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Description: The US and the European Union have disclosed key aspects of their concluded 15% tariff rate trade agreement. According to the agreement, the US would impose 15% tariffs on around 70% of goods coming from Europe, with the exception of wine, spirits and steel. The deal which initially also excluded pharmaceuticals and semiconductors would include those products under the 15% tariff umbrella making trade relations going forward extremely predictable, according to EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen. Trump also expressed satisfaction with the concluded terms of the agreement as he stated that the US would largely benefit from under the conditions of the agreement i
Description: Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has announced that Canada will not impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods in order to preserve the provisions from the free trade agreement signed with the US, which is up for review in six months. Carney announced that he and US President Donald Trump had agreed to continue negotiations on other aspects of current bilateral relations such as the tariffs remaining in place for aluminum and steel imported in the US from Canada. Canada would backtrack its 25% of retaliatory tariffs on a plethora of US products, which is a market for more than 75% of Canadian goods, while reciprocal tariffs on aluminum, steel and lumber would r
Description: Two separate attacks related to dissident groups pertaining to the dissolved Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) narco – terrorist group were conducted in the city of Cali and the region of Antioquia. The first attack targeted Colombia’s Aerospace Defense Department and aviation academy, where a vehicle packed with explosives left more than 10 people dead and up to 71 injured. The second attack in Antioquia was conducted using a suicide drone which managed to down a police helicopter providing assistance to ground forces eradicating coca plantations. Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, attributed the attacks to the 36th Front of the Estado Mayor Centra
Description: Sixteen trucks pertaining to UN’s World Food Program organization came under fire in the besieged city of El – Fasher which represented the last stronghold of the Sudanese military in the Darfur region. The aid trucks were attacked by drones, and all the vital supplies were destroyed with the UN reporting that no casualties were sustained during the attacks. The RSF blamed the Sudanese military for the attacks while the military stated that RSF has constantly blocked the entry of humanitarian aid in regions where it was desperately needed. More than 300 thousand civilians are under siege from RSF militants in the city, facing unprecedented levels of humanitarian
Description: Militants pertaining to the numerous bandit organizations in Nigeria have killed more than 50 people during morning prayers at a mosque located in the town of Unguwar Mantau, in Katsina State. Nigeria’s bandit insurgency has stemmed from territorial disputes between herders and farmers which transpired towards armed resistance and morphed into organized crime in collusion with offshoots from terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Islamic State. Groups such as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Jama'atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), as well as offshoots such as the Lakurawa network, the Sadiku group and the Shiroro cell are
Description: Clashes between the administrations of the five semi – autonomous regions in Somalia have provided the terrorist group Al Shabab with an opening for land grabs and extension of territorial control. Following years of war, Somalia is presently divided between five semi – autonomous regions or member states such as Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, and South West, which are engaged in a constant power struggle with the centralized government in the country’s capital, Mogadishu. In recent weeks, Al Qaeda affiliate, Al Shabab, has intensified attacks within several member states focusing on Jubaland, where the current administration is engaged in an intense
Description: Thailand and Cambodia’s militaries have remained relatively disciplined in the fragile US – brokered ceasefire, however, both establishments have intensified their wartime narrative raising concerns over renewing the conflict. Thailand and Cambodia have recently exchanged accusations over ceasefire violations, with Thailand using public media channels to show that Cambodia has violated the Ottawa mine treaty through positioning land mines in the disputed border regions. On the Cambodian side, the influential Hun Sen and Hun Manet have managed to strengthen their ruling position riding on a nationalist sentiment of defense while also intensifying accusations on T
Description: The Israeli government moved forward with its plans for the complete occupation of the Gaza Strip by launching the military operation Gideon Chariots II focusing on encircling Gaza City. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government had further stated that up to 60 thousand reserve troops would be activated and the initial operations would begin in the next couple of days. Settlement expansions in the West Bank were also approved in the E1 land tract area where several apartment complexes are expected to be built, a move strongly condemned by the international community. Israel’s military has reportedly commenced operations on the perimeters of the city where they
Description: Independent reports issued by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization and the United Nations (UN) have confirmed, based on testimonies from individuals in the DR Congo, that M23 rebels have executed and massacred more than 140 civilians in the past month in the North and South Kivu provinces in eastern DRC. The testimonies elaborated in detail the persecution by the armed militants explaining that up to 14 villages were looted and testified to the fact of sexual abuse and other forms of atrocities conducted by the rebels. The reports arrive after a failed conclusion to the previously signed Declaration of Principles between the DRC government and the M23 rebel
Description: Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has significantly downplayed the possibility of bilateral or trilateral meetings between the leaders of Ukraine, the US and Russia. Lavrov additionally said that a potential trilateral or bilateral summit would have to be carefully planned and every aspect of confliction under the present conditions in the war should be examined in order for the deterioration of the peace process to be avoided. Leaders from the major NATO countries conducted a virtual coordination meeting where the previously discussed security guarantees for Ukraine have reportedly been formulated. Trump has expediently transformed his public statements