Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters

If sustained, U.S. tariffs imposed on Mexico and Canada will have a significant adverse impact on the those countries, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, citing the strong integration of both countries with the U.S. economy. IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said the U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada and new duties on China, along with responses from China and Canada, and potentially Mexico, amounted to significant new developments. She said the IMF would release a more comprehensive assessment at the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington in April. She cited increased volatility in financial markets…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on EU leaders in Brussels to support the idea of truce in the air and at sea towards achieving peace in Ukraine. “Everyone needs to make sure that Russia, as the sole source of this war, accepts the need to end it. This can be proved by two forms of silence that are easy to establish and monitor, namely, no attacks on energy and other civilian infrastructure – truce for missiles, bombs, and long-range drones, and the second is truce on the water, meaning no military operations in the Black Sea,” he said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Europeans for their continued support on Thursday as he joined leaders for summit talks in Brussels, saying it meant Ukraine was not “alone” in its fight to repel Russia’s invasion. “We are very thankful that we are not alone. And these are not just words,” Zelensky said, standing alongside EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa. “It’s very important you made a strong signal to the Ukrainian people.”

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said U.S. discussions with Hamas were recent and the message to the Palestinian resistance group was that the United States wants to get hostages home. Witkoff also said the U.S. does not believe Hamas has been forthright.

U.S. special envoy for hostages Adam Boehler has the authority to negotiate directly with Hamas, the White House said on Wednesday after sources said Boehler has been in discussions with the group about freeing Gaza hostages. “When it comes to the negotiations that you’re referring to, first of all, the special envoy who’s engaged in those negotiations does have the authority,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She said Israel was consulted and she said Boehler’s work was a “good faith effort to do what’s right for the American people.”

U.S. electric carmaker Tesla has signed a lease deal to open its first showroom in Mumbai, as it moves towards a goal to sell imported cars in India, registration papers show, after it dropped similar plans last year. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The papers show the company has signed a five-year lease from February 16, 2025, and will pay rent of about $446,000 for the first year for 4,003 square feet (372 square meters), almost the size of a basketball court. The rent will increase by 5% every year, with a total expense over…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would continue supplying electricity to the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia at a meeting in the Kremlin on Wednesday with its leader Badra Gunba. Putin congratulated Gunba on his victory in a presidential election at the weekend, describing Russia-Abkhazia relations as “special”. The election was held months after Gunba’s predecessor was driven from office following protests over an investment deal with Russia. Most countries recognise Abkhazia as part of Georgia, which called the election “another flagrant violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Abkhazia has in recent months been plagued by an electricity crisis,…

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday he was certain that U.S. President Donald Trump would be able to achieve peace on what he referred to as the Palestinian issue. Speaking during an extraordinary Arab League summit, he said Egypt would be hosting a conference for Gaza reconstruction next month.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday Israel was ready to proceed to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, as long as Hamas was ready to release more of the 59 hostages it is still holding. Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January 19 under a truce arranged with U.S. support and Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. But the initial 42-day truce has expired and Hamas and Israel, which has blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza, remain far apart…

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the United States and Iran should resolve their mutual issues through talks, and Russia was ready to do everything in its power to help bring this about, state news agency RIA reported.