and the us defense secretary austin, also talked about the commitments of other states. what stood out for you. certainly what stood out, i think, not just for me, but for many people here at nato, was that he specifically mentioned germany in a positive tone. and that's because of these multiple launch rocket systems, which i mentioned today, it was announced that there would be 10 of these systems now heading to ukraine for provided by the united states. 3 provided by the united kingdom and 3 provided by germany. now there were some controversy because germany had initially said it would be sending 4 of these systems. but when you look at the germans, a typically in terms of being reluctant to send weapons to ukraine, they're, they're holding up pretty well. they're in good company today with this, this contribution of 3 systems. at the same time, ukrainian, president zalinski has asked for 300 of these multiple launch rocket system. so you see that in ukraine's eyes. it certainly is nowhere near enough. all right, that was our correspondence in brussels, terry shoals,

the state department and the head of the pentagon promise to defeat everyone the minister of defense austin called the weakening of russia the goal of the united states and the secretary of state. glinkin supported biden, as nbc news writes, this pissed him off, he told his subordinates that they had gone too far and, in their own words, could cause a direct clash between the two powers. american officials. increasingly concerned that the course of the war in ukraine is unsteady , and they are calm yes, should president volodymyr zelensky soften his hardline public position that no part of ukraine will be ceded to russia as part of an agreement on the end of the war is tired of the ukrainian topic and ordinary americans are noted by local journalists. the states cover their problems with inflation, rising prices all fall on the shoulders of the oldest president in us history on friday. biden literally runs away from the white house for the weekend as early as 11:00 am, on the way to the helicopter, journalists pester with questions. we need to go first people pull the president by the hand

defense? secretary, i would, austin, that the u. s. has built a tremendous momentum, a delivery of military assistance in ukraine, and that, that is making a difference in the battlefield. yet without a doubt of making a difference. now 1st it comes with having, you know, trained well trained well lead force is by the ukrainians. they can actually employ these weapon systems. but right through the smaller military we absolutely have to replace or weapon systems in their ammunition. they getting a trinity to as long as they continue to get these weapon systems in ammunition, they'll be able to hold off in ultimately, you know, counter attack against the russians. now of course there's, it's a race against time for ukraine. ukrainian forces requires special training to operate weapon systems from the west. um, i mean, can they get trained in time? yeah, i mean, they are, they will, they will be able to get trained in time. but right during that they will probably have to give up some territory because as a smaller military, right they, t

here at in this short tweet, us secretary of defense lloyd austin announced a new ramstein-style meetingoing to brussels to hold the next in- person meeting of the ukraine defense contact group defense leaders from literally all over the world will be there to discuss the current crisis in ukraine following an unprovoked invasion this is russia 's third international meeting dedicated to military assistance to ukraine in the fight against the russian federation. the first time it was held at the initiative of the pentagon on april 26, two months after the start of a full-scale war the venue was the rammstein air base in germany, from where the undisclosed name of the next summits appeared, then the coalition gathered representatives of the defense departments of 43 countries, the negotiations lasted more than 7 hours, and based on their results, several important decisions were made, including the creation of an advisory group on the defense of ukraine, as well as the transition of the ukrainian army on weapons of nato standards, all in order to ensure full compatibility of the armed for

contact work is us defense secretary lloyd austin, speaking earlier. so the contact group 1st came together nearly 3 months ago. we built tremendous momentum for donations and delivery of notary assistance. and after this, this afternoon's discussions, we're not just going to maintain that momentum. we're gonna move even faster and push even heart will deepen our coordination and cooperation and will boot bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression. now and in future. earlier i spoke to mark montgomery, a military expert who served in the u. s. navy, for more than 30 years and began by asking him what this latest pledge of weapons will allow ukrainian forces to do on the battlefield that they went previously able to do. well, 1st, thank you for having me and i, you know, that is the big question. and i would say it's really more about maintaining their ability to do what they, what they can do right now. which is you have to have these replenishment packages flowing every few weeks. if you cranes it, if you crating to succeed i

s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin, called on other countries to also step up support. says the war has reached a pivotal moment. the meeting includes nato members, as well as dozens of additional countries known as the cranium. defense contact group. his us defense secretary lloyd austin, speaking earlier. so security group 1st came together nearly 3 months ago. we doc tremendous momentum for donations and delivery of notary assistance. and after this, this afternoon's discussions, we're not just going to maintain that momentum. we're going to move even faster and push human heart. will deepen our coordination and cooperation and will bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression. melanin mac montgomery is a military expert with the foundation for defense of democracies who served in the u. s. navy for more than 30 years and helped to build us ukrainian military relations. welcome to you, mock. i wonder what will the slightest pledge of weapons allow ukrainian forces to do on the battlefield, but they are currently able to do well for us. thank yo

defense secretary lloyd austin the u.s.as built a tremendous momentum delivery of military assistance in ukrainian that is making a difference in the battlefield? >> without a doubt it is making difference. it comes with having well-trained, well led forces by the ukrainians. who can. employ these weapon systems we have to replace their weapon systems and ammunition. >> no of course, it is a race against time for ukraine. greeny enforces requires special training to operate weapon systems from the west. can they get trained in time? >> yeah, i mean they will be able to get trained in time but during that, they will have to give up some terriry because a small a military, they cannot avoid to take significant losses to hold territory. that is something you will probably see. they have to get trained on them. there is no point in giving them weapon systems they will not be trained on. it will not have the effect so will take three to four weeks to get some of the weapon systems for em to employ them but they will be able to h

defense secretary austin when he spoke and open to the u.s. rything the u.s. said so far and strongly suggested there's much more to come, saying the u.s. will continue to do its part. a senior u.s. defense said she's expecting the announcements of more equipment and more weaponry going in. we'll be looking for the announcements as the contact group meeting going on later on today. meanwhile, we also look at comments made on the social media of former russian president demetri, once considered a possible reform of politics and he said and asked whether ukraine will even exist in two years, alex and poppy, strongly suggesting the war crimes of which russia has been accused. >> oren liebermann reporting for us in brussels, thank you, oren. >> it is the top of the hour. good morning, i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm alex marquardt in for jim ac acosta, jim sciutto. >>> several opinions right this hour. >> that's right. we are expecting some major opinions to come down before the end of the term. either by the end of this month or early july. and that incl

s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin. all right, thank you so much. jessica washington reporting from singapore kohls for the arrest . the former spokeswoman for india's governing b. j. p. are growing louder for faster as of march on the streets and a number of countries demanding action of poor sharma was suspended on sunday. after making comments about the prophet muhammad, but many consider offensive victoria gate and b reports in various cities from the deli oh, to low. who to deco? did you call to? yeah, i was in worship as gathered up to friday, prays to voice that opposition to comments made by an indian politician. yet i'm not real protesting as an indian woman made bad comments about the character of our beloved prophet, muhammad, so we ought. yes. nepal sharma is the target of their anger. the former spokeswoman for india's governing b. j. p. made comments about the prophet mohammed during a tv debate that many say would derogatory protest is want her arrested for hate speech. we don't numbers, i'm hear you about a gabriella. one ball only o

the more than 2 dozen defense ministers that come to the shangri la dialogue, you're coming not just to speak, but in order to have a range of bilateral meetings. secretary austin also met with defense officials from southeast asia as the u. s. seeks to reassure countries of its commitment to the region, while beijing's influence continues to rise. time is engagement on the economic france. it has been sustained, not just john, in the last year or 2, but it's been sustained over decades. and in terms of its trade engagement with the region, while most of the world's attention will be on the u. s. and china for the countries in the region for summit is also a chance to re establish their defense priorities and connect with their peers. japanese prime minister for mucous shita told delegates his country wants to contribute to peace in the asia pacific. we must not repeat the scourge of nuclear weapons. the threat nuclear weapons let alone the use should never be tolerated. as the prime minister of the only country that has suffered the devastation of atomic bombings, i strongly appear for this. this young girl, a dialogue is taking place after a 2 year hiatus, an

radio communication and night vision , thermal imaging, etc., the head of the us ministry of defense, lloyd austinid about this following the results of the third meeting of the contact group on the defense of ukraine in brussels, i am particularly pleased to announce today that the united states will provide ukraine with an additional package of indefinite aid in the amount of 1 billion dollars, it includes guided and munitions of the rsv, 18 more m-77 howitzers and a tactical vehicle for towing them, as well as 36,000 cartridges of 155 mm caliber, the pentagon also assured that ukraine receives american jet systems volley fire by the end of june, ukrainian soldiers have already completed training in the control of chi-mars systems, in addition, about a thousand of our soldiers have mastered the control of american howitzers and drones in the united states department of defense states note that ukraine received from international partners 97,000 anti-tank systems, more than tanks in the whole world. canada will provide ukraine with replacement barrels for m-77 howitzers worth almost 7 million us

and he spoke at this press conference well, think about how in my time, when the minister of defense austine of the war is the victory of ukraine and the restoration of the territorial site, it was a competent and militarily diplomatic victory of ukraine . you know, i will say once again, with all due respect to statusism, this is very important with you, by the way. if we talk about the arrival of these three leaders, we really cannot know what was in their minds during the visit to irpen, for example, and did it in any way affect the further course of the conversation, but on their faces it was written, well, as for me, it was really written that they were not ready to see what they saw, but they saw the consequences of the russian occupation , the consequences, more precisely, not the consequences, but certain prospects, waiting for something the civilized world if we don't stop the way for now eh p andriy, i thank you andriy piontkovsky, a political scientist, was in touch with us , then we take a short break and my colleague nataliya will join the discussion we are stepping into europe

at the end of the month, us defense secretary lloyd austin reiterated his support for finland and sweden's bid to join the alliance and said, girls of nato have not changed. during our time together, i've encouraged my fellow ministers to do even more. we all share the responsibility to procure, prepare and provide ready capabilities enforcers. to prepare this alliance for the challenges to comb, nato's preeminent task is not change to defend each and every alloy sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. and that's why america's commitment tomato into article 5 remains are employer. on wednesday, the white house announced an additional $1000000000.00 and military aid for ukraine includes anti ship rocket systems, artillery and ammunition is also $225000000.00 in humanitarian aid. it's get more from our white house correspondent, kimberly how kit. so kimberly, now the u. s. is committed to that massive aid package or all the ne to members feeling the heat to come up with similar packages. yeah, there's no question that there is pressure now on these other nato mill members, and y

those times when it was there a month or so ago when secretary of state blinken and secretary of defense austin said that the main goal now for america is to weaken he said to russia that ukraine will win and must win , will win this war. they don't say that anymore . washington doesn't say that anymore. well, uh, i think there are certain camps. there is no serious division in the administration, of course . which are usually attributed to the same blinkin, there are more such uh well, for peace negotiations for a diplomatic way out of this, in the end, the rest at some stage, what kind of personification of this approach is, let’s say, salvan, the president’s adviser on national security, mr. volodymyr, look at saturday, paulo genchiloni, european commissioner for energy well, the prime minister of italy once said that there could be new sanctions. and then there is his quote, but the gas barge is not being considered now, because it can greatly harm the countries of the west. how can this be understood? that is, it is purely situational. so when we are talking about the seventh package. if i

so the strategic defeat of russia and ukraine went a step further than defense, secretary austin. and along those lines, those are not just fighting words. those are you saying stay in the game words and double down, double down, double down, very hard to back out of that i, what, john would the strategic defeat of, of russia look like if, if that were to happen? well, i don't think we're talking about invading russia. i think what we're talking about here is making sure that the ukrainians decisively defeat the russian military inside of ukraine and we capture all their last last territory. that's point one and point to that. we used economic sanctions to an effect rec, the russian economy. ah, and the end result of that is that you knock russia out of the ranks of the great powers. this is something the russians are not going to allow to happen. and russia is a country that has thousands of nuclear warheads aimed at us. and the idea that you would be threatening to knock a great power out of the ranks of the great powers. when that great powers armed with nuclear weapons, seems

from secretary of defense, lloyd austin, and we want to see roger weaken to a degree, going to do the kinds of things that it has done in grading grade. so there he said he wanted to create real quiet costs on russia. i was with our nato ambassador to a, well, us ambassador, nato julianne smith recently, who said that we're actually seeking strategic defeat of russia and ukraine went a step further than defense, secretary austin. and along those lines, those are not just fighting words. those that are you saying stay in the game words and double down, double down, double down. it's very hard to back out of that. i, what john would the strategic defeat of, of russia look like if, if that were to happen? well, i don't think we're talking about invading russia. i think what we're talking about here is making sure that the ukrainians decisively defeat the russian military inside of ukraine and we capture all their last last territory. that's point one and point to that. we used economic sanctions to an effect rec, the russian economy. ah, and the end result of that is that you knock russi

mentioned that the american side delivered only 10% of what was promised by the same minister of defense austin i just had a conversation with a different person, there was no such question, there was no conclusion, the conclusion is that in fact you need to be as specific as possible in your desires and if the dynamics of changes in relation to the need changes, then not only ukrainian citizens directly and the american side that provides the provision of weapons and it is necessary to avoid a situation when , directly through the discussion of journalists, the us defense minister and the milli mark are proven to be are accused of insufficient support for ukraine well, we are adding a guest to continue our topic , let's talk leonid polyakov, advisor to the director of the national institute of strategic studies and was the founder of the minister of defense of ukraine in 2014 . i remember in the 14th year, you were in the position of deputy minister of defense and had to compile a list of needs for the ukrainian army at such a rapid pace and send them to the united states, then bulletproof ves

s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin, called on other countries to also intensify support. mister austin says the war has reached a quote, pivotal moment. while the meeting includes nato members, as well as dozens of additional countries known as the ukrainian defense contact group. here is u. s. defense secretary boyd, austin says the contact group 1st came together nearly 3 months ago. we built tremendous momentum for donations and delivery of military assistance. and after this, this afternoon's discussions, we're not just going to maintain that momentum. we're gonna move even faster and push even harder. will deepen our coordination and cooperation and will boot bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression now and in the future. all right, and we have for re established a contact now with the m in russia, who is in a key where she is reporting on what the situation is in the dumbass region earlier before our conversation. and what we heard are the former ukrainian president and mister per shank o saying we never surrender. is this sentiment echoe

but again, as you, as defense secretary austin pointed out yesterday, when you're in the middle of a war and nothing can come fast enough, it's never going to be enough. and so he said it's understandable that ukraine is, is not happy with the speed or quantity of weapons that are coming. and germany does have a lot of questions to answer about whether whether it could have done this better and faster did, responded terry schultz. they're reporting from nato headquarters in brussels. thank you to the governor, the lu hans origin eastern ukraine as again on the school. the urgent need for more military support. he says, russian forces are advancing and their assault on the key city of seville donates. he said a russian astride, it's a building sheltering civilians that killed at least 3 people in a neighboring lucy shots that the city and dong bus also taking a heavy toll in the distance. the sound of russian shelling for the people in the sea chance the twin city of seattle, john, yet the chance to escape is getting smaller and smaller ukrainian police officers drive from house to ho

but again, as you, as defense secretary austin pointed out yesterday, when you're in the middle of a war and nothing can come fast enough, it's never going to be enough. and so he said it's understandable that ukraine is, is not happy with the speed or quantity of weapons that are coming. and germany does have a lot of questions to answer about whether whether it could have done this better and faster did, responded terry schultz, the reporting fall nato headquarters in brussels. thank you. turn on knowledge of look at some of the other stories that i can headlines today. some $300.00 people were rescued from an over crowded boat off the coast of libya. a non profit groups see i found their fishing vessel a drift on wednesday morning. the united nations says 3000 people died trying to reach europe via the mediterranean on boats. last year australia's new government has announced a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent by 2030. it was one of prime minister antony albany, says he election issues. official says the country is turning the corner on climate change, which

>> well, i think what you have seen even secretary of defense austin this week acknowledging that china's aggression with regard to taiwan and the number of sorties into the air defense identification zone are records three, four, five times what they were during the trump administration. here know, you see in the language just this week you had the world health organization, around and talk about covid-19, the fact the lab was likely needs to be investigated as the source of a virus that killed seven or 8 million people worldwide. in the wake of that you would sink the united states to be the one using aggressive language against china. but it was this week that china said look, if you get involved in taiwan it will be a path to death and we will smash you to smithereens. this administration's response to that language was for the white house to admit they plan to ease sanctions and tariffs against china. so you have the perception from president xi that not only is america and decline but that we see weakness there and we are willing to secede to them. i think that's why you're seeing n

the us secretary of defense lloyd austin, says china is increasingly engaged in the stabilizing military activity near taiwan . austin was speaking in singapore, at a meeting of security officials from around the world. it comes a day after, often met with china's defense minister, ukrainian officials have made another plea for heavy weapons from the west as the eastern city of sir verizon. yes, continues to come under russian fire up to $200.00 ukrainian soldiers are being killed there each day. it's been one months and shitty and a barclay was shot in the head by is really forces. while she was on assignments and janine al jazeera media network continues to demand a rapid, independent, and transparent investigation into the killing. if it's journalists than the occupied westbank search teams in brazil, her found what appeared to be human remains in a river where an indigenous expert and a british journalist disappeared. police say they'll now test the remains against blood that was found on a fisherman when they suspect was involved in the men's disappearance. there's the headlines wit

defense conference. taiwan was bound to come up where there isn't all that much common ground between the u.s. and china. austinterated u.s. policy. he said the united states us supports a one-china policy but does not support taiwan independence. they will continue to provide taiwan with defensive arms. austin accused china of trying to change the status quo when it comes to taiwan and when it comes to the region there. the south china sea, using as an example the chinese interception of two australian and canadian aircraft in recent weeks. he said that kind of action shows that china is trying to move or change the status quo in the region. well, china fired back there pretty quickly saying, that speech was a confrontation and then minister we when he spoke said china would fight any attempt at taiwan independence. so some strong words from china as well there. where did they find common ground? the two of them met before they each gave their speeches and they did agree there was a need for greater communications, more open lines of communications and crisis communications mechanisms. not only at the highest

defense chief stepped up to shed their vision for the asia pacific while lloyd austin speech was the main event of the day. of the speeches also called the attention of attendees. managing, including one by indonesia, defense chief of pebbles to be unto. we have come to our own de, a, shouldn't we off resolving this challenges? well, this is like them, i say very much because it goes along with the chinese positions at asia, asians, asia, to be unto told, al jazeera, his country and many others. don't want to take sides. the united states health help us many, many times. over in our own critical moments. but china also, china is also help us diagnose also defended us. thank you very much for officials from the 5 power defense arrangements packed, also met on the summit side lines. the defense ministers of malaysia, singapore new zealand, australia, and the u. k. say the historic packed has modern relevance in the face of tensions in the region. a world where either pre complex strategic challenges, china's defense minister will address the summit on sunday in a speech that's expected

yesterday, defense secretary lloyd austin laid out the american version for the indo—pacific and generalar in ukraine under covid—19 pandemic and for other countries to mind their own business and he said the parliament of china was not a threat to others and it was neither wise nor possible to try to contain it, and that includes the issue of taiwan. he said the chinese military would not flinch provoked. how much i think people are worried about the growing tensions in taiwan? there is a lot of worry and i've spoken to a lot of people over the weekend cannot help but draw inevitable comparisons with the war in ukraine and that the japanese by minister open a dialogue on friday seeing ukraine today could be east asia tomorrow, and this is something china doesn't really like to discuss. i was at chinese military delegation briefing and i put this comparison to them and they said china, ukraine and taiwan are tremendously different issues and taiwan is simply an internal affair for china to deal with but the language is strong today. they talked about any attempts to stir up pro—independe

any thoughts on the us secretary of defense, lloyd austin's address a few messages directly aimed at china. what do you think the response to those messages would be? well, i think the chinese certainly do not appreciate that the, what they will perceive as a tag on the chinese position in the region and also on china's foreign policy on defense policy in the region. so he will be very curious to see what the chinese defense minister will say tomorrow. but i thought was what was interesting was also the presentations and the speeches, but other ministers that we have seen her a 2nd throughout speech and a lease to buy the donation depends minister he was saying about there's an h away . and if you as well show operating asia, you asked me to respect for observation, wasting the chinese like them as a very much because it goes the line with the chinese positions that a shows ation facia. and he was, wants to play a role in asia and then used to obey the rules that are made by the asian countries . so the separate jobs being mentioned a lot about the national order, especially the new

defense. i could re lloyd austin at an age of security conference. jessica washington, as more from singapore, in singapore, a highly anticipated gathering came to her close speaking after meeting with the u . s. secretary of defense, the chinese minister of defense, general waif, on her told reporters, it went smoothly. he said the talks were honest and sincere for defense. secretary lloyd austin said they covered global and regional issues. al jazeera, understands it included discussion of the war in ukraine as well as some of the regional flush points, including taiwan and the south china sea. and what we've seen on the south china sea is that despite this pandemic um, problematic actions in the south china sea have continued. these include number one, arm chinese encroachments upon the exclusive economic zones of various coastal states. the defense chiefs met on the sidelines of the shangri la dialogue. the most significant security summit in the region. organizers say the importance of the 3 day conference is mostly about what happens behind clos

any thoughts on the us secretary of defense, lloyd austin's address a few messages directly aimed at china. what do you think the response to those messages would be? well, i think my chinese certainly do not appreciate that the, what they will perceive as a tag on the chinese position in the region and also on china's foreign policy on defense policy in the region. so it will be very curious to see what the chinese defense minister will say tomorrow. but i thought was what was interesting was also the presentations and the speeches, but other ministers that we have seen her a 2nd throughout speech and a lease to buy the donation depends minister he was saying about there's an h away . and if you as well show operating asia, you asked me to respect to for observation, wasting the chinese like them as a very much because it goes along with the chinese position that a shows ation facia. i need, he was, wants to play a role in asia and then used to obey the rules that are made by the asian countries . so that the child, the 2nd child being mentioned a lot about the national order, espec

it comes a day after austin met china's defense minister wife and her. he said beijing won't hesitate to start a war if taiwan declares independence. we see growing coersion from beijing. we really witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near taiwan. and that includes purely aircraft flying near taiwan in record numbers and reese of months. in nearly on a daily basis and we remain focused on maintaining peace stability and the status quo across across to try one street. but the p. r c's moves threatened to undermine security of stability and prosperity in the endo pacific. jessica washington has more from the meeting in singapore. while a lot of the attention has been focused on what the us secretary of defense said about taiwan. he also made comments about contention matters, such as the south china sea remarking that china is deliberately spanking pensions with illegal operations in the waters of the pacific. today that today on saturday, on the 2nd day of the shangri la dialogue, a press conference was held by a

s. defense chief floyd austin and his chinese counterpart way finger have met for the 1st time at asia's top security summit in singapore. the chinese defense minister says he reiterated china's firm stance on taiwan. you can government plan to send asylum seekers to lawanda is facing a legal challenge. london's high court is hearing arguments from human rights groups which say the policy is unlawful that calling for a court injunction to stop the 1st flights from the u. k to lawanda shuttled for next week. south africa, presidents facing tough questions after allegations he tried to conceal a robbery involving millions of dollars at one of his gain farms. settled, rom, oppose has been accused of corruption and bribery, but he says the funds were private and not public money. the presidents of his to deliver a budget speech in parliament were disrupted by opposition and peace. they've called for him to resign. there will be noticed for several in does house you must know if he is live is going to become uncomfortable because we can use this. hon house to cover up his money laundering act

s. sexual defense, lloyd austin and china defense minister way thing. the chinese official warned if anyone dares to help taiwan split from the country, beijing would not hesitate to respond militarily. meanwhile, beijing has declined to support western sanctions pushed by the u. s. against russia. with continued trade between the partners meeting the effects those sanctions were meant to deliver. this comes as china's national currency. the one has strengthened after the i, m. f, increased its holdings, making it the 3rd largest to holding in the official reserves. and that's behind the euro. and the dollar, the one i've seen growing use in cross board international payments between is trading partners reflecting the stature as a top currency director. the geopolitical economy, research group ready could decide it says the use of the chinese currency will expand further in the future. china has been working this very interesting, very balanced approach that it's been taking as far as china is concerned. it can continue to expand the use of the ram in b

s. secretary of defense as china is increasingly engaged in destabilizing military activity near taiwan. but austin's comments come a day after meeting with at china's defense minister in singapore way fung her says that beijing will not hesitate to start a war if taiwan declared independence. jessica washington reports from singapore in singapore, a highly anticipated gathering came to a close speaking after meeting with the u. s. secretary of defense, the chinese minister of defense, general waif, encore told reporters, it went smoothly. he said, the talks were honest and sincere for defense. secretary lloyd austin said they covered global and regional issues out 0 understands it included discussion of the war in ukraine as well as some of the regional flush points, including taiwan and the south china sea. or what we've seen on the south china sea is that despite the panoramic um, problematic actions in the south china sea have continued. these include number one, arm chinese encroachments upon the exclusive economic zones of various coastal states. the defense chiefs met on the sidelines of the s

s. sector's defense lloyd austin says china is increasingly engaged in destabilizing military activity near a taiwan. austin was speaking in singapore, at a meeting of security officials from around the world. it comes a day after often met with china's defense minister a court in bolivia has found ex interim president jennine. i'm as guilty of mounting a cou in 2019. she has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. i may, as was accused of orchestrating the removal of her predecessor ever morales. she denies the allegations. search teams and brazil have found what appeared to be human remains in a river where an indigenous expert and a british journalist disappeared. there were together on a reporting trip. police say they'll now test the remains against blood that was found on a fisherman. those are the headlines. stay with al jazeera related reach until stories across asia and the pacific to discover the current events with diverse coaches, and conflicting politics. one 0, one east. on al jazeera. ah 3 nice yog multibillion a funny being to be, i mean, not well as the mother need alway

president biden is hinting at negotiations and that sounds kind of different from what secretary of defense austin said back in april, that the goal was to weaken russia's military, to prevent them from doing the kinds of things it has done in ukraine. is that no longer the goal? has something changed? where are we in this war, in your view? >> i cannot speak for the department of defense on what they see as the goals, nor for the president. but what we are seeing is that russia continues to press and take land in ukraine. and any settlement between ukraine and russia should be in mr. zelenskyy's terms. he is the aggrieved nation, their sovereignty has been violated in a horrible, criminal, inhumane way. and what we can't do in the long run is once again reward bad behavior by mr. putin. we will just see more of it in the future if we do. >> just to be clear, how do you define rewarding bad behavior? if there is a deal that allows putin to keep crimea indefinitely -- which, let's be honest, everyone knows he is going to do -- but also allows him to pretend that some of these supposed republics in

s. defense secretary lloyd austin. thank nato, chief, the insult him very for his leadership and express his support for sweden and finland applications to join the alliance. as we see countries like finland and sweden make a historic decision to apply for a middle meet membership. that's very encouraging. we welcome that, you know, these are a strong democracies who have values that are very much alive with our values and very capable countries. and so we hope that that things will continue to move forward potential port of, of their desire to join in other well use in taneesha. the main labor union is on strike to demand an increase in salaries and concessions on looming reforms. up to 3000000 members are part of the so called u g t t movement. thousands of them are holding a ronnie right now in the capital tunis. they are putting more pressure on the government headed by prison chi saeed. who's already facing a number of crises, slits bringing elisia holcman, who's in t units for his to tell us about the strike and

the thought on friday during the 1st, every face to face meeting between the us secretary of defense, lloyd austin, and shawn is defense minister way thing. the chinese official warned if anyone dares to help tie one split from the country, beijing would not hesitate to respond militarily. meanwhile, beijing has declined to support western sanctions pushed by the u. s. against russia. with continued trade between the partners meeting the effects those sanctions were meant to deliver this commons. as china's national currency you on has strengthened after the i, m. f, increased its holdings making. it's the 3rd largest holding in the official reserves us behind the euro. and the dollar you are not seen growing use in cross border international payments between it's trading partners reflecting it's a top currency for more on this less cost live now to radhika decide director of the geopolitical economy research group. welcome to r t. international ridiculous. thanks for joining us today. no, it was see an increase use of the one in global trade. what implications do you think this have for beijing g

self-propelled howitzer to ukraine germany and the netherlands agreed on june 15, the us minister of defense lloyd austinmeeting of chiefs of staff and defense ministers from around the world in brussels, where they will discuss military aid to ukraine . european time and at 20:45 there will be a press conference of the head of the pentagon and the chairman of the joint committee of the chiefs of staff of general mark milli, as is known, after the first meeting of the ministers, rammstein reznikov said that ukraine is switching to western calibers and equipment, green corridors for fuel on the border are primarily allowed by gasoline trucks who go to ukraine with gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as those who go to the countries of the european union for a scarce substance for cars, according to the information of the state border service, green corridors for them agreed with neighboring countries, cars with fuel are given priority if on the way out of ukraine gas trucks accumulate in one place . 10 billion cubic meters of storage is enough, prime minister danish magal reports at the government meeting,

for your attention, the broadcast of the introductory speeches of the us secretary of defense lloyd austinthe meeting of the contact group on military assistance to ukraine thank you for joining the meeting of the contact group on the defense of ukraine and today i will be the moderator of the meeting why words of thanks to the minister of defense of ukraine mr. reznikov for what he with us today to allow the us secretary of defense lloyd here is the price good day everyone, it is a great honor to be with you today thank you for joining the third meeting of the contact group on the defense of ukraine ukraine our determination and efforts to provide ukraine with the military potential it needs for its own defense we we must keep the first situation under control because the stakes are very high, you and i are living in a historic moment thanks to the efforts of the ukrainian presidency to president volodymyr zelensky for the positions he is getting, we see that now russia is using heavy weapons to destroy ukrainian positions, to destroy ukrainian sovereignty and to destroy the ukrainian civ