Author: DW

President Donald Trump said on Sunday a 100% tariff would be introduced on movies made outside of the United States, claiming the American film industry was “dying a very fast death.” Trump said this was due to the incentives that other countries were offering to attract American movie makers. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump said he was authorizing the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all…

Test cricket great Virat Kohli announced on Monday he had retired from the format. This comes days before India names its squad for a tour to England. Kohli scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85. He peaked at an average of 55 between 2011 and 2019, with his test form falling to 23.56 in the past two years. He is considered to be among the safest catchers and the fastest retrievers of the ball. When did Kohli rise to greatness? “King Kohli” also revolutionized the fitness culture in the India dressing room. The batting legend made his debut in…

Hamas announced on Monday that it had released Edan Alexander, believed to be the last living US hostage in Gaza, as it strives to restart ceasefire talks. The Palestinian militant group, listed as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the US, announced on Sunday that it had held rare direct talks with US representatives in Doha. Who is Edan Alexander, the American hostage released by Hamas? Edan Alexander — an American-Israeli soldier who was abducted from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas’ October 7, 2023, cross-border attack that set off the war in Gaza — had been held hostage in the Gaza Strip for more…

Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.4% in 2024, the World Bank said in a new report published Monday. That’s the highest rate of growth since 2014, excluding the 2021-2022 COVID-19 rebound, the bank said. The acceleration in Nigeria’s GDP growth was driven mainly by a continued oil and gas sector recovery and strong growth in the tech and finance industries, according to the latest Nigeria Development Update. The World Bank expects the rate of growth of Nigeria’s economy to slightly increase in 2025 to 3.7%. At the same time, the country’s agriculture sector showed slow growth, the bank warned,…

The United States and China agreed on Monday to step back from the brink in their massive tariff war that roiled financial markets and intensified trade tensions. The two sides agreed to slash import tariffs on each other’s goods for 90 days from Wednesday. The respite follows high-stakes negotiations in Geneva last weekend over US President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, which are meant to ease the US trade imbalance, but caused Beijing to retaliate with similar measures. Until Monday, China was the sole country that Trump declined to grant a tariff pause. What do we know up to this point? US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and…

Of all the fronts in Donald Trump’s trade war, none was as dramatic and economically threatening as the sky-high tariffs he imposed on China.There are a couple of reasons: first, because China is and was the single biggest importer of goods into the US and, second, because of the sheer height of the tariffs imposed by the White House in recent months. In short, tariffs of over 100% were tantamount to a total embargo on goods coming from the United States’ main trading partner. That would have had enormous economic implications, not just for the US but every other country…

The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which takes place from May 13-24, was shaping up to be the hottest one in years, with the creme de la creme of Hollywood and international movie-making set to descend on the French Riviera for two weeks of cinema celebration. Leave it to Donald Trump to spoil the party. The US president’s announcement on May 4 that he planned to “make Hollywood great again” by imposing 100% tariffs on “foreign-made films” and punishing US studios that go abroad to shoot their movies has pulled Cannes-bound filmmakers and cinema fans into a global trade war. Exactly what the president wants to…

We owe our sweet tooths to the Arab world of the 7th and 8th centuries. It was in the newly founded Baghdad where people started our ongoing love of sweet treats, gorging themselves on sugar-based sherbets, honeyed porridge, fried syrupy pastries, and candies.  The word itself — “sugar” — comes from the Arabic “Sukkar”, which Europeans imported westwards, along with a sugary appetite, following the Crusades of the 11th century. Back then sweets were infrequently enjoyed as treats: they were little pick-me-ups or remedies for a sleepy afternoon. Now, sugar is everywhere — over 60% of food and drink products…

Several European foreign ministers and other officials were in attendanceImage: Christophe Petit Tesson/AFP/Getty ImagesThe United Kingdom is set to host European ministers on Monday for talks on the war in Ukraine. London’s Foreign Office said that the “critical talks” would focus on “repelling Russian aggression and bolstering European security and securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.” The talks come two days after European leaders threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with sanctions if he did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EU will join British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London. This…

After four days of intense hostilities and concerns that India and Pakistan would engage in an all-out war, the US played a decisive active role in mediating a ceasefire between the two countries over the disputed Kashmir region. But foreign policy experts and diplomats from both countries believe that though the de-escalation might mark the end of the two countries’ worst military confrontation in 25 years, the foreign-brokered ceasefire will not lead easily to an enduring peace. US mediation provided a useful off-ramp for both nations, according to diplomatic analysts from both countries. “The US has played a helpful role in getting…