Author: potus

Unable to calm student-led protests that just kept growing, Serbia’s strongman leader, Aleksandar Vucic, reached for some tried-and-tested scapegoats, unleashing his media attack dogs on foreign-financed groups that have nettled him for years.But what started as a familiar ritual of intimidation against groups that document issues like corruption, human rights abuses and electoral fraud — and which Mr. Vucic blames for the protests — has recently taken an unusual and menacing turn.Encouraged by the Trump administration’s assault on the American agency U.S.A.I.D., Serbian authorities on Feb. 25 sent dozens of police officers, many of them armed, to raid the offices…

Unable to calm student-led protests that just kept growing, Serbia’s strongman leader, Aleksandar Vucic, reached for some tried-and-tested scapegoats, unleashing his media attack dogs on foreign-financed groups that have nettled him for years.But what started as a familiar ritual of intimidation against groups that document issues like corruption, human rights abuses and electoral fraud — and which Mr. Vucic blames for the protests — has recently taken an unusual and menacing turn.Encouraged by the Trump administration’s assault on the American agency U.S.A.I.D., Serbian authorities on Feb. 25 sent dozens of police officers, many of them armed, to raid the offices…

Opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg and contributing Opinion writer Frank Bruni join Patrick Healy, the deputy Opinion editor, at the halfway mark of President Trump’s first 100 days in office, to reflect on how he is changing the country.Below is an edited, condensed transcript of an episode of “The Opinions.” We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the player above or on the NYT Audio app, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.Patrick Healy: This is the First 100 Days, a weekly series examining President…

With Greenland thrust into the spotlight by President Trump’s insistence that the United States will “get” the remote island at the top of the world, its parliamentary election on Tuesday took on unusual importance — not just for the outside world, but for Greenlanders.Voter turnout was at its highest in 12 years, so much so that polling stations on the sparsely populated island, which is partly controlled by Denmark, were kept open late to accommodate long lines. Nearly 74 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot, according to official figures.With all votes counted early Wednesday morning, the winner was Demokraatit,…

A Northvolt building in Sweden, photographed in February 2022.Mikael Sjoberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesStruggling electric vehicle battery manufacturer Northvolt on Wednesday said it has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.The firm said it that it submitted the insolvency filing after an “exhaustive effort to explore all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future for the company.””Like many companies in the battery sector, Northvolt has experienced a series of compounding challenges in recent months that eroded its financial position, including rising capital costs, geopolitical instability, subsequent supply chain disruptions, and shifts in market demand,” Northvolt noted.”Further to this…

By LORNE COOK, DAVID MCHUGH Share The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.The world’s biggest trading bloc was expecting the U.S. tariffs and prepared in advance, but the measures still place great strain on already tense transatlantic relations. Only last month, Washington warned Europe that it would have to take care of its own security in the future.The EU measures will cover goods from the United States worth some 26 billion…

US duties on steel and aluminium draw swift retaliation from major trading partners.Tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States have come into effect, intensifying the global trade war sparked by President Donald Trump. Trump’s tariffs on metals imports took effect on Wednesday, levying a 25 percent duty “with no exceptions or exemptions”. Trading partners were quick to express objections, with some swiftly announcing retaliation. The tariffs came into play as exemptions, duty-free quotas and product exclusions expired. In addition, the duty on aluminium was raised from 10 percent. Separate tariffs have been levied on Canada, Mexico…

Mogadishu, Somalia – Mukhtar Abdiwhab Ahmed sits in a plastic chair outside his house in Mogadishu. Nearby, children play, soldiers congregate, and rickshaws speed by under the scorching sun. “If I knew I would end up here [in Somalia] I would have never gotten these tattoos,” the 39-year-old tells Al Jazeera, saying he has taken to mostly wearing long sleeves to avoid the negative comments and “dirty looks” he gets from people in the city. Mukhtar spent most of his life in the United States but has struggled to readapt to conservative Somali society since being deported in 2018 under…

Here is the situation on Wednesday, March 12 : Ceasefire talks Senior officials from the United States and Ukraine met in Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah for nine hours of talks, after which Kyiv said it had agreed to accept an immediate 30-day truce and take steps towards restoring long-lasting peace with Moscow, a US-Ukraine joint statement announced. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the talks the “ball is now in Russia’s court”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the truce as a “positive” deal and said the US now must convince Russia to accept the proposal. Following…

Top US diplomat endorses agreement to integrate Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into state institutions.The United States has welcomed Syria’s agreement to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into state institutions. Washington’s endorsement comes after the Syrian presidency and the US-backed SDF announced a deal granting the Syrian central government full control of a semi-autonomous region that has been administered by the Kurdish-led alliance since 2015. “The United States reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates credible, non-sectarian governance as the best path to avoid further conflict,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on…