Author: Anadolu Agency

After Washington initiated additional tariffs against both allies and rivals, China on Friday imposed a 34% additional tariff on all imports from the US, a move seen as a tit-for-tat against President Donald Trump’s 34% reciprocal tariffs on products from the world’s second-largest economy. The tariffs, set to go into effect next Thursday, will affect all US products imported to China, according to a Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council statement. The statement called the US’ reciprocal tariffs one-sided “bullying,” adding that they violate international trade rules and harm China’s rights and interests. China was subjected to 34% reciprocal…

Joining an anxious global chorus, the IMF managing director has raised fresh concerns over the potential global fallout from the latest tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. In a Thursday statement, Kristalina Georgieva warned the new tariffs could deepen uncertainty and threaten an already fragile global economy. “We are still assessing the macroeconomic implications of the announced tariff measures, but they clearly represent a significant risk to the global outlook at a time of sluggish growth,” she said. Georgieva urged caution and called on the US and its trade partners to cooperate amid rising trade tensions, saying: “It is…

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 destroyed the ancient city of Ava in the Mandalay Region, causing severe damage to historic pagodas and religious sites, the Myanmar Now website reported Thursday The quake also killed at least 300 people in Tada-U, a town in central Myanmar about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the provincial capital of Mandalay. Locals said that bodies still remain under the rubble. “All buildings and houses in Tada-U have been destroyed by the earthquake,” said one resident. The death toll from the earthquake rose to 3,085 on Thursday, with 4,719 injured and…

Germany on Friday criticized Israel’s military airstrikes on Syrian territory and called on Israel to halt actions that are not permitted under international law. At a Berlin press conference, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Amelie Tittel emphasized that neighboring countries should not compromise Syria’s political stability and national transition process. “Armed forces can only take military action on foreign territory in the exercise of the right to self-defense,” Tittel said. “Until Israel explains how these military measures comply with international law, we urge Israel to refrain from these military operations.” She reaffirmed Germany’s support for Syria’s stability and its ongoing national…

India’s main opposition Congress party said Friday it will challenge in the Supreme Court the recently passed Waqf Amendment Bill, which overhauls laws governing Muslim religious endowments and has been hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a major milestone for reform and transparency. The controversial bill, which applies to waqf — land or property donated by Muslims for religious, educational, or charitable purposes — passed both houses of Parliament despite sharp resistance from opposition parties and Muslim organizations. Early Friday, the bill cleared the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, after it was introduced by the Modi-led government amid mounting…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will engage in discussions with international leaders this weekend to address the growing concerns surrounding the US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Downing Street said on Friday. The talks are set to focus on how nations should collectively respond to the trade measures introduced by Trump. During a morning lobby briefing, a spokesperson revealed that while specific details regarding the identities of the leaders Starmer would be consulting with were not disclosed, the need for these conversations had been driven by the necessity of working “even more closely” with global allies in light of the economic…

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which was established in 2023 by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, is a “geostrategic reality that has disrupted the balances” for those seeking to dominate those countries, Mali’s foreign minister said Thursday. “Certainly, there are…important challenges…coming from former colonial powers or Western powers, or at least from regional actors seeking leadership or domination over our countries,” Abdoulaye Diop told a joint news conference in Moscow with his Russian, Nigerien and Burkinabe counterparts Sergey Lavrov, Yaou Sangare Bakary and Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore. Diop recalled that Russia was the first country to recognize the AES and…

Australian superannuation funds have been targeted by cyberattacks, disrupting access for members of some of the nation’s largest retirement funds. Many members have experienced difficulty accessing their accounts, with some accounts incorrectly displaying a zero balance. AustralianSuper, the country’s largest superannuation fund with at least 3.5 million members and billions of dollars in investments, has been the target of 600 cyberattacks in the last month, ABC News reported on Friday. “This week, we identified that cybercriminals may have used up to 600 members’ stolen passwords to log into their accounts in attempts to commit fraud,” the fund said in a…

Türkiye has officially joined the Safe2Eat campaign, launched by the European Union’s European Food Safety Authority, to empower consumers with reliable information for making informed food choices. According to a statement from Türkiye’s Ministry of Agriculture, the campaign, which was previously limited to EU member states, now includes candidate countries starting this year. The initiative aims to provide consumers with up-to-date, science-based information on food safety. Since 2020, the campaign has aimed to ensure that consumers make informed choices and prevent food waste. Under the Safe2Eat campaign, which reached more than 45% of the target audience across Europe last year,…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that the EU should not respond with retaliatory tariffs to the decision by the US to impose levies on worldwide imports. “I am not convinced that the best choice would be to respond to tariffs with other tariffs because the impact could be worse on our economy,” she told TV RAI. “We need to open a frank discussion with the Americans with the objective, in my view, to achieve the removal of the tariffs, not to multiply them.” US President Donald Trump announced tariffs late Wednesday on goods imported from foreign countries, roiling…