Reuters World News - Russia-Ukraine, DC police, Tesla in Norway and Gaza music

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump threatens "severe consequences" if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine ahead of their summit. Trump pushes for congressional approval to extend federal control of Washington's city police force beyond 30 days. A boost for Tesla car sales in Norway despite Elon Musk’s politics. And how music is helping to ease the trauma of war in Gaza. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Find the Recommended Read here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Trump warns Putin of severe consequences if he doesn't agree to peace at tomorrow's meeting in Alaska, as he reassures Ukraine in Europe that he won't make a deal without their involvement. Tesla sales boom in Norway despite Elon Musk's right-wing politics and the music conservatory helping Gazans in the midst of war. It's Thursday the 14th of August. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. If any consequences, if Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war after your meeting on Friday?

Yes, they will. U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking ahead of his meeting with Russia's president, set for tomorrow in Alaska. Despite Trump's threat of consequences, which he did not elaborate on, he's also suggesting a second meeting, including the leader of Ukraine, is possible. Because if I feel that it's not appropriate to have it, because I didn't get the answers that we have to have, then we're not going to have a second meeting. Trump's comments came after a virtual call with European leaders and Ukrainian president Volodymy Zelensky, where they sought reassurance Trump is not going to try and strike a deal

without their input. Ukraine's leader says he warned Trump that. Putin is bluffing about his desire to end the war. Senior correspondent Thomas Eskrit is in Berlin. Thomas, the White House has begun to really tamp down expectations for this meeting, calling it a listening exercise. What are the Europeans then trying to do here? They wanted to make clear that the military situation in Ukraine was not as hopeless as perhaps some in Washington had believed

and that no solution could be reached without involving Zelensky in particular in Ukraine, but also the European countries that have spent so much money on supporting its defense against Russia's invasion. Also, I think they wanted to make clear that there was not going to be any revision of the borders and that any discussion about territory had to take place in a legal fashion, that there could be no question of revising borders by force. which has been anathema in Europe, especially since World War II. And while Trump prepares to meet Putin in Alaska, Russia may be preparing something else entirely.

Satellite imagery shows activity at a remote Arctic test site linked to Moscow's nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Borevsk, a weapon Putin calls invincible. That's according to two experts. One believes a test could. could happen this week, potentially overshadowing the summit. The White House isn't commenting. The U.S. President is pushing for long-term federal authority over Washington's police force

and says he'll declare a national emergency if Congress doesn't act. So we're going to need a crime bill that we're going to be putting in, and it's going to pertain initially to D.C. Democrats would likely stall any such legislation in the Senate, and legal experts are skeptical about Trump's ability to declare a national emergency in this case. President Trump has scored a legal win in his push to freeze foreign aid. A federal appeals court has lifted an injunction that had forced the State Department to keep making payments to humanitarian groups, reversing a lower court's order to release

nearly $2 billion in funding. Mexico has extradited 26 suspected cartel members to the U.S., amid growing pressure from President Trump to dismantle the country's powerful drug organizations. The prisoners were flown out Tuesday following a request from the U.S. Justice Department. Mexico security minister Omar Garcia Hafuts says the decision was made in the national interest and that none of the suspects will face the death penalty. The U.S. dollar is under pressure as traders bet the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates next month, with growing expectations of a half-point move.

That's helping send Bitcoin to a record high above $124,000, boosted also by institutional buying. Elon Musk's right-wing politics have sparked fierce consumer backlash against Tesla. And while that anger has provoked acts of vandalism against Tesla cars and dealerships and pushed once loyal customers to ditch the brand, sales in Norway are booming. Marie Maness covers the Nordic automotive industry. So Norway and Tesla have had a very special relationship for over a decade, which you can still feel in Norway, even to this day.

Everyone knows someone that owns a Tesla because it was Musk's way of entering Europe, both through Norway. And in a way, while Norway had incentives and was quite pushing EV transition quite hard, it didn't really take off until Musk came with his Tesla and made it really cool. So it was very, very popular since 2013, and it has sort of skyrocketed. And he sort of consistently tweeted about Norway, about how much, you know, Norway rocks, how much he loves Norway. How do Norwegians feel about Musk's politics? They are, car barriers in general or in Norwegian in general are very, very loud about their distaste for Musk.

However, while other countries are voting with their wallets, that's not what we're seeing in Norway. And we just see massive amounts of people that continue to buy the car. And they're sort of saying that we have to separate the company from the person who's leading it. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at speeding up commercial rocket launches, a move that could benefit private space companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX. It will cut down environmental reviews and eliminate, outdated rules that govern launch and re-entry vehicles. The White House says the current system discourages innovation. Israel's military is continuing to pound Gaza City ahead of a planned

takeover, killing more than 100 people in one day, according to the local health ministry. The 24-hour death toll is the worst in a week and adds to the massive fatalities from the nearly two-year war that has shattered the enclave. But today, we're bringing you the sounds not of bomb falling, but of something else entirely. Surrounded by destroyed buildings under a tense ruffling plastic sheets. In Gaza City, music. Through almost two years of war, the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music has continued. It's an escape of sorts for teachers and students alike.

My name is Sarah Liswerki. I'm 19 years old and I've been learning at the conservatory for a little over two months now. Music has always meant a lot to me even before war began. I love discovering new genres, but more specifically rock. I'm very into rock but that meaning changed for me in war because not only was I like listening to it, like already produced music, but I was also learning how to create those sounds myself. So that was definitely a very new experience for me.

There are days where I am absent from my lessons, even though I only have two a week, but sometimes I'm hungry and I do not have the energy to walk this very little distance from my home to over here, so I end up missing out. I'm Ahmed Abaamshah from Beit Hanoun, the coordinator of Edward Sa'id Conservatory. I'm a teacher of AISG, the International School in Gaza, and I'm a music teacher and composer and the sound engineer. The idea of this project coming from some of my friends,

bring a guitar and I in the war and I take the guitar and play and all the kids gathering around me and in these moments we forget the war you know this war make the kids have a lot of problems like trauma like starving they are not sleeping they are crying they are sad so we tried our best to use music therapy in these kids to heal them from the madness of this war. And for today's recommended read, how the unraveling of two Pentagon projects may result in a costly do-over.

Sources say Navy and Air Force projects worth over $800 million are set to be axed, then won by other companies. You can read more by following the link in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week.

We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.