Dick Cheney remembered. Cheney, former U.S. Secretary of Defense and two-time vice president, has died at age eighty-four. He served in four Republican administrations and played a particularly strong role in advocating for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, pressing allegations about weapons of mass destruction in the country and links to al-Qaeda. Cheney broadly helped engineer the George W. Bush administration’s post-9/11 war on terrorism, promoting the expansion of detention, interrogation, and surveillance policies.
U.S. investments in rare earths. The Defense and Commerce Departments will together offer more than $700 million in financing to Vulcan Elements, a start-up that plans to produce rare earth magnets in the United States, and its partner ReElement Technologies Corp, a company that refines them. The deal promises to build out domestic supply of rare earth elements, benefiting the U.S. semiconductor and defense sectors, among others, a Commerce Department official said.
Aspirants to global trade pact. The Philippines and the UAE have applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, unnamed Japanese officials told multiple news outlets. Member states in the twelve-country pact eliminate almost all tariffs on each others’ products. Business leaders in the Philippines pushed for membership in response to U.S. tariffs, while the UAE is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil, Nikkei reported.
U.S. chips in the UAE. The United States approved the export of Nvidia chips to the UAE for use in a Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence (AI) campus in Abu Dhabi. It is the first time the United States has greenlit Nvidia chip exports to the country and comes as China has also increased its investment in the Gulf’s AI sector.
Mayors talk climate action. Three hundred mayors pledged to take further action to fight climate change at a Rio de Janeiro summit yesterday. Fifty United States cities sent officials, with Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego saying they would stake out a different position on climate than the Donald Trump administration. The summit is one of the side events associated with this year’s UN climate change conference, which begins next week in Belém, Brazil.
Famine declaration in Sudan. Famine is occurring in the besieged western Sudanese city of El Fasher, as well as the southern town of Kadugli, global hunger watchdog the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said in a new report. It flagged twenty other areas at risk of famine. El Fasher was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces last week after an eighteen-month campaign to take the city.
Hegseth in Vietnam. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged $130 million to help Vietnam clean up leftover toxins from the Vietnam War. The commitment capped a two-day visit to the country which also saw Washington agree to support Vietnamese efforts to find missing soldiers using advanced DNA technology. The visit came as Vietnam has sought to diversify its defense ties, recently buying arms from Russia and exploring cooperation with Finland, Israel, and Turkey.
Americas summit postponed. The Summit of the Americas, originally slated for next month, will be delayed until next year due to the effects of Hurricane Melissa and “deep differences of opinion,” host Dominican Republic said. Latin American countries have been divided in recent weeks over how to respond to U.S. military strikes on small boats in the region.
