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Rubio: US could enter into new trade agreements after tariffs are imposed
Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State for Florida, said that once the United States imposes tariffs on major trading partners they could begin bilateral discussions with other countries about new trade agreements. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, threatened to slap 200% tariffs on wine, cognac, and other alcohol imported from Europe on Thursday, opening a second front in a trade war that's roiled financial market and caused recession fears. Rubio said that the United States will retaliate if other nations impose tariffs against it. This is global. "It's not against Canada It's not against the law Mexico He told the CBS program "Face the Nation" that it wasn't against the EU. He continued, "And from this new baseline of fairness, reciprocity and mutuality, we'll engage in - potentially – bilateral negotiations with other countries around the globe on new trade agreements that make sense to both sides." Rubio did not provide any details on the possible new deals, but said that the United States will "reset the baseline", to ensure that it is treated fairly. "We don’t like the current status quo. "We are going to establish a new status-quo and then, if other nations want it, we can negotiate," he said. "What we are doing now is not sustainable." Reporting by David Ljunggren, Editing by Mark Porter
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Palestinian medics report that Israeli strikes killed 14 people in Gaza the previous day.
Israeli military strikes killed at least fourteen Palestinians in Gaza Strip during the past 24 hour, said the Gaza Strip's Health Ministry on Sunday. Arab and U.S. mediators are working to maintain a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian officials claim that Israeli fire has killed dozens of Palestinians despite the truce on January 19, which halted major fighting in Gaza. Israel's army has stated that its forces have intervened in order to stop "terrorists", who were threatening its troops, or those who had planted bombs. Gaza's Health Ministry reported that the majority of recent deaths occurred on Saturday, when an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya killed nine Palestinians, including four journalists. Six men, whom Israel's military identified as being members of Hamas' armed wing and Islamic Jihad, a militant group that is allied with Hamas, were killed in this strike. The Israeli military said that some militants were operating "under the cover" of journalists. Salama Marouf is the head of Hamas' Gaza government media. She said that the statement made by the military about the incident contained names of people not present. Marouf claimed that the report was based "without bothering to check the facts" and was inaccurate. Gaza's health officials confirmed that at least four Palestinians died in separate Israeli attacks on Saturday. The medics reported that an Israeli drone fired a missile on a group in Juhr Eldeek, central Gaza, Sunday, killing one 62-year old man and injuring others. A missile fired by an Israeli drone at a crowd of people in Rafah injured several others, the medics added. The Israeli military claimed it did not know about the reported drone attacks. CEASEFIRE TALKS The bloodshed in Gaza continues to highlight the fragility in the three-stage truce agreement, which was mediated by Qatar Egypt and the United States. They have intervened to help Israel and Hamas reach an agreement on how to proceed. Israel is proposing to extend the first phase of the ceasefire, which has been backed by U.S. ambassador Steve Witkoff. Hamas has said it will only resume releasing hostages under the second phase, which was supposed to start on March 2. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that on Saturday, negotiators were instructed to continue the talks in response to the mediators' responses to the U.S. proposal to release 11 hostages alive and half the dead. Hamas said on Friday that it would release the American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and four hostage bodies if Israel agreed immediately to start talks on the implementation of the second phase of agreement. Israel accused Hamas in response of "psychological war" against the families of hostages. According to Israeli statistics, the war began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas launched a raid across the border into southern Israel, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel has denied accusations of war crimes and genocide. The Israeli assault on Gaza, which followed, killed over 48,000 Palestinians. Nidal al Mughrabi, Nidal Popper and Helen Popper contributed to the reporting and writing.
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Cuba restores power to Havana, the capital and its outlying provinces
Cuba's Havana capital saw some lights come back on on Sunday morning after a national grid collapse knocked out electricity for 10 million people. Havana's Electric Company said on social media about 19% of their clients in the city have seen power restored but did not give an estimate for full recovery. Cuba's Energy and Mines Ministry announced early Sunday that it had started up the Felton power station, one of Cuba's largest power plants and a benchmark for the restoration of power in eastern provinces. The ministry stated that the country's biggest plant, Antonio Guinteras in Matanzas was not yet operational. Many residents in Havana, and elsewhere, were worried that their frozen food would spoil after 36 hours of no electricity. Since Friday evening, around 8:15 pm (0015 GMT), a large part of the two-million-person city - a densely-populated tourist center - was without electricity. The only places that had lights were popular tourist hotels, restaurants, homes, and businesses equipped with generators. Cuba's grid collapsed Friday evening, after a transmission cable at a Havana substation shorted. This caused a chain reaction which completely shut down electricity generation on the entire island. The blackout on Friday was the fourth to occur in the country since October. Cuba's oil fired power plants, which were already outdated and struggled to keep the lights lit, reached a crisis last year when oil imports from Venezuela and Russia, as well as Mexico, decreased. Before Friday's grid failure, many on the island were already experiencing daily blackouts of 20 hours or longer. Cuba has blamed the growing crisis on an embargo imposed by the United States during the Cold War and on new restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump. Trump recently tightened the sanctions against the communist government and promised to restore "tough" policies toward the longtime U.S. enemy. In an effort to reduce reliance on oil-fired power generation, the government wants to help China develop large solar farms. (Reporting and editing by David Holmes; Dave Sherwood)
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The North Macedonian nightclub fire leaves 51 dead and over 100 injured
Pance Toskovski, the Interior Minister of North Macedonia, said that 51 people died and over 100 were injured in an early morning fire in a nightclub in Kocani. Toskovski claimed that the fire was caused "pyrotechnics" used at a concert. He said that "sparks caused the fire... and the fire spread throughout the discotheque." Video from the event was verified by and shows two flares shooting white sparks in the air flanking a band on stage. The sparks ignite the ceiling above the band as the video cuts. A local TV station showed footage of firefighters dousing the smoke and charred entrance to the Pulse club. The public broadcaster MRT in North Macedonia reported that 27 people with severe burns were admitted to the Skopje City Hospital, while another 23 patients were treated at the Clinical Center. It said that minors were among the injured. The fire broke out in Kocani at 3:00 am. Hristijan Micoski, the Prime Minister of Macedonia, said on Facebook that "this is a very difficult and sad day for Macedonia!" The loss of many young lives was irreparable. The pain felt by the families and loved ones is incomparable. "I urge all institutions, including the health services and relevant authorities, to take immediate action to help the injured as well as the families of those families." (Reporting and writing by Aleksandar Vasovic, Editing by Bernadettebaum)
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CNN reports that 33 people were killed by tornadoes in the US South amid an increase in risk.
CNN reported that on Saturday night at least 33 tornadoes struck several states across the Midwest and Southeast of the United States. The Missouri highway patrol reported that 12 deaths occurred in five counties. Robbie Myers is the director of emergency response in Missouri's Butler County. He told reporters that over 500 homes, as well as a grocery store and a church, were destroyed in the county. He said that a mobile home park was "totally wiped out". Tate Reeves, the Mississippi governor, posted on X about six deaths in the state – one in Covington County; two in Jeff Davis County; and three in Walthall County. Reeves reported that preliminary assessments showed 29 injuries statewide, and damage to 21 counties. The Department of Emergency Management in Arkansas reported that three people died and 32 were injured. David Roth, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told reporters that 26 tornadoes had been reported, but were not confirmed, to have touched ground late Friday night and early Saturday morning as a low pressure system pushed powerful thunderstorms through parts of Arkansas and Illinois. Rich McKay reported from Atlanta, and Shivani Tana in Bengaluru. Editing was done by Aidan Lewis and Rod Nickel.
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New South Wales, Australia, is sweltering in a heatwave and faces an 'extreme bushfire risk'
New South Wales, Australia, sweated through a heatwave on Sunday that increased the risk of bushfires. Authorities issued a fire ban in Sydney's capital. New South Wales is nearing the end a high-risk bushfire season, which runs until March. The "Black Summer" wildfires of 2019-2020 destroyed an area as large as Turkey and killed over 33 people. Sydney, Australia's largest city, is expected to reach 37C (98.6F) on Sunday. Forecasters report that the temperature at Sydney Airport was 29.3C (84.7 F), more than three degrees higher than the average maximum temperature for March. The forecaster's website warned that "strong winds, hot conditions, and low relative humidities will create extreme fire danger in the greater Sydney area." According to X, the Rural Fire Service of the State of New York announced that a total ban on fires was in effect for a large swath of the state, including Sydney. This is due to "hot and dry conditions" forecasted. Bernard Barbetti, an official with the Country Fire Authority, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday that a house was destroyed by a bushfire in Victoria, which was fought by 200 firefighters. The Australian science agency stated last year that climate change was causing extreme heat to be more frequent in Australia. Australia is a country prone to bushfires with a population of 27 million. (Reporting from Sydney by Sam McKeith, editing by Deepa Babyington)
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The economy of Peru grew by 4.07% in January
Data from the nation's INEI statistical agency on Saturday showed that Peru's economy grew 4.07% during the first month in 2025. This was in line with forecasts by the central bank and analysts, with almost all sectors registering growth, with the exception being the financial sector. The January data was slightly above the 4% estimated by analysts, but lower than the 4.85% recorded last month last year. Mining and energy, the Andean nation’s most important sector, grew by 1.4%. Meanwhile, agriculture and fishing, a smaller sector but still very important to the country's economy grew by 3.2% and 23.5%. Transportation grew by 7.9% and manufacturing by 5.5%, while the public sector and construction and defense both saw growth above 4%. Commercial banks' lending decreased by 0.35%, causing the financial sector to contract. Calling on Friday The top economist of Peru's central banks said that the economic activity is developing better than expected as the economy recovered from the recession it entered in the year 2023. The bank said that the U.S. Tariffs would have a limited effect, stating that Peruvian agricultural products are a complement to North American supplies, when North America is not able produce locally due to seasonal factors, and that copper exports could be sold in many other markets. Late last month, Peru's Economy Minister Predicted The economy will grow by 4% in 2019, up from 3.3% in 2024, and 0.4% in 2017. This makes it one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America. (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft, Raul Cortes, and Sarah Morland)
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Three people are killed in a tornado that strikes the US south amid an increase in risk
Police said that three people died in Missouri after a series tornadoes struck the U.S. Midwest overnight. The path of destruction was still being assessed on Saturday morning. David Roth, a National Weather Service meteorologist from the Weather Prediction Center, stated that at least 26 tornadoes had been reported, but were not confirmed, to have toucheddown late Friday night or early Saturday morning as a powerful low-pressure system swept across Arkansas, Illinois and Mississippi. He said that today there was a 30% chance of more tornadoes in Alabama and Mississippi. "That is pretty significant." The Missouri State Highway Patrol, along with other officials, reported that two of the deaths were caused by tornadoes in southern Missouri, in the Bakersfield region of Ozark County. This is about four hours south-southwest of Kansas City. A third death occurred in Butler County. The highway patrol reported that some people were injured but there were no immediate numbers available. Forecasters say that as the storms gain strength, Saturday night is the time when the risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes will be highest.
European business cut tasks as economy sputters
The greatest inflation for decades and the impact of the war in Ukraine have actually required business across Europe into layoffs or hiring freezes.
Here are some cuts revealed given that the start of 2024:
CARS. * BOSCH: the automotive supplier said in January it would cut. 1,200 jobs in its software application development department by end-2026,. after already flagging cuts in Germany. On Feb. 23, it added it. would cut 3,500 tasks in its home device department. * CONTINENTAL: the automobile parts provider announced. on Feb. 14 additional plans to cut staff, by minimizing research and. development staffing in its automotive department by 1,750 jobs by. end-2025. * FORVIA: the French cars and truck parts maker stated on Feb. 19. it would cut up to 10,000 jobs in Europe by 2028 primarily through. natural attrition and reduced hiring. * POLESTAR: the Volvo Automobile and Geely-backed EV maker. stated on Jan. 26 it would cut around 450 jobs, or about 15% of. workforce, worldwide. * STELLANTIS: the car manufacturer signed an offer on March 27. to might cut more than 3,000 functions in Italy. It has actually likewise been. trimming tasks in the U.S. and France. * VOLVO: the Swedish truck maker prepares to cut 250. jobs at its Tuve plant in Gothenburg, regional daily reported on. March 12, mentioning a company representative.
BANKS. * BARCLAYS: the British bank is preparing to cut. numerous financial investment bank jobs, sources knowledgeable about the. matter told on March 20. * DEUTSCHE BANK: the German bank said on Feb. 1 it. would cut 3,500 back workplace tasks, just under 4% of labor force. * LLOYDS: Britain's biggest domestic bank is cutting. around 1,600 roles across its branches, it said on Jan. 25. * SOCIETE GENERALE: the French bank stated on Feb. 5 it. would cut about 900 tasks at its Paris headquarters through. voluntary departures.
INDUSTRIALS AND ENGINEERING. * NIBE INDUSTIER: the Swedish heating options maker. has cut 340 positions in Sweden, it said on March 18. * SANDVIK: the Swedish mining equipment maker said on. Jan. 25 it plans to cut around 1,100 tasks. * TATA STEEL: the Dutch division of the Indian steel. maker stated on Jan. 19 it would close two blast heaters in. Britain by end-2024, cutting up to 2,800 tasks, a 2nd layoff. announcement considering that November. * VALMET: the Finnish engineering group remains in talks. to lay off around 130 workers, it stated on Feb. 15.
RETAIL AND DURABLE GOODS. * BARRY CALLEBAUT: the Swiss chocolate maker informed media. on Feb. 26 it is preparing to cut around 2,500 jobs. * H&M: the Swedish style seller prepares to shut down. more than a fifth of its stores and lay off 588 employees in. Spain, unions said on Jan. 26. * SAINSBURY: Britain's second-biggest grocer stated on. Feb. 29 it plans to cut about 1,500 roles. * TED BAKER: the seller stated on April 8 it would close 15. stores in Britain, causing a loss of almost 250 tasks. * UNILEVER: the durable goods group revealed a new. cost savings program on March 19 that would cut 7,500 jobs.
TECH. * ERICSSON: the Swedish telecoms equipment provider. stated on March 25 it was planning to decrease about 1,200 positions. in Sweden. * SAP: the German software application company stated on Jan. 24 it. would restructure 8,000 jobs in a push towards AI. * TELEFONICA: the telecoms operator reached a deal with. unions on Jan. 3 to lay off up to 3,421 staff members in Spain by. 2026. * TELENOR: the telecoms group said on April 3 its. Norwegian unit would lay off around 100 staff members and cut down. on short-term personnel. * VODAFONE: Vodafone Germany said on March 26 that its. improvement programme would impact some 2,000 jobs.
OTHER. * BAYER: the German drugmaker said on Jan. 17 it had. agreed with shop stewards on considerable reduction in managerial. jobs by end-2025 without defining a number. * BOUYGUES IMMOBILIER: the real estate arm of Bouygues. will cut 225 tasks at its home development system in France, it. stated on April 8. * EVONIK: the German chemicals group said on March 4. up to 2,000 tasks worldwide by 2026. * FIDELITY: the fund supervisor prepares to cut around 1,000 jobs. globally in 2024, according to an internal memo seen . Company spokesperson verified the contents of the memo on March. 6. * KUEHNE+NAGEL: the Swiss logistics group stated on March. 1 it is laying off less than 2% of its staff and is currently on. an employing freeze. * NESTE: the Finnish oil refiner said on March 13 it. would cut 320 positions in Finland and 70 beyond the. nation. * NOVATRIS: the Swiss pharmaceutical company is to cut. approximately 680 jobs in its advancement organisation, it stated on April. 9. * ROCHE: the Swiss drugmaker said on Feb. 9 it was. cutting tasks, however less than the 345 tasks reported by local. site Muula. * STORA ENSO: the Finnish forestry firm said on Feb. 1 it could lay off around 1,000 workers in 2024. * SKY: the British media group, owned by U.S.-based Comcast. , is to cut 1,000 tasks in 2024, sources acquainted with. the matter said on Jan. 30. * UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP: the record label said on Jan. 12 it will lay off some workers in 2024 without defining a. number. * WORLDLINE: the French digital payments business will. cut its workforce by around 8% worldwide, it stated on Feb 7.
Source: Regulatory filings, stories and business sites.
(source: Reuters)