A planned drawdown of US troops from Germany should spur Europeans to strengthen its own defences further, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday, following the latest salvo from Washington against transatlantic ties. The Pentagon announced on Friday that ‌the United States would withdraw 5,000 soldiers from Germany, its largest European base, as a rift over the Iran war and tariff tensions place further strain on relations between the US and Europe. Pistorius said the move was...

Animal rights advocates were crowing on Saturday after Korean Air banned transporting roosters on flights from the United States to the Philippines, which has a huge cockfighting industry. Filipinos wager tens of millions of dollars daily, by some industry estimates, as they watch two roosters armed with metal spurs fight to the death in clashes that can end in less than a minute. The US is an important source of roosters for these fights, according to activists as well as local breeder Eduardo Eugenio, who told AFP shutting down US imports would have a “huge impact”.