Today, the U.S. is criticised for sending cluster bombs to Ukraine. Mark Rutter retires from Dutch politics after his government collapses. France bans fireworks.
And the prime energy drink comes under scrutiny. From Tildyar News, this is your daily briefing for Monday, the 10th of July, 2023. On Friday, as part of an $800 million security assistance package, the U.S. announced that it would send cluster munitions to Ukraine, in a move welcomed by Kiev, but criticised by a number of allies and rights groups around the world.
So what are cluster bombs? Cluster bombs are munitions that open in the air and scatter dozens of explosive smaller bomblets over a wide area. According to Human Rights Watch, Russian forces have used cluster bombs extensively during the invasion of Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces have previously used them too. One of the major problems with the munitions is that many of the bomblets do not explode on impact and end up littered on the ground or embedded in the earth, posing a serious risk to civilians, especially children, even years after a conflict ends.
The production, transfer, and use of cluster bombs is banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which has been signed by more than 100 countries, but notably not the US, Ukraine, Russia, and others. The White House has defended the decision to send the munitions to Ukraine, saying that they'd send a version with a reduced dud rate, so that fewer fail to explode. President Joe Biden said it was a very difficult decision, but necessary because the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, we recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance.
This is why we've deferred the decision for as long as we could. But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery Nevertheless NATO allies Spain and Canada have criticized the US decision and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated that the UK discourages the use of cluster bombs New Zealand, a non-NATO ally, also expressed opposition to the move. Human Rights Watch says both Russia and Ukraine should stop using these inherently indiscriminate weapons, and no country should supply them because of their foreseeable danger to civilians. Biden, along with other NATO leaders, is headed to a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, this week, where Ukraine will obviously be high on the agenda.
In an interview over the weekend, Biden said Ukraine was not ready for NATO membership and that the war needed to end before it could join the alliance. There's more on the way, but be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to make the daily briefing part of your daily routine or to search for us on your podcast app to listen along. After 13 years in the top job, the Netherlands longest running prime minister, Mark Rutter, has announced that he will not run for reelection after his four party coalition abruptly collapsed on Friday amid a row over migration and asylum seekers. As in many European countries, the centre-right government felt political pressure to reduce the number of people seeking asylum.
Rutter and his VVD party were pushing to introduce a two-tier asylum system that would give less rights to war refugees and limit family reunion entries for said people to 200 per month, with a two-year waiting period. This was opposed by two parties in the coalition, D66 and particularly the Christian Union, who said their pro-family stance meant they couldn't ethically support the proposals. Rutter said the collapse of the government was a difficult decision, but the differences were irreconcilable. Early elections will be held in mid-November at the earliest, the Electoral Council has said.
A lot of eyes will be on the Farmer Citizen Movement, or BBB, a relatively new party which rose to prominence by supporting farmers' protests against government measures to cut livestock numbers and reduce agricultural pollution They currently only have one MP but could emerge as the largest or second largest party if current polling plays out On Monday Rutter announced that he would retire from politics and not lead his centre party into the next election, meaning that regardless of the outcome, the 13-year Rutter era will come to an end. We have a full video on the story coming out on Tuesday on the TLDR EU channel. So I hope that's what's been happening in the Netherlands. Let's move and look what's been happening in France.
Following the violence in France in recent weeks, the government has decided to ban the sale of fireworks in the lead-up to Bastille Day. They're hoping that this will stem further violence. It should be noted that the ban does not include fireworks that are to be used in official firework displays. Bastille Day is a national holiday that marked the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris more than 230 years ago, a key event in the French Revolution.
The firework ban was introduced by the government on Sunday and took immediate effect. It will be in place until Saturday the 15th of July, the day after Bastille Day. In recent weeks, people have used fireworks as part of their protest, with more than 6,000 vehicles and 12,400 bins set alight. In total, more than 3,000 people were arrested.
In addition to this, Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne said that a massive security presence would be deployed in an attempt to protect the french during these two sensitive days ksi and logan paul are in hot water this morning as it's been reported that they might be put under investigation due to the advertising of their prime energy drink senate majority leader chuck schumer has asked the fda to investigate the energy drink after fears it's been advertised to children despite having nearly double the amount of caffeine when compared to competitor red bull caffeinated prime contains 200 milligrams per 12 ounces of caffeine which is the same as almost two cans of red bull prime has said that their drink is clearly labeled as not recommended for children under 18. Prime has two lines of drinks, the energy drink which was launched in January and the Prime hydration range which does not contain caffeine Schumer said one of the summer hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit or a toy it a beverage But buyers and parents beware because it a serious health concern for kids it so feverishly targets. The FDA has said that adults can consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day safely. In the final uplifting story today, we discussed the rate of deforestation in Brazil.
The Brazilian government has today said that deforestation has fallen by 33.6% in the first six months of President Lula's term, compared to the same period last year. The rainforest shrank by 2,649 square kilometers this January to June, which is down from the 3,988 square kilometers in the same months last year under President Bolsonaro. President Lula has pledged to end deforestation by 2030. That's all we have time for on YouTube, but the briefing isn't over.
That's because I sit down with Rory and discuss the upcoming by-elections in the extended ad-free edition of the daily briefing, only on Nebula. That's the streaming service we're building with a bunch of our creator friends, many of whom you're likely to be already watching. That means that by signing up, you not only get an extended ad-free daily briefing every single day, you also get to watch exclusive and ad-free videos from the best educational creators on YouTube. That's things like Real Life Law's incredible Modern Conflicts, which breaks down contemporary disputes around the world, Neo's Underexposure, which beautifully dives into complex and shadowy topics you've always wanted to know more about, or Extremities from Wendover Productions, which uncovers some of the world's most remote places.
All of these are only available on Nebula, just like our extended daily briefings, and a whole bunch of other exclusive TLDR content which never comes to YouTube. If you want to sign up, use the link in the description so that they know you came through us. That helps us out a whole lot, as does watching on Nebula more generally. So thanks for signing up, and we'll see you on Nebula.