The Guardian

Around the Cook Islands, the world’s two most powerful countries are exploring the possibility of deep-sea mining for critical minerals
Deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, the seafloor is dotted with clusters of brown and black rocks, each containing valuable metals.
The rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, hold reserves of critical minerals that could be used to power clean energy and fuel a new industrial future. In the Cook Islands, a nation halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, exploration vessels are mapping the mineral-rich seabeds.
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Donald Trump will travel to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea for the Apec and Asean summits. Will he meet Xi Jinping, and what tariff deals might be secured?
Donald Trump is about to embark on a tour of Asia that many hope will ease trade tensions with countries in the region and repair damaged ties with China. Trump will begin his trip on Sunday at a meeting of south-east Asian nations in Malaysia, before flying to Japan to meet its new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, early next week.
But the most important stop on his itinerary will come at the end of the month, when he is expected to discuss trade, and possibly Taiwan, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Apec summit in South Korea.
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US vice-president suggests votes were ‘stupid political stunt’ as Israeli PM orders a stop to any further work on bills
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered a halt to the advancement of parliamentary bills linked to the annexation of the West Bank after the US vice-president, JD Vance, described a vote on two bills in the Knesset as an “insult”.
The bills applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, which would be tantamount to the annexation of land Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday, barely a week after Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in Gaza.
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A negotiated settlement would be unfair and frustrating. But after nearly four years of fighting, it may be the best option
On Wednesday, President Trump imposed substantial new sanctions on Russia’s giant oil and gas companies, and lifted restrictions on the use of certain long-range missiles by Ukraine, which will now be able to strike more freely into Russia itself. These moves come on the heels of Trump’s conversations last week with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after which the US president expressed his frustration at both side’s intransigence. Trump had hoped to end this war long ago. Will this be enough?
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US and its allies chose a strategy that aimed to use Washington’s awesome political, economic and military power to impose such high costs on Russia that the Kremlin would sue for peace on Ukraine’s terms. This “cost-imposition” strategy makes sense in theory. The problem is that, in practic..

US vice-president has criticised Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, calling the move a ‘stupid political stunt’ after a bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to the annexation of land Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday. Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv’s international airport before departing at the end of his visit to Israel, JD Vance insisted that ‘the policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy. And if people want to take symbolic votes, they can do that but we certainly weren’t happy about it,’ adding:’I personally take some insult to it’

Marco Rubio warns Israel not to annex West Bank after Knesset vote in favour
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Trump administration hardens stance against the Kremlin day after cancelling a planned summit with Russian leader
The US has sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine.
The sanctions were the first against Russia since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, and were targeted to cut key revenues from oil sales that finance the Russian war machine.
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The measures taken against Rosneft and Lukoil mark the first time the US has sanctioned Russia since Donald Trump’s return to office in January
US imposes sanctions on Russian oil over Putin’s ‘refusal’ to end war in Ukraine
The US has announced new sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies, signalling a major shift in Donald Trump’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine. The measures taken against Rosneft and Lukoil mark the first time the US has sanctioned Russia since Trump’s return to office in January.
The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said the sanctions were needed because of “Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war” and that the companies targeted were responsible for funding the Kremlin’s “war machine”. He said that the US was also prepared to take further action.
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US vice president is in Israel for meeting with Israeli PM amid fragile Gaza ceasefire
Israel has completed the identification of the bodies of two more hostages, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Authorities identified the deceased hostages as Arie Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar. Their bodies were transported in coffins by the Red Cross and handed over to the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. A military ceremony attended by the chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces was planned for later in the day, Netanyahu’s office said.
The two were killed in kibbutz Nir Oz during the 7 October 2023, attack by Hamas militants, which triggered the two-year war.

Since the ceasefire began on 10 October, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. Another 13 still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over, a key element to the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, the burial of more than 50 Palestinians is set for Wednesday at a..

Elite helicopter unit’s part in military deployment comes as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Nicolás Maduro
They call themselves the Night Stalkers and their unofficial motto hints at the group’s lethal nocturnal line of work: “Death Waits in the Dark.” “You can flee, but they will find you,” warns a rare book about the US army’s secretive 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).
Since the elite helicopter unit’s creation in 1981, its daredevil pilots have taken part in some of the most dangerous missions in recent US military history: battling Islamic State during OperationInherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, and Somali warlords during Operation Gothic Serpent; and spiriting Navy Seals into Pakistan to kill the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden as part of Operation Neptune Spear.
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Russians confirm attack on Bryansk region home to explosives factory; Trump-Putin talks shelved, US diplomacy ‘going in circles’. What we know on day 1,337
Storm Shadow missiles struck a Russian chemical plant making gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel in the Bryansk region, Ukraine’s military said late on Tuesday. The French-British missiles are also known as Scalp. “A massive combined missile and airstrike was carried out, including with air-launched Storm Shadow missiles that penetrated Russia’s air defence system,” said Ukraine’s armed forces general staff. Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Bryansk region, said on Tuesday afternoon that Ukraine attacked the region with drones and missiles. The Russian defence ministry also confirmed an attack.
Kyiv was under air attack on Tuesday night, with Russian missile attacks sparking fires and shattering windows in several districts, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Emergency services were dispatched to several sites where the debris from the..