4 h. ago The minerals deal is advantageous for Ukraine – but also for the United States

Editorial: The ‘Art of the Deal’ may have been Donald Trump’s abiding contribution to literature but it is Volodymyr Zelensky, it now seems, who used his personal diplomacy with the US president during the funeral for Pope Francis to excellent effect

Economics

5 h. ago The Guardian view on the US and Ukraine: is the natural resources agreement a big deal? | Editorial

The White House calls it ‘historic’. A more realistic estimate is that while Ukraine is glad to sign, this is not a shift in the big pictureThe Trump administration, with its customary rhetorical inflation, has hailed its mineral deal with Ukraine as “historic”. What the world’s most powerful nation says and does matters. But how much? And for how long? This is a government of caprice and chaos – losing its national security adviser, Mike Waltz, on Thursday after only three months in the job. Attempting to connect the data points can be like trying to join up the bug splats on a windscreen. The real issue is that the vehicle is still following the signs for Moscow.This moment looks like a high because US-Ukraine ties hit such a low, particularly with the Oval Office bullying of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reports that Washington is willing to recognise annexed Crimea as Russian. Key details of this deal have yet to be finalised in a technical agreement. The idea originated with Kyi...

Economics

23 h. ago Ukraine PM hails minerals deal with US as ‘good, equal and beneficial’ – Europe live

Denys Shmyhal says agreement leaves Kyiv in full control of its infrastructure and natural resourcesFull report: US and Ukraine sign minerals deal that solidifies investment in Kyiv’s defense against RussiaIn Spain, harrowing stories have continued to emerge after much of the Iberian Peninsula was plunged into an hours-long blackout earlier this week.Jonathan Bernal, a window washer in Madrid, has detailed how he and a co-worker were cleaning the outside windows of a skyscraper when the power went out. For four hours they ended up stranded on hanging scaffolding, some 240 metres above the city. Continue reading...

Economics

25 h. ago US and Ukraine sign minerals deal that could have massive impact on war with Russia

The United States and Ukraine have signed an agreement over access to Ukraine's natural resources.

Economics

8 d. ago Rachel Reeves has been dealt a tough hand – she must hold her nerve

Editorial: The chancellor must resist the siren calls of higher borrowing or deeper public spending cuts and instead look at windfall taxes on big tech companies and banks

Economics

1 week ago The Guardian view on a new deal for travel in Europe: bring back student exchanges | Editorial

The EU is expected to push for special youth visas at next month’s summit. Sir Keir Starmer should say yesStrong hints that a rebranded “youth opportunity scheme” will top the EU’s wishlist at next month’s EU-UK summit are good news for anyone who regrets the diminished travel opportunities that were one result of Brexit. Rising expectations of new European train routes – possibly including direct trains from London to Italy – can only add to the appeal of a potential rule change.There were more consequential impacts of Brexit than restrictions on travel. The disruption of trade, which is predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility to cause a 4% reduction in long-run productivity, is far more significant economically. Drug shortages continue to create risks to people’s health, and cause problems for doctors and pharmacists. Cancer research and trials have also been badly affected, according to a new report, because of the increased difficulty of attracting scientists and fundi...

Economics

2 w. ago The US needs to understand that truth and trade are not interchangeable

Editorial: We must seriously question whether a deal that sacrifices truth in favour of populist, hard-right ideology is worth it

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s Congo deal: mineral riches for protection | Editorial

Faced with regional chaos and shrinking options, Kinshasa seeks terms of trade that echo the old extractive order in modern disguise“The vilest scramble for loot that has ever disfigured the history of human conscience” is how Joseph Conrad described colonial-era concessions granted to private companies for Congo’s natural resources in Heart of Darkness. Under Donald Trump, that scramble may be back. If news reports are right, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is offering the US a blunt deal: minerals for military help – a slice of sovereignty traded for a shot at stability.The concern is this isn’t a return, it’s a sequel. For three decades, Washington supported Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, a cold war ally and brutal dictator who looted the Congo until his 1997 fall. That history of power politics still casts a long shadow. The Trump administration openly favours muscle over diplomacy. Fadhel Kaboub, an associate professor of economics at Denison University, notes that Biden-era ...

Politics