Author: Anadolu Agency
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss tariffs, as the EU seeks to avoid a trade war with the US. After meeting Trump in Washington, she will return to Rome to host US Vice President JD Vance on Friday. Meloni is expected to try to convince the Trump administration to negotiate with the 27-member bloc to resolve differences on tariffs, and is said to be in regular contact with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of her visit. The US recently rejected the EU’s zero-for-zero tariff proposal…
The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday that the global goods trade volume is projected to fall by 0.2% this year as the global trade outlook deteriorated sharply due to the increased trade policy uncertainty. While the WTO expected global trade volume to rise in 2025 and 2026, large-scale tariffs announced since January this year have prompted economists at the Geneva-based international trade regulator and facilitator body to reassess the current state of trade, according to the WTO’s Global Trade Outlook report. The US suspension of reciprocal tariffs for 90 days is easing the contraction in trade, but downside…
Belgium on Wednesday expressed serious concern over Israel’s continued blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza and recent remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz suggesting a permanent Israeli presence in Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian territories. Calling the developments “shocking and contrary to international law,” Maxime Prevot, Belgium’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, called on the Israeli government to urgently facilitate humanitarian access and halt actions that violate international norms. “I urge the Israeli government to urgently allow humanitarian aid to enter and to cease its violation of international law, to commit to a ceasefire, and to respect the integrity…
Germany on Wednesday warned Israel against a permanent occupation of Gaza after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his troops will indefinitely remain in so-called security zones in the enclave. “The German government clearly rejects a permanent occupation of Gaza and a permanent expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. Gaza belongs to the Palestinians,” Christian Wagner, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said at a press briefing in Berlin. “It remains a clear goal of German foreign policy to contribute to a negotiated two-state solution in the Middle East because that is the only way that Palestinians and Israelis can live…
If Türkiye maintains its current monetary policies and boosts foreign investor confidence, it is expected to return to sustainable growth levels by 2026, an economist at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) told Anadolu. Sebastien Turban, one of the authors of the OECD’s Türkiye economic survey, which was released April 10, said the country’s current account deficit has narrowed, and inflation along with expectations has declined since the shift in macroeconomic policy in mid-2023. Turban said inflation remains high but is moving downward, and both fiscal and monetary tightening must continue until inflation is under control. “If…
The price of gold hit a new record on Wednesday, with an ounce reaching $3,318 as the US initiates new moves in the trade conflict with China. After hitting an all-time high, the price of gold currently stands at around $3,312.60 as of 0820GMT. The ounce of gold rose more than 2.6% on Wednesday to set a new record after investors’ worries increased over further escalation of the trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies. The surge in gold price intensified after US President Donald Trump announced his “reciprocal” tariffs on more than 180 countries on April 2. China…
A Turkish minority group in Western Thrace, Greece said Athens “continues to ignore the rights violations and discrimination” the community in the region is subjected to by “distorting the facts.” This came in a Tuesday statement by the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), in response to a statement by the Greek Foreign Ministry Ministry, which was released after the Turkish Foreign Ministry shared a post on X on Monday, marking the 98th anniversary of the foundation of the Xanthi Turkish Union (Iskece Turk Birligi). In the statement, the ABTTF said Greece assesses the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne…
The Bank of Canada kept its benchmark overnight lending rate unchanged at 2.75% on Wednesday, pausing after seven consecutive rate cuts, as escalating US tariffs and growing trade uncertainty cloud the economic outlook. The bank rate remains at 3%, and the deposit rate at 2.70%, the central bank said in a statement. “The major shift in direction of US trade policy and the unpredictability of tariffs have increased uncertainty, diminished prospects for economic growth, and raised inflation expectations,” the bank said in a statement. The bank said the current environment makes it “unusually challenging” to project both GDP growth and…
Indonesia has provided assurances that no Russian military aircraft will be stationed at an airbase in the country’s easternmost province of Papua, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said Wednesday. Marles said he spoke with his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who rejected a report that Russia has lodged a request to base long-range planes at a military airfield not far from the Australian city of Darwin, 9 News reported. Marles’ statement came after Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton raised the issue amid the campaign for parliamentary elections scheduled for May 3 and said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been informed.…
Singapore is sending off a nine-person team to Egypt to treat Palestinians from Gaza on Wednesday, said the Ministry of Defense. The armed forces and Health Ministry “will deploy a contingent to provide medical care to Palestinians and other civilians from Gaza who are being treated in Egypt,” the ministry said in an Instagram post. Eight army personnel and one from the Health Ministry will work with Egyptian authorities to “pave the way for the deployment of the main team, supplies and equipment, which will likely take place in the following weeks,” the ministry added. This latest mission will permit…