Headline

China Retaliates In Trade War, Imposes Tariffs On US Energy, Autos

Published

8 months ago

February 4, 2025

China said Tuesday it would impose tariffs on imports of US energy, vehicles, and equipment, firing a return salvo in an escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced sweeping measures against major trade partners Canada and Mexico, with goods from China hit with an additional 10 per cent tariff on top of the duties they already endure.

Minutes after they came into effect, Beijing unveiled levies of 15 per cent on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas from the United States. At the same time, crude oil, agricultural machinery, big-engined vehicles, and pickup trucks face 10 per cent duties.

China is a major market for US energy exports and according to Beijing customs data, imports of oil, coal and LNG totalled more than $7 billion last year.

But that is dwarfed by China’s imports from more friendly powers such as Russia, from which it purchased $94 billion worth last year.

Beijing said the measures were in response to the “unilateral tariff hike” by Washington.

The US decision, China said, “seriously violates World Trade Organisation rules, does nothing to resolve its own problems, and disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States.”

With that in mind, Beijing said it would file a complaint with the WTO over the “malicious” levies.

Alongside its tariffs, China announced a probe into US tech giant Google and the addition of US fashion group PVH Corp. — which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein — and biotech giant Illumina to a list of “unreliable entities.”

Beijing also unveiled fresh export controls on rare metals and chemicals including tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, and molybdenum, used in a range of industrial appliances.

“I think the retaliation is not aggressive, as China only targets some US products, in response to the US tariff on all China’s exports to the US,” Zhang Zhiwei of Pinpoint Asset Management said in a note.

“This is likely only the beginning of a long process for the two countries to negotiate”

– Canada, Mexico deals –
Trump has said his tariffs aimed to punish countries for failing to halt flows of illegal migrants and drugs including fentanyl into the United States.

But he said Monday that he planned a call with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the next 24 hours.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had both earlier struck last-minute deals with Trump to tighten border measures against the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the United States, leading to a 30-day pause on threatened tariffs.

Asian equities spiked Tuesday on news of the paused tariffs, and hopes that similar negotiations could relieve the levies against the world’s number-two economy provided extra optimism.

However, traders pared some of those gains as China unveiled its measures.

Markets had slumped Monday as Trump’s threat of sweeping levies on imports from Canada and Mexico sparked fears of a global trade war.

The president said that after “very friendly” talks with Sheinbaum he would “immediately pause” the tariffs on Mexico, and that his counterpart had agreed to send 10,000 troops to the US-Mexico frontier.

– ‘Not a trade war’ –

Tensions appeared higher between the United States and Canada — but after two calls with Trudeau, Trump said on Truth Social that the prime minister had “agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl”.

Trudeau said Canada would deploy nearly 10,000 frontline officers to help secure the border, list drug cartels as terrorists, appoint a “Fentanyl Czar” and crack down on money laundering.

It was not clear the real extent of the changes on the Canadian border, given that authorities said in December they already had 8,500 personnel deployed.

Canada, China and Mexico are the United States’s three biggest trading partners.

The White House said earlier there had been a “heck of a lot of talks” over the weekend.

“This is not a trade war, this is a drug war,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC, complaining that “the Canadians appeared to have misunderstood the plain language.”

However, US government figures show that only a minimal quantity of drugs enter via Canada.

– 51st state? –

Ottawa had vowed to respond strongly to the tariffs.

Canadians have booed the US national anthem at sporting events, cancelled holidays in the United States, and boycotted American products.

Its most populous province Ontario on Monday banned US firms from bidding on tens of billions of dollars in government contracts — and dumped a deal with Trump ally Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Trump has upped the pressure recently by calling Canada’s existence into question — once again advocating on Monday for it to become the 51st US state.

A political crisis in the Canadian government over Trump’s tariff threats led to Trudeau announcing last month that he would resign. Canadians now face elections as early as April.

Mexico has meanwhile been under heavy pressure to secure its border with the United States as Trump vows a massive crackdown on undocumented migrants.

AFP

Headline

Russian Strikes Kill Five In Ukraine, Cause Power Outages

Published

10 hours ago

October 5, 2025

Editor

Russian strikes Sunday on Ukraine killed five people and badly damaged energy infrastructure, temporarily severing power supplies to tens of thousands and prompting neighbouring Poland put ground defence on high alert.

Russia has stepped up strikes on energy networks, increasing fears Moscow would resume its widespread campaign of attacks on power facilities, which have plunged millions into darkness in past winters.

Russian forces fired 496 drones and 53 missiles at Ukraine, the majority of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian air force.

“Sadly, five people were killed. My sincere condolences to everyone who lost loved ones to this terror,” Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Strikes killed four people near Lviv, which lies in western Ukraine and is hundreds of kilometers from the front line, and has been largely spared the attacks that have hit cities further east.

“Near Lviv, an entire family of four was killed in their home, including a teenage girl,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.

Emergency services released photos showing firefighters battling flames in a destroyed building, and helping elderly residents to safety.
Attacks also killed one person in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and wounded people near the eastern front, local authorities said.
“Russians once again targeted our infrastructure -– everything that ensures normal life for our people,” Zelensky said.

The strikes cut power to over 110,000 subscribers across several regions, Ukraine’s emergency services said, with the hardest hit being Zaporizhzhia.

– ‘Gas, heat and light’ –
Overnight, more than 73,000 people in Zaporizhzhia were left without electricity, regional head Ivan Fedorov said, though power had been partially restored by the afternoon.

Ukraine’s state-run gas company Naftogaz network also reported damage to its network.
“These maniacal terrorist strikes are aimed solely at one thing — depriving Ukrainians of gas, heat, and light,” Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said in a statement.

The Russian army said it launched an attack “against enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and gas and energy infrastructure facilities that ensured their operation.”

Russian attacks have also rattled Ukraine’s European allies after a spate of alleged Russian airspace violations into Europe.

NATO boosted its defences along its eastern borders throughout the month as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defences with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace.

Overnight Poland’s armed forces said on X that they had mobilised planes and put ground defences on high alert to secure the country’s airspace, especially in areas close to Ukraine.

Ukraine also said Russia was intensifying a campaign of air strikes on its railway network in an attempt to isolate frontline communities ahead of winter.

Russia launched drones at two passenger trains in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, killing one person and wounding dozens, according to Ukrainian officials.

Headline

Badenoch Unveils Strict UK Immigration Plan, Targets 150,000 Yearly Deportations

Published

10 hours ago

October 5, 2025

Editor

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has unveiled an aggressive immigration reform plan aimed at detaining and deporting 150,000 illegal migrants annually, in what she described as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen” in border policy. The announcement was made in a video message posted on her X account on Sunday.

The plan, dubbed the Radical Borders Plan, envisages the establishment of a new Removals Force modelled after the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which would replace the current Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit. According to Badenoch, the Removals Force will have a mandate to remove all illegal entrants, foreign criminals, and undocumented migrants, while also monitoring illegal work. She stated, “My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported.”

Badenoch sharply criticised previous administrations, accusing both Conservative and Labour governments of failing to manage the migration crisis effectively. “Successive governments have failed on immigration. Labour promised to smash the gangs. Instead, in just a year, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, billions wasted. It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it,” she said.

The proposed plan includes several controversial measures. Asylum claims from illegal entrants would be banned, the Human Rights Act repealed, and the United Kingdom withdrawn from the European Convention on Human Rights. Badenoch added that all new illegal arrivals would be deported within a week, with legal obstacles to mass removals removed and visa sanctions imposed on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens. She also pledged to “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” which she said would save taxpayers billions and restore public confidence in the UK’s border controls.

The Removals Force, if approved, will operate with an annual budget of £1.6 billion, double that of the current Immigration Enforcement unit, funded by savings from the closure of asylum hotels and other measures within the asylum system. The force will have sweeping powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior warning, and will integrate closely with the police. Priority for removals will include new illegal entrants, foreign criminals, failed asylum seekers, visa over-stayers, and others identified as residing in the UK illegally.

In an interview on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch faced criticism for her refusal to specify the destinations to which deported migrants would be sent. She responded, “I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go. They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.” When pressed further, she added, “They will go back to where they came from.”

According to the Conservative Party document detailing the plan, the proposed measures are intended to increase removals from the current 34,000 per year to approximately 150,000, marking a five-fold increase in enforcement activity. The party argues that the reforms are necessary to address what it describes as uncontrolled migration and to strengthen public trust in the country’s border system.

Badenoch’s announcement has intensified the ongoing debate in the UK over immigration policy, balancing border security with human rights considerations. Critics have expressed concern over the repeal of the Human Rights Act and the use of facial recognition technology without oversight, while supporters have welcomed the proposed measures as a decisive step in tackling illegal immigration.

The Radical Borders Plan is expected to be submitted for parliamentary consideration in the coming months, with its implementation contingent on legislative approval and coordination with existing law enforcement structures.

Headline

Trump Threatens To Unleash ‘Hell’ On Hamas

Published

2 days ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian militant group faced “all hell” if it did not agree to the terms.

The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 a.m. Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement told AFP earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

“Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump’s plan… and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time,” the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to accept his plan, which has been welcomed by world powers, including Arab and Muslim nations.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon.”

As Hamas mulled Trump’s peace plan this week, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement wanted to amend some clauses, including the one on disarmament.

Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees” for a full Israeli withdrawal and that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside Gaza, the source added.

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the group was split over Trump’s plan.

Structurally, the group’s leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.

Much of Hamas’s leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.

The source told AFP that “the first (opinion) supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan”.

“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses… They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands,” the source added.

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “ultimately it’s not just about convincing Hamas leadership in Doha, but also the leadership in Gaza, as well as Hamas members and fighters in Gaza.”

“Additionally, Hamas must then be able to convince other factions in Gaza,” he added.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.