Plus: The new US threat to Vietnam ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. The US and Ukraine say they're ready to sign a long-awaited minerals deal - we'll bring you the latest updates and analysis as we get them. In Vietnam, US President Donald Trump's tariffs mean the South East Asian nation must now pick between two of the world's superpowers - the US and China, a choice that could hit its economy hard. And finally, if you think your reflexes are good, the video below might make you think twice. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | US ready to sign Ukraine minerals deal |
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| | The initial agreement was due to be signed in February but fell apart following a heated exchange between Trump and Zelensky. Credit: Reuters | The US and Ukraine say they're "ready to sign" a minerals deal "today". Both sides have made some "last minute changes", US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, but the agreement remains "the same that we agreed to on the weekend". A draft seen by the BBC outlines the creation of a joint investment fund to prospect for critical minerals in Ukraine - my colleagues have also broken down some of the other key points here. US state department correspondent Tom Bateman writes that Zelensky looks to have "secured a significant concession from the US" on the backdated costs of weapons provided. |
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| Trump praises tariffs after US economy shrinks | The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first quarter of the year as firms stockpiled imports ahead of tariffs, a report suggests. | Latest updates > |
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| South African police officers found dead in river | The three officers had been missing for six days and were found with two others, 43 miles from where they were last seen. | What happened > |
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| US releases detained Columbia student activist | Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who has permanent US residency, was detained by immigration authorities. | Watch as he's released > |
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| Katy Perry 'battered and bruised' by space backlash | The singer reassured fans she is OK after facing criticism for taking part in an all-female space flight earlier this month. | More on the row > |
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| | | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
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| Fifty years after the war, Vietnam faces a new US threat - tariffs | | Vietnam is celebrating 50 years of independence and the end of the war. Credit: BBC/Lulu Luo | Vietnam is a young country in a hurry along its path to prosperity. Its economy is growing at a steady 5% and it has flung its doors wide open to investment. For years it has walked a tightrope between Washington and Beijing, but now President Trump's tariffs mean it's being asked to choose between the two. |
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| | Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, Asia correspondent |
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| | Vietnam's authoritarian Communist leadership has embraced capitalism. They aspire to follow in China's footsteps, and have ploughed money and effort into becoming a reliable manufacturing hub, even an alternative to China. But that is a risky ambition during President Trump's trade war – it's partly why he is threatening a 46% levy against the South East Asian nation. That could shatter the country's economic potential.
But it cannot escape its geography. Nestled beneath China's wide rump, it is once again on the frontline in a new American battle – which hopes to stem Beijing's rise as an economic superpower. |
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| | | An impossible choice: South East Asia's export-driven economies have benefitted from both Chinese and US trade and investment, but that could be about to change, write Asia reporters Koh Ewe and Nick Marsh. | | Xi's 'charm offensive': During a trip to South East Asian nations, China's president met with Vietnamese leaders, which Trump branded a ploy to figure out how to "screw" the US. | | Tariffs retreat?: After meetings with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, his counterparts from the rest of the world are reporting back an assumption that America is edging away from what it cannot acknowledge was overreach, writes economics editor Faisal Islam. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Parks' dark WW2 history | Blasted trees and rubble forests tell a hidden wartime story across Germany. | |
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And finally... on the baseball field | Have you ever slipped in public but tried to style it out? Chances are you didn't do it as smoothly as Toronto Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho. Chasing after a hit from the Boston Red Sox, he tripped but still managed to make this "crazy" catch. | |
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US Politics Unspun newsletter | No noise. No agenda. Just expert analysis of the issues that matter most, from North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher. | |
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