Author: Anadolu Agency
One of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisers has been placed on administrative leave, Fox News reported Tuesday. Citing a Defense Department official, the report said Dan Caldwell was put on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure” of information. Caldwell previously argued that the US should dramatically reduce its footprint in Europe and pull out forces in Iraq and Syria, according to Fox News. On March 21, Department of Defense Chief of Staff Joe Kasper signed a memo requesting a probe into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications.” “The use of polygraphs in the execution of…
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that China has withdrawn and will not take delivery of airplanes from a major Boeing deal. “They just reneged on the big Boeing deal, saying that they will ‘not take possession’ of fully committed to aircraft,” Trump said on Truth Social. Trump also stated that the US farmers are on the “front line” of the “trade war” and China was “brutal” to US farmers in his first term. Boeing shares fell 2.36% after media reports suggested China, instructed airline companies in the country not to buy Boeing jets. China was the first country…
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…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he held a “good and honest” conversation with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, during which they discussed joint preparations and “possible Russian provocations.” Zelenskyy wrote on X that he briefed Stubb on the battlefield situation and stressed the urgent need for air defense systems. “We will achieve a just and sustainable peace when Ukraine receives strong support packages, and Russia faces strong sanctions,” he said. He highlighted discussions with the US, particularly an American proposal for an unconditional ceasefire that he said Russia has refused for 36 consecutive days. “Only principled actions can turn such…
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…
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope warned on Wednesday of the “dire” humanitarian situation in Haiti. “Haiti is one that unfortunately has not received the level of attention or funding that is so desperately needed at this moment in time,” Pope told reporters virtually. Her remarks came after she visited Haiti earlier this week. “The first thing that struck me is how complicated, how complex, how dire the humanitarian situation is on the ground,” she said. It is “incredibly difficult” to get to the people who are most in need, Pope added. “The situation has become much,…
China on Wednesday called on the United States to stop its “maximum pressure” tactics and “blackmail” in trade negotiations, pushing back on US President Donald Trump’s recent comments that “the ball is in China’s court.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press conference Wednesday that the tariff war was started by the US, not China, urging Washington to abandon its strategy of “maximum pressure.” He added that Beijing does not want to fight a trade war because there will be no winner. His remarks came after Trump claimed Tuesday that it was now up to Beijing to make a…
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…
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…
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on Wednesday that international aid fell by 7.1% in 2024 compared to the previous year, marking the first drop after five consecutive years of growth. The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members provided $212.1 billion in international aid in 2024, accounting for 0.33% of their combined Gross National Income (GNI). “The fall in official development assistance (ODA) was due to a reduction in contributions to international organisations, as well as a decrease in aid for Ukraine, lower levels of humanitarian aid, and reduced spending on hosting refugees in donor countries,”…