During a meeting at the White House last month, Trump administration officials urged an Australian mining executive to sell his firm's interest in a major African lithium project to a US company an unusual session that offers a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the administration's deal-brokering as it pursues an ambitious and controversial policy on critical minerals. People familiar with the Jan. 21 meeting described it as an effort by the White House and US State Department to persuade Perth-based AVZ
Syrian forces have taken control of the strategic al-Tanf military base near the border with Iraq and Jordan, the Syrian defence ministry has said, amid the withdrawal of a longstanding United States troop presence at the base. The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Syrian Arab Army units had taken control of al-Tanf, securing the base and its surroundings, through coordination between the Syrian and American sides.
TTP identified more than two dozen X accounts allegedly run by Iranian government officials, state agencies, and state-run news outlets which display a blue checkmark, indicating they have access to X's premium service. These accounts were sharing state-sponsored propaganda at a time when ordinary Iranians had no access to the internet, and their messages appeared to be artificially boosted to increase reach and engagement, which is a key aspect of X's premium service.
The prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has won her third election victory, with her Barbados Labour party sweeping all seats in the House of Assembly, state TV reported. Mottley's BLP won all 30 seats available in the lower house of parliament, unseating the opposition leader, Ralph Thorne, after the prime minister who has built one of the strongest global profiles of any Caribbean leader won the support of voters across the island country, CBC Barbados reported early on Thursday.
The absence of any firm decisions following diplomatic talks has kept the geopolitical risk premium alive, supporting prices. While the meeting in Oman last week had initially offered some relief to market sentiment, the optimism has been tempered by reports that the US is considering deploying a second carrier strike group to the Middle East and may begin intercepting tankers carrying Iranian crude if nuclear negotiations collapse.
Gold remained in a consolidation zone on Thursday as the market reacted to resilient US data and mounting geopolitical uncertainty. On the macro front, stronger-than-expected nonfarm payrolls reduced immediate fears of labour market deterioration, weighing on gold. However, markets still anticipate two rate cuts this year. Attention now shifts to upcoming inflation data, which could reshape expectations. A stronger-than-expected print may lift yields and pressure gold, while signs of cooling prices would reinforce dovish monetary policy expectations, supporting the metal.
The Belgian tourist Celine Cremer disappeared in an ancient rainforest during a brutal Tasmanian winter, while it is likely her remains were unearthed during this mild summer. The 31-year-old backpacker had packed lightly to walk a relatively easy trail through the wilderness of the Tarkine in June 2023. Days later, her family reported her missing. Tasmania police made a grisly discovery in the peaceful forest this week: five bones, two teeth and a Honda car key.
Voters across Bangladesh have participated in parliamentary elections, marking a pivotal moment for the nation's democracy following a period of significant political upheaval and violence. After a gradual start, polling stations in the capital, Dhaka, and throughout the country filled with voters by mid-morning. Voting will conclude later on Thursday with results anticipated on Friday. More than 127 million eligible voters are participating in Bangladesh's first election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government fell in 2024.
At least six people have been rescued, while efforts are ongoing to locate about a dozen people still missing, officials say. At least 21 people have drowned, while others remain missing, after a passenger ferry sank on the Nile in northern Sudan's River Nile State, civil defence officials have said, in the war-ravaged nation.
On Tuesday, during an extended Cabinet meeting, Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced two plots that initially drew little attention but would have halted the political agenda in almost any other country. As if downplaying it, Petro claimed that earlier this week someone tried to kill him while he was traveling by helicopter. According to his account, the aircraft had to change course and fly over the ocean for four hours before it could land.
There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer - That did not work well for them. There is truly PEACE in the Middle East.
Kim will compete in the women's snowboard halfpipe final with a chance to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals. She qualified for the final on Wednesday while racing with a brace on her left shoulder due to a torn labrum suffered last month. The 25-year-old still managed to finish first, setting up a potential date with destiny. Shaun White is the only Olympian to ever win three gold medals in the snowboard halfpipe competition, but he didn't secure them consecutively.
I have repeated this from Day 1; I don't think it violates any rules. In accordance with Rule 50 we don't have any political propaganda, we don't have any racial propaganda, and we don't have any harassment towards anyone on this helmet. So I believe this helmet didn't (break) any rules," he said.
A Chadian chemist and a British activist, both born in Jerusalem, vow to fight for Palestine by any means necessary even if it costs them death. Two men devoted their lives to the Palestinian resistance but paid the ultimate price. Bashir Jibril, born in Jerusalem to a Chadian family, joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. He trained military cadres and took part in the 1970 airliner hijackings, before being killed in a car bomb explosion in Athens in 1978.
I need a favor, Epstein wrote to Belyakov in a July 2015 email, describing an extortion attempt by a Russian woman who had arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York the previous week. Epstein said the situation was bad for business for everyone involved and asked for suggestions. Belyakov, a graduate of the FSB Academy, Moscow's institute for training intelligence personnel, wrote back that he needed some time to get information about her and that he would meet a man who knew the woman the next day.
Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia. We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected. The move fits into the Kremlin's aim to achieve a sovereign internet an online space cut off from western technology and foreign influence, and more vulnerable to state control.
Can you remember the last time a bronze medalist became the big story out of an Olympic event? Here's one for you: During his post-race interview, Norway's Sturla Holm Lægreid didn't talk about the run he'd completed, which earned him the bronze medal in men's biathlon. Instead, he chose to tell the world about how he cheated on his ex-girlfriend.
Ilia Malinin leaves even the greatest athletes of all time in awe. While Malinin is known as the only figure skater to have performed a quad axel in competition, the 21-year-old " Quad God " is turning more heads and earning more cheers for the first legal backflips on Olympic ice in almost 50 years. With a mission to break figure skating out of the four-year popularity cycle, the display of breathtaking athleticism could be a more powerful tool than any of Malinin's quadruple-twisting jumps.
On Feb. 11, 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party, a prelude to her eventual rise to prime minister in 1979. Also on this date: In 1847, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. In 1937, a six-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize and negotiate with the United Auto Workers union.
