International

Lula defends opening peace negotiations in the war in Ukraine during a summit with Russia

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended “avoiding an escalation and starting peace negotiations” in the war in Ukraine during his participation, by videoconference, in the BRICS summit, which holds its plenary session this Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also said that “the time has come to move forward” in the creation of an alternative payment system that allows emerging countries not to use the dollar in their exchanges.

“Avoiding an escalation and starting peace negotiations is also crucial in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia,” Lula said in the final words of his speech.

Middle East and Ukraine, at the summit

The Brazilian ruler, who together with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, promotes a peace initiative that Ukraine has already rejected, made that brief reference to the conflict on European soil after talking about the war that Israel is fighting against the Palestinian armed group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbula.

“When we face two wars with the potential to become global, it is essential to rescue our ability to work together for common objectives,” stressed the Brazilian leader.

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Lula canceled his trip to Russia on medical recommendation, after suffering a fall on Saturday at his residence, which caused a small cut on the back of his neck that required five stitches.

Xi Jinping asks for de-escalation

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an early de-escalation in Ukraine and the cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

“It is necessary to contribute to a prompt de-escalation in Ukraine (…) and achieve a cessation of hostilities and murders in Gaza and Lebanon as soon as possible,” Xi said during his speech at the summit.

Jinping held a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which he asked that China and India “resolve their conflicts and differences,” in the first formal meeting that both have in four years.

Xi indicated that both China and India “are ancient civilizations, large developing countries and important members of the Global South,” according to a statement published by the Chinese state network CCTV.

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Iranian president calls for a ceasefire in Palestine and Lebanon

For his part, the President of Iran, Masud Pezeshkian, “demanded” “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine and Lebanon,” on the first occasion that an Iranian president participates in a plenary session of the BRICS summit.

In addition, the Iranian president called for “the complete withdrawal of the troops of the occupying regime (Israel) from the occupied areas and immediate aid to the population of Gaza and to the displaced in Lebanon.”

Condemns Israeli bombing of Lebanon

The countries of the BRICS group condemned in the final declaration of the Kazan summit the Israeli bombings against the territory of Lebanon and against humanitarian centers in the Gaza Strip.

“We condemn the death of civilians and the enormous damage caused to civilian infrastructure as a result of Israeli attacks on civilian areas in Lebanon,” says the document released at the end of the meeting of the nine members of the BRICS in the Russian city of Kazan, a text that also condemns the Israeli attacks against centers, activities and humanitarian personnel in Gaza.

The BRICS call for an “immediate” end to hostilities in both Gaza and Lebanon.

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“We highlight the need to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon and create conditions for a political-diplomatic solution in order to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East,” the text says.

The joint statement warns that “a further escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip threatens with increased tensions, extremism and extremely harmful consequences at the regional and global level.”

The BRICS summit

The Kazan summit is the first to be held by the emerging economies group after its expansion from five to nine members last January.

“Now, in a limited format, we propose to consider the most relevant aspects of the global agenda, to exchange views on the issue of cooperation between the BRICS States at the international level, including the resolution of acute regional conflicts,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the opening of the meeting.

Once the meeting is concluded in a small format, the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia – will sit down at a table with representatives of about twenty States invited to the event, including Turkey, Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

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At the end of the summit, BRICS leaders will approve a joint statement on a number of global issues, including conflict in Ukraine.

What is the BRICS group

The BRICS group, founded in 2006 and held its first summit in 2009, integrates countries with a third of the world economy and more than 40% of the population.

Analysts point out that with this summit Putin tries to show the world that Russia is not as isolated as the West intends, while paving the way for the forging of a new world majority that challenges the hegemony of the United States.

Putin and Maduro will meet today on the sidelines of the summit

Vladimir Putin will also meet with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, who arrived this Tuesday in the Russian city of Kazan to participate in the XVI Summit of the BRICS emerging economy group to which the country intends to join, the Kremlin reported.

The Kremlin’s advisor for International Affairs, Yuri Ushakov, added that Putin and Maduro will talk about “bilateral affairs and cooperation within the framework of the BRICS.”

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International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.