News & Current Events

[ad_1] BEIJING: United States officials have reached out to their Chinese counterparts for talks on vast tariffs that have hammered markets and global supply chains, a Beijing-backed outlet said on Thursday citing sources.Punishing US tariffs that have reached 145 percent on many Chinese products came into force in April, while Beijing has responded with fresh 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.And on Thursday Yuyuan Tantian, a Chinese outlet linked to state broadcaster CCTV, said citing sources that Washington was "proactively" reaching out to China via "multiple channels" for talks on the tariffs."From a negotiation standpoint the US is currently the more anxious party," the outlet, which blends analysis with news reporting, said on the X-like platform Weibo."The Trump administration is facing multiple pressures," it added.AFP has reached out to China's foreign ministry for comment.US President Donald Trump […]

[ad_1] NEW YORK: Consumers can expect higher prices and delivery delays when the Trump administration ends a duty-free exemption on low-value imports from China Friday. The expiration of the so-called de minimis rule that has allowed as many as 4 million low-value parcels to come into the US every day - mostly from China - is also forcing businesses that have built their models on sourcing production in China to rethink their practices in order to keep their costs down. But some might actually benefit from the termination of the duty exemption. For instance, companies that make their goods in the US may feel relief from the competition of cheap Chinese imports, and likely experience a brighter sales outlook. The move, which applies to goods originating from mainland China and Hong Kong, comes on top of President Donald Trump's new […]

[ad_1] A fan is carted off the field at PNC Park after falling out of the stands during the seventh inning of a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP) What began as a thrilling seventh-inning rally by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night quickly turned into a scene of fear and silence, as a man fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park.The fall occurred moments after Andrew McCutchen smacked a two-run double that gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead over the Chicago Cubs. But as fans roared and players celebrated, attention abruptly shifted toward the warning track, where the man lay motionless after plummeting over the outfield wall.Players from both teams urgently waved for medical help. Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig […]

[ad_1] Trump meeting his cabinet (AP) WASHINGTON: Near the end of President Donald Trump's marathon Cabinet meeting Wednesday, secretary of state Marco Rubio noted that the US has brought home 47 wrongfully detained Americans so far in Trump's second term. "Forty-seven for the 47th president in the first 100 days," Rubio said. "And that's all credit to you, Mr. President." Earlier in the session, Vice President JD Vance mused that "most" of the presidents whose portraits adorn the Oval Office, which include Ronald Reagan, James Madison, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln - were mere "placeholders" who weren't "men of action." And Interior Secretary Doug Burgum observed that Trump was "not just courageous, you're actually fearless" in taking on issues that other presidents dare not touch. "All of us can sprint, because you're running ahead," Burgum said. Trump, never bashful about […]

[ad_1] Britons have basked in a burst of summerlike weather this week as temperatures have surged beyond the seasonal average - and they may soon break records. Forecasters say Thursday may be Britain's warmest May 1, with highs expected to reach 84.2F (29C).The heat has been driven by two key factors: a large area of high pressure that has settled over Britain, causing descending air that warms as it sinks, and continuous sunshine, fuelling daytime heating.Aidan McGivern, a meteorologist at the Met Office, explained that this has been a familiar pattern over the last few months. "The sun this time of the year is as strong as it is in Aug," he said. "We're not importing this air from anywhere else - this is homegrown warmth." London recorded Britain's highest temperature of the year on Monday, only for that to […]

[ad_1] DHAKA: Hours after a bench of the Bangladesh high court ordered the release of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on bail on Wednesday - five months after his arrest on charges of defaming the country's national flag - the interim govt filed a petition seeking a stay on the reprieve granted to the monk. The plea is scheduled to be heard on Sunday.Earlier in the day, the HC had issued its verdict following the final hearing on Chinmoy's bail application in a sedition case filed on Oct 31, 2024. The two-judge bench, comprising justice Md Atowar Rahman and justice Md Ali Reza, upheld its earlier ruling and asked the authorities why Chinmoy should not be granted bail, according to a court official. On Oct 31, a case was filed at the Kotwali police station in Chittagong, accusing Chinmoy and […]

[ad_1] US President Donald Trump United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have gotten all of Ukraine if he hadn't won the election. In an interview with ABC News' Terry Moran, Trump said that when former US President Joe Biden got involved in the Ukraine war, it wasn't good. Responding to a question over leveraging peace between Russia and Ukraine, rump said, "If it weren't for me, I think he'd want to take over the whole country, personally. I always felt -- so when I left, there wasn't even a chance that this would happen. When Biden got involved, I won't say whether or not he handled it properly, but obviously it wasn't good, because the war started.""Putin went in. The war started. I believe that Putin wanted to get all of Ukraine […]

[ad_1] Detained immigrants form S-O-S at Texas facility amid deportation fears Immigrants detained at Bluebonnet detention centre in Anson, Texas, created an S-O-S signal visible from above this week.Thirty-one men arranged themselves to form the letters whilst a Reuters drone captured footage on Monday.Previously, numerous Venezuelan detainees received notices from immigration officials suggesting their involvement with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, making them eligible for deportation under wartime legislation, as evidenced by documents, video calls and court records.Seven detainees' families spoke to Reuters, denying gang affiliations and confirming their relatives refused to sign the documents.On Friday, April 18, authorities attempted to transport them to Abilene Regional Airport, but the journey was interrupted and they returned to the facility.The Supreme Court subsequently issued a temporary halt to deportations, with the Department of Homeland Security offering no comment on the situation.The […]

[ad_1] A Columbia University student, Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested by masked immigration agents after a naturalisation interview in Vermont, has been freed from detention while his case continues. On Wednesday, US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford stated that Mahdawi's two-week detention "so far demonstrates great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime."Mahdawi's release comes with some conditions: He must stay in his home state of Vermont, though he is allowed to travel to New York City for his schooling and to meetings with his attorneys.What Mahdawi said outside court?After the judge's statement, Mahdawi struck a defiant tone and gave a loud and clear message to Donald Trump.“I am saying it clear and loud, to President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you,” he said.Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NPR, […]

[ad_1] Donald Trump said Carney would visit the White House within the next week. President Donald Trump said he had a chat with incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Carney "couldn't have been nicer". Trump said Carney would soon come to the White House, withing the next week, or less and the two leaders would speak on a deal. “He called me up yesterday, he said, ‘Let’s make a deal,’” Trump said. “He was running for office, they were both — they both hated Trump, and it was the one that hated Trump, I think, the least that won. I actually think (Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre) hated me much more than the so-called Liberal," Trump said. In his victory speech, Carney, however, sang a different tune than what Trump described his call with him was. Carney sounded the […]