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Russia moves into the east-central Ukrainian area amid a dispute over dead soldiers
The Russians said that their forces advanced on Sunday to the eastern edge of Dnipropetrovsk, a region in central Ukraine. This was amid a public dispute between Moscow and Kyiv about peace negotiations and the returning of thousands of dead soldiers from the war. While there is talk of peace, war continues to escalate. Russian forces are gaining more territory in Ukraine, and Kyiv has launched high-profile drone attacks and sabotage against Russia's nuclear bomber fleet, and according to Moscow on its railways. According to pro-Ukrainian maps, Russia has seized more than 190 sq km (73 sq miles) of Sumy in eastern Ukraine within a month. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the 90th Tank Division from the Central Grouping has reached the western border of Ukraine's Donetsk Region and is attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk Region. Kyiv did not comment on the Russian advance. However, the pro-Ukrainian Deep State Map showed Russian forces close to Dnipropetrovsk, a region with a population exceeding 3 million people before the war. Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday of delaying the exchange of prisoners of War and returning the bodies of 12,000 soldiers who died, although Ukraine denied these claims. Russia announced on Sunday that it was bringing bodies to the border. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has said that he wants to end the deadliest conflict to occur in Europe since World War Two. On Thursday, he compared it to a fight among young children, and suggested that he may have to let the conflict continue. Accusations about the willingness to accept peace Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said that he didn't think Ukraine leaders wanted peace. He had accused them of ordering an attack in Bryansk in western Russia, which killed seven and injured 115 people a day prior to talks in Turkey. Ukraine has also accused Moscow, who has not responded to the attack on the Bryansk Bridge, of not being serious about peace. They cited Russian resistance to a ceasefire immediately as proof. Russia demands international recognition for Crimea, the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 from Ukraine, as well as four other regions within Ukraine which Moscow claims to be its territory. Ukraine would be required to withdraw all its forces. According to Deep State Map, Russia controlled 113.273 square kilometers, or 18.8% of Ukrainian territory, as of June 7. This is larger than the U.S. State of Virginia. Areas under Russian control are Crimea, Luhansk (more than 99%), Donetsk (more than 70%), Zaporizhzhia (more than 70%) and Kherson (more then 70%), all located in the east and southeast. Fragments of Kharkiv, Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast also fall within this area. Putin said to Trump that he had to react to the Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia's Bomber Fleet and the rail bombings. U.S. officials have said that they believe Putin's threat to retaliate against Ukraine for its attacks is not yet real and will likely be a multi-pronged, significant strike. Local officials reported that Russia also attacked the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kharkiv with drones, guided bombs and missiles on Friday night and overnight, killing four people and wounding over 60 others, including a newborn. Russia said that it also claimed to have shot down 61 Ukrainian drones in the Moscow area over night on Sunday. Two of the major airports that serve Moscow have been temporarily closed. Mark Heinrich, Mark Heinrich (Reporting in Moscow)
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Latam and Caribbean Development Bank doubles oceans financing to $2.5 billion
It announced on Saturday that the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean will double its investment to $2.5 billion in order to protect the oceans and support sustainable marine economic activity. The bank has already exceeded the existing commitment of funding oceans, which was $1.25 billion between 2022-2026. Investments include strengthening marine protected zones and supporting small-scale fishing. The bank stated that the additional $2.5 billion will be spread over a period of 2025-2030 and will focus on areas such as low-carbon marine transport, restoration damaged ocean ecosystems, and sustainable tourism. This is in addition to the $1.3 billion CAF has invested in oceans during the past three years. Gianpiero Leoncini, executive vice-president of CAF, said at a conference in Monaco on oceans finance: "This commitment reflects the transformative agenda that we have, which is to embed the health and vitality of the ocean into our development ambition." The U.N. Oceans Conference in Nice, France next week will try to rally stronger commitments by countries to protect and to invest in oceans. This includes ratifying the global treaty for ocean biodiversity that most of those 116 countries have not yet done. Oceans are vital for trade, food, employment and global climate systems. The funding for these functions is far from adequate. The U.N. said that investments in ocean health from 2015 to 2019 totaled just $10 billion - far less than the $175 billion needed per year. The Oceans Funding of CAF includes the management of illegal fishing and providing loans for wastewater treatment plants, storm drainage systems, and flood mitigation. The oceans are also a crucial buffer against climate changes, as they absorb around 30% of the planet-warming CO2 emissions. As the oceans warm, the hotter water is destroying marine eco-systems and threatening oceans' capacity to absorb CO2. (Reporting and editing by Kate Abnett)
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China may accelerate EU approvals of rare earths applications
China will speed up the approval and examination of rare earth exports for European Union companies and also give a decision on its investigation into EU brandy imports before July 5, said its commerce ministry on Saturday. The price commitment consultations between China, the EU and Chinese electric vehicles exported to Europe have also reached a final phase. However, both sides still need to make efforts. According to a statement, the issues were discussed by EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Paris on February 2. The comments are a step forward in resolving issues that have plagued China's relations with the European Union for the last year. China's decision to suspend the export of rare earths, and magnets related to them, in April, has thrown supply chains into chaos for automakers, aerospace companies, semiconductor firms, and military contractors all over the world. The ministry stated that China was very sensitive to EU concerns and "was ready to establish a green-channel for qualified applications in order to accelerate the approval process." The statement said that during the meeting, Commerce Minister Wang "expressed his hope that the EU would meet us halfway and adopt effective measures to facilitate and safeguard compliant trade of high-tech products with China." Chinese anti-dumping actions that imposed duties up to 39% of European brandy imports - French cognac being the worst affected - also caused tensions between Paris and Beijing. Brandy duties were imposed days after the European Union acted against Chinese-made vehicles imported to protect its local industry. This prompted France's president Emmanuel Macron accuse Beijing "pure retaliation". Chinese duties have affected sales of brands such as LVMH Hennessy and Pernod Ricard Martell, Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard Martell. Beijing had originally planned to decide on brandy duty by January but then extended it to April, and again to July 5 China's Commerce Ministry said on Saturday that French firms and associations have submitted proactively applications for price commitments on brandy to China, and that Chinese investigators have reached an agreement on the basic terms. The Chinese authorities are now reviewing the entire text of these commitments, and will make a final announcement by July 5. In April, the European Commission announced that the EU and China also agreed to examine setting minimum prices for Chinese-made electric cars instead of tariffs levied by the EU last summer. China's Commerce Ministry said that the EU also suggested exploring "new technical pathways" relating EVs. The Chinese side is now evaluating this proposal. (Reporting and editing by William Mallard, Tom Hogue and Brenda Goh)
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Indonesia anticipates concluding free trade negotiations with EU by the end of June
Indonesia announced on Saturday that the free trade talks with the European Union which have been ongoing for nine years are expected to be completed by the end June. Airlangga hartarto, chief economic minister of Southeast Asia's largest economy, met EU Commissioner for Trade Maros Séfcovic on Friday in Brussels. Airlangga Hartarto stated in a press release that "Indonesia has agreed to resolve outstanding issues, and we are prepared to announce the conclusion of substantial negotiation by the end June 2025." He didn't disclose any details about the agreements that may have been made. Denis Chaibi said, "Negotiations continue and the substance will determine the timing." When we know the outcome, we will provide more details. In terms of total trade, the EU was Indonesia's fifth largest trading partner in 2013. The two countries exchanged $30.1 billion worth of goods and services last year. Airlangga reported that Indonesia had a trade surplus of $4.5 billion. Indonesia and the EU had previously disagreed over EU trade rules that may have been linked to deforestation, which could impact Indonesian palm oil. Jakarta also banned exports of minerals. Indonesian officials are motivated to speed up talks on free-trade agreements. They want to diversify their country's export destination as they face the challenges of U.S. Tariffs. To end the U.S.'s trade deficits around the world, President Donald Trump of the United States announced "reciprocal tariffs" that were halted since July. Indonesia faces a tariff of 32%. (Reporting and editing by Edwina gibbs and Tom Hogue; Gayatri suroyo)
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Jameson Taillon and Cubs shoot to tie series with Tigers
Jameson Taillon's strikeout numbers aren't high, but he consistently puts in strong starts. On Saturday, Taillon will be looking for his fourth straight victory in the middle match of a three game road series against the Detroit Tigers. Taillon (5-3; 3.76 ERA), has had a good outing in each of his last seven starts. He has only allowed four runs over the past three appearances. In a 7-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, Taillon held them to just two runs and three hit in 6 1/3 innings. It was the sixth time in a row that he has struck out four batters or less. It was the eighth time in this season that he allowed four or fewer hits. Craig Counsell, the manager of the team, said that his biggest strength was being an elite striker. "He's always at the top of the league in terms of walk rates." Taillon made four career starts for Detroit. He has a 1-2 record with a 7.45 ERA. Keider Montero will likely be the Tigers' bulk reliever on Saturday, after Tyler Holton (2-2 ERA 4.13) is the opener. Montero's (2-1, 4.02 ERA) early in the season was used to fill in for a spot starter or as a six-man starting rotation. Due to injuries, he is the current No. Reese Olson, Jackson Jobe and other players are injured. Montero has not allowed a single run over his last two starts. His latest outing, however, was an adventure. He allowed seven hits and one walk in four 2/3 innings against Kansas City, but made crucial pitches when runners were on base. Montero, through Carlos Guillen as interpreter, said: "I am proud of what we achieved (Sunday)." He was much more clean in his last home appearance on May 26, as he only allowed the San Francisco Giants one hit over five innings. Montero did not face the Cubs in his two seasons of major league baseball. Holton has a 1-0 career record (one start) in three games against the Cubs. He's thrown four innings of scoreless and hitless baseball. The Tigers won the first game of the series in a thrilling thriller on Friday night. Tarik Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young Award recipient, pitched 7 2/3 inning despite eight hits and a 3-1 win. Detroit's Kerry Carpenter, who is not known for his defensive skills, stole Seiya Suzuki's extra-base hit by leaping at the fence in right field after Will Vest replaced Skubal. Jahmai Jones' solo homer in the bottom of inning gave Detroit a boost. Jones, who was promoted from Triple-A Toledo the previous day, was making his Tigers debut as well as his first appearance in the majors of the year. A.J. Hinch, Detroit's manager, said: "He is a great hitter and makes excellent decisions." Hinch said. "He has a good deal of thump and athleticism. He also has some speed. And he's perfect for the role we want to play him." He can be a great player off the bench, and he may even get a few starts. Counsell does not want to emphasize the fact that the Cubs will be facing the team in the AL with the best record. He said, "It is a series that will be held in June." There will be many people in attendance this weekend. It's a lot of fun for the players. It's fun for them. It's an interesting challenge to face a strong team. It's a challenge against a good team. "But other than that it's only three games." Field Level Media
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AFR reports that Rio Tinto is in talks to bailout an Australian aluminium smelter.
The Australian Financial Review reported that Rio Tinto, a global miner, is in discussions with the Australian federal and state government about a multi-billion dollar bailout of its struggling Tomago aluminum smelter located in New South Wales. Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper reported late Friday that discussions centered on a smelter’s electricity contract from 2026-2029, and federal production tax credit. Rio, the New South Wales Premier Chris Minns' office and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's office did not respond immediately to requests for comments on the report. According to the report, the future of the facility owned by Rio has been uncertain in recent months, due to rising energy costs. Rio, the largest iron ore producer in the world, announced that it would make a decision on the future of the smelter by the middle of the year. This facility, located about 125 km north of the state capital Sydney, uses approximately 10% of New South Wales power to produce 590 000 tonnes of aluminum per year. It is also owned by CSR, Hydro Aluminium and Rio. The centre-left Australian government pledged A$2billion in production credits in January to support the country's aluminium smelters including the Tomago plant to switch to renewable energy before 2036.
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Rex’s Akrake Set for July Drilling Ops off West Africa
Akrake Petroleum, Rex International's indirect subsidiary, has completed the development plan for the Seme field offshore Benin, with the drilling operations scheduled to begin in early July 2025 using Borr Drilling’s jack-up rig.Akrake holds a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the government of Benin for the offshore Block 1 exploration license, which also includes the Sèmè Field.As art of the work-program for Block 1 under the PSA, Akrake is working on the redevelopment of the Sèmè Field.This is a phased development, the first of which will be to bring the field into production, while gathering more data on the subsurface, in order to optimize further development of the field, including heretofore untapped deeper reservoir sections.To this end, the reprocessing of 2007 3D seismic data has been completed, and a detailed field development plan has been finalised.Offshore operations have started, with an ongoing site-survey over the intended drilling and production location.In April 2025, Rex's Lime Petroleum, which owns Akrake Petroleum, signed a contract for Borr Drilling’s Gerd jack-up rig, to be used for an anticipated 120-day drilling campaign in Benin.The rig is scheduled to arrive in Benin later in June 2025, with drilling to begin in early July 2025.Borr Drilling’s Rig Up for 120-Day Drilling Campaign off West AfricaOver the ensuing 100 days, three well-bores will be drilled. The first will be an appraisal well designed to gather new data on deeper reservoir units.Following this, two horizontal production wells will be drilled and completed in the H6 reservoir, in which subsurface analysis has suggested significant remaining reserves, even though there has been previous production.Drilling is expected to be completed in early October 2025, at which time a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) will arrive, along with a Floating Storage and Offloading unit (FSO).The MOPU will be hooked to the newly-drilled wells, and production is expected to start in October 2025 at production rates of approximately 16,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).Contracts have been signed for both the MOPU and FSO, and the MOPU is currently in a yard in Dubai for refurbishment, before heading to Benin in the middle of September 2025.Rex’s Akrake Signs Deal for Production Vessels at Seme Field off BeninAkrake is the operator of the Sèmè Field in Benin, and holds approximately 76% working interest, with the remainder of the working interest held by the government of Benin (15%) and Octogone Trading (9%).
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Indonesia anticipates concluding free trade negotiations with EU by the end of June
Indonesia announced on Saturday that the free trade talks with the European Union which have lasted for nine years are expected to be completed by the end June. Airlangga hartarto, chief economic minister of Southeast Asia's largest economy, met EU Commissioner for Trade Maros Séfcovic on Friday in Brussels. Airlangga Hartarto stated in a press release that "Indonesia has agreed to resolve outstanding issues, and we are prepared to announce the conclusion of substantial negotiation by the end June 2025." He didn't disclose any details about the agreements that may have been made. A request for comment from the EU representatives in Jakarta was not responded to. In terms of total trade, the EU was Indonesia's fifth largest trading partner in 2013. The two countries exchanged $30.1 billion worth of goods and services last year. Airlangga reported that Indonesia had a trade surplus of $4.5 billion. Indonesia and the EU had previously disagreed over the EU's rules on trade for products that could be linked to deforestation, which would affect Indonesian palm oils, as well Jakarta's bans on exports raw minerals. Indonesian officials are motivated to speed up talks on free-trade agreements. They want to diversify their country's export destination as they face the challenges of U.S. Tariffs. In an effort to reduce the U.S.'s trade deficits around the world, President Donald Trump of the United States announced "reciprocal tariffs" that were halted until July. Indonesia faces a tariff rate of 32%. (Reporting and editing by Edwina G. Gibbs; Gayatri S. Suroyo)
How can Trump bring peace to Ukraine?
Donald Trump said that he would be meeting with the presidents from Russia and Ukraine to discuss stopping the "bloodbath" in Ukraine. What are the obstacles that the U.S. President faces when he is trying to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia and Ukraine?
SECURITY GUARANTEE
Ukraine, which has been subjected to a full scale invasion in 2022, and witnessed Russia annex Crimea, needs security guarantees from major powers, primarily the United States.
Sources involved in the talks say that the problem is that a security agreement without teeth could leave Ukraine vulnerable. Diplomats talked about a "robust" security guarantee, including a possible Article 5-like agreement. The NATO article 5 treaty binds allies together to defend one another in the event of a military attack. Ukraine is not part of the alliance. According to a draft of a failed 2022 agreement, permanent neutrality was proposed for Ukraine as recompense for security guarantees by the five permanent members on the U.N. Security Council, Britain, China France, Russia, the United States and other nations such as Belarus, Canada Germany Israel Poland and Turkey. In their first high level talks since then in Istanbul, on 16 May, Russian negotiators reaffirmed their demand for neutrality in Ukraine. The Kremlin has said that the content of these talks should remain private.
The officials in Kyiv have said that they will not accept neutrality for Ukraine.
NATO AND NEUTRALITY
Russia has said repeatedly that a possible NATO membership by Kyiv is unacceptable, and that Ukraine should be neutral with no foreign bases. Zelenskiy said that it was not up to Moscow to decide Ukraine’s alliances.
NATO leaders in Bucharest agreed to admit Ukraine and Georgia as members one day at the Bucharest Summit of 2008. In 2019, Ukraine amended its constitution to commit to full membership in NATO and the European Union.
U.S. ambassador General Keith Kellogg said that NATO membership for Ukraine was "off the table". Trump said that the U.S.'s past support of Ukraine's NATO membership was a major cause of war.
Ukraine and Russia will discuss permanent neutrality in 2022. According to a draft of an agreement, Russia wants limits placed on the Ukrainian military. Ukraine is opposed to any restrictions on the size or capabilities of its military.
Russia has stated that it does not object to Ukraine's EU membership bid, although some members of the EU could oppose Kyiv’s bid.
Territorial
Moscow claims to control about a fifth (or a fifth) of Ukraine, and that the territory now belongs formally to Russia. This is a position that most countries don't accept.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea. According to Russian estimates, Russian forces control nearly all of Luhansk and more than 70% Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Russia controls a small part of Kharkiv.
Putin's most comprehensive public peace proposals, which he outlined in June 2020, stated that Ukraine would be required to withdraw from all of these regions, including areas currently not under Russian control. The Ukrainian source claimed that his negotiators reiterated these demands at the Istanbul talks on May 16, according to the Ukrainian source.
Alexander Kots is a war reporter for the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. According to Kots' report, the negotiators told their Ukrainian counterparts to give up all claims on the four regions, including Crimea. According to a draft plan created by the Trump Administration, the U.S. will de jure recognize Russian control over Crimea and de facto acknowledge Russian control over Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and other parts.
Ukraine would gain territory in Kharkiv Region, and the U.S. will control and administrate Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant which is currently under Russian control.
Kyiv has said that legally recognizing Russian sovereignty over the occupied areas would be illegal and violate Ukraine's Constitution. However, territorial issues could be discussed in talks after a ceasefire.
In an interview with Breitbart published on May 12, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said: "The main issues are the regions and the nuclear plant. It's also how the Ukrainians can use the Dnieper River to get to the ocean."
Sanctions
Russia is in favor of Western sanctions being lifted, but is skeptical that this will happen soon. Even if US sanctions were lifted, EU sanctions and other Western sanctions such as those imposed in Australia, Britain and Canada could continue for many years. Ukraine wants sanctions to stay in place. The U.S. government has been reported to be looking at ways to ease sanctions against Russia's energy industry as part of an overall plan that would allow Washington to provide immediate relief in the event Moscow agreed to end the Ukraine conflict.
OIL AND GAS Trump suggested that Putin, the leader of the world's 2nd largest oil exporter following the recent drop in oil price, may be more inclined towards resolving the Ukraine war, though the Kremlin stated that national interests always trump oil pricing.
Some diplomats speculate that the U.S. and Russia are looking for lower oil prices in a larger grand bargain that includes issues ranging from the Middle East to Ukraine. Reports from Washington and Moscow earlier this month indicated that the U.S. was interested in helping Russia to increase its gas sales into Europe.
CEASEFIRE
Before talks can begin, European powers and Ukraine want Russia to agree to a truce. But Moscow insists that a truce will only be effective once the verification issues have been resolved. Kyiv claims that Moscow is trying to buy time. Trump claims that this is possible, despite Kremlin's denials.
RECONSTRUCTION UKRAINE
European powers are looking to Kyiv to provide assistance with the reconstruction of Ukraine, which will cost hundreds and billions of dollars.
According to Kots the war correspondent in Istanbul, Russia's negotiators said that they wanted both parties to agree to not demand any reparations or to present bills for war damages.
RUSSIAN SPEAKERS
Kots reported that the Russian negotiators at the Istanbul summit said they wanted Ukraine to accept European standards for minorities in order to protect Russian-speaking and ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. Kots said that they demanded Kyiv stop what Moscow called "nationalist propaganda". Ukraine denies Russian accusations that it persecutes Russian-speaking speakers. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn and Philippe Fletcher. Editing by Gareth Jones & Philippe Fletcher.
(source: Reuters)