Timbits

Tornadoes killed at least 32 people across several states in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast on Saturday night, part of a monster storm strong enough to topple tractor-trailers and wipe out hundreds of buildings.

On or just before March 13, long-range attack drones belonging to the Ukrainian defense intelligence agency struck a hidden drone manufacturing facility in Obukhovo, just outside Moscow 300 miles from the border with Ukraine.

The facility was concealed in a concrete plant. “Local residents were the first to report powerful explosions and a fire at the facility,” the Estonian analyst WarTranslated observed.

Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream.

The spill happened on Feb. 18 when a tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a copper mine in the north of the country collapsed, according to investigators from the Engineering Institution of Zambia.

Ethiopia and Eritrea could be headed toward renewed warfare, regional officials warn, threatening another humanitarian disaster in the Horn of Africa. Such a conflict would involve two of the continent’s largest military forces and potentially draw in additional regional powers

Canada is actively looking at potential alternatives to the U.S-built F-35 stealth fighter and will hold conversations with rival aircraft makers, Defence Minister Bill Blair said late Friday, just hours after being reappointed to the post as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's new cabinet.

Mark Carney has been elected as the new Liberal leader, and quickly delivered a rallying speech vowing to take on U.S. President Donald Trump and Canada’s Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre with strength.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump was "colourful" with moments of tension as the two hashed out how to bring the American-led trade war to an end.

Trudeau said negotiations are ongoing to secure some form of tariff relief for certain sectors, but warned there's no sign that Trump is willing to drop his levies entirely and it's likely a trade dispute will continue "for the foreseeable future."

Trudeau said there are ongoing discussions to have all of the tariffs dropped until April 2, when Trump is expected to impose another layer of retaliatory tariffs on all countries he claims are ripping off the U.S. But those talks have not been finalized and Trudeau said he was reluctant to comment until there is something concrete to announce.

What does your smartphone have in common with a solar panel, or an EV battery, or a piece of military equipment? They're all made using critical minerals — an essential ingredient in powering the modern technology that we use every day.