Friday 21st November 2025. Ukraine US-Russia proposal. UK Russian lasers. France Grok investigation. Spain Franco. Brazil COP fire...

Good morning. This is Send 7 World News in 7 Minutes. I'm Stephen Devin Czensi. Today is Friday the 21st of November 2025. Starting in Europe today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to talk to United States President Donald Trump over the next few days about a proposed peace deal written by the US and Russia without consultation of Ukraine or European countries. According to various media sources, including the New York Times and Axios, there are 28 points to the proposed plan, including that Ukraine must give up all of the Donetsk region, even parts that Russia hasn't conquered, Ukraine having limits to the size of its army, Ukraine not being able to hold long-range weapons, and Ukraine not being able to host foreign soldiers. Various European diplomats have said that Ukraine and Europe must be involved in peace talks. German Foreign Minister Johann Watterpool said yesterday that negotiations must involve Ukraine. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barot said yesterday that peace should not mean surrender. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslav Sikorski said yesterday that it should not be the defender who has limits to the size of its army, but the aggressor. European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kalas said that Ukraine should not be made to agree to lots of concessions when Russia is not agreeing to any concessions. United Kingdom defence secretary John Healy has said that a Russian spy ship has used lasers to try to blind British military pilots flying over the sea near the United Kingdom. Healy said that the Russian ship the Yantar has entered British waters various times recently and said that if it happened again the UK would be ready. Healy said the United Kingdom government has also said that Chinese intelligence officers have attempted to recruit thousands of people linked to the British parliament. In France, public prosecutors are investigating allegations that Grok, the chatbot owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has denied the Holocaust, something which is illegal in France. In Spain, there were no official events yesterday to mark 50 years since the death of Francisco Franco. During this year, the socialist government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has held a series of events to mark the anniversary. However, yesterday was deliberately left without any to avoid accusations of celebrating Franco's death. Franco died on the 20th of November, 1975, after ruling Spain after winning the civil war in 1939. Asia Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed 33 people yesterday according to medical officials. This is one of the deadliest Israeli attacks in Gaza since a ceasefire was signed last month. Israel said that the attacks were a response to Hamas shooting at Israeli soldiers. In South Korea, 267 people have been rescued after a passenger ferry hit ground near the southwest of the Korean peninsula. The police have said that they expect that the crash was caused by staff negligence. In Brazil, there was a fire yesterday at the COP30 climate change conference in the city of Belém, pausing negotiations. Today is the last official day of COP30 and countries are still attempting to agree on joint statements. In Cuba, power cuts are getting more frequent and are longer according to Reuters news agency. Cuba requires fuel from abroad to power its power stations. However, two of its main sources, Mexico and Venezuela, have both cut fuel exports to Cuba recently. Africa In Nigeria, Namdi Khanu, the Biafran separatist leader, has been sentenced to life in prison on terrorism charges. The Indigenous People of Biafra group wants to restore the Republic of Biafra, which effectively existed from 1967 to 1970 in southeastern Nigeria during a civil war. Guinea-Bissau has an election on Sunday. President Umaru Sisoko Mbalo is running for a second term as president against former President José Mario Vaz and 10 other candidates. Opinion polls are illegal in Guinea-Bissau. Madagascar's new president has displayed a giant emerald rock which has been found in the presidential palace. Colonel Michael Ranrianirina took power after a coup d'etat last month during large anti-government protests. Ranrianirina has shown journalists the 300kg gemstone and said that his team doesn't know why it was in the palace, but he has suggested that it might be sold and that the money would be given to the state. A massive thank you to all of the Cent7 supporters. You are the reason this podcast exists. If you'd like to help support us and have access to all of our transcripts, vocabulary lists, Wednesday worksheets and Friday's world news quizzes, then you can become a supporter at Cent7.org. We give 10% of our profit to the world's most effective charities. Have a great weekend, we will see you on Monday.