Trump tariffs will send global trade into reverse this year, warns WTO
World Trade Organization says trade between US and China is expected to plunge by 81% in ‘decoupling’
Trump tariffs will send global trade into reverse this year, warns WTO
World Trade Organization says trade between US and China is expected to plunge by 81% in ‘decoupling’
Donald Trump’s tariffs will send international trade into reverse this year, depressing global economic growth, the World Trade Organization has warned.
In its latest snapshot of the global trading system, the Geneva-based institution says it had previously expected goods trade to expand by a healthy 2.7% this year. As a result of Washington’s trade policy, it is now forecasting a 0.2% decline.
Presenting the forecasts, the WTO’s director general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said she was particularly concerned about the “decoupling” of the US and China, calling it “a phenomenon that is really worrying to me”.
Maldives bans Israelis to protest Gaza war
The Maldives has changed its immigration law to prohibit the entry of Israeli passport holders in protest against the war in Gaza. The move was first tabled last year but has now been ratified by the president.
The government of the Maldives announced on Tuesday that it was banning Israeli nationals from entering the South Asian archipelago over Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
The decision comes in "resolute solidarity" with the Palestinian people, the office of President Mohamed Muizzu said in a statement.
Israeli army faces growing dissent: ‘I will never again serve under this government’
Israeli media have reported a marked increase in the number of reservists refusing to show up for army duty, pointing to rapidly declining support for a war that critics – including within the military – say is no longer motivated by Israel’s security interests and the release of hostages held in Gaza.
More than 18 months since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel’s onslaught on the ravaged Palestinian enclave shows no sign of relenting.
Yuval Ben-Ari, however, has decided his war is over.
“The Gaza Strip is a field of ruins, there’s nothing left, and yet the army is planning new operations with no clear objective,” the 40-year-old reservist told Israel’s Radio Haifa in an interview earlier this month.
Gov't panel urges more tariff-free rice be used for human consumption
A Japanese government panel has proposed diverting more tariff-free imported rice to human consumption rather than using it for animal feed or other purposes, as prices remain elevated due to insufficient domestic crops.
Japan currently imports around 770,000 tons of rice annually, mainly from the United States, under the minimum access commitment based on World Trade Organization rules. Of the amount, up to 100,000 tons are allocated for regular dietary use.
The panel under the Finance Ministry recommended that the quota system should be managed more flexibly to respond to demand from private companies and households, saying the move would support stable domestic supply.
Russia’s largest military call-up whips up fear among young men
With more than 100,000 Russian soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine, Moscow is making life harder for draft dodgers.
On April 1, Russia began a new conscription drive with the goal of enlisting 160,000 military-age men between 18 and 30.
It is the largest such call-up since 2011, aiming to fulfil last year’s presidential decree to boost the armed forces to 2.5 million personnel.
And it is making Bogdan, a 21-year-old on the outskirts of Moscow, nervous.
Racially charged row between Musk and South Africa over Starlink
Khanyisile Ngcobo
The tussle between Starlink boss Elon Musk and South Africa over the company's failure to launch in the country stems from the nation's black empowerment laws, and could be one factor behind the diplomatic row between the US and Africa's most industrialised nation.
To his more than 219 million followers on his social media platform X, Mr Musk made the racially charged claim that his satellite internet service provider was "not allowed to operate in South Africa simply because I'm not black".
But the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) - a regulatory body in the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors - told the BBC that Starlink had never submitted an application for a licence.
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