Category Archives: World News

Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger ‘economic turmoil’

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US president’s plan could prove to be an economic shock to both blocs, German thinktank says

Donald Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger “economic turmoil”, sharply push down growth and send inflation soaring, according to a German thinktank.

The Kiel Institute said the US president’s promise on Wednesday that he would impose the levies “very soon” was a profound moment in the postwar relationship between Washington and Brussels and could prove to be an economic shock to both parties.

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Jailed Kurdish leader calls for PKK to disarm – in shift that could shake up Turkey and Middle East

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Abdullah Öcalan’s message, which follows four decades of guerrilla warfare, will have far-reaching implications

The ageing leader of a Kurdish militant group imprisoned on a remote Turkish island has called on the group to disarm and dissolve itself, opening the door to a fragile peace with Turkey after four decades of guerrilla warfare, attacks and reprisals.

Abdullah Öcalan, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), a group long regarded as a terrorist organisation in Turkey as well as in Britain and the US, issued the message in a letter read out by allies in Istanbul.

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Trump threatens China with additional 10% tariff in escalation of trade war

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US president also insists delayed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect on 4 March

Donald Trump has threatened China with an additional 10% tariff on its exports to the US, setting the stage for another significant escalation in his trade war with Beijing.

The US president also claimed that he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting next Tuesday, having delayed their imposition last month following talks with his counterparts.

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Deadly blasts hit M23 rebel rally in captured DRC city of Bukavu

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Deaths and injuries reported after explosions at rally attended by thousands in city captured by rebel group

Several people have been killed and dozens more injured after blasts at a mass rally held by the M23 group in Bukavu, the city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo captured by the rebels earlier this month.

Footage posted on social media showed people fleeing the scene. In another video, bloodied bodies lay on the ground and injured people were being carried away.

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King asks Moroccans not to kill sheep for Eid al-Adha as drought reduces herds

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First such request in 29 years blames economic hardship and climate crisis for high livestock prices and shortages

King Mohammed VI has urged his fellow Moroccans not to slaughter sheep for upcoming Eid al-Adha festivities as the country grapples with dwindling herds due to a six-year drought.

The request was delivered on Wednesday by the minister of Islamic affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, who read a letter on the monarch’s behalf on the state-run Al Aoula TV channel. He cited economic hardship and the climate crisis as reasons for the rising prices of livestock and sheep shortage in the north African state.

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Cypriot authorities ‘failed’ British teenager who reported alleged gang rape, says ECHR

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Court highlights shortcomings in 2019 police investigation amid ‘certain biases concerning women in Cyprus’

A British woman who alleges she was gang-raped in Ayia Napa has won a “monumental victory” over Cypriot authorities after the European court of human rights (ECHR) ruled they did not properly investigate the case.

The woman, who was 18 and on holiday at the time, told Cypriot police in July 2019 that she had been raped in a hotel room by several Israeli males.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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Why has PKK leader called on group to dissolve – and why does it matter?

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Abdullah Öcalan’s declaration paves way for end to 40-year conflict between militant Kurdish groups and Turkish state

The jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) has called on the group to disarm and dissolve, a major development that paves the way towards ending the 40-year conflict between militant Kurdish groups and the Turkish state and has far-reaching implications for the rest of the Middle East.

“I am making a call for the laying down of arms and I take on the historical responsibility for this call,” Abdullah Öcalan was quoted as saying in a letter read out by political allies in Istanbul. “All groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself.”

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Transgender US military personnel must be identified and stood down, says Pentagon memo

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Being transgender is not compatible with service, court filing says, foreshadowing removal of people from service within 60 days

Transgender service members will be separated from the US military unless they receive an exemption, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday – essentially banning them from joining or serving in the armed forces.

Donald Trump signed an executive order in January that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way – at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member”.

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Ukraine’s economy could grow by 5% next year if hostilities end, EBRD says

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European reconstruction bank will help rebuild country if peace is agreed but a lasting end to conflict is needed

The war-torn Ukrainian economy could expand by 5% next year if a ceasefire is agreed, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has predicted – but prospects for reconstruction depend on a lasting peace.

The London-based lender has invested $6.2bn (£4.9bn) in projects in Ukraine over the course of the three-year conflict.

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Top Democrat says Trump may seek mineral deal with both Russia and Ukraine

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Jeanne Shaheen discusses Trump’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to rare-earth reserves for helping end war

Donald Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned, discussing the US president’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to 50% of its rare-earth reserves, as a price for helping end the war three years after Russia invaded.

“I think anything that helps position Ukraine for any peace negotiations is a positive move,” said Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committee, who recently visited Ukraine.

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Merz’s all-male team photo revives question of gender equality in Germany

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Image posted on social media rekindles idea that prospective new chancellor has a Frauenproblem

Six beaming election winners huddled around a table and not a woman among them: a viral social media image of the man likely to be Germany’s next chancellor and his transition team has revived longstanding questions about whether Friedrich Merz can bridge a persistent gender gap.

“Not great optics” was among the more generous of the thousands of comments on the post by Merz’s Bavarian ally Markus Söder, which seemed to hark back to another time.

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Trump plans to cut more than 90% of USAid foreign aid contracts

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Internal memo and court filings reveal president to also eliminate $60bn in overall US assistance around world

The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of the US Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world.

The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAid projects for advocates to try to save in what are current court battles with the administration.

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It’s Jekyll and Hyde, says son of French surgeon accused of abusing 299 patients

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Relatives of Joël Le Scouarnec, who allegedly sexually assaulted young patients, tell court of split personality

Members of a French surgeon’s family have described discovering the “Jekyll and Hyde” character of the man accused of raping or sexually assaulting 299 young patients while they were sedated or recovering from operations.

At his trial in the city of Vannes in Brittany, relatives of Joël Le Scouarnec spoke of his split personality.

In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

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Russia could reinvade Ukraine without US security guarantees, Starmer warns

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UK prime minister faces major diplomatic effort to get president on board after he said no plans for US ‘backstop’

Keir Starmer has warned that Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine again unless the US provides security guarantees as he arrived for critical talks with Donald Trump at the most precarious moment for European stability in decades.

With the future of Ukrainian security hanging in the balance, he urged the president to commit a US backstop to a British and French-led peacekeeping force, saying it was the only way to avoid Russia plunging Europe back into war.

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Life without parole for Nice church attacker who murdered three

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Brahim Aouissaoui claimed the fatal stabbings at a church in southern French city were revenge on westerners

A Tunisian man who fatally stabbed three people in a terrorist attack at a church in Nice, almost decapitating one victim, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in France.

Brahim Aouissaoui, 25, had told the special court in Paris he had no recollection of the attack in October 2020. He later admitted he was taking revenge on “you [westerners] who kill Muslims every day”.

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New York governor orders removal of Palestinian studies job posting at Cuny

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Hunter College faculty and staff union condemns Kathy Hochul’s order to take down listing, calling it ‘overreach of authority’

The New York governor, Kathy Hochul ordered the City University of New York (Cuny) to immediately remove a job posting advertising a Palestinian studies professor role at the state university system’s Hunter College.

In the job listing, Hunter College wrote that the institution is seeking “a historically grounded scholar who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality”.

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Power back on in Chile after blackout leaves millions in dark

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Electricity restored to almost all affected regions as investigation under way into how outage occurred

Power has been restored to most of Chile’s 19 million people after the country’s most disruptive blackout in 15 years, the government said, as authorities lifted a strict curfew imposed when the outage left 98% of the population without electricity.

Chilean interior minister Carolina Tohá said on Wednesday that electricity had largely returned to Chile’s 14 afflicted regions, although 220,000 residents remained without power.

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Viral photo makes ‘Puppy Mountain’ in China an instant sensation

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Guo Qingshan’s image of a cliff on the edge of the Yangtze River in Hubei province has been viewed millions of times

A cliff on the edge of the Yangtze River has become an overnight sensation in China after a Shanghai-based designer posted a photo of it earlier this month likening it to a dog.

Guo Qingshan took the photo, which he captioned “Puppy Mountain”, while on a hike near his home town of Yichang, in Hubei province, in late January.

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Anti-Trump sentiment drives dramatic upturn in fortunes for Canada’s Liberals

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Ruling party was deeply unpopular but threat of US tariffs combined with prospect of new leader spurs rise in polls

Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls.

An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed the left-leaning Liberals have 38% public support and the official opposition right-of-center Conservatives have 36%. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, to Donald Trump.

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Mother of Egypt detainee ready to end hunger strike if UK makes progress

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Laila Soueif was hospitalised with low blood sugar this week as she tries to secure release of son Alaa Abd el-Fattah

A mother declared at risk of sudden death due to her 150-day hunger strike to free her jailed son has been persuaded to end her fast if UK ministers show any sign of progress in efforts to seek his release.

Laila Soueif, 68, is seeking the release of her son, the British-Egyptian prize-winning writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah, from a jail in Cairo. She has attempted to protest outside Downing Street for an hour each weekday to keep her son’s cause in the minds of ministers.

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