SEOUL — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held summit talks in Seoul on Monday with Brazilian President Luiz Inбcio Lula da Silva, where they agreed to expand cooperation in sectors including trade, key minerals, technology, and culture.

The leaders plan to elevate the bilateral relationship into a strategic partnership, and for the countries to work together to support stability on the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Lee said.

“Peace, built on conditions where conflict isn’t needed, is the strongest form of security,” the South Korean president told a joint press conference.

The leaders oversaw the signing of 10 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) spanning trade and industrial policy, core minerals, digital economy including AI, agriculture, health and biotech, small-business exchanges and joint policing against cybercrime, narcotics, and other transnational threats.

In earlier remarks, Mr. Lee said the two sides adopted a four-year action plan to map out concrete steps for expanding bilateral cooperation, from strategic minerals to defence and space industries, as well as food security.

Brazil is South Korea’s largest trading partner in South America, making economic cooperation a key part of the agenda.

Mr. Lula said Brazil holds large rare-earth reserves and has substantial nickel deposits, and that his government hoped to attract investment from South Korean companies.

In a message posted to X earlier in the day, Mr. Lee welcomed Mr. Lula, who is in Seoul for his first state visit in 21 years, pointing out the similarities in their backgrounds.

“As a former child laborer, you proved with your whole life that democracy is the most powerful tool for social and economic progress,” Mr. Lee wrote.

“I support your life, your struggle and your achievements, which will remain forever in the history of global democracy.”

The leaders, who first met at the G7 summit in Canada last year and later at the G20 summit in South Africa, appear to have bonded over shared experiences of childhood factory work and workplace injuries.

The talks took place in South Korea’s presidential Blue House, the first large-scale official welcome ceremony to be held since Mr. Lee moved his office back to the building.

A state banquet is scheduled for Monday evening where barbecue dishes and Brazilian bossa nova pieces are due to be performed by a Korean jazz band alongside a children’s choir, Mr. Lee’s office said. — Reuters

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by 12 pro‑democracy activists and upheld their jail terms on Monday in a national security case that critics say highlights the China-ruled city’s crackdown on dissent.

The appeal stems from the “Hong Kong 47” case, where many leading pro-democracy activists and politicians were arrested en masse in early 2021 and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion. Following marathon legal proceedings, most of the democrats were eventually sentenced in late 2024 to between 4 and 10 years’ imprisonment, with two others acquitted.

Rights groups and some countries, including the US and Britain, condemned the case as persecution of Hong Kong’s political opposition and called for the immediate release of all those arrested.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply concerned” that Australian citizen Gordon Ng had lost his appeal, noting Canberra has “expressed our strong objections to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation”.

Judges Jeremy Poon, Derek Pang, and Anthea Pang wrote in their judgment that the defendants were part of a conspiracy conceived, advocated and pursued by legal scholar Benny Tai to produce a “constitutional mass destruction weapon” aimed at toppling the constitutional order in Hong Kong.

‘WHAT CRIMES HAVE THEY COMMITTED?’
The case centered on an unofficial “primary election” organized by the democrats in mid-2020 to select the strongest candidates for a legislative council election.

The prosecution alleged that the democrats were conspiring to win a majority in order to paralyze the government by indiscriminately vetoing the city’s annual budget in a bid to force Hong Kong’s leader to resign.

The 11 democrats who lost appeals against their convictions included former lawmakers Helena Wong, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung; former district councillors Clarisse Yeung, Kalvin Ho and Tat Cheng; and activists Gwyneth Ho, Owen Chow, Winnie Yu, Gordon Ng.

The democrats, and one other activist, Prince Wong, also failed in their appeals against their sentences, with the exception of Gwyneth Ho who only appealed her conviction.

After hearing the result, the defendants appeared calm and waved to their families and supporters.

“What crimes have they committed?” said Chan Po-ying, the wife of activist Leung Kwok-hung, after the ruling, echoing the arguments of some defense lawyers that legislators in Hong Kong were free to vote against any bills and veto the budget as a lawful “check and balance” under the city’s mini-constitution.

ACQUITTAL OF DEMOCRAT UPHELD
Despite the international criticism, Hong Kong and Beijing insist the democrats received a fair trial, and say a China-imposed national security law in 2020 helped restore order to Hong Kong after mass pro-democracy protests the year before.

The judges said any plan to veto the budget indiscriminately, regardless of its content or merits, was “clearly an abuse of the power (of legislators)”.

The judges, however, dismissed an appeal by the Department of Justice against the acquittal of barrister Lawrence Lau, saying he had never openly and directly advocated for the vetoing of the budget, like the others.

Mr. Lau told reporters he was “happy” with the result.

So far, 18 of the 45 convicted democrats have been released after serving their jail terms.

“By failing to overturn these wrongful convictions and sentences today, the court has missed a critical opportunity to correct this mass injustice,” said Fernando Cheung, a spokesman for Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas.

“Peaceful opposition to a government is not a crime, and all remaining jailed members of the Hong Kong 47 should be released immediately and unconditionally.” — Reuters

WASHINGTON – The US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a large swath of President Donald Trump’s tariffs has weakened his ability to threaten and impose tariffs at a moment’s notice, but it won’t end gnawing uncertainty for trade partners or companies.

Trump responded within hours to the ruling on Friday, slapping a new 10% tariff on all imports and ordering new trade investigations that could lead to additional levies in months, while insisting that trade and investment deals reached with nearly 20 countries – most with higher tariffs – should remain untouched.

Less than 24 hours later, he raised the rate of the new tariff to 15% – the maximum level allowed under the law.

Wendy Cutler, a former US trade official and senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Trump’s rapid-fire change was emblematic of the president’s desire – and ability – to keep trading partners on their toes.

“The uncertainty, in his view, just gives him enormous additional leverage beyond the actual tariffs. Because people are worried about what he’ll do.”

But Cutler and other trade experts agree Trump’s wings have been clipped. The 10% replacement tariff lasts only 150 days, and new tariffs imposed under other statutes will take longer to implement, robbing the president of the “anytime, anywhere for any reason” cudgel he used to impose tariffs before his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was nixed.

“He’s lost his favorite tool,” Cutler said. “Particularly for foreign policy matters and things that irk him on other countries that have nothing to do with trade, he’s lost the ability to offer a credible threat.”

William Reinsch, a former senior US government official who is now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the Supreme Court’s solid 6-3 ruling diminished Trump’s ability to threaten other countries.

“It takes away his ability to wave the big stick around,” he said, although the economic impact will be limited, with the 10% tariff and other duties expected in coming months replacing some if not all the tariffs now deemed illegal.

Michael Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said the ruling and the administration’s response left many questions unanswered, including how importers could get refunds for duties collected illegally, and what further tariffs were still coming.

“Perhaps the most consequential impact of the Supreme Court’s decision is that it should curtail the threat or use of tariffs as the president’s preferred form of leverage or punishment outside the trade domain,” said Froman, who served as former President Barack Obama’s chief trade negotiator from 2013 to 2017.

That development could provide relief to countries scarred by Trump’s unpredictability and repeated use of tariff threats to punish them over non-trade matters, extract concessions and secure foreign investments.

The US president had invoked IEEPA to impose tariffs over a range of non-trade issues, leaving countries bruised and skittish, and heightening uncertainty for companies around the world. He threatened tariffs against European countries over their opposition to his claims on Greenland, against Canada for allowing the importation of electric vehicles from China, and against Brazil for its treatment of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.

NO MORE ‘TRADE BAZOOKA’

Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council, cautioned that it was too early to predict the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s leverage, given uncertainty about fresh tariffs and the president’s willingness to use a range of tools.

“It’s a significant blow to his international economic trade agenda. It’s not a crippling one, necessarily, because of the other authorities, but we have to see how they play out in practice,” he said. “It feels like the ‘tariff armada’ has come to the rescue despite IEEPA. But how that plays out in terms of leverage is a different question in the months ahead.”

It is also unclear what will happen to nearly 20 framework deals or firmer trade agreements that the Trump administration has reached with countries in recent months that were based on the IEEPA tariff threats.

Trump, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted on Friday that the deals should remain in effect, even if those rates were higher than the temporary universal tax.

Analysts said they doubted countries could seek to abrogate or renegotiate deals, out of concern of triggering Trump’s ire.

Miriam Sapiro, a former senior US trade official and adjunct professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, said Trump might have lost his “trade bazooka,” but she didn’t expect the existing deals to unravel. However, the ruling could give countries more leverage in new or ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration, Sapiro said.

“There’ll still be interest in doing deals because of the uncertainty and the desire to keep the US as a strong ally and strong partner,” she said. “But countries do have a bit more bargaining power than they might have felt they had previously.”

From Trump’s perspective, she said, using IEEPA was a risk he was willing to take because it helped reel in some trade deals quickly, although details still needed to be worked out in some cases and enforcement could be challenging.

Greer told Fox News’ “Special Report” program that IEEPA was the appropriate tool at the time, given Trump’s desire to move quickly and flexibly, and said it had helped open market access for US firms. “We don’t regret it,” he said. “We’ll just use a different tool.”

Initial reactions from overseas were measured as countries assessed the Supreme Court decision. South Korea said it would review the ruling and US response and planned to continue “amicable” talks over implementation of a tariff agreement finalized in November with $350 billion in investment pledges.

Tom Ramage, an economic policy analyst at the Korea Economic Institute of America, said the Trump administration’s continued ability to tap other tariff measures would likely persuade South Korea and its companies to maintain their commitments.

“Anything less could increase the likelihood that the president will impose further retaliation, especially if the administration seeks to make an example of countries that want to back out of negotiated deals,” he wrote on KEI’s website. — Reuters

WITHIN hours of the killing of Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, better known as El Mencho, in a military raid on Sunday, gunmen suspected to be his supporters blocked highways across several states and set cars and businesses ablaze.

In some towns tourists and residents were urged to stay indoors, while truckers were advised to take safe routes or return to their depots until the violence abated.

Several airlines, including Air Canada, United Airlines, and Aeromexico, on Sunday cancelled flights to Puerto Vallarta, a beachside resort town where stunned tourists filmed plumes of smoke rising into the sky from fires.

The burst of violence across more than half a dozen states painted a familiar scene for Mexicans who have spent two decades watching successive governments wage war on drug cartels, ravaging broad swaths of the country.

A member of Mr. Oseguera’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel told Reuters that the blazes and sporadic gunfire were carried out in revenge for the government’s killing of Mr. Oseguera, and warned of further bloodshed as groups move to take control of his cartel.

“The attacks were carried out in revenge for the leader’s death, at first against the government and out of discontent,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“But later the internal killings are coming, by the groups moving in to take over.”

In Mexico’s Pacific coast, a five-hour drive from the military operation in the town of Tapalpa that took down the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, stunned beachgoers on a pier in Puerto Vallarta took out their cell phones to film thick waves of smoke obscuring blue ocean views, showed a video shared with Reuters.

Daniel Drolet, a Canadian who has wintered in Puerto Vallarta for years, said in a phone interview that he was concerned of a new era of violence taking root in the typically placid resort zone.

“I have never seen anything like this before,” he said.

In the state of Jalisco, authorities reported that gunmen had attacked a base for the National Guard military police, and recommended guests remain inside hotels and suspended public transit.

Other scenes of criminal activity and military response were captured in videos shared by government security sources with Reuters: A green military tank made its way through a residential neighborhood in the state of Aguascalientes. Roadblocks paralyzed the highly transited Mexico-Puebla highway. In the state of Colima, cartel members standing in pick-up trucks blocked a road.

A trucking industry group said in a statement it was “profoundly worried” by the highway violence and recommended that truckers keep to safe areas or return to their operating yards until conditions improved.

The state of Guanajuato, a CJNG stronghold, reported 55 incidents across 23 municipalities, with 18 arrests, but said by evening all incidents were under control.

Carlo Gutierrez, who lives in Guadalajara, Jalisco’s capital, said that friends on WhatsApp groups were encouraging people to stay home.

“There is fear and a lot of caution,” he said of the city, one of three main Mexican venues for World Cup soccer matches this summer.

VIOLENCE IN WAKE OF CARTEL ARRESTS, KILLINGS
Authorities have not reported any casualties beyond several cartel members and officials killed during the military operation.

Previous cartel arrests and killings have led to outbreaks of violence – whether by members avenging their fallen leader or rival gangs muscling in on their territory – prompting Mexican authorities to hesitate before launching major campaigns.

In 2019, Ovidio Guzman, a son of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was detained but quickly released, setting off widespread gun battles. His arrest in 2023 set off more violence.

The 2024 arrest of Sinaloa Cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada triggered a bloody power struggle in the criminal group that continues unabated more than a year later.

“I’m watching the scenes of violence from Mexico with great sadness and concern,” said US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who previously served as ambassador to Mexico, in a post on social media.

“It’s not surprising that the bad guys are responding with terror. But we must never lose our nerve.”

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum in a social media post acknowledged the violence, but struck a tone of calm.

“In most of the national territory activities are happening with absolute normalcy,” she said. — Reuters

VERONA, Italy — Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Verona a few hours before the Olympics closing ceremony to protest against housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Winter Games.

The rally, “Olympics? No thanks”, was organized by university groups and associations that oppose hosting an event they say disrupts forests, pours concrete onto fragile land and deepens social inequality.

“We are here to defend our territory from speculation… and from the impossible cost of attending events,” said Giannina Dal Bosco, a 76‑year‑old activist.

Tickets for the ceremony were priced from 950 euros ($1,120) to a top level of 2,900 euros. It started at 8:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) inside Verona’s ancient Roman arena.

One banner read: “Fewer Games for the few, more homes for everyone.”

Francesca, 34, who traveled from Vicenza, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) away, said the landscape had been “disfigured” by new Olympic structures.

“They built concrete monstrosities like the bobsleigh track, which will serve no purpose,” she said. “Public money has been wasted that could have been used for hydrogeological safety and housing plans.”

Several protesters wore keffiyeh scarves and waved Palestinian flags.

Protesters marched for around two hours outside the security perimeter, from the 16th‑century Porta Palio to the 19th‑century Arsenal Square.

They briefly stopped at the point closest to the red zone, unsuccessfully asking to be allowed inside. Before the march moved on, activists painted the words “FIVE CIRCLES, A THOUSAND DEBTS” in large letters on the road.

Verona’s mayor Damiano Tommasi said high‑profile events such as the Olympics always carried the risk of people seeking visibility and trying to exploit the moment, and that it was appropriate to deploy a heightened level of security.

A much larger demonstration — drawing nearly 10,000 people — took place in Milan on the first day of the Games and later turned violent. ($1 = 0.8482 euros). — Reuters

DUBAI — Iran has indicated it is prepared to make concessions on its nuclear program in talks with the US in return for the lifting of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium, as it seeks to avert a US attack.

Both sides remain sharply divided — even over the scope and sequencing of relief from crippling US sanctions — following two rounds of talks, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

However, Reuters is reporting for the first time that Iran is offering fresh concessions since their talks ended last week, when the sides appeared far apart and heading closer to military conflict. Analysts say the move suggests Tehran is trying to keep diplomacy alive and stave off a major US strike.

The official said Tehran would seriously consider a combination of sending half of its most highly enriched uranium abroad, diluting the rest and taking part in creating a regional enrichment consortium – an idea periodically raised in years of Iran-linked diplomacy.

Iran would do this in return for US recognition of Iran’s right to “peaceful nuclear enrichment” under a deal that would also include lifting economic sanctions, the official said.

In addition, Iran has offered openings for US companies to participate as contractors in Iran’s large oil and gas industries, the official said, in negotiations to resolve decades of dispute over Tehran’s nuclear activities.

“Within the economic package under negotiation, the United States has also been offered opportunities for serious investment and tangible economic interests in Iran’s oil industry,” the official said.

The White House did not respond immediately to queries on the issue.

Washington views enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and wants its right to enrich uranium to be recognized.

Iran and the United States resumed negotiations earlier this month as the US builds up its military capability in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike US bases in the region if it is attacked.

The Iranian official said the most recent discussions underscored the gap between the two sides, but stressed that “the possibility of reaching an interim agreement exists” as negotiations continue.

IRAN SEEKS ‘LOGICAL TIMETABLE’ FOR LIFTING SANCTIONS
“The last round of talks showed that US ideas regarding the scope and mechanism of sanctions relief differ from Iran’s demands. Both sides need to reach a logical timetable for lifting sanctions,” the official said.

“This roadmap must be reasonable and based on mutual interests.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday he expects to meet with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva on Thursday, adding there is still “a good chance” of a diplomatic solution.

Mr. Araqchi said on Friday that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days, while Mr. Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.

Citing officials on both sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe, Reuters reported on Friday that Tehran and Washington are sliding rapidly towards military conflict as hopes fade for a diplomatic settlement.

On Sunday, Mr. Witkoff said the president was curious as to why Iran has not yet “capitulated” and agreed to curb its nuclear program.

“Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘We profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’? And yet it’s sort of hard to get them to that place,” Mr. Witkoff said on Fox News.

READINESS TO COMPROMISE ON NUCLEAR WORK
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Iran’s leadership is seeking to buy time via the talks.

“Iran will use that time for various reasons, including to avoid a strike and to harden nuclear, missile, and military facilities,” he said.

While rejecting a US demand for “zero enrichment” – a major sticking point in past negotiations – Tehran has signalled its readiness to compromise on its nuclear work.

Washington has also demanded that Iran relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU). The International Atomic Energy Agency last year estimated that stockpile at more than 440 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% that is considered weapons grade.

Ali Larijani, a close adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told Al Jazeera TV that Iran was ready to allow extensive IAEA monitoring to prove it is not seeking nuclear weapons.

The agency has been calling on Iran for months to allow for inspection of three nuclear sites that were struck by the US in June last year at the close of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Since then, Tehran has said its uranium enrichment work has stopped.

Satellite images show that Iran has advanced work at a location reportedly bombed by Israel last year, recently building a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site and covering it in soil, experts say.

BENEFITS FOR BOTH SIDES
Among US demands are restrictions on Tehran’s long-range ballistic missiles and an end to its support for regional proxy groups.

Iran has flatly rejected discussing its missiles, while sources have told Reuters, without elaborating, that “the issue of regional proxies is not a red line for Tehran”.

Iranian authorities have said that a diplomatic solution would provide economic benefits for both Tehran and Washington.

The Iranian official said Tehran would not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources.

“Ultimately, the US can be an economic partner for Iran, nothing more. American companies can always participate as contractors in Iran’s oil and gas fields.” — Reuters