- The World Trade Organization (WTO) has warned that United States President Donald Trump’s tariff policy could cut world trade by up to 1.5 percent.
- Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been continuing his tour of Southeast Asia, pledging to “safeguard” allies in the region facing United States tariffs during a visit to Malaysia.
- Iran has said the next round of talks with the US about its nuclear programme will indeed take place in Rome, Italy.
- Ukraine has signalled “significant progress” towards a rare earth mineral deal with the Trump administration, as top US officials head to Paris, France, in the latest ceasefire push.
China to seek to rally condemnation of US tariffs at UN
China is set to convene an informal meeting of the United Nations Security Council next week, where it will accuse the US of “casting a shadow over the global efforts for peace and development” by weaponising its tariff policy.
“All countries, particularly developing nations, are victims of unilateralism and bullying practices,” a concept note for the meeting said, according to the Reuters news agency.
The note invites all 193 member states of the UN to attend the meeting.
“By weaponising tariffs as a tool of extreme pressure, the US has gravely violated international trade rules, and triggered severe shocks and turbulence in the world economy and multilateral trading system, casting a shadow over the global efforts for peace and development,” the note said.
World Bank Group president encourages negotiations amid tariff uncertainty
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga has called on lower-income countries to reduce their tariffs to limit the impact of Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs. He also encouraged greater negotiations between countries over trade.
“Countries need to care about negotiating and dialogue. It’s going to be really important in this phase, and the quicker we do it, the better that will be,” he said.
Banga predicted that global economic growth is likely to slow as a result of the uncertainty created by Trump’s tariffs, and investments are slowing. But he said it was unclear how long any slump would last.
“I don’t know how to predict how to get out, because most of this is caused by the current discussion on trade. If you get to good resolutions through that negotiation that I’m encouraging … then I think you could get through this relatively quickly.”
Rubio says ‘championing free speech’ at State Dept as he seeks to deport protesters
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called freedom of speech and expression a “cornerstone of what it means to be an American citizen”, while decrying what he described as a decades-long trend of individuals being “slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions”.
His remarks accompanied an announcement about the closure of the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) office, which seeks to counter sophisticated misinformation campaigns by foreign adversaries.
Critics, including billionaire Elon Musk, have long accused the office of censoring conservative voices.
Rubio’s pledge to protect free speech comes as he uses an obscure law to deport US permanent residents and student visa holders for their participation in pro-Palestine protests.
The law appears to allow Rubio to personally approve an individual’s deportations based on “past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful”.
The Trump administration has broadly claimed that the Constitution’s freedom of speech protections apply only to US citizens — and not individuals legally in the country on various visas.
Marjorie Taylor Greene holds a Georgia town hall
The US Congress in the first week of a two-week recess. Often, that means representatives have the chance to return to their home states and hold community meetings.
But this year, US media has reported that some Republican leaders advised their party colleagues to avoid holding town halls, given the contentious political climate.
Still, some have forged ahead, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
At a Tuesday night town hall, protesters disrupted her remarks and pressed her with concerns, ranging from fears of prices leaping under Trump’s tariff policies to questions about potential cuts to Medicaid.
“Don’t be a ‘panican.’ That’s a new word President Trump came up with,” Greene said, brushing aside the concerns. She also reaffirmed she would do her utmost to advance Trump’s agenda: “I am going to stand by my president.”
One protester was Tasered during the event.
Columbia philosophy department condemns ICE arrest of Mohsen Mahdawi
Columbia University philosophy professor Joseph Howley posted a statement on social media on behalf of his department, expressing “horror and dismay” over the arrest of student Mohsen Mahdawi.
A leader in the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia, Mahdawi was arrested on Monday as he attended a naturalisation interview. Mahdawi is a US permanent resident originally from the occupied West Bank.
His arrest comes as the Trump administration targets university students involved in pro-Palestine advocacy, broadly framing them as “anti-Semitic” despite providing scant evidence to back the claims.
Last week, a federal judge ruled Mahmoud Khalil, also a Columbia student, could be deported based on the State Department’s claim that his presence in the US could adversely affect the country’s foreign policy.
“We call upon the Provost and Acting President of Columbia University to assist by all means, including through the provision of material and legal resources, any Columbia student targeted or detained — and seemingly only for having exercised their right to the free and peaceful expression of political opinion,” the philosophy department’s statement said.
US Attorney General sues state of Maine for transgender inclusion in school sports
The Trump White House has escalated its fight with the northeastern state of Maine, announcing a lawsuit against its policies allowing transgender athletes to participate in school sports based on their gender identity.
“Today, the Department of Justice is announcing a civil lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news conference.
“The state of Maine is discriminating against women by failing to protect women in women’s sports — pretty basic stuff.”
Bondi argued that Maine’s policy ran afoul of Title IX, a civil rights law that prevents sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.
“We have exhausted every other remedy. We tried to get Maine to comply,” Bondi said. She warned Minnesota and California could be next.
Critics have accused the Trump administration of pursuing a spate of policies aimed at ostracising transgender people and denying their rights. The president, for instance, has tried to block transgender people from joining the military: A court has blocked that push, however.
Upon taking office, he also announced that his government would only “recognize two sexes, male and female”.
But his February 5 executive order, called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”, led to a public clash with Maine. At a meeting with governors at the White House later that month, Trump singled out Maine Governor Janet Mills from the podium over her opposition to the order, to which she replied: “See you in court.”