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BBC News with Sue Montgomery.
President Trump has insisted he's putting a lot of pressure on Russia and Ukraine to reach a peace deal. Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said he believed an agreement was close. Gary O'Donoghue reports from Washington. Asked what concessions Russia was prepared to make, Donald Trump said, "stopping the war and stopping taking the whole country" which he called "pretty big concessions." He declined to say what specific pressure he was putting on Vladimir Putin, but the Americans are believed to have tabled a seven-point plan which has already been rejected by President Zelenskyy. It's reported to include the freezing of the front lines at their current positions and the recognition by the U.S. of Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at accelerating deep-sea mining for critical minerals needed to make batteries, computer chips and some weapons. The Trump administration said the move could boost the U.S. economy by $300 billion over 10 years and reduce reliance on China. Critics warn the move could damage undersea ecosystems. A medical team treating the former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, after intestinal surgery says his health condition has deteriorated. Mr. Bolsonaro, who is 70, was stabbed during the 2018 election campaign. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court gave him five days to present his defense against charges that he plotted a military coup against President Lula da Silva. More details from Leonardo Rocha. He was indicted a month ago, it was confirmed exactly a month ago, and they basically are trying to have this trial finished by the end of the year. There are many, many accusations that he staged a military coup to prevent the inauguration of President Lula when President Bolsonaro lost the election. There's many, many people involved and they are trying to do that because next year there are presidential elections in Brazil and the pressure is from the government. And I think the Supreme Court, they don't want to contaminate, that's the way they use the elections with that. Witnesses in Mali say dozens of people were shot dead days after being arrested by soldiers and Russian mercenaries. Survivors said they were accused of collaborating with Islamist militants. Here's Will Ross. One witness said he was interrogated and whipped at a Malian military camp. He said more than 60 people were then taken outside the camp to be executed by white men who were widely reported to be working for the Russian security company, Wagner. Another witness said there were bursts of gunfire and he fell to the ground, but he survived and lay there for several hours. A local NGO said the victims were mostly Fulani herdsmen who are often accused of being linked to the Islamist militants in the Sahel region. World News from the BBC. Israel's military has admitted killing a United Nations worker in Gaza last month, having previously denied responsibility. The Bulgarian national was killed when an Israeli tank shelled a U.N. compound in Deir al-Balah. Emergency workers in Gaza say more than 50 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Thursday. A man originally from Rwanda has been arrested in the United States over his alleged involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Faustin Nsabumukunzi is accused of concealing his role in the violence and making false statements to enter the U.S. as a refugee, then apply for permanent residency and citizenship. Prosecutors allege he oversaw the killing and rape of ethnic Tutsis. Scientists say new evidence has revealed that giant icebergs once floated off the coast of Britain. Researchers have found distinctive scratch marks left behind as their undersides dragged across the floor of the North Sea in the last ice age. Researchers say the findings could provide vital clues in understanding how climate change is affecting Antarctica today. James Kirkham from the British Antarctic Survey says they were the size of some icebergs found off present-day Antarctica. "I was in Antarctica a couple of years ago, back in 2023, on the deck of the ship and in the distance there was a gigantic tabular iceberg in the distance. And so those of us working on this paper were standing all together kind of gazing out onto this iceberg, thinking, Wow, that's probably a similar size iceberg to what was found offshore Scotland 18,000 years ago." Scientists in Hawaii have discovered a rare carnivorous caterpillar that feeds on insects caught in spider webs and decorates its silk case with their remains. The researchers believe the insect uses its prey's remains as camouflage to avoid detection by spiders. BBC News. |