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Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his blessing to Madagascar's new leader in a Kremlin meeting Thursday, as Russia seeks to expand its influence in Africa.Colonel Michael Randrianirina – Madagascar's interim leader since the former president fled in October following demonstrations – said he was counting on Russian support as his country goes through a ‘difficult period.’He travelled to Moscow on a plane chartered by Russia, weeks after the Kremlin sent military equipment to the island.Putin told Randrianirina that Madagascar was an ‘important partner’ in Africa.Moscow has sought to extend its outreach in Africa – where its Wagner paramilitary forces have been active for years and where it rivals European powers, especially France.’I would like to note that we have many interesting areas of co-operation. These include agriculture, geological exploration, energy, medicine, healthcare and education,’ Putin said.’We are ready to develop these ties in the humanitarian sphere and others,’ he added.Under massive Western sanctions since its Ukraine offensive started in 2022, Russia has sought to pivot to Asia and the so-called ‘Global South’.Randrianirina called Russia a ‘country whose support we hope will accompany Madagascar, which is currently going through a difficult period, both politically and economically’.’We are happy to be here,’ he said, adding that the visit shows the island's ‘will to reinforce cooperation with the Russian Federation.’He said that on top of cooperating in the ‘social, health and education sectors’, Madagascar is ‘ready to fully cooperate’ in the military sphere.Russian independent media has for several years reported that the Wagner military group sought to expand its activity in Madagascar.Last month, Russian military instructors visited Madagascar to train their counterparts in military equipment supplied by Moscow, including drones.Putin also expressed condolences to the army colonel over a recent cyclone on the island, that killed at least 40 people this month.Russia was the third country Randrianirina went to since coming to power, having visited United Arab Emirates and South Africa before.All of those visits came before going to Madagascar's ex-colonial ruler France, where Randrianirina is due later this month. Source link
US President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony at the inaugural meeting of the ‘Board of Peace’ in Washington, DC. Around two dozen world leaders…
Workers load fresh oil palm fruit bunches from Melati Hanjalipan cooperative palm oil plantation in Hanjalipan village, East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia. (Reuters/File Photo) Palm oil and other commodities exemptDeal to facilitate US investment in Indonesian critical mineralsIndonesia and the United States finalised a trade deal to cut US levies to 19% from 32% on goods shipped from southeast Asia’s biggest economy, with Jakarta securing tariff exemptions for its top export, palm oil, and several other commodities.The agreement was signed in Washington by Indonesia’s senior economic minister Airlangga Hartarto and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer after months of negotiations.”This deal respects the sovereignty of both countries,” Airlangga said during an online press conference, describing the deal as a “win-win” for both countries.Palm oil was a particularly important exemption, accounting for around 9% of Indonesia’s overall exports.Indonesian coffee, cocoa, rubber and spices would also be tariff-free, Airlangga said.The 19% rate is on par with US deals with southeast Asian rivals such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines. Vietnam, however, has a slightly higher rate of 20%.Malaysia, another major exporter of palm oil, also has a tariff exemption for that product, as well as for cocoa and rubber.The deal comes after a rough start to the year for Indonesian markets. Setbacks include last month’s warning from index provider MSCI that the equity market risked a downgrade to “frontier” status over transparency issues, as well as Moody’s cutting of the country’s credit rating outlook two weeks ago that cited reduced predictability in policy making.Investor confidence in Indonesia could improve if Jakarta uses the US deal as a springboard for further reform, said Yose Rizal Damuri, executive director of CSIS Indonesia.”If Indonesia could multilateralise some of its commitments to the United States and use them as a basis for deregulation, that would increase trust in Indonesia and that’s something that should be taken advantage of, optimised,” he added.Under the deal, textile products from Indonesia will be subject to a 0% levy under a quota mechanism that is still to be discussed. The quota will be determined by the quantity of US materials such as cotton and man-made fibre used in textiles.The US dropped requests to add non-economic provisions to the deal, including those related to nuclear reactor development and the South China Sea, Airlangga said.In return, Indonesia will remove tariff barriers on most US products across all sectors and address a range of non-tariff barriers such as local content requirements, according to a White House fact sheet.It will also accept US product standards on vehicle safety, emissions, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.The deal also appears to take aim at what analysts have said are concerns in Washington about China’s stranglehold on many critical minerals and the offshoring of Chinese companies’ operations to countries like Indonesia.Under the agreement, Indonesia will implement restrictions on ‘excess production’ by foreign-owned mineral processing facilities by ensuring production conforms to Indonesian mining quotas. Such minerals include nickel, cobalt, bauxite, copper and manganese.Jakarta has also agreed to take action against companies owned or controlled by foreign countries operating within its jurisdiction when their practices harm US trade interests.And Indonesia will facilitate US investment in critical minerals and energy resources as well as cooperate with US companies on expediting development of its rare-earth sector.The deal is due to take effect 90 days after both sides complete related legal procedures, Airlangga said, adding that changes could still occur if both sides agree.President Prabowo Subianto has travelled to Washington for the deal and to attend the first leaders’ meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.Prabowo and Trump yesterday signed a document titled “Implementation of the Agreement Toward a NEW GOLDEN AGE for the US-Indonesian Alliance” which the White House said would help both countries to strengthen economic security and growth.Earlier this week, Indonesian and US companies signed deals worth $38.4bn. …
A new banner depicting US President Donald Trump is hung on the Department of Justice building in Washington, DC. – Reuters A banner of US President Donald Trump has been unfurled outside the headquarters of the Justice Department (DOJ) in the latest effort to stamp his identity on a Washington institution.The blue banner unfurled on Thursday between two columns in a corner of the agency’s headquarters includes the slogan: “Make America Safe Again.”Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has moved aggressively to imprint his image and influence on federal institutions.He has reshaped cultural and policy bodies by installing loyalists, renamed prominent institutions, and sidelined officials linked to past probes, steps critics say blur the lines between political power and traditionally independent government functions.Banners bearing Trump’s image were affixed last year to the Department of Labour, the Department of Agriculture and the US Institute for Peace buildings.A board of directors appointed by the president voted in December to add Trump’s name to the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts.Trump’s name was also affixed last year to the US Institute of Peace building in Washington.The White House referred questions about the latest banner to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In a statement cited by NBC News, a DOJ spokesperson said the department was “proud” to celebrate its “historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction”.In 2023, former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith secured indictments accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents following his first term in office and of plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.Trump falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election.His supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Congress from certifying the results of that election.After taking office for a second time in January 2025, Trump pardoned the rioters.Trump denied wrongdoing in the cases against him, calling them politically motivated.Smith dropped both cases against the Republican after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.Smith resigned from the Justice Department days before Trump returned to the White House early last year.The Trump administration’s Justice Department has since targeted and fired many officials involved in probes against the Republican leader. Source link
Quentin Griffiths, who co-founded British fast-fashion retailer ASOS, has died after a fall from a balcony in Thailand, Thai police said .Police told Reuters that Griffiths, 58, had fallen from the 17th floor of an apartment block in the seaside resort city of Pattaya on February 9.The police went to the scene and found the body of a British national, whom they identified as Quentin John Griffiths, on the ground directly below the balcony, they said.Police said initial investigations suggested suicide, and there were no indications of foul play. CCTV showed no sign of anybody entering his apartment, where he had lived alone, but his body has been sent for an autopsy, they added.The police also quoted a Thai friend of Griffiths as saying the Briton had been worried about lawsuits from his former wife, a Thai national.Documents related to those lawsuits were found in his apartment, the police said.When asked about Griffiths, Britain’s foreign office said it was supporting “the family of a British national who has died in Thailand” and was in touch with the local authorities.Griffiths’ case did not initially attract media attention in Pattaya, which has a large contingent of foreign residents, until The Sun newspaper in Britain reported it on Thursday.Griffiths co-founded ASOS, then known as ‘As Seen on Screen’ with Nick Robertson, a former advertising executive and great-grandson of tailor Austin Reed, in 2000, and floated it on London’s Alternative Investment Market in 2001.The company defied the wave of failures that hit other web-based companies after the Internet bubble burst and emerged as a standout success in the British retail scene.ASOS expanded rapidly into new countries, broadening its offer of both own-brand and third-party products, and moved quickly to capitalise on the rise of social media.Griffiths was marketing director at ASOS before he left the firm in 2004. He remained a large shareholder in ASOS for nearly another decade.In recent years, the online retailer has struggled with profitability against a backdrop of rising costs and stiffer competition from cheaper Chinese rivals.Shares of the company, whose own-label creations have been worn by the likes of Michelle Obama and Catherine, Princess of Wales, have slid around 96% from their peak value. Source link
The US Supreme Court has ruled Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs illegal – a stunning rebuke of the president’s signature economic policy that upended international trade.The conservative-majority high court ruled six-three in the judgment, saying that a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that Trump has relied on “does not authorise the President to impose tariffs”.The ruling does not impact sector-specific duties Trump separately imposed on imports of steel, aluminum and various other goods.Several government probes which could lead to more sectoral tariffs remain in the works.Still, this marks Trump’s biggest defeat at the Supreme Court since returning to the White House last year. This picture taken in April last year shows Trump holding a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose…
President Donald Trump vowed yesterday to impose a 10% tariff on all imports into the United States after the Supreme Court issued a ruling yesterday striking down the sweeping global tariffs. The conservative-majority top court ruled (six-three) that a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Trump has relied on “does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.”Trump, who had nominated two of the justices who repudiated him, responded furiously, alleging without any evidence that the court was influenced by foreign interests. “I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump told reporters.Trump said he would use a separate authority to impose a uniform tariff of 10% — after he spent the past year imposing various rates spontaneously to cajole and punish other countries. “In order to protect our country, a president can actually charge more tariffs than I was charging in the past,” Trump said, insisting that the ruling left him “more powerful.”Business groups largely cheered the ruling, with the National Retail Federation saying this “provides much-needed certainty” for American firms and manufacturers. “We urge the lower court to ensure a seamless process to refund the tariffs to US importers,” the federation said. But the justices did not address the degree to which importers can receive refunds. This will likely be litigated.Delighted Democratic leaders pounced on the ruling, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lauding the outcome as a “win for the wallets” of US consumers. But top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee Elizabeth Warren cautioned there remains “no legal mechanism for consumers and many small businesses to recoup the money they have already paid.” The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates consumers face an average effective tariff rate of 9.1 % with Friday’s decision, down from 16.9 percent. But it said this “remains the highest since 1946,” excluding 2025.The European Union said it was studying the court ruling and will remain in close contact with the Trump administration. Britain plans to work with the United States on how the decision affects a trade deal between both countries, while Canada said the decision affirms that Trump’s tariffs were “unjustified.”California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is widely expected to seek the Democratic presidential nomination to succeed Trump, called for refunds to Americans over the “illegal cash grab.” “Every dollar unlawfully taken must be refunded immediately – with interest. Cough up!” Source link
An airport in Florida will soon be renamed after US President Donald Trump, after a bill proposing the change was approved by the state’s legislature on Thursday.Trump, a real estate mogul who has plastered his name on buildings around the world, has sought to leave his mark on the country in an unprecedented image and building campaign.Florida’s Republican-led legislature approved a bill to rename the Palm Beach International Airport as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” state records show. Governor Ron DeSantis, once a Trump opponent, is expected to sign the measure into law.The airport in Palm Beach, a town known for its sandy beaches and luxurious estates, is just minutes away from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.The airport renaming will also require the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration.It would then become the latest institution to be renamed after Trump.The president’s handpicked board of the Kennedy Center, an arts complex and memorial to late president John F. Kennedy in Washington, voted in December to rename itself the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”The same month, the State Department added Trump’s name to the US Institute of Peace.Trump has also sought to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport after himself, according to US media reports, although those efforts were rebuffed.The Treasury Department has confirmed reports that drafts have been drawn up for a commemorative $1 coin featuring Trump’s image, even though there are laws against displaying the image of a sitting or living president on money.On Thursday, a large blue banner featuring Trump’s face was draped across the headquarters of the Justice Department, an agency traditionally seen as outside the reach of political influence. Lawmakers in Florida approved legislation on Thursday renaming the Palm Beach International Airport after U.S. President Donald Trump.The 25-11 vote in Florida’s Senate came days after the state’s House of Representatives passed the measure 81-30.Republican lawmakers largely supported the bill, while Democrats objected to the airport rebrand.”It’s misguided and unfair that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature ignored the voices of Palm Beach County by pushing forward a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport without giving County residents a real opportunity for input,” said U.S. Representative Lois Frankel, a Democrat who represents West Palm Beach.The bill heads next to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who has not said whether he will sign it. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The White House declined to comment. Spokespeople for Palm Beach County and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The decision to rename the airport after Trump follows Florida’s approval last year of a plan to donate a downtown Miami property for the site of Trump’s presidential library.Trump, a native of New York, moved to Florida in 2019. Before the move, he lived in a penthouse at Trump Tower but has since taken primary residence at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach. Source link
The United States is in “active negotiation” over the sale of Venezuelan oil to India, to help India diversify its sources of crude oil, US envoy Sergio Gor said .The US has made diversification away from Russian crude a condition for cutting tariffs on goods imported from Indian, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer.”The Department of Energy is speaking to the Ministry of Energy here, and so we’re hoping to have some news of that very soon,” Gor told reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi where India joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative aimed at building a silicon supply chain for high-tech products.US President Donald Trump this month agreed to cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18% under an interim trade deal. He also removed a 25% punitive levy after India agreed to end the purchase of Russian oil, which the US said helps fund Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.He said India would buy more oil from the US and potentially Venezuela.A final trade deal with India will be signed “sooner than later” as a “few tweaking points” are required, Gor said, adding Trump has been invited to India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The interim trade deal is set to become effective in April and the US is likely to issue a formal notification this month to reduce its tariff on Indian goods to 18%, India’s trade minister, Piyush Goyal, said yesterday.The US and allies imposed sanctions on Russia’s energy sector following Russia’s 2022 invasion. India then became the top customer for Russian seaborne crude which it bought at rock-bottom prices, to the consternation of Western nations.”On the oil, there’s an agreement… We have seen India diversify on their oil. There is a commitment. This is not about India. The United States doesn’t want anyone buying Russian oil,” Gor said.The US had pitched the sale of Venezuelan oil to India to help replace Russian oil imports, Reuters reported last month.It granted licences to trading houses Vitol and Trafigura to market and sell millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil after capturing Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last month and reaching a supply agreement with interim president Delcy Rodriguez.State-run Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum as well as private-sector refiners Reliance Industries and HPCL-Mittal Energy have ordered Venezuelan oil, Reuters has reported. Source link
Amphibious excavators escorted by armed policemen have roared through Makoko, Africa’s largest and most legendary floating slum in recent days, crushing hundreds of wooden shacks built on stilts above the lagoon in the heart of Lagos.The operation is the latest of a campaign to remove what authorities in Nigeria’s commercial capital describe as illegal structures and, critics say, reclaim waterfront land for real-estate development.Three people, two of them babies, have died from effects of teargas fired by police since the clearances began two days before Christmas, three rights groups said. People in pirogues navigate their way in Makoko, a floating slum in Lagos, on January 9, 2026. Authorities have demolished hundreds of wooden shacks in…