Ukraine, US Sign Additional Documents on Implementing Minerals Deal
Ukraine and the US have signed additional agreements concerning a natural resources deal, a key demand of US President Donald Trump which is crucial for sustaining military aid for Kyiv.
The move brings both countries closer to finalizing a major profit-sharing deal aimed at securing US investment opportunities in Ukraine.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
24 minutes ago
- Politico
Wanted: One NASA administrator
Presented by WELCOME TO POLITICO PRO SPACE. Thanks to everyone who read our inaugural issue. The excitement continues this week with speculation on the next NASA administrator, Congressional Golden Dome talk, and a Florida push to snag NASA HQ. Who do you think the next NASA chief should be? Email me at sskove@ with tips, pitches and feedback, and find me on X at @samuelskove. And remember, we're offering this newsletter for free over the next few weeks. After that, it will be available only to POLITICO Pro subscribers. Read all about it here. The Spotlight Now that Donald Trump has pushed NASA administrator nominee Jared Isaacman through the airlock, the search is on to find the space agency's next boss. We spoke to 12 insiders and analysts about who could get the nod. The conclusion? They'll probably be retired military. Starship Troopers: At least three former two- and three-star generals with space ties could be in the mix, according to four industry officials, who like others were granted anonymity to discuss internal discussions. These include retired Space Force Maj. Gen. John Olson, Lt. Gen. John Shaw, and Air Force Lt. Gen. Steve Kwast. Olson served in the Space Force and in NASA. Shaw retired as deputy commander of Space Command in 2023. Kwast last served in the Air Force, but supporters pushed for him to lead the Space Force. (Notice a theme?) The industry buzz follows Trump's decision two weeks ago to rescind the nomination amid a feud between SpaceX founder and Isaacman ally Elon Musk. The president then made the head-turning announcement that Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine would weigh in on the search for the next administrator for NASA — an agency that is not part of the military. Starfleet: Retired service members rarely lead the civilian agency, whose employees are known more for studying the stars than working with weapons. It has some people worried. Other potential names floating in the stratosphere include NASA's Kevin Coggins and astronaut Mike Hopkins. Coggins is a former military official who serves as head of NASA's Space Communications and Navigation program. Hopkins is a former NASA astronaut who joined the Space Force — from space — and was the first astronaut for the U.S.'s newest military service. Former Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), who served on the House science subcommittee on space before Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.) unseated him this year, is yet another name circulating. Under Pressure: Both industry and lawmakers are eager to fill the role amid the White House's proposed budget cuts to NASA, competition with China to return to the moon, and Trump's plans to land astronauts on Mars. 'I had thought we would have [an administrator] by now,' Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees NASA, told my colleague Joe this week. 'I don't know what their timing is, but I hope that the White House moves swiftly.' Some senators were even willing to swallow their concerns about Isaacman, a billionaire who had no experience in government, to speed up the process. 'In this landscape of getting back [to the moon] quickly, usurping China, I was ready to give a technology entrepreneur a chance,' Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce committee, told Joe. Twilight Zone: But industry officials were not aware of any candidates the White House had spoken with yet, a sign that no one has emerged as a frontrunner. A White House spokesperson declined to comment. The physics of the nomination process is also working against the space industry, thanks to a nomination backlog. Isaacman, who Trump tapped early relative to past NASA administrators, took six months to even get on the roster for a Senate vote. And we all know how that turned out. Galactic Government THE NASA HQ RACE TRAILS ALONG: States have spent months duking out who will snag NASA's headquarters once its Washington lease expires in 2028. Florida has just upped the ante. Much of the Florida congressional delegation sent a letter this week to Trump urging him to consider moving NASA headquarters to Florida's Space Coast. It looks remarkably like a letter sent in April by Texas Republicans making a similar plea to relocate NASA to Houston, aka the 'Space City.' All in? But only two of Florida's eight Democratic representatives stamped their approval. None of Texas' 12 Democrats did. 'Both states could rally their delegations if it was important,' an industry official said. Military GOLDEN GANG: The Trump administration may not know how it will build the president's 'Golden Dome' defense shield, but that hasn't stopped lawmakers from creating a caucus for it. Reps. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.) and Dale Strong (R-Ala.) launched the House Golden Dome caucus this week to complement its counterpart in the Senate, created in May by Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.). The highly nebulous plan involves placing interceptors in space to shoot down enemy missiles, a scheme that could cost more than $500 billion. Crank, a first time lawmaker, represents Colorado Springs, home of Space Command. Strong represents Huntsville, a space hub and possible future home of Space Command — over the opposition of his colleague. What Next: Trump announced in May that he had selected a design for the multi-layered system and tapped Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to lead development. But senators from both parties have said the plan is opaque, and the Pentagon canceled a major conference with industry on its plans just two weeks before the meetings were set to take place. The Reading Room House appropriators call for new Space Force acquisition pilot: Breaking Defense How Private Space Drives Space Force's Intel Delivery: Payload Space Force's first next-gen missile warning launch pushed to 2026: Defense News Voyager raises $383 million from upsized IPO: SpaceNews Event Horizon MONDAY: The Washington Space Business Roundtable holds a discussion on 2025 priorities for the FCC's Space Bureau. The Paris Air Show starts Monday and runs through Sunday. TUESDAY: The Lunar and Planetary Institute holds a virtual and in-person discussion of NASA's Europa Clipper mission. WEDNESDAY: The National Security Space Association hosts a classified forum on the Space Force's strategic plans. The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the Defense Department's 2026 budget request. Photo of the Week
CNN
25 minutes ago
- CNN
On his 79th birthday, President Trump is getting a military parade – and millions of expected protestors
As a military-style parade rolls through Washington, DC, on Saturday – President Donald Trump's birthday – millions are expected to take to the streets to form what organizers believe will be the strongest display of opposition to the administration since the president took office in January. More than 1,800 protests across all 50 states are planned through the No Kings movement, which organizers say seeks to reject 'authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.' The mobilization was planned as a direct response to Trump's military parade in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the US Army – which coincides with his 79th birthday. In recent days, all eyes have been on Los Angeles, where Trump has deployed the National Guard and Marines in response to massive protests decrying immigration sweeps – an extraordinary move that protest organizers say has only served to mobilize participants to speak out against authoritarianism. Prev Next Demonstrators have since been protesting immigration action in cities across the nation, including New York, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Las Vegas and Washington, DC, while the administration has doubled down on its display of military force against its own citizens. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has suggested that the order used to federalize the National Guard to Los Angeles could make way for a similar response to protests in other states. And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the state's National Guard this week ahead of planned protests, including a 'No Kings' event in San Antonio on Saturday. Missouri's governor, Mike Kehoe, also activated the state's National Guard on Thursday 'as a precautionary measure in reaction to recent instances of civil unrest across the country.' 'We respect, and will defend, the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate violence or lawlessness in our state,' the Republican governor said in a statement. Following the Hands Off! and 50501 protests this Spring, Saturday's demonstrations won't be the first nationwide rejection of Trump's policies – but organizers expect it to be the largest. 'Even conservative estimates say that 3.5 million people turned out for the Hands Off mobilization in April. That's already 1% of the population of the US,' Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, the organization backing the No Kings movement, told CNN in a statement. 'No Kings is on track to exceed that by millions more. This is historic.' Officials have estimated Saturday's parade, which will flaunt 7 million pounds of machines and weaponry through Washington, DC, on the president's birthday, could cost up to $45 million. Protest organizers are keeping the planned rallies out of the Capitol, hoping to pull focus away from the spectacle. Instead, a flagship rally is being held in Philadelphia Saturday, as No Kings events are planned to kick off in every state of the nation – some with dozens of local events planned. More than 200 protest events are planned in California, and organizers are expecting especially big turnouts in Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte and Chicago, according to the No Kings website. There are also a number of protests planned across the nation through other groups, meaning the turnout against the Trump administration could be even larger than projected. On Wednesday evening, No Kings organizers spoke to more than 4,000 people on a Zoom call – many of them local hosts for Saturday's protests – preparing them for the intense weekend ahead. 'If you show up on site, and you feel completely overwhelmed by the numbers – first of all, congratulations,' one organizer said. The leaders offered advice for the hosts and those serving as 'marshals' for the events, people specially designated to help address safety concerns and keep the peace on Saturday. Attendees role-played scenarios with hypothetical characters – a participant frustrated that not enough action is being taken to get out the group's message, a right-wing protestor there to harass attendees – emphasizing safety and non-violence. They offered some basic tips for Saturday: deescalate, empathize, listen, never touch a cop. With the political temperature rising in response to immigration sweeps and the use of the National Guard to reign in demonstrations, many of the nation's cities are already seeing protest activity ahead of Saturday. Meanwhile, local and state authorities have been doing their own prep work. Multiple local officials are warning that violence by protest participants this weekend will not be tolerated. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who characterized the expected protesters as 'radical anti-American groups,' warned that those who attack law enforcement or destroy property will be prosecuted. Other leaders have been more welcoming to protests. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, has said his city will protect people's right to assemble, while ensuring residents' day-to-day lives aren't disrupted. 'The right to protest peacefully is central to our democracy, and the NYPD is committed to ensuring that people can always exercise that right safely,' New York City's Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X this week, as people in the city took to the streets to protest the Trump administration's immigration action. Protest organizers say they have been in touch with local officials ahead of Saturday's events, in an effort to make sure the gatherings run safely and smoothly. The aim, they emphasize, is not violence, but rather to send a clear message to the president on his birthday: 'In America, we don't do kings.' CNN's Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Avoid escalation': World reacts to Israel strike on Iran
World leaders urged restraint on Friday after Israel pounded Iran, striking 100 targets including nuclear and military sites, and killing senior figures, including nuclear scientists and the armed forces chief of staff. Here is a roundup of key reactions: - 'Cannot have nuclear bomb': United States - US President Donald Trump, told Fox News he was aware Israel was going to conduct strikes on Iran before it happened and said: "Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see." Fox News also reported that "Trump noted the US is ready to defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates." - 'Maximum restraint': UN - UN chief Antonio Guterres asked "both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford," according to a spokesperson. Guterres was "particularly concerned" by Israel's strikes on nuclear installations amid the ongoing US-Iran negotiations. - 'Deeply worried' : China - "The Chinese side... is deeply worried about the severe consequences that such actions might bring," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, calling "on relevant parties to take actions that promote regional peace and stability and to avoid further escalation of tensions". - 'Reasonable reaction': Czech Republic - Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said Iran "is supporting so many players, including the Hezbollah and Hamas movements, with the intention to destroy the state of Israel, and also seeking a nuclear bomb", that "I see that this was a reasonable reaction from the state of Israel towards a possible threat of a nuclear bomb". - 'Avoid any escalation' : France - "We call on all sides to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation that could undermine regional stability," France's foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. - 'Dangerous escalation': Hamas - "This aggression constitutes a dangerous escalation that threatens to destabilise the region," said the Iran-backed, Palestinian militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. - No 'battleground': Jordan - "Jordan has not and will not allow any violation of its airspace, reaffirming that the Kingdom will not be a battleground for any conflict," a government spokesperson told AFP after Jordan closed its airspace. - 'Dangerous approach' : Oman - Nuclear talks mediator Oman said "calls on the international community to adopt a clear and firm position to put an end to this dangerous approach, which threatens to rule out diplomatic solutions and jeopardise the security and stability of the region". - 'Strong condemnation': Qatar - Gaza mediator Qatar expressed "its strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli attack," the Gulf state's foreign ministry said, adding that the "dangerous escalation threatens security and stability of the region and hinders efforts to de-escalate and reach diplomatic solutions". - 'Aggressive actions': Turkey - "Israel must put an immediate end to its aggressive actions that could lead to further conflicts," Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement. - 'Reduce tensions urgently': UK - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement: "The reports of these strikes are concerning and we urge all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently. Escalation serves no one in the region." - 'Legitimate right to defend itself': Yemen's Huthi rebels - Tehran-backed Huthi rebels said on Telegram they backed "Iran's full and legitimate right to... develop its nuclear programme" and that "we strongly condemn the brutal Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and affirm its full and legitimate right to respond by all possible means". burs-djt/yad
