A White House meeting Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aimed at securing a deal that would give the U.S. rights to rare earth minerals in Ukraine, turned into an intense and heated exchange between the two leaders. The White House later confirmed that the mineral deal was not signed. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

President Donald Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be at the White House Friday to sign an agreement granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s lucrative rare earth minerals. But Ukraine’s leader says a few outstanding issues remain. White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday heard disturbing reports about conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan as Council Members took turns to detail an appalling situation. Edem Wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said since the adoption in June 2024 of a resolution calling for an immediate de-escalation in and around North Darfur, civilians continue to be under attack. The UK’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Barbara Woodward, said two years after the conflict began, she’s still “struck by the reports of death and destruction.” “More violence. more families ripped apart. More children starving,” she said. John Kelley, the Acting U.S. alternate representative to the Security Council reiterated Washington’s position that both warring factions — the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — should be held accountable for the atrocities.

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution Monday calling for an end to the war in Ukraine. U.S. deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea said the resolution "puts us on the path to peace. Now we must use it to build a peaceful future for Ukraine, Russia and the international community." The resolution received 10 votes in favor, with five abstentions by France, Britain, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia. On Tuesday, the Kremlin praised Washington for what it called its "balanced position" after the U.S. voted with Russia at the United Nations to avoid condemning Moscow's full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "The U.S. is taking a much more balanced position which is really aimed at trying to resolve the Ukraine conflict. We welcome this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

World leaders take part in a ceremony in honor of fallen soldiers on the sidelines of a summit in Kyiv, held to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine on Monday marked the bleakest anniversary yet of its war against the Russia invasion, with the country's forces under severe pressure on the battlefield. Those present in the Ukrainian capital include European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday called on Rwanda’s military to end its support for the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, or the DRC. The 15-member council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution urging both the DRC and Rwanda to engage in diplomatic talks to achieve a lasting peaceful resolution. The resolution also called for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Congolese territory “without preconditions.” France’s permanent representative to the U.N., Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere, said the resolution sends “a clear message that there’s no military solution to the conflict in the east of the DRC.”

Makiv, a town in western Ukraine, is grappling with the absence of men. Many have either fled, are fighting, or have died fighting the Russian invasion. It’s a common problem in many towns and villages in Ukraine. The war has worsened the country’s ongoing decline in population. Those left behind fear for Ukraine’s future as they struggle to rebuild their lives. Yan Boechat reports.

Fourteen-year-old Gesma fled Sudan's Darfur region after armed militias killed her parents and brother, leaving her to care for her younger siblings. Now living in a refugee camp in Chad, she works long hours to keep her family fed, a reality faced by many children displaced by brutal violence in Darfur. Henry Wilkins reports.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its fourth year, European leaders warn that the outcome of ongoing peace talks between Moscow and Washington will have profound implications for the whole of Europe. But as Henry Ridgwell reports, the continent’s leaders — along with Ukraine itself — fear they are being excluded from deciding their own fate.

The Trump administration on Tuesday hailed talks in Saudi Arabia that included U.S. and Russian officials but no Ukrainians. The White House said this parallel-track diplomacy — speaking separately with the warring partners — is a key first step in ending the three-year conflict that has rocked Europe. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.