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Chile, the world’s biggest copper producer, said Wednesday it was awaiting an “official” follow-up on US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50 percent tariff on imports of the metal. The South American country is responsible for nearly a quarter of global copper supply, which contributes 10 to 15 percent to its GDP.”The government reacts to these matters with caution, as is appropriate in diplomacy,” President Gabriel Boric told reporters Wednesday. He said he was awaiting “official communication from the United States government regarding the policy” on copper duties, after which “we will be able to respond with the institutional strength that characterizes Chile.”Trump on Tuesday told a cabinet meeting: “I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make it 50 percent.” He did not set a deadline but Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the rate will likely take effect by the end of July or on August 1. China is the leading buyer of Chilean copper.  In 2023, it accounted for 56 percent of exports, followed by the United States with 11 percent and Japan with 8.5 percent, according to the Chilean Copper Commission.  State-owned copper giant Codelco, the world’s single biggest producer of the metal used in wiring, motors and renewable energy generation, also noted there had been no formal communication on the US tariffs.  There is no “executive order from the United States,” said Maximo Pacheco, board chairman of Codelco, which produces between eight and 10 percent of the world’s copper.  Trump’s announcement sent the price of copper to a record high Tuesday. 

Russia pummelled Ukraine early on Wednesday with its largest missile and drone attack in more than three years of war, claiming to have targeted an airfield in a region bordering Poland.The strikes came after US President Donald Trump said he would ramp up arms deliveries to Ukraine and accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of spouting “bullshit” on Ukraine.AFP journalists in Kyiv heard explosions ringing out and drones buzzing over the capital during the barrage after air raid sirens sounded.The latest strike, which regional officials said had killed one civilian in the Khmelnytsky region, beat a previous Russian record of firing 550 drones and missiles at Ukraine set last week.The air force announced that Russia attacked with 728 drones and 13 missiles, specifying that its air defence systems intercepted 711 drones and destroyed seven missiles.”This is a telling attack — and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media.Zelensky, who was visiting Rome and met with Pope Leo XIV, called for Ukraine’s allies to step up sanctions on Russia, particularly on its energy sector — an important revenue stream for the Russian war chest.- Russia advances on front -“Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes,” Zelensky added.Kyiv has repeatedly accused China of supplying parts and technologies central to the Russian drone and missile programme, and urged the West to step up secondary penalties.On Wednesday, Kyiv’s security services announced it had detained two Chinese nationals accused of attempting to smuggle missile technology out of the war-torn country.The air force and regional authorities said that Wednesday’s attack had primarily targeted Lutsk, a town in western Ukraine.The Russian defence ministry said its “long-range” and “precision” strike had targeted military airfield infrastructure claiming that “all designated targets were destroyed”. There was no response to that claim in Kyiv.Russia’s latest record barrage points to a trend of escalating attacks that have piled pressure on Ukraine’s thinly stretched air defence capabilities and exhausted civilian population.”We are adapting to this rhythm of life. Of course, it’s difficult, but what can you do?” Sergiy Skrypka, a student, told AFP in Kyiv.”It’s not easy, but I think it’s hard for everyone now. We’re dealing with it,” the 22-year-old added.A representative of Ukraine’s air force said that new Ukrainian drones had played an important role in thwarting the Russian attack. Another official said that most of the Russian drones launched were decoys.Two rounds of direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since Trump returned to the White House have resulted in an increase in prisoner exchanges but no progress on securing a ceasefire, proposed by the United States and Ukraine.- Civilians burnt alive -The Kremlin has since said that for now it sees no diplomatic path out of the conflict, launched by Moscow in February 2022, and vowed to pursue its war aims — effectively seeking to conquer Ukraine and remove its political leadership.The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was unfazed by Trump’s comments about Putin.”Let’s just say that Trump in general has quite a harsh rhetorical style in terms of the phrases he uses,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.Ukraine has also sought to increase its own attacks on Russia, with Moscow’s defence ministry saying on Wednesday that its air defence units had downed 86 unmanned aerial vehicles, mainly over western regions of the country.The exchange of aerial broadsides came with Russian forces slowly but steadily gaining ground at key sectors of the sprawling front line in eastern Ukraine.The Russian defence ministry announced the capture of another village, Tolstoy, on Wednesday in the eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin has claimed as part of Russia since 2022, despite not fully controlling it.Ukrainian prosecutors in the region said that Russian drone and bombing attacks in two towns in Donetsk killed eight civilians on Wednesday.Officials published images showing the charred remains of two people who burned to death in their car, which officials said was hit by a Russian drone.A one-year-old boy was killed in a separate Russian attack on the village of Pravdyne in the southern Kherson region, local officials announced.

The US government said Wednesday it subpoenaed Harvard University for records linked to students allegedly involved in a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that the Trump administration labeled anti-Semitic.Since being sworn in again in January, President Donald Trump has targeted top US universities over claims they are politically biased towards anti-Jewish hate and “woke” politics.Trump has waged a political and economic campaign against Harvard, stripping it of funds and demanding extensive records linked to foreign students, whom it has repeatedly attempted to block the prestigious university from enrolling and hosting.The administration has characterized widespread campus protests and sit-ins in the United States calling for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza as being “anti-Semitic,” and moved to expel foreign students and professors who took part in them.”After many previous requests to hand over relevant information concerning foreign students, DHS will now send subpoenas forcing Harvard to comply,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that “Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus.”The subpoena demands that Harvard turn over “relevant records, communications, and other documents relevant to the enforcement of immigration laws since January 1, 2020,” according to the statement.- ‘Retaliatory’ -Harvard said in a statement that “while the government’s subpoenas are unwarranted, the University will continue to cooperate with lawful requests and obligations,” adding that the measure was “retaliatory.”Also on Wednesday, Washington told the body responsible for accrediting Harvard as a university that its accreditation should be revoked after finding last week that it violated federal civil rights laws by failing to protect Jewish students.  Harvard was among a host of US universities swept by the wave of student protests against the war in Gaza.Trump has made the question of student protest, particularly by foreign scholars, a flashpoint political issue.A proclamation issued by the White House last month sought to bar most new international students at Harvard from entering the country, and said existing foreign enrollees risked having their visas terminated.Harvard challenged the move in court and a judge blocked the administration from enforcing the policy.International students at Harvard, who accounted for 27 percent of total enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year, are a major source of income for the Ivy League institution.The government already cut around $3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution from any future federal funding.Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.” Unlike Harvard, several top institutions — including New York’s Columbia University — have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump will host five leaders from West Africa Wednesday for a White House summit aimed at fostering trade to counter the growing regional influence of Russia and China.The White House is seeking to strengthen economic ties with the mineral-rich region as it curbs foreign aid to Africa, where countries have been hit by a 10 percent global import tariff announced by Trump.Talks with the presidents of Senegal, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon are expected to focus on commercial opportunities and security.”This summit marks a pivot point and test for how the Trump administration’s foreign policy will fare when it comes to US-Africa engagement,” Landry Signe, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote in a commentary on the gathering.”Whether the United States can translate its new doctrine into durable partnerships will depend on its ability to outcompete China and Russia with capital, presence, and long-term commitment.” The talks — scheduled during a lunch in the State Dining Room — come with Washington seeking to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals.All five of the countries invited enjoy rich natural resources, including manganese — a key mineral in the production of stainless steel and batteries — iron ore, gold, diamonds, lithium and cobalt.But overshadowing the talks will be radical steps by Trump and his officials to recalibrate US relations with African nations.Earlier this month, the administration shuttered the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and said it was moving away from a “charity based-model” to focus instead on trade-based partnerships.West Africa is expected to be among the regions hardest hit by the aid cuts, which are likely to lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal. – Drug trafficking and immigration -US financial help played a crucial role in rebuilding Liberia after its civil wars, and it was still receiving an annual $160 million — about three percent of its GDP — as recently as last year.Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai accepted the invitation with an eye on trade and investment rather than being “solely (an) aid recipient,” his press secretary Kula Fofana told AFP.US arch-rival China has made substantial investments in several of the nations attending, with Gabon providing 22 percent of the manganese it uses in batteries.Russia has supported the nascent Alliance of Sahel States, which shares borders with several of the countries at Wednesday’s lunch.Security is expected to loom large, with international drug trafficking and immigration top concerns for Washington.West Africa’s Sahel countries have been dogged with threats from terrorist groups and political instability brought about through a series of coups. Entries from the region make up a significant portion of the Black immigrant population in the United States, which rose by almost a quarter between 2012 and 2022, reaching 4.3 million individuals.Guinea-Bissau — a transit zone for cocaine shipments from Latin America to Europe and beyond — has struggled to contain drug trafficking.”Economically, this is a great opportunity opening for us,” said the country’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.A potential US travel ban impacting Gabon, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal was reported in June, as part of a larger list of 36 countries facing scrutiny by the Trump administration. 

While digging through deep mud, Javier Torres remembers weekends spent at his grandmother’s house, fishing in the Guadalupe River — the same river that likely buried her under debris.Alicia Olvera turned 68 two weeks ago. Her eight children, 25 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren threw her a party at her daughter’s house near Austin, the state capital of Texas.Alicia then returned to the small community of Hunt, on the banks of the river where she lived with her 70-year-old husband, Jose Olvera, for two decades.She was there in the early hours of Friday, July 4, when heavy rains caused the river to burst its banks, sweeping everything away and killing at least 100 people. More than 160 are still missing. When her relatives heard the news, they called her but to no avail. So they launched a search mission.They navigated blocked roads and were finally able to reach Alicia’s house on Saturday morning.Everything was covered in mud. The pool where Javier, 24, used to play with his cousins was a swamp, while the house was surrounded by mud several meters high. While digging, the first person they found was Jose, Alicia’s husband. “He was buried in the mud, next to a truck. We pulled him out, but he was no longer alive. He was next to a boy and a girl,” who had been swept away by the current, Javier explained.At the site, the family placed three wooden crosses and set up a small altar. But there was no sign of “Grandma.” “We’re still searching for my mother. We’ve been searching since Saturday and haven’t had any results,” said Angelica Torres, 48, Alicia’s daughter. “We’re talking to the community if they can send us more help because that’s what we want most: to find her. I’d like her alive, but at this point, we’ve lost hope.”- Neighbors of Camp Mystic -Alicia’s home is a five-minute drive from Camp Mystic, the summer camp that was devastated by the flood, and where 27 of the 750 girls camping there lost their lives. On Tuesday, the belongings the girls left behind had been neatly placed at the doors of each cabin at the camp. Military helicopters were still flying overhead while authorities visited the camp. The official rescue effort has been reinforced by volunteers. Brett Lang arrived at Alicia’s house with his three search dogs, combing the area for any traces. Unfortunately, there were no signs.Meanwhile, just as they were together for her birthday, Alicia’s children, and their children’s children, gather to dig through every inch of earth to find their grandmother. From this house, her children always left happy and well-fed. “We felt very comfortable when we came here. She loved to cook, we always spent time eating, and she wanted to make her tamales the whole time we came,” said Angelica. Alicia’s daughter gathers the strength in the face of what seems inevitable. “I’ve talked to her a lot, telling her that we love her, we always threw her a party…I want to find her, even if she’s different now, but I want to have her there for what comes next, as God intended. I ask God for that miracle.”

More than 160 people remain unaccounted for after devastating floods in Texas, the state governor said Tuesday, marking a dramatic increase in the number of missing from a tragedy that has so far claimed 109 lives.  Four days after flash floods roared through several Texas counties, some in the middle of the night, hopes of finding survivors were fading — and Governor Greg Abbott warned that the list of those unaccounted for could yet rise.”Just in the Kerr County area alone, there are 161 people who are known to be missing,” he told reporters Tuesday as the grim search continued.”There very likely could be more added to that list,” he said, adding that the figure was based on people reported as unaccounted for by friends, relatives and neighbors.Kerr County, part of a central Texas region known as “Flash Flood Alley,” suffered the most damage, with at least 94 fatalities.That includes at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on the Guadalupe River when it burst its banks as the Fourth of July holiday began in the early hours of Friday.Torrents of water swept through the camp, scouring cabins as hundreds of people slept. Five campers and one counselor were still missing as of Tuesday evening, according to Abbot, as well as another child not associated with the camp.”There’s nothing more important in our hearts and minds than the people of this community, especially those who are still lost,” Abbot said.Elsewhere in the state, there have been at least 15 fatalities recorded so far, the governor added.Ben Baker with the Texas Game Wardens said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were extremely difficult because of the water and mud.”When we’re trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it’s very hazardous,” Baker said. “It’s extremely treacherous, time-consuming. It’s dirty work, the water is still there.”The US National Weather Service on Tuesday declared a flash flood emergency in Ruidoso, a small town 184 miles (296 kilometers) south of Albuquerque, in the neighboring state of New Mexico.Officials reported several people were trapped by sudden floodwaters, with multiple homes sustaining damage. The NWS said the Rio Ruidoso may have crested more than 20 feet (six meters).- Rain ‘won’t deter’ search -In the town of Hunt, the epicenter of the disaster, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead.Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for the body of his grandmother, after having located the remains of his grandfather. He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river.Officials warned of more heavy rain ahead that could affect the search — though Baker said it “won’t deter” the efforts. President Donald Trump is due to visit Texas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday.”We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over… They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people,” Trump said.Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether Trump’s government funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation.During an at-times tense news conference, Baker skirted a question on the speed of the emergency response.”Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home,” he said.Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall.”This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought… We know that since May, temperatures have been above average,” Winkley told reporters.The organization’s media director, Tom Di Liberto, said staffing shortages at the National Weather Service had contributed to the disaster.”You can’t necessarily replace that experience,” he said.

An imposter posing as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent AI-generated voice and text messages to high-level officials and foreign ministers, reports said Tuesday, the latest American official to be targeted by impersonators.A cable from the top US diplomat’s office said the unidentified culprit was likely seeking to manipulate powerful officials “with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts,” the Washington Post and other US media reported.The imposter contacted at least three foreign ministers, a US state governor, and a member of Congress using both text messaging and the encrypted messaging app Signal, according to the cable dated July 3.Starting in mid-June, the imposter created a Signal account using the display name “Marco.Rubio@state.gov” to contact the unsuspecting officials, it added. “The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal,” said the cable.The contents of the messages were unclear.Responding to an AFP request for comment, the State Department said it was aware of the incident and was “currently investigating the matter.””The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents,” said a senior State Department official. The impersonation of Rubio was one of “two distinct campaigns” being probed in which threat actors impersonate State Department personnel via email and messaging apps, the cable said.The second campaign began in April and involves a “Russia-linked cyber actor” who conducted a phishing campaign targeting personal Gmail accounts associated with think tank scholars, Eastern Europe-based activists and dissidents, journalists, and former officials, it said.The cyber actor posed as a “fictitious” State Department official and sought to tap into the contents of the users’ Gmail accounts, added the cable.- ‘Malicious actors’ -The hoaxes follow an FBI warning that since April cyber actors have impersonated senior US officials to target their contacts, including current and former federal or state government officials.”The malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages — techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively — that claim to come from a senior US official in an effort to establish rapport before gaining access to personal accounts,” the FBI said in May.In May, President Donald Trump said an impersonator breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. US senators, governors and business executives received text messages and phone calls from someone claiming to be Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported. The breach prompted a White House and FBI investigation, but Trump played down the threat, saying Wiles “can handle it.”Senior Trump administration officials have courted criticism for using Signal and other unofficial channels for government work.In March, then-national security advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added a journalist to a Signal chat group discussing US strikes in Yemen. The episode led to Waltz’s ouster.With proliferating AI voice cloning tools — which are cheap, easy to use and hard to trace -– disinformation researchers fret the impact of audio deepfakes to impersonate or smear celebrities and politicians.Last year, a robocall impersonating then-president Joe Biden stoked public alarm about such deepfakes.The robocall urged New Hampshire residents not to cast ballots in a Democratic primary, prompting authorities to launch a probe into possible voter suppression and triggering demands from campaigners for stricter guardrails around generative AI tools.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed for Malaysia on Tuesday for meetings with ASEAN allies, a trip that has been overshadowed by fears of a trade war.The brief trip to Kuala Lumpur is intended to allow Rubio, who is also President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, to focus on US policy in Asia after months of Washington concentrating on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.”In his first trip to Asia as Secretary of State, Secretary Rubio is focused on reaffirming the United States’ commitment to advancing a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region,” spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement, using Washington’s traditional wording on curbing China’s growing influence in the region.A senior State Department official told reporters that prioritizing and reaffirming Washington’s commitment to East Asia and Southeast Asia “is in America’s interest.” “I think there’s been a lot of outreach, a lot of engagements, and I wouldn’t judge the level of interest and priority based solely on how many physical trips there have been,” the official said on condition of anonymity.As with any trip to Asia by a US official, China will be the elephant in the room amid concerns over its expansionist behavior in the South China Sea, which the United States deems to be provocative.- ‘Rebalance’ trade relationships -But this visit also comes as many countries around the world fear the imposition of punitive tariffs. Sweeping levies Trump announced in April were mostly suspended, as Washington engages in negotiations with friends and foes alike.On Monday, Trump said he would impose 25 percent tariffs on key US allies Japan and South Korea and a handful of others, including Southeast Asian nations Malaysia (25 percent) and Laos (40 percent), as of August 1.Export-dependent Vietnam, which like Malaysia and Laos is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is one of the few countries to already reach a tentative agreement with Washington that spares it the high level of levies that Trump had threatened.At a summit in late May, Southeast Asian leaders expressed their deep concern at Trump’s protectionist offensive.The senior US official said the issue was expected to be raised, and that Rubio would likely tell ASEAN that the United States wants to “rebalance” its trade relationships.Rubio’s visit to Kuala Lumpur Thursday and Friday coincides with that of his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi.While there, Rubio is scheduled to attend a meeting with his counterparts from ASEAN and with a gathering of both ASEAN and East Asian foreign ministers.Last week, Rubio welcomed foreign ministers from Australia, India and Japan to Washington, where they pledged to work together to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals.China’s domination of such resources — essential to new technologies — is causing increasing concern in western Europe and the United States.

El Salvador has said that the United States has legal jurisdiction over deported migrants being held in the Central American country, court documents show.The assertion clashes with the Trump administration’s claims that it has no authority to bring back the migrants jailed in El Salvador’s maximum security CECOT prison as they are no longer in US custody.Lawyers for Venezuelans held in the prison submitted the statements as evidence in a US court on Monday in another case challenging President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.Responding to questions from a UN working group on enforced disappearances, El Salvador said its actions were limited to making prison facilities available for people detained within the scope of the justice system and law enforcement activities of another state.”In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities,” it said. In mid-March, Trump sent 238 Venezuelans and 23 Salvadorans from the United States to the CECOT prison in El Salvador. The Trump administration invoked an obscure wartime law to justify the removal of the Venezuelans, accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The deportations sparked protests after the US government refused to bring back a Salvadoran man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been wrongly deported.The United States claimed lack of jurisdiction until Abrego Garcia was returned in June and arrested for human trafficking, a crime he denies. His lawyers claim he was tortured in prison in El Salvador. El Salvador has agreed to imprison expelled migrants in exchange for six million dollars, according to the White House. The US Supreme Court urged the government to respect due process because migrants have the right to challenge expulsions.

Passengers at US airports will no longer have to remove their shoes to pass through security under a new policy unveiled Tuesday, 20 years after the requirement was introduced.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the change to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules at a news conference at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.Passengers at US airports have been required to take off shoes during screenings since 2006, five years after the arrest of “Shoe Bomber” Richard Reid, who had explosives hidden in his footwear onboard.”In those 20 years since that policy was put in place, our security technology has changed dramatically. It’s evolved. TSA has changed. We have a multi-layered whole of government approach now to security,” Noem said.”We are very confident that we can continue to provide hospitality to folks and for American travelers and for those visiting our country, while maintaining the same standard of security for passengers and for our homeland,” she added.Reid, a member of Al-Qaeda, was overpowered by other passengers as he tried to light a fuse on his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001.Reid pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges and is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.TSA said in a statement on the shoe policy change that other security measures will remain in place.”Other aspects of TSA’s layered security approach will still apply during the TSA checkpoint process. For example, passengers subject must still clear identity verification, Secure Flight vetting, and other processes,” it said.Past attacks — both successful and thwarted — have led to a raft of new airport security measures in recent decades, especially following the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which hijackers flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers in New York as well as the Pentagon.In 2006, British authorities announced they had foiled a terror plot that aimed to blow up several planes in mid-air simultaneously with liquid explosives. Since then, tough restrictions have applied to liquids and gels, such as toothpaste.And electronics have also come in for additional screening in a bid to head off attacks, with passengers required to remove laptops from bags, for instance.