Tuesday 18th February 2025. Ukraine peace meetings. Vatican Pope health. Canada plane flip. Brazil illegal logging. South Africa gay imam...

NOTE: An earlier version of this episode said that Germany was one of the countries that had said it would send peacekeeping soldiers to Ukraine. This was wrong. Germany has not said that.

World news in 7 minutes. Tuesday 18th February 2025.

Today: Ukraine peace meetings. Vatican City Pope health. Canada plane flip. Brazil illegal logging. South Africa gay imam. Sudan aid request. Singapore politician lies. South Korea actress dies. And UK BAFTAs.   

With Ben Mallett

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. This is send seven world news in seven minutes.
I'm Ben Mallet. Today is Tuesday, the eighteenth of February
twenty twenty five. Starting in Europe, the United Kingdom, Germany

(00:27):
and Sweden have said they may send peacekeeping troops to
Ukraine to support any peace deal. Other European countries, including
Poland and Spain, have said they would not send ground
forces to Ukraine. Officials from Russia and the United States

(00:52):
will meet in Saudi Arabia today to discuss a possible
peace deal in Ukraine. Representatives from Ukraine itself have not
been invited to this first round of talks. An emergency
summit of European leaders also began in Paris, France yesterday.

(01:16):
British Prime Minister Serkia Stamer has said he wants the
UK to play a leading part in the defense of Ukraine.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
I think that we need to do more. We need
to step up in terms of our collective response in Europe.
By that, I mean playing our full part when it
comes to the defense of the sovereignty of Ukraine if
there's a peace agreement, and of course when it comes
to funding and training, so on all those fronts, the
UK and all European allies to step up for the

(01:51):
UK to play a leading party.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
In the Vatigan City. Reports say that Pope Francis is
being treated for a complex clinical situation. Pope Francis was
taken to Rome's Gamelli Hospital on Friday. Pope Francis is
eighty eight years old and has served as the Pope

(02:17):
for almost twelve years the Americas. In Canada, a plane
carrying eighty passengers flipped as it landed yesterday. Eight passengers
were injured in the crash, but there have been no

(02:39):
deaths so far. Toronto's Pearson Airport, where the crash took place,
said it had been dealing with high winds. In Brazil,
government agents are fighting illegal logging. More than five thousand

(02:59):
truck loads of timber were seized during a recent two
week long operation. Illegal logging of the Amazon rainforest is
a major issue in Brazil and neighboring countries, with an
estimated twenty six percent of the rainforest having been deforested

(03:22):
by twenty twenty two. Illegal logging has fallen to its
lowest level in almost ten years in Brazil under President
Lula de Silver Africa. South Africa is investigating the murder
of an openly gay Muslim malm more scene. Hendrix was

(03:48):
killed during the daytime on Saturday when his car was
attacked by gunmen. Hendrix has been called the first openly
gay b Imam since he came out as gay in
nineteen ninety six. Hendrix spoke openly about the threats he

(04:09):
had faced since coming out as gay. In Sudan, the
United Nations has asked for six billion dollars to help
people suffering from the civil war. The request is a
forty percent increase on global aid given to Sudan in

(04:31):
twenty twenty four. UN spokespersons have said that one fifth
of Sudan's population has been displaced due to fighting between
Sudan's army and the rebel group known as the Rapid
Support Forces ASIA. In Singapore, the leader of a main

(04:59):
opposition political party has been found guilty of lying to parliament.
Pritam Singh is the leader of the Workers Party. Singh
has been banned from this year's election, but has not
been forced to give up his current seat in parliament.

(05:21):
The governing People's Action Party has won every election in
Singapore since nineteen sixty five and are expected to win
again at elections in November. South Korean actress Kim Sehron
has died aged twenty four. Kim was a high profile

(05:46):
actress until a drunk driving incident in twenty twenty two
damaged her popularity. Kim's cause of death has not yet
been revealed, but police say there are no signs of
foul play. And In the UK, the British Academy Film Awards,

(06:09):
also known as the Bafters, were held over the weekend.
Films from the past year were open to nominations. The
award for Best Film went to Conclave, a film about
the process of selecting the next Pope. Wins in other

(06:29):
categories went to Wallace and Grommet, Vengeance, Most Foul for
Best Animated Film, and the musical Emelia Perez for Best
Film not in the English language. That's your World News
in seven minutes. If you enjoy this podcast, then please
leave a rating and review in your podcast app. I'm

(06:54):
Ben Mallett. Tomorrow you will beat with Stephen Devinchenzi. Have
a great day, Bud and the pen in the bo