Rapper Kendrick Lamar, one of the big success stories of the Grammys last week, said Thursday his fans should expect “storytelling” at the Super Bowl halftime show this weekend.Lamar will headline the halftime show at Sunday’s showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, and has announced SZA will join him as a featured guest.He had a clean sweep at last Sunday’s Grammys, winning in all five categories for which he received nominations — Record of the Year, Song of the Year, best rap song, best rap performance and best music video.”I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through my catalogue and history of music … I like to always carry on that sense of people listening but also thinking,” he said in an interview ahead of the NFL’s season finale.Lamar said had never imagined he would perform at the Super Bowl when he was starting out. In 2022, he appeared as a featured performer in a hip-hop showcase but this will be his first headline show.”I wasn’t thinking about no Super Bowl — I was thinking about the best verse… It wasn’t no Super Bowl,” he said.”What I know is the passion I have now is still the passion I had then.”He and SZA will head out on tour in April. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether Lamar will perform his Grammy-winning scathing diss track “Not Like Us,” which is part of a feud with fellow rapper Drake that has landed in court.He did not address that issue directly but said he was “just thinking about the culture, really.””When people talk about rap, man, the conversations out there they think it’s just rapping — (like) it’s not an actual art form,” Lamar said. “So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people that this is more than just something that came 50 years ago.”Lamar released “Not Like Us” in May 2024, the fifth of a collection of songs skewering the Canadian rapper that dropped less than a day after his previous single, “Meet the Grahams.”A record-breaking streaming giant, “Not Like Us” catapulted to the top of the charts and quickly became a West Coast rap anthem, beloved for its pounding bass line, rhythmic strings and exaggerated enunciation.Drake has filed a defamation suit against their shared label, saying Universal Music Group’s release and promotion of “Not Like Us” amounted to defamation and harassment.UMG has called the accusations “illogical.”

US President Donald Trump’s trade envoy nominee Jamieson Greer told his confirmation hearing Thursday that universal tariffs were worth studying, adding that he would work to restructure global trade ties.On the campaign trail, Trump raised the idea of across-the-board tariffs on all US imports, and Greer would be a crucial figure in implementing the president’s trade and tariffs agenda if confirmed as US trade representative.A universal tariff “is something that should be studied and considered” to see if it can reverse the direction of the US trade deficit and offshoring, said Greer, a trade lawyer and official in Trump’s first administration.He was responding to concerns over sweeping duties, which some lawmakers warned could drive up prices.Addressing the Senate Finance Committee, Greer added that “we have a relatively short window of time to restructure the international trading system to better serve US interests.”Greer, a partner at law firm King & Spalding, served as chief of staff to Trump’s former trade representative Robert Lighthizer during his first presidential term.During that time, he helped to see through a trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada — although Trump has since announced, and then paused, fresh tariffs on both partners as talks continue.Asked about potential trade wars with neighboring countries, Greer said “the action that the president is talking about is about fentanyl, where we don’t want another single fentanyl death.””We need to come to an agreement on that,” he said, adding that Mexico and Canada appear willing to do so.Trump has cited illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across US borders as a reason for seeking 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico — though a lower rate on Canadian energy.Canada for its part has countered that below one percent of undocumented migrants and fentanyl entering the United States comes through its border.Greer also stressed the need for the country to have a “robust manufacturing base” and innovation economy, warning it would have “little in the way of hard power to deter conflict and protect Americans” otherwise.- Fairness with China -On US trade ties with the world’s second biggest economy, China, Greer said Washington and Beijing need to have a “balanced relationship” overall.He said it was important that if China wanted to trade with the United States and have healthy economic ties, much of this will need to be premised on fair market access.If confirmed, Greer said he would swiftly assess and enforce China’s compliance with a Phase One trade deal Washington and Beijing inked in 2020, marking a truce in the escalating trade war between both sides.During Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021, the United States introduced tariffs on billions of dollars worth of imports — notably on China but also America’s allies.In particular, the first Trump administration imposed levies on some $300 billion in Chinese goods as Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war.Trump’s trade representative at the time, Lighthizer, emerged as a strongman in talks as he sought to force changes in Beijing’s economic policies.Greer added Thursday that the United States should be a “country of producers.””We need to create incentives to produce in America, and we need to create incentives to get market access overseas,” he said.He also noted that the United States needs to gain market access, calling for the use of “all the tools at our disposal” to do so.Greer additionally said he was committed to looking at other unfair trade practices if confirmed as USTR.

The UN’s climate chief, seeking to shore up solidarity on combating global warming as the United States retreats from its leadership role, appealed to nations’ self-interest in a speech Thursday.Speaking at a university in Brazil’s capital, Simon Stiell said global heating was “dangerously high,” but that real progress had been made since the landmark Paris Agreement.He conceded many countries would miss a February 10 deadline to submit their next round of climate plans — giving them until September to deliver “first-rate” emissions roadmaps.Brazil is set to host the next global climate conference, COP30, in November.”We are already headed in the right direction. We just have to implement, and implement more and faster,” said the former Grenadan environment minister.Quickly after his White House return, President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris deal for the second time. “A country may step back –- but others are already stepping into their place to seize the opportunity, and to reap the massive rewards: stronger economic growth, more jobs, less pollution and far lower health costs, more secure and affordable energy,” said Stiell. He said economic reality would drive action, with climate investment now at $2 trillion.Self-interest, he said, “above all other factors, is why the clean energy shift is now unstoppable: because of the colossal scale of economic opportunity it presents.”- Climate costs -Only a handful of countries have so far submitted their climate plans, including Brazil and Britain, with big emitters China and the European Union expected to follow later in the year.A UN official said that over 170 countries had indicated they were working on their new emissions goals and planned to submit them this year, most of them before COP30.When the Paris deal was signed ten years ago, the world was heading for 5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels.That was “a death sentence for humanity as we know it,” said Stiell, noting that the current trajectory of 3C was still catastrophic.     The safer limit under the Paris deal is 1.5C, but scientists say that is slipping out of reach.Last year was the hottest on record, and the combined average temperature of 2023 and 2024 exceeded the 1.5C threshold for the first time. On Thursday, Europe’s climate monitor said last month was the hottest January on record.Last year’s contentious COP29 meeting in Baku ended with richer countries agreeing to provide at least $300 billion annually by 2035 to help poorer nations progress their green transition and build resilience. The actual need has been estimated at $1.3 trillion in developing countries — many of whom are facing crushing debts.Stiell said the focus this year would be to find other sources of money to plug the gap.  He stressed the funding was “not charity” but a way to curb inflation caused by climate disasters. “Just take rising food prices, which have the fingerprints of climate-driven droughts, floods, and wildfires all over them,” he said.

Israel’s defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza, as US President Donald Trump ruled out sending troops to the territory.Trump had earlier proposed moving Palestinians out of Gaza, sparking uproar from leaders in the Middle East and beyond.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to formulate a plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza, which has been ravaged by more than a year of war.”I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents,” Katz said, adding they could go “to any country willing to accept them”.Trump announced his proposal to audible gasps on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to meet him at the White House since his inauguration.The United Nations warned any forced displacement of Palestinians would be “tantamount to ethnic cleansing”.Trump insisted “everybody loves” the plan, saying it would involve the United States taking over Gaza, though he offered few details on how more than two million Palestinians would be removed.His administration later appeared to backtrack, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying any transfer of Gazans would be temporary.Trump doubled down on his proposal on Thursday, however.”The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he said on his Truth Social network.”No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!”Rubio also said later that those denouncing Trump’s plan should “step forward and provide a solution and answer to that problem”.Hamas’s spokesman condemned Trump’s statements as “absolutely unacceptable”.”Trump’s remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory,” Hazem Qassem said.”Gaza is for its people and they will not leave.- ‘Greatest friend’ -Netanyahu, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, called the proposal “remarkable” and hailed Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend”.”I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone.”Katz said Trump’s plan “could create broad opportunities for Gaza residents who wish to leave… and also facilitate the advancement of reconstruction programs for a demilitarised, threat-free Gaza”.Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who vowed Wednesday to “definitively bury” the idea of a Palestinian state — said he welcomed Katz’s move.Palestinians residing in the coastal territory have vowed to remain. For them, any attempt to push them out of Gaza recalls the “Nakba”, or “catastrophe” — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.”They can do whatever they want, but we will remain steadfast in our homeland,” said 41-year-old Gazan Ahmed Halasa.Israelis in Jerusalem largely welcomed Trump’s proposal, though some doubted it could be carried out.”I really like what he said, but in my wildest dreams… it’s hard for me to believe it will happen, but who knows,” said 65-year-old Refael.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted Palestinians to only be “temporarily relocated” out of Gaza.”It’s not a liveable place for any human being,” she said.But Trump, who also suggested he might visit Gaza, implied it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.- ‘Ethnic cleansing’ -Even before Tuesday’s announcements, Trump had suggested residents of Gaza should move to Egypt and Jordan, both of which have flatly rejected any resettlement of Palestinians on their territory.Egypt’s foreign ministry on Thursday said Israeli support for Trump’s plan “weakens and destroys the negotiations on a ceasefire agreement and incites a return to fighting”.Egypt, Qatar and the United States mediated the fragile January 19 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Talks resumed this week for the second phase of the truce, expected to herald a more permanent end to the fighting.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people… to simply live as human beings in their own land”.His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Phillipe Lazzarini, tweeted: “The rights of the Palestinians continue to be violated. Since the war began, people in Gaza have undergone systematic dehumanization.””Palestinians do matter, including those in Gaza. Their rights, lives & futures matter. Human rights cannot be applied selectively,” he added.Israel’s military offensive in response to Hamas’s attack has left much of Gaza in ruins, including schools, hospitals and most civil infrastructure.In a bid to address the dire humanitarian situation, aid has been rushed into the territory since the ceasefire took effect.UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Thursday that more than 10,000 aid trucks had crossed into Gaza since the truce went into effect, calling it “a massive surge”.burs-dv/jsa/ysm