World News

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine expects there will be around $3.5 billion by next month in a fund to buy weapons from the United States and help sustain its more than three-year fight against Russia’s all-out invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

The financial arrangement known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.

“We received more than $2 billion from our partners specifically for the PURL program,” Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference in Kyiv with visiting European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. “We will receive additional money in October. I think we will have somewhere around $3.5-3.6 billion.”

Zelenskyy declined to provide details of what weapons the first shipments would include, but said that they would definitely contain missiles for Patriot air defense missile systems and munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.

An end to the war appears no closer, despite months of U.S.-led peace efforts.

The United Kingdom shamelessly prostrated itself at the feet of Donald Trump on Wednesday, throwing a lavish welcoming party for his state visit to Windsor that resembled less diplomacy and more fealty.

In doing so, the U.K. has revealed something deeply unflattering about itself—in the scramble to keep America close, it will debase itself and its values completely.

It will silence dissent, empty out its traditions, and rent out its monarch like a sex worker, deployed to flatter the ego of a man who has spent much of his political life suggesting he should be treated like one, a monarch, not a sex worker, that is.

As stage props go, the monarchy is unbeatable. But if this is what the “special relationship” between the U.S and the U.K. now means, it looks to many in Britain less like a partnership and more like groveling, feudal servitude.

archive article: https://archive.is/DxOAv

Government policies that prioritize production targets over market demand have led to overinvestment by carmakers. The resulting glut of vehicles has created lose-lose transactions throughout the sales chain, and spawned a variety of unusual practices.

CHENGDU, China - On the outskirts of this city of 21 million, a showroom in a shopping mall offers extraordinary deals on new cars.

Visitors can choose from some 5,000 vehicles. Locally made Audis are 50% off. A seven-seater SUV from China’s FAW is about $22,300, more than 60% below its sticker price.

These deals – offered by a company called Zcar, which says it buys in bulk from automakers and dealerships – are only possible because China has too many cars.

Years of subsidies and other government policies have aimed to make China a global automotive power and the world’s electric-vehicle leader. Domestic automakers have achieved those goals and more – and that’s the problem.

China has more domestic brands making more cars than the world’s biggest car market can absorb because the industry is striving to hit production targets influenced by government policy, instead of consumer demand, a Reuters examination has found. That makes turning a profit nearly impossible for almost all automakers here, industry executives say. Chinese electric vehicles start at less than $10,000; in the U.S., automakers offer just a few under $35,000.

Most Chinese dealers can’t make money, either, according to an industry survey published last month, because their lots are jammed with excess inventory. Dealers have responded by slashing prices. Some retailers register and insure unsold cars in bulk, a maneuver that allows automakers to record them as sold while helping dealers to qualify for factory rebates and bonuses from manufacturers.

Unwanted vehicles get dumped onto gray-market traders like Zcar. Some surface on TikTok-style social-media sites in fire sales. Others are rebranded as "used" – even though their odometers show no mileage – and shipped overseas. Some wind up abandoned in weedy car graveyards.

SAO PAULO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Metalworkers at Brazilian planemaker Embraer went on strike on Wednesday for an indefinite time, demanding wage increases and the signing of a collective labor agreement, the Metal Workers Union from Sao Jose dos Campos said in a statement.

Embraer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NUUK, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Denmark did not invite the U.S. military to take part in Arctic Light 2025, the largest military exercise in Greenland's modern history, as NATO allies step up defence cooperation in the Arctic amid U.S. interest in the island.

Denmark's Arctic commander, Soren Andersen, confirmed that, while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been invited, no U.S. military units were asked to participate.

• Han Hak-ja questioned over bribery allegations involving former First Lady Kim Keon Hee
• Lawmaker detained over evidence destruction concerns, denies bribery
• Unification Church denies involvement, calls for prayer

SEOUL, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The leader of the Unification Church, Han Hak-ja, appeared for questioning by prosecutors on Wednesday over alleged involvement in bribing the wife of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as part of a criminal probe into the former first couple. After more than 9 hours, Han left the prosecutor's office in a wheelchair, passing through a media scrum. She denied the allegations, and responded strongly "No!" when asked if she ordered bribery.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36060419

WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's first U.S. weapons aid packages for Ukraine have been approved and could soon ship as Washington resumes sending arms to Kyiv - this time under a new financial agreement with allies - two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

This is the first use of a new mechanism developed by the U.S. and allies to supply Ukraine with weapons from U.S. stocks using funds from NATO countries.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36060171

• Mao's exit ban lifted after U.S.-China negotiations
• China had cited criminal case for Mao's exit ban
• Mao leads Wells Fargo's international factoring and cross-border strategies
• Wells Fargo's China presence smaller than Wall Street peers
• Foreign executives' exit bans in China raise business concerns

BEIJING, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A Wells Fargo (WFC.N), opens new tab banker, Chenyue Mao, who had been barred from leaving China for several months, has been allowed to return to the United States following negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials, according to two people with knowledge of the case.

The long-frozen settlement project would sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank, fragment Palestinian communities, and advance permanent annexation.

An Israeli air strike hit a car carrying displaced civilians fleeing Gaza City on Tuesday, killing at least five Palestinians and wounding several others.

The strike hit the vehicle near al-Katiba Mosque in the Old City, west of Gaza, leaving it engulfed in flames.

Footage from the scene shows plumes of smoke rising from the car as civilians scream and rush to help the victims.

Several people lie motionless on the ground, bloodied and wounded from the blast, while others scramble to extinguish the fire.

In another video, bystanders gather around the smouldering remains of the vehicle, reduced to charred metal in the aftermath of the strike.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/18956969

The proposal would suspend the central plank of a decades-old free trade deal that removed tariffs on imports of goods between Europe and Israel.

However, suspension of the agreement requires the backing of a weighted majority of EU capitals, meaning Germany or Italy would first need to lift their opposition to the 27-state union sanctioning Israel.

Thieves have broken into Paris's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples worth $700,000 in the latest of a worrying series of robberies from cultural institutions, according to the museum.

Famed for its dinosaur skeletons and stuffed animals, the National Natural History Museum in the chic 5th district of the French capital also houses a geology and mineralogy gallery.

A break-in was detected on Tuesday morning, with the intruders reportedly using an angle grinder and a blow torch to force their way into the river-side complex that is popular with Parisians and tourists.

Latin America is the most dangerous region for environmental advocates, with many of the cases remaining unsolved, according to a new report. Indigenous people, farmers and activists are all among the casualties.

Japan is finalizing plans not to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state for the time being, following the lead of the United States, a staunch ally of Israel, government sources said.

The move is believed to stem from concerns that such recognition could negatively affect the situation in the Middle East, as well as Japan’s relationship with the United States, the sources said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/48863264

Thousands rallied across Slovakia on Tuesday in a nationwide mass protest against the economic and pro-Russian policies of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The rallies took place in 16 major cities and towns, including the capital of Bratislava.

They latest wave of protests has been fueled by a trip by Fico to China where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin for the third time since the Russian all-out invasion of Ukraine. A package of austerity measures recently approved by the government further angered the protesters.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/48861990

King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle for a lavish banquet and carriage ride on Wednesday, before Trump meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence on Thursday.

In a sign of the pomp and pageantry to come, a guard of honour greeted the Trumps as they stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport near London.

The British government has been unapologetic about its efforts to get on the right side of Trump, whose mother was Scottish and who owns a number of golf courses in the UK.

But the British public will be kept far away from Trump, with the visit taking place entirely behind closed doors and heavy security.

Nuclear energy and natural gas will still be considered environmentally sustainable investments in the European Union following a court ruling Wednesday, potentially driving massive amounts of financing toward projects that are not widely considered “green.”

Austria had sued the European Commission, the bloc’s executive, over the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the EU’s classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities. The system helps direct investments to the projects that are most needed to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The General Court at the European Court of Justice on Thursday ruled in favor of the commission, dismissing Austria’s action.

Nuclear power is a carbon-free source of electricity but it is not typically labeled as green energy, like solar, wind and other renewables. Generating power this way requires mining and processing uranium to create nuclear fuel, an energy-intensive process that produces emissions. Nuclear reactors generate radioactive waste and there’s a risk of accidents.

Natural, or fossil, gas has lower carbon emissions than coal, but it still warms the planet when burned to produce electricity.

Tokyo considers the Russian export project Sakhalin-2, located north of Japan, as a key source of LNG supply to the country. These supplies are not subject to Western sanctions.

Bolsonaro was sentenced by a Supreme Court panel last week to 27 years and three months in prison for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been taken to a hospital in capital Brasilia after feeling sick, his son said on Tuesday.

Bolsonaro has shown recurring intestinal issues since he was stabbed while campaigning in 2018, including at least six related surgeries, the last one being a 12-hour-long procedure in April.

His son, Flavio, said in a post on X that the former leader had severe hiccups, vomiting and low blood pressure.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.ca/post/225382

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A military parade at the weekend by a rebel group in control of mineral-rich eastern Congo has raised concerns over the future of an impending peace deal between the government and the rebels’ main backers, Rwanda.

The deal will shape the fate of the M23 rebel group in eastern Congo, which launched blitz attacks in January to take over key cities including Goma and Bukavu while the Congolese army swiftly retreated. U.N. experts said the M23 was backed by thousands of troops from neighboring Rwanda.

TORONTO (AP) — Chrystia Freeland, whose abrupt resignation as finance minister last year forced Justin Trudeau’s exit as Canada’s prime minister, resigned Tuesday from the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Carney.

In a letter announcing her departure as minister of transport and internal trade, Freeland said she will not run in the next election, but added she’s not leaving to spend more time with her family.

“With tremendous gratitude and a little sadness, I have decided to step down from Cabinet today and turn the page on this chapter in my life,” Freeland said.

Carney said Freeland will serve as Canada’s new special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine — a newly created position outside Cabinet — in addition to her responsibilities as a member of Parliament.