Politics
Donald Trump pulled back from his latest and biggest round of punitive tariffs by announcing a 90-day pause for countries that did not impose retaliatory trade duties, taking them down to a 10% tariff. The American president said more than 75 countries were willing to negotiate. He did not offer any relief for China, however, instead raising the tariff rate on Chinese imports. China had earlier vowed to “fight to the end” as it imposed counter-tariffs on American imports. It described the extra duties as “a mistake on top of a mistake”.
Mr Trump and his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, suggested that America’s defence budget for the next fiscal year will top $1trn for the first time when it is published next month. Congress authorised around $892bn for this year.
Rasputin in the White House
Mr Trump sacked General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency. General Haugh was reportedly ousted by Mr Trump on the advice of Laura Loomer, a 31-year-old conspiracy theorist who has been banned from most social-media sites. She is still on X, where she wrote that General Haugh had been disloyal to Mr Trump. She provided no evidence.
Mr Hegseth became the first American defence secretary in decades to visit the Panama Canal, where he reiterated America’s intention to wrest the waterway away from what he described as Chinese influence. A deal to sell the canal’s ports operated by CK Hutchison, a company in Hong Kong, to BlackRock, an American investment firm, looks increasingly shaky; the Trump-friendly Panamanian government is opening an investigation into CK Hutchison’s port contracts.
The legal battle over deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador took another twist. The Supreme Court decided that the deportations could continue, but that the migrants could challenge their removal in the legal jurisdictions where they are being held. That caused two judges in New York and Texas to delay the deportation of migrants until they received a hearing.
The IMF announced a preliminary deal with Argentina for a funding programme worth $20bn. President Javier Milei, who has radically cut spending and reduced inflation, celebrated the announcement. It is expected to herald the beginning of a difficult but much-needed shift to a more flexible exchange rate.
The death toll from the collapse of a roof at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic rose to almost 200. The club was hosting a concert by Rubby Pérez, a popular singer, who was killed. Politicians, sportsmen and celebrities were also at the venue.
During a visit by Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to the White House Donald Trump announced that America would start “direct” talks with Iran about its nuclear programme. Mr Netanyahu had hoped to persuade the American president that it was time instead to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites.
A video was published of Israeli troops killing 15 Palestinian medics near Rafah last month. The Israeli army claimed the medics’ convoy was driving suspiciously, without lights or sirens. But the footage, obtained from the phone of a dead medic, showed that the ambulances had their lights and signals on. The Israeli army now says the episode is “under thorough examination”.
Israel struck a number of military targets in Syria, escalating tensions with Turkey. Relations between the two regional powers have worsened since the war in Gaza began. They are now competing for influence in Syria.
Amnesty International recorded more than 1,500 executions around the world in 2024, the highest level for a decade. Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia accounted for 1,380 of them. The figures do not cover a number of countries, including China, believed to be the world’s biggest executioner.
Planned peace talks between Congo’s government and M23, a rebel group backed by Rwanda, were postponed indefinitely, shattering the latest hope of easing the brutal conflict in eastern Congo. Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the fighting.
Nigeria received 1m doses of vaccine to help contain a meningitis outbreak that has killed at least 150 people, and probably many more, in the poor north. The country suffers regular outbreaks of the disease which its underfunded health-care system struggles to control.
Friedrich Merz, Germany’s all-but-guaranteed next chancellor, unveiled a coalition deal between his Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats (SPD). If SPD members approve the agreement Mr Merz should be sworn into office in May. His popularity has fallen since he decided to increase state borrowing, after campaigning against doing so.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had captured two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in eastern Ukraine and that at least 155 others were on the battlefield. China’s foreign ministry said it was verifying the claims, and that it does not support Chinese nationals’ involvement “in any party’s military operations”. North Korea has sent troops to aid Russia, but they fought in Russia’s Kursk region, not on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has been mostly pushed out of Kursk, though Mr Zelensky has confirmed that his forces are now fighting in Belgorod.
The British government dropped plans for official inquiries in five towns where sex grooming gangs had abused young girls. The inquiries had been announced in January amid a furore over the gangs, which largely consisted of perpetrators from Pakistan or with Pakistani heritage. The government will instead make funds available to local authorities and allow them to decide where independent local inquiries are appropriate. The decision was met by claims that the victims of abuse had been betrayed.
Goodbye, Mr Yoon
South Korea is to hold a presidential election on June 3rd. The announcement came after the Constitutional Court removed Yoon Suk Yeol from office, following his impeachment by the legislature in mid-December. Mr Yoon had briefly imposed martial law in early December, a political shock that revived memories of the country’s military dictatorships from the 1960s to the 1980s. All eight judges on the court voted to remove Mr Yoon, sharply criticising him for violating “the principles of the rule of law and democracy”.