The United States and Ukraine will meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss a potential minerals deal and ways to end the war.
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00:00Hello and welcome. I am Geeta Mohan and you are watching World Today. Now, it is the proverbial
00:17night before the crucial U.S.-Ukraine talks to be held in Saudi Arabia. President Volodymyr
00:23Zelensky has traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia
00:28has played various mediating roles since Russia's 2020 invasion, including brokering prisoner
00:34exchanges and hosting talks between Russia and the United States of America last month.
00:40Tuesday's talks between the U.S. and Ukrainian officials, the first official meeting since
00:45the disastrous Oval Office encounter between Zelensky and Donald Trump, are expected to
00:51focus on bilateral minerals deal and how to end the war. Under huge pressure from Trump,
00:58who wants the war ended at lightning speed, Zelensky has been at pains to show they are
01:04on the same page, despite failing to win U.S. security guarantees that Kiev sees as vital
01:10to any peace deal. The United States of America, once Ukraine's main ally, has upended its
01:16wartime policies in its stated pursuit of a rapid end to fighting, engaging directly
01:22with Moscow while cutting off military assistance and intelligence sharing for Kiev.
01:52What they've spent $350 billion on this. But the big thing, human life. Thousands of
02:01people this week. Thousands of young soldiers died this week. Hundreds of people died in
02:08cities in Ukraine. And we got to get it stopped. It would have never happened if I was president.
02:15Then it didn't happen. This was not going to happen. By the way, October 7th wouldn't
02:19have happened. Inflation wouldn't have happened. This is what AP News director for Gulf and Iran,
02:27John Gamble, predicts for the U.S.-Ukraine talks to be held tomorrow in Saudi Arabia.
02:33Saudi Arabia is going to host a key meeting between the Ukrainians and the Americans over
02:40the ongoing Russian war on that country. And both those two countries, as well as Saudi
02:45Arabia, are looking to really come out ahead from these talks. First, the Ukrainians. They
02:50are trying to recover after that disastrous meeting that President Volodymyr Zelensky
02:54had in the Oval Office last month that descended into an argument between him, President Donald
03:00Trump, and Vice President J.D. Vance. They're looking to sign, likely in the coming weeks,
03:05a rare earths mineral deal that the Trump administration had sought. And the Ukrainians
03:08are likely really hoping to turn back on American military aid as well as American intelligence
03:15sharing to counter the Russians. For the Americans, they want to push forward with
03:20what Donald Trump wants, which is this peace deal, these peace talks between him and Russian
03:26President Vladimir Putin. Now, so far, Trump has been really conciliatory towards Putin.
03:32That's raised the concerns of Europeans who are increasing their defense spending. But
03:36Trump, as well, in the last couple of days, has threatened the Russians with new economic
03:40sanctions.
03:41Meanwhile, Russian forces on Sunday recaptured three more settlements in Kursk after special
03:48forces crept in for miles through a gas pipeline near the town of Sudza in an attempt to surprise
03:55Ukrainian forces. Russian advances in 2024 and Trump's upending of U.S. policy on Ukraine
04:01have raised fears among European leaders that Ukraine will indeed lose the war and that
04:07Trump is turning his back on Europe. Here's a report.
04:20Russia's defense ministry released video on 9th March of what is said to be seaside drone
04:24strikes on a Ukrainian military column in Russia's Kursk region. A day before Ukraine's
04:35air assault forces published drone footage showing artillery fire targeting Russian
04:41soldiers using a gas pipeline to enter Ukrainian held territory near the Kursk region in Russia.
04:48On Monday, Russian forces advanced further in the Kursk region and curled behind Ukrainian
04:53forces. This is a major encirclement operation aimed at forcing thousands of Ukrainian soldiers
05:00to either flee or surrender in Western Russia. A day to go before the U.S.-Ukraine talks,
05:05the war continues unabated.
05:14It is not important what we expect. It is important what the United States expects.
05:19We have already heard the statements at various levels that the United States is waiting for
05:23the Ukrainians to demonstrate that they are willing to make peace. It is in fact probably
05:28what everyone is waiting for. If the members of the Kiev regime really want peace or if
05:34they don't. Of course, it is very important and it needs to be determined.
05:44Ukrainian troops seized about 1,300 square kilometers of Russia's Kursk region last August.
05:51Kiev said it was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in future negotiations and to force Russia
05:56to shift forces from Eastern Ukraine. But by mid-February, Russia had taken back at least
06:02800 square kilometers. And in recent days, Moscow launched a major paratrooper offensive
06:08from multiple directions that threatens to cut off Ukraine's supply lines and potential routes
06:14of withdrawal. Europe is still standing strong by Ukraine as the U.S. pushes Kiev to peace
06:30negotiation. Continuing with its previous stand, the EU has announced to entirely phase
06:37out the supply of Russian gas.
06:41It's worth to look at the political guidelines where I commit very clearly to phasing out
06:47the Russian gas. And I stay, of course, committed to that one. This must, this is an absolute
06:54must. We've been successful, but we always see, of course, that there are loopholes where
07:00we have to be careful and we have to work on.
07:04European leaders at last week's summit backed plans to spend more on defense and continue
07:09to stand by Ukraine in a world upended by Trump's reversal of U.S. policies.
07:14Bira report, India Today.
07:18Now, the U.S. government has already revoked some access to satellite imagery for Ukraine
07:27and paused intelligence sharing. Elon Musk's Starlink provides crucial Internet connectivity
07:32to Ukraine and its military. Poland pays for Kiev to use the services of Elon Musk's Starlink.
07:39The Doge head said in a post on social media, that is the X platform, earlier on Sunday,
07:45that Ukraine's entire front line would collapse if I turned it off. In response, Poland's
07:52foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, wrote on X, and I quote, Starlinks for Ukraine are
07:58paid for by the Polish digitization ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year.
08:05The ethics of threatening the victim of aggression apart, if SpaceX proves to be an unreliable
08:10provider, we will be forced to look for other suppliers. This led to a series of posts on
08:16X on the subject that lasted through the day. Elon Musk later said that he would not turn
08:21off Starlink in Ukraine, but the debate didn't end there. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
08:27accused Poland's foreign minister of, and I quote, making things up, and suggested on
08:32Sunday that he was ungrateful in a strong rebuke. Again, on social media platform X.
08:39The extraordinary social media spat took another turn on Monday when Poland's prime minister
08:44called on friends to respect their allies and not be arrogant in a post on X which mentioned
08:51no one by name, but came a day after the extraordinary social media spat between top U.S. and Polish
08:57officials over Starlink.
09:03Now, since Donald Trump's inauguration in January, the economic policy uncertainty index
09:10of the U.S. has spiked 41 percent to a level of 334.5. In the past, this usually signaled
09:18recession. For his part, the American president seems comfortable with the uncertainty that
09:24he's generating, saying that any financial pain from import taxes is a mere disruption
09:30that will eventually lead to more factories relocating to the United States of America
09:34and stronger growth. Here's a report.
09:37On Monday, European shares dropped after a mixed trading session in Asia over U.S. President
09:45Donald Trump's tariff uncertainties. Soon after, the Wall Street also responded with
09:52early sell-off. Trump's shifting trade policies fuel economic uncertainty and market volatility.
09:59The American president defended his aggressive tariff strategy while acknowledging the potential
10:07for short-term instability.
10:09I'll tell you what, of course you hesitate. All I know is this. We're going to take in
10:15hundreds of millions of dollars in tariffs, and we're going to become so rich, you're
10:20not going to know where to spend all that money. I'm telling you, you just watch. We're
10:24going to have jobs, we're going to have open factories. It's going to be great.
10:28The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta recently issued a warning that the U.S. economy could
10:33contract in the first quarter, heightening fears of a downturn. Donald Trump's trade
10:38war has seen steep tariffs imposed on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, creating uncertainty
10:46in global markets.
10:49I traveled to U.S. last month. I was seeking constructive dialogue to avoid the unnecessary
10:56pain of measures and countermeasures. We jointly identified a few areas that would
11:02allow us to move forward by fostering mutual benefits. But in the end, as it said, one
11:09hand cannot clap. The U.S. administration does not seem to be engaging to make a deal.
11:17His tariffs on aluminum and steel imports will come into force on 12th March, despite
11:21a reprieve on tariffs from other imports. The U.S. is the world's largest aluminum importer
11:28and the second largest steel importer, with more than half of those volumes coming from
11:32Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
11:35The administration over the coming weeks to highlight the negative impacts on Americans
11:42and Canadians of these unacceptable tariffs. We will also be working with our international
11:49partners and friends. And if it comes to that, our response, of course, will be firm
11:56and clear.
11:58Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said that due to the United States Mexico Canada
12:03agreement, Mexico would not tax products coming in from the U.S. and hopes that that will
12:08help it evade the reciprocal tariff. But its auto sector remains vulnerable to Trump tariff
12:14war.
12:16We estimate that around 10%, 12% at most are the ones that may have difficulties complying
12:24with the rules of the treaty. We already have news of some, especially automotive industry.
12:30That's where I think there will be the highest prevalence of that 10% to 12%. So we are going
12:34to work with these companies as well.
12:39With this flurry of tariffs, government layoffs and spending freezes, there are growing worries
12:44that the U.S. president may be doing more to harm the American economy than to fix it.
12:49Bera Report, India Today.
12:56The landslide victory of Mark Carney as the new Prime Minister of Canada is set to mark
13:01a new shift in the political landscape of North America. Mark Carney, former Bank of
13:07Canada governor, has won liberal leadership, succeeding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
13:11ahead of general elections in the country. As the country deals with U.S. President Donald
13:16Trump's trade war and annexation threat, and a federal election looms, 59-year-old
13:21Carney has a tough task to deliver for his party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced
13:27his resignation in January, leading to Carney's landslide victory with 85.9% of the vote.
13:33And he vowed to continue to fight the U.S. tariff in the same line as his predecessor.
13:39And within hours, Canadian province of Ontario applied 25% electricity surcharge to U.S.
13:45in response to Trump's tariff war.
13:50My government will put into action our plan to build a stronger economy, to create new
13:55trading relationships with reliable trading partners, and to secure our borders. There's
14:05someone who's trying to do the opposite. There's someone who's trying to weaken our
14:09economy. Donald Trump. Donald Trump. And Donald Trump, as we know, has put, as the Prime Minister
14:23just said, unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell, on how we make a living.
14:32He's attacking Canadian families, workers, and businesses, and we cannot let him succeed.
14:41And we won't. We won't. The Canadian government has rightly retaliated and is rightly retaliating
14:52with our own tariffs that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact
14:58here in Canada. And my government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect.
15:16Now, Mark Carney's leadership comes at a time when Canada-India relations are at their lowest,
15:21primarily over the Khalistan movement in Canada. Canada-India ties hit a low in 2023 due to
15:27Trudeau's accusations about India's role in Hardeep Singh Nijer's killing. Nijer was shot
15:33and killed in a parking lot of a Gurudwara on the 18th of June in 2023. Diplomatic tensions
15:39escalated more when both countries expelled their diplomats. Although Carney has not publicly
15:45commented on the Khalistan issue, he might have a tough time addressing concerns regarding
15:50Khalistani sympathisers within his own Liberal Party. However, his strong economic background
15:55could revive stalled trade talks with India since 2023. Carney has promised to rebuild
16:02Indo-Canadian trade ties if elected as PM. Justin Trudeau's exit presents an opportunity
16:08for both nations to reset their relations.
16:12I is to diversify our trading relationships. And there's with like-minded countries. And there are
16:23opportunities to rebuild the relationships with India. There needs to be a shared sense of values
16:30around that commercial relationship. And if I am prime minister, I look forward to the opportunity
16:35to build that. The death toll from nearly four days of clashes between Syrian security forces
16:41and loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to
16:48more than a thousand, making it one of the deadliest acts of violence since Syria's conflict
16:53began 14 years ago. Clashes between Assad loyalists and the country's new Islamist rulers
16:59in the former president's coastal heartland started last Thursday, killing mostly civilians as reported
17:05by a war monitoring group. Though today the Syrian defense ministry claimed that the military
17:10operation against Bashar loyalists has been completed, reports of violent clashes are still
17:16being reported from different parts of the country.
17:30Syria is burning once again in worst violent clashes since last December when insurgents led
17:41by the Islamist group Hayat Tehrir al-Sham or HTS overthrew Bashar al-Assad. An ambush on the Syrian
17:50security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Assad escalated into horrific violent clashes.
17:57A war monitor estimates the latest spurt of violence has killed more than 1,000 people over four days.
18:09Why is there fighting? We don't understand. Why are they fighting? What for? What are their
18:15demands? What do they want? They should be wise and maintain their lives, their children's lives
18:21and properties because this is useless. It is a big mistake.
18:28Syrian security sources said at least 200 of their members were killed in the clashes.
18:34The counter-offensive against the Assad loyalists in the largely Alawite coastal region brought
18:40havoc to several cities and towns. Wright's group reported dozens of revenge killings resulting
18:46from Sunni militants targeting the minority Islamic sect regardless of whether they were
18:51involved in the insurgency. I stressed to them not to allow anyone to exaggerate or overreact
19:03and to work to prevent that. We will continue to pursue the remnants of the fallen regime,
19:08those who refused but to continue their oppression and tyranny, those who committed
19:13crimes against the people and those who seek to undermine security and civil peace.
19:18We will bring them to a fair court.
19:22The United Nations called on all parties to cease hostilities.
19:30But violence continues in some parts while in others
19:33there is an eerie calmness of curfew as Syria once again boils.
19:39Bureau report India Today.
19:47And here are some other international stories making headlines in World at a Glance.
20:02The third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's
20:06Political Consultative Conference or CPPCC, China's top political advisory body,
20:13held its closing meeting on Monday morning. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders
20:19attended the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. A report on the examination
20:24of new proposals and a political resolution on the third session of the 14th CPPCC National
20:31Committee was approved at the meeting. German airport workers on a 24-hour strike on Monday
20:44demanded an 8 percent wage increase and said due to the rise of the living costs,
20:48they were no longer able to save money. Employers, however, have rejected the demands as
20:54unaffordable. Negotiations are due to continue later this month. More than half a million people
21:01are facing travel disruption at German airports, where the strike has led to thousands of flight
21:07cancellations. Fraport AG, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, which is Germany's busiest,
21:16said no passenger flights would depart from there on Monday, with delays and cancellations also
21:21possible on Tuesday. The strike, called by the World Union on Friday, impacts 13 airports across
21:28the country, including Munich, Berlin and Dusseldorf. Romanian far-right pro-Russian
21:40presidential contender Kalin Georgescu will challenge a decision to bar him from taking
21:46part in a rerun of the election in May. On Sunday, Romania's Central Election Authority said
21:53it had decided to bar Georgescu's candidacy,
21:56saying it was inadmissible after the Constitutional Court's annulment of the December vote.
22:03Supporters of Romanian far-right politician Kalin Georgescu squared off against police
22:09outside the Central Election Authority. Earlier, the supporters chanted and waved flags as news
22:16broke of he being barred from standing in a rerun of the country's cancelled presidential election.
22:21The rejection of Georgescu's candidacy was condemned by far-right party leaders as undemocratic.
22:34A small plane with five people on board crashed on Sunday into the parking lot
22:40of a retirement community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There was no immediate word
22:45on deaths or injuries. Eyewitness footage captured the wreckage of the plane in the parking lot.
22:51Images shown on local TV stations showed the plane in flames
22:55atop parked vehicles with at least three cars on fire.
23:21Images shown on local TV stations showed the plane in flames atop parked vehicles with at least three cars on fire.