World
Rescuers recover 36 bodies and 82 survivors from South African gold mine

Hundreds more survivors and dozens more bodies still underground, according to a miners rights group.
South African rescuers have pulled 36 bodies and 82 survivors from a gold mine in two days of operations, police say, adding that the survivors would face illegal mining and immigration charges.
After nine bodies were recovered on Monday, 27 more were brought out from deep underground on Tuesday, police Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said in a statement.
Police began laying siege to the mine about 150km (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg in the town of Stilfontein in August and cut off food and water for months to force the miners to the surface to arrest them as part of a crackdown on illegal mining.
Hundreds more survivors and dozens more bodies are still underground, according to a miners rights group that issued footage on Monday showing corpses and skeletal survivors in the mine.
Rescue operations, which involve the use of a metal cage to recover survivors and bodies from a mine shaft more than 2km (1.2 miles) underground, will continue for days. Police said they would provide a daily update on numbers.
Typically, illegal mining takes place in mines that have been abandoned by companies because they are no longer commercially viable on a large scale.
Unlicensed miners, often immigrants from other African countries, go in to extract whatever is left.
‘A war on the economy’
The South African government has said the siege of the Stilfontein mine is necessary to fight illegal mining, which Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe described as “a war on the economy”.
He estimated that the illicit precious metals trade was worth 60 billion rand ($3.17bn) last year.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in November: “We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out.”
But a court ruled in December that volunteers should be allowed to send down supplies to the trapped men, and another edict last week ordered the state to launch a rescue operation, which began on Monday.
“All 82 that have been arrested are facing illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of the Immigration Act charges,” police said in a statement, referring to all those pulled out alive on Monday and Tuesday.
The statement added that two of them would face additional charges of being in possession of gold.
The government crackdown, part of an operation called “Vala Umgodi” or “Close the Hole” in the isiZulu language, has drawn criticism from human rights organisations and local residents.

World
EU Commission promises 'firm, immediate' reaction to new US tariffs

Defending a rules-based trading system based on low tariffs, the EU executive said reciprocal tariffs were unjustified and that it will react swiftly.
The European Commission will react “firmly and immediately” to reciprocal tariffs announced on Thursday by US president Donald Trump, saying it was “a step in the wrong direction”, and an open global system “benefits all partners”, in a statement issued by the executive on Friday.
“The EU maintains some of the lowest tariffs in the world and sees no justification for increased US tariffs on its exports. Tariffs are taxes,” a Commission statement read, adding: “The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies.”
Since Monday and the announcement of 25% US tariffs on steel and aluminium, the EU has been preparing for a trade war with its long-standing ally, whose new Trump administration is delivering a U-turn on trade policy.
On Thursday, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on US trade partners on the basis of “country-by-country” examinations, which should be realised in a matter of weeks. US tariffs on aluminium and steel will take effect on 12 March.
In 2018, the Trump administration slapped tariffs on aluminium and steel, with the EU retaliating on a range of American products. These sanctions were lifted under the Biden administration, but only temporarily, and may be reactivated by the EU.
The Commission is currently considering its response.
The EU has a new arsenal of trade defences that can be activated if pressure is brought to bear on its policies, under an “anti-coercion” instrument. It includes restrictions on the right to participate in public procurement tender procedure, restriction on licences, or for instance restrictions on trade in services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.
“World trade has flourished under predictable, transparent rules and low tariffs. For decades, the EU has worked with trading partners like the US to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers worldwide,” the Commission said in the statement, “reinforcing this openness through binding commitments in the rules-based trading system—commitments that the US is now undermining.”
World
Trump FBI pick Kash Patel clears Senate panel, headed for confirmation vote

World
Russia claims Trump, Putin talk brought world from 'brink of Apocalypse,' EU warns of 'dirty tricks'

Russia’s deputy chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, on Thursday claimed that the recent discussion held between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin brought the world back from the “brink of the Apocalypse.”
“It just so happened at some point that the U.S. appointed itself the country-in-chief on our planet with the exclusive right to wage a hybrid war against our people, to mete out justice and grant pardons. It was a grave mistake, which nearly wiped humanity off the face of the earth,” he said, without mentioning that the West united behind Ukraine against Russia after Moscow launched the biggest invasion of a European nation since World War II.
“This is a lesson that must be learned by the arrogant American elites and the so-called deep state,” he continued. “The quicker our adversaries realize this, the better.
“If they don’t… the Doomsday Clock will keep on ticking towards midnight,” he added, threatening nuclear escalation.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters from the White House after he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war with Ukraine on Feb. 12, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)
UKRAINE ADVOCATES TEAR INTO HEGSETH FOR GIVING RUSSIA ‘CONCESSIONS’ AT START OF PEACE TALKS: ‘BIGGEST GIFT’
Trump once again prompted geopolitical shock waves following his Wednesday call with Putin when he said in a Truth Social post that peace talks will start “immediately” – comments that came just hours after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic that Ukraine would be allowed to join the NATO alliance.
European leaders were quick to react with concern to comments from both Washington and Moscow, including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who told Fox News Digital, “It’s not wise to surrender Russia’s key demands before the negotiations even start.”
“Any peace agreement requires the full involvement of both the Europeans and the Ukrainians to succeed,” she continued. “Quick fixes are just dirty deals.
“Putin only responds to strength. Ukraine is resisting Russia’s invasion, and they have our full support. A bad deal for Ukraine is a bad deal for America and will embolden China,” Kallas said.
Kallas’ comments came after she met with NATO defense ministers, who similarly came out in support of Ukraine and issued warnings to Washington.
Lithuania Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said NATO leaders are facing “difficult discussions” with “two obvious choices.”
“Whether we decide to fall under the illusion that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin are going to find a solution for all of us – and that would be a deadly trap,” she said. “Or we will, as Europe, embrace our own economic, financial and military capacity. And we will be the ones who will be deciding what will happen in Europe and in Ukraine with the United States.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece attend a press conference in Saariselka, Finnish Lapland, Dec. 22, 2024. (Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto via Reuters)
In addition, Estonia Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur warned, “We have to understand that there will be no peace without Ukraine.
“It cannot be so that someone will come and say when to talk. It has to be Ukraine,” he added.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Thursday said Putin would be “pleased” to welcome international leaders, including Trump, to Moscow in May.
European leaders reacted with apparent concern to Trump’s and the Kremlin’s comments and said there can be no peace agreement without direct EU and Ukrainian involvement.
SOME CRITICS WORRIED TRUMP WOULD HAVE UKRAINE GIVE UP TOO MUCH FOR PEACE AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA
Similarly, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “There can’t be any negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine being at the heart of it.”
Seven European leaders from the U.K., France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and the EU released a joint statement on Wednesday and insisted that they should be part of any negotiations on Ukraine’s future.
“Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength,” the statement said. “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed he spoke with President Trump on Feb. 13, 2025, about ending the war with Russia. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this week said he would be willing to exchange the land Ukraine has seized in Russia for the land occupied by Moscow’s troops in its eastern regions.
The Ukrainian president said he also spoke with Trump following his call with Putin on Wednesday about a “lasting, reliable peace.”
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