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The United States and China slashed sweeping tariffs on each others’ goods for 90 days on Wednesday, marking a temporary de-escalation in a brutal trade war that roiled global markets and international supply chains.Washington and Beijing agreed to drastically lower sky-high tariffs in a deal that emerged from pivotal talks at the weekend in Geneva.US President Donald Trump said Washington now had the blueprint for a “very, very strong” trade deal with China that would see Beijing’s economy “open up” to US businesses, in an interview broadcast Tuesday on Fox News.”We have the confines of a very, very strong deal with China. But the most exciting part of the deal … that’s the opening up of China to US business,” he told the US broadcaster while aboard Air Force One on the way to the start of his Gulf tour.”One of the things I think that could be most exciting for us and also for China, is that we’re trying to open up China,” he added, without elaborating.Trump had upended international commerce with his sweeping tariffs across economies, and China has been especially hard hit. Unwilling to budge, Beijing responded with retaliatory levies that brought new tariffs on both sides well over 100 percent.After billions were wiped off equities and with businesses ailing, negotiations finally got underway at the weekend in Geneva between the world’s trade superpowers to find a way out of the impasse. Under the deal, the United States agreed to lower its new tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent while China will reduce its own to 10 percent — down by over 100 percentage points.- ‘No winners’ -The reductions came into effect just after midnight Washington time (0401 GMT) on Wednesday, a major de-escalation in trade tensions that saw US tariffs on Chinese imports soar to up to 145 percent and even as high as 245 percent on some products.Washington also lowered duties on low-value imports from China that hit e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu.Under Trump’s order, such small parcels would be hit by duties of 54 percent of their value — down from 120 percent — or a $100 payment.China said Wednesday it was suspending certain non-tariff countermeasures too.Beijing’s commerce ministry said it was halting for 90 days measures that put 28 US entities on an “export control list” that bars firms from receiving items that could be used for both civilian and military purposes.The ministry added in a separate statement that it was pausing measures which added 17 US entities to an “unreliable entity list”. Companies on the list are prohibited from import and export activities or making new investments in China.The suspension for 11 entities added on April 4 applies for 90 days, while the ministry did not specify the length of suspension for six others added on April 9.Markets have rallied in the glow of the China-US tariff suspension.Chinese officials have pitched themselves at a summit in Beijing with Latin American leaders this week as a stable partner and defender of globalisation.”There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told leaders including Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His top diplomat Wang Yi swiped at a “major power” that believed “might makes right”.- ‘Risk of renewed escalation’ -Deep sources of tension remain — the US additional tariff rate is higher than China’s because it includes a 20 percent levy over Trump’s complaints about Chinese exports of chemicals used to make fentanyl.Washington has long accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to the fentanyl trade, something China denies.Analysts warn that the possibility of tariffs returning after 90 days simply piles on more uncertainty.”Further tariff reductions will be difficult and the risk of renewed escalation persists,” Yue Su, principal economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told AFP.Trump’s rollercoaster tariff row with Beijing has wreaked havoc on US companies that rely on Chinese manufacturing, with the temporary de-escalation only expected to partially calm the storm.And Beijing officials have admitted that China’s economy — already ailing from a protracted property crisis and sluggish consumer spending — is likewise being affected by trade uncertainty.bur-oho-mya-bys/st

“Novelty is cool. It’s exciting. I want to be new (and) fresh,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told AFP in Los Angeles, where he is presenting a new offering that could bring haircuts and other services into your holiday home.Alongside accommodation bookings — which are “no longer new,” he notes — users will now be able to find beauty and wellness professionals as well as caterers ready to come to their vacation rental or even to their own home.It marks the most ambitious diversification of Airbnb’s business since its birth in 2008 in San Francisco.”I do want to stay relevant. I do want the company to grow and change. But the world doesn’t care about that. That’s our problem,” said Chesky in a Tuesday interview. “The problem for customers is it’s really hard to get these services.”He explained that initially the idea seemed merely interesting but gradually became “essential,” with the realization that customers could transform from annual Airbnb users to weekly ones.With the rollout, hairdressers, massage therapists, and photographers selected by the platform are becoming available in 260 cities worldwide. The offering will then expand to other locations and services.Childcare represents “the ultimate goal.” Offering babysitters on the application would mean users truly “trust” the company, he said. “I don’t think Airbnb has earned that level of trust yet, but I think that’s a really good North Star.”- ‘Perfect concierge’ -Surprisingly, while generative artificial intelligence is dominating all investments and new products in Silicon Valley, Chesky barely mentioned the technology behind ChatGPT in a keynote speech announcing the company’s future plans.”We have an AI customer service agent. We believe it’s the best AI customer service agent in all travel,” the executive told AFP. Trained on “hundreds of millions or even billions” of data points related to customer stays, it’s initially being deployed to American users before expanding to other countries and languages in the coming months.Industry expectations suggest Airbnb will focus on AI assistants capable of composing entire customized trips and making reservations — similar to startups like Mindtrip. It’s a highly coveted sector where Expedia, Booking, and Google have spent years trying to establish themselves as central platforms for travelers.”In the coming years, we imagine ultimately becoming the perfect concierge for traveling and living,” Chesky said.- Travel and politics – Meanwhile, Airbnb faces less technological and more political challenges. The California company had to distance itself from co-founder Joe Gebbia, who joined billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE team — tasked by President Donald Trump with identifying federal spending they consider unnecessary.Some hosts have announced they’re leaving Airbnb in reaction, as the ad hoc agency’s methods are widely considered brutal and counterproductive by the American left.”We haven’t seen any impact,” Chesky maintained.”Airbnb is an idea that is just so much bigger than any one person,” he added, noting that Gebbia has not been involved in daily Airbnb operations for two years.The CEO remains diplomatic regarding Trump’s economic policies, which have caused market turmoil and created uncertainty across sectors. Airbnb has observed a decrease in foreign tourists visiting the United States, but “we’re a really adaptable business,” he assured. “If people choose to travel within their own country, they might do it in Airbnbs.””That being said, I think a world where borders are open and people travel freely is certainly best for the travel industry, and probably best economically and culturally for bringing communities together.”

US drug overdose deaths fell sharply in 2024 to hit their lowest level in five years, offering hope in the nation’s long-running opioid crisis, new data showed Wednesday.An estimated 80,391 people died from drug overdoses in 2024 — a 27 percent drop from the 110,035 deaths recorded the year before and the lowest level since 2019.Deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl — the primary driver of the current epidemic — also plunged, from roughly 76,000 in 2023 to 48,422 last year. Only two states, South Dakota and Nevada, saw increases.The decline came under former president Joe Biden, whose administration expanded access to addiction treatment and made the opioid reversal drug naloxone a central focus of national drug policy.But the Trump administration, which returned to power in January, was quick to claim credit.”Since President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in 2017, Congressional support has enabled CDC to expand critical data systems and strengthen overdose prevention capacity across all states,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.”Despite these overall improvements, overdose remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44, underscoring the need for ongoing efforts to maintain this progress,” the statement added.America’s opioid epidemic traces its roots to the 1990s, when drugmakers aggressively marketed prescription painkillers like OxyContin. The current wave has been fueled by illicitly manufactured fentanyl, largely produced in China and trafficked into the US via Mexico, often mixed with stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine.Overdose deaths spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic amid healthcare disruptions and deepening mental health challenges.More than a million Americans have died from drug overdoses over the past two decades.

US President Donald Trump landed in Doha Wednesday after visiting Riyadh, where he urged Syria’s president to normalise with Israel after offering a major boost to the war-ravaged country by vowing to lift sanctions.Trump became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader — Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla and onetime jihadist who had been on a US wanted list and led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December.The interim Syrian president and Trump, wearing matching suits, shook hands as they met jointly in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and, by video link, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — the key supporter of the new government in Damascus.While aboard Air Force One en route to Qatar, Trump poured praise on Sharaa, saying the meeting went “great” and describing the leader as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”Turkey and Saudi Arabia had both advocated reconciliation with Syria, but the move is the latest to put Trump at odds with Israel, which has expressed deep scepticism of Sharaa and ramped up its military strikes against Syria to degrade its longtime adversary’s military capabilities.When asked if Sharaa said he’d join the Abraham Accords and normalise relations with Israel, Trump said: “I told him, I hope you’re going to join once you’re straightened out and he said yes. But they have a lot of work to do.”Trump also asked Sharaa to deport Palestinian militants and tell foreign fighters to leave the country, as well as to take control of camps for captured Islamic State group fighters, currently run by Kurdish forces opposed by Turkey, the White House said.- Biggest applause -Syria’s foreign ministry hailed the meeting as “historic”, but did not mention the Abraham Accords. State media also did not mention normalisation.The ministry said the leaders discussed “avenues for Syrian-American partnership in counterterrorism efforts” and the importance of lifting sanctions and supporting reconstruction.After the longer-than-expected half-hour meeting, Trump said the Assad-era sanctions had been “really crippling”.”It’s not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong chance, and it was my honour to do so,” Trump said, addressing Gulf Arab leaders.The former reality television host, always attuned to crowd sizes, took note of the rapturous reception when he announced the decision at a Riyadh investment forum Tuesday.”That was the thing that got the biggest applause from the room. We had a very crowded room with thousands of people,” Trump said.After the announcement, Syrians celebrated in cities across the country overnight.”These sanctions were imposed on Assad, but… now that Syria has been liberated, there will be a positive impact on industry, it’ll boost the economy and encourage people to return,” said soap factory owner Zain al-Jabali, 54, in Aleppo.Washington imposed sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the brutal civil war and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction so long as Assad remained in power without accountability for atrocities.Trump gave no indication that the United States would remove Syria from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism — a designation dating back to 1979 over support to Palestinian militants that severely impedes investment.- Qatar plane controversy -A senior envoy of the Joe Biden administration met Sharaa in Damascus in December and called for commitments, including on the protection of minorities.In recent weeks, Syria has seen a series of bloody attacks on minority groups, including Alawites — the sect of the largely secular Assad family — and the Druze.Rabha Seif Allam of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said easing US sanctions would help reintegrate Syria with the global economy by allowing bank transfers from investors and from millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war.”Lifting sanctions will give Syria a real opportunity to receive the funding needed to revive the economy, impose central state authority and launch reconstruction projects with clear Gulf support,” she said.Trump touched down at Hamad International Airport in Doha on Wednesday afternoon, where he was met by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.The president later boasted that Qatar Airways had placed a “record” order worth more than $200 billion in jet sales as he signed a raft of deals. “It’s over $200 billion but 160 in terms of the jets. That’s fantastic. So that’s a record,” Trump said, adding: “It’s the largest order of jets in the history of Boeing. That’s pretty good.”Qatar has stirred controversy by offering a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then go to Trump’s personal use.The move raises major constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about a foreign power donating the ultra-sensitive presidential jet.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former partner Casandra Ventura is expected to be grilled by the fallen music mogul’s defense lawyers Wednesday as she returns to court for a second day of testimony.Singer and model Ventura, better known as Cassie, is also likely to face questions about allegations Combs raped her in 2018, as well as her graphic accounts of elaborate sex parties organized by the hip-hop icon.In an emotional first day of testimony, Ventura, who is heavily pregnant, also detailed beatings and abuse at the hands of Combs whom she painted as controlling and willing to wield his wealth and influence to get his way. She gave vivid accounts that will underpin much of the prosecution’s case against the music industry figure who is alleged to have used violence and blackmail to manipulate women over many years.Ventura recounted so-called “freak-off” sex parties saying she participated because she was “just in love and wanted to make (Combs) happy — to a point I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.”Ventura, who is 17 years younger than Combs and first met him when she was 19, described how the mogul would sometimes urinate on her, or he would instruct one of the numerous sex workers he engaged to do so. – ‘It was disgusting’ -The escorts, almost always men, were paid thousands of dollars in cash after encounters.”It was disgusting. It was too much. It was overwhelming,” she said, adding that the hotel rooms used for the marathon sex sessions were often trashed, with establishments charging sizable cleaning and repair bills including for sheets stained with blood and urine.Combs’s defense team indicated that during cross-examination, which is expected as early as Wednesday afternoon, they would seek to emphasize that Ventura took drugs of her own free will, and behaved erratically.Ventura said that during the encounters she took drugs including ecstasy, ketamine and cocaine, and that the “drugs honestly helped” her meet Combs’s demands to stay awake for days on end.The drugs also had a “dissociative and numbing” effect, she said, “a way to not feel it for what it really was.”In a hotel surveillance clip from March 2016 shown to jurors Monday and again Tuesday, Combs is seen brutally beating and dragging Ventura down a hallway.The prosecution played portions of the footage while Ventura was on the stand.When asked why she didn’t fight back or get up, Ventura answered simply that curled up on the ground “felt like the safest place to be.” Combs’s defense team insists while some of his behavior was questionable it did not constitute racketeering and sex trafficking. He denies all counts and proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” powers into the Cannes film festival for its premiere on Wednesday on a steamroller of hype, with the world asking if this will be the final curtain for agent Ethan Hunt.With some fans fretting that the $400-million epic — the eighth in the high-octane franchise — could be the last, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have been teasing up the tension by dropping contradictory clues about its future.What we do know is that Simon Pegg, who has played field agent Benji Dunn in six of the films, is definitely hanging up his Impossible Missions Force badge. But not before the British actor credited the franchise with saving him from depression and alcohol and helping him get sober in 2010 for his role in “Ghost Protocol”.”I felt very taken care of,” Pegg told Variety magazine Wednesday, with Cruise urging him to “get in shape” for the fourth instalment which saw his character promoted from technician to agent.For his part, Cruise, 62, has been sharing heart-stopping behind-the-scenes footage of the stunts he did for the new movie on social media, including a freefall jump from a helicopter at 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). He is seen jumping from the chopper high over a South African mountain range and putting himself into a high-speed spin with a camera strapped to his stomach.The blockbuster is set to ramp up adrenaline levels and promises to lighten the tone at Cannes.- Shadow of tariffs -The festival’s highly political opening day began with accusations that Hollywood was ignoring “genocide” in Gaza, while the conviction of French screen legend Gerard Depardieu for sexual assault in a Paris court on day one also dampened the mood.Even Cruise’s iron-clad optimism has come under stress with the industry shaken by President Donald Trump’s threat to stick tariffs on movies “produced in foreign lands”.With “Mission: Impossible” among Hollywood’s most globalised franchises, shot on a dizzying roster of exotic locations from the Arctic to Shanghai, Cruise shut down questions about the issue at a promotional event in South Korea last week.  Asked about tariffs and the franchise’s globetrotting shoots, Cruise said tersely: “We’d rather answer questions about the movie. Thank you.”In one glimmer of hope, Trump has said he will make an exception for the James Bond movies — which are mostly shot in the UK — because the late 007 Sean Connery once helped him get planning permission for his Scottish golf course.Cruise’s franchise also leans heavily on London studios.- Highly charged -Yet it is likely to be all smiles when the indomitable star bounds up the red carpet at Cannes at 6:45 pm (1645 GMT) on Wednesday for the premiere.A band will be waiting to serenade him with Lalo Schifrin’s iconic theme tune from the original Mission: Impossible TV series — a rather subdued welcome compared to the last time Cruise came to Cannes.In 2022, he was greeted by a flyover of eight French fighter jets billowing red, white and blue smoke to promote “Top Gun: Maverick”.Fans will find out if this really is the end of the road for secret agent Ethan Hunt when “The Final Reckoning” is released in Europe and the Middle East from May 21. The US and several other countries will have to wait two or three days longer. However, Indian, Australian and Korean cinemagoers will be able to see it from this weekend.Director McQuarrie, who wrote the 1995 classic “The Usual Suspects”, will also be giving a masterclass earlier in the day at the world’s biggest film festival.Veteran US star Robert De Niro will be talking about his long, illustrious career after being awarded a lifetime achievement at Tuesday’s often highly-charged opening ceremony.The outspoken Trump critic took the chance to blast the US leader as “America’s philistine president”.  He slammed Trump’s film tariff proposal — which few experts think can be carried through without creating havoc — as he picked up an honorary Palme d’Or from his friend and sometime co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.”You can’t put a price on creativity. But apparently, you can put a tariff on it,” De Niro said in a fiery speech in which he urged “everyone who cares about liberty to organise, to protest. “In my country we are fighting like hell for democracy,” he said, adding that “art embraces diversity. That’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists.”

US President Donald Trump asked Syria’s new leader on Wednesday to normalise relations with Israel after he offered a major boost to the war-ravaged country by announcing the lifting of sanctions.Trump, on a state visit to Riyadh, became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader — Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla and onetime jihadist once on a US wanted list who led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December.The interim Syrian president and Trump, wearing matching suits, shook hands as they met jointly with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. and, by video link, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the key supporter of the new government in Damascus.Turkey and Saudi Arabia had both advocated reconciliation with Syria but the move is the latest to put Trump at odds with Israel, which has voiced pessimism over Sharaa and ramped up strikes to degrade the longtime adversary’s military capabilities.The White House said that Trump asked the Syrian leader to normalise relations with Israel by joining the so-called Abraham Accords signed by some Gulf Arab states.Trump also asked Sharaa to deport Palestinian militants and tell foreign fighters to leave the country, as well as to take control of camps for captured Islamic State group fighters, currently run by Kurdish militants opposed by Turkey, the White House said.Syria’s foreign ministry hailed the meeting as “historic”, but did not mention the Abraham Accords. Syrian state media also did not mention normalisation.The foreign ministry said the leaders discussed “avenues for Syrian-American partnership in counterterrorism efforts” and the importance of lifting sanctions and supporting reconstruction. After the longer-than-expected half-hour meeting, Trump said the Assad-era sanctions had been “really crippling” on Syria.”It’s not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong chance, and it was my honour to do so,” Trump said, addressing Gulf Arab leaders.- Biggest applause -The former reality television host, always attuned to crowd sizes, took note of the rapturous reception when he announced the decision at a Riyadh investment forum Tuesday.”That was the thing that got the biggest applause from the room. We had a very crowded room with thousands of people,” Trump said.After the announcement, Syrians celebrated the easing of sanctions, with dozens of men, women and children gathering in Damascus’s Umayyad Square.”My joy is great. This decision will definitely affect the entire country positively,” said Huda Qassar, a 33-year-old English-language teacher.The Syrian foreign ministry called Trump’s decision a “pivotal turning point”.The United States imposed sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the brutal civil war and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction so long as Assad remained in power without accountability for atrocities.Trump gave no indication that the United States would remove Syria from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism — a designation dating back to 1979 over support to Palestinian militants that severely impedes investment.A senior envoy of the Joe Biden administration met Sharaa in Damascus in December and called for commitments, including on the protection of minorities.In recent weeks, Syria has seen a series of bloody attacks on minority groups, including Alawites — the sect of the largely secular Assad family — and the Druze.Rabha Seif Allam of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said easing US sanctions would help reintegrate Syria with the global economy by allowing bank transfers from investors and from millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war.”Lifting sanctions will give Syria a real opportunity to receive the funding needed to revive the economy, impose central state authority and launch reconstruction projects with clear Gulf support,” she said.- Qatar plane controversy -Trump later heads to Qatar, which has stirred controversy by offering a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then go to Trump’s personal use.The move raises major constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about a foreign power donating the ultra-sensitive presidential jet.Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, Tuesday vowed to hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over the move. Qatar has been a key intermediary with Hamas, helping Washington negotiate directly the release this week from Gaza of US-Israeli joint national Edan Alexander. 

Donald Trump became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader on Wednesday after he offered sanctions relief in hopes of offering a new path to the war-battered country.Trump, in Riyadh on the first state visit of his second term, met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla turned interim president after the December of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.The two held brief talks ahead of a larger gathering of Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia during Trump’s tour of the region, a White House official said. No US president has met a Syrian leader since Bill Clinton saw Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, in Geneva in 2000 in a failed effort to persuade him to make peace with Israel.Trump announced on Tuesday that he was lifting “brutal and crippling” Assad-era sanctions on Syria in response to demands from Sharaa’s allies in Turkey and Saudi Arabia — in his latest step out of tune with US ally Israel.Trump said it was Syrians’ “time to shine” and that easing sinctions would “give them a chance at greatness”.Syrians celebrated the news, with dozens of men, women and children gathering in Damascus’s Umayyad Square.”My joy is great. This decision will definitely affect the entire country positively. Construction will return, the displaced will return, and prices will go down,” said Huda Qassar, a 33-year-old English-language teacher.The Syrian foreign ministry called Trump’s decision a “pivotal turning point” that would help bring stability.The United States imposed sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the brutal civil war and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction so long as Assad remained in power without accountability for atrocities.Trump gave no indication that the United States would remove Syria from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism — a designation dating back to 1979 over support to Palestinian militants that severely impedes investment.- Opening way for investment -Other Western powers including the European Union have already moved to lift sanctions but the United States had earlier held firm on conditions.A senior envoy of the Joe Biden administration met Sharaa in Damascus in December and called for commitments, including on the protection of minorities.In recent weeks, Syria has seen a series of bloody attacks on minority groups, including Alawites — the sect of the largely secular Assad family — and the Druze.Israel has kept up a bombing campaign against Syria both before and after the fall of Assad, with Israel pessimistic about change under Sharaa and hoping to degrade the military capacity of its longtime adversary.Rabha Seif Allam of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said that the easing of US sanctions would allow Syria to reintegrate with the global economy, including by allowing bank transfers from investors and some of the millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war.”Lifting sanctions will give Syria a real opportunity to receive the funding needed to revive the economy, impose central state authority and launch reconstruction projects with clear Gulf support,” she said.- Qatar plane controversy -Trump will also attend a meeting of Gulf Arab states in Riyadh before flying on to Qatar.The Doha visit comes after controversy over Qatar’s offer to Trump of a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then go to his personal use.The move raises major constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about a foreign power donating the ultra-sensitive presidential jet.Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, on Tuesday vowed to hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over the move. Qatar has been a key intermediary with Hamas, helping Washington negotiate directly the release this week from Gaza of joint US-Israeli national Edan Alexander. Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, hammered out a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that came into effect on January 19 — a day before Trump’s inauguration.Israel has ended the ceasefire and vowed a new offensive to finish Hamas. It has blocked all aid from entering Gaza for more than two months, prompting warnings of impending famine.

NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya from Wednesday will look to forge a compromise deal on ramping up defence spending as allies scramble to satisfy US President Donald Trump’s demand to agree to five percent of GDP at a summit next month.The two-day gathering in the sun-baked Turkish seaside resort comes as diplomatic intrigue swirls over a possible meeting across the country in Istanbul between Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.But it will be the internal wrangling over NATO’s spending target that dominates the meat of the debate Thursday among foreign ministers with just over six weeks before leaders come face-to-face with Trump in The Hague. Trump has piled on pressure ahead of the summit by insisting he wants NATO to agree to devote five percent of GDP to defence — a level no member, including the United States, currently reaches.The volatile former reality TV star has rattled European allies worried about the menace from Russia by threatening not to protect countries that, in his eyes, don’t spend enough.In a bid to prevent him blowing up the alliance, NATO boss Mark Rutte has floated a proposal for allies to commit to 3.5 percent of direct military spending by 2032, as well as another 1.5 percent of broader security-related expenditure.That would hand Trump the headline figure he’s demanding while giving enough wiggle room to European allies who are struggling just to reach NATO’s current spending threshold of two percent.”Trump will be able claim victory and say that he got NATO to spend five percent,” one senior NATO diplomat, talking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.”In reality it will be more complicated than that — but that will be the essential political message from the summit.”- ‘Not a grab bag’ -Diplomats say that Rutte’s plan, which hasn’t been made public, envisions ratcheting up direct defence spending by 0.2 percent each year over the next seven years until countries hit the 3.5 target.The other 1.5 percent of more loosely defined spending could include a wide-range of areas including infrastructure, cyber defence, border controls and even support for Ukraine.Diplomats admit it’s a budgetary sleight-of-hand aimed at softening the blow for countries, such as Canada, Spain and Italy, who are still only just limping towards two percent. They say some countries are pushing for more time to reach the new target and to stretch the broader spending parameters as wide as possible. But European heavyweights France and Germany seem on board — especially as Berlin has opened the doors for a major splurge on defence. And the main thing for now appears the United States is already throwing its weight behind the plan — making officials optimistic of reaching a deal. “This new Hague investment pledge or plan is going to include all of the capability targets necessary for NATO allies to deter and defend, but it also includes things like mobility, infrastructure, necessary infrastructure, cyber security,” US NATO ambassador Matthew Whitaker said. “It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks and howitzers, but at the same time, it’s got to be defence-related. It is not a grab bag for everything that you could possibly imagine.”- Short and sweet? -Looming beyond the discussion on money are warnings from the United States that it could look in the future to pull out forces from Europe to focus on the threat from China. For now Washington says no firm decisions have been taken and it is conducting a review of its deployments worldwide. “We are having ongoing discussions with our allies to make sure that there are no security gaps,” Whitaker said. “We’re asking our European allies to be more capable and to be equal partners.”With a deal in the offing on spending, NATO is keen to avoid any other bones of contention potentially spoiling the summit.There is still no agreement on inviting Zelensky — who has a rocky relationship with Trump — to The Hague and it looks likely to depend on where things stand by then with the US push to end Russia’s war.Meanwhile diplomats say there is only likely to be one full session with leaders and a short declaration that avoids thorny issues such as Kyiv’s membership push. 

Donald Trump was set to meet the leader of Syria and the heads of the Gulf states Wednesday in Riyadh before travelling to Qatar where controversy is swirling over the gifting of a luxury aircraft.The US president was set to “say hello” to Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa during his last day in Riyadh, after vowing to remove sanctions against the war-ravaged country.”I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said during a speech at an investment forum in the Saudi capital. “What I do for the crown prince,” he added, before being joined on stage by Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman, who along with Turkey has backed the Sunni Islamists who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December.The move comes despite misgivings about the direction of Syria from US ally Israel, which has unleashed military strikes on its neighbour both before and after the fall of Assad, an Iranian ally.Trump will also meet with leaders and representatives from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.The diplomatic sitdowns followed a day dedicated to sealing billions of dollars in commercial agreements, with the United States and Saudi Arabia signing a raft of deals involving energy, AI, weapons and tech. The White House said that Riyadh would purchase nearly $142 billion in arms in what it described as the largest-ever weapons deal.Washington said that Saudi company DataVolt was set to pour $20 billion in artificial intelligence-related projects in the United States. Tech companies including Google will also invest in both countries — likely welcome news for Saudi Arabia which has long faced restrictions securing advanced American technology.- Qatar controversy -Trump was set to head to Doha around midday. The tiny Gulf country that is home to a sprawling US air base has also served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas on ending the devastating war in Gaza. But the stop has largely been muddled by controversy following news that Trump planned on accepting a $400 million luxury plane as a gift from Qatar.The Boeing airplane would serve as a new, more modern presidential jet and then be put to Trump’s personal use once he leaves the White House.The move raises huge constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One.Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, on Tuesday vowed to hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over the move. The visit to Qatar comes just days after Washington negotiated directly with Hamas to secure the release of a hostage with US citizenship, Edan Alexander. Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, hammered out a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that came into effect on January 19 — a day before Trump’s inauguration — but failed to end the war.The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to chart a path forward. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip, blocked aid and pledged to conquer the territory.On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days, saying: “There will be no situation where we stop the war.”Trump was set to finish his tour of the Gulf with a final stop in Abu Dhabi later in the week.