Paul Kirby & Laura Gozzi BBC News EUROPEAN COMMISSSION/DATI BENDO/HANDOUT European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already laid out initial countermeasures Europe’s leaders had been preparing for “Trump’s trade war” – but the reality of a 20% blanket US tariff still came as a shock. “This decision is a catastrophe for the economic...
Indonesia’s Mount Marapi erupted on Thursday, sending a column of ash 1.5km (4,900ft) above its peak. Timelapse CCTV footage captured the ash rising into the sky. The eruption has been rated at level two – the third-highest severity level – requiring a 3km (9,800ft) exclusion zone. Marapi is one of the most active volcanoes in...
Kennedy Gondwe BBC News, Lusaka Sista D The protesters handed a petition to Vice-President Mutale Nalumango Warning: This story contains distressing details. A protest march has been held in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, against a recent spate of reports of men raping children. Over the last two months, Zambians have been shocked by several cases of...
Getty Images From Saturday, all goods imported to the US from anywhere in the world will face a 10% “baseline” tariff. Donald Trump announced higher rates for some countries he singled out as the “worst offenders” for trade. Our correspondents have been answering your questions about what this means and the impact it could have....
AFP DA leader John Steenhuisen pictured with President Ramaphosa (L) and Deputy President Paul Mashatile (R) not long after their coalition was formed South Africa’s coalition government is on shaky ground, with the sharp divisions between its two biggest parties – the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) – exposed in a crucial...
One country that did not feature on Donald Trump’s list of tariffs on US trade partners was Russia. US outlet Axios quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying this was because existing US sanctions on Russia “preclude any meaningful trade” and noting that Cuba, Belarus and North Korea were also not included. However,...
The United Kingdom is set to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup after being the only valid bid received by Fifa, the organisation that runs international football. Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland put forward a joint bid in March. Fifa has already stated that the tournament must be in Europe or Africa. There was...
Hungary’s government has announced it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The move was announced by a senior official in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government hours after Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrived in Hungary for a state visit. Orban had invited Netanyahu as soon as...
Annabelle Liang Business reporter Getty Images China has said it will take “resolute countermeasures” in response to US tariffs As US President Donald Trump laid out tariffs on virtually every one of America’s trading partners on Wednesday, he had strong words for Beijing. “I have great respect for President Xi [Jinping] of China, great respect...
Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will travel to Thailand for a regional summit as his country reels from an earthquake that killed thousands and left cities in ruins. The earthquake in central Myanmar last Friday killed 3,085 people and injured 4,715, the junta has said. Hundreds more are missing and the toll is expected...
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said US tariffs on European Union imports are “wrong”, after US President Donald Trump announced he would begin charging a 20% rate on EU goods. Meloni is one of the many world leaders reacting to Trump’s “liberation day” announcements, which include a universal 10% baseline tariff on all imports...
Andrew Harding Paris correspondent BBC Outrage is a precious political currency and France’s far right has spent this week attempting, furiously and predictably, to capitalise on the perceived injustice of a court’s decision to block its totemic leader, Marine Le Pen, from standing in the 2027 presidential election. The airwaves have been throbbing with indignation....
Getty Images More than 2,700 people were killed in a devastating earthquake that hit Myanmar on 28 March In the immediate aftermath of an earthquake, there is a 72-hour “golden window” when those trapped under rubble are most likely to survive. But in the 72 hours after a 7.7 magnitude quake struck Myanmar on Friday,...
The former president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, says his US visa has been revoked. Arias, a Nobel laureate, said he was informed of the decision weeks after he had publicly criticised Donald Trump, comparing the behaviour of the US president to that of a Roman emperor. The 84-year-old, who was awarded the Nobel Peace...
Yogita Limaye Mandalay, Myanmar BBC Five men are still stuck under this building, including Nan’s 21-year-old son Warning: This article contains details and images that some readers may find distressing Driving into Mandalay, the massive scale of the destruction from last Friday’s earthquake revealed itself bit by bit. In nearly every street we turned into,...