NATO bows to America on defence; Britain’s Labour MPs join rebellion against a welfare-reform bill, and more
The World in Brief from The Economist
The Economist
4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 June 2025
⏱️ 6 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, you're listening to the free edition of the World In Brief from The Economist. |
| 0:10.4 | As a reminder, if you subscribe to The Economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead, |
| 0:16.0 | updated three times a day. If you're already an Economist subscriber, visit Economist.com slash espresso |
| 0:22.2 | or visit our espresso app to start listening. Here's today's free edition. |
| 0:30.7 | This is The World in Brief from The Economist. |
| 0:38.6 | Our Top Stories |
| 0:40.2 | NATO's members pledged to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, |
| 0:49.1 | bowing to Donald Trump's demands. |
| 0:51.7 | Spain refused to endorse the target, but did not block it. In a brief |
| 0:56.2 | joint statement, the alliance's members reaffirmed support for Ukraine and their commitment to |
| 1:01.7 | defending any ally under attack. Mr. Trump, who has previously questioned Article 5, said that, |
| 1:08.6 | quote, if I didn't stand with NATO, I wouldn't be here. |
| 1:14.2 | Mr. Trump said Iran's nuclear sites were obliterated by American strikes, dismissing a leaked |
| 1:20.6 | intelligence assessment that reportedly determined the attacks set back Iran's nuclear program |
| 1:26.3 | by a few months, but did not destroy it. |
| 1:29.7 | Marco Rubio, America's Secretary of State, set a nuclear conversion facility at Iran's |
| 1:35.3 | Isfahan plant, considered an essential component for producing a weapon, was wiped out. |
| 1:42.7 | More labor MPs in Britain joined a rebellion against the government's major welfare reform |
| 1:49.0 | bill. |
| 1:50.0 | Some 122 Labour MPs have signed an amendment, opposing the reforms, putting the bill at risk |
| 1:56.8 | of stalling, despite Cirqueir Starmer's enormous majority in Parliament. Sircure may have to rely on |
| 2:03.7 | opposition votes to pass the reforms, which would save $5 billion, or $6.8 billion a year by 2030. |
... |
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