Category World News

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang made the pledge to Vieira in a phone call as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration considers imposing retaliatory trade sanctions against the country in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on a range of Brazilian goods.

Wang stated to Vieira during the phone call that the China-Brazil relationship is “at its best in history,” according to Wang, according to China’s state-run Global Times.

Wang also vowed that China would join forces with the BRICS trading bloc to defend “the legitimate rights and interests” of developing nations while noting that the current international situation “isundergoing complex changes.”

The emerging economies like Brazil and the BRICS are seen as opposing the Western-led APEC and G7 organizations in terms of their political and economic stances.

Beijing’s offer comes as a result of concerns that Brazil and China are considering working together to combative US trade sanctions.

Wang also recalled the phone call between Brazilian President Lula and Chinese President Xi Jinping two weeks ago, when the two leaders “forged solid mutual trust and friendship” to create a China-Brazil community “with a shared future.”

Lula visited China for a five-day state visit in May.

In recent years, Beijing has attempted to win over Latin America in order to oust Washington, which has historically been the region’s most powerful major power.

However, China has surpassed the US as Brazil’s largest trading partner, and a large portion of Latin American nations have also partnered with Xi to build the Belt and Road infrastructure.

As the world’s largest consumer of soya beans, Brazil relies heavily on imports for its supply because of its large-export volumes of the ingredient.

Since Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee and other products, which went into effect on August 6, strained relations between the US and Brazil.

While Trump’s trade war primarily targeted nations that have a significant trade surplus with the US, Brazil imports from the US far outweigh its exports, and Washington had a $ 28.6 billion trade surplus with Brazil in 2024.

Trump’s economic hostility toward Brazil was used as retribution for the so-called domestic legal “witch-hunt” against Brazil’s ex-favorable president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup.

Trump has demanded that Bolsonaro’s accusations of being an ally be dropped, and he has also imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for overseeing the case against the former leader.

Han, 76, was charged on Friday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. Perjury and falsifying official documents are additional offenses.

According to media reports, Han had been the subject of a team of special prosecutors’ inquiries for a while.

Among other things, former First Lady Kim was charged with accepting gifts from the contentious Unification Church and participating in a stock manipulation scheme.

Kim’s attorneys have refuted the allegations made against her and said that rumors about some of the gifts she allegedly received were fabricated.

According to assistant special counsel Park Ji-young, Han was the highest official who could have prevented Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law.

Park claimed that Han continued to play an “active” part in Yoon’s declaration of martial law by attempting to pass the decree through a Cabinet Council meeting in order to “proceed procedurally legitimacy.”

Han has maintained that he told Yoon that he opposed his martial law plan.

Yoon is currently facing charges including insurrection for his attempt to impose military rule, while Kim and her ex-president husband have been detained and are currently incarcerated.

His wife had been the target of numerous high-profile scandals, some of which had lasted for more than 15 years, which hampered his turbulent presidency and caused political unrest for him and his moderate People’s Party (PPP) candidates.

In April, Yoon was formally impeached.

During the post-martial law quake between December and May, former prime minister Han stepped in twice to serve as acting president before quitting.

However, he was unable to win the PPP.

The US’s Friday-day loophole closure is expected to be followed by a six-month transition period to a new tariff regime.

Prior to the cost change, more than 30 nations, including Australia, Germany, Japan, and Mexico, have temporarily or permanently suspended package shipments to the US.

Postal unions around the world claim that before resuming shipments to the US, more details must be provided.

DHL, a global logistics company, announced that it would not send business parcels to the US until “unresolved” questions are resolved regarding “how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future” and “how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out.”

Starting August 29th, a White House fact sheet that was released on July 30 stated that tariff rates for small packages will be determined in one of two ways.

Depending on the country of origin, the first option offers a flat rate of $80 to $200 per item. The second choice is based on the package’s value and the “reciprocal” tariff rate that the White House has for each country.

After the first six months, all small packages will be subject to a 10% to 40% tariff in the majority of nations.

Although negotiations are ongoing with key trade partners Mexico and China, the White House set its “reciprocal” tariff rates for the majority of its trade partners in July.

The “de minimis exemption,” which allows people to avoid paying import tax on small items, is a policy that President Donald Trump’s administration believes is necessary to lower the US trade deficit. It also states that it will help to stop the flow of narcotics across borders.

De minimis exemption has been in place since the 1930s, but it was a significant factor in the US economy after it was increased from $200 to $800 in 2015. By allowing retailers to ship directly to the customer, the import tax exemption helped open the door for less than $800 in e-commerce.

According to US customs data, the number of packages passing the US border has increased by tenfold over the past ten years, from 129 million to 1.36 billion.

Authorities in the US city of Minneapolis said a 23-year-old man who opened fire on two young school students and injured more than a dozen others in a Catholic church was “filled with hatred” and “obsessed” with killing children.

The suspect shot 116 bullets through stained glass windows on Wednesday during the first week of classes at the Annunciation Catholic School, according to Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara on Thursday.

O’Hara stated, “It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorize those innocent children.”

Because the police chief wanted to “get attention” with this “heinous attack,” the police chief also requested that the news media refrain from covering the shooter’s name. Following the shooting, the assailant committed suicide in a parking lot.

An eight-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were the victims of the attack.

Acting US Attorney Joe Thompson claimed that the assailant’s videos and writings “expressed hate against almost every group imaginable,” including Jews, Christians, and Mexicans.

The suspect “idolised” the suspect, Thompson claimed, and one group the attacker did not hate was “the most notorious school shooters and mass murderers in our country’s history.”

He claimed that the shooter was “obsessed with the idea of killing children.”

The recent mass shooting in the US has once more sparked debates about gun restrictions and safety.

Despite efforts to increase security and identify potential perpetrators before they can act, deadly gun violence has become more prevalent in schools, churches, and other places once thought safe in the US.

Director Kash Patel stated on X earlier on Thursday that the FBI had gathered evidence that the church attack was an “act of domestic terrorism motivated by a hate-filled ideology.”

Fletcher Merkel, 8, was a boy who loved his family, fishing, cooking, and any sport he was allowed to play, according to family members. Harper Moyski, a 10-year-old girl, and her parents said in a statement that she was a young, upbeat child.

After a previously unidentified victim came forward, the number of children who were hurt in the attack was increased to 15, according to police. Additionally, three elderly people suffered injuries.

According to authorities, one child is in critical condition and one adult is in serious condition.

The shooter, who was unconnected, had recently changed her name and identified as a transgender woman, and had recently purchased all three firearms legally.

As US warships arrive in the region in a alleged operation against Latin American drug cartels, Maduro said on Thursday, saying that his nation was well-equipped to defend its sovereignty.

“We are stronger than yesterday,” the statement read. According to the state-run Venezuela News Agency, Maduro stated in a speech to troops that “we are more prepared to defend peace, sovereignty, and territorial integrity”.

As Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN, spoke out against the US military’s expansion, Maduro made his comment.

After meeting with Guterres, Moncada said to reporters, “It’s a massive propaganda operation to justify what the experts refer to as kinetic action, which means military action against a nation that is a sovereign and independent nation and poses no threat to anyone.”

The ambassador claimed that they are sending a nuclear submarine to combat drug trafficking, which is absurd.

In response to concerns that some Venezuelans were taking part in large-scale drug operations, Admiral Daryl Claude, the US Navy’s chief of naval operations, confirmed earlier on Thursday that US warships were being deployed to waters off South America.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency that seven US warships, as well as one fast attack submarine with nuclear power, were either in the area or expected to be there in the coming week.

In a move that was launched after the Trump administration accused Maduro and other members of his government of having connections to cocaine trafficking, more than 4,500 US service members, including about 2,200 Marines, were reportedly board the ships.

Venezuela has launched a campaign to recruit thousands of militia members to strengthen its domestic defenses in response to US threats by sending warships and drones to patrol its coastline.

In an effort to combat drug trafficking and other organized crime, Caracas has also deployed 15, 000 troops to Colombia’s borders.

Maduro thanked Colombia for sending an additional 25, 000 military personnel to the Colombia-Venezuela border to combat “narco-terrorist gangs,” according to Venezuela News Agency on Thursday.

Trump’s threats to Venezuela have focused primarily on its powerful criminal gangs, particularly the notorious cocaine-trafficking Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration has labeled a terrorist organization and accused Maduro of leading.

On Friday, August 29, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

At least 23 people were killed when Russian missiles and drones ripped through apartment blocks in Kiev, Ukraine, on Thursday, according to authorities, in a move that the United States criticized as a failure of peace efforts.
• According to the air force of Ukraine, Moscow fired at least 629 drones and missiles, making it the second-largest overnight barrage of the conflict, according to Kyiv’s information.
• The deadly Russian attack also targeted the Azerbaijani Embassy, the European Union delegation, the British Council, and a Turkish company in the capital, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine.

diplomacy and politics

• The Russian attack on Kyiv was Russia’s response to diplomatic efforts, according to President Zelenskyy.
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that US President Donald Trump “was not happy” about the Russian attack and that he planned to discuss it further in the future.
• The Kremlin claimed the attack targeted Ukrainian military installations and that its attacks would continue despite its claims that it was still interested in diplomacy.
• Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, also criticized the attack and called for a ceasefire.
• Following the overnight attack in Kyiv, the EU mission and the British Council’s buildings were damaged by the EU and the British government.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin was accused of “sabotaging hopes of peace,” according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed that the most recent strikes “Russia showed its true face.”
• Russian President Emmanuel Macron criticized “terror and barbarism” by saying, “This is Russia’s idea of peace,” on X.
• Following the attacks, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen reiterated to both Zelenskyy and Trump that “Putin must come to the negotiating table.”

• On X, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated that “we must make sure Ukraine has everything it needs to defend itself and, as well, secure a lasting peace.”
• Robert Brovdi, the head of the Ukrainian military, was the subject of an entry ban, according to Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who “attacked Hungary’s sovereignty and threatened our energy security.” The Ukrainian drone forces are led by an ethnic Hungarian named Borovich.

Peace talks

• Zelenskyy stated to a group of European leaders that any effort to reach a peace agreement with Russia needed to include a clear definition of security guarantees for Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy added that he and Turkiye’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had discussed security arrangements for Ukraine.
• Yulia Svyrydenko, the prime minister of Ukraine, was greeted by Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter for a courtesy visit in Bern, according to a statement from the Swiss government. According to the statement, the discussions focused on the reconstruction of Ukraine and the peace process.

military assistance

• According to the Pentagon, the US Department of State has approved a potential sale of air-launched cruise missiles and related equipment to Ukraine for an estimated $ 825 million. A manufacturer claims that the 3, 350 Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles have a “several hundred” kilometer range.

Regional security

• According to a report from the New York Times, Russia or its affiliates have flown surveillance drones over eastern German routes used by the US and its allies to transport military supplies. The report was deemed “another newspaper fake,” according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin.

Economy