Free Republic

BRUSSELS — NATO nations are increasing spending on defense, with nine of the alliance’s 29 members now meeting guidelines, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday, ahead of a summit next week where President Donald Trump is expected to urge leaders yet again to increase military expenditures. The top-tier spending club — with at least 2% of annual gross domestic allocated for defense — expanded by one country and now includes Bulgaria, according to figures released by the military alliance. EU countries and Canada have collectively boosted their defense spending every year since 2015, motivated first by Russia’s conflict with...

Polls in France have closed. According to the exit polls, independent candidate Emmanuel Macron -- who's leading a "movement" rather than a party -- and Front National leader Marine Le Pen will proceed to the second round of the French presidential election. That's exactly what was indicated in the poll of polls, which had Macron leading the field with 24 percent, followed by Le Pen with 22 percent. The exit polls show Macron with 23.7 percent and Le Pen with 21.7 percent. If those results prove true, the last polls were right on the money. For Le Pen, today's result...