Category World News

As the two biggest economies of the world try to de-escalate tensions that have sparked a de facto mutual trade embargo, officials have announced that this week, trade talks between the US and China will take place in Switzerland.

The trade talks would mark Washington’s first official trade meeting since US President Donald Trump imposed a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods, which sparked a 125 percent duty from China as a result.

Their offices announced in a statement on Tuesday that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent would be present for the US side.

Beijing will be represented by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Businesses and investors have been anticipating a easing of US-China tensions because they fear a protracted trade war would seriously harm the world economy.

In response to Trump’s trade wars, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth from 3.3% to 2.8% last month.

The likelihood of the US economy entering recession this year has been raised by economists in greater numbers, with JP Morgan Research estimating it to be 60%.

The US economy experienced its first-quarter decline since early 2022, when the majority of Trump’s tariffs went into effect.

Bessent claimed that the two parties had a “shared interest” in the talks because the tariffs are currently unsustainable in an interview with Fox News following the announcement of the talks.

We oppose decoupling, “. Fair trade is what Bessent told Laura Ingraham of Fox News.

Bessent predicted that the initial discussions would be centered on “de-escalation” rather than a “big trade deal.”

He said, “We have to de-escalate before we can proceed.”

The talks should move forward according to the “basis of mutual respect, equality, consultation, and mutual benefit,” according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.

A ministry spokeswoman said, “As a Chinese saying goes, observe their words and actions.

In Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series in Minneapolis, the Golden State Warriors held on for a 99-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves despite the absence of star Stephen Curry due to an injury.

The seventh-seeded Warriors won for the second time in three nights after defeating the Houston Rockets in a seven-game first-round series with Jimmy Butler III scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds. With 18 points and eight rebounds, Draymond Green came out on top.

Steve Kerr, the coach for the Warriors, said on Tuesday, “Jimmy is as good as any star in the league at reading the game and controlling the tempo.”

After a five-day break between games, Anthony Edwards appeared rusty and didn’t score any of his first ten field goals, but the Minnesotan finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Julius Randle finished with 18 points, while Naz Reid added 19 points off the bench.

Coach of the Timberwolves, Chris Finch, said, “It didn’t look like us at all.” It “didn’t feel like us at all,” he said.

Due to a left hamstring strain, Curry, 37, did not return after the second quarter. Prior to his injury, he averaged 13 points in 13 minutes on 5-for-9 shooting overall and 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range.

After driving for a layup, Curry appeared to have sustained the injury. After the shot, he favored his left leg and raised his arm to warn the bench that something was amiss.

Curry would have an MRI on his left hamstring on Wednesday, Kerr told reporters following the game. He described the day-to-day status of Curry.

He won’t be available on Thursday, Kerr said, “we’re definitely game-planning.” It’s difficult to imagine him playing Thursday because we don’t know yet, but he has the hamstring.

Minnesota came within single digits of the fourth quarter after falling by as many as 23 points. With 6: 02 left, the Timberwolves cut their deficit to 85-76 on a 13-2 run.

Hield drilled one of his five 3-pointers on the next possession to restore the Warriors’ 12-point lead. With 5:19 left, Butler followed with a devastating jump shot to give Golden State a 90-76 lead. The Warriors stayed in a comfortable lead the rest of the way.

At the conclusion of the third quarter, Golden State held a commanding 80-to-60 advantage.

Hield scored two points at halftime, but the third quarter saw a 16-point surge. With 2:23 left in the fourth quarter, Golden State took a 76-53 lead with a 3-pointer from him.

Minnesota only scored 11 points in the second quarter, leading 44-31 at the half.

Minneapolis is hosting Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a strike that targeted al-Karama School in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City killed 13 people and scattered across the country.

In a house explosion in Jabalia, three more people were killed and several others were hurt in the north, as well.

A father, his children, and cousins were also killed, five of whom were killed in a home explosion in Khan Younis city in the south.

In Deir el-Balah, in the center of Gaza Strip, a tent shelter was struck, killing three more people, including a young person. In Bani Suheila village, east of the Strip, a house was struck, along with a husband and wife.

The attacks follow an Israeli attack on a school in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Strip that left 31 people dead and dozens wounded, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency, on Tuesday night.

Since March 2, the enclave has been without fuel and food, and there has been a worsening shortage of flour due to an Israeli blockade that has intensified the attacks. According to aid organizations, food supplies are nearly completely gone.

A mother of six who are sheltered at a Gaza-area UNRWA facility reported to the agency that they were running out of bread.

On Wednesday, UNRWA wrote on X that “the State of Israel must end the siege.”

It further stated that “a concerted international effort is required to stop this humanitarian catastrophe from reaching a new unseen level.”

At least 88 percent of the beds in hospitals are occupied, and there is a shortage of medical disposables, which also affects Gaza’ health sector.

talks on a ceasefire

Egypt and Qatar, who both helped negotiate the first ceasefire agreement with the United States, reiterated their commitment to a deal that would “unprecedented humanitarian crisis and alleviate the suffering of civilians by creating the conditions necessary for achieving a comprehensive ceasefire” on Wednesday morning.

The two nations emphasize that attempts to cause animosity between brotherly countries, whether through the casting of doubt, distortion, or media escalation, will not succeed, and neither will they stop them from pursuing joint efforts to end the conflict and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe, according to a joint statement. The nations added that they were working with the US to arrive at a deal.

Hamas claimed that talks were useless because Israel announced a new, more intense military offensive would start in Gaza without a ceasefire agreement.

As long as the Gaza Strip’s hunger war and extermination war continue, Hamas official Basem Naim told the AFP news agency on Tuesday, “There is no point in holding talks or considering new ceasefire proposals.”

EXPLAINER

At least eight people were killed and more than 35 were hurt in six different attacks in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to Pakistan’s armed forces.

The following locations are among the targets of the attacks:

According to Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Armed Forces, the deadliest strike occurred in Ahmedpur Sharqia, close to Bahawalpur (Punjab province).
• Punjab province’s Muridke city
• a village in the Punjab province of Sialkot
• Punjab province of Shakargarh

Two locations were also affected by the Pakistan-administered Kashmir:

Two mosques were destroyed in Muzaffarabad and Kotli, killing a 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy.

According to Pakistani officials, five Indian warplanes have also been shot down by Pakistani forces. India did not respond right away.

At least three people were killed by Pakistani artillery fire in Indian-administered Kashmir, according to the Indian Army.

Kashmir, where is it?

Kashmir, which is situated in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, is a high altitude region where the majority of the area is higher than 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above sea level. It covers an area of 222, 200 square kilometres (85, 800 square miles).

About 13 million people live in Jammu and Kashmir under the administration of India, and about 4 million of those reside in Pakistan.

The Line of Control (LC) is the de facto boundary that divides Kashmir, which is administered by Pakistan and Kashmir, which is administered by India. When the two nations ended their first conflict over Kashmir in January 1949, the line was originally used to define the military front. Following the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh’s creation, the LoC was officially renamed it.

Who is in charge of Kashmir?

Parts of Kashmir are disputed by India, Pakistan, and China.

Gilgit and Baltistan, which Pakistan calls “free Kashmir,” and what is known as Azad Kashmir, are under Pakistan’s control. The Kashmir Valley and its largest city, Srinagar, as well as Jammu and Ladakh are under Indian control in the south and the southeast.

Pakistan refers to Indian-administered Kashmir as “Indian-occupied Kashmir.” India makes amends by referring to Pakistan-administered Kashmir as “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.”

What took place during the Pahalgam attack?

In one of the most deadly tourist attacks in recent memory, armed men killed a group of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22.

The attack took place in the famous tourist destination Pahalgam, which is located 32 miles southeast of Srinagar’s regional summer capital, in the Baisaran meadow.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a well-known armed group that India claims is a proximate of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan, took responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan strongly refutes the claim that India has made that it believes Pakistan may have indirectly supported the Pahalgam attack.

The attacks have been blamed on the RSF by Sudan’s army and by residents.

On Wednesday morning, an army source told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that the explosion was due to a drone attack that was met with “anti-aircraft missiles”.

The Port of Sudan on the Red Sea coast had been a haven city hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people since the war began and serves as an interim seat for Sudan’s military-allied government, which has been at war with the RSF since 2023.

The attacks on Port Sudan have increased fears of disruptions to desperately needed aid deliveries in the country suffering one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises, and where famine has been declared in some areas.

Nearly all aid into Sudan flows through Port Sudan, which the United Nations called on Tuesday “a lifeline for humanitarian operations”, warning of more “human suffering in what is already the world’s largest humanitarian crisis”.

Drone attacks

Attacks on Port Sudan began on Sunday after drone strikes were blamed on the RSF. The latest attacks come after the RSF targeted the airport, the port and the hotel in the city on Tuesday, a military official said. The paramilitary group has not commented on the attacks on Port Sudan.

Sudan’s Information Minister Khalid Aleiser visited the southern part of the port on Tuesday and slammed the United Arab Emirates, whom he accused of arming the RSF. &nbsp, “We will continue our legitimate battle”, he said.

Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim announced that the government was severing diplomatic ties with the UAE, including withdrawing its ambassador and shutting its embassy in the Gulf country.

“The entire world has witnessed, for more than two years, the crime of aggression against Sudan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens by the UAE, acting through its local proxy, the terrorist RSF militia”, Ibrahim said. The UAE has long rejected claims of its support for the RSF and condemned the attack.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed a case on Monday brought by Sudan accusing the UAE of breaching the UN Genocide Convention by arming and funding the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s deadly civil war.