Ata mārie and welcome to your Monday recap of the key international business and political news from over the weekend.
First up, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for talks with Russia this week to pursue a ceasefire deal to end the war.
“The dynamics of the negotiations must improve. We need to do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire. The Russian side must stop avoiding decisions regarding prisoner exchanges, the return of children, and the cessation of killings,” he said.
“A meeting at the leadership level is essential to genuinely secure peace. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “ready to move quickly” on achieving a peace deal with Ukraine, CNN reported.
The last ceasefire talks ended quickly last month with no major resolution. Ukraine previously refused to consider any territorial concessions in exchange for peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In Asia, China and Vietnam planned to hold a joint army training exercise as a sign of deeper military ties as the two countries face US trade tariffs, Bloomberg reported.
China’s Defence Ministry said the training will take place in southern China’s Guangxi region, which borders Vietnam, this month.
Vietnam aimed to negotiate lower tariffs on Vietnamese goods with the US after President Donald Trump announced a 20% blanket tariff this month, Bloomberg said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for joint efforts with Vietnam to oppose “unilateral bullying” during a visit in April.
Elsewhere, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang sold 75,000 shares on Friday local time, valued at nearly US$13 million, CNBC reported.
The sale was part of a plan to sell up to six million shares in the artificial intelligence company. Surging demand for AI and graphics processing units boosted Huang’s net worth and pushed Nvidia’s market capitalisation above US$4 trillion.
Last week, Nvidia announced it expects to resume sales of its H20 chips to China again soon. Earlier this year, US officials said Nvidia would require special permission to ship the chips, CNBC said.
Jensen Huang.
In the Middle East, Israel has demolished thousands of buildings across Gaza since it withdrew from a ceasefire with Hamas in March, according to the BBC.
Several human rights lawyers said the campaign could amount to war crimes. However, the Israeli Defence Forces said it operated in accordance with international law.
It claimed Hamas concealed military assets in civilian areas. "[The] destruction of property is only performed when an imperative military necessity is demanded".
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the M23 rebel group signed a declaration of principles in Qatar to end fighting in eastern Congo, Al Jazeera reported.
The DRC and rebels had been engaged in heavy fighting. The decades-long conflict had roots back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The Congolese fighting killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year, while escalating the risk of a major regional war, Al Jazeera noted.
Over the Ditch, Tasmania is set for further political uncertainty after the state election delivered a similar result to last year's election, the ABC reported.
With more votes to come, the Liberals were on track for 14 seats, Labor on 10, and the Greens five, the same result as last year. The magic number to win was 18.
In the UK, vehicle manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover delayed the planned launches of its new electric Range Rover and Jaguar models for more testing and to wait for demand to improve, the Guardian reported.
JLR was hit by the global impact of Trump’s tariffs in recent months. It reported a 15% slump in sales in the June quarter after a temporary pause in exports to the US.
In addition, it proposed voluntary redundancy for up to 500 staff to cut costs.
The company had originally planned to launch the Range Rover Electric later this year, while it planned to reinvent Jaguar as an EV company.
Finally, Astronomer chief executive Andy Byron resigned after a clip of him embracing a female colleague at a Coldplay concert went viral, the BBC reported.
The pair were seen hugging on a huge screen before they abruptly tried to hide. It was later revealed Byron was married to another woman.
"Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted," Astronomer said.
"As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met."
