Foreign Tits Bits
America
Trump Threatens BRICS
States With Stiff Tariffs
American President, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose stiff sanctions on members of the BRICS economic group.
Late Sunday night, he said the tariffs would be the punishment for their anti -American sentiments.
Trump did not specify the tariff benchmark but he had hinted at several earlier occasions that they could be as high as 70 per cent , though he also indicated that it could be 10 per cent higher than that.
He spoke as the 17 th meeting of the BRICS got underway in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.
The Brazil.meeting , meanwhile, has strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza and its attacks on Iran’ s nuclear facilities.
It also called for an end to what they termed the weaponisation of humanitarian aid in Gaza, and for the resumption of humanitarian services by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA.
The BRICS is a loose coalition of mainly Non- Western countries who want an end to America ‘s domination of the emerging unipolar world, typified by the dollarisation of international trade.
It was originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa( BRICS), but has now enlisted many other countries, mainly from the global South.
New members include Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia and Iran.
Qatar
Israeli / Hamas Talks Yet To Yield Breakthrough
Initial talks between Israeli officials and representatives of Hamas in Doha, Qatar, are yet to record any breakthrough.
The talks began on Sunday night but a source close to the talks said that they were yet to yield a breakthrough as of this morning.
But the source said they were due to resume later today , and did not rule out the prospects of a breakthrough.
The source did not say what the sticking points were at the talks facilitated by diplomats from Qatar and Egypt.
The talks began as American President Donald Trump hinted at the prospects of both sides reaching a deal by this week.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he was confident of a breakthrough for an acceptable deal by this week.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting Trump today to discuss the talks and his country’ s recent war with Iran, has rejected Hamas’ call for the return of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, for aid distribution in Gaza, the sack of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF, as well as the commencement of talks for a permanent ceasefire.
Brazil
BRICS Carpets Israel at Rio De Janeiro Summit
Leaders of BRICS member states have condemned Israel for its war on Gaza and the recent attack on the nuclear facilities of Iran.
They also condemned a third country for a similar attack on Iran , but failed to call out America by name.
The leaders said that Israel’ s war on Gaza was unacceptable, as was its policy on humanitarian supplies in Gaza.
Israel has sidestepped all other agencies and organizations initially in charge of humanitarian aid in the enclave in favour of its controversial humanitarian group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF, which it co- funds with America.
The GHF, operated by an American private security company, has become controversial, following the killing, by Israeli troops, of more than 700 Gazans, at, or near, their aid distribution centres.
More than 2,000 others have also been injured by Israeli troops at the centres since the GHF began operating in Gaza on May 27.
In setting up the GHF, Israel had accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, of collaborating with Hamas, but failed to provide proof of its allegations, which many credible organizations had described as unfounded.
Both the United Nations UN and other humanitarian groups have classified the GHF as an abbatoir and stayed away from it.
The founding head of the GHF, Jake Woods, resigned ahead of its inauguration, citing its opaqueness.
Australia.
Australian Woman Found Guilty of Mushroom Poison Murders
An Australian Woman, Erin Patterson, has been found guilty by a court of the murder of three of her relations by poisoning them with a mushroom meal.
Patterson, 52, was also convicted of the attempted murder of a fourth person who survived the poisoning.
Her sentencing is due later and the mother of two has a month to appeal her conviction.
She could, under Australian law, spend the rest of her life in jail.
The court discarded Patterson’ s testimony that the deaths of her guests were an accident after the prosecution successfully debunked her submission with credible proof of how she sought out the market for poisonous mushrooms, laced her victims ‘ meal with it and tried to conceal evidence of her evil, unknown to her that there were credible digital footprints to link her to the strange deaths.
America
Texas Flash Floods Death Toll Reaches 82
Emergency Services say that more bodies have been recovered at the scene of Friday ‘s massive flash floods in Texas, America.
The recoveries took the official death toll from the flooding to 82, though the tally is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue.
The dead included 28 children.
More than 40 persons , including 20 children, are still missing , though locals say the actual number could be higher since many persons who had thronged the vicinity of the Guadalupe River, which overflowed to cause the crisis, were not documented .
The incident happened last Friday when hundreds of persons, including Christian children and youths on a training programme, thronged the area during the American National Thanksgiving Holiday on July 4.
Areas mainly impacted included Kerr County, where many remained unaccounted for as of this morning.
The Guadalupe River overflowed its bank, rising to more than 8 metres( about 24 feet) within 45 minutes.
American President, Donald Trump’ has signed an emergency aid support for the Texas State Government as it struggles to deal with the disaster that critics say could have been mitigated with more potent proactive measures.
Mexico
Mexico Beat America To Win Golf Cup Championship
Mexico Beat America by two goals to one to win this year ‘s Gold Cup Football competition.
The victory is the 10th for the Mexicans who came from behind to clinch the victory .
By the victory, Mexico holds the record of the highest winner of the competition .
An related coach Jaxier Aquirre, hailed his team for the victory which he said was well deserved.
Britain
Britain Marks 20th Anniversary of 7/7 Attacks
Britain today began events marking the 20 th anniversary of the July 7, 2005 terror attacks in London.
The attacks targeted the three underground trains and a bus during the rush hour.
A total of 52 persons died in the suicide attacks which also wounded almost 800 others.
Series of activities, including a memorial church service, have been lined up for the commemoration, and key political and other leaders, including King Charles and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, are involved .
King Charles, in a statement, described the attacks as senseless evil, and called for greater unity among Britons.
Starmer is expected to attend a memorial service later in the day.
The attacks are regarded as the single worst such incident on British soil.
The attackers, based in Leeds, used home- made devices to cause the explosions .
Gaza
Israel Intensifies Gaza Attacks As Peace Talks With Hamas Continue
Israel continued its military assault on Gaza today as news broke of the failure of ongoing talks between it and Hamas in Qatar had yet to record a breakthrough.
The Hamas -run Gaza Ministry of Health and emergency groups say multiple targets had been hit this morning and more than 27 persons had been killed in the attacks.
The attacks this morning followed an earlier pattern of assaults, including those at the weekend in which more than 130 persons were killed.
The dead included many children and women.
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