Ukraine's Marchenko says progress on critical minerals deal with US, no deal this week
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said on Thursday that Kyiv and Washington have made progress on the minerals deal, but no agreement would be finalized this week.
The two sides signed a memorandum a week ago as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump that has proven elusive.
'There was progress and now our teams are working very closely together,' he said after an event hosted by the Ukrainian embassy. "There are still some questions which we are discussing,' he said, without providing any details.
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Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
Australia target easier path to World Cup ahead of Japan clash
SYDNEY, June 4 (Reuters) - Australia's Milos Degenek said he has been impressing on younger teammates how tough it is to get to the World Cup through intercontinental playoffs as they prepare for their last two matches in the third round of Asian qualifying. A first win over Japan in 16 years in Perth on Thursday would put Australia well on their way to the finals in North America in 2026, but will not get them over the line if Saudi Arabia beat Bahrain in a later match. The Socceroos have a three-point edge and a healthy goal difference advantage over the Saudis, their main rivals for second place in Group C and their opponents in their final qualifier in Jeddah next Tuesday. The expansion of the World Cup means Australia still have room for error but Degenek, a veteran of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns that were secured by playoff wins over Honduras and Peru, is loathe to take any chances. "It's never easy when you go to those knockout games (and) it's a lot easier if you qualify through the group stage directly," the former Red Star Belgrade defender told reporters in Perth this week. "It's been hammered home and I think the boys ... are well aware of the situation, that there are two games that are separating us from going to a World Cup." If Australia do beat the Samurai Blue on Thursday, they still face a long wait to find out if they have secured a berth at a sixth straight World Cup finals. The Saudis kick off in Bahrain some five hours after Australia and Japan, potentially leaving the Socceroos players on tenterhooks well into the early hours of Friday morning. "If we do get the win, hopefully we will, we are obviously almost there," Degenek added. "The most important thing is that we win. We can obviously be happy inside and celebrate a little bit, but nothing too major because if Saudi win against Bahrain ... we'll still have to go there and get a result." With Japan already qualified, Hajime Moriyasu has rested several of his best players and brought in a handful of uncapped youngsters for Thursday's game. Degenek, who played club football in Japan for Yokohama F. Marinos, did not think that would make Australia's task any easier. "I think it's even harder for us that those so-called stars are out, because the boys that are coming in ... are going to want to prove to the boss that they should be there at the World Cup," he said. "So it's not going to be a walk in the park, and they're going to take this as serious, if not more serious, than any other game."
Sky News
22 minutes ago
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Got a Ukraine war question? Send it to Michael Clarke here
06:05:48 Send in your Ukraine war questions It's Wednesday, which means our security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke is back to answer your questions on the Ukraine war in his weekly Q&A. Hundreds of you have already sent in your questions after a very significant few days on the battlefield in the three-year conflict. Ukraine has pulled off three daring attacks - on two bridges and Russia's bomber fleet over the weekend and on the key Kerch Bridge linking Russia to Crimea yesterday - and the world is waiting to see how Vladimir Putin responds. Watch: Ukraine strikes Russian bombers Watch: Kerch Bridge explosion And there are reports Moscow is launching a summer offensive as peace talks make little sign of progress. Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met for a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, agreeing only to another prisoner swap and exchanging terms for a full ceasefire, which still appears a long way off. And all the while, the usually vocal Donald Trump has remained quiet. So what does it all mean? Michael is here at midday to help make sense of it. Submit your questions to join in - and you'll be able to watch the Q&A live on this page.
NBC News
27 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trump ratchets up steel tariffs to 50%
One of America's most storied industries is getting a massive boost from President Donald Trump's latest tariffs push — at the potential cost of a broader slowdown elsewhere in the U.S. economy. Trump signed an executive order increasing the already substantial 25% duties on steel imports he first set in March to 50%. He signaled last week that the tariff rate hike was coming. It went into effect at midnight Wednesday. 'We're going to bring it from 25% to 50% — the tariffs on steel into the United States of America,' Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania, 'which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States.' The new 50% duties also affect aluminum products. The tariffs on steel, along with those on imported automobiles and auto parts, have been imposed under authorities not affected by recent court decisions that cast doubt on the president's powers to enact trade barriers. U.S. steel firms have hailed Trump's renewed push to raise the cost to American firms that rely on imports of steel. It's a notably favorable reaction to tariffs amid what has broadly been a backlash against them. "American-made steel is at the heart of President Trump's plan to revitalize domestic manufacturing and return our country to an economic powerhouse," the Steel Manufacturers Association said in a statement that applauded Trump's remarks about the new 50% tariffs. Investors have rewarded the steel firms accordingly, sending shares of U.S. steelmakers soaring across the board Monday as U.S. steel and aluminum prices jumped. Today, the steel manufacturing industry directly employs 86,000 U.S. workers. It's a fraction of the half million-strong workforce the industry counted in the decade after World War II, though employment levels have stabilized more recently. While trade globalization bears substantial responsibility for steel's decadeslong downturn, experts say advances in technology have played an equally significant role. Steel production increasingly revolves around so-called electric arc furnace technology, a more efficient means of production than the classic open blast furnace operations that prevailed for much of the 20th century. The same levels of output from steel's heydays can now be achieved with just a fraction of the workforce. As recently as the early 1980s, it took about 10 man-hours to produce a ton of steel. Today, the rate is as little as a single man-hour assuming multiple steel mills are working in tandem. "The way we make steel in the U.S. has changed a lot," said an expert on the local impact of industrial transitions, Ken Kolb, chair of the sociology department at Furman University in South Carolina. "There is simply no way to bring that scale of employment back if a fraction of that workforce is needed to essentially reach the same production levels," Kolb said. He estimated that perhaps 15,000 new direct jobs could be added assuming capacity levels increase. But the broader cost to industries dependent on steel inputs, like autos, construction and solar panels — which relies on tariffed aluminum components — would be likely to negate those gains. "Theoretically you're going to be able to hire some people, but in reality, the tariffs just raise the average price of steel," Kolb said. "And when the price of a commodity like that goes up, businesses just buy less and sideline investment." A study found that while Trump's 2018 steel tariffs created 1,000 new direct jobs, it cost downstream industries that rely on steel to make their products as many as 75,000 jobs because they became less competitive thanks to higher costs. While some limited capacity could come back online in the near term, the on-again, off-again nature of the tariffs limit any immediate job gains, said Josh Spoores, head of Steel Americas Analysis at the CRU Group consultancy. If the higher tariffs remain, there could be new investments, Spoores said in an email — but building new steel mills can take at least two years. Nor is it clear that American steelworkers themselves are entirely in favor of the tariffs. The United Steelworkers union signaled only tepid endorsement for the measure in a statement after its Canadian chapter rebuked Trump's announcement. 'While tariffs, used strategically, serve as a valuable tool in balancing the scales, it's essential that we also pursue wider reforms of our global trading system, working in collaboration with trusted allies like Canada to contain the bad actors and excess capacity that continue to undermine our industries,' the union said. The union has also shown signs of a split when it comes to Trump's proposed "partnership" between U.S. Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel, whose takeover of the U.S. firm he previously opposed. Trump now sees the deal "creating" as many as 70,000 jobs. 'There's a lot of money coming your way,' Trump told supporters at the Pennsylvania rally Friday. The United Steelworkers signaled lingering doubts about the Nippon arrangement in a statement Friday. 'We have not participated in the discussions involving U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel, and the Trump administration, nor were we consulted, so we cannot speculate about the meaning of the 'planned partnership' between USS and Nippon," it said, using an initialism to refer to the American firm. It continued: 'Whatever the deal structure, our primary concern remains with the impact that this merger of U.S. Steel into a foreign competitor will have on national security, our members and the communities where we live and work."
