• On the fourth leg of a grueling overseas trip, President Trump lectured NATO allies in Brussels on not spending enough for collective defense, and declined to plainly endorse Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty, which states that an attack on any member is an attack on all.

• For some of the European leaders, testing Mr Trump seemed to be as important as finding common ground with him, amid anxiety about their relationship with a leader who had dismissed the alliance as “obsolete” and called the Belgian capital a “hellhole” after a terrorist attack.

• Earlier, Mr Trump met with Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission. Mr Tusk said afterward that there were differences of opinion over Russia, but that when it came to Ukraine, “it seems that we were on the same line.”

• Analysts said expectations were low that Mr Trump and European leaders would agree on issues like climate change, trade and terrorism. (He also shared an eyebrow-raising handshake with President Emmanuel Macron of France.)

• In the wake of Mr Trump’s suggestions that the alliance was not doing enough against terrorism, NATO announced that it would formally join the fight against the Islamic State.

If there was any real drama over Mr Trump’s visit, it concerned whether he would go off script on the question of Article 5. He had been expected to explicitly endorse the principle in a speech when he unveiled a September 11 memorial — a piece of twisted metal from the World Trade Center — outside NATO’s new building.

But in his speech before the leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, he did not explicitly do so. Instead, Mr Trump offered a vague promise to “never forsake the friends that stood by our side” in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks — a pledge that White House officials later said was an affirmation of mutual defense.

According to the report, in the next several months Romania and the Czech Republc will integrate one brigade into the German armed forces. "In doing so, they'll follow in the footsteps of two Dutch brigades, one of which has already joined the Bundeswehr's Rapid Response Forces Division and another that has been integrated into the Bundeswehr's 1st Armored Division," the journalist wrote.

Bro argues that such integration will enable the Bundeswehr to increase its combat power in a short time and take care of Europe's security. Commenting on Bro's publication, the German edition of The Huffington Post wrote that the analysis sounds like a conspiracy theory. However, in fact the activities the journalist wrote about have indeed much to do with reality.

"Germans are very serious about multinational military integration," military expert Johannes Varwick from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg told The Huffington Post. "What we see now is certainly not a European army, but a step towards it."

On Monday night, Salman Abedi detonated a “highly sophisticated” nail bomb at Manchester Arena, killing 22 people including young children. Twenty people are in a critical condition in hospital. It was Britain’s worst terrorist attack since the 7/7 atrocity 12 years ago.

Abedi’s support for terrorism was reported this year to MI5, and five years ago friends had called Britain’s anti-terrorist hotline with concerns about his views, the Times reports. It is unclear whether Abedi had been under any form of surveillance.

It has emerged that the younger brother of Abedi, who was arrested in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Wednesday night, knew he was planning an attack in Manchester. Hashim Abedi, 18, has confessed that both he and his brother were members of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Abedi’s father, Ramadan Abedi, and another brother, 23-year-old Ismail, have also been arrested.

The crime scene photographs were leaked to the New York Times after being shared with US intelligence, prompting a furious response among ministers. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, had publicly asked US law enforcement agencies to stop leaking shared intelligence and said she had been “very clear with our friends that that should not happen again”.

She said the leaks had been compromising the fast-moving investigation into what police have described as a “network” behind Abedi, but her warning was ignored as the extraordinary series of pictures were leaked in the US, prompting a major diplomatic row. The Telegraph understands that Theresa May will raise the matter with President Donald Trump when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels today.

The Republican academic blasted the rest of Europe as “ungrateful” for the massive US support in rebuilding the continent after the war and said it was riven with “anti-Americanism”. But in contrast he heaped praise on Britain, which is leaving the club, saying it shared the strongest ties with America and would be front of the queue for a trade deal. Dr Malloch said the EU had “failed” and had to abandon its dreams of ever-closer union or collapse during a combative speech to the Open Europe think-tank in Brussels this afternoon. 

New French president Emmanuel Macron is pushing for further integration of the eurozone including a centralised EU finance ministry and budget - a proposal which for the first time Germany is not openly opposing. But Dr Malloch, who has no official capacity but is close to the Trump administration, warned the US would fiercely defend its interests against any increased “protectionism” from Europe.

The troops also secured 42 teachers who had taken refuge and got trapped at Dansalan College after the city was engulfed in violence. Authorities provided no details of civilian injuries and casualties, but said at least 31 soldiers were wounded in the attempt to rescue the hostages and escort civilians to safety.

On Tuesday night, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law for 60 days after battles between government troops and the Maute in Marawi escalated. Duterte was forced to cut short his trip to Russia to return home to tackle the terrorist insurgency.

There were, however, no major overtures such as the much speculated transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  Still, Trump’s speech was lauded by Israeli politicians here as one of the most friendly toward Israel from any US president, and he used the speech to affirm the Jewish bond to Jerusalem and the land of Israel.

Trump spoke in the highest terms of Jerusalem, Israel and the Jewish people. “I am honored to be in the ancient city of Jerusalem to address the Israeli people and all people in the Middle East who yearn for security, prosperity and peace,” he said.

“Jerusalem is a sacred city. Its beauty, splendor and heritage are like no other place on earth. What a heritage, what a heritage. The ties of the Jewish people to this holy land are ancient and eternal. They date back thousands of years, including the reign of King David, whose star now flies proudly on Israel’s blue and white flag.”

“Israel is testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people,” he continued. “From all parts of this great country, one message resounds, and that is the message of hope. Down through the ages, the Jewish people have suffered persecution, oppression, and… [others have] sought their destruction,” he said. “I make this promise to you: My administration will always stand with Israel.” This remark was met with a lingering round of applause and another handshake from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

After reiterating his commitment to driving out terror, the president referred to attacks committed on Israeli civilians:  “Israelis have experienced firsthand the hatred and terror of radical violence. Israelis are murdered by terrorists wielding knives and bombs. Hamas and Hezbollah launch rockets into Israeli communities where schoolchildren have to be trained to hear the sirens and to run to the bomb shelters with fear but with speed.

ISIS targets Jewish neighborhoods, synagogues… and Iran’s leaders routinely call for Israel’s destruction.”

“Not with Donald J Trump,” he declared, earning a standing ovation and a fist pump from Netanyahu. Trump smiled at the audience on their feet and said, “I like you too.”

As Andrew Neil asked “What lessons are we failing to learn?” the author said: “Every imaginable one, we don’t want to listen to what extremists say. We don’t want to believe they mean what they say. We still seem to be, even after all these years and this strange cycle, we’re not preparing to fight this ideology. Our politicians I think, from all parties, are very reluctant to even name the ideology in question.” 

“We know why somebody like this young man did what he did on Monday night in Manchester. They keep telling us, it’s just we don’t want to listen. We don’t want to recognise where it comes from.” And as the BBC host asked, “where it came from?” Mr Murray said: “It comes from the religion, it is the worst possible interpretation of the religion but it comes from it. And we are very reluctant in our society to face up to that because underneath all of this there is something else happening." 

“The root cause of this and nobody, because of political correctness [will say this], these mosques are preaching hate, the Islamic schools are peaching hate… this is killing our children. It is absolutely ridiculous. It is about time someone had the balls to stand up to these people and [demand] some action. 

“The security services had this person on their radar, not acceptable. It could have been my kids, it is absolutely ridiculous. A peace march and lighting candles achieves nothing. They don’t give a monkeys about that, they don’t care. Action and it needs to be done yesterday. And if we need money for more armed forces and security services find it, it needs to be done.”

Within the last 30 days, there have been 169 Islamic terror attacks in a total of 24 different countries. Last year, the number of global terror attacks was up 25 percent from the year before, and this year we will almost certainly see another all-time record high. But many liberals never even want to use the phrase “Islamic terror” because it doesn’t fit their agenda.

In fact, many liberals immediately jumped on Twitter after the terror attack in Manchester and started warning about the spread of “Islamophobia”. Until the entire western world is willing to embrace Islam and swear allegiance to Allah, the radical Islamists will never stop. Their faith tells them that it is their destiny to rule the world, and they will never rest until they have achieved that goal.

Unfortunately, most people believe what they want to believe, and what most politically-correct pundits in the western world want to believe is that radical Islam is not the problem. Radical Islam has declared war on us, but most liberals don’t even think that we are in a war. And in any war, if one side chooses not to fight the other side wins by default. The western world desperately needs to wake up, because we are in a life or death battle, and right now this fight is only in the early rounds.

A Vatican statement said the talks had included a discussion of health care, education and assistance for immigrants, as well as “the promotion of peace in the world through political negotiation and interreligious dialogue.” For all of the attention on the major differences between Pope Francis and President Trump when it comes to immigration, climate change and arms deals, they are on the same page when it comes to issues including abortion.

The Vatican statement after the much-anticipated meeting between the pope and the president on Wednesday highlighted “the joint commitment in favor of life, and freedom of worship and conscience,” a view that some powerful conservative players in Rome had highlighted in the weeks before the meeting.

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who leads the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrinal office, said in a recent interview: “I’m now content that religious liberty in the United States is better and that they stopped the programs of Planned Parenthood for abortion. That is a good thing, a good progress.” Asked whether he trusted Mr Trump, he said, “I am very content.”

Mr Trump then introduced the rest of his family and delegation, and he and the Pope moved across the room to exchange gifts. “This is a gift for you — these are books from Martin Luther King,” Mr Trump said. “I think you will enjoy them.”

The pope then presented his gift. “This is a medallion by a Roman artist: It is an olive tree, which is a symbol of peace,” the pope said. He explained it had “two branches, and a division of war in the middle.” “We can use peace,” Mr Trump responded. The pope looked into the president’s eyes. “It is with all hope that you may become an olive tree to make peace,” the pope said.

He also gave the president his three papal exhortations — communications from the Pope to the church — and explained the topics. “The family, the Joy of the Gospel and on the care of our common home the environment,” Francis said. “Well, I’ll be reading them,” Mr Trump said. After a few more minutes of ceremony, the Pope bid the President farewell. Mr Trump shook his hand. “I won’t forget,” he said. “I won’t forget what you said.”

Investigators fear that the British-born bomber Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old of Libyan descent, was part of a wider network of ISIS-inspired terrorists, including a bomb-maker, who may still be at large. Special Forces were deployed to Manchester ready to engage in the hunt for accomplices of Abedi, who killed 22 concert-goers in Britain’s worst terrorist atrocity for 12 years.

Outlining the increased risk, Mrs May said: “It is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack.” Mrs May also announced that troops would replace police officers at set-piece events including sports venues and concerts. It will be the first time since 2003 – when the Government reacted to a plot to bring down an airliner – that troops are deployed on the streets.

With the FA Cup final this weekend, Mrs May acted on the advice of the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre after chairing two meetings of the Cobra emergency committee. Security will also be stepped up at major public events and terrorist targets such as railway stations and airports.

Intelligence experts believe the device detonated at a concert by the pop singer Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena on Monday night was so sophisticated that Abedi must have either been given specialist training abroad or used a bomb made by a technician who has not yet been captured.

President Trump said the bomber and any accomplices were “evil losers in life”. He said: “I won’t call them monsters because they would like that term. I will call them losers.” The Russian President Vladimir Putin, China’s President Xi and Germany’s Chancellor Merkel were also among those who sent messages to the Prime Minister.

Later this week Mrs May will travel to the G7 summit in Sicily where she will lead discussions on anti-terrorism measures with other leaders. A Downing Street spokesman confirmed the trip will go ahead and that Mrs May will play a major role in sessions about counter-terrorism cooperation.

“The worst kind of death. The most savage of attacks. I wanted to vomit. Crouching at the end of my bed, I wanted to be physically sick, knowing what this would mean for today. It would mean the eunuch politicians peddling their narrative that we will carry on as normal, that we stand united. Trying to find some hope to hang on to.

It would mean Andy Burnham, the new mayor of Greater Manchester, right there to tell us it would be business as usual in Manchester. I want to scream at him. Business as usual? BUSINESS AS USUAL? Tell that to the mother of 16-year-old Georgina Callander. Someone slaughtered her most special thing, the tiny baby she carried, birthed, equipped with all the things she could protect her from the world with, smiling at her loveliness as she became a young woman. 

And you say it is business as usual? The dead never get to carry on as normal. When the only option is to carry on as normal, what the hell else are we going to do? Carrying on as normal is not defiance. Or strength. It is the default. When someone dies in our family, we carry on as before because the alternative is to lie down under our duvet and hope the world goes away. And sometimes we even try that for a bit, too.

But in the end, reluctantly, we default and carry on as normal. This does not make us strong. Or united. It makes us desperate to feel better. This country is sick. It is calling out for a doctor. We need to know what will cure us. What action do we take? What do we do? How can we stop the hurt? I look back to the missing persons and see little Saffie Roussos, smiling aged eight, now confirmed dead.

And I wonder if we are too sick to be saved.”

It was deleted and replaced with a re-worded message reading “we need a true solution", but critics are calling for Ms Hopkins to be fired by Mail Online and LBC radio. Ms Hopkins has been reported to the Metropolitan Police over the tweet, which was part of a longer anti-Muslim tirade, but the force said it was too early to confirm whether an investigation would be launched.

It came after at least 22 people were killed and 59 injured in a suicide bombing at Manchester Arena on Monday night. Thousands of people, including many children and teenagers, were leaving an Ariana Grande concert and heading towards Victoria Station when the blast hit the foyer. It is the worst terror attack in the UK since 56 people were killed in the London bombings on 7 July 2005.