Author: Daily Sabah With DPA
The European Union has offered the United States an agreement on “zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday, days before 20% tariffs on EU exports enter into force. “Europe is always ready for a good deal, so we keep it on the table,” von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. “These tariffs come first and foremost at immense costs for US consumers and businesses,” she said, calling the trade measures “a major turning point for the United States.” While hoping for a diplomatic solution, the EU was preparing countermeasures and setting up…
Thousands of protesters took to the streets across predominantly Muslim Bangladesh on Monday, condemning Israel’s inhumane attacks on Gaza, according to police. In the capital Dhaka, students and activists joined rallies in solidarity with the people of Gaza, as well as against the United States and its president Donald Trump for supporting Israel in its war with Palestinian resistance group Hamas. Large numbers of students assembled on the Dhaka University campus, waving Palestinian flags and holding placards with slogans such as “Boycott Trump, Save Palestine,” “Show Israel the Red Card,” and “Boycott America.” Classes and exams were suspended at many…
Israel says some 16,500 of its soldiers have been treated for physical and psychological injuries since one of the region’s bloodiest conflicts in decades began a year and a half ago. Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that almost half – 7,300 – of the impacted soldiers had sustained psychological harm since its military began operations in Gaza in October 2023. Limur Luria, head of the ministry’s rehabilitation department said those impacted suffered from post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety attacks and depression. Israel says more than 400 military personnel have died since it began operations in Gaza after more than 1,200…
The UN children’s organization UNICEF has urged Israel to allow aid convoys access to the Gaza Strip to help alleviate the plight of some one million children and young people there. “No aid has been allowed into the Gaza Strip since 2 March 2025 – representing the longest period of aid blockage since the start of the war,” UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder said Saturday. This has led to shortages of food, safe water, shelter, and medical supplies, he explained. Without these essentials, malnutrition, diseases and other preventable conditions would likely surge, leading…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for greater pressure to be applied to Russia following overnight missile and drone attacks on Kiev and other targets across Ukraine. “These attacks are [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners – the United States, all of Europe, the entire world – has seen that Russia intends to continue the war and the killing,” Zelensky posted on X on Sunday. “The pressure on Russia is still insufficient, and the daily Russian strikes on Ukraine prove it,” he said, detailing more than 1,460 guided bombs, almost 670 drones and…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has released more details about the children killed in a Russian airstrike on his home city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday. The 3-year-old Tymofij, 7-year-old Arina and 9-year-old Herman were among the nine children killed in the Russian strike, Zelensky wrote on X on Saturday. Nine adults were also killed when a Russian ballistic missile hit the south-eastern city of Kryvyi Rih, followed by a drone attack, Zelensky said. Previous reports spoke of 16 people killed in the attacks. Zelensky said the strike hit an ordinary street in a residential area with a playground, shops and…
Top representatives from the European Union and the United States held a video conference on Friday to discuss President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on European imports. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said he spoke for two hours with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Šefčovič, writing on X, described the discussion as “frank.” “I was clear: US tariffs are damaging, unjustified,” he wrote. “The EU-US trade relationship needs a fresh approach. The EU’s committed to meaningful negotiations but also prepared to defend our interests.” Šefčovič ended with: “We stay in touch.” No further details were…
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was once again delaying enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law for 75 days. The deadline had been due to elapse on Saturday. Trump’s decision means users in the United States will continue to have access to the popular Chinese video app for the time being. “My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Former president Joe Biden signed…
Israel’s military on Monday ordered residents of Rafah and nearby villages in southern Gaza to evacuate immediately, citing plans to resume operations “with great force” against resistance groups in the area. A map published with the announcement shows that most of Rafah is affected by the order. Residents were told to go to al-Mawasi, a sprawling and squalid series of encampments along Gaza’s south-west Mediterranean coast. Al-Mawasi was previously designated a “safe zone,” although Israeli forces have conducted strikes there to target what they describe as Hamas facilities. Following a ceasefire that took effect on January 19, many internally displaced…
US President Donald Trump has threatened that Iran will be bombed if it persists in developing nuclear weapons. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” NBC News said the president told one of its correspondents in an interview late Saturday. It said he also threatened to punish Iran with what he called “secondary tariffs.” Trump’s language represented a sharpening of his comment a few days earlier that if Tehran refused to negotiate a new nuclear agreement, “bad, bad things are going to happen to Iran.” It was not clear whether Trump was threatening bombing by US planes…