Negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian officials over continued American military aid in exchange for access to Ukraine's valuable mineral resources are gaining traction after a rocky start, something Kyiv hopes will help secure long-term support for its defense against Russia.

Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with President Donald Trump which would supply the U.S. with rare earth elements — critical for various technologies. Trump said that he wanted such a deal earlier this month, and it was initially proposed last fall by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv's hand in future negotiations with Moscow.

An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda.

That is, how to spend what's been pledged so far — and how to raise a lot more to help preserve plant and animal life on Earth.

Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray for an ailing Pope Francis, expressing sorrow for his suffering, hope for his recovery and gratitude for his efforts to steer the Catholic Church in new directions.

The 88-year-old Francis has pneumonia in both lungs and remains in critical condition despite showing a slight improvement after 11 days in the hospital. The Vatican said early on Tuesday that he had "slept well, all night."

Iran has put its defense systems around its nuclear sites on high alert amid fears of an attack by Israel and the U.S., The Telegraph British newspaper said Tuesday.

The daily said that, according to two high-level government sources, Iran has been on high alert and that several additional air defense system launchers have been deployed.

The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on dozens of people and oil tankers across China, the United Arab Emirates, India and other jurisdictions for allegedly helping to finance Iran and its support for militant groups that launch attacks against the U.S. and its allies.

The U.S. Treasury and the U.S. State departments sanctioned more than 30 people and ships, including the heads of Iran's National Iranian Oil Co., and the Iranian Oil Terminals Co., for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian oil. The sanctioned ships move crude oil valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the Treasury.

The first phase of the ceasefire that paused 15 months of brutal warfare between Israel and Hamas militants is set to end on Saturday — and it's unclear what comes next.

The two sides were supposed to start negotiating a second phase weeks ago in which Hamas would release all the remaining hostages from its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the war, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah published Tuesday the names and faces of 35 of its commanders killed "on the road to Jerusalem," in addition to former leaders Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine.

The 35 Hezbollah leaders killed in the 13 months war with Israel are:

Hamas freed six Israelis on Saturday in the last scheduled release of living hostages by the militant group under the current stage of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

In all, a total of 33 Israelis are being freed during this stage — including eight who are dead. Five Thai hostages have also been freed separately. Sixty-three hostages, including the body of a soldier held since 2014, remain in Gaza.

Israel on Monday denied entry to two European Union lawmakers, accusing one of promoting boycotts of the country.

Lynn Boylan, who chairs the European Parliament EU-Palestine delegation, and Rima Hassan were refused entry at Ben-Gurion airport and ordered to return to Europe.

Just hours after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management had directed agencies that responses to its email were optional, Musk again threatened federal workers in a post on X, his social media platform.

He wrote: “Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”