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US and Ukraine sign long-awaited natural resources deal
The US has signed a deal with Kyiv to share profits from the future sale of Ukraine’s mineral reserves, after months of tense negotiations.
The two countries have agreed to establish a reconstruction investment fund to spur Ukraine’s economic recovery from its war with Russia.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it showed both sides were committed to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine. For Kyiv, the deal is seen as essential to accessing US military aid.
Ukraine is believed to have vast reserves of critical minerals like graphite, titanium and lithium. They are highly sought after because of their use in renewable energy, military applications and industrial infrastructure.
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US Senate rejects bid to block Trump’s tariffs
The United States Senate has rejected an effort to block US President Donald Trump’s tariffs amid bipartisan concerns about the impact of his trade salvoes on the economy.
The upper house of the US Congress voted 49-49 to knock back the resolution on Wednesday, hours after government data showed that the US economy shrank for the first time in three years.
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Mushroom trial: Rare for alleged killer to host lunch, ex-husband says
The estranged husband of a woman who served a poisonous mushroom lunch to her family says it was “very rare” for her to hold social gatherings at home.
Simon Patterson was invited to the fatal meal prepared by Erin Patterson – but decided not to attend the day before.
Mr Patterson is the first witness in the trial of Ms Patterson – who is charged with the murder of three relatives and the attempted murder of another, with the case centring on a beef wellington lunch at her house in July 2023.
Ms Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty and her defence team says she “panicked” after unintentionally serving poison to family members she loved.
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‘We don’t care’: A defiant China looks beyond Trump’s America
“We don’t care about sales to the United States,” says Hu Tianqiang as one of his toy fighter jets flies past our heads.
It’s hard to hear him above the buzzing toy planes and miniature drones, an almost rhythmic backdrop to the cacophony of toys that surround him, all clamouring for the attention of buyers.
Hu’s stall, Zhongxiang Toys, sits inside the world’s biggest wholesale market in the small Chinese city of Yiwu.
It’s a huge showroom of more than 75,000 shops where buyers come seeking just about everything, from twinkling Christmas lights and kitchenware to umbrellas and massage guns. It can take most of the day just to get around one department given each of them has an airport hangar’s worth of goods on show.
Yiwu is in the province of Zhejiang, along China’s eastern coast. The manufacturing and export hub, home to more than 30 ports, accounted for 17% of all Chinese sales to the US last year.
That puts Yiwu, and this region, at the frontline of the US-China trade war.
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Trump tells business chiefs he needs ‘little bit of time’ as US economy shrinks
President Donald Trump has asked for more time on the US economy as it contracted for the first time in three years, stoking recession fears.
He said the figure was misleading because companies had stockpiled imports ahead of his imposition of tariffs.
Trump, however, said $8tn (£6tn) of inward investment had been promised, which he argued would restore American manufacturing prowess.
The US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.3%, the US commerce department said, a sharp downturn after growth of 2.4% in the previous quarter. It comes as Trump marks 100 days in office, with opinion polls indicating public discontent over his economic stewardship.
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Pakistan army chief’s Kashmir remarks cause anger in India
Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, is not known for seeking the spotlight.
Yet in recent weeks, it has found him – not only in Pakistan, but across the border in India and in diplomatic capitals far beyond.
His remarks on Kashmir – made just days before a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 people – have reignited a debate over Pakistan’s military stance and its role in rising regional tensions.
Kashmir, which India and Pakistan claim in full but administer only in part, has been a flashpoint between the countries since they were partitioned in 1947.
Though not directly linked to the violence, Gen Munir’s words have been dissected and interpreted as a shift towards a more confrontational tone, both from him and the institution he leads.
He is viewed as the most powerful man in Pakistan, where the military has long been blamed for interfering in politics, installing and removing governments. As tensions with India rise again, he is being watched as the central figure in a volatile nuclear-armed rivalry.
So who is Gen Munir? And what drives him?
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Israeli reservists speak out against Gaza war as pressure on Netanyahu grows
Israel’s war in Gaza grinds on, but opposition is growing.
In recent weeks, thousands of Israeli reservists – from all branches of the military – have signed letters demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government stop the fighting and concentrate instead on reaching a deal to bring back the remaining 59 hostages being held by Hamas.
Eighteen months ago, few Israelis doubted the war’s logic: to defeat Hamas and return the hostages.
For many, the January ceasefire and subsequent return of more than 30 hostages raised hopes that the war might soon end.
But after Israel broke the ceasefire and returned to war in mid-March, those hopes were dashed.
“We came to the conclusion that Israel is going to a very bad place,” Danny Yatom, a former head of the spy agency Mossad told me.
“We understand that what mainly bothers Netanyahu is his own interests. And in the list of priorities, his interests and the interests of having the government stable are the first ones, and not the hostages.”
Many of those signing recent letters are, like Yatom, long time critics of the prime minister. Some were involved in the anti-government protests that preceded the outbreak of war on 7 October 2023 following Hamas’s attack on Israel.
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Nuclear v renewables: The coal mining town caught in Australia’s climate wars
In the Hunter Valley, long, brown trains chug through lush pastures, carrying stacks of black rock – the lifeblood of the region, though not for much longer.
This has long been Australia’s coal country. But the area, a three-hour drive from Sydney, is now begrudgingly on the frontline of the country’s transition to clean energy.
“This town was built around a coal mine,” says Hugh Collins from Muswellbrook, “so it’ll be a big shift. I don’t know what will happen.”
Nowhere captures this dilemma quite like the soon-to-be demolished smokestacks of Liddell power station, which tower over the rolling hillside nearby. Liddell, one of Australia’s oldest coal plants, was closed two years ago. Across the highway is sister-power station Bayswater, scheduled for retirement by 2033.
Liddell’s owners want to redevelop both stations into a renewable energy hub – in line with the Labor government’s plans for a grid powered almost completely by solar and wind energy.
The opposition Liberal-National coalition, though, has proposed converting Liddell into one of seven nuclear power plants across the country.
Currently banned, nuclear is the controversial centrepiece of the Coalition’s clean energy plan.
Nuclear has historically been deeply unpopular among Australians scared of having radioactive plants in their metaphorical backyards. But with the Coalition plugging it as a cheap and reliable option to complement renewables, interest is growing.
Ahead of the election on 3 May, each party has insisted that their visions are the best way to both fulfil Australia’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 and tame rising power bills.
But there are fears this renewed debate over Australia’s energy future takes the country back to the past.
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Meta warns of ‘worse’ experience for European users
Meta warned on Wednesday that European users could face a “materially worse” experience following a key regulatory decision by the European Commission.
Meta recently introduced a “consent or pay” model which leaves users to choose between paying for a monthly subscription or letting Meta combine data it has collected on Facebook and Instagram.
Last week, the European Commision – the EU’s executive – announced it had decided that the model does not comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and fined Meta €200m (£171m).
“Based on feedback from the EC in connection with the DMA, we expect we will need to make some modifications to our model,” Meta said in its quarterly earnings statement.
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Apple referred for possible criminal contempt investigation
A US district judge has found Apple wilfully violated her injunction in a case brought by Epic Games – and that a top Apple executive “outright lied” under oath.
The injunction was supposed to block Apple from anti-competitive conduct and pricing, opening the App Store up to outside payment options.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she was referring the matter to the US Attorney for Northern District of California to investigate whether a criminal contempt proceeding is appropriate.
Apple responded to the ruling late on Wednesday.
“We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal,” an Apple spokesperson said.
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Russia launches deadly drone attack on Odesa, governor says
Russian drones have killed at least two people and injured another five in a sustained attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa, the governor of the region has said.
Residential high-rise buildings, a supermarket and school were damaged, Oleh Kiper posted on Telegram.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the mayor of Kharkiv said a drone had struck a petrol station in the city centre, and explosions were also heard in the city of Sumy.
Russia has not yet commented on the attacks.
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US releases Mohsen Mahdawi, detained Columbia student activist
A Columbia University student and Palestinian activist arrested by US immigration authorities has been released from custody, US media reports.
Mohsen Mahdawi, who has permanent US residency or “green card” status, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) when he turned up at an American citizenship interview in Vermont in mid-April.
Mr Mahdawi’s legal team petitioned for his release alleging unlawful incarceration.
The US government says he was undermining US foreign policy. Luna Droubi, one of his lawyers, argued that the arrest was “in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian”.
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Taiwan confident of US support under Trump, minister says
Taiwan has faith in the support of the United States, a top Taiwanese official has said, despite widespread concern on the island that US President Donald Trump could use the East Asian democracy as a bargaining chip in its dealings with China.
“Taiwan and the US have a very strong and solid relationship, and Taiwan has cross-party support from the US Congress,” Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera.