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Hello, I'm Chris Barrow with the BBC News.
NATO and the EU have condemned Friday's violation of Estonian airspace by three Russian fighter jets. Estonia's defense minister called the 12-minute incursion unprecedented. The Russian aircraft were intercepted by NATO pilots. Joe Inwood reports. Once again, it seems Moscow is trying to test NATO to see how the military alliance will respond to the violation of its airspace. This was the fourth time this year that Russian jets had entered the skies above Estonia, but has been called the most "brazen" yet. It came just over a week since around 20 Russian drones flew over Poland and needed to be shot down. Estonia invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, calling urgent talks with its allies about how to respond. The reaction so far has been very supportive. In many ways the most important reaction will be the one from the White House. President Trump told reporters he was waiting to be briefed on exactly what happened, but that he was not pleased. Russia's defense ministry has denied violating Estonian airspace. A federal judge in the U.S. has thrown out President Trump's $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times newspaper with an unusually strong rebuke about its contents. Mr. Trump launched the legal action on Monday, accusing the paper of lying and smearing him, which it denies. The judge did not rule on the merits of the complaint, but criticized its 85-page length, which he said contained "repetitive," "superfluous" and "florid" allegations. The U.N. Security Council has voted to re-impose sanctions on Iran that were in place before the 2015 nuclear deal. A proposal to continue sanctions relief received only four votes. Britain, France and Germany have accused Tehran of violating the agreement, which sought to ensure that Iran would never acquire or develop a nuclear weapon. America's ambassador to the U.N., Dorothy Shea, told the council that diplomacy with Iran could yet find a solution. "Their return does not preclude later removal through diplomacy. More importantly, President Trump has continued to reiterate the United States' ongoing readiness for a meaningful, direct and time-bound dialogue with Iran." Tehran says the decision to re-impose sanctions is unnecessary and unlawful. Venezuela has called for the United Nations to investigate recent U.S. strikes on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean Sea that have killed more than a dozen people. Washington has alleged the vessels were smuggling drugs. The Venezuelan defense minister described the strikes in international waters as an "undeclared war." U.N.-appointed human rights experts have described them as "extrajudicial executions." Reports in the U.S. media say the Trump administration is seeking congressional approval to sell Israel around $6 billion worth of military equipment, including 30 Apache attack helicopters. BBC News. Argentina's President Javier Milei has blamed what he called spiraling "political panic" for market jitters that have prompted the country to sell off dollars to try to prop up the value of the peso. The right-wing libertarian accused opposition parties of trying to place obstacles in his way. Opponents have blocked elements of his austerity drive in Congress. President Trump has claimed he's done a deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which would allow the social media platform TikTok to continue operating in the United States. The statement followed a phone call between the two leaders. Our Beijing correspondent Laura Bicker reports. The U.S. president wrote on Truth Social that they'd made progress on a number of important issues, including on the approval of a deal to keep TikTok operational in America. But a summary of the call from Chinese state media did not confirm this agreement. The report only said that President Xi would support consultations to properly resolve the TikTok issue. There are concerns in Washington that TikTok is a national security issue and that Beijing could use it to influence American viewers. Along with trade tariffs, it's become another source of tension between the two superpowers. The daughter of Cameroon's president has called on Cameroonians not to vote for her father in October's election. Brenda Biya said her father, Paul Biya, had caused suffering to many people, including his own family. Ms. Biya came out as gay last year. Homosexuality isn't tolerated there. At the Women's Rugby World Cup, Canada have stunned the defending champions New Zealand by beating them 34-19 in their semifinal clash on Friday night. The loss was New Zealand's first defeat in the tournament in 11 years and sent Canada through to what will be their second appearance in a World Cup final. They'll face either the hosts England or France. And that's the latest BBC News. |