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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with this worldwide news update.
Ukraine on Tuesday agreed to accept a U.S. proposal for an immediate 30-day cease-fire in the conflict with Russia. Reuters correspondent Jillian Kitchener reports. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the agreement after more than eight hours of talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Rubio said he would now take the offer to Moscow. "... and we hope that they'll say yes, that they'll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court." The development comes after a stunning Oval Office shouting match between the presidents of the two countries. "You're gambling with World War III." The rift had immediate repercussions for Ukraine. President Donald Trump canceled military support and ended crucial intelligence sharing. But as part of accepting the proposed cease-fire, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said Washington will resume sharing aid and intelligence with Kyiv. Reuters correspondent Jillian Kitchener. European military and political heads are holding high-level talks this week after calls for massively rearming Europe and boosting aid for Kyiv amid fears of a less engaged United States. Lisa Bryant has more from Paris. The European Union's executive arm has proposed an $873 billion plan for rearming Europe and supporting Ukraine. The proposed surge comes as Washington's priorities appear to be shifting. And European leaders are worried Russia may not stop at Ukraine. Critics, including Hungary's Viktor Orbán, suggest Europe can't afford to defend Ukraine. This week sees more high-level meetings on Ukraine and European security. There's another in Paris Wednesday gathering Europe's five top military powers, along with NATO and Ukrainian defense chiefs. Lisa Bryant, VOA News, Paris. This is VOA News. Officials say arrested former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte left Manila on a plane to be turned over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Duterte was arrested after arriving with his family from Hong Kong at the Manila international airport Tuesday morning on a warrant from the ICC. The global court ordered his arrest after accusing him of crimes against humanity over a deadly anti-drug crackdown that he oversaw while in office. His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, criticized President Ferdinand Marcos' administration for surrendering her father to a foreign court that currently has no jurisdiction in the Philippines. Residents in northeastern Syria are celebrating a pact between local Kurdish-led authorities and the new central government while thousands of people continue to flee other areas. AP correspondent Kareem Chehayeb has more from Beirut. Syria's interim government has reached a landmark agreement which effectively gives them control over almost the entire country. This deal was reached with the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which for over a decade have ruled northeastern Syria. Washington considers the SDF to be their biggest ally in Syria as they cooperate militarily to take out remnants of the Islamic State extremist group. This agreement comes hours after the government said it ended a counteroffensive to crush an insurgency of former government loyalists in Syria's coastal province. That counteroffensive also included broader retaliatory attacks against the Alawite community. Going forward, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa hopes that this agreement will help bring about more deals with skeptics of his Islamist rule, including the Druze in southern Syria. AP correspondent Kareem Chehayeb. President Trump on Tuesday pulled back his threat of doubling steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. It's the latest dizzying twist in the president's trade war with America's northern neighbor. The president said he'd double the tariffs to 50 percent. That was after Ontario Premier Doug Ford planned to boost a surcharge on electricity sold to the U.S. But hours later, "he's not going to do that. And it would have been a very bad thing if he did." Ford pulled down the threat, telling CTV it came after talking with Trump's commerce chief. "... we have both agreed that cooler heads prevail." The president's trade adviser now says doubling of the steel and aluminum tariffs is off the table for now. The drama has led to sharp stock market drops and fears of a recession. Sagar Meghani, Washington. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website, voanews.com. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |