Category World News

London-listed miner Anglo American and Canada’s Teck Resources plan to merge, marking the sector’s second-biggest mergers and acquisitions deal ever and forging a new global copper-focused heavyweight.

Under the proposed deal, which will require regulatory approvals and was announced on Tuesday, Anglo American shareholders will own 62.4 percent of the new company, Anglo Teck, while shareholders in Teck would hold 37.6 percent.

Anglo Teck will be headquartered in Canada but have a primary stock listing in London, said the two companies whose combined market capitalisation exceeds $53bn.

The deal to form the world’s fifth-largest copper company is also a big bet on copper by Anglo. Glencore’s $90bn merger with Xstrata in 2013 remains the largest mining deal in history.

Copper, used in the power and construction sectors, is set to benefit from burgeoning demand spurred by electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.

Miners have raced to develop new projects, and there has been a flurry of takeover bids, though no major acquisition has so far succeeded.

Both Anglo and Teck have undergone significant restructuring in recent years, driven by external takeover attempts and strategic shifts within the mining industry.

On the potential of a bidding war for this deal, Teck CEO Jonathan Price told the Reuters news agency that the outcome was out of the company’s control.

Anglo faced a $53bn takeover bid from BHP last year that was ultimately rejected by its board. Teck rejected a $22.5bn takeover offer from Glencore in 2023, though it sold its steelmaking coal business to Glencore for $6.93bn.

“We cannot speculate on that [bidding war], and that is not something we can control. We are focused on getting approval for bringing Anglo and Teck together,” Teck’s Price said.

He said the deal creates “a much larger and much better, higher-quality copper, iron ore, and zinc business”, for shareholders.

“I think the deal itself is a very strong defence,” said one source with knowledge of the negotiations between Anglo and Teck.

The transaction has a zero-premium, all-share structure.

That lack of a premium could open the door to rival bids, but Anglo’s shareholders will receive a $4.5bn special dividend.

“Interloper risk will be a big question for the market on this deal,” Berenberg analysts wrote in a note, adding that Glencore and BHP, notably, could still step in.

While Anglo and Teck can still consider unsolicited acquisition proposals, a $330m break fee would apply.

“This is a consolidation that makes sense and brings complementary cultures together,” said Adam Matthews of the Church of England Pensions Board, an Anglo shareholder.

“Both companies are ones we hold high regard for, and the industry will be stronger for this move,” he said.

Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad will retain that post in the new company, while Teck’s Jonathan Price will be deputy CEO.

Wanblad, speaking to journalists from Vancouver, called the deal a “true merger of equals”, adding that Anglo Teck’s board would be drawn equally from the two companies’ existing directors.

“We will have a stronger, more resilient financial platform with scale advantages, including greater flexibility to reallocate capital dynamically to the highest returning opportunities,” he said.

Cost savings

The tie-up is expected to generate annual cost savings and efficiency gains of $800m by the fourth year after completion, Anglo said.

“As a merger, we absolutely get to draw on the best of both, and we don’t really need to pay away anything on either side in terms of premium to get the full benefit,” Wanblad said.

The two companies operate adjacent copper mines in Chile – Quebrada Blanca and Collahuasi – which is expected to deliver further operational benefits.

Quebrada Blanca is Teck’s flagship mine, but a tailings issue that relates to the disposal of mine waste has seen it miss production guidance, dragging down the company’s shares.

Teck’s Price said securing the regulatory approvals for the deal could take between 12 and 18 months. He added that Canada’s Keevil family, which owns a majority of Teck’s A-class shares, backed the deal.

“We have irrevocable support from Dr. [Norman] Keevil and the other A-share voters,” he said.

A source close to the deal said that the decision to maintain the new company’s headquarters in Canada, safeguarding Teck’s “Canadian legacy”, would likely help ease the way for regulatory approval by authorities there.

Democrats in the US House of Representatives have released a birthday letter allegedly written by US President Donald Trump to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago. The White House quickly denied its authenticity.

The letter, circulated on Monday and appearing to have been signed by Trump, was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in July. At the time, Trump denied the existence of the missive. Now the White House claims the signature is not his.

The birthday letter contains the sketch of a woman’s body and the text of an ostensible dialogue in which Trump calls Epstein a “pal” and says, “May every day be another wonderful secret.”

US lawmakers also released a copy of a “birthday book” given to the late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in prison on sex-trafficking charges.

What documents did the House Oversight Committee release?

The letter, which was turned over by lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s estate in response to a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, was released on Monday. It was included in a set of notes sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday, in 2003.

The leather-bound volume contained dozens of letters and sexually explicit images, including drawings by former girlfriends of Epstein receiving massages, as well as photos of zebras and lions having sex.

Contributors include former US President Bill Clinton, the Harvard Law School professor and onetime Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and the now British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, among others.

Along with the book, lawmakers also released a 2007 agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and almost 30 years of entries in his personal address book.

That comes after the release of 33,295 pages of Epstein-related documents on September 2, mostly provided by the Department of Justice in response to a subpoena issued by House Oversight Committee Chairperson James Comer.

But Democratic lawmakers had criticised that release, noting that the new records were already publicly available. On September 3, Anouska De Georgiou, an Epstein-abuse survivor, urged US lawmakers to come to a bipartisan resolution to release all the Epstein files.

Through the Epstein Files Transparency Act, House Democrats are trying to get the government to release all unclassified records in the possession of the Justice Department, including those held by the FBI, US attorneys’ offices and other federal agencies.

What has the White House said?

Trump has not commented on the note’s release. On Monday, the White House denied that the president had produced anything for the birthday book and said the signature on the letter did not match Trump’s.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich denounced the release, denying the veracity of the signature and alluding to Trump’s lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, News Corp, which first reported on the letter on July 17.

“Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION!” Budowich posted on X.

Elsewhere, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said “President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation” against the Wall Street Journal.

Trump filed a lawsuit on July 18 against the paper’s reporters and executives, including News Corp’s owner Rupert Murdoch. He is seeking $10bn in damages.

At the time, Trump denied drawing the figure or writing the note to Epstein, saying “The supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE.”

In response, a Dow Jones spokesperson said: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting.”

What are Democrats saying?

Epstein’s victims and some Democratic members of Congress remain unsatisfied with the latest slew of document releases.

Referring to Trump, House Democrats took to their official X account on Monday to note, “What is he hiding? Release the files!”

Robert Garcia, the top-ranking Democrat on the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, said Trump had “claimed that his birthday note didn’t exist … Now we know that Donald Trump was lying and is doing everything he can to cover up the truth”.

After long suggesting the files contained damaging information on Democrat politicians, Trump reversed course after returning to the White House in 2025.  He has repeatedly labelled the matter a Democrat-led “hoax”.

What are MAGA figures saying?

For months, the Trump administration has been grappling with an escalating backlash over its handling of the Epstein files, after top Justice Department officials backtracked on a promise to release all of the revealing material about the case.

Indeed, conspiratorial factions within Trump’s right-wing base were angered by the apparent reversal, opening a rift within the Republican Party, which has been stonewalling the Democrats’ Epstein Files Transparency Act.

After the Wall Street Journal story, however, Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement has coalesced behind the president. On August 25, Jack Posobiec, an alt-right activist, said on X, “We’re so back. The MAGA movement is completely united.”

Israel on Tuesday struck Qatar’s capital Doha in missile attacks that it said were targeted at senior leaders of Hamas, including negotiators from the Palestinian group who have been engaged in talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza.

Qatar condemned the attack as a violation of international law and of its sovereignty, with multiple countries and blocs also lashing out at Israel over the missile strikes.

The attack came at a time when Qatar, one of the lead mediators between Israel and the United States on the one hand and Hamas on the other, had been trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed more than 64,600 people since October 2023, when they launched a war on the Palestinian enclave.

Here is what we know so far about what happened in Israel’s strikes on Tuesday:

What happened in Qatar?

On Tuesday, around 3pm local time [12:00 GMT], multiple explosions were heard in the capital Doha, and dark plumes of smoke rose above the skyline.

People reported hearing the explosions in neighbourhoods across Doha. They were also audible at Al Jazeera’s office in the city.

Soon after 4pm local time [13:00 GMT], Israel’s military confirmed that it had fired missiles into Doha, targeting a compound believed to be hosting Hamas political leaders. Shortly after, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attack.

This is the first time ever that Israel has attacked Qatar, a country where its own negotiators have visited repeatedly over the past two years for ceasefire talks mediated by the government in Doha.

Where in Qatar did the attack take place?

The attack took place in the West Bay Lagoon area in Doha, home to many foreign embassies, schools, supermarkets and residential compounds. The region is home to Qataris as well as residents from around the world.

What has Hamas said?

A Hamas official told Al Jazeera Arabic that the attack targeted Hamas ceasefire negotiators. The attack came as negotiators from Hamas were meeting to consider the latest ceasefire proposal put forth by the US.

But Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, also confirmed that the group’s leadership, which was targeted in Doha, had survived the attack.

Among those believed to have been targeted were senior leaders Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Meshal.

But the attack killed al-Hayya’s son, Humam, and one of his top aides, al-Hindi told Al Jazeera. Contact had also been lost with three other bodyguards, he added.

He stressed that the loss of any lives was tragic.

“The blood of the leadership of the movement is like the blood of any Palestinian child,” al-Hindi said.

What do we know about casualties?

In addition to al-Hayya’s son Humam and an aide, Qatar confirmed late in the evening that at least one Qatari security official had died in the attack. Other members of Qatar’s security forces were wounded, the country’s Interior Ministry said.

“Specialised crews are continuing to inspect and secure the targeted area with the explosives division of the internal security forces,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hamas said six people had been killed in all.

What has Israel said?

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released an X post on Tuesday saying Israel acted alone in the attack.

“Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation,” the post read.

“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”

Netanyahu and Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement justifying the attack and tying it to the shooting in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday in which six Israelis were killed.

“The prime minister and defense minister believed the operation was completely justified in light of the fact that this Hamas leadership initiated and organized the October 7 massacre, and has not ceased to launch murderous actions against the State of Israel and its citizens since then,” the statement said.

The strikes on Doha violate the United Nations Charter — breaching Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid lauded the attack in a social media post, saying: “Congratulating the Air Force, [Israeli army], Shin Bet and all security forces on an exceptional operation to thwart our enemies.”

How have other Palestinian authorities reacted?

Mustafa Barghouti, who is the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said that the Israeli attack on Doha represents a “turning point that will have dangerous implications” for the Middle East.

“This operation is against Qatar, which is leading the mediation efforts, and against the Hamas leadership that is discussing the American proposal,” Barghouti said. “Is there worse shamelessness?”

How has Qatar reacted?

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Minister, released a statement condemning the attack. “This criminal attack constitutes a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents of Qatar,” the statement reads.

“While strongly condemning this attack, the State of Qatar affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and its continued tampering with regional security, as well as any action targeting its security and sovereignty. Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they become available.”

What is the latest in Qatar?

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said that the situation is safe and that the explosions heard in Doha were a result of an attack on Hamas residential headquarters.

“The ministry confirms that specialised teams are working [at the scene], and the situation is safe, and calls on everyone to obtain information from official sources,” it said in a social media post.

Qatar Airways confirmed in a statement that its flight operations have not been impacted.

The statement reads: “The recent unfortunate events in Doha have not impacted Qatar Airways operations and there have been no disruptions as a result. The safety and security of our passengers have been and will always be our top priority.”

The US Embassy in Qatar had placed a shelter-in-place order for its personnel. However, it lifted the order shortly afterwards.

Several countries have condemned Israel’s attack on Qatar.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said that it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the brutal Israeli aggression and the flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly State of Qatar”, adding that it affirms “its full solidarity” with the fellow Gulf state.

Riyadh also warned of the “grave consequences resulting from the Israeli occupation’s persistence in its criminal transgressions and its blatant violation of the principles of international law and all international norms”.

Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attack revealed that Israel was not interested in an agreement to end the war on Gaza.

“The targeting of the Hamas negotiating delegation while ceasefire talks continue shows that Israel does not aim to reach peace, but rather continue the war,” the ministry said in a statement.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan released a statement expressing solidarity with Qatar, calling the attack “blatant and cowardly”.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry deemed the attack a “violation of international law”, Iranian media reported.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in a social media post: “This act of aggression by Israel is totally unjustified, a brazen violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, and constitutes a most dangerous provocation that could imperil regional peace and stability.”

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the strikes a “flagrant violation” of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.

Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, the Maldives, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, and the Gulf Cooperation Council also all condemned the attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X that the attack on Qatar was “unacceptable, whatever the reason may be”, expressing solidarity with Qatar’s emir. “War must under no circumstances spread in the region,” he added.