Politics
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described US Donald Trump’s universal tariffs as a major blow to the world economy and said the European Union was prepared to respond with countermeasures if talks with Washington failed. “We are already finalizing the first package of countermeasures in response to
News
The death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has surpassed 3,000, with hundreds more missing, as forecasts of unseasonal rain presented a new challenge for rescue and aid workers trying to reach people in a country riven by civil war. Last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake, one of the
reports
Diplomats in Libya have said in a letter to authorities seen by AFP that several international humanitarian organizations were forced to suspend operations after threats by security services and forced resignations. In the letter, which was obtained by AFP on Wednesday, 17 mainly European ambassadors and a UN official accuse
News
Tornadoes ripped across a wide swath of central and southern United States on Wednesday, destroying homes and businesses and bringing down power lines and trees. The National Weather Service said there had been at least 15 reports of tornadoes in at least four states by late Wednesday. Eight people have
Live News
The provincial government in southern Syria’s Daraa said nine civilians were killed and several injured in Israeli bombardment following an “Israeli incursion.” The shelling near the city of Nawa came after an “Israeli incursion, with “the occupation forces advancing for the first time to this depth,” it said in
Politics
President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a 10 percent minimum tariff on most goods imported to the United States, with much higher duties on products from dozens of countries, kicking into high gear a global trade war that threatens to drive up inflation and stall US and worldwide economic growth.
Live News
The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on Russia-based people and entities working to help procure weapons and commodities — including stolen Ukrainian grain — for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, the Treasury Department said. The operatives, who included Russia-based Afghan businessman Hushang Ghairat and his brother, Russia-based Afghan businessman Sohrab Ghairat, helped
Politics
Who is Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, who is reportedly heading to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration? What is his job? Dmitriev, 49, the chief of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund since 2011, was appointed in
Live News
Niger’s junta said Tuesday it had freed around 50 people, including ministers from the government it toppled in July 2023, in line with recommendations of a “national conference” in February. Those freed include former ministers, a diplomat, a journalist and soldiers accused of a coup bid in 2010. However
Live News
The Senate confirmed Matt Whitaker late Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s US ambassador to NATO, a crucial emissary to the Western alliance at a time of growing concern about the American commitment abroad. Whitaker, who had served in Trump’s first administration at the Justice Department, brings a law
News
Donald Trump’s second presidency was dealt a spinning blow by voters in Wisconsin Tuesday as they elected a liberal to the state’s Supreme Court, despite his powerful adviser Elon Musk pouring millions into the race to sway the polls. Two months into his barnstorming return to the White
Politics
The United States on Wednesday reassured its allies in the Asia-Pacific region of its “enduring commitment” of support amid what it called “China’s intimidation tactics and destabilizing behavior.” “Once again, China’s aggressive military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s
Politics
US President Donald Trump was poised to impose sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on global trading partners on Wednesday, upending decades of rules-based trade, threatening cost increases and likely drawing retaliation from all sides. Details of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff plans were still being formulated and closely held ahead of
Economy
Oil prices steadied in thin trading on Wednesday after falling in the previous session on concerns that new US tariffs, set to be unveiled at 11:00 p.m. Saud time, may deepen a global trade war that could limit crude demand. Brent futures were unchanged at $74.49 a
News
Europe will respond to the likely implementation of tariffs by US President Donald Trump in a proportionate manner but will not escalate tensions under any circumstances, French industry minister Marc Ferracci said on Wednesday. “Europe has always been on the side of negotiation and calming things down, because trade wars,
News
Rescue crews in Myanmar pulled a 26-year-old man out alive from the rubble of the capital city hotel where he worked early Wednesday, but most teams were finding only bodies five days after a massive earthquake hit the country. After using an endoscopic camera to pinpoint Naing Lin Tun’s