King Charles to deliver key speech amid Trump annexation threats on Canada

01:42
27/05/2025
Ukraine: Germany says allies scrap range limits on arms to Kyiv
27/05/2025
French parliament to vote on assisted dying: Patients share their stories
27/05/2025
Eye on Africa: In South Africa lesser flamingo loose breeding site
27/05/2025
Eye on Africa: In Kenya, bictcoin drives green energy production
27/05/2025
Two years since Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act became law
27/05/2025
French farmers protest against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers
27/05/2025
Merz anticipates prolonged Ukraine war due to Russia's reluctance for talks
27/05/2025
EU staff condemn 'inaction that resulted in the full-scale invasion of' Gaza
27/05/2025
Spain demands an arms embargo to compel the Gaza War's termination.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

France 24

23 minutes ago

• France 24

Top Iran, EU diplomats to hold nuclear talks

Israel, saying Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched a massive wave of strikes a week ago, triggering an immediate retaliation. On the ground, Israel's military said it struck dozens of targets in Tehran overnight, including what it called a centre for the "research and development of Iran's nuclear weapons project". In Israel, sirens sounded after missiles were launched from Iran, the army said, while police said they, emergency response teams and bomb disposal experts were operating "at the site of a projectile impact" in a southern city. European leaders have urged de-escalation in Iran's war with Israel, while Trump has said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in the fighting. Israel, the United States and other Western powers accuse Iran of seeking an atomic weapon, a charge that it denies. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent -- far above the 3.67-percent limit set by a 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. 'A window now exists' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. He will also address the UN Human Rights Council, the body's spokesman said. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", while agreeing with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon". German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the United States was both aware and supportive of the meeting taking place in Geneva. "Iran should be mindful that it needs to show a new level of seriousness and trustworthiness if it wants to avoid a prolongation" of the war," he said. France's foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said the diplomatic route would be the only way to ensure Iran respects its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "Military solutions are not long-term solutions," he told French radio station Cnews. Iran's Araghchi, however, rejected any prospect of talks with the United States so long as Israel continues its attacks. "The Americans have repeatedly sent messages calling seriously for negotiations. But we have made clear that as long as the aggression does not stop, there will be no place for diplomacy and dialogue," he said. 'Speculation' The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. Speaking to CNN, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said that while Iran is the world's only non-declared nuclear power to enrich uranium to 60 percent, there was currently no evidence it had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead. "So, saying how long it would take for them, it would be pure speculation because we do not know whether there was somebody, you know, secretly pursuing these activities," Grossi said. "We haven't seen that and we have to say it." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran was "a couple of weeks" away from producing an atomic bomb. "If there's a chance for diplomacy the president's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well," Leavitt said. Any US involvement in Israel's campaign would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground nuclear facility in Fordo, using powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses. 'Collateral damage' Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who supports the prospect of US involvement in the war, has sworn Iran will pay a "heavy price" after 40 people were wounded and several hospital wards destroyed in a missile attack. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called attacks on health facilities "appalling", while UN rights chief Volker Turk said civilians were being treated as "collateral damage". In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. "Those days and nights were very horrifying... hearing sirens, the wailing, the danger of being hit by missiles," University of Tehran student Mohammad Hassan told AFP, after returning to his native Pakistan. "People are really panicking," a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist who did not want to be named told AFP at a crossing on the border with Turkey. Nuclear sites On Thursday, Israel said it struck "dozens" of Iranian targets, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. Iranian atomic energy agency chief Mohammad Eslami confirmed in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog that the Arak reactor was hit, demanding action to stop Israel's "violation of international regulations". Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.

Euronews

an hour ago

• Euronews

Why do Europeans still believe a nuclear deal with Iran is possible?

Europe hopes to use diplomacy to avoid the threat of all-out war in the Middle East, amid fears that the conflict between Israel and Iran could engulf the wider region. On Friday, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, together with the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, will hold talks with representatives of the Tehran regime in Geneva. The meeting aims to de-escalate the fighting between the two Middle Eastern powers, which began when Israel launched airstrikes against Iran and killed some of its top military commanders last Friday. The Europeans seek to initiate a form of shuttle diplomacy between Israel, Iran, Washington and the main European capitals. They would like to reestablish a security dialogue with Tehran, similar to the one interrupted in 2018 when the first Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPA, which was signed by Iran along with China, the EU, France, Germany, Russia and the UK in 2015, stipulated an easing of Western sanctions against the Middle Eastern country in exchange for Tehran's commitment to a drastic reduction of Uranium stockpiles and centrifuges at its nuclear facilities. Such sites are now being targeted by Israeli missile attacks, including those at Natanz and Isfahan. In 2018, despite the UN nuclear agency saying that Tehran was progressively adopting the restrictions required by the agreement, Trump's administration withdrew from the JCPOA, effectively rendering it null and void. By walking back on the JCPOA, the US put an end to one of the main achievements of European foreign policy. David Rigoulet-Roze, an author and associate research fellow at IRIS, a French foreign policy institute, said the cancellation of the Iranian nuclear deal of 2015 was a hasty act. "The agreement had the merit, despite all its imperfections, of existing, of serving as a basis, including for the possible subsequent renegotiation of something more binding', said Rigoulet-Roze. 'Even though, the Europeans were not in control of the process'. The accord represented an opportunity for the EU to reopen trade relations with Iran after decades of US and Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic. However, after the JCPOA's demise, the regime in Tehran stigmatised the EU for the failure of the agreement. 'Somewhat wrongly, because we obviously didn't provoke the cancellation of the accord and we have also suffered the consequences of what is known as the extraterritoriality of American law', Rigoulet-Roze said. He noted the capacity of the US to impose sanctions on a global scale, particularly secondary sanctions, 'which are formidable and which have obviously curbed Europe's desire to develop trade relations that were authorised after 2015'. Iran has been a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty since the time of Shah Reza Pahlavi, who was the original founder of Iran's nuclear programme. Therefore, Tehran has been obliged to open up its sites for inspection by UN agencies. This motivated Brussels to treat Iran as a potentially rational actor despite its puzzling decisions and smoke and mirrors regarding its nuclear programme. Years ago, Tehran ended its highly enriched uranium production, yet it continued developing its military conventional ballistic capabilities and financing Middle Eastern proxies, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. "This was a kind of matter of national pride as far as the Iranians were concerned. So I don't think that they, and this is in retrospect, ever planned to negotiate it away,' senior British diplomat and adviser Robert Cooper told Euronews. A strategic nuclear force, Cooper explained, "was going to mark them out as one of the most important powers in the Middle East. And as an international power beyond the Middle East as well." The Iranian nuclear programme and the existence of uranium enrichment equipment and heavy water facilities were officially made public by then-president Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who persuaded France, Germany and the UK to reach a deal that was meant to oblige Tehran to stop the uranium enrichment. Javier Solana, the EU foreign and security policy chief at the time, attended the negotiations in Tehran. The Spanish diplomat was one of the deal's key architects, who believed that a deal is better than any conflict, and that the EU is best poised to broker it. "Solana was fascinated by Iran, and you know, we had a certain admiration for it. Our aim at the time was to persuade the Iranians that a military nuclear programme would make them a target,' Cooper recalled.

France 24

2 hours ago

• France 24

EU bars Chinese firms from major state medical equipment contracts

The latest salvo in trade tensions between the 27-nation bloc and China covers a wide range of healthcare supplies, from surgical masks to X-ray machines, that represent a market worth 150 billion euros in the EU. "Our aim with these measures is to level the playing field for EU businesses," the bloc's trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said. "We remain committed to dialogue with China to resolve these issues." In response, China accused the EU of "double standards". "The EU has always boasted that it is the most open market in the world, but in reality, it has gradually moved towards protectionism", foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing. "Under the guise of fair competition (the EU) actually carries out unfair competition, which is a typical case of double standards." The European Commission said in a statement the move was in "response to China's longstanding exclusion of EU-made medical devices from Chinese government contracts." Brussels said just under 90 percent of public procurement contracts for medical devices in China "were subject to exclusionary and discriminatory measures" against EU firms. In addition to barring Chinese firms from major state purchases, "inputs from China for successful bids" would also be limited to 50 percent, it said. Over the last three years, Brussels and Beijing have come into conflict in a number of economic sectors, including electric cars, the rail industry, solar panels and wind turbines. The decision on medical devices comes at a time of heightened trade tensions with President Donald Trump's United States, which has imposed customs surcharges on imports from all over the world, including Europe. The EU has decided to take a tougher stance on trade in recent years, adopting a vast arsenal of legislation to better defend its businesses against unfair competition. In April 2024, the commission opened an investigation into Chinese public contracts for medical devices, the first under a new mechanism introduced by the EU in 2022 to obtain better access to overseas state purchases. China, on the other hand, accuses Europe of protectionism. After a year of negotiations, the commission, which manages trade policy on behalf of the 27 member states, said it had failed to make any progress with China. "The measure seeks to incentivise China to cease its discrimination against EU firms and EU-made medical devices and treat EU companies with the same openness as the EU does with Chinese companies and products," Brussels said.