still at their edge,” Votel said.

Asked for comment, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the U.S. military stands ready to support deployed troops “in every way imaginable.”

“The Department of War is proud of our incredible troops. Their courage, readiness, grit, and unmatched professionalism are why they are the greatest fighting force in human history,” Parnell said.

TOLL ON TROOPS AND FAMILIES

For U.S. troops recovering from injuries, the military’s shift to an extended wartime footing requires a profound adjustment.

U.S. Army Reserve Sergeant First Class Cory Hicks, 37, is among the wounded recovering from an Iranian drone attack at the start of the war that left him without a pulse for minutes.

Punctured by shrapnel that severed an artery and fractured his jaw, Hicks is also wrestling with the impact of a traumatic brain injury from the blast that could challenge him for life.

“It sounded like a small prop plane coming in quick,” Hicks told Reuters. “And then it just smashed into the building and blew up. And I remember a big bright ball of flames and lots of pressure and heat, and I was out.”

Hicks is not the only one adapting to a new normal. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where he is being treated, is coping with a new surge in combat care cases years after the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, Hicks said.

Around 400 U.S. troops have been wounded during the conflict, many of them with a traumatic brain injury like Hicks. Over 90% have returned to duty, the U.S. military says. Thirteen service members have been killed in the conflict.

Families of U.S. service members also confront stress amid confusion about what is happening during the ceasefire.

Iranian state media publishes claims regularly about attacking U.S. ships and aircraft. On Friday, Iran said it fired warning shots at U.S. warships in the Gulf of Oman, an event the U.S. military denies happened.

“It’s just really scary not to know details of what exactly is going on,” said Yadira Dessaint, mother of a sergeant in the Army Reserve from California’s San Fernando Valley.

Dessaint asked not to identify her son for fear of retaliation by the U.S. military. She has protested for an end to the war, which has damaged Trump’s popularity.

Just one in four respondents in a May Reuters/Ipsos poll said the U.S. military action in Iran has been worth it.

Dessaint said her son has seen multiple attacks on his position by Iranian drones, their debris falling around him after being intercepted by air defenses.

“I tend to send a text every day: ‘Good morning, son. I love you,’” Dessaint said. “Every so often, I get ‘I love you mom’ or ‘I miss you’ or something.”

PERSISTENT THREAT

As the United States and Iran negotiate a potential deal to open the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil transited before the war, it looks increasingly likely that any agreement would extend the ceasefire while delaying some of the thorniest issues, such as Tehran’s nuclear program.

That suggests the tense standoff and the demands on the U.S. military will continue.

The signs of strain on military operations are visible in the huge expenditure of munitions for the war. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it could take years to fully replenish U.S. inventories of missiles and interceptors.

Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said it is not just inventories that are eroding.

“Wars are expensive. They grind on the equipment and the people, as well as the missiles that are shot,” Karako said.

Back in Maryland, Hicks stays in touch with fellow U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, some frustrated by deployments that are being extended as the conflict drags on.

“They’re doing a lot better now than they were. The threat is not as bad,” he said, referring to the reduced scale of fighting.

But Hicks carries the memory of six fellow soldiers who died in the Kuwait attack that injured him, including Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, 39.

“I was talking to Sergeant Amor when the drone hit. She was maybe 10 feet away from me,” he said. “It’s something that I’m going to have to deal with the rest of my life.”

Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel

NATO’s eastern flank races to rearm as Trump pressure exposes Western Europe’s defense gap

2026-06-07 07:00:36 EDT / Fox News

Experts say 30 years of ‘freeloading’ created enormous deficits in people, equipment, technology and know-how

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Published June 7, 2026 7:00am EDT | Updated June 7, 2026 7:03am EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6397669318112

Former EUCOM official blasts Spain as Eastern Europe steps up

FDD’s Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery says frontline NATO states are increasing defense spending and military capabilities while some Western European allies continue to rely heavily on U.S. security guarantees.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

This is part six of a series examining the challenges confronting the NATO alliance.

As President Donald Trump presses NATO allies to shoulder more of Europe’s defense burden, countries closest to Russia are moving fastest — while some of Western Europe’s biggest economies face growing pressure to catch up.

Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former deputy director for strategy, policy and plans at U.S. European Command, said the shift is already visible across the alliance.

“Europe is clearly stepping up, but they’re stepping up by geographic variation,” Montgomery told Fox News Digital.

“If you ask me who’s doing the most, the Eastern Europeans are clearly.”

RUSSIAN DRONES TEST NATO’S ARTICLE 5 DEFENSE GUARANTEE AHEAD OF FRIDAY SANCTIONS DEADLINE

As President Donald Trump presses NATO allies to shoulder more of Europe’s defense burden, countries closest to Russia are moving fastest.(Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Montgomery pointed to the Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria as countries moving aggressively to strengthen deterrence against Russia.

His assessment comes as NATO allies work toward a new defense spending benchmark agreed at the 2025 summit in The Hague, which calls on members to invest 5% of GDP in defense and security-related spending by 2035, including 3.5% for core defense requirements and 1.5% for defense-related infrastructure and security investments.

John Deni, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College, said the trend shouldn’t be surprising.

“Given the threat of Russia, allies in the East are acquiring capabilities more quickly, and they’re spending even more than allies in the West,” Deni told Fox News Digital. “This shouldn’t surprise us because they’re the ones closest to the threat.”

Deni noted that many eastern allies are rapidly purchasing equipment already available on the market rather than waiting years for domestic defense programs to mature.

UK, GERMAN DEFENSE OFFICIALS DEFEND MILITARY BUILDUP UNDER RUSSIAN THREATS

President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attend the start of a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025.(Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)

The transformation is visible across NATO’s eastern and northern flanks. Poland has become one of the alliance’s largest military spenders, Romania is increasing defense investments, and Finland and Sweden have added advanced military capabilities to NATO following their accession.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Finland and Sweden Thursday at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, using them as examples of allies strengthening the alliance.

“Sweden and Finland have actually contributed because they brought their own defense industry, their own advanced technology,” Rubio said. “They have been great partners.”

Romanian Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Ţoiu echoed that message in an interview with Fox News Digital following an emergency U.N. Security Council session convened after a Russian drone strike injured civilians in the Romanian city of Galați.

“We do agree with President Trump on the need to increase budgets,” Ţoiu said.

Ţoiu said Romania raised defense spending to 2% of GDP during Trump’s previous term and plans to allocate “an average of 3.4 percent” next year through military procurement and strategic infrastructure investments.

POLAND SEEKS ANSWERS AFTER PENTAGON SCRAPS PLANNED US ARMORED BRIGADE ROTATION

“Europe is clearly stepping up, but they’re stepping up by geographic variation,” Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery told Fox News Digital.(Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

“We have launched initiatives that are directed at the eastern flank because it is increasingly more clear that that needs to be protected,” she said.

She argued that Romania’s role extends beyond national defense.

“We need better deterrence, better defense capabilities there in order to ensure our responsibility in protecting not just the Romanian border, which is the longest border to the war, but also it is in the same time a European border and the border of the Allied territory,” Ţoiu said.

For frontline states, the urgency is driven by geography as much as politics. Romania shares a border with Ukraine and repeatedly has dealt with Russian drones entering its airspace. Poland has become one of NATO’s top military spenders, while the Baltic states are racing toward defense expenditures approaching 5% of GDP.

Montgomery said the eastern flank’s urgency contrasts sharply with the pace in much of Western Europe.

Among the continent’s five largest economies, and despite a slight decrease in military spending in 2025, the U.K. remains the largest investor relative to GDP, with 2.4%, trailed by Germany (2.3%), Spain (2.1%), France (2%) and Italy (1.9%), according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

WHY NATO’S DEFENSE SPENDING IMBALANCE LASTED FOR DECADES

Oana-Silvia Toiu, Romania’s minister for foreign affairs, speaks during an emergency Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York on June 1, 2026, after a Russian military drone entered Romanian airspace and exploded, injuring civilians.(Lev Radin/Sipa USA)

“The Germans are the one country, I think, with a large economy that is starting to make the right kind of investments.”

Germany, he argued, could become the backbone of Europe’s future defense industrial base.

“Germany developing a large, impressive defense industrial base is good for NATO, it’s good for Western security, and it’s even good for our primes,” Montgomery said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has embraced higher defense spending and backed NATO’s new spending goals, positioning Berlin as a potential hub for Europe’s future defense industrial base as allies seek to reduce long-term dependence on the United States.

But despite rising defense budgets, experts warn Europe remains heavily dependent on American military capabilities.

Barak Seener, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said Europe still relies on the United States for many of the systems required to fight a modern war.

NATO CHIEF WARNS EUROPE CAN’T DEFEND ITSELF WITHOUT US AS TENSIONS RISE OVER GREENLAND

Despite rising defense budgets, experts warn Europe remains heavily dependent on American military capabilities.(Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency via AP, File)

“Europe is heavily dependent on NATO for its strategic airlift and sea lift, its air-to-air refueling, its cyber capabilities, its space assets, its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” Seener said.

Without those capabilities, he warned, European forces would struggle to maintain situational awareness during a major conflict.

Montgomery said Europe faces three major challenges: expanding military capacity, rebuilding its defense industrial base and developing high-end support capabilities that have long been provided by the United States.

PENTAGON CUTS BRIGADE COMBAT TEAMS IN EUROPE AS TRUMP PRESSURES NATO ON SPENDING

Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery pointed to the Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria as countries moving aggressively to strengthen deterrence against Russia.(Kuba Stezycki/Reuters)

“When you are freeloading for 30 years, you create enormous deficits in terms of people, equipment, technology and know-how,” he said.

“The primary forces to defend Europe should be European,” he said. “The United States should provide additional forces that allow maneuver and offensive operations.”

Montgomery also criticized reported Pentagon deliberations over delaying long-range strike deployments to Germany and reconsidering future Tomahawk missile sales, arguing the systems are critical for deterring Russia.

“The goal here is not to fight Russia in the Baltics or in Poland. The idea here is we want to deter Russia from even trying to attack.”

Looking ahead, Montgomery remains optimistic about NATO’s future.

Montgomery predicted Europe will continue increasing defense spending and expanding its defense industrial base, while the alliance benefits from steadier transatlantic relations.

“I think you’ll have a U.S. president that probably doesn’t provoke the Europeans as much. You’ll have Europe that’s investing more,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

U.S. Army M1 Abrams tanks take part in the Armed Forces Day parade in Warsaw, Poland, Aug. 15, 2025.(Artur Widak/NurPhoto)

He also predicted NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte would be remembered for helping hold the alliance together through a period of significant change.

“I think five years from now, NATO will be stronger,” he said. “And I hope we have Ukraine in there.”

Efrat Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

阿姆斯特丹拟逐步调高旅游税至20%

2026年6月7日 18:13 / 联合早报

阿姆斯特丹拟逐步调高旅游税至20%

为了应对过度旅游对城市环境和居民生活的负面影响，荷兰首都阿姆斯特丹市政府提议大幅提高过夜旅客的旅游税至20%。 （路透社档案照片）

（阿姆斯特丹综合电）为了应对过度旅游对城市环境和居民生活造成的影响，荷兰首都阿姆斯特丹拟在明年大幅提高旅游税至16%，并逐步提高至20%，以使用旅游税收打造一座更清洁、更安全、更宜居的城市。

阿姆斯特丹市政府星期四（6月4日）发布新的联合协议，划出2026至2030年的工作重点，其中包括调高过夜旅客旅游税、关闭邮轮码头、管控旅游商店，以及放弃搬迁红灯区等多项旅游业相关政策。

据荷兰新闻网报道，市政府提出，在明年将旅游税提高至16%，并在接下来以每年1个百分点的幅度增长，直到达到20%。这将使城市的旅游税收在明年达到6000万欧元（约8900万新元），并在2030年达到7500万欧元。

市政府说，这笔钱将确保游客对城市的管理、维护、执法和投资作出公平的贡献。

阿姆斯特丹已是全球旅游税第四高的城市。自2024年起，市政府向过夜旅客征收12.5%的旅游税，一日游游客则需支付15欧元。

尽管如此，阿姆斯特丹每年仍有超过2000万人次过夜旅客，以及大量一日游游客。市政府强调，虽然旅游业为城市经济作出贡献，但也给公共空间、生活质量和市政设施带来巨大压力。