World Tour: Ukraine presses for support

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour.

We begin with peace talks in Ukraine and Israel.

Here’s WORLD’s Mary Muncy.

MARY MUNCY: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is speaking out about Monday's meeting with President Donald Trump and several European leaders.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking In Ukrainian]

Speaking here, Zelenskyy says it's important for the United States to send a clear signal, that it will be among the countries participating in security guarantees for Ukraine...should a ceasefire deal be reached with Russia.

Earlier this week, President Trump said he'd called Russian leader Vladimir Putin to begin arrangements for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. Trump says he's hopeful that such a meeting could lay the groundwork for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, but much of that will depend on whether or not Putin is serious about peace.

TRUMP: We're gonna find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks. That I can tell you. And we're gonna see where it all goes. It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal.

Trump added that Zelenskyy will also have to make some concessions...if a ceasefire is ever to be reached.

Now to Qatar, where negotiators are waiting for Israel to respond to a potential ceasefire deal.

MAJID AL-ANSARI: We have a positive response from Hamas.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid Al-Ansari.

AL-ANSARI: That positive response, according to what we know, is almost all that was agreed before by Israel in previous iterations of these talks.

Qatar says the deal is almost identical to a previous US proposal. That deal involved a 60-day truce and the release of about half of the remaining 50 hostages, 20 of whom are presumed alive.

Recently, Israel has said it would not accept anything but the release of all of the hostages, Israeli leaders say Hamas is agreeing now because it’s under “immense pressure.”

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported this week that the Palestinian death toll has topped 60,000, since the terror group attacked Israel.

Next to Hong Kong, where closing arguments began this week in the trial of Jimmy Lai—founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper.

The government has detained Lai since 2020 on charges of foreign collusion and sedition. The 77-year old pleaded not guilty to those charges but is currently serving a sentence of over five years for fraud related to a contractual dispute.

He has been held in a windowless cell in solitary confinement for most of his sentence. He’s only been allowed to leave his cell for about 50 minutes a day. Benedict Rogers of the U.K.-based rights group Hong Kong Watch believes his treatment is meant to be a warning to others tempted to protest the national security laws.

BENEDICT ROGERS: All of the regime's actions, sadly, are having a chilling effect. And that's, yeah, that's why they're they're doing it,

Lai faces a life sentence if convicted of the current charges.

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska recently said he and the Trump administration are calling on the Chinese embassy to release Lai before he dies in prison.

SOUND: [RECOVERY EFFORTS]

Next, to India and neighboring Pakistan, where mudslides and flash floods killed hundreds of people. Many more have been displaced following the large-scale flooding, which began last week.

Mohammad Anwar Khan describes the devastation to DW News.

KHAN: The flash flood came from the upper areas and the water entered the city. The rainwater also came into our homes and washed away many vehicles, and some of them have been completely destroyed. It caused a lot of damage to our homes. The situation has become a lot worse.

Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar says heavy monsoon rain caused landslides in several regions.

KUMAR [HINDI]: Because of the landslide seven people died. Rescue operations are underway, and the army, state disaster response force, national disaster response force, civil administration and police are collectively carrying out the rescue operation.

Kumar says here that India’s disaster response forces are carrying out major rescue operations, alongside relief agencies such as the Indian Red Cross. Hundreds are still missing, with rescue efforts ongoing.

SOUND: [PLANE IDLING ON TARMAC]

And finally today, we head to Budapest, Hungary, as family members and well-wishers welcomed home astronaut Tibor Kapu after a three week visit to the International Space Station.

Kapu's mission marks the country's first human spaceflight since 1980.

KAPU: [HUNGARIAN] Today, our backs are a little straighter, we raise our gaze a little higher, and our faces shine a little more. I just want to say that space exploration suits you well.

The 33-year old engineer thanked all those who supported his mission, saying that after 45 years the country can raise its gaze a little higher, and that its “faces shine a little more”, adding that space exploration looks good on the country.

When asked about a possible moon mission, Kapu said perhaps someday, but there are many more qualified astronauts who should have the opportunity to do so first.

That’s this week’s World Tour, I’m Mary Muncy.

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