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What we know about minerals deal

After months of tense negotiations, the US and Ukraine have signed a deal that is expected to give Washington access to the country’s critical minerals and other natural resources – an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure long-term support for its defence against Russia. According to Ukrainian officials, the version of the deal signed Wednesday is far more beneficial to Ukraine than previous versions, which they said reduced Kyiv to a junior partner and gave Washington unprecedented rights to the country’s resources.

AP/Reuters

Weather

Wild weather hits swathes of NZ

Severe weather warnings are in place across New Zealand, with heavy downpours prompting a state of emergency in Christchurch, while “destructive” gales have been recorded in the capital, Wellington. Schools were closed and flights cancelled as Wellington was hit by its strongest winds in over a decade on Thursday while a state of emergency was declared in parts of the South Island after 24 hours of heavy rain.

AP/Reuters

Russia

Kyiv derides Putin’s truce offer

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian officials have scoffed at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire announcement, with Zelensky saying it is “another attempt at manipulation”, urging for a longer one, while the Kremlin said attempts to communicate on peace with Kyiv had been ignored. Ukraine questioned why Moscow would not agree to its call for a ceasefire lasting at least 30 days and starting immediately. “We value people’s lives and not parades,“ Zelensky said. Zelensky accused Putin of trying to string along the US.

AP/Reuters

Canada

Liberals win election beset by Trump

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party has won Canada’s federal election, and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has conceded defeat, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.

AP/Reuters

Middle East

Fighter jet falls off aircraft carrier

A United States F/A-18 fighter jet has slipped off the hangar deck of an aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East, with a US Navy sailor suffering minor injuries in the incident. Sailors were towing the aircraft into place in the hangar bay of the USS Harry S Truman on Monday when the fighter jet and its tow tractor fell overboard, the Navy said.

AP/Reuters

Canada

Driver rams crowd, killing 11

Canadian prosecutors have charged a 30-year-old Vancouver resident with murder for killing at least 11 people aged between five and 65 and injuring dozens after he rammed a vehicle through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in the western Canadian city, police said. The man, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder by prosecutors in British Columbia and “further charges are anticipated”, according to a post on X by the Vancouver Police. Lo appeared in court on Sunday, hours after police arrested him at the scene of the incident on Saturday evening. Court documents seen by Reuters did not show a plea.

AP/Reuters

Religion

More than 30,000 pack Rome church to visit Pope’s tomb

Roman Catholic faithful began visiting the tomb of Pope Francis, filing past the simple white tomb in St. Mary Major Basilica a day after he was bade farewell by the powerful of the world and a crowd of hundreds of thousands. A single white rose was placed on the tomb that said “Franciscus” — the pope’s name in Latin. A light cast its warm glow over the tomb and a reproduction of the late pontiff’s pectoral cross on the wall above it. Rosario Correale, from Salerno, Italy, was among those visiting the tomb. He said he experienced “great emotion” at witnessing Francis’ final resting place:

AP/Reuters

Russia

26 Apr 2025

Trump says Ukraine deal ‘very close’

US President Donald Trump has called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for high-level talks, saying they are “very close to a deal” on ending the three-year war. Trump posted on his Truth Social site shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral that it was a “good day” of talks and meetings between the two sides. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, had earlier made a visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. “They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’,” Trump wrote.

AP/Reuters

26 Apr 2025

Trade

Tariffs can be negotiated or US will ‘just set prices’

President Donald Trump says that some point his administration will “just set prices” for trade deals with US partners if they don’t come to the table, saying it is “physically impossible” to conduct detailed negotiations will all countries, as a deal with South Korea grows closer. South Korea and the United States have agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new US tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July, Seoul’s delegation has said after the first round of trade talks in Washington.

AP/Reuters

Defence

NATO chief urges allies to do more

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has called for European countries and Canada to make a “quantum leap” in boosting their contribution to the alliance. Rutte, who is visiting Washington for talks with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, wrote in an...

AP/Reuters

Ukraine

Zelensky ends trip after strikes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a large-scale overnight attack on Kyiv by Russia was “one of the most outrageous”. Zelensky was speaking on a visit to South Africa, which he said he will cut short to return home because of the attack that killed at least nine people and injured more than 70 in the Ukrainian capital. Zelensky said preliminary information indicated more than 250 drones and ballistic missiles were involved in the attack that targeted civilians.

AP/Reuters

Attack

Tensions rise between India, Pakistan

India and Pakistan have cancelled visas for their nationals to each other’s countries amid rising tensions between the two nuclear armed neighbours after India blamed Pakistan for a deadly attack by gunmen that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in disputed Kashmir.

AP/Reuters

In Depth

23 Apr 2025

Cracks appear in administration as controversies add up

The infighting and backstabbing that plagued US President Donald Trump’s first term have returned as a threat to his second, with deepening fissures over trade, national security and questions of personal loyalty. The latest turmoil threatens to...

AP/Reuters

23 Apr 2025

Defence

War details revealed in another chat

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is alleged to have shared details of a March attack on Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in a second message group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. The second chat on Signal — which is a commercially available app not authorised to be used to communicate sensitive or classified national defence information — included 13 people and was dubbed “Defense Team Huddle”.

AP/Reuters

South America

Bukele proposes prisoner swap

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has proposed a prisoner swap with Venezuela, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the US his government is keeping imprisoned for what he calls “political prisoners” in Venezuela.

AP/Reuters

Ukraine

Zelensky: Easter truce an ‘impression’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of creating a false appearance of honouring an Easter ceasefire, saying Moscow continued to launch attacks after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral temporary truce. “As of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an online post.

AP/Reuters