Can the US and China end their trade war?
The United States and China have surprisingly agreed to a dramatic de-escalation in their trade war.
Under the agreement, the world's two largest economies have paused their respective tariffs for 90 days.
That breaks an impasse which has brought much of the commerce between the two nations to a halt.
Critics say the talks in Geneva did not appear to yield any meaningful concessions. The two sides aim to reach a broader deal, but this takes too long to negotiate.
Also in this episode, we examine whether the US-UK trade pact will deliver real benefits, or is it symbolism over substance?
Also, Senegal is capitalising on its energy wealth to change its fortunes.
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Qatar Tribune
18 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Syria confirms closure of civil war-era desert camp; displaced return home
The notorious Rukban displacement camp in the Syrian desert, a dark emblem of the country's civil war, has closed, with the last remaining families returning to their hometowns. Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on Saturday on X that with the dismantlement of the camp, 'a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close'. 'Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert,' he added. The camp, established in 2014 at the height of the country's ruinous civil war, was built in a deconfliction zone controlled by the United States-led coalition forces fighting against ISIL (ISIS). The camp was used to house those fleeing ISIL fighters and bombardment by the then-government of President Bashar Al Assad, seeking refuge and hoping to eventually cross the border into Jordan. But Al Assad's regime rarely allowed aid to enter the camp as neighbouring countries also blocked access to the area, rendering Rukban isolated for years under a punishing siege. About 8,000 people lived in the camp, staying in mud-brick houses with food and basic goods smuggled in at high prices. But after Al Assad was toppled following a lightning offensive led by the current president of Syria's interim government, Ahmed Al Sharaa, in December, families began leaving the camp and returning home. Al Sharaa has promised to unite Syria following the fall of Al Assad and rebuild the country at home and rejoin the international fold abroad. Last month, Al Sharaa met with world leaders, including United States President Donald Trump, who announced that sanctions on Syria would be removed in a decision that would allow the country a 'chance at greatness'. The European Union followed suit and also lifted sanctions. Both moves have given Syria a critical lifeline to economic recovery after nearly 14 years of war and economic devastation. Syrian Minister for Emergency Situations and Disasters Raed Al Saleh said on X said the camp's closure marks 'the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people'. (Agencies)
Al Jazeera
21 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump warns Musk of ‘serious consequences' if he funds Democrats
United States President Donald Trump has warned billionaire former ally Elon Musk against funding Democratic candidates in the country's 2026 midterm elections as the pair's volcanic break-up continued to play out on the world stage. 'He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,' Trump told US network NBC News in an interview published Saturday, without spelling out what the repercussions might be for the tech mogul, whose businesses benefit from lucrative US federal contracts. Trump aides, various Republicans, and key wealthy donors to the GOP have urged the two to temper the bitter feud and make peace, fearing irreparable political and economic fallout. But, asked whether he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, 'I would assume so, yeah'. The interview featured Trump's most extensive comments yet on the spectacular bust-up that saw Musk criticising his signature tax and spending bill as an 'abomination', tensions escalating after he went on to highlight one-time links between the president and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. By Saturday morning, Musk had deleted his 'big bomb' allegation that Trump featured in unreleased government files on former associates of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public,' he said in Thursday's post on X. The Trump administration has acknowledged it is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, videos, and investigative material that his 'MAGA' movement says will unmask public figures complicit in Epstein's crimes. Trump was named in a trove of deposition and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024. The president has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but he had a long and well-publicised friendship with Epstein. Trump has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex. Just last week, Trump had given Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Vice President JD Vance said Musk was making a 'huge mistake' going after Trump, though he also tried to downplay his attacks as the frustrations of an 'emotional guy'. 'I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear,' he said in the interview with comedian Theo Von, released Friday. Trump also told NBC that it was the Department of Justice, rather than he, that had decided to return Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US, where he faces charges of transporting undocumented migrants inside the country. Trump added that he had not spoken to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele about Abrego Garcia's return.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
North Korea's internet hit by a major outage, says analyst
Internet access in North Korea has experienced a major outage, according to a United Kingdom-based monitor, but the exact cause may be internal rather than the result of a cyberattack. Junade Ali, a researcher who monitors the North Korean internet, said on Saturday that the secretive country's entire internet infrastructure is not registering on systems that monitor global internet activity. 'A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea's internet – affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia,' Ali said. 'Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental – but seems like this is internal rather than an attack,' he said. Pyongyang maintains several externally accessible government websites, including those for its Foreign Ministry and official news sources such as the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA). Both of these sites were down when Al Jazeera attempted to access them on Saturday morning. Almost all of the country's internet links and traffic are believed to pass through Chinese servers. It is not known how many people have direct access to the global internet in North Korea, but estimates place the figure at a small fraction of 1 percent of the country's population of some 25 million. A highly-monitored and curated intranet is offered to North Korean citizens – known as Kwangmyong – while global internet access is strictly limited in the authoritarian country. The country has been the target of cyberattacks in the past, including in January 2022, when United States-based hacker Alejandro Caceres removed every publicly visible North Korean website and kept them down for more than a week using distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. North Korea, ruled by third-generation dictator Kim Jong Un, has been accused by US and United Nations officials of operating armies of hackers from within the country as part of an escalating campaign of global cyber theft. In a report published in December, US blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis, said North Korean hackers set a new record for cyber theft in 2024, stealing more than $1.34bn worth of cryptocurrency through 47 cyberattacks.
