Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina: Targeting Muhammad Yunus, chief advisor of the interim government in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina said that he is "someone who never loved the people".
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (Image: Reuters)
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told her supporters that she will come back to her country and those targeting her party Awami League members will be brought to justice.
“Allah kept me alive for a reason and the day will come when justice will be brought", the Awami League president, who escaped to India after a nationwide movement ousted her from power, said while interacting with family members of her party leaders during a social media interaction.
Targeting Muhammad Yunus, chief advisor of the interim government in Bangladesh, she said that he is “someone who never loved the people".
Sheikh Hasina said, “He loaned out small amounts at high interest rates and used the money to live lavishly abroad. We could not understand his duplicity then, so we helped him a lot. But people did not benefit. He did well for himself. Then developed a lust for power that is burning Bangladesh now."
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Bangladesh has now turned into a “terrorist country", she said, adding, “Our leaders and workers are being killed in a way that cannot be described. Awami League, cops, lawyers, journalists, artists, everyone is being targeted."
The former Prime Minister also alleged a media clampdown in Bangladesh. She said, “Rapes, murders, dacoities, nothing can be reported. And if it is reported, the TV channel or newspaper will be targeted."
Sheikh Hasina said, “I lost my father, mother, brother, everyone in one day. And then they did not let us return to the country. I know the pain of losing your own. Allah keeps protecting me, maybe he wants to get some good done through me. Those who have committed these crimes must be punished. This is my pledge."
Elon Musk called Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro "truly a moron" over US tariffs. Navarro criticized Musk as a "car assembler" reliant on imports. Musk defended Tesla's US-made cars.
Navarro described the Tesla boss and so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief as "not a car manufacturer" but "a car assembler" who relies on imported parts. (IMAGE: AFP)
Billionaire Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump’s senior trade advisor Peter Navarro as “truly a moron" and “dumber than a sack of bricks" on Tuesday in a growing rift over the US tariff policy that has rocked the world.
The extraordinary public spat came after Navarro described the Tesla boss and so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief as “not a car manufacturer" but “a car assembler" who relies on imported parts.
Musk, the world’s richest person, has previously signaled his opposition to the president’s new import tariffs that have roiled markets.
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false," Musk posted on his X social network, under a clip of Navarro saying Tesla imported batteries, electronics and tires, and that Musk “wants the cheap foreign parts."
Musk doubled down in a series of other messages, saying that “Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks."
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Musk also dubbed him “Peter Retarrdo" and said Navarro “should ask the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara" — referring to a fictional pundit Navarro quoted in a series of books and a policy memo, using an anagram of his own name.
The South African-born tycoon recently backed the idea of a free-trade zone between North America and Europe — a wish at odds with Trump’s flagship tariffs.
The US president has ruled out any pause in his aggressive stance despite retaliatory action from China and signs of criticism from within his normally loyal Republican Party.
‘Car assembler’
But there have also been conflicting messages from within the White House itself.
A long-time China hawk, Navarro has been one of the most hardline voices on tariffs, and targeted Musk himself in an interview with CNBC.
“When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House, and the American people understand, that Elon’s a car manufacturer. But he’s not a car manufacturer — he’s a car assembler in many cases," Navarro said.
“If you go to his Texas plant… the batteries come from Japan and from China, the electronics come from Taiwan."
The row came a day after Navarro insisted in an opinion piece in the Financial Times that the tariffs were “not a negotiation" — only for Trump to admit later that he was in fact open to some negotiations.
The spat is all the more unusual because of the mesh of loyalties involved.
Trump has strongly defended Musk after a series of vandalism attacks and protests against Tesla over DOGE’s cost-cutting drive — even turning the White House into a pop-up showroom for the electric vehicles in a show of support.
Navarro, however, has proven his loyalty to Trump by serving a four-month jail sentence for contempt after refusing to testify to Congress on the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - AFP)
These remarks by the Chinese embassy in India came after an escalating trade war between the US and China, wherein Donald Trump has threatened to imposed 104% tariffs.
China stressed "complementarity" and "mutual benefit" in ties with India amid a trade war with the US. (File Image)
The sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, followed by counter-tariffs by China, have plunged global markets into turmoil and sparked a global trade war. While China continues to resist US tariffs, it has also turned to India to “stand together" in overcoming difficulties.
Trade tensions between the US and China escalated sharply over days of turmoil after Trump imposed 34% reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods, to which Beijing responded with 34% counter-tariffs on global markets. Annoyed, Trump promised additional 50% tariffs if China does not withdraw its retaliation plans.
Criticising the US move, Yu Jing, the spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in India, said China’s economy was underpinned by a system that ensures steady growth and the country is a strong defender of economic globalisation and multilateralism, contributing to 30% of global growth on average.
“China-India economic and trade relationship is based on complementarity and mutual benefit. Facing the US abuse of tariffs, which deprives countries, especially Global South countries, of their right to development, the two largest developing countries should stand together to overcome the difficulties," she said in a statement.
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Yu further said that all countries should uphold the principles of extensive consultation, practice true multilateralism, jointly oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, adding that trade and tariff wars have no winners.
US-China Trade War Escalates
Trump had slapped 10% import duties on all nations and far higher levies on imports from dozens of specific countries, including 26% tariffs on Indian exports. However, India does not plan to hit back with tariffs and is working towards a mutually beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.
However, the trade war between the US and China escalated sharply as Trump announced a sweeping 104% tariff on all goods imported from China, with the measure set to take effect at midnight on Tuesday, April 8, the White House confirmed.
Trump’s team said the decision is aimed at “leveling the playing field" as the President, over the past few weeks, accused nations across the world of “looting the US" with tariffs on American exports.
On Monday, Trump slammed China for ignoring previous warnings against issuing retaliatory tariffs, saying that any action would be met with “immediate and substantially higher" tariffs. He also said all talks with China will be terminated and negotiations will be done with other countries instead.
China accused the United States of “blackmailing" Beijing with the renewed tariff threat, saying it was making “a mistake on top of a mistake". China said it is fully prepared to counter Washington’s tariffs, saying that it has continued to develop and progress since the first trade war with the US during Trump’s first term.
The additional 34% tariffs on a 20% rate imposed on China last month brought the total additional tariffs on imports from the world’s second-largest economy by the Trump administration to 54%. China previously responded to US tariffs with levies of up to 15 percent on a range of US agricultural goods, including soybeans, pork and chicken.
The social media company also said it was extending safeguards for users under 18 to Facebook and Messenger. (File)
Instagram users under 16 won’t be able to livestream or unblur nudity in direct messages they’ve received without parental approval, owner Meta Platforms said Tuesday as it widened its safety measures for teenagers.
The social media company also said it was extending safeguards for users under 18 to Facebook and Messenger.
Meta launched its teen account program for Instagram in September to give parents more options to supervise their children’s online activity amid a growing backlash against how social media affects the lives of young people.
The latest changes will roll out first to users in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia, before going out to global users in the following months.
Under the changes, teens under 16 are blocked from using Instagram Live unless parents give permission. They also need permission to “turn off our feature that blurs images containing suspected nudity" in direct messages, Meta said in a blog post.
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In another major update, Meta said it’s extending the teen account safeguards to its Facebook and Messenger platforms,
These will include protections already in place for teen Instagram users, including setting teen accounts to private by default, blocking private messages from strangers, strict limits on sensitive content like fight videos, reminders to get off the app after 60 minutes and notifications that are halted during bedtime hours.
“Teen Accounts on Facebook and Messenger will offer similar, automatic protections to limit inappropriate content and unwanted contact, as well as ways to ensure teens’ time is well spent," Meta said.
The company said at least 54 million teen accounts have been set up since the program launched in September.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - Associated Press)
US President Donald Trump has said that China took advantage of America for decades. (IMAGE: REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump has announced a sweeping 104% tariff on all goods imported from China, with the measure set to take effect at midnight on Tuesday, April 8, the White House confirmed.
In a move that marks the sharpest escalation in US-China trade tensions since the previous tariff war, Trump’s team said the decision is aimed at “leveling the playing field" as the President over the past few weeks have accused nations across the world of “looting the US" with tariffs on American exports.
Slamming China for defying earlier warnings, Trump said any further action from Beijing would be met with “immediate and substantially higher" tariffs. He also declared that all ongoing talks with China would be terminated, adding that Washington would shift focus to negotiations with other countries instead.
The White House confirmed to AFP on Monday that the latest tariff hike announced by Donald Trump will be added on top of the existing 34% rate due to take effect Wednesday. The move will raise total additional duties on Chinese goods this year to a staggering 104%.
Trump imposes 26% reciprocal tariff on India (File image/Reuters)
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Washington will work with India to address structural barriers to trade as the world reels with the fallout of President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs on several countries.
Greer told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that nearly 50 countries have approached him to discuss the new tariffs imposed by Trump. Earlier, US National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett also said that more countries have reached out to the White House to begin trade negotiations.
During the hearing, the top US trade official said several countries, including Argentina, Vietnam and Israel, had suggested that they will reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers, according to a written testimony seen by Reuters. He said Trump’s plans were bearing fruit, but warned of difficulties in this transition.
He said the Trump administration will work with India to address intellectual property, structural barriers to trade, after the US imposed 26% tariffs on Indian exports. Notably, the government of India is working for the expeditious conclusion of a mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement.
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‘Several Countries Not Retaliating’
Earlier on Monday, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar spoke with his US counterpart Marco Rubio and said that India and the US have agreed on the importance of the early conclusion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Greer mentioned that several countries have assured that they would not retaliate to Trump’s tariffs, and many of them have already lowered tariffs. He also hit out at China, saying it did not comply in large part of tgrade deals and did not indicate that it wants to work towards reciprocity.
He spoke about a distinct difference between China and other countries that are seeking to negotiate and said the impact of Trump’s tariffs will affect companies that are largely dependent on imports from China and Asia.
Trump sparked a global trade war that escalated further on Monday when Trump threatened to increase duties on China and the European Union proposed counter-tariffs of its own, plunging global markets and heightening economic uncertainty.
Greer noted in his testimony that the US has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs and 90,000 factories since 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement was implemented, with the trend accelerating since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co Jamie Dimon has warned that the recent tariff measures announced by US President Donald Trump may spark inflation and lead to recession in the world’s biggest economy.
Dimon, in his annual letter to stakeholders, said that the US should foster stronger trade relationships with nations like India instead of asking them to align themselves with the US.
