Due to bipartisan concerns about the impact of his trade speeches on the economy, the US Senate has rejected an attempt to halt US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
On Wednesday, hours after government data revealed that the US economy experienced its first-ever decline in three years, the US Congress ’s upper house voted 49-49 to reject the resolution.
In a rare outburst of Trump from within his own party, along with all present Democrats and Independents, three Republican senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted for the measure.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, representing Oregon, stated before the vote that “the US Senate cannot be an idle observer in the tariff madness.”
“The Congress has the authority to impose tariffs and regulate global trade.”
Given that it was unlikely to have gained support in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and would ultimately fall under Trump’s veto power, the resolution was widely considered a symbolic gesture.
“It’s still a debate that is worthwhile because, you know, people would start asking, “Is it a good policy, or is it a bad policy, or is it a bad policy, if we have massive tariffs going on and we have a massive sell-off in the stock market, and we didn’t have a first good quarter in growth,” he said. Paul, who co-sponsored the resolution, described the unsuccessful vote.
Trump has dismissed concerns that the US might become more recessionary as a result of his massive tariffs, including a 145 percent duty on China.
The US Department of Commerce reported on Wednesday that the economy lost 0.3% during its first three months of the year before Trump imposed his most stringent tariffs.
Russian drones attacked Odesa, Ukraine’s Black Sea port, early on Thursday, causing fires and harming homes and infrastructure, according to the regional governor.
The mayor of Kharkiv, the second-largest city in the northeast of Ukraine, claimed a second-class Russian drone struck a downtown petrol station, igniting a fire.
A drone strike on a Russian defense manufacturing facility was attributed to Ukraine’s SBU security agency. The governor of the region reported that the bombing that occurred at Murom Instrument-Building Plant, located 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Moscow, sparked a fire and caused damage to two buildings.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Russian air defense units overnight destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones, according to Russian news agencies.
Despite Moscow declaring a three-day ceasefire from May 8 to May 10, Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, claimed Russian forces have intensified their combat activity in eastern Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, claimed that some small numbers of Ukrainian soldiers were still huddled up in basements and hiding places in the western Kursk region. Over the weekend, Moscow claims to have driven Ukrainian forces out of the border region.
During Ukraine’s months-long incursion into Kursk, the Kremlin reported that at least 288 civilians had died.
Out of a total of 15, 000 troops deployed, according to South Korean lawmakers, citing their nation’s intelligence agency, 600 of those fighting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been killed.
Russian lawmakers have asked the Department of State to explain to them how China has engaged Chinese fighters in its conflict in Ukraine, arguing that Moscow has Beijing’s “tacit approval” is required.
Diplomacy
A long-awaited agreement between the US and Ukraine allows Washington to invest in Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction in exchange for access to the country’s minerals.
Despite recent attacks against the struggling nation, US President Donald Trump said he believes Putin wants to stop Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Trump told the ABC News broadcaster, “If it weren’t for me, I think he’d want to take control of the entire country.” I’ll admit to feeling unsatisfied after witnessing Putin firing missiles into a number of cities and towns.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin claimed that Putin is open to the possibility of ending the conflict in Ukraine and that working with the US is being difficult because Washington wants to make quick progress.
Additionally, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated that although Kyiv has not yet responded, Putin has indicated that he would like to talk to Ukraine directly.
Andrii Sybiha, the country’s foreign minister, responded by saying that if Moscow agreed to a ceasefire, Ukraine was ready for peace talks of any kind. Prior to announcing a ceasefire, Puntin has previously welcomed the concept in principle, but he claimed that many problems must be resolved in practice.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leader of Ukraine, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke about supporting Ukraine in achieving lasting peace and security.
Should the Trump administration renounce its efforts to resolve the Ukraine peace talks and seek a resolution with Moscow, EU diplomat Kaja Kallas told the Financial Times. The EU is developing a “plan B.”
As the continent looks to regress following Trump’s stance on European security and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU claims 16 member states are asking for exemptions from the bloc’s public debt rules in order to increase defense spending.
Despite widespread concern on the island that US President Donald Trump might use the East Asian democracy as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with China, a top Taiwanese official has stated that Taiwan has faith in the support of the US.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng stated that “Taiwan and the US have a very strong and solid relationship, and Taiwan has cross-party support from the US Congress.”
“The US and Taiwan have unprecedentedly close relations,” said Chiu, whose cabinet-level portfolio covers Taiwan’s relations with mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Chiu claimed that it was still too early to fully assess the effects of the second Trump administration.
Since it has been less than three months, the Taiwan government will continue to monitor the Trump administration, he said through an interpreter.
The government of Taiwan consistently adheres to the principles of preserving our freedom, democracy, and sovereignty.
Trump overturned a longstanding rule that US and Taiwanese presidents do not speak directly when he accepted a congratulatory phone call from then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016.
With numerous delegations of Democratic and Republican lawmakers visiting Taiwan in recent years, relations between the US and Taiwan have remained strong throughout Trump’s first term and under former US President Joe Biden.
Trump has launched a number of insults to Taiwan since returning to the White House, despite the US Secretary of State’s unwavering support for Taiwan.
The US president has repeatedly called Taiwan “a thief” and said Taipei should pay for its own defense, and threatened to impose a “100 percent tax” on Taiwan’s top chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) if it does not expand US-based manufacturing.
Trump also stepped up existing steel and aluminum tariffs on its exports, expanded existing ones, and hit Taiwan with a 32 percent “reciprocal” tariff, which has been halted until July, among other measures.
The US does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China views as belonging to its own territory, like most nations do.
However, despite the law’s prohibition against directly intervening in a conflict, Washington is determined to support the island’s defense.
Trump’s “America First” rhetoric and politics have sparked concern among many Taiwanese over his potential abandonment of Taiwan in exchange for concessions in trade negotiations with China, despite Taipei’s wait-and-see philosophy.
Only 39.2% of respondents in a March survey from the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation said they believed the US would send troops to defend Taiwan, compared to a record high of 65 percent in 2021.
Chiu said he thinks Washington would never accept an “unreasonable request” from Beijing to alter Taiwan’s relationship terms despite these concerns.
Although the ruling Communist Party has never held any direct control over Taiwan, China has pledged to “reunify” the island with the Chinese mainland, using force if necessary.
Taiwan, according to Chiu, has a lot to offer the US, from its strategic position in Washington’s first island chain defense plan to its position as the world’s top chip producer.
We believe we can demonstrate to Americans that Taiwan and the US are unchangeable and a very good partner, Chiu said.
Although Beijing and Taipei have been informally separated since the Democratic Progressive Party’s 2016 election, Chiu’s cabinet-level portfolio is in charge of the planning and implementation of Taiwan’s cross-strait policy.
Over the past nine years, Beijing has been putting more military, economic, and diplomatic pressure on the island. It views the DPP as “separatists.”
tactics used by the “United Front”
Chiu claimed that Taiwan’s government is still attempting to communicate with Beijing through official channels as well as through business-related, nonprofit, and academic intermediaries.
Chiu, however, criticized China’s communications with Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT), which he characterized as part of Beijing’s “divide and rule” strategy and “United Front” tactics.
Despite polls showing most Taiwanese favoring the status quo of de facto independence, the term “United Front” refers to both an official branch of the Chinese Communist Party and, conversely, activities carried out by party members to advance the CCP agenda.
“Taiwanese society constantly exhibits United Front tactics, infiltration, and division. They can be found everywhere, Chiu asserted.
In 2024, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau charged 64 people with espionage, primarily serving military personnel and veterans, compared to 48 in 2023 and ten in 2022.
Other threats, such as the recent increase in Chinese military exercises and maneuvers near Taiwan, are more immediately apparent, Chiu said.
China flew more than 5,000 military sorties in Taiwan’s direction in 2024, according to Chiu, including about 3, 000 that flew over the “median line” of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary that divides China and Taiwan.
Beijing also sent more than 2,500 warships in Taiwan’s direction, some of whom entered its territorial waters, he claimed, referring to the area’s maximum 24 nautical miles (44 kilometers) from shore, which extends to the territorial sea.
Chiu expressed his concern for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s leadership style.
Xi, who has a record-breaking third term now, is sometimes regarded as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, the country’s first and foremost modern leader.
“This new kind of authoritarianism is the Xi regime.” He has been promoting fanatical nationalism, which is why we are witnessing wolf warrior diplomacy and military hegemony,” Chiu said.
“This nationalism poses a serious threat to its neighbouring countries,” Chiu said, adding that Mainland China is not a very rational decision-making party at the moment.
In a move that survivors and their families had long demanded, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation to determine whether previous governments led by his party intentionally stifled investigations and prosecutions of apartheid-era crimes.
Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that the landmark decision will address allegations of “improper influence in delaying or hindering” investigations involving post-apartheid governments led by the African National Congress (ANC) party.
The families of victims have fought for so long for justice, according to Ramaphosa’s office, and “President Ramaphosa understands the agony and frustration of the victims’ families.”
Following 25 survivors and relatives of victims of apartheid-era crimes filing a lawsuit in court in January, the president announced the creation of a judicial commission of inquiry.
In spite of the recommendations made by the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission, successive South African governments have failed to properly investigate unresolved killings, disappearances, and other crimes committed during the era of forced racial segregation.
Nelson Mandela, the commission’s former president, and Desmond Tutu, a fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, presided over the establishment of the commission in 1996.
Its goals included exposing and documenting apartheid-era crimes, as well as allowing some of the perpetrators to confess their crimes, including those who worked for the apartheid government and were key players in numerous killings.
When apartheid ended in 1994, the ANC spearheaded the struggle against the system of white minority rule in South Africa. However, some have criticized ANC-led governments since then for putting national reconciliation before victims’ rights.
The Cradock Four, a group of Black anti-apartheid activists who were kidnapped and murdered by security forces in 1985, is one of the most well-known unresolved cases. Security personnel were allegedly torturing them after their bodies were burned.
The killings have never been fully investigated, and no one has been charged with a crime. These crimes count among the countless ones committed during apartheid and where victims and their families continue to be denied justice.
Lukhanyo Calata, whose father Fort was a member of the Cradock Four, is a member of the group that sued the country’s current government in January.
At the start of the case, Calata claimed that successive South African governments, including those under President Thabo Mbeki’s rule from 1999 to 2008, had ignored the commission’s recommendations and denied victims and their families justice.
In a high-speed Champions League semifinal first leg encounter, Barcelona and Inter Milan came away with a convincing 3-3 draw.
Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries both had excellent strikes on Wednesday, but Barca couldn’t be stopped by Lamine Yamal, who had a sublime solo effort to bring the Italian team back into the game.
A Yann Sommer own goal put the tie at the halfway point before Ferran Torres levelled for the five-time champions, who had already beaten Inter by a blazing lead.
Thuram’s injury to his thigh set Inter on a verge of recovery, and he did just that with the fastest-ever Champions League semifinal goal in 30 seconds.
Marcus Thuram’s cross kicks the ball in the direction of goal for Inter Milan.
Jules Kounde, the Copa del Rey winner of the title, hacked a poor clearance to the edge of the box to make a profit for Barcelona.
Inigo Martinez slipped just in time as Dutch wideman Dumfries attempted to finish with a pass-the-middle-heel movie, which was flawless.
A nervous 50, 000-strong Olympic stadium crowd cheered on as Barcelona seized control and moved on.
Yamal, who was making his 100th appearance for Barcelona, requested a penalty after being shoved by Alessandro Bastoni, set up Torres, who fired wide.
The Spaniard volleyed just inches off target in place of Barca’s sluggish top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski.
Inter, whose triple hopes fell apart after three straight domestic defeats, came away with a second and a fine finish.
Dumfries reached the dropping ball first with a stunning acrobatic effort after Francesco Acerbi nodded on a corner.
Denzel Dumfries of Inter Milan scores the second goal for his team while being pressured by Pedri and Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona.
Barcelona’s recent defensive struggles may have been minor, but Hansi Flick’s young side are unaffected by the string of European roadblocks that have occurred since they last won the competition in 2015.
The least-talented wizard was Yamal, who put Barcelona back in the game just three minutes later with a fantastic individual goal that made him the youngest semi-final scorer ever.
The Spaniard rejected comparisons to legendary Barca player Lionel Messi on the eve of the game, but his goal was straight out of the Argentinian’s script.
Before they could stop him, Yamal stroked an inch-perfect shot into off the left post after catching him off the right post and floated inside from the right flank.
Lamine Yamal of Barcelona’s offense before the team’s opening goal [Albert Gea/Reuters]
Yamal nearly repeated the same mistake just a few seconds later. He evaded the pitch again this time, pausing for Federico Dimarco to lunge past him.
The youngster fired a shot that Sommer tipped onto the crossbar from a tight angle.
Yamal, who was high on confidence, gave Torres and Dani Olmo more chances that went begging before Barca equaled.
After 38 breathless minutes, Raphinha scored from close range after Pedri hooked a ball into the area and fired it into the goal.
Barca, who had previously replaced Gerard Martin with Ronald Araujo at half-time, were hit by Kounde’s limp before half-time.
After enduring a rough night up against the relentless Yamal, Dimarco hammered over in the opening half before Simone Inzaghi hooked him.
Early in the second half, Inter sucker-punched Barca, scoring from a corner with Dumfries’ header bouncing in off Olmo.
Yamal stepped over a corner on the edge of the box to give Raphinha the lead in less than two minutes to equalize.
Raphinha scores the third goal for Barcelona [Albert Gea/Reuters]
The Brazilian’s rasping strike hit the crossbar before coming in off the unfortunate diving Sommer’s head.
After entering behind Barcelona’s high line, Pau Cubarsi made a crucial recovery tackle to stop Thuram, and Mkhitaryan had a goal that was ruled out due to a very tight offside.
Late in the second strike, Yamal slammed the crossbar, but neither team could get off the hook.
The winner of the Munich final will face Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal on May 31 in the second leg, which will take place in Milan on Tuesday.
