Saturday, February 22, 2025

Six In The Morning Saturday 22 February 2025

 

Tears and hugs as freed hostages reunite with families, ahead of Palestinian prisoner release

Hostage Hisham al-Sayed accompanied to hospital by family - IDF

More now on hostage Hisham al-Sayed, who was released earlier today by Hamas during a private handover after being held in captivity since 2015.

The IDF says in a post on X , externalthat he's "now taking off" in a helicopter and is being accompanied to hospital by his family.

It adds that he will "meet the rest of his family" there and will receive medical treatment.



‘It’s blackmail’: Ukrainians react to Trump demand for $500bn share of minerals



 in Liodiane, pictures by Julia Kochetova
Sat 22 Feb 2025 12.08 GMT

Ukraine’s lithium deposits are among biggest in Europe and the US is looking for ‘payback’ for previous military assistance

Drawing in the snow with his finger, Mykola Hrechukha sketched out how Ukraine’s new lithium mine might look. It would have a deep central shaft, with a series of side tunnels, he said. “The lithium is good everywhere. The biggest concentration is at a depth of 200-500 metres,” he said. “We should be able to extract 4,300 tonnes a day. The potential is terrific.”

For now, though, there is little sign of activity. The deposit is buried under a large sloping field, used in communist times to grow beetroot and wheat. The mine’s proposed entrance is in an abandoned former-Soviet village, Liodiane, today a scruffy grove of acacia and maple trees. The only inhabitant is a security guard, who lives on the 150-hectare site in an ancient Gaz-53 truck. Wild boar and even a wolf sometimes wander past.


Cook Islands announces deep sea minerals deal with China

The Cook Islands has announced five-year agreement with China for the exploration of seabed minerals. New Zealand has urged the self-governing nation to keep to its "free association" relationship with Wellington.

The government of the Cook Islands said on Saturday that it had struck a five-year agreement with China to explore deep-sea minerals.

The deal has raised eyebrows in nearby New Zealand.

The Cook Islands is a self-governing archipelago in the Pacific that maintains very close ties to New Zealand under a free association agreement. Cook Islands nationals have the right to become citizens of New Zealand.

UN Security Council demands Rwanda withdraw troops from eastern DR Congo


The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution calling Rwanda to end its support for the M23 rebel group and withdraw troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The U.N. resolution "strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 in North Kivu and South Kivu with the support of Rwanda Defence Forces" and demands that M23 immediately stop its hostilities and withdraw.

Congo says Rwanda has used the M23 as a proxy to loot its minerals such as gold and coltan, used in smartphones and computers. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on a Rwandan minister and a senior rebel for their alleged role in the conflict.

Why a news site in Ireland has been drawn into JD Vance’s attacks on Europe


After the US vice president’s broadside, a conservative media outlet is accusing police of attacking media freedom.


A conservative media outlet in Ireland has become the latest lightning rod for populist concerns about free speech that have exposed stark divisions between Europe and the United States in the era of President Donald Trump.

Gript, a news site known for its conservative stances on culture war issues such as mass immigration and political correctness, announced this week that Irish police last year obtained a court order to access private messages and IP addresses associated with its X account.


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