U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods jumped to 50% on Wednesday, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters in an interview that he saw no room for direct talks now with U.S. President Donald Trump that would likely be a "humiliation."

Brazil is not about to announce reciprocal tariffs, he said. Nor will his government give up on cabinet-level talks. But Lula himself is in no rush to ring the White House.

"The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him," Lula said in an interview from his presidential residence in Brasilia. "But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I won't humiliate myself."

As South Korea nears official multicultural status, Seoul wants newcomers to integrate – but they still face discrimination and prejudice

Russian words echo through the corridors of Gonjiam middle school as a woman from Uzbekistan addresses a classroom of teenagers still grappling with the Korean language.

“How do you speak with Korean friends?” she asks. The responses are halting. Some use translation apps. Others rely on classmates who speak better Korean to navigate school life.

They are ethnic Korean children, mainly from former Soviet republics, caught between cultures in a country to which their parents moved for work and stability.

“With Hamas controlling nearly all media in Gaza, these photographers aren’t reporting, they’re producing propaganda,” the statement said.

“This investigation underscores how Pallywood has gone mainstream with staged images and ideological bias shaping international coverage, while the suffering of Israeli hostages and Hamas atrocities are pushed out of frame,” it continued.

“They are intended to overwrite the brutal images of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Many people don’t even remember these pictures,” Paul said. “Hamas is a master at staging images.”

BRASILIA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters on Wednesday of his plans for a new national policy treating strategic minerals as a matter of "national sovereignty" in order to avoid exporting minerals without adding value locally.

"We won't allow what happened in the last century to happen again, where Brazil exports raw minerals and then buys products with very high added value," the president, known as Lula, said in the interview. "We want to add value in Brazil."

Lula's comments came as a new 50% tariff hit U.S. imports from Brazil amid a political spat between the two countries linked to an investigation against the South American country's former president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro, under house arrest since late Monday, is standing trial on charges of plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.

• Trump’s threats over Russian oil could set back decades of India-U.S. diplomatic progress
  

  • Indian opposition and public urge Modi to resist what they see as Trump’s bullying

  -Analysts say ties are at their lowest since U.S. sanctions after India’s 1998 nuclear tests

  -India expected to step up interactions with Russia and China, say analysts, with some efforts already underway

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's tirade against India over trade and Russian oil purchases threatens to undo two decades of diplomatic progress, analysts and officials say, and could derail other areas of cooperation as domestic political pressures drive both sides to harden their stances.

India's opposition parties and the general public have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stand up to what they call bullying by Trump, who on Wednesday signed an executive order subjecting Indian imports to an additional 25% in duties on top of an existing 25% tariff, due to its big purchases of Russian oil.

While India has emerged in recent years as a key partner for Washington in its strategic rivalry with China, its large U.S. trade surplus and close relations with Russia - which Trump is seeking to pressure into agreeing to a peace agreement with Ukraine - have made it a prime target in the Republican president's global tariff offensive.

Trump's taunt that India could buy oil from arch enemy Pakistan has also not gone down well in New Delhi, said two Indian government sources. India has also rejected repeated claims by Trump that he used trade as a lever to end a recent military conflict between India and Pakistan.

For decades, the threat of nuclear conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union hung over humanity — and occasionally the superpowers edged toward the brink, as with the Cuban missile crisis.

But beginning in the 1970s, American and Soviet leaders started taking steps toward de-escalation, leading to a handful of critical treaties, including the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty that eliminated an entire class of nuclear-capable missiles.

The pact was terminated in 2019 after the U.S. withdrew. On Tuesday, Russia announced it was ending self-imposed restrictions on the deployment of the missiles covered in the agreement.

That leaves just one nuclear arms pact between Moscow and Washington still standing: New START, which experts say is on the ropes and set to expire in February in any case.

While the end of nuclear weapons agreements between the U.S. and Russia does not necessarily make nuclear war more likely, “it certainly doesn’t make it less likely,” said Alexander Bollfrass, an expert on nuclear arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

President Donald Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, a White House official said Wednesday.

The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.

TORONTO (AP) — The leader of Canada’s most populous province said Wednesday he doesn’t trust U.S. President Donald Trump and expects the president to soon reopen the free trade agreement he agreed to in his first term.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the federal government needs to prepare for that to happen this fall.

Ford made the comments after the country’s provincial premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney met in private for the first time since Trump escalated his trade war by hitting Canada with a baseline 35% tariff last week.

The new tariff, which took effect on Friday after the two countries failed to hit an Aug. 1 deadline to secure a new trade agreement, applies only to goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated during his first term.

Trump previously hailed the agreement as “the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed. “

Carney has said about 85% of trade with the U.S. remains tariff-free because of USMCA.

Ford said Trump likely won’t wait for the scheduled review of the agreement next year.

“He’s not waiting until 2026. At any given time, President Trump — not that he even follows the rules — he can pull the carpet out from underneath us,” Ford told reporters in Toronto Wednesday.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria signed agreements worth $14 billion with regional and international companies on Wednesday for 12 investment projects, including modernizing the international airport in Damascus and a new subway system, state media reported.

The deals are the largest so far since foreign companies and countries started an investment push into the war-torn country after Western sanctions were eased following the fall of the 54-year rule of the Assad family.

The head of Syria’s Investment Authority, Talal al-Halili, was quoted by state-run news agency SANA as saying that the expansion of Damascus’ International Airport will cost $4 billion and will be done by the Qatar-based UCC Holding. SANA said that the airport will be able to serve up to 31 million travelers a year, after the expansion.

SANA added that the agreement for the new subway system in the capital is worth $2 billion, and the network is expected to be used by 750,000 people a day. The deal for the subway was signed by Syria’s Transportation Ministry and the United Arab Emirates’ National Investment Corporation, SANA said.

Other projects include the $2 billion construction of 60 residential towers with 20,000 housing units outside of the capital.

MILAN (AP) — Italy cleared the way Wednesday to build the world’s largest suspension bridge linking the Italian mainland with Sicily in a massive 13.5 billion euro ($15.5 billion) infrastructure project that has been long delayed by debates over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental impact and the specter of mafia interference.

The Strait of Messina Bridge will be “the biggest infrastructure project in the West,” Transport Minister Matteo Salvini told a news conference in Rome, after an interministerial committee with oversight of strategic public investments approved the project.

Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the bridge “will be an engineering symbol of global significance.’'

Salvini cited studies showing the project will create 120,000 jobs a year and accelerate growth in economically lagging southern Italy, as billions more in investments are made in roads and other infrastructure projects accompanying the bridge.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/45696202

The vast majority of Israelis say they are not troubled by reports of famine and suffering in Gaza, a new poll released by the Israel Democracy Institute shows.

The survey shows that 79 percent of Jews in Israel were not troubled, or troubled at all, whereas 86 percent of “Arab” respondents were somewhat or very troubled by the reports about the war on Gaza.

The survey was conducted between 27-31 July.

The New York Times on Tuesday ignited a wave of backlash after revealing a framed photograph of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman displayed inside the New York City mansion of convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The article, which takes readers inside the late convicted paedophile's seven-storey Manhattan home, features surveillance cameras positioned above his bed and in adjoining rooms, taxidermied animals, and provocative artwork, including a sculpture of a bride clutching a rope suspended from the ceiling in the atrium.

The criticism escalated as people connected the image to long-standing allegations of Gulf-Israeli collaboration.

Sam Youssef, author and editor of American and International Affairs, asked: “Do you now understand why Arab rulers kneel to Netanyahu and the Mossad?”

Israel is turning into a Jewish Banana Republic 🍌

• العربية
• עברית

• Israeli forces occupied schools in southern Lebanon during hostilities between September and November 2024 and in the following weeks, used some of them as barracks, and appear to have intentionally vandalized, pillaged, and destroyed school property.
• The hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have had a devastating impact on children’s access to education and pillaging of at least two of the schools appears to amount to war crimes.
• International donors and aid agencies should support the Lebanese government to ensure the equitable reconstruction of schools in southern Lebanon. Lebanon should also provide jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes since October 2023.

Conservative People’s party in Jumilla votes to stop civic centres and gyms being used for activities ‘alien to our identity’

A local authority in south-east Spain has banned Muslims from using public facilities such as civic centres and gyms to celebrate the religious festivals Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha.

The ban in Jumilla, in Murcia, is a first in Spain. It was introduced by the conservative People’s party (PP) and passed with the abstention of the far-right Vox party and the opposition of local leftwing parties.

The proposal states “municipal sports facilities cannot be used for religious, cultural or social activities alien to our identity unless organised by the local authority”.

The local Vox party posted on X: “Thanks to Vox the first measure to ban Islamic festivals in Spain’s public spaces has been passed. Spain is and will be forever the land of Christian people.”

Mounir Benjelloun Andaloussi Azhari, president of the Spanish federation of Islamic organisations, told El País newspaper the proposal was “Islamophobic and discriminatory”.

“They’re not going after other religions, they’re going after ours,” he said. Referring to the recent rise of racist rhetoric and attacks, he added: “We’re rather surprised by what’s happening in Spain. For the first time in 30 years I feel afraid.”

Jumilla has a population of about 27,000, of whom 7.5% come from largely Muslim countries.

The decision is bound to be challenged as it contravenes article 16 of the Spanish constitution, which states: “Freedom of ideology, religion and worship of individuals and communities is guaranteed, with no other restriction on their expression than may be necessary to maintain public order as protected by law”.

Francisco Lucas, the socialist leader in Murcia, said on X: “The PP violates the constitution and puts social cohesion as risk simply in the pursuit of power.”

• Netanyahu plans to discuss Gaza strategy with ministers Thursday
  

  • Defense Minister Katz supports military chief's right to voice opinions
  • Hamas videos of emaciated hostages spark global outrage
  • Military chief warns troops could be trapped in Gaza

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Israel's military chief has pushed back against Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to seize areas of Gaza it doesn't already control, three Israeli officials said, as the prime minister faces increasing pressure over the war both at home and abroad.

During a tense, three-hour meeting on Tuesday, Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, which it withdrew from two decades ago, and could lead to harm to the hostages being held there, the sources briefed on the meeting said.

The Israeli military says it already controls 75% of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began when militant group Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities in October 2023. It has repeatedly opposed imposing military rule, annexing the territory, and rebuilding Jewish settlements there - policies advocated by some government members.

Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire in the coastal enclave, which has been reduced to rubble Most of the population of about 2 million has been displaced multiple times and aid groups say residents are on the verge of famine

The U.N. has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza "deeply alarming" if true.

The military, which accuses Hamas of operating amongst civilians, has at times avoided areas where intelligence suggested hostages were held and former captives have said their captors threatened to kill them if Israeli forces approached.

Netanyahu told Zamir that so far the military had failed to bring about the release of the hostages, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiations.

Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said that the military would carry out the government’s decisions until all war objectives are achieved.

The prime minister's office confirmed the meeting with Zamir on Tuesday but declined to comment further and the military did not respond to a request for comment.