
Germany says China has a ‘responsibility for global peace'
Germany said Monday that China has 'a responsibility for global peace' after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul discussed Russia's war against Ukraine with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
'Russia's war in Ukraine affects core European interests,' the foreign ministry said in a message on X after Wadephul's first phone call with Wang since taking up his post, and amid growing concerns about Beijing's close relationship with Moscow.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
11 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Speaks with Xi amid Stalled Talks between the US, China over Tariffs
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have roiled global trade. The conversation was confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry, which said Trump initiated the call, The AP news reported. Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi. 'I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump posted Wednesday on his social media site. Trade negotiations between the United States and China stalled shortly after a May 12 agreement between the two countries to reduce their tariff rates while talks played out. Behind the gridlock has been the continued competition for an economic edge. The US accuses China of not exporting critical minerals, and the Chinese government objects to America restricting its sale of advanced chips and its access to student visas for college and graduate students. Trump has lowered his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days to allow for talks. China also reduced its taxes on US goods from 125% to 10%. The back and forth has caused sharp swings in global markets and threatens to hamper trade between the two countries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had suggested that only a conversation between Trump and Xi could resolve these differences so that talks could restart in earnest. The underlying tension between the two countries may still persist, though. Even if negotiations resume, Trump wants to lessen America's reliance on Chinese factories and reindustrialize the US, whereas China wants the ability to continue its push into technologies such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence that could be crucial to securing its economic future. The United States ran a trade imbalance of $295 billion with China in 2024, according to the Census Bureau. While the Chinese government's focus on manufacturing has turned it into a major economic and geopolitical power, China has been muddling through a slowing economy after a real estate crisis and coronavirus pandemic lockdowns weakened consumer spending. Trump and Xi had last spoken in January, three days before Inauguration Day. The pair discussed trade then, as well as Trump's demands that China do more to prevent the synthetic opioid fentanyl from entering the United States. Trump had long expressed optimism about the prospects for a major deal, before his post suggesting Xi was making that difficult. Last week, Trump went further, posting, 'The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,' Trump posted. 'So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!'


Arab News
23 minutes ago
- Arab News
Reform UK chief slams MP's calls for burqa ban as ‘dumb'
LONDON: A row has erupted within the right-wing British party Reform UK after its newest member of Parliament, Sarah Pochin, used her maiden question during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday to call for a nationwide ban on the burqa, it was reported on Thursday. The question prompted public criticism from Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's chairman, who rebuked the move, calling it a 'dumb' question. Pochin, who recently won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether the UK would follow European nations such as France, Belgium, and Denmark in banning the burqa 'in the interests of public safety.' Her remarks were met with audible disapproval from some MPs, with cries of 'shame' heard in the chamber of the House of Commons. Lee Anderson, Reform UK's chief whip, expressed support for Pochin's suggestion, saying: 'Ban the burqa? Yes we should. No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.' However, Yusuf was less than supportive, writing on X: 'Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question, nor that it wasn't policy. I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do.' A Reform spokesperson later clarified that Yusuf had not been criticizing Pochin personally, but highlighting the inconsistency of raising a proposal not endorsed by the party. The spokesperson reiterated that a burqa ban was not official Reform UK policy but acknowledged it was an issue that 'deserves national debate.' Nigel Farage, Reform UK's leader, speaking on GB News, was more cautious and distanced himself from an outright endorsement, but suggested public discomfort around face coverings warranted discussion. He said: 'I don't think face coverings in public places make sense, and I think we do deserve a debate about that, of which I see the burqa as being a part.' Pochin, a former Conservative councillor, later suggested her question had been sourced from public suggestions submitted online. 'Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for the prime minister,' she posted. The incident has reignited concerns about internal divisions within Reform UK. It comes just months after former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe was expelled from the party following a falling out with both Yusuf and Farage. Lowe, who has expressed hardline views on immigration and has backed calls to ban the burqa, now sits as an independent. Reform has also been plagued by tension at the grassroots level. Following the recent local elections, Donna Edmunds, a Shropshire councillor, resigned from the party in protest, describing Farage as a 'terrible leader' and warning that he 'must never be prime minister.' Amid the latest fallout, a Labour spokesperson said: 'Nigel Farage could fit all of his MPs in the back of a cab, yet he can't stop them fighting among themselves.' Reform UK and Sarah Pochin were approached by the BBC, The Guardian, and The Independent for further comment.


Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Ailing Baltic Sea in need of urgent attention
Unveiling its road map to protect Europe's seas, the European Ocean Pact, Brussels announced a summit on the state of the Baltic Sea in late SeptemberThe Baltic Sea is home to some of the world's largest dead marine zones, mainly due to excess nutrient runoff into the sea from human activities on landHELSINKI: Decades of pollution and climate change have caused fish to disappear from the Baltic Sea at an alarming rate, with the European Union on Thursday vowing to make the sea an 'urgent priority.'Unveiling its road map to protect Europe's seas, the European Ocean Pact, Brussels announced a summit on the state of the Baltic Sea in late semi-enclosed sea is surrounded by industrial and agricultural nations Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the three Baltic to the Atlantic only by the narrow waters of the Danish straits, the Baltic is known for its shallow, low-salinity waters, which are highly sensitive to the climate and environmental changes that have accumulated over the years.'Today, the once massive Baltic cod stocks have collapsed, herring stocks in several sub-basins are balancing on critical levels, sprat recruitment is at a record low and wild salmon stocks are in decline,' Swedish European MP Isabella Lovin, rapporteur for the EU Committee of Fishing, warned in a report, calling the situation 'critical.'The Baltic Sea is home to some of the world's largest dead marine zones, mainly due to excess nutrient runoff into the sea from human activities on land — a challenge the sea has long grappled runoff has primarily been phosphorus and nitrogen from waste water and fertilizers used in agriculture, as well as other activities such as causes vast algae blooms in summer, a process known as eutrophication that removes oxygen from the water, leaving behind dead seabeds and marine habitats and threatening species living in the agriculture is the biggest source of nutrient biodiversity in the relatively small sea has also deteriorated due to pollution from hazardous substances, land use, extraction of resources and climate change, according to the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM).'The state of the Baltic Sea is not good,' Maria Laamanen, a senior adviser at the Finnish environment ministry, told change poses 'a massive additional challenge' for the marine environment, she the world's coastal seas, the Baltic Sea is warming the fastest.A 2024 study said sea surface and sea floor temperatures have increased by 1.8 and 1.3 degrees Celsius respectively in the Finnish archipelago in the northern Baltic Sea, in the period from 1927 to consequences of rising temperatures already affect species, while increased rainfall has led to more runoff from land to waste water treatment and gypsum treatment of agricultural soil, as well as an expansion of protected marine areas in Finland, have had a positive effect on the maritime environment, according to Laamanen, who said environmental engagement had grown in recent years.'The situation would be much worse without the measures already implemented,' she her report, Lovin called for an ambitious reform of fisheries, with stronger attention paid to environmental and climate change report also questioned whether the Baltic could continue to sustain industrial-scale trawling, and suggested giving 'priority access to low-impact fisheries and fishing for human consumption.'The head of the Finnish Fishermen's Association (SAKL) Kim Jordas said eutrophication was to blame for the declining fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, not overfishing.'Looking at cod for example, it is entirely due to the state of the Baltic Sea and the poor oxygen situation,' Jordas told Finland, the number of commercial fishermen has been declining, with a total of around 400 active today.