Trump announces new weapons for Ukraine, threatens tariffs on Russia
Saying he was 'very unhappy' with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump announced a shipment of weapons for Ukraine while threatening tariffs on Russia and its trading partners.
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Al Jazeera
6 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
Philippines' Marcos to meet Trump seeking trade deal
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will meet United States President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila's status as a key Asian ally will secure a more favourable trade deal. Marcos will be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump during the US leader's second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila's regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in negotiations even with close allies that Washington wants to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. 'I expect our discussions to focus on security and defence, of course, but also on trade,' Marcos said in a speech before leaving Manila and arriving in Washington on Sunday, with hopes to reach a deal before August 1, when Trump says he will impose 20 percent tariffs on goods from the Philippines. 'We will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines,' Marcos said. The US had a deficit of nearly $5bn with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of $23.5bn. Trump this month raised the threatened 'reciprocal' tariffs on imports from the Philippines to 20 percent from 17 percent threatened in April. Although US allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea have yet to strike trade deals with Trump, Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Marcos might be able to do better than Vietnam, with its agreement of a 20 percent baseline tariff on its goods, and Indonesia at 19 percent. 'I wouldn't be surprised to see an announcement of a deal with the Philippines at a lower rate than those two,' Poling told the Reuters news agency. Marcos visited the Pentagon on Monday morning for talks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and will see Secretary of State Marco Rubio later in the day, before meeting Trump at the White House on Tuesday. He will also meet US business leaders investing in the Philippines. Philippine officials say Marcos's focus will be on economic cooperation and Manila's concerns about Trump's tariffs. They say he will stress that Manila must become economically stronger if it is to serve as a truly robust US partner in the Asia Pacific. Philippine Assistant Foreign Secretary Raquel Solano said last week that trade officials have been working with US counterparts seeking to seal a 'mutually acceptable and mutually beneficial' deal for both countries. China tensions Trump and Marcos will also discuss defence and security, and Solano said the Philippine president would be looking to further strengthen the longstanding defence alliance. Philippine media quoted Manila's ambassador to Washington, Jose Manuel Romualdez, as saying on Sunday that the visit would see a reaffirmation of the seven-decade-old mutual defence treaty and 'discussions on how we can continue to cooperate with the United States, our major ally'. With the Philippines facing intense pressure from China in the contested South China Sea, Marcos has pivoted closer to the US, expanding access to Philippine military bases amid China's threats towards Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by Beijing. The US and the Philippines hold dozens of annual exercises, which have included training with the US Typhon missile system, and more recently, with the NMESIS antiship missile system, angering China. Manila and the US have closely aligned their views on China, Poling said, and it was notable that Rubio and Hegseth made sure their Philippine counterparts were the first Southeast Asian officials they met. Poling said Trump also seemed to have a certain warmth towards Marcos, based on their phone call after Trump's re-election.
Al Jazeera
6 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
Belgian police question Israelis over alleged Gaza war crimes
Belgian authorities have interrogated two members of the Israeli military following allegations of serious breaches of international humanitarian law committed in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Brussels said. The two people were questioned after legal complaints were filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Global Legal Action Network. The complaints were submitted on Friday and Saturday as the soldiers attended the Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium. 'In light of this potential jurisdiction, the Federal Prosecutor's Office requested the police to locate and interrogate the two individuals named in the complaint,' said the prosecutor's office in a written statement on Monday. 'Following these interrogations, they were released.' The questioning was carried out under a new provision in Belgium's Code of Criminal Procedure, which came into effect last year. It allows Belgian courts to investigate alleged violations abroad if the acts fall under international treaties ratified by Belgium – including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture. The prosecutor's office said it would not release further information at this stage of the investigation. The Hind Rajab Foundation, based in Belgium, has been campaigning for legal action against Israeli soldiers over alleged war crimes in Gaza. It is named after a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli fire while fleeing Gaza City with her family early in Israel's war on Gaza. Since its formation last year, the foundation has filed dozens of complaints in more than 10 countries, targeting both low- and high-ranking Israeli military personnel. The group hailed Monday's developments as 'a turning point in the global pursuit of accountability'. 'We will continue to support the ongoing proceedings and call on Belgian authorities to pursue the investigation fully and independently,' the foundation said in a statement. 'Justice must not stop here – and we are committed to seeing it through.' 'At a time when far too many governments remain silent, this action sends a clear message: credible evidence of international crimes must be met with legal response – not political indifference,' the statement added. Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed the incident, saying that one Israeli citizen and one soldier were interrogated and later released. 'Israeli authorities dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two,' the ministry said in a statement cited by The Associated Press news agency. The incident comes amid growing international outrage over Israel's conduct in its war on Gaza. More than two dozen Western countries called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza on Monday, saying that suffering there had 'reached new depths'. After more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million people, Israeli allies Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the European Union, said in a joint statement that the war 'must end now'. 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,' the signatories added, urging a negotiated ceasefire, the release of captives held by Palestinian armed groups and the free flow of much-needed aid. On Sunday, the World Food Programme accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid. It said that shortly after crossing through the northern Zikim crossing into Gaza, its 25-truck convoy encountered large crowds of civilians waiting for food supplies, who were attacked. 'As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,' it said on X, adding that the incident resulted in the loss of 'countless lives' with many more suffering critical injuries. 'These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation. This terrible incident underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which humanitarian operations are forced to be conducted in Gaza.' Gaza's Health Ministry described the Israeli attack, which killed at least 92 people, as one of the war's deadliest days for civilians seeking humanitarian assistance. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, according to local health officials. Much of the territory lies in ruins, with severe shortages of food, medicine and other essentials due to Israel's ongoing blockade.
Qatar Tribune
10 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Arab, int'l media praise Qatar's success in mediating DRC-Congo River Alliance declaration of principles
Doha The signing of the Declaration of Principles between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement in Qatar yesterday received Arab and international media attention. Media coverage consistently highlighted Qatar's important position as a trusted mediator in resolving complex disputes through peaceful means. A report by Egypt's Nile News TV stated that Qatar's success in brokering a peace agreement between the conflicting parties in the DRC following three months of talks in Doha serves as a turning point in the path toward establishing peace in this African country. Nile News' report noted that earlier this month, the March 23 Movement had called for holding a new round of negotiations to go over the unresolved issues that were not covered in the peace agreement signed by Rwanda and the DRC in Washington last month, adding that the Declaration of Principles includes a commitment to soon launch security negotiations toward a comprehensive peace agreement. The US-based DRM Radio also reported on the Qatari-mediated signing and referred to the press conference by Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi to discuss the agreement's implications for regional stability. France's TV5Monde said that the peace process in the DRC has entered an important phase with the signing of the Declaration of Principles in Doha, where Qatar is playing a successful mediating role in ending the conflict between both parties. Furthermore, during a TV5Monde news bulletin, French journalist Romain Gras said the agreement carries a symbolic weight that should not be underestimated, adding that it was unimaginable for a representative of the DRC government and a delegation from the rebel movement to meet face to face just weeks ago. Meanwhile, a news report on India's WION TV highlighted that the DRC and the Congo River Alliance/M23 Movement had reached an agreement for an immediate ceasefire following two months of talks in Doha, which built on an earlier agreement signed between the DRC and Rwanda in Washington last month. WION also noted that the African Union welcomed the Declaration of Principles, deeming it a significant step toward achieving lasting peace and praised Qatar's role in promoting peace. Meanwhile, France 24 said that after months of negotiations in the Qatari capital, the DRC government and the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement were able to agree on a Declaration of Principles. For its part, Turkiye's TRT World highlighted the success of Qatari mediation after months of talks, adding that DRC government and Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement representatives signed a Declaration of Principles to establish peace.
