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Hello, I'm Eileen McHugh with the BBC News.
The United States has signed a deal with Ukraine on the joint exploitation of its energy and mineral resources. The two countries have agreed to establish a reconstruction investment fund to ensure Ukraine's economic recovery. The U.S. treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said it showed that both sides were committed to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine. "Today's agreement signals clearly to Russian leadership that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term. It's time for this cruel and senseless war to end." For Kyiv, the deal is seen as essential to ensure its access to future U.S. military aid. The Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, wrote on X that "In addition to direct financial contributions," the U.S. "may also provide NEW assistance such as air defense systems." The authorities in Odessa say the Ukrainian city has come under sustained Russian attack. The regional head said drones had caused substantial damage to residential buildings and an educational establishment. Drone attacks have also been reported on the northeastern city of Kharkiv. President Trump has asked for more time to turn round the U.S. economy, which has contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter of 2025. Mr. Trump said that figure was misleading because companies had stockpiled imports ahead of his imposition of tariffs. "In the first quarter GDP numbers just out today, core GDP, now we're removing distortions from imports, inventories and government spending was up plus 3 percent. But this is Biden's economy because we took over on January 20 and I think you have to get us a little bit of time." The GDP figures have added to fears of a recession, with consumer spending also down. The U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has urged India and Pakistan to defuse diplomatic tension following an attack by Kashmiri militants on domestic Indian tourists last week. India accuses Pakistan of supporting the militants, something Pakistan denies. In its latest move, India has shut its airspace to Pakistani airlines. Here's our South Asia editor, Anbarasan Ethirajan. The Indian ban on Pakistan Airlines will be in place until the 23rd of May. The latest order came a week after Pakistan banned Indian Airlines from flying over its territory. The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, is under pressure to react to the worst attack on civilians in Kashmir in about two decades. On Tuesday, he told military chiefs that they had the freedom to decide how to act. The Pakistani military has warned that any action will be met with a decisive response. World News from the BBC. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has declared a national emergency as wildfires threaten Jerusalem. Highways into the city are blanketed in smoke and Mr. Netanyahu said the situation could deteriorate because of the strong winds and extreme heat. More than 20 people have been admitted to hospitals suffering from smoke inhalation and burns. A Kenyan member of parliament has been shot dead in the streets of Nairobi in a suspected targeted assassination. Charles Ong'ondo Were was ambushed on Wednesday evening by two gunmen riding on a motorcycle. The MP for a rural area in western Kenya was a member of the Orange Democratic Movement led by the veteran politician, Raila Odinga. A judge in Bolivia has annulled a warrant issued for the arrest of the former president, Evo Morales. He was charged with trafficking offences in October in connection with a 15-year-old girl with whom it's alleged he fathered a child. He denies this and accuses his former ally, the current president, Luis Arce, of hounding him through the courts to try to prevent him returning to power. Mexican scientists say one of the world's most endangered amphibians, the strange, perpetually smiling axolotl, has thrived after being released in an artificial wetland. The study provides hope that the species can be brought back to its native habitat. Here's our science correspondent, Victoria Gill. There are hundreds of thousands of Mexican axolotls in laboratories and home aquariums around the world, studied for their remarkable ability to regrow any lost limb. But in their native wetlands in Xochimilco in Mexico City, the population has been decimated by pollution and invasive species. Now, though, researchers who've bred axolotls in captivity have taken a major step towards bringing them back. The team released a small group at two sites in the city's wetland. They fitted the amphibians with radio trackers so they could follow their progress. All 18 animals have survived. Victoria Gill reporting. BBC News. |