Trump launches reciprocal tariffs amid concerns of economic turmoil
US president says levies will restore a sense of 'fairness' to trade relations with other countries.
Dozens injured in suspected car-ramming attack in Munich
The driver, who was detained at the scene, was a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, police said.
In Panama economic needs threaten to erase a way of life – NPR
US releases Russian cybercriminal as part of exchange for teacher Marc Fogel
Alexander Vinnik, owner and operator of cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, was arrested in 2017 for money laundering
The Trump administration has released Alexander Vinnik, a cybercriminal who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, to Russia, as part of an exchange that freed American schoolteacher Marc Fogel on Tuesday.
Vinnik, who arrived in Moscow on a flight from Turkey on Tuesday after having been released from custody in California, is accused of owning and operating one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, BTC-e, which prosecutors allege facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars in transactions for criminals worldwide.
Continue reading...RFK Jr sworn in as US Health and Human Services chief
Kennedy will oversee the US health industry including food safety, pharmaceuticals and vaccinations.
Elon Musk says he’ll drop his $97bn bid for OpenAI if it remains a non-profit
Billionaire’s lawyers say offer will be withdrawn if firm he helped found a decade ago ‘preserves the charity’s mission’
Elon Musk says he will abandon his $97.4bn offer to buy the non-profit behind OpenAI if the ChatGPT maker drops its plan to convert into a for-profit company.
“If OpenAI, Inc’s Board is prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid,” lawyers for the billionaire said in a filing to a California court on Wednesday. “Otherwise, the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets.”
Continue reading...Trump proposes nuclear deal with Russia and China to halve defense budgets
‘We’re all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things,’ the US president said
Donald Trump said that he wants to restart nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China and that eventually he hopes all three countries could agree to cut their massive defense budgets in half.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump lamented the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in rebuilding the nation’s nuclear deterrent and said he hopes to gain commitments from the US adversaries to cut their own spending.
Continue reading...Watch moment man is swallowed by humpback whale
Dell Simancas captures the moment his son, Adrián, is swallowed and spat out by a humpback whale.
Watch moment man is swallowed by humpback whale
Dell Simancas captures the moment his son, Adrián, is swallowed and spat out by a humpback whale.
Chinese Fighter Harassed Australian Surveillance Aircraft Over South China Sea, Official Say – USNI News
- Chinese Fighter Harassed Australian Surveillance Aircraft Over South China Sea, Official Say USNI News
- China accuses Australia of deliberate provocation in South China Sea Reuters
- Australia says Chinese fighter jet released flares that almost hit spy plane over South China Sea CBS News
- Chinese Warships Approach Australian Coast After South China Sea Encounter Newsweek
- Australia accuses China of 'unsafe' fighter jet move BBC.com
Leaders set for key security meeting as ‘old’ world order at risk of crumbling
The BBC's Frank Gardner says Nato's unity is badly dented with decisions over Ukraine set to be discussed in Munich.
Two Darlington councillors investigated after ‘wrestling’ in parish meeting
Exchange of insults between David Darling and Colin Pease, both in their 70s, led to scratches, bleeding and broken spectacles
The agenda for the Middleton St George parish council meeting was quite dull: village show costs, condition of footpaths and a quote for a flagpole inspection.
But the meeting itself was more lively, with two councillors exchanging insults before a “wrestling match” that led to scratches, bleeding, a bruised finger and the destruction of spectacles said to be worth £325.
Continue reading...Student died from sepsis after antibiotics error in London hospital, inquest hears
Potentially life-saving drug was prescribed for William Hewes but not given quickly enough due to communication mix-up
A consultant paediatrician warned medical colleagues treating her son that they had failed to give him life-saving antibiotics hours before he died from sepsis, an inquest has heard.
William Hewes, 22, a history and politics student, died on 21 January 2023 of meningococcal septicaemia at east London’s Homerton hospital, where his mother, Dr Deborah Burns, worked.
Continue reading...US says 5,000 soldiers deployed along Mexico border, could increase further
General says US has also stepped up surveillance of cartels in Mexico, raising concerns about possible military strikes.
France proposes plan to speed up Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon, minister says – The Jerusalem Post
- France proposes plan to speed up Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon, minister says The Jerusalem Post
- Israel seeks another extension for Lebanon withdrawal, source says BBC.com
- US said to accept IDF request to remain in 5 south Lebanon posts after Feb. 18 deadline The Times of Israel
- Extend the ceasefire in the North and protect Israel from Hezbollah – editorial The Jerusalem Post
- Israel to Keep Five Army Posts in Lebanon, Top Minister Says Bloomberg
Trump’s Ukraine call with Putin leaves UK sounding at odds with reality
Statements that there can be no negotiations without Kyiv ring hollow when the US president has just sidelined it
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s incendiary call with Vladimir Putin, UK ministers and officials have had to do some extraordinary contortions.
There is no greater priority in the UK’s foreign policy than keeping the volatile occupant of the White House on side. And that has meant over the past 24 hours that some pronouncements by the British government have seemed at odds with reality.
Continue reading...Zelenskyy wants plan to ‘stop Russia’ before US peace talks
Ukrainian president says it was 'not very pleasant' that Trump called Putin before speaking to him.
Pete Hegseth says ‘everything is on the table’ to end Ukraine war
US defence secretary suggests cutting number of American troops in Europe could even be part of a deal with Russia
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said “everything is on the table” to bring peace to Ukraine and suggested reducing the number of American troops in Europe could be part of any deal.
European leaders are reeling from several abrupt US moves since Wednesday in relation to the Ukraine war and the continent’s security, which has been underpinned by the US since Nato was formed at the end of the second world war.
Continue reading...A delicate balance: Why Doral GOP pols fight for Venezuelans, but avoid clash with Trump – Miami Herald
- A delicate balance: Why Doral GOP pols fight for Venezuelans, but avoid clash with Trump Miami Herald
- In a few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans will lose TPS. What you need to know Miami Herald
- Venezuelans backed Trump. Now some worry he’ll deport them. The Washington Post
- Chicago immigration news: Some new-arrival Venezuelan migrants face threat of deportation with no temporary protected status ABC7 Chicago
- Miami-Dade Democrats, local Venezuelans speak outside city hall about losing TPS WPLG Local 10
Europe lacks a master plan for Donald Trump’s new world disorder – POLITICO Europe
- Europe lacks a master plan for Donald Trump’s new world disorder POLITICO Europe
- Trump’s Whirlwind Now Blows Through Europe The New York Times
- America First? For Europe, It's America as Usual Bloomberg
- EU failed to Trump-proof Europe and now faces humiliation over Ukraine The Guardian
- Europe can no longer view Trump’s foreign policy through a binary lens Kyiv Independent