Brazil Weighs Measures on US Dividends, Tech Firms, Reports Say
Brazil's government is studying potential responses to further sanctions by US President Donald Trump, including a limit on dividend payments by US companies with operations in Brazil, according to O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government is intensifying its deliberations on possible measures after the US government announced it was revoking visas for some Brazilian Supreme Court justices. The move came after Justice Alexandre de Moraes sent police to raid the home of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro ahead of his trial on charges he attempted a coup to remain in power.
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CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
The US is sitting out the most consequential climate summit in a decade. It may offer a victory to China
The Trump administration fired the last of the US climate negotiators earlier this month, helping cement America's withdrawal from international climate diplomacy. It may also have handed a huge victory to China. The elimination of the State Department's Office of Global Change — which represents the United States in climate change negotiations between countries — leaves the world's largest historical polluter with no official presence at one of the most consequential climate summits in a decade: COP30, the annual UN climate talks in Belém, Brazil, in November. Without State's climate staff in place, even Capitol Hill lawmakers who usually attend the summits have been unable to get accredited, a source familiar with the process said. COP30 is intended to be a landmark summit, setting the global climate agenda for the next 10 years — an absolutely crucial decade as the world hurtles toward ever more catastrophic levels of warming. The US is 'abandoning its responsibilities in the midst of a planetary emergency,' said Harjeet Singh, a longtime climate advocate, COP negotiations veteran and founding director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, a climate justice organization. The US role in climate negotiations has always been marked by contradiction, he told CNN. 'It has championed ambition in rhetoric while expanding domestic fossil fuel extraction.' But its absence creates a 'dangerous vacuum,' he said. One of President Donald Trump's first acts in office was to pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement, which he also did in his first term. The elimination of the State climate office is yet another sign of the administration's hard line rejection of climate action. A State Department spokesperson said 'any relevant related work will be managed in other offices in the Department as appropriate.' They did not directly respond to CNN's question on whether it would send representatives to COP30. Experts fear the US absence may derail climate ambition. Wealthy countries, including those in Europe, may use it as a 'license to backtrack,' said Chiara Martinelli, director of Climate Action Network Europe, a coalition of climate non-profits. Poorer countries may lose faith in the process, she told CNN. But most significantly, it could hand a geopolitical advantage to China, allowing America's most formidable global competitor to position itself as a more reliable and stable global partner, experts told CNN. The State Department spokesperson did not comment on what the US withdrawing from Paris would mean for China. China is building out clean energy at a blistering pace, as the US takes a chainsaw to its wind and solar sectors and makes a hard turn back toward fossil fuels. 'It is likely that China's voice will be heard more loudly (at COP30), as they have identified growth in green technologies as a key pillar of their economic strategy,' said Joeri Rogelj, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. In a statement to CNN, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called climate change a 'common challenge faced by mankind.' 'No country can stay out of it, and no country can be immune to it,' the Chinese statement said. The question is whether China will make good on the strong language, and lead by example without its world-power counterpart. All countries have until September to submit new goals to limit climate pollution over the next decade, and China has a history of setting weak targets for itself. Meanwhile, it continues to power plants that run on coal — the most polluting fossil fuel. These goals will provide a road map for climate action between now and 2035, and China, being the world's most-polluting country, will help determine the planet's climate trajectory. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not answer specific questions about its forthcoming goals, but said the country 'will work with all parties concerned' to 'actively respond to the challenges of climate change, and jointly promote the global green and low-carbon transformation process.' The US has traditionally pushed China to make more ambitious pledges, with varying degrees of success. Climate was the one bright spot in an otherwise strained US-China relationship under the Biden administration. The two nations struck a significant deal nearly two years ago, pledging to ramp up renewables and curb planet-warming gases. 'We were the country that put pressure on them more than any other,' said the source familiar with the process. But it's a very different world now. As COP30 looms, China will not be facing that same pressure. The Biden administration proffered an ambitious US target before leaving office, a cut of 61-66% below 2005 levels by 2035. This would have been tough even under a Democratic administration that favors clean energy. It's vanishingly unlikely under the Trump administration with its 'drill, baby, drill' mantra. That leaves all eyes on China. Its target is by far the most consequential for the climate, experts told CNN. The country has a well-established pattern of under-promising and over-delivering. Its most recent target gave the country until 'around' 2030 to peak its climate pollution. Independent analysis shows it is likely this has already happened, five years ahead of schedule, and pollution is now starting to decline. Biden administration officials had encouraged China to put forward a sharp pollution cut of 30% by 2035. But some experts anticipate a much more tepid target giving China plenty of wiggle room. 'Beijing has been sending signals that those demands are just too high, rather unrealistic and unfair in their view,' said Li Shuo, director of the China climate hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. 'It is very safe to say there will be a gap. And potentially that gap will be rather significant.' Shuo and colleagues at the Asia Society believe China will put forward a high single-digit or a low double-digit figure for pollution cuts. The number matters, said former US climate envoy Todd Stern. A strong, ambitious goal from China 'would affect numbers all over the world and it would affect the perception of whether COP is making decent progress or not,' he added. Even if its climate pledges lack ambition, China is still leagues ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to clean energy. It is currently building 510 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and wind capacity, according to Global Energy Monitor. This will add to the eye-popping 1,400 gigawatts already online — five times what is operating in the US. The big sticking point is coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, to which China remains wedded. 'They're building every five years as much coal as remains in the US,' Duke said. That's the paradox of the US withdrawal, Singh said. 'It could advance China's global climate leadership while simultaneously easing the pressure on Beijing to accelerate its difficult transition away from fossil fuels.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kremlin says it 'noted' Trump's statement on shorter deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had "taken note" of a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he was shortening his deadline for Moscow to sign up to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sanctions. Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with President Vladimir Putin over the 3-1/2-year-old conflict. Asked about Trump's statement on Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, the Kremlin kept its remarks short. "We have taken note of President Trump's statement yesterday. The special military operation continues," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, employing the term that Moscow uses for its war effort in Ukraine. "We remain committed to a peace process to resolve the conflict around Ukraine and to ensure our interests in the course of this settlement." Trump threatened on July 14 to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports within 50 days, a deadline which would have expired in early September. But on Monday, during a visit to Britain, he shortened that deadline and said: "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made." Trump, who has held half a dozen calls with the Kremlin leader since returning to the White House in January, also said he was "not so interested in talking any more". Peskov declined to comment on that remark.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Trump's Ultimatum To Russia Signals New Approach To War In Ukraine
TURNBERRY, SCOTLAND - JULY 28: U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media as he meets with ... More British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland. U.S. President Donald Trump is visiting his Trump Turnberry golf course, as well as Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, during a brief visit to Scotland from July 25 to 29. (Photo by) While speaking to reporters in Scotland on Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he changed the deadline for Russia to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine. The deadline for Russia has now been reduced to '10 to 12 days'. Trump initially set a 50-day deadline in June for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reach an agreement. Since then, Russia has increased its missile and drone strikes on residential areas throughout Ukraine. The intensified Russian attacks have coincided with Trump's decision to shorten the peace deadline. 'There's no reason in waiting. We just don't see any progress being made,' Trump told reporters. 'We thought we had [the peace agreement] settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home,' he added. Trump then concluded that if a peace agreement is not reached, then the U.S. will consider 'sanctions and maybe tariffs.' This shortened ultimatum follows Trump's agreement, made on July 14, to send defense aid to Ukraine. The new weapons package includes Patriot missiles. In addition, the U.S. Department of State announced a new aid package, in which the U.S. would send HAWK Phase III surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine. These advanced air defense technologies are critical for Ukraine to counter Russia's ongoing aerial attacks. Additionally, the Trump administration announced a new defense cooperation initiative where NATO member states would purchase U.S. weapons. This would help replenish American stockpiles. The weapons purchased by NATO members would then be transferred through Europe to Ukraine, providing the necessary assistance to Ukrainian forces as they defend their country against Russia's ongoing invasion. 'We are going to send some more weapons [to Ukraine]. We have to. [The Ukrainians] have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard,' Trump said to reporters. The latest developments signal a new approach by the Trump administration in responding to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. During the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine in '24 hours' if elected president. Additionally, he stated that he would compel Russian and Ukrainian officials to negotiate a ceasefire. Following Trump's re-election, the U.S. president appointed individuals, such as retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg and lawyer Steven Witkoff, to serve as his envoys to help end the war. Trump also threatened Russia with several ultimatums if a peace agreement was not reached. But the negotiation process has been challenging. For nearly six months, senior officials from the Trump administration have mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The initial process began in February in Saudi Arabia, where senior U.S. officials met with their Russian counterparts. The Americans then met separately with the Ukrainians. The peace process, however, has produced few results. From February to July, senior American officials have proposed ceasefire agreements between Russia and Ukraine. International monitors and media outlets, however, have documented Russian violations of ceasefire agreements. This includes attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as well as bombardments during the Easter and Passover holidays. Additionally, while Ukrainian officials have continuously met with their American counterparts, the Russian Federation has increased its strikes on civilian areas across Ukraine. Dozens of Ukrainians have been killed during the bombardments, and the Russian attacks have continued. This has reportedly frustrated several American officials. As a result, Trump has opted to provide additional defense aid to Ukraine. The administration has also weighed new sanctions and tariffs on the Russian Federation. The coming 10 to 12 days will be critical in determining whether Russia modifies its conduct and if meaningful progress toward peace can be achieved. Ukrainian officials, along with the international community, will closely monitor the U.S. response should Russia fail to meet the new ultimatum.
