Exclusive-Trump tariff threats prompt some drugmakers to expedite shipments to US
NEW YORK/LONDON/LOS ANGELES -Some drugmakers are taking the unusual step of sending more medicines by air to the U.S., two executives and two logistics firms said amid fears President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariffs announcement could include products made in…
Car-carrying ships send added cargo to US ahead of looming tariffs
BERLIN- Car-carrying ships have sent more cargo from Europe and China, Japan and Korea to the United States in the first months of the year than last year, shipping data showed, in a sign of companies front-loading shipments ahead of…
Canada’s prime minister says nothing off the table in response to Trump’s tariffs
OTTAWA -Canada will wait until next week to strike back against the latest U.S. threat of tariffs and nothing is off the table regarding possible countermeasures, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday. Carney, warning Canadians that tough times lay…
Exclusive-US pauses financial contributions to WTO, trade sources say
GENEVA -The United States has paused contributions to the World Trade Organization, three trade sources told Reuters, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up efforts to cut government spending. The Trump administration is retreating from global institutions it sees…
Russia remands billionaire Moshkovich in custody for two months
MOSCOW – Russian farming billionaire Vadim Moshkovich was remanded in custody for two months by a Moscow court on Thursday after his detention on suspicion of large-scale fraud, the highest-profile arrest in years of a major businessman in Russia. Moshkovich,…
Sudan’s army shells Omdurman in push to oust RSF from capital region
DUBAI – The Sudanese army shelled parts of Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman from early morning on Thursday, residents said, after declaring victory over their Rapid Support Forces rivals in a two-year battle for the capital. The army ousted the…
Egyptian security delegation heads to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks
CAIRO -A security delegation from Egypt, one of the mediators in Gaza negotiations, has headed to Qatar for talks on releasing hostages, admitting aid into the enclave and moving towards a second phase of a ceasefire, state-affiliated Al Qahera News…
Russian shelling kills two, disrupts power supply in Ukraine’s Kherson
Russian shelling on Thursday killed at least two people, damaged railway infrastructure and partially disrupted power supplies in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson, officials said. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of flouting a truce on energy strikes brokered…
US senators blast FAA for failing to act earlier on helicopters near airplanes
WASHINGTON -U.S. senators on Thursday criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for failing to act for years to address helicopters in “dangerous proximity” to commercial airplanes near Reagan Washington National Airport. “Why did the FAA not act on 15,000 reports of…
First Quantum halts public tours of closed Panama copper mine
PANAMA CITY -First Quantum Minerals said on Thursday it would suspend public tours of its shuttered copper mine in Panama after the country’s president said the Canadian miner should not give the impression that the site is operational. In a…
Brazil center-south sugar crushing down around 18% in first half of March -Unica
SAO PAULO – Sugar cane crushing in Brazil’s center-south region during the first half of March fell almost 18% to 1.83 million metric tons versus the year-earlier period, industry group Unica said in a report published on Thursday. Sugar production…
Ryanair CEO says Boeing executive downplayed aircraft tariff threat
BRUSSELS -Ryanair’s boss is confident that commercial jets will not be sucked into trade tensions between the United States and other trade powers, including Europe, after a meeting with a top Boeing executive. Michael O’Leary, CEO of the European budget…
Trump’s auto tariffs will hit many companies, but Elon Musk’s Tesla less so
As the global auto world reeled from the potential fallout of Donald Trump’s new auto tariffs, one name stood out as less affected than others – electric-vehicle maker Tesla. The Texas-based company’s shares were the rare automotive stock to trade…
Trump auto tariffs take aim at a pillar of Asian economies – and national pride
For Japan and South Korea, tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump represent a blow to domestic car industries that are both economic pillars and sources of national pride. Shares in companies such as Japan’s Toyota and Honda and South Korea’s…
Turkey deports BBC journalist over ‘public order’ threat, fines TV channels
ANKARA – Turkish authorities deported a BBC News correspondent on Thursday after detaining him for 17 hours and branding him a “threat to public order”. Mark Lowen had been in Turkey to cover mass street protests triggered by the arrest…
UK’s Starmer: Now is not the time for lifting sanctions
LONDON – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that now was not the time to lift sanctions against Russia, speaking after a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other leaders in Paris. Starmer met leaders of countries…
Algeria jails writer Sansal for 5 years, France ‘regrets’ sentence
TUNIS – An Algerian court sentenced French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal on Thursday to five years in jail for undermining national unity, drawing an expression of ‘regret’ from France, which called for a swift and dignified end to the situation.Sansal has…
Czech ammo drive for Ukraine can match 2024 deliveries this year, PM Fiala says
PRAGUE – The Czech-led ammunition initiative to supply Ukraine can deliver at least as many shells in 2025 as it did last year, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday following a Paris summit with the Ukrainian president and other…
Myanmar junta preparing for December election, top general says
The chief of Myanmar’s ruling junta vowed on Thursday to hold a free and fair election in December, as he urged armed opponents in a widening civil war to renounce violence and pursue dialogue. Min Aung Hlaing during a speech…
Zelenskiy says Russian conditions for Black Sea ceasefire ‘unrealistic’
KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday Russia’s conditions for a ceasefire on the Black Sea were “unrealistic,” and that Russia was trying to drag out talks in order to grab more land. He also said that lifting…
Israel intercepts two missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthis
DUBAI – The Israeli military said on Thursday it had intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen before they crossed into Israeli territory, after sirens sounded in several areas in Israel including Jerusalem. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been launching missiles and…
Partner of Ukraine fighter facing Russian prison sentence demands his release
KYIV – Kateryna Bondarenko had little doubt that her boyfriend, a fighter with Ukraine’s Azov regiment captured by the Russians in 2022, would receive a long prison term when a military court handed down its sentence. That did not make…
Exclusive-How Syria’s sectarian violence spread to capital, terrorizing Alawites
DAMASCUS -Close to midnight on March 6, as a wave of sectarian killings began in western Syria, masked men stormed the homes of Alawite families in the capital Damascus and detained more than two dozen unarmed men, witnesses said. Those…
Washington told EU to brace for more tariffs before any talks, envoys say
BRUSSELS – Washington has told the European Union it should not expect any trade negotiations before the United States has imposed more tariffs on the bloc next week, EU diplomats said on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has already…
Turkey detains nearly 1,900 in protests over jailed mayor, rejects international criticism
ISTANBUL/ANKARA -Turkey said on Thursday it rejected “prejudiced” international statements over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and protests it triggered, following the detention of nearly 1,900 people since the nationwide demonstrations began eight days ago. Imamoglu, President Tayyip…
Six Russians dead, 39 tourists rescued after submarine sinks in Red Sea off Egypt
CAIRO -Six Russians died on Thursday and 39 foreign tourists were rescued when a viewing submarine sank off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada, the local governor’s office said on Facebook, adding that no passengers or crew were still…
US to give $73 million to aid Rohingya refugees, State Dept. says
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration said on Thursday it will provide $73 million in new financial aid to Rohingya refugees through the U.N. World Food Programme, amid concerns that aid cuts could deepen the crisis for the world’s largest stateless…
Detention of South Sudan’s VP Machar cancels peace deal, his party says
The detention of South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar has effectively collapsed the peace deal that ended the 2013-2018 civil war, his party said on Thursday. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan called for restraint, saying the country…
Who is Riek Machar, South Sudan’s embattled vice president?
The reported house arrest of Riek Machar, the former bush rebel leader who became South Sudan’s First Vice President, marks the latest turn in the turbulent relationship with his rival, President Salva Kiir, after a five-year civil war. The two…
US arrests El Salvadoran man on gun charge, alleges MS-13 ties
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia -U.S. prosecutors charged an El Salvadoran man on Thursday with illegal possession of a firearm, hours after federal officials arrested him in an early morning raid in Virginia and alleged he was a leader of the MS-13 international…