Russia doesn’t want peace, says EU foreign chief, as Trump and Putin plan to discuss land
Summary
Donald Trump says he and Vladimir Putin will discuss "land", "power plants" and "dividing up certain assets" when they hold Ukraine peace talks on Tuesday
Moscow confirms a call between the US and Russian leaders is being planned but would not be drawn on what they would discuss
Sarah Rainsford analysis: US officials are trying to sound positive about doing a ceasefire deal - but the tone from Moscow is sounding extremely bullish
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says Russia doesn't really want peace, as talks about Ukraine take place in Brussels
Overnight, Ukrainian and Russian drone attacks continued and Ukraine says Russia is still trying to invade the Sumy region of northern Ukraine
Sumy is close to the Kursk region of Russia that Russian forces are retaking - our correspondent Jonathan Beale spoke to Ukrainian troops about their "catastrophic" withdrawal
Japan to deploy long-range missiles able to hit North Korea and China
Planned missiles on Kyushu said to be part of ‘counterstrike capabilities’, as fears grow over US security pact
Mon 17 Mar 2025 11.26 GMT
Japan is planning to deploy long-range missiles on its southern island of Kyushu amid concerns around the Trump administration’s stance towards its security pacts and continuing regional tensions.
The missiles, with a range of about 1,000km, would be capable of hitting targets in North Korea and China’s coastal regions, and are due to be deployed next year in two bases with existing missile garrisons. They would bolster the defences of the strategically important Okinawa island chain and are part of Japan’s development of “counterstrike capabilities” in the event it is attacked, according to reports from Kyodo News agency, citing government sources.
Belgium, Rwanda expel diplomats over DR Congo conflict
Rwanda has accused Belgium of repeatedly undermining Rwanda over the M23 offensive in Congo.
Belgium and Rwanda are expelling each other's diplomats in tit-for-tat moves as part of an escalating dispute over the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwanda announced on Monday that it had severed diplomatic ties with Belgium, giving Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.
Belgium's foreign affairs minister, Maxime Prevot, described the move as "disproportionate," adding that Brussels would declare Rwandan diplomats persona non grata.
Pacific deep-sea mining interests reveal rare species, and a scramble to name them
As deep-sea mining interests in the Pacific Ocean grow, scientists have discovered several rare and as yet unnamed aquatic species. Campaigners warn that mining in the waters between Hawaii and Mexico will endanger the biodiversity in one of the Earth's largest and least understood environments.
In the cold, lightless Pacific Ocean deep, the seabed is scattered with metal-rich rocks coveted by miners -- and huge numbers of strange and rare animals almost entirely unknown to science.
Researchers are scrambling to name thousands of these newly discovered species.
The mining industry is pushing regulators to finalise rules that could open the way for extraction in parts of the vast Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), stretching between Hawaii and Mexico.
Colossal facelift in Shinjuku to replace Showa Era landmarks
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 17, 2025 at 07:00 JST
The bustling Shinjuku commercial and entertainment district in Tokyo is on the verge of undergoing a major facelift on a number of fronts.
Regulations will be eased to facilitate the replacement of buildings on Shinjuku Station’s east side, which is home to an Isetan department store and the Shinjuku Alta shopping complex.
Projects are also under way to replace the Odakyu and Keio department stores with skyscrapers on the west side of the station, where the structure is so complicated that it has been called “Shinjuku Dungeon” for its resemblance to a labyrinth in a video game.
Swallowed by the sea, Pakistan’s Indus delta now threatened by canals
On a sunny afternoon at Dando Jetty, a small fishing village in Pakistan’s sprawling Indus Delta, a boat is being unloaded and another is about to leave for the Arabian Sea.
The melodious voice of Sindhi folk singer Fouzia Soomro rises from a loudspeaker playing on a nearby parked boat.
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