Xi says China, Brazil can model 'self-reliance' for Global South
The two leaders have both sought in recent months to present their countries as staunch defenders of the multilateral trading system - in stark contrast with US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught.
Xi said China would "work with Brazil to set an example of unity and self-reliance among major countries in the Global South" and "jointly build a more just world and more sustainable planet", according to state news agency Xinhua.
He also said that "all countries should unite and firmly oppose unilateralism and protectionism", Xinhua reported - a thinly veiled reference to US tariffs.
A statement by the Brazilian presidency said that the phone call lasted about an hour, during which time Lula and Xi discussed a range of topics including t he war in Ukraine and combating climate change.
"Both agreed on the role of the G20 and BRICS in defending multilateralism," the statement said.
The leaders also "committed to expanding the scope of cooperation in sectors such as health, oil and gas, digital economy and satellites", it added.
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Putin heads to Trump summit confident he is winning in Ukraine
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox T-shirts with images of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are displayed at a Moscow gift shop. MOSCOW – Mr Vladimir Putin is heading to a planned summit on Aug 15 with Mr Donald Trump confident that Russia is in a dominant position on the battlefield as his military advances in Ukraine. That is likely to strengthen his determination to secure major territorial concessions when the Russian and US presidents meet in Alaska in return for a ceasefire that Mr Putin has so far been reluctant to concede to Mr Trump. Russian forces broke through Ukrainian defences in the eastern Donetsk region around villages leading to the town of Dobropillya, according to the Deep State monitoring platform, which maintains cooperation with Ukraine's Defence Ministry. They are consolidating positions and probing for weak points in defences to try to reach the road linking the town and the strategic city of Kramatorsk. Mr Putin and Mr Trump are set to meet as Russia's army grinds out gains in a summer campaign that is putting Ukrainian defences under mounting pressure, so far without achieving a decisive advance. The Russian president has repeatedly rejected calls from Mr Trump, Ukraine and European leaders to agree to a ceasefire to allow for negotiations on a peace deal to end the full-scale invasion that is now in its fourth year. 'Putin has much stronger cards to play than his opponents,' said Ms Marina Miron, a military researcher at the Defence Studies Department at King's College London. 'The Russian army is on the offensive, and they are dictating the rules.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore NEL, SPLRT disruption: Electricity surge shut down backup power switchboard, says LTA Singapore HSA seeks Kpod investigators to arrest abusers, conduct anti-trafficking ops Opinion The 30s are heavy: Understanding suicide in Singapore's young adults Singapore Jail for man who scammed at least 5 people over illegal cross-border taxi services Singapore Lawyer who sent misleading letters to 22 doctors fails in bid to quash $18,000 penalty Singapore 4 taken to hospital after accident near Sports Hub, including 2 rescued with hydraulic tools Asia Malaysia's anti-graft agency busts arms smuggling ring masterminded by senior military officers Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story Only a few lightly armed Russians bypassed defences around Dobropillya, and Ukraine is working to restore control, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Aug 12. Moscow wants to create the impression that 'Russia's advancing and Ukraine's losing' ahead of the Alaska summit, he said. Still, Ukrainian forces face a difficult situation in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, though they have had successes in pushing back Russian troops in Luhansk and in the northern Sumy region, Mr Zelensky said. Russia may be relocating as many as 30,000 experienced combat troops from Sumy towards the frontlines in the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions in preparation for an offensive by the end of August, he said. Chess pieces on the board Mr Trump has expressed disappointment at Mr Putin's intransigence following six phone calls. He threatened to impose secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian oil unless the Kremlin agreed to a truce. But after talks in Moscow last week between Mr Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff, the two sides announced their first summit meeting since Mr Trump's return to the White House in January. Mr Zelensky and European allies plan a call with Mr Trump on Aug 13, amid fears the US leader may concede too much to Mr Putin in return for a deal to halt the fighting. While Mr Trump's pushing for Russia to end the war, Mr Putin wants Kyiv to withdraw its forces fully from the Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine before he will agree to any truce. That would hand his army a victory in Ukraine's so-called Donbas area that it has been unable to achieve on the battlefield since Russia first incited fighting there in 2014. US and Russian officials have also been discussing a deal that would halt the war along current battle lines, leaving Russia in control of the parts of Ukraine's Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that it currently occupies, according to people familiar with the discussions. A woman walks past a heavily damaged building following a Russian strike in the town of Bilozerske, in Ukraine's Donetsk region. PHOTO: AFP Mr Zelensky said Ukraine will not cede any of its territory to Russia. Territorial issues cannot be separated from security guarantees for his country because 'for Russians, Donbas is a bridgehead for a future new offensive', he said. Mr Trump told reporters on Aug 11 that there may be 'some changes' in land as part of an agreement. 'We're going to change the lines, the battle lines,' he said. Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte also said at the weekend that territory would 'have to be on the table' along with security guarantees for Ukraine. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pushed back on Aug 11, saying 'we should not even discuss any concessions' with Mr Putin until Russia agrees to a full and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. Conceding to Mr Putin's demand for territory could deliver some of the most fortified Ukrainian positions in Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia while allowing him to avoid potentially massive troop losses from months of attritional warfare. Putin's cards Deepening manpower shortages are adding to stresses on Ukraine's defensive lines. 'Ukraine does not have enough soldiers and infantry, and that's clearly the most significant challenge,' said Mr Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, who has recently visited Ukraine's frontlines. 'The question here is really about sustainability' if the war were to extend into 2026 and beyond, he said. While the frontline is not in danger of collapse, Russian pressure is mounting, and Moscow's use of its own offensive 'line of drones' known as Rubicon has narrowed Ukraine's advantage in this field, Mr Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in a July 31 assessment on social media following a visit to the front. 'Russian forces continue to adapt, and Ukraine must find ways to stay ahead,' he said. Russia may be focusing on its advance toward Dobropillya 'to set informational conditions' ahead of the summit with Mr Trump, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War. Mr Putin is attempting to frame the seizure of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions 'as inevitable to push Ukraine and the West to capitulate to Kremlin demands', it said in an Aug 11 assessment. Even a failure to reach an agreement in Alaska may serve Mr Putin's interest if it buys him time to continue his offensive while persuading Mr Trump to delay the threatened US secondary tariffs as talks continue on a potential settlement. Russian forces have captured some 2,400 sq km in Ukraine so far this in 2025, about 0.4 per cent of the country's territory, according to Bloomberg estimates based on Deep State mapping data. 'Five key factors we assess are critical to determining the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, such as financial power, manpower, firepower, morale and territorial control, indicate that Russia's advantage continues to grow,' said Mr Alex Kokcharov, Bloomberg Geoeconomics analyst. 'Moscow probably believes that it has a significant advantage over Ukraine, and that time is on its side.' BLOOMBERG
Business Times
3 hours ago
- Business Times
Bessent hints Fed should be open to a half-point rate cut
[WASHINGTON] Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that the Federal Reserve ought to be open to a bigger, 50 basis-point cut in the benchmark interest rate next month, after having skipped a move at the last meeting. 'The real thing now to think about is should we get a 50 basis-point rate cut in September,' Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday (Aug 12). He highlighted how, two days after the Fed left rates unchanged July 30, revised data showed weaker job growth for May and June than official figures had previously indicated. The Fed 'could have been cutting in June, July' had it had the revised figures in hand at the time, Bessent said. He was speaking hours after the latest inflation report, which he said showcased that economists had misread the likely effect of tariffs. The consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent from the previous month, while the core gauge, excluding food and energy costs, matched economists' expectations with a 0.3 per cent rise. While services inflation picked up, goods prices were more subdued, despite President Donald Trump's tariff hikes. 'Everyone was expecting that there would – as you just said – that there would be goods inflation, but there was actually this very odd service inflation,' Bessent said. Bessent also said he was 'hopeful' that Trump's pick for the currently open position on the Fed board, Stephen Miran, will be in place in time for the Sept 16-17 policy meeting. He noted that Miran, the head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, needs to be confirmed by the Senate. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Miran was tapped to fill a board seat that runs to January. Bessent said it's possible that he could be asked to 'stay on' for a further term. Full Fed board terms are 14 years. 'He is going to be a great voice,' Bessent said of Miran. 'It is going to change the composition of the Fed.' As for the nominee to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose time at the helm expires in May, Bessent said that there's a 'very wide net' being cast, and that Trump has a 'very open mind.' The Treasury chief cited three criteria for the pick for chair – the person's views on monetary policy, regulatory policy and an ability to run and revamp the central bank as an organisation. The Fed 'got bloated' over the time, and that has put its independence over monetary policy at risk, Bessent said. In a barb at the costs of the Fed's renovation project of its Washington headquarters, Bessent said that he is redoing his own office at his own expense. The Fed's two-building rehabilitation has drawn significant attacks from Republicans over its US$2.5 billion price tag. 'I'm renovating my office at Treasury, and I'm paying for it personally,' Bessent said. Trump has blasted Powell over the building renovation, adding to his regular criticism about the Fed chief failing to oversee a rate cut this year. Powell and many of his colleagues have said they want to see greater evidence about any impact on inflation and inflation expectations from the tariff hikes. Turning to the ongoing trade negotiations, Bessent floated as an aspirational target to have much of those talks completed over coming months. 'We are in a good position,' he said. 'We will have agreed on substantial terms with all the substantial countries.' Bessent also hailed the investment commitments that companies and other nations have been making since Trump returned to the White House. 'In terms of the committed investment by private industry, we're well over US$10 trillion,' he said. BLOOMBERG
AsiaOne
3 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Jimmy Kimmel has obtained Italian citizenship, Entertainment News
Jimmy Kimmel has obtained Italian citizenship. The 57-year-old presenter — who has Katie, 33, and Kevin, 31, with ex-wife Gina Maddy and Jane, 11, and Billy, eight, with spouse Molly McNearney — has Italian heritage on his mother's side so sought to obtain official links to Europe because he is so unhappy with the state of the US under the presidency of Donald Trump. Speaking on The Sarah Silverman Podcast, he said: "I do have... I did get Italian citizenship, I do have that. "What's going on is... as bad as you thought it was gonna be, it's so much worse. "It's just unbelievable. I feel like it's probably even worse than [Trump] would like it to be." The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host believes people should "welcome" those who have changed their views on Trump after previously supporting him to be re-elected. He said: "There are a lot of people... now you see these clips of Joe Rogan saying: 'Why's he doing this? He shouldn't be deporting people.' People go: 'F*** you, you supported him.' I don't buy into that. I don't believe 'F*** you, you supported him.' "I think the door needs to stay open. If you want to change your mind, that's so hard to do. If you want to admit you were wrong, that's so hard and so rare to do. You are welcome." The Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? host's comments about Trump come after the US president claimed he and Jimmy Fallon could be "next" to have their shows cancelled after news that the Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026. Trump wrote on his own Truth Social platform: "The word is, and it's a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone. "These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. "It's really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it! (sic)" In response, Kimmel posted on Instagram: "I'm hearing you're next. Or maybe it's just another wonderful secret." His contract for Jimmy Kimmel Live! — which airs on ABC — is set to expire in 2026. [[nid:721105]]
