Author: AFP
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday the bloc still hopes for a “negotiated solution” to US tariffs looming this week, but that “all instruments are on the table” to hit back if necessary. “We are open to negotiations,” the European Commission chief told a European Parliament session, “but we have a strong plan to retaliate if necessary.” US President Donald Trump is set to announce a new raft of tariffs against multiple countries as early as Tuesday night, in what he has dubbed a “Liberation Day” to redress supposedly unfair trade imbalances. “We will assess tomorrow’s announcements carefully…
Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza has reportedly left at least 322 children dead and 609 wounded in the Palestinian territory in the past 10 days, UNICEF said Monday. The figures include children who were reportedly killed or wounded when the surgical department of Al Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza, was hit in an attack on March 23, the UN children’s agency said in a statement. UNICEF said most of these children were displaced, and sheltering in makeshift tents or damaged homes. Ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas, Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza on March 18…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday received the wanted leader of Bosnia’s ethnic Serbs, Milorad Dodik, in the Kremlin, Russian news agencies reported. The TASS state news agency, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, said the Russian leader had met with Dodik, who had announced a day earlier that he was in Moscow.
US President Donald Trump said Monday he would be “very kind” to trading partners when he unveils further tariffs this week, risking global turmoil to address what he says are unfair trade imbalances. Trump — who has been making unprecedented use of presidential powers since taking office in January — said he could announce as early as Tuesday night exactly what “reciprocal tariffs” will be imposed. The Republican billionaire insists that reciprocal action is needed because the world’s biggest economy has been “ripped off by every country in the world,” promising “Liberation Day” for the United States. He could also…
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Monday of a forceful retaliation if the United States or its allies bomb the Islamic republic, following a threat by President Donald Trump. “They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei said of Trump’s latest threat, during a speech on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. “If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack.” In an interview on Saturday, Trump said “there will be bombing” if Iran does not agree to a deal to curb its nuclear programme. “If they don’t make a…
US President Donald Trump vowed Monday that strikes on Yemen’s Huthis will continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping, warning the rebels and their Iranian backers of “real pain” to come. “The choice for the Huthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Huthis and their sponsors in Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Shortly after Trump’s threat, Yemeni rebel media said two US strikes Monday hit the island of Kamaran,…
Donald Trump on Monday said he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin “to fulfill his part” of a deal to end the Ukraine war, after the US president voiced doubts over Moscow’s commitment. “I want to make sure that he follows through,” Trump told reporters in the White House. “I think he’s going to live up to what he told me, and I think he’s going to fulfill his part of the deal now.” Trump on Sunday criticized both Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, as he pushes to end more than three years of conflict in Ukraine. Trump told NBC he…
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “put an end to the strikes on Gaza and return to the ceasefire” in a phone call between the two leaders. Macron’s intervention comes at a time when Israel has resumed its bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory following the collapse of a fragile truce with the Islamist group Hamas. “I called on the Israeli prime minister to put an end to the strikes on Gaza and return to the ceasefire, which Hamas must accept. I underlined that humanitarian aid must be delivered again immediately,” the French…
US President Donald Trump said Sunday he was “very angry, pissed off” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, NBC reported, marking a sharp change of tone as Washington seeks to end the war in Ukraine. NBC’s Kristen Welker said Trump had called her to express his anger over Putin questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s future as a leader — something that Trump himself has done. Welker, on her NBC show “Meet The Press” on Sunday, quoted directly from an early-morning telephone conversation with the president. Trump said that “if Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the…
Keir Starmer and Donald Trump spoke on Sunday and discussed “productive” talks towards a UK-US trade deal, the British Prime Minister’s Downing Street office said on Sunday. Since Britain’s exit from the European Union at the start of the decade successive UK governments have sought to strike a trade deal with the United States. “They discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK-US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace this week,” a statement read. “They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days.” Trump himself has dangled the prospect of a “great”…