00:00The U.S. began officially levying higher taxes on imports from dozens of countries on Thursday,
00:06four months after President Donald Trump first announced plans to impose tariffs on most of the world.
00:13The White House said that starting just after midnight,
00:17goods from more than 60 countries would face tariff rates of 10% or higher.
00:23Products from the European Union, Japan and South Korea will be taxed at 15%,
00:28while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh will be taxed at 20%.
00:34While seeking new trade agreements across the board,
00:38the Trump administration says it expects places such as the EU, Japan and South Korea
00:44to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S.
00:48Trump's trade policies are aimed at reshaping the structure of global trade,
00:53which he believes is unfair towards the U.S.
00:56Despite the controversy, the U.S. has remained confident that the onset of its broad tariffs
01:02will provide clarity about the path of the world's largest economy.
01:08In late July, the EU and U.S. tentatively agreed on a 15% tariff for the vast majority of EU products.
01:16The deal is, however, preliminary and its details are yet to be fleshed out.
01:26U.S. President Donald Trump intends to meet face-to-face with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin,
01:32according to a report by the New York Times.
01:35Trump will reportedly then hold a three-way meeting including himself, Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
01:42The U.S. President announced those plans in a call with Zelensky and European leaders on Wednesday evening.
01:48The meeting will only be between the three presidents and will not include any European representatives.
01:54Sources familiar with the call said European leaders appeared to accept what Trump said.
01:59Speaking to reporters at the White House,
02:01Trump hinted at this meeting potentially taking place in the very near future.
02:05We had some very good talks with President Putin today,
02:09and there's a very good chance that we could be ending the round, ending the end to that road.
02:16That road was long and continues to be long,
02:20but there's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon.
02:25After the call, Zelensky said that Moscow appears to be more inclined to a ceasefire now
02:30following Trump envoy Steve Witkoff's latest visit.
02:33The news comes just days before Trump's deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal in the war
02:55or face fresh sanctions was due.
02:57In mid-July, Trump announced a 50-day deadline for Russia,
03:02which he shortened two weeks later,
03:04slashing weeks off due to a lack of progress being made.
03:07A military helicopter crashed in Ghana late on Wednesday,
03:15killing the country's defense minister and environment minister.
03:20According to a government spokesperson,
03:22Defense Minister Edward Omane Bouama
03:24and Environmental Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohamed
03:29were killed along with six other people on board.
03:32The crash, described as a national tragedy,
03:36was one of the worst Ghanaian air disasters in more than a decade.
03:40Ghana's military said the helicopter took off from the capital, Accra,
03:45and was heading northwest towards the gold mining area of Uboasi.
03:50Shortly after entering the area in the Ashanti region,
03:53the aircraft went off the radar and the wreckage of the aircraft was later located.
03:58The military said the cause of the crash is not yet known
04:02and a probe has been launched to investigate the incident.
04:12Lithuania has asked NATO for help to bolster its air defenses
04:16after it revealed two Russian military drones
04:19flew into its territory from Belarus last month.
04:22The country's foreign minister said Wednesday
04:26he spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutter
04:29to discuss regional security.
04:33These talks come after Lithuania revealed
04:35one drone had crossed into the country on the 28th of July.
04:40The device was reportedly carrying explosives.
04:42Lithuania's defense minister said the drone was likely directed by Russia towards Kyiv,
05:09but became disorientated by Ukraine's defenses.
05:13It likely entered Lithuanian territory unintentionally, he said.
05:18It's not the first time Russian-made drones have crossed into Lithuania from Belarus.
05:23Lithuania, which also borders Russia's Kalingrad enclave,
05:27has committed to a defense-spending hike
05:29in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
05:31Double standards in the EU's application of international law towards Ukraine and Gaza
05:43are eroding Europe's credibility with the Global South.
05:47This is what the former EU ambassador to the Palestinian occupied territories
05:51and the Gaza Strip, Svenkun von Burgstof, told Euronews in an interview.
05:56The ex-UN voice said that the bloc is eager to strike trade deals with countries from the Global South.
06:04But Europe's stance on Israel is undermining its credibility
06:08and making it harder to be taken seriously.
06:11For instance, there is a noticeable lack of strong support
06:15from the most Global South countries for Europe's efforts against Russia.
06:20Two countries, the Bahamas and Micronesia,
06:24these are the powerhouse of the Global South supporting us
06:27in our just and legitimate fight against Russia.
06:30Meaning, people don't take the EU and the member states seriously
06:33when we pledge to actually support human rights and defend international law.
06:38If we want to regain our own moral credibility and legitimacy,
06:44we need to act against what we're seeing every day in Gaza.
06:47Unless we do that, we are losing our partnerships and our credibility across the world.
06:54Kun von Burgstof served as EU ambassador between January 2020 and July 2023.
07:01He was recently a coordinator of a letter sent by 58 former EU ambassadors
07:07to heads of governments and EU institutions,
07:11calling for actions against Israel due to the ongoing situations
07:15in Gaza and in the West Bank.
07:18They outlined some recommendations on how the EU can put pressure on Israel.
07:24We can act with what we call qualified majority,
07:28where at least 15 member states,
07:31representing about two-thirds of the European population,
07:34can actually decide on a matter of commercial policy to take action.
07:38And here, we suggest that, for instance,
07:41we end or suspend all preferential trade arrangements with Israel.
07:45We also suggest and propose that all trade with the illegal settlements in Israel,
07:53meaning in the occupied Persian territory, is being stopped.
07:56Lebanon's government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan
08:05to allow only state institutions to carry arms by the end of the year,
08:10effectively disarming the militant group Hezbollah.
08:13The move comes as Beirut is under international and U.S. pressure to disarm the group,
08:19which has been weakened after a nearly 14-month war with Israel.
08:22Many of its political and military leaders are dead.
08:28Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, has rejected calls to disarm
08:32and warned that Hezbollah would fight back
08:34should Israel resume military operations against it.
08:38The Iran-backed group have called for Israel to withdraw
08:41from the five hills it controls within Lebanon
08:44and pause almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people.
08:49Israel's military has said the five locations in Lebanon
08:52provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel,
08:57where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during the war.
09:02Hezbollah maintains the deal only covers the area south of the waterway,
09:06while Israel and the U.S. say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon.
09:12Qassem has rejected a government vote over its weapons,
09:15saying such a decision should be made unanimously by all Lebanese people.
09:19The issue amongst the public, however, is divisive,
09:22with some groups calling for the group's disarmament.
09:30Can a global treaty to end plastic pollution be reached?
09:34Gathered in Geneva, delegates from around 100 countries,
09:39including the EU, are tackling the problem.
09:42Their goal is to establish legally binding targets to cut plastic production.
09:48In contrast, oil and gas exporters like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia
09:53prefer to focus solely on waste management and recycling.
09:58Well, some countries, of course, are worried about the financial implications,
10:03particularly if they're a country that exports a lot of oil and gas,
10:07which is the main carbon source for plastics.
10:10Also, if they're a country that produces a lot of plastic products,
10:12they're concerned about the potential financial implications.
10:17There's a good number of countries, however,
10:18more than 100 who are aligned, already agreed on a high-ambition treaty.
10:23The European Commission is pushing for a treaty
10:26that tackles the entire life cycle of plastics,
10:30from production to disposal.
10:32It also backs a gradual phase-out of certain plastics
10:36that are harmful to human health and the environment.
10:39A marine biology professor is urging negotiators to take action.
10:45The plastic pollution is a global environmental problem.
10:48Plastic contaminates our planets,
10:50literally from our deepest oceans to our highest mountains.
10:53It's present in Arctic sea ice right the way through to the equator.
10:58The microplastic pieces that I've spent much of my career working on
11:00are now present in the air we breathe,
11:02the water we drink and the food we eat.
11:05460 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year.
11:0981% of plastic products end up as waste in less than a year.
11:14Of this waste, only 9% is recycled,
11:1720% is incinerated,
11:20more than 20% is abandoned in nature
11:23and almost half ends up in landfill sites.
11:26The negotiations attended by delegates,
11:29NGOs, scientists and industrialists end on August 14th.
11:34The previous session in Korea at the end of 2024
11:37failed to reach an agreement.
11:40We'll be and I'll see you in the next minute.
11:40Is
11:46Odße
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