Donald Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned, discussing the US president’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to 50% of its rare-earth reserves, as a price for helping end the war three years after Russia invaded.

“I think anything that helps position Ukraine for any peace negotiations is a positive move,” said Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committee, who recently visited Ukraine.

“Now, what we heard when we were in Ukraine is that 40-50% of those mineral deposits are actually in territory controlled by the Russians. Maybe part of the deal is President Trump is going to get a deal with Vladimir Putin on the mineral rights too. So … that could be a little tricky.”

Shaheen was speaking to the One Decision podcast, hosted by the former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove, the former CIA director Leon Panetta and the reporter Christina Ruffini.

Saying Ukraine cannot expect to regain all territory taken by Russia, and rejecting Kyiv’s aim of joining Nato, Trump has demanded a deal with Ukraine as repayment for military support. On Wednesday, Trump said Zelenskyy would visit Washington on Friday to sign a “very big agreement that will be on rare earth and other things”.

Trump did not offer details of a deal but said he was “not going to make security guarantees beyond very much”, adding: “We’re going to have Europe do that.”

Trump is due to meet Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, on Thursday. Starmer has said the UK is willing to contribute peacekeeping troops.

Shaheen said: “I do think there is support to do everything we can to help get a peace in Ukraine. And from my perspective, one of the most important aspects of that is ensuring that the Ukrainians are positioned in the most positive, favourable way for them. If this deal helps with that, and President Zelenskyy is comfortable signing it, then I support that.”

Shaheen said her visit to Ukraine, with fellow Democrat Michael Bennet, of Colorado, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, proved “compelling, disturbing”.

The senators visited Bucha, where Russian troops carried out a massacre in 2022. The town “showed the resilience of the Ukrainian people”, Shaheen said, adding: “They’re willing to resist. And it showed just what a murderous thug Vladimir Putin is.”

Shaheen said the senators “met with the mayor of Bucha, we met with the priest. There had been a mass grave of a couple of hundred of the civilians who were killed. There were over 500 killed in Bucha in that 33-day siege [the final toll is unclear]. It was horrific. It was absolutely brutal. Finding the graves, taking the corpses out of the graves.

“We met with the investigators who were investigating each murder individually, and they showed us the picture of the Russian commander who had given the order. And it was very clear that the order was to frighten the civilians, to do everything you can to try and reduce any resistance from the civilians. And for me … I thought this was a small village someplace in the hinterlands of Ukraine, but it’s not, it’s a suburb of Kyiv, and the tanks were stopped right there at the suburb.

“So, it really pointed out the stark contrast between the Russians and the Ukrainians and what’s at stake in this war.”

Trump has stirred huge controversy by seeming to Favor Putin and Russia in regards to the war in Ukraine, not least by beginning talks for a settlement without including Ukraine or European powers.

Asked about Trump’s lie that Zelenskyy was a dictator who started the war, Shaheen said: “It’s very distressing. And the president’s wrong. He’s just wrong … Vladimir Putin is the dictator. President Zelenskyy was duly elected by the people of Ukraine, and he has a higher favourability rating than Donald Trump.”

The US has twice sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the Trump administration's change of stance on the war.

First, the US opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow's actions and supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity - voting the same way as Russia and countries including North Korea and Belarus at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Then the US drafted and voted for a resolution at the UN Security Council which called for an end to the conflict, but contained no criticism of Russia.

The Security Council passed the resolution, but two key US allies, the UK and France, abstained after their attempts to amend the wording were vetoed.

The UN resolutions were tabled as French President Emmanuel Macron visited President Donald Trump at the White House in an attempt to address their sharp differences over the war.

On Thursday, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will likewise visit the new American leader.

Trump's White House has upended the transatlantic alliance, currying favour with Moscow and casting doubt on America's long-term commitment to European security.

That rift was laid bare on the floor of the 193-member UNGA on Monday as US diplomats pushed their limited resolution mourning the loss of life during the "Russia-Ukraine conflict" and calling for a swift end to it.

European diplomats tabled a more detailed text, blaming Russia for its full-scale invasion, and supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We need to reconfirm that the aggression should be condemned and discredited, not rewarded," said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa.

UNGA members backed the European resolution by 93 votes but, extraordinarily, the US did not abstain but actually voted against it, along with Russia, Israel, North Korea, Sudan, Belarus, Hungary and 11 other states, with 65 abstentions.

The UNGA also passed the US resolution but only after it was amended to include language supporting Ukraine, which led to the US abstaining.

Republican Senator John Curtis said he was "deeply troubled" by the vote "which put us on the same side as Russia and North Korea".

"These are not our friends. This posture is a dramatic shift from American ideals of freedom and democracy," he wrote on X.

The vote was "contrary to our long-standing support of democracy", said former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Ukraine's former minister of economy, Tymofiy Mylovanov, said the choice to side with Russia was deliberate.

"This is no longer just rhetoric or political theatre," he said.

At the much more powerful 15-member UN Security Council, the unamended US resolution - which called for an end to the conflict but contained no criticism of Russia - was passed by 10 votes, with the UK, France, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia abstaining.

America's acting envoy to the UN, Dorothy Camille Shea, described the US resolution as a "simple historic statement... that looks forward, not backwards. A resolution focused on one simple idea: ending the war".

Rarely has the US been so at odds with its supposed European allies.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, the Security Council has been deadlocked by the power of Russia, one of its five permanent members, to veto any resolution there.

For this reason the UNGA has been the main forum for debating the war. But its resolutions are not legally binding for member states, unlike those of the Security Council.

United States President Donald Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Monday for discussions on Ukraine, European security and trade.

Macron, who has built a cordial rapport with Trump, was the first European leader to visit him since the beginning of his second term on January 20. The French leader’s visit came at a time of growing public tensions between Europe and the US, especially over the continent’s security and over the fate of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Trump and Macron developed a warm relationship during Trump’s first term, often making headlines for their exuberant displays of affection, including long handshakes, embraces and back-slapping.

The leaders maintained this friendly tone on Monday, paying compliments to each other and gripping hands even while disagreeing on several points.

“President Macron is a very special man in my book,” said Trump in the Oval Office.

Despite the warm exchange, Macron did not shy away from challenging Trump on key issues such as the Ukraine war and trade policy during a news conference.

Macron stated that ending the war in Ukraine – something Trump has said may require Ukraine to cede territory – should not come at the cost of a weak agreement or Ukraine’s “surrender”.

“This peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow Ukraine to negotiate with other stakeholders,” Macron said.

The French leader also made the rare move of cutting Trump off mid-sentence, as the US president falsely claimed that Europe was simply loaning Ukraine money for its war effort, expecting it to be repaid.

“No, in fact, to be frank,” said Macron, placing a hand on Trump’s arm to interrupt him, “we paid 60 percent of the total effort and it was – like the US – loans, guarantees, grants.”

Trump, flashing a smile, responded: “If you believe that, it’s ok with me.”

Macron also addressed the tricky issue of trade between the US and the European Union, which Trump has threatened to levy huge tariffs against. Macron called for “fair competition” that could lead to more investment.

“We want to have more prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Macron. “We have a shared agenda in that regard.”

Macron hammered home his message that the US should cooperate, not antagonise, Europe economically during a Fox News interview, saying the US “cannot have a trade war with China and Europe at the same time”.

British broadcaster Piers Morgan, a longtime friend of Trump, said Macron showed he is one of the most skilled leaders in dealing with the US president.

“No world leader handles Trump as well as Macron. Friendly but firm, respectful but not afraid to stand up to him when he thinks he’s wrong. And Trump respects him for it,” Morgan wrote in a post on X.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in the Shiite theocracy, quickly named a little-known vice president as caretaker and insisted the government was in control, but the deaths marked yet another blow to a country beset by pressures at home and abroad.

The decision by the country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, may still be appealed. It ruled that Zuma is only eligible to serve as a lawmaker five years after his 2021 sentence for contempt of court was completed.

Zuma is now the leader of a new party, uMkhonto weSizwe Party, and is campaigning against the long-ruling African National Congress he once led.

Analysts say the ANC, which has comfortably held power since Nelson Mandela became the country’s first Black president in 1994, might receive less than 50% of votes in next Wednesday’s election and lose its parliamentary majority.

That would be the ANC’s worst electoral performance since it came into power in South Africa at the end of apartheid.

One reason the ANC is under pressure is Zuma, who stepped down as president in 2018 amid a swirl of corruption allegations and now threatens to draw more support away from the ANC.

Globally, the number of new weekly cases reported during the week of 12 to 18 December 2022 was similar (+3%) to the previous week, with over 3.7 million new cases reported. The number of new weekly deaths was 6% lower than in the previous week, with over 10 400 new fatalities reported. In the last 28 days, over 13.7 million cases and over 40 000 new fatalities were reported globally – a 36% increase and 2% decline, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days. As of 18 December 2022, over 649 million confirmed cases and over 6.6 million deaths have been reported globally.

WHO has updated its living guideline on COVID-19 therapeutics to include convalescent plasma. For non-severe COVID-19 patients, WHO recommends against its use, while it should only be used within clinical trials for severe and critical COVID-19 patients.

Convalescent plasma is a transfusion of blood plasma from someone who has recovered from COVID-19.

Current evidence shows that convalescent plasma does not improve survival or reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, while it has significant costs.

An independent panel of experts, the guidelines development group, looked at pooled data from 16 randomized controlled trials, including 16 236 patients with non-severe, severe, and critical covid-19 infection.

While the evidence that convalescent plasma has no benefit in non-severe patients was certain, it was less so in the case of severe and critically ill patients. So, randomized clinical trials for these subgroups should continue.

• Working with COVAX, African Vaccine Acquisition Trust and other partners – world can and must meet WHO targets to vaccinate 40% of the population of all countries by the end-2021 and 70% by mid-2022
• Vaccine supply gaps to COVAX must be closed immediately for countries to reach the 40% year end target
• United Nations Secretary-General and WHO Director-General call on countries and  manufacturers to make good on their commitments without further delays 

The World Health Organization has today launched the Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022 (the Strategy) to help bring an end to what has become a two-track pandemic:  people in poorer countries continue to be at risk while those in richer countries with high vaccination rates enjoy much greater protection.

WHO had set a target to vaccinate 10% of every country, economy and territory by the end of September but by that date 56 countries had not been able to do so, the vast majority of these are countries in Africa and the Middle East.

The new strategy outlines a plan for achieving WHO’s targets to vaccinate 40% of the population of every country by the end of this year and 70% by mid-2022.

“Science has played its part by delivering powerful, life-saving tools faster than for any outbreak in history,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “But the concentration of those tools in the hands of a few countries and companies has led to a global catastrophe, with the rich protected while the poor remain exposed to a deadly virus. We can still achieve the targets for this year and next, but it will take a level of political commitment, action and cooperation, beyond what we have seen to date.”

“This is a costed, coordinated and credible path out of the COVID-19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Without a coordinated, equitable approach, a reduction of cases in any one country will not be sustained over time. For everyone’s sake, we must urgently bring all countries to a high level of vaccination coverage.”

To achieve the global vaccination targets, there should be a three-step approach to vaccination, with all older adults, health workers, and high-risk groups of all ages, in every country vaccinated first, followed by the full adult age group in every country and lastly extended vaccination of adolescents.

Vaccinating 70% of the global population requires at least 11 billion vaccine doses.   By the end of September, just over 6 billion doses had already been administered worldwide.  With global vaccine production now at nearly 1.5 billion doses per month, there is sufficient vaccine from a supply perspective to achieve the global vaccination targets provided that there is equitable distribution of those doses. 

Substantial financing has already been invested to procure most of the required vaccine doses for low- and lower-middle-income countries through COVAX, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and bilateral contracts.  There needs to be additional investment to secure the remaining vaccine doses for these countries as well as investment to support in-country delivery.  

The Strategy outlines the priority actions needed from the different actors to achieve the targets.

All Countries must:

• Establish updated national COVID-19 vaccine targets and plans defining dose requirements to guide manufacturing investment and vaccine redistribution, and financial and programmatic resource needs to guide internal planning and external support;
• Monitor vaccine demand and uptake carefully to rapidly adapt services and ensure continuity of vaccine supplies;
• Commit to equitable distribution of vaccines in line with the WHO three-step approach;
• Revise national vaccination strategies, policies and prioritization as needed to harness emerging evidence to maximize the impact of existing, modified and new vaccines.

Countries with high vaccine coverage must:

• Swap vaccine delivery schedules, with COVAX and AVAT to enhance coverage in countries in need;
• Fulfil and accelerate vaccine dose-sharing and donation commitments to COVAX in the near term, for those with existing pledges;
• Establish new dose-sharing commitments to facilitate progress toward the 70% coverage target in every country.

Vaccine-producing countries must:

• Allow the free cross-border flow of finished vaccines and raw materials;
• Enable diversified vaccine production, both geographically and technologically, including through non-exclusive, and transparent licensing and sharing of know-how to allow transfer of technology and scale-up of manufacturing.  

COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers must:

• Prioritize and fulfil COVAX and AVAT contracts as a matter of urgency;
• Provide full transparency on the overall monthly production of COVID-19 vaccines and clear monthly schedules for supplies to COVAX, AVAT and low and low-middle income countries, to enable proper global and national-level planning and optimal use of scarce supplies;
• Actively engage and work with countries that have high coverage and that have contracted high volumes of vaccines to allow the prioritization of COVAX and AVAT contracts, including through delivery schedule swaps, and facilitate rapid and early dose-sharing;
• Commit to share know-how more rapidly, facilitate technology transfer and provide transparent non-exclusive voluntary licenses, to ensure that future vaccine supply is reliable, affordable, available, and deployed to every country in volumes and timing that achieves equitable access.

Civil society, community organizations, and the private sector must:

• Advocate locally, nationally and internationally for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, calling for and monitoring in particular the specific actions required of manufacturers, governments and multilateral actors;
• Mobilize and empower communities, including through social media and community networks, to generate strong vaccine demand and address misinformation and misperceptions that contribute to vaccine hesitancy;
• Provide support to the in-country delivery of vaccination programmes and services.

Global and regional multilateral development banks and institutions must:

• Enable countries to more rapidly access the capital and external support needed for in-country vaccine delivery, prioritizing low-income settings and especially targeting support to the technical, logistics and human resources required;
• Engage fully with COVAX/ACT-Accelerator and AVAT, with integrated operations and real-time sharing of information to truly support equitable access;
• Support international procurement and allocation mechanisms to enable all countries to equitably, efficiently and rapidly achieve the COVID-19 vaccine targets;
• Support vaccine distribution plans and a campaign to convey the life-saving importance of approved COVID-19 vaccinations.

For their part, WHO, Gavi, UNICEF and CEPI must work in close collaboration with World Bank, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, Africa CDC, AVAT, and other key partners to monitor progress, identify changes needed to resolve bottlenecks, coordinate information and prioritize actions; continue to co-lead and manage the COVAX Pillar of ACT-Accelerator; support the equitable allocation of available vaccines, particularly to low-, lower-middle-income and lagging countries; directly support countries to develop and sustain rapid, effective, high-quality COVID-19 vaccine delivery programmes that can achieve the global targets; address key research, policy, safety and regulatory issues that will optimize vaccine impact including effective supply, dosing and vaccine schedules, mixing and matching of products, protection against variants, and other issues; and monitor and report monthly on progress towards the global COVID-19 vaccination goals.