President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would defend Poland and the Baltic states in case of an escalation from Russia, following Moscow’s incursion into Estonia’s airspace.

Asked whether he would help defend the EU members if Russia intensifies hostilities, Trump told reporters: “Yeah, I would. I would.”

Estonia has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday following Friday’s incursion.

Three Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland, triggering complaints of a dangerous new provocation from the European Union and Nato but a denial from Moscow.

Italian F-35 fighters attached to Nato’s air defense support mission in the Baltic states, along with Swedish and Finnish aircraft, were scrambled to intercept the Russian jets and warn them off.

Asked whether he had been briefed on the situation in Estonia, Trump answered in the affirmative and added: “We don’t like it.”

His statement came about two weeks after some 17 Russian drones violated Polish airspace, in incident Trump then sought to downplay.

“It could have been a mistake,” Trump told journalists on September 11.

• Canadian PM offers partnership for peaceful future.
• Three major Western nations all boost Palestinian cause.
• Move sure to irk Israel and its closest ally US.

Britain, Canada, and Australia all recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution but which is also bound to anger Israel and its main ally, the United States.

The three nations’ decision aligned them with about 140 other countries which also back the Palestinians’ aspiration to forge an independent homeland from the Israeli-occupied territories.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” said PM Starmer.

Canada and Australia also recognised a Palestinian state today and other countries are expected to do so this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that his country now recognises the state of Palestine.

“Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel,” said Carney.

Similarly, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country was recognising Palestine as part of an effort to revive momentum for a two-state solution that starts with a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held there.

In a move that put Starmer at odds with US President Donald Trump, Britain had issued Israel with an ultimatum in July saying it would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza.

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission in London, called the decision a “long-overdue recognition” that “is not about Palestine, but about Britain’s fulfilment of a solemn responsibility”.

“It marks an irreversible step towards justice, peace, and the correction of historic wrongs,” he added in a statement.

Starmer had said in July that Britain would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel reached a ceasefire with Hamas, let more aid into Gaza, made clear there would be no annexation of the West Bank, and committed to a peace process delivering a two-state solution.

“Since that announcement in July, in fact, with the attack on Qatar, a ceasefire at this point lays in tatters, and the prospects are bleak,” Lammy said, noting Israel had also moved forward with a settlement plan.

Starmer has been under pressure from many of his own lawmakers, angry at the rising death toll in Gaza and images of starving children.

Britin’s historic involvement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this month there will never be a Palestinian state.

Londoners voiced mixed reactions.

“A whole lot needs to happen and peace needs to come to that region,” said 56-year-old charity director Michael Angus. “This is the first step in actually acknowledging that those people have a right to have somewhere to call home.”

Retiree Stephen, who declined to give his last name, said the government “probably means well” but argued the move was misguided: “They are sort of abandoning Israel… and with Hamas, (they) are almost sort of supporting them.”

Lammy previously said Britain has a historic responsibility to facilitate a two-state solution, dating back to the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which pledged that the creation of a Jewish state would not infringe on Arab rights.

“While a welcome step, Britain owes Palestine far more than recognition,” said Victor Kattan, public international law professor and adviser to the “Britain Owes Palestine” campaign, arguing for an apology and reparations for engineering violent divisions.

The decision may mean the Palestinian Mission in London is upgraded to embassy status. It could also result in banning products that come from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

‘Recognition brings independence closer’

Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said countries recognising a Palestinian state this week were taking an irreversible step that preserved the two-state solution and brought Palestinian independence and sovereignty closer.

“Now is the time. Tomorrow is a historic date we need to build on. It’s not the end,” Shahin told reporters in Ramallah.

“It is a move bringing us closer to sovereignty and independence. It might not end the war tomorrow, but it’s a move forward, which we need to build on and amplify,” she said, referring to Israel’s nearly two-year military campaign in Gaza.

BERLIN: Some of Europe’s biggest airports, including the region’s busiest, London’s Heathrow, raced to restore normal operations on Sunday after hackers disrupted automatic check-in systems.

Hackers on Saturday targeted check-in and boarding systems provider Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX, disrupting operations at Heathrow, Berlin Airport and in Brussels, where passengers faced long queues, cancellations and delays.

Disruption had eased significantly by early Sunday despite some continuing delays, according to airport officials and data, while regulators said they were investigating the source of the cyberattack.

Brussels Airport said that 45 out of 257 scheduled departing flights on Sunday were cancelled but operational adjustments had kept waiting times down.

“There are delays between 30 and 90 minutes,” a spokesperson for the airport told Reuters, adding it was not clear yet how much longer disruptions would last.

A passenger flying from Brussels said disruption had been minimal.

“For me, it was business as usual. For those poor souls who didn’t do online check-in or have bags to check, they may be waiting a bit,” he said.

The disruption is the latest in a string of hacks to hit sectors from healthcare to autos. A breach at carmaker Jaguar Land Rover halted production, while another caused Marks & Spencer losses in the hundreds of millions of pounds.

RTX called the incident a “cyber-related disruption” and said it had impacted its MUSE software, which is used by several airlines. RTX was not immediately available for comment on Sunday.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport said on Sunday problems persisted but that it was working with the company to resolve the issue. A manual workaround was in place and there were currently no major delays or cancellations, it added.

Heathrow said early on Sunday that work was continuing to recover from the check-in system outage. It added that “the vast majority of flights have continued to operate”.

An analysis by aviation data provider Cirium said delays at Heathrow were “low”, Berlin had “moderate” delays, while Brussels had “significant” delays, but these were decreasing.