Category World News

Two days after promising to impose severe tariffs, US President Donald Trump has sincere opposition to starting a trade war with the European Union.

Following a call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump announced on Sunday that he had agreed to extend trade negotiations with the EU to July 9. Trump announced on Friday that a 50% tariff on imports from the bloc would be imposed on June 1 as part of that agreement, and the US will also be prevented from doing so.

The announcement is the most recent change to US trade policy in a long line of events, and it will only add to the uncertainty that Trump’s erratic and unpredictable policy is putting on the world economy.

Trump claimed that Von der Leyen wants to start serious negotiations. “We had a very nice call,”

He told reporters, “She said we will quickly get together and see if we can work things out.”

The European Commission’s head said Trump had gotten a “good call” from her and that the EU was prepared to act quickly.

Backtracked

Trump gave the EU a 90-day window to begin trade negotiations in April, which were scheduled to end on July 9.

He had backtracked on Friday, saying he was completely uninterested in the transatlantic trade dispute.

The president remarked, “I’m not looking for a deal.” The agreement is set at 50%, according to the company.

He agreed with von der Leyen’s claim that the bloc is ready to negotiate but needs more time by Sunday, though.

She continued on X, stating that “Europe is ready to move forward with discussions quickly and decisively.” We would need the period until July 9 to reach a good deal, they say.

Maros Sefcovic, the top trade negotiator in the bloc, urged the US to show “mutual respect, not threats” on Friday.

With his April announcement threatening massive tariffs on several nations, Trump threw a wrench into the world’s financial markets.

The US president has, however, softened his stance in favor of negotiations in the wake of volatile markets, threats of retaliation, and global turmoil.

More than 50 people have been killed in the northern Gazan attacks, according to reports.

On Monday morning, the death toll from the overnight attacks was recorded. According to Palestinian Civil Defense officials, a school in Gaza City and a family home in Jabalia were two of the targets hit.

According to Civil Defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal, at least 33 people were killed in an attack on the Fahmi al-Jarjawi school in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City in the middle of the night, according to AFP news agency.

Bassal claimed that the school had been providing shelter to “hundreds” of people, noting that the victims were primarily women and children. He continued, “Dozens were hurt.”

The Israeli military claimed on Monday that “key terrorists” were staying at a Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad control center.

According to the report, “Numerous steps were taken to reduce the risk of harming civilians.”

A child wandering alone among the flames, a child wandering alone among the flames, and people trying to break windows on the outside were all captured in video footage that Al Jazeera broadcast.

19 members of the Abd Rabbo family were killed in a separate attack on a residence in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Bassal.

Six people were killed in a nearby tent camp in Gaza City, according to unconfirmed reports, according to unconfirmed reports.

targeted schools

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated last week that Israel would launch an intensified military campaign until it had total control over Gaza despite mounting international pressure that has prompted Israel to lift a blockade on aid supplies.

Attacks on civilian infrastructure, including schools, are prohibited under international humanitarian law. Throughout its 19-month conflict in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly bombed schools, most of which are now used as shelter for displaced people.

At al-Buraq School in Gaza City, at least 50 people were killed in bombings and artillery shellings in November 2023.

In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at Indianapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns defeated the Indiana Pacers 106-100 in the final game of the season by collecting a game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and collecting a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Knicks were kept in the series by the big fourth quarter, which was just the second time a New York player had scored 20 points in a quarter in a playoff game. In Game 1 of the conference semifinals last year, Jalene Brunson set the franchise record with 21 in a quarter against the Pacers.

Towns said on Sunday, “I was going to make sure I seized the opportunity when I had the opportunity to do what I do in the fourth.” To give our team a chance to win, I merely wanted to go there. I’m happy to be able to accomplish that.

Towns gave New York an 87-85 lead in the first three: 58 of the fourth quarter by scoring 15 points that seemed to flirt with overheating. The Knicks needed, however, because of his offensive explosion.

Tom Thibodeau, the coach of New York, praised Karl-Anthony Towns, who played him for less than 28 minutes in Game 2’s 114-109 loss. He can score three levels by playing back to the basket and being comfortable at the 3-point line, putting it on the floor, and playing it. It’s a big plus for us as long as he doesn’t get aggressive.

On Tuesday night in Indianapolis, New York will attempt to end the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Brunson described the series as “unpredictable.” No lead is undoubtedly safe. Both teams will continue to battle until the buzzer hits.

Despite shooting 6-of-18 on the night, Brunson added 23 points for New York, which rallied from a 20-point deficit in the second half. The third-seeded Knicks finished with 16 points, while Mikal Bridges added 15.

For Indiana, which won the series with two road victories, fourth-seeded Indiana scored 20 points and Myles Turner had 19. The Pacers, who only had 42 second-half points, scored 17 points and TJ McConnell scored 12 each.

Haliburton remarked, “We didn’t do a good enough job of playing quickly.” A 42-point half is not our style of play, I thought, especially in the fourth period.

Knicks rally late

The Knicks rallied from 20-point deficits in each of their opening two games in Boston to win the series in six games, which was similar to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

With 1:17 left, Indiana held the lead for the majority of the game, but Turner and Siakam each needed two free throws to bring the score to 98. 20 seconds later, Brunson returned to lead New York by hitting a runner.

With 19.6 seconds left, the Knicks made two free throws before Haliburton answered with two foul shots with 9.7 seconds to tie Indiana at 102-100.

With 8.1 seconds left, Hart added two more free throws to the game’s eight-point lead, which he added with two more.

Towns ran out of town in the fourth quarter after falling 15 short in the third and 80-70 in the fourth, but Towns stayed put.

The Knicks took the team’s first lead since the first quarter, 87-85, at 8:02 of the fourth quarter, thanks to a three-point play by Towns.

With 5:10 left, Towns scored a 30-foot, step-back 3-pointer from Towns that gave the Knicks a 94-90 lead.

In the game, the Knicks made 43.6 percent of their shots from behind the arc, compared to 11 of those made.

Indiana shot 44.2 percent from the field, including the shaky 5-of-25 from 3-point range. With a 16-2 edge in fast-break points, the Pacers made a stellar transition.

However, when Towns couldn’t slow them down in the final quarter, Indiana was outscored 36-20.

He “made some significant plays for them,” Towns said. When we needed stops, we couldn’t. And offensively, our usual pop didn’t exist. We didn’t move the ball as frequently as we would like.

Halftime, the Pacers led by 58-45. In the second quarter, India racked up 13 straight points, giving them the biggest lead. With 3:20 left in the half, Aliburton added a 3-pointer and a steal for a quick dunk to make it 55-35.

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its allies received 82.68 percent of the votes cast the day before for seats in the National Assembly, according to preliminary results released by the National Electoral Council (CNE) on Monday.

The party will continue to hold control of important power structures, including the attorney general’s office and the nation’s top court, whose members are chosen by the assembly’ 285-members.

Additionally, according to CNE, the government won 23 of the 24 state governor positions, putting an end to the opposition’s previous hold on four governorships.

8.9 million people, or roughly 42 percent of the 21 million eligible voters, cast ballots in the elections. That figure, according to CNE’s Carlos Quintero, was the same as the election of 2021.

However, the country’s main opposition leaders had urged voters to boycott the election in protest of the results of the presidential election in July 2024. Authorities declared Maduro the winner of the race, but the opposition claims to have won.

Up to 85% of eligible voters in some areas of the nation voted against the election, according to Maria Corina Machado, a figurehead of the opposition, in a post on X late on Sunday. She criticized the election as an “enormous farce that the regime is trying to stage a burying of its defeat” in the election of last year.

However, Maduro refused to accept the boycott.

He remarked in a blunt manner, “We advance and occupy the terrain when the opponent withdraws from the field.”

Turnout was noticeably low in Venezuela’s main cities, according to reports from journalists and social media posts. However, government party images show large voter turnouts in places like Trujillo and the Amazons.

Teresa Bo, a journalist from Argentina, reported for Al Jazeera that Maduro faced a difficult task of challenging him with more forceful force during the campaign because there was a rift between the opposition and the boycott call.

She continued, noting that the majority of analysts “could not guarantee if the elections were free and fair.”

More than 400,000 security personnel were present to monitor the election on Sunday, and more than 70 people had been detained.

Leading opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa was among those detained because he was accused of being the head of a “terrorist network” that intended to “sabotage” the election.

The government, which has repeatedly warned of foreign-backed coup plots, claimed dozens of suspected mercenaries had crossed Colombia, causing the busy border to be closed until after the election.

Despite years of mismanagement and sanctions, Maduro’s victory in recent elections comes in spite of the economy’s decline, which was once Latin America’s envy. More are in order.

Venezuelan oil giant Chevron’s permission to pump it has been revoked by US President Donald Trump, potentially denying Maduro’s government a vital economic lifeline.