By&nbspEuronews&nbspwith&nbspAFP

Published on
23/06/2026 – 19:59 GMT+2

Two whales were killed off the coast of Iceland overnight Sunday, two days after commercial hunting resumed, local media and animal rights activists reported Monday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT

The kill ends a two-year pause and marks the first catches since 2023.

Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported that two fin whales were killed. The fin whale is the second largest animal on Earth after the blue whale.

Before the vessels set off on Friday, a protester had attached himself to one of the masts in the port of Reykjavik, but climbed down and was escorted away by police.

Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only three countries that still openly permit whaling, despite international condemnation from the public and animal welfare organisations.

Iceland cancelled its whale hunt over the past two years, partly because economic problems had cut demand and the industry was not deemed profitable enough.

“The first fin whale deaths in Iceland’s hunt this year are devastating,” said Joanna Swabe, European senior public affairs director for animal rights group Humane World for Animals.

“Iceland has killed more than 1,000 fin whales in the past two decades — not only the second largest animal on the planet but also a species classified as globally vulnerable to extinction,” Swabe said in a statement.

Iceland’s government has said it is planning to introduce a bill aimed at banning whaling this autumn.

The International Whaling Commission banned the commercial killing of whales in 1986 amid alarm at the declining stock of the marine mammals.

Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has recommended that no more than 150 fin whales are caught in the 2026 season.

That represents a 28-percent drop on the annual quota it recommended for the period 2018–2025, it said.

The institute has set an annual catch of 168 animals for the minke whale hunt this year, a 23-percent drop on 2018-2025.

JOHANNESBURG — In what’s being hailed as a major win for the Trump administration against Chinese domination of the rare earth minerals market, the U.S. has supported an American company, Virtus Minerals, in developing two major mines producing cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

This is claimed to be the first U.S. rare earth minerals acquisition in the African nation since President Donald Trump announced the Washington Accord last December.

Historically, China has been the heavy lifter of these metals. The Strategic Studies Institute reported that 80% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the DRC — and 80% of that is controlled by China. Cobalt, used in a wide range of applications, from electric cars and mobile phones to military jets, is on the U.S. government’s list of critical minerals. Copper, also on the list, has traditional uses such as piping for plumbing, but is also needed in electronics and the automotive industry.

During December’s signing at the White House, Trump made clear the administration’s fight to curb Chinese domination of minerals and help American mining companies make a major impact in the DRC. “A great day for Africa, a great day for the world,” Trump said.  The accord also aims to bring an end to fighting between the DRC and Rwandan-backed forces, although the Rwandan-supported M23 rebel group have continued their hostile infiltration in the Eastern DRC.

American mining company Virtus is, with U.S. support, claiming to be “the first U.S.-owned operator back in the DRC in more than a decade”, with its investment in Chemaf, a local cobalt and copper producer with two mining operations, one, Étoile, in Lubumbashi and Mutoshi, in Kolwezi. Together it’s planned the mines will produce a combined 75,000 tonnes of copper, and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt a year. The processing plants are currently under development and will come online next year.

The minerals will ultimately be exported to the west through the Lobito Corridor to a port in Angola. Lobito is the rail route the U.S. has backed with a $5 billion investment commitment, with, according to a Virtus statement, “the aim of obtaining a secure, auditable copper and cobalt supply chain for the U.S. and its allies.”

THE WEST STILL DOESN’T GRASP THE DANGER OF CHINA’S RARE EARTH ENDGAME

Frans Cronje, president of the Washington-based Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, says the Virtus projects are significant because they show the administration is seriously trying to change the balance in a minerals battle with China.

He told Fox News Digital, “This development signals a more assertive United States effort to compete with China for access to Africa’s critical mineral base, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where cobalt and copper are strategically vital to global energy and defense supply chains.”

Cronje added, “China has built deep structural dominance across much of Africa’s resource sector over the past two decades, but U.S.-backed initiatives such as this suggest a shift towards more direct engagement, rather than relying on Chinese-controlled supply routes. This matters because Africa’s vast resource endowment, combined with its geostrategic position along key Atlantic and Indian Ocean corridors, makes it central to future global economic and security competition.”

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain firmly committed to supporting U.S. companies that seek to do business in the DRC.”

AFRICAN WAR-TORN NATION INVOKES TRUMP ‘GOLDEN AGE’ FOR MINERALS DEAL IN EXCHANGE FOR BOOTING VIOLENT REBELS

“The United States government fully supports the efforts of Virtus Minerals,” the spokesperson continued. “This acquisition serves as an initial flagship U.S. investment in the DRC, and sends a clear signal that the U.S. private sector interest is real and will catalyze further investment in alignment with the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement, which positions the DRC to play an integral role in the Trump Administration’s global efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains.”

The spokesperson added that “increased U.S. investment will create quality jobs for American and Congolese workers, foster skills development and support local communities that have long been exploited by the opaque systems constructed and perpetuated by adversarial foreign actors who have controlled the DRC’s critical minerals sector.”

Virtus holds 56 mining licenses in total in the DRC. Phillip Braun, Virtus Minerals CEO and Chemaf chairman, told Fox News Digital, “Our first goal is to bring the Étoile and Mutoshi plants up to full production. From there, we will explore everything Chemaf’s 56 mining permits have to offer — copper, cobalt and other metals like tungsten.”

“None of this would be possible,” Braun added, “without the strong partnership now growing between the United States and the DRC, and the support of leaders in both countries who saw what was possible. We look forward to bringing our two nations closer by building a steady, trusted supply of the minerals we depend on and supporting other American companies that want to invest in the DRC any way we can.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“A more active U.S. presence in these supply chains,” Cronje continued, “would mark a significant rebalancing of influence on the continent, with implications not only for resource access but for broader geopolitical alignment in regions that are becoming increasingly contested.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the DRC government for comment, but did not receive a response.