Heavy rains in Texas pause search efforts for flood victims and damage homes elsewhere
13/07/2025
'Surviving the heat': Navajo Nation's long struggle for electricity
Americas
13/07/2025
'Bizarre nonsense': Trump threatens EU, Mexico with 30 percent tariffs
Americas
13/07/2025
How Trump remembers – and immortalises – the attempt on his life one year ago
Americas
13/07/2025
Mexico eyes uncertainty as US announces 30 percent tariffs
Americas
13/07/2025
Trump announces 30 percent tariffs on EU, Mexico imports
Americas
12/07/2025
Haiti gang violence claims 5,000 lives in less than a year, UN report shows
Americas
12/07/2025
US State Department lays off more than 1,300 employees
Americas
11/07/2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Chinese FM at Asia summit
Asia / Pacific
11/07/2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at ASEAN summit in Malaysia
Asia / Pacific
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
20 minutes ago
- LeMonde
North Korea rejects outreach by South Korea's new president
The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rebuffed overtures by South Korea's new liberal government, saying Monday, July 28, that North Korea has no interest in talks with South Korea, no matter what proposal its rival offers. Kim Yo-jong's comments suggest again that North Korea, now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia, has no intentions of returning to diplomacy with South Korea and the US anytime soon. But experts said North Korea could change its course if it thinks it cannot maintain the same booming ties with Russia when the Russia-Ukraine war nears an end. "We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither a reason to meet nor an issue to be discussed with" South Korea, Kim Yo-jong said in a statement carried by state media. It's North Korea's first official statement on the government of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, which took office in early June. In an effort to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, Lee's government has halted anti-Pyongyang frontline loudspeaker broadcasts, taken steps to ban activists from flying balloons with propaganda leaflets across the border and repatriated North Koreans who were drifted south in wooden boats months earlier. 'Sincere efforts' Kim Yo-jong called such steps "sincere efforts" by Lee's government to develop ties. But she said the Lee government won't be much different from its predecessors, citing what it calls "their blind trust" to the military alliance with the US and attempt to "stand in confrontation" with North Korea. She mentioned the upcoming summertime South Korea-US military drills, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea has been shunning talks with South Korea and the US since leader Kim Jong-un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions. North Korea has since focused on building more powerful nuclear weapons targeting its rivals. North Korea now prioritizes cooperation with Russia by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine, likely in return for economic and military assistance. South Korea, the US and others say Russia may even give North Korea sensitive technologies that can enhance its nuclear and missile programs. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly boasted of his personal ties with Kim Jong-un and expressed intent to resume diplomacy with him. But North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's overture. In early 2024, Kim Jong-un ordered the rewriting of the constitution to remove the long-running state goal of a peaceful Korean unification and cement South Korea as an "invariable principal enemy." That caught many foreign experts by surprise because it was seen as eliminating the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided Koreas and breaking away with his predecessors' long-cherished dreams of peacefully achieving a unified Korea on the North's terms. Many experts say Kim likely aims to guard against South Korean cultural influence and bolster his family's dynastic rule. Others say Kim wants legal room to use his nuclear weapons against South Korea by making it a foreign enemy state, not a partner for potential unification which shares a sense of national homogeneity.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
France and Saudi Arabia to lead UN push for two-state solution
France and Saudi Arabia will lead the charge starting Monday to revive the moribund push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians at a UN conference in New York. Days before the July 28-30 conference, to be co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would formally recognise the State of Palestine in September. Paris's decision "will breathe new life into a conference that seemed destined to irrelevance," said Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group. "Macron's announcement changes the game. Other participants will be scrabbling to decide if they should also declare an intent to recognize Palestine." In an interview with French weekly La Tribune Dimanche, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that other European countries will confirm "their intention to recognise the State of Palestine" during the conference, without detailing which ones. France is hoping that Britain will take this step, and more than 200 British MPs on Friday pushed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to do so, but he reiterated that recognition of a Palestinian state "must be part of a wider plan." 05:32 According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states -- including France -- now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, a resolution of the UN General Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine, then under a British mandate, into two independent states -- one Jewish and the other Arab. The following year, the state of Israel was proclaimed. For several decades, the vast majority of UN member states have supported the idea of a two-state solution, Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side peacefully and securely. But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could be geographically impossible. The war in Gaza started following a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, which responded with a large-scale military response that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. The conference is a response to the crisis, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and several dozen ministers from around the world expected to attend. It is coming at a moment when "the prospect of a Palestinian state has never been so threatened, or so necessary," Barrot said. 02:09 Call for courage Beyond facilitating conditions for the recognition of a Palestinian state, the meeting will have three other focusses -- reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalisation of relations with Israel by Arab states that have not yet done so. No new normalisation deals are expected to be announced at the meeting, according to a French diplomatic source. But "for the first time, Arab countries will condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament," Barrot said. The conference "offers a unique opportunity to transform international law and the international consensus into an achievable plan and to demonstrate resolve to end the occupation and conflict once and for all, for the benefit of all peoples," said Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, calling for "courage" from participants. Israel and the United States will not take part in the meeting, while international pressure continues to mount on Israel to end nearly two years of war in Gaza. Despite "tactical pauses" in some military operations announced by Israel, the humanitarian catastrophe in the ravaged coastal territory is expected to dominate speeches by representatives of more than 100 countries as they take the podium from Monday to Wednesday.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
State of play in Trump's tariffs, threats and delays
Here is a summary of duties President Donald Trump has introduced in his second term as he pressures allies and competitors alike to reshape US trade relationships. Global tariffs US "reciprocal" tariffs -- imposed under legally contentious emergency powers -- are due to jump from 10 percent to various steeper levels for a list of dozens of economies come August 1, including South Korea, India and Taiwan. The hikes were to take effect July 9 but Trump postponed them days before imposition, marking a second delay since their shock unveiling in April. A 10 percent "baseline" levy on most partners, which Trump imposed in April, remains in place. He has also issued letters dictating tariff rates above 10 percent for individual countries, including Brazil, which has a trade deficit with the United States and was not on the initial list of higher "reciprocal" rates. Several economies -- the European Union, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines -- have struck initial tariff deals with Washington, while China managed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties. Certain products like pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber are excluded from Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, but may face separate action under different authorities. This has been the case for steel, aluminum, and soon copper. Gold and silver, alongside energy commodities, are also exempted. Excluded too are Mexico and Canada, hit with a different set of tariffs, and countries like Russia and North Korea as they already face sanctions. Canada, Mexico Canadian and Mexican products were hit by 25 percent US tariffs shortly after Trump returned to office, with a lower rate for Canadian energy. Trump targeted both neighbors over illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, also invoking emergency powers. But trade negotiations have been bumpy. This month, Trump said Canadian goods will face a higher 35 percent duty from August 1, and Mexican goods will see a 30 percent level. Products entering the United States under the USMCA North American free trade pact, covering large swaths of goods, are expected to remain exempt -- with Canadian energy resources and potash, used as fertilizer, to still face lower rates. China focus Trump has also taken special aim at China. The world's two biggest economies engaged in an escalating tariffs war this year before their temporary pullback. The countries imposed triple-digit duties on each other at one point, a level described as a trade embargo. After high level talks, Washington lowered its levies on Chinese goods to 30 percent and Beijing slashed its own to 10 percent. This pause is set to expire August 12, and officials will meet for further talks on Monday and Tuesday in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The US level is higher as it includes a 20 percent tariff over China's alleged role in the global fentanyl trade. Beyond expansive tariffs on Chinese products, Trump ordered the closure of a duty-free exemption for low-value parcels from the country. This adds to the cost of importing items like clothing and small electronics. Autos, metals Trump has targeted individual business sectors too, under more conventional national security grounds, imposing a 25 percent levy on steel and aluminum imports which he later doubled to 50 percent. The president has unveiled plans for a 50 percent tariff on copper imports starting August 1 as well and rolled out a 25 percent tariff on imported autos, although those entering under the USMCA can qualify for a lower rate. Trump's auto tariffs impact vehicle parts too, but new rules ensure automakers paying vehicle tariffs will not also be charged for certain other duties. He has ongoing investigations into imports of lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals that could trigger further duties. Legal challenges Several legal challenges have been filed against the tariffs Trump invoked citing emergencies. The US Court of International Trade ruled in May that the president had overstepped his authority, but a federal appeals court has allowed the duties to remain while it considers the case. If these tariffs are ultimately ruled illegal, companies could possibly seek reimbursements. © 2025 AFP
