Israeli Air Strike Partially Destroys Last Fully Functional Hospital In Gaza

Apr 14 2025, 03:00

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said its air strike destroyed Al Ahli Arab Hospital, the last fully functional hospital in Gaza City, claiming that it contained the Hamas group’s command and control center.

In an X post, the IDF said: “The compound was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”

“Despite the IDF repeatedly stating that military activity within medical facilities in Gaza must stop, Hamas continues to blatantly violate international law and abuse the civilian population,” the force said.

“Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians or to the hospital compound, including issuing advanced warnings in the area of the terror infrastructure, the use of precise munitions, and aerial surveillance,” the IDF said.

According to reports, no casualty was reported in the incident.

Partially Destroyed

Witnesses told the BBC that Israel’s air strike destroyed the Gaza hospital’s intensive care and surgery departments.

Several videos of the airstrike are currently going viral online, which show huge flames and thick smoke rising from the building.

Videos also showed patients, some lying on beds, being shifted from the hospital building.

Khalil Bakr told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Lifeline programme that he and his three injured daughters had fled the hospital with only a couple of minutes to spare before it was bombed.

“It was terrifying,” he said. “The whole situation was difficult because I have already been injured. And as for my three daughters, one had her leg amputated, the other had her hand amputated, and the third had her body full of platinum plates.”

He said, “Only two minutes separated us from death.”

Al Ahli Arab

Al Ahli Arab is a small medical facility in Gaza City, which remained operational after the Al-Shifa medical complex was destroyed in the strip.

Deplorable Attacks Must End, Says UK Foreign Minister David Lammy

Reacting to the air strike on the medical facility, UK Foreign Minister David Lammy wrote on X: “Israel’s attacks on medical facilities have comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza.”

“Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began,” he said.

Calling the attacks ‘deplorable’, the Minister said such incidents must end.

“Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we will achieve a lasting peace,” he said.

(With inputs from IBNS)

Columbia Student Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported, Rules US Immigration Judge

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 19:24

A U.S. immigration judge ruled on Friday that Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to proceed with its effort to remove the Columbia University student from the United States a month after his arrest in New York City.

The ruling by Judge Jamee Comans of the LaSalle Immigration Court in Louisiana was not a final determination of Khalil’s fate.
But it represented a significant victory for the Republican president in his efforts to deport foreign pro-Palestinian students who are in the United States legally and, like Khalil, have not been charged with any crime.

Citing the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, Trump-appointed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined last month that Khalil could harm American foreign policy interests and should be deported for his “otherwise lawful” speech and activism.

Comans said that she did not have the authority to overrule a secretary of state. The judge denied a motion by Khalil’s lawyers to subpoena Rubio and question him about the “reasonable grounds” he had for his determination under the 1952 law.

The judge’s decision came after a combative 90-minute hearing held in a court located inside a jail complex for immigrants surrounded by double-fenced razor wire run by private government contractors in rural Louisiana.

Khalil, a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that has roiled Columbia’s New York City campus, was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, holds Algerian citizenship and became a U.S. lawful permanent resident last year. Khalil’s wife is a U.S. citizen.

For now, Khalil remains in the Louisiana jail where federal authorities transferred him after his March 8 arrest at his Columbia University apartment building some 1,200 miles (1,930 km) away. Comans gave Khalil’s lawyers until April 23 to apply for relief before she considers whether to issue a deportation order. An immigration judge can rule that a migrant cannot be deported because of possible persecution in a home country, among other limited grounds.

In a separate case in New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz has blocked deportation while he considers Khalil’s claim that his arrest was made in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.

Khalil Addresses The Judge

As Comans adjourned, Khalil leaned forward, asking to address the court. Comans hesitated, then agreed.

Khalil quoted her remarks at his hearing on Tuesday that nothing was more important to the court than “due process rights and fundamental fairness.”

“Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,” Khalil said. “This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, a thousand miles away from my family.”

The judge said her ruling turned on an undated, two-page letter signed by Rubio and submitted to the court and to Khalil’s counsel.

Khalil’s lawyers, appearing via a video link, complained they were given less than 48 hours to review Rubio’s letter and evidence submitted by the Trump administration to Comans this week. Marc Van Der Hout, Khalil’s lead immigration attorney, repeatedly asked for the hearing to be delayed. Comans reprimanded him for what the judge said was straying from the hearing’s purpose, twice saying he had “an agenda.”

Comans said that the 1952 immigration law gave the secretary of state “unilateral judgment” to make his determination about Khalil.

Khalil should be removed, Rubio wrote, for his role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”

Rubio’s letter did not accuse Khalil of breaking any laws, but said the State Department can revoke the legal status of immigrants who could harm U.S. foreign policy interests even when their beliefs, associations or statements are “otherwise lawful.”

After Comans ended the hearing, several of Khalil’s supporters wept as they left the courtroom. Khalil stood and smiled at them, making a heart shape with his hands.

Khalil has said criticism of the U.S. government’s support of Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism. His lawyers told the court they were submitting into evidence Khalil’s interviews last year with CNN and other news outlets in which he denounces antisemitism and other prejudice.

His lawyers have said the Trump administration was targeting him for protected speech including the right to criticize American foreign policy.

“Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent,” Van Der Hout said in a statement after the hearing.

The American immigration court system is run and its judges are appointed by the U.S. Justice Department, separate from the government’s judicial branch.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Australia Elections: Prime Minister Albanese’s Party Launches Campaign

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 19:20

Faced with a tough challenge from the Conservative opposition, the centre-left party of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged on Sunday to help more would-be home buyers as it launched a campaign for the May 3 elections.

Albanese’s Labor government, which is running neck-and-neck with the Liberal-National coalition, has promised to build 1.2 million homes by 2030, to ease cost pressures that have sparked dissatisfaction with a lack of affordable housing.

“In Australia home ownership should not be a privilege to inherit if you’re lucky,” Albanese said at the launch of Labor’s campaign in Perth, capital of the state of Western Australia.

His government pledged that, if re-elected, it would guarantee part of a first-home buyer’s home loan, allowing the purchase with a deposit of 5%.

It would also spend A$10 billion ($6.29 billion) on grants and loans to build up to 100,000 homes to help would-be home buyers get on the property ladder, it added.

“If you are looking to buy your first time, Labor has got your back,” he added at the launch, televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton, the defence minister in the last Liberal-National government, has also been campaigning on the so-called housing crisis, that he says puts home ownership out of reach for many in the country of about 26 million.

At Sunday’s launch of the coalition’s campaign in Sydney, capital of the state of New South Wales, Dutton pledged tax relief and a rival housing plan allowing first-time buyers of new homes to deduct mortgage payments from income taxes.

“I will be a prime minister who restores the dream of home ownership,” Dutton said in the televised address.

He pointed to his breadth of experience, from being a police officer to having started and run several businesses, before becoming an MP and a minister for 23 years holding economic, national security and social portfolios.

Dutton’s personal approval ratings are now close to those of Albanese, a long-time Labor lawmaker who grew up in government housing, but whose popularity has declined as living costs and interest rates rose steeply during his tenure.

($1=1.5911 Australian dollars)

(With inputs from Reuters)

New Zealand Foreign Minister Says They Need US As ‘Active’ Indo-Pacific Partner

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 19:17

Marco-Rubio-Aand-Winston-Peters — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters shake hands on the day of a meeting at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Sunday his country needed the United States as an “active” partner in the Indo-Pacific region, after a trip to Washington last month to bolster ties with the Trump administration.

New Zealand and the U.S. have worked together in the Pacific to offset the growing influence of China, but there are concerns among some lawmakers in New Zealand about what the change in administration in Washington and its suspension of aid funding will mean for the region.

Speaking in Honolulu, Hawaii, on a week-long Pacific trip by a group of New Zealand politicians, Peters said the message he took to the U.S. was that “New Zealand wants, indeed needs, for the United States to remain an active, engaged and constructive partner in the Indo-Pacific”.

“We look forward to more constructive dialogue in the days ahead,” Winston said, according to a transcript.

In Washington, Peters met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, director of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assistance Peter Marocco, and a range of other administration and Congressional representatives.

After the meetings, Peters said New Zealand’s relationship with the U.S. was on a “strong footing” amid what he called “the most challenging strategic environment in at least half a century”.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Eight Pakistanis Killed By Suspected Baloch Insurgents In Iran

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 18:16

Balochattack — The attackers fled from the spot after killing the eight Pakistani nationals. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

At least eight Pakistani nationals died after suspected Baloch insurgents attacked them in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province on Saturday.

They were reportedly working at a car-repairing workshop in the neighbouring country.

According to reports, the incident occurred in a village located in the Meharistan district.

“All the eight Pakistani who were killed belong to Bahawalpur city of southern Punjab,” an Iranian official told Dawn News.

The attackers reportedly barged into the workshop and opened indiscriminate firing on the Pakistani nationals after tying their hands and feet.

The attackers fled from the spot after killing the eight Pakistani nationals.

Iranian Police rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies.

The bodies were later shifted to the hospital.

Five out of eight victims of the firing were identified as Dilshad, his son Muhammad Naeem, Jaffar, Danish and Nasir, reported Dawn News.

A spokesman for the banned Balochistan National Army (BNA), through a statement issued to the media, has claimed responsibility for the killing of eight Pakistanis, the Pakistani newspaper reported.

According to reports, Iranian Police are currently investigating the incident.

This marked the second such incident in Sistan-Baluchestan where armed men killed nine Pakistani workers who were working in a workshop in the region.

Pakistan’s Balochistan region has been witnessing insurgency and unrest for a long time now.

The Baloch community members have often blamed the government for exploiting the resources but taking no steps to develop the region.

Pakistan Records Spike In Terror

The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies released its data recently, which showed the South Asian country witnessed a spike in terrorist violence and security operations in March.

Pakistan recorded that the number of terror attacks in the country surpassed 100 for the first time since November 2014.

The think tank reported 105 militant attacks during the month, resulting in 228 fatalities, including 73 security personnel, 67 civilians, and 88 militants.

The data showed 258 people, including 129 security personnel, were injured in the attacks.

Security forces also conducted intensified counter-militancy operations, resulting in the deaths of 107 individuals, including 83 militants, 13 security personnel, and 11 civilians, while 31 others were injured, among them nine security personnel and four militants, the Pakistani newspaper reported.

The think tank released data showing that militant attacks and security operations accounted for 335 deaths, with 86 security personnel, 78 civilians, and 171 militants among the deceased.

The Military Database showed the highest number of fatalities in Pakistan was recorded in March 2025 in comparison to August 2015.

In March, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained major terror-hit provinces.

The most significant attack recorded in Balochistan was the hijacking of the Jaffar Express, which resulted in the deaths of at least 26 hostages and 33 militants.

Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) Bashir Zeb group had claimed responsibility for the incident.

(With inputs from IBNS)

Iran, US Claim ‘Positive’ Talks In Oman Over Tehran’s Nuclear Programme

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 18:15

Majid-Asgaripour — Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS

Iran and the US said they held “positive” and “constructive” talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week in a dialogue meant to address Tehran’s escalating nuclear programme, with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal.

“I think we are very close to a basis for negotiations and if we can conclude this basis next week, we’ll have gone a long way and will be able to start real discussions based on that,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state television.

Araqchi said the talks – the first between Iran and a Trump administration, including his 2017-2021 first term – took place in a “productive, calm and positive atmosphere”.

“Both sides have agreed to continue the talks … probably next Saturday,” Araqchi added. “Iran and the U.S. side want an agreement in the short term. We do not want talks for (the sake of) talks.”

The White House called the talks involving Trump’s Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff, U.S. Ambassador to Oman Ana Escrogima and Araqchi “very positive and constructive.”

“These issues are very complicated, and Special Envoy Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome,” it said in a statement. “The sides agreed to meet again next Saturday.”

Asked about the talks, Trump told reporters on Saturday night: “I think they’re going OK.”

“Nothing matters until you get it done, so I don’t like talking about it, but it’s going OK. The Iran situation is going pretty good, I think,” he said on Air Force One.

Trump made a surprise announcement on Monday that Washington and Tehran would begin talks in Oman, a Gulf state that has mediated between the West and the Islamic Republic before. It has brokered the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals held by Iran.

Both Sides Far Apart

Saturday’s exchanges were indirect and mediated by Oman, as Iran had wanted, rather than face-to-face, as Trump had demanded. Each delegation had its separate room and exchanged messages via Oman’s foreign minister, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.

Araqchi said his delegation had a brief encounter with its U.S. counterpart headed by Witkoff, after they exited the talks.

“After the end of more than 2-1/2 hours of indirect talks, the heads of the Iranian and American delegations spoke for a few minutes in the presence of the Omani foreign minister as they left the talks. It (the encounter) was based on our political etiquette,” Araqchi said.

“The current focus of the talks will be de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges and limited agreements to ease sanctions (against Iran) in exchange for controlling Iran’s nuclear programme,” an Omani source told Reuters.

Baghaei denied this account but did not specify what was false.

Trump, who in his first term withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 big-power accord with Tehran, has again brought a tougher approach to a Middle Eastern power whose nuclear programme Washington’s ally Israel regards as an existential threat.

At the same time, Iran and allied groups have been weakened by the military offensives Israel has launched across the region, including air strikes in Iran, during its war with Hamas after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international bodies in Vienna, called the statements issued by both sides after the talks “encouraging”.

Tehran approached the talks warily, sceptical they could yield a deal and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not halt its accelerating uranium enrichment programme – regarded by the West as a possible pathway to nuclear weapons.

While each side has talked up the chances of some progress, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons capability, but Western countries and Israel believe it is covertly trying to develop the means to build an atomic bomb.

“This is a beginning. So it is normal at this stage for the two sides to present to each other their fundamental positions through the Omani intermediary,” Baghaei said.

Signs of progress could help cool tensions in a region aflame since 2023 with wars in Gaza and Lebanon, missile fire between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the government in Syria.

High Stakes

However, failure would aggravate fears of a wider conflagration across a region that exports much of the world’s oil. Tehran has cautioned neighbouring countries that have U.S. bases that they would face “severe consequences” if they were involved in any U.S. military attack on the OPEC member.

“There is a chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party (U.S.) enters the talks with an equal stance,” Araqchi told Iranian TV.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on key state matters, has given Araqchi “full authority” for the talks, an Iranian official told Reuters.

Iran has ruled out negotiating its defence capabilities such as its ballistic missile programme.

Western nations say Iran’s enrichment of uranium, a nuclear fuel source, has gone far beyond the requirements of a civilian energy programme and has produced stocks at a level of fissile purity close to those required in warheads.

Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers, including Russia and China, in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Since then, Iran’s nuclear programme has leaped forward, including by enriching uranium to 60% fissile purity, a technical step from the levels needed for a bomb.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Hamas Releases Video Of Israeli-American Hostage Held In Captivity In Gaza

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 18:14

Hamas on Saturday released a video purportedly of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since he was captured by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023.

In the undated video, the man who introduces himself as Edan Alexander states he has been held in Gaza for 551 days. The man questions why he is still being held and pleads for his release.

Alexander is a soldier serving in the Israeli military.

The edited video was released as Jews began to mark Passover, a weeklong holiday that celebrates freedom. Alexander’s family released a statement acknowledging the video that said the holiday would not be one of freedom as long as Edan and the 58 other hostages in Gaza remained in captivity.

Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda that is designed to put pressure on the government. The war is in its eighteenth month.

Hamas released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on January 19. In March, Israel’s military resumed its ground and aerial campaign on Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.

Israeli officials say that campaign will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.

The U.S., Qatar and Egypt are mediating between Hamas and Israel.

The war started when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israeli communities near Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s retaliatory assault has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.

(With inputs from Reuters)

‘US Defence Tech Expensive…India’s Budget Modest’

Ramananda Sengupta;

Apr 13 2025, 17:45

At the ninth Carnegie Global Technology Summit, as global tech and policy leaders converged in New Delhi to discuss digital futures, the conversation inevitably turned to geopolitics. And when Dr Ashley Tellis speaks on this subject, people listen. As the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Tellis has long been a keen observer—and architect—of the US-India relationship.

In a candid conversation, he unpacked the growing dissonance between India’s public optimism about its relationship with the United States and the more nuanced, occasionally uneasy, reality underneath.

“India is making a really concerted effort to protect the relationship with the United States,” Tellis said, noting that this sometimes translates into a level of enthusiasm that might seem “exaggerated.” But the reason, he emphasized, isn’t duplicity—it’s diplomacy. “The optimism is not fake. But it is exaggerated… to protect the relationship.”

This strategic optimism, Tellis argued, becomes especially salient under administrations like Donald Trump’s, where policy coherence is often sacrificed at the altar of personal instinct. “Trump represents a remarkable deviation from the baseline,” Tellis noted. “It is not obvious to me that he cares very much about preserving a favorable balance of power in Asia.”

According to Tellis, where past presidents—Clinton, Bush, Obama—saw India as a crucial part of the Indo-Pacific balance and an ideological partner, Trump’s vision was narrower: a transactional view centered on trade and bilateral optics, with only a vague sense of strategic benefit. “He thinks of the relationship in very narrow bilateral terms… commercial opportunities, maybe some vague strategic benefits because India is a democracy,” he said.

And yet, India remains hopeful—particularly when it comes to technology. With long-stalled defence technology deals potentially moving forward, New Delhi is once again looking to Washington for a breakthrough.

Tellis, cautiously optimistic, believes the trend line is positive. “The willingness to sell more and more advanced technology to India has been growing for 20 years.” But he didn’t mince words about the caveats.

One major hurdle is operational compatibility. “The US is most liberal with technology transfers if we are actually operating with the recipient of the technologies. Which is why our allies get first dibs,” he explained. For India to truly benefit, it must do more than buy American hardware—it must drill, train, and think operationally alongside the US military.

Then there’s the money. “US technology is expensive—it’s designed for a first-world military. India’s defence budget, while large in absolute terms, is modest in comparison to NATO countries or even Saudi Arabia.”

So what’s the way forward? For Tellis, the answer lies in “high-value, low-density” assets—technologies that offer strategic leverage without breaking the bank. “India might buy four P-8 anti-submarine platforms, not a hundred. It’s not going to replace 3,000 Russian tanks with US-made ones.”

He cited the Stryker armoured vehicle program as a test case. “If India does a one-for-one replacement of its BMPs and BTRs with US Strykers, that would be quite remarkable.”

But all this progress exists within a relationship still shadowed by history. When asked if it’s valid for India to worry that the US might walk away in a crisis, Tellis didn’t equivocate. “If I were in India’s place, I would have that fear.”

The core issue, he said, is structural: “The United States is a global hegemonic power. It has interests all over the world. The US-India relationship is just one dimension of those interests.”

And this complexity is not going away. “We will never be perfectly congruent. There will be dissonance. And we have to constantly be looking for ways to manage that dissonance when it arrives.”

In closing, Tellis commented on a geopolitical wildcard: the rumor that former President Trump might appear in Moscow alongside Vladimir Putin on May 9. Would it happen?

“If it does,” Tellis said bluntly, “it would be a very tragic day for us.” Watch the full interview to get more candid insights from an expert insider known for speaking his mind.

India Has Readied BTA Ground But Agriculture Remains Rough Patch?

Nayanima Basu;

Apr 13 2025, 15:25

India and the US have fast-tracked negotiations for a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in goods by August-September, however, both sides may face a serious stumbling block in negotiating more market access for agricultural products – an issue that is a political hot potato in both capitals, according to Lisa Curtis, a former US National Security Council (NSC) official under Trump’s first tenure.

Speaking exclusively to StratNews Global in New Delhi over the weekend, Curtis said despite Trump’s tariff whip on India and the others, New Delhi has played its cards well.

“I think in terms of President Trump’s global tariffs, India is actually ahead of the game in terms of the trade talks,” Curtis, currently Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Programme at Washington-based Center for a New American Security said.

She added that India had already decided to reduce tariffs on some American goods even before Prime Narendra Modi visited the US in February and met President Trump.

On April 2, which President Trump proclaimed as ‘Liberation Day’, the US imposed sweeping tariffs with a minimum benchmark of 10 percent on all imported goods, followed by higher tariffs on a range of countries, including India. While China has hit back with 125 percent tariffs, New Delhi has chosen to remain silent.

“Prime Minister Modi knows President Trump … He dealt with him for four years during his first term. The US and India had tried to negotiate a trade deal. At that time it didn’t happen. But I think that the Indian government realised that, this Trump term would be different, that they would have higher expectations of India on the tariff issue,” said Curtis, who coordinated US-India defence, diplomatic and trade partnership policies for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021.

During Trump’s first tenure, India and the US had planned to sign a comprehensive trade deal even though there were issues about India’s trade surplus. Both sides even agreed to sign a “mini trade deal” of sorts at that time but nothing fructified and the trade talks fell apart just before Trump headed for the 2020 US presidential elections.

According to Curtis, this time though India has to come up with “something more” than what was offered to the US back in 2020.

“What I will say is that in the first Trump term, negotiations had been happening. But President Trump got frustrated and he actually revoked India’s GSP trade privileges in 2019,” she said.

“But negotiations continued and even during President Trump’s visit to India in 2020, they were still negotiating. And India then at that point put on the table a mini trade deal, which President Trump ultimately rejected. So my sense is that this new deal will have to be more than maybe what was put forward in the mini trade deal,” she added.

This time around Curtis feels “The Indians played it smartly.”

“They came in and tried to preemptively reduce tariffs, to create some goodwill with President Trump. And I think it helped and, immediately launched into fast track trade negotiations after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Washington. The trade officials have been going back and forth between the capitals, negotiating furiously,” she highlighted.

Curtis, therefore thinks, there is a “better chance” for India and the US to conclude the BTA before Washington clinches any other trade pact with other countries.

However, Curtis did caution that the US and India might face a significant stumbling block over US agricultural products.

“India is very aware of what President Trump is looking for in terms of reducing tariffs and is pretty much willing to meet the United States halfway on these issues. I think the one issue where there could be some friction is on agricultural issues. I think that’s a real red line for Prime Minister Modi,” she underscored.

She stressed, “Almost 50 percent of the Indian population works in the agricultural sector. It’s politically hot and sensitive issue. So I think, you know, that’s the one area where we may see a bit of friction because it’s also an important sector for the United States as well. And so I think that’s the real test, can they work through their differences over the issue.”

Indo-Pacific & Securitising Quad

On the question of the second Trump administration’s focus on the Indo-Pacific strategic framework and the Quad, Curtis said the new US government has already set the ball rolling with the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosting the Quad foreign ministers meeting on the first day of the government and the subsequent visits by the US Defence Secretary to countries that are key in the Indo-Pacific.

“We also have heard about the Interim Defence Strategic Guidance. It’s a classified document that’s circulating in the Defence Department, but parts of it have been leaked to the Washington Post…And it sounds like there’s a very strong focus on defending Taiwan, on making sure that the US, increases its military posture, its military troop levels, stockpiling, weapons in the region and working with allies and partners to deter China from taking military action toward Taiwan in the South China Sea,” said Curtis.

“So to me that sounds like a lot of continuity from both the first Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy through the Biden administration strategy. I think we see a lot of continuity there,” she added.

However, she said seeing President Trump’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, Taiwan is increasingly getting concerned that the US “could potentially withdraw support from Taiwan or put Taiwan on the negotiating table in his desire to get a trade deal with China.”

But she also said that the US Congress supports Taiwan overwhelmingly.

On Quad, she said there’s “definitely a commitment”: the first Trump tenure witnessed the revival of the grouping in 2021.

“I think we’ll see the agenda pared down to some of those really critical issues like, maritime security, technology cooperation, critical minerals…There may be a push to talk more about military issues, planning for a potential crisis or contingency in the Pacific region. But I think India would resist, making the Quad more of a security or defence forum, at least publicly,” she averred.

She said India would resist such an effort in order to not to “provoke” China resulting in another border standoff like the one that began in 2020.

“There may a bit of a push from the Trump administration to securitise the Quad more and make it more focused on military issues. I expect India will continue to resist that. And, you know, we can’t have the Quad without India. So India’s views will have to be respected.”

On the recent rapprochement between India and China, she said, “As long as India isn’t sacrificing any of its territory or allowing China to coerce, intimidate, which I don’t think is happening, I think India has stood its ground in terms of its position that it would not want to normalise relations with China until Chinese troop positions return to the status quo ante in May 2020. So I think as long as China’s not able to change facts on the ground through military force, the U.S would be supportive.”

26/11 Conspirator Headley’s Extradition

Earlier this month, Tahawwur Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin, was extradited to India from the United States.

Rana is one of the primary accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and is charged with facilitating frequent visits to Mumbai by David Coleman Headley, the main facilitator of the attacks. Currently in custody and being questioned, Rana’s extradition has raised questions regarding the potential extradition of Headley to India as well.

“I don’t think so (Headley’s extradition). He’s in a different category. He made a plea deal with the United States. So in our court system, that is not something that you can change or overturn,” said Curtis.

“So I don’t think that discussion will happen. That’s my sense. Of course, the U.S. and the counter-terrorism partnership will remain strong. They’ll find other ways to cooperate. And I’m sure this will be a priority for the Trump administration. But I don’t think we can infer that because Tahawwur Rana was extradited, David Headley would happen to be next. I think that’s a much different issue,” she said.

Thousands Assemble At Pro-Government Rally In Serbia To Support President Vucic

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 15:21

Serbian-Progressive-Party — A supporter of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) lights a flare during a pro-government rally backing Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's policies and opposing months of student-led protests, in Belgrade, Serbia, April 12, 2025.

Thousands from towns in Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia arrived in Belgrade by buses on Saturday to attend a rally in support of President Aleksandar Vucic, whose grip on power has been threatened by months of anti-corruption protests against the ruling regime.

Main streets were blocked for traffic, and stands with fast food and drinks were put up in front of the parliament.

The rally is seen as Vucic’s response to the big anti-government rally on March 15, when more than 100,000 people attended the biggest protest in decades.

Serbia has seen months of anti-government rallies after 16 deaths from a railway station roof collapse triggered accusations of widespread corruption and negligence.

The protests have swelled to include students, teachers and farmers in a major challenge to Vucic, a populist in power for 12 years as prime minister or president.

“The coloured revolution is over,” Vucic told throngs of his supporters in front of the parliament. “They can walk as much as they wish, but nothing will come out of that.”

The rally was meant also to promote a new movement led by Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) which is expected to include other parties from the ruling coalition that is yet to be officially inaugurated.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban addressed the rally via video link. “Serbian patriots can count on Hungarian patriots,” Orban said.

Tensions between Vucic’s supporters and anti-government protesters ran high on Saturday. In Novi Pazar, which is the administrative centre of Serbia’s Muslim majority region, anti-government activists tried to prevent buses with Vucic’s supporters from leaving the town.

In Belgrade, protesters tried to prevent buses from reaching the city centre and threw eggs at them, triggering police intervention.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Trump Exempts Smartphones, Computers From Reciprocal Tariffs

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 06:00

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has exempted smartphones, computers, and several other electronics—mostly imported from China—from steep reciprocal tariffs, offering significant relief to tech giants like Apple that depend heavily on overseas products.

In a notice to shippers, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency published a list of tariff codes excluded from the import taxes. The exclusions are retroactive to 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on April 5.

The U.S. CBP listed 20 product categories, including the broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays.

Relief To Tech Firms

The notice did not provide an explanation for the move, but the late-night exclusion provides welcome relief to major technology firms such as Apple, Dell Technologies and many other importers.

Trump’s action also excludes the specified electronics from his 10% “baseline” tariffs on goods from most countries other than China, easing import costs for semiconductors from Taiwan and Apple iPhones produced in India.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives called the announcement “the most bullish news we could have heard this weekend.”

“There is still clear uncertainty and volatility ahead with these China negotiations…. Big Tech firms like Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and the broader tech industry can breathe a huge sigh of relief this weekend into Monday,” Ives said in an industry note.

Many tech company CEOs have embraced Trump as he begins his second term, attending his January 20 inauguration in Washington and celebrating with him afterward. Apple CEO Tim Cook hosted a pre-inaugural ball and has visited Trump at his home in Florida.

125% Tariffs

For the Chinese imports, the exclusion only applies to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which climbed to 125% this week, according to a White House official. Trump’s prior 20% duties on all Chinese imports that he said were related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis remain in place.

But the official said Trump will launch a new national security trade investigation into semiconductors soon that could lead to other new tariffs.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump has made clear the U.S. cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops.

But she said that at Trump’s direction, major tech firms, including Apple and chipmakers Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor, “are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.”

Tariff Pain

The exemptions suggest an increasing awareness within the Trump administration of the pain his tariffs could inflict on inflation-weary consumers.

Even at a lower 54% tariff rate on Chinese imports, analysts predicted the price of a top-end Apple iPhone could jump to $2,300 from $1,599. At 125%, economists and analysts have said U.S.-China trade could largely halt.

Smartphones were the top U.S. import from China in 2024, totaling $41.7 billion, while Chinese-built laptops were second, at $33.1 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Apple recently chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the U.S. from India, after it stepped up production there in an effort to beat Trump’s tariffs, Reuters reported on Friday.

Trump campaigned to win back the White House last year largely on a promise to bring down prices that were fueled by inflation and tarnished the economic reputation of former President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies.

But Trump also promised to impose the tariffs that have become central to his economic agenda, and he has dismissed turbulence in financial markets and price increases from the levies as a disturbance necessary to realign the world trading order as he has envisioned.

Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs

His so-called “reciprocal tariffs,” however, raised fears of a U.S. recession and drew criticism from some Republicans, who do not want to lose control of Congress in next year’s mid-term elections to Democrats, who have attacked Trump’s policies.

Trump delayed higher duty rates for 57 trading partners and the European Union last week, leaving most countries with a 10% tariff as they seek to negotiate trade deals with Washington.

The U.S. president, who is spending the weekend at his residence in Florida, told reporters on Friday he was comfortable with the high tariffs on China but had a good relationship with President Xi Jinping and believed something positive would come out of the trade conflict between them.

Financial markets were in turmoil again on Friday as China matched Trump’s latest tariff increase on U.S. imports to 125%, raising the stakes in a trade war threatening to upend global supply chains.

U.S. stocks ended a volatile week higher, but the safe haven of gold hit a record high during the session and benchmark U.S. 10-year government bond yields posted their biggest weekly increase since 2001 alongside a slump in the dollar, signaling a lack of confidence in the U.S.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Gazans Face Water Crisis As Clean Sources Become Scarce

Team StratNews;

Apr 13 2025, 00:00

Hundreds of thousands of residents in Gaza City lost their primary access to clean water over the past week after Israel’s renewed military offensive led to the shutdown of supplies from its water utility, according to local municipal officials.

Many now have to walk, sometimes for miles, to get a small water fill after the Israeli military’s bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaia neighbourhood, in the north of the Strip, damaged the pipeline operated by state-owned Mekorot.

“Since morning, I have been waiting for water,” said 42-year-old Gaza woman Faten Nassar. “There are no stations and no trucks coming. There is no water. The crossings are closed. God willing, the war will end safely and peacefully.”

Israel To Address Malfunction Of Pipelines

Israel’s military said in a statement it was in contact with the relevant organisations to coordinate the repair of what it called a malfunction of the northern pipeline as soon as possible.

It said a second pipeline supplying southern Gaza was still operating, adding that the water supply system “is based on various water sources, including wells and local desalination facilities distributed throughout the Gaza Strip”.

Israel ordered Shejaia residents to evacuate last week as it launched an offensive that has seen several districts bombed. The military has said previously it was operating against “terror infrastructure” and had killed a senior militant leader.

The northern pipeline had been supplying 70% of Gaza City’s water since the destruction of most of its wells during the war, municipal authorities say.

“The situation is very difficult and things are getting more complicated, especially when it comes to people’s daily lives and their daily water needs, whether for cleaning, disinfecting, and even cooking and drinking,” said Husni Mhana, the municipality’s spokesperson.

We are now living in a real thirst crisis in Gaza City, and we could face a difficult reality in the coming days if the situation remains the same.”

Worsening Water Crisis

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have become internally displaced by the war, with many making daily trips on foot to fill plastic containers with water from the few wells still functioning in remoter areas – and even these do not guarantee clean supplies.

Water for drinking, cooking and washing has increasingly become a luxury for Gaza residents following the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose fighters carried out the deadliest attack in decades on Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people in southern Israel and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 50,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign, Palestinian authorities have said.

Many residents across the enclave queue for hours to get one water fill, which usually is not enough for their daily needs.

“I walk long distances. I get tired. I am old, I’m not young to walk around every day to get water,” said 64-year-old Adel Al-Hourani.

The Gaza Strip’s only natural source of water is the Coastal Aquifer Basin, which runs along the eastern Mediterranean coast from the northern Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, through Gaza and into Israel.

But its salty tap water is severely depleted, with up to 97% deemed unfit for human consumption due to salinity, over-extraction and pollution.

Water Sources ‘Inoperable’

The Palestinian Water Authority stated that most of its wells had been rendered inoperable during the war.

On March 22, a joint statement by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics and the Water Authority said more than 85% of water and sanitation facilities and assets in Gaza were completely or partially out of service.

Palestinian and United Nations officials said most of Gaza’s desalination plants were either damaged or had stopped operations because of Israel’s power and fuel cuts.

“Due to the extensive damage incurred by the water and sanitation sector, water supply rates have declined to an average of 3-5 litres per person per day,” the statement said.

That was far below the minimum 15 litres per person per day requirement for survival in emergencies, according to the World Health Organization indicators, it added.

(With inputs from Reuters)

US Judge Declines To Restrict Immigration Enforcement In Places Of Worship

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 21:15

A federal judge on Friday rejected a plea to limit the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in places of worship, ruling against 27 religious groups that had challenged the administration for abandoning a long-standing policy that protected sensitive locations.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term in office, found that the organizations likely did not have legal standing to bring the case because the claims that they faced harm were speculative.

Christian and Jewish umbrella groups including the Mennonite Church USA, Central Conference of American Rabbis and Convencion Bautista Hispana de Texas, along with individual churches, sued the Department of Homeland Security and other immigration enforcement agencies in February. They argued that the administration’s policy change violated their right to religious freedom under federal law and the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

“We are currently reviewing the decision and are assessing our options,” said Kelsi Corkran, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “We remain gravely concerned about the impacts of this policy and are committed to protecting foundational rights enshrined in the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

The White House and Department of Homeland Security also did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump’s Deportation Policy

Trump, a Republican, has pledged to deport millions of people who are in the United States illegally, and DHS said the policy change would mean that people would no longer be able to stay in churches to avoid arrest.

Since 1993, U.S. immigration officials have had a policy of avoiding enforcement activities in sensitive places, including places of worship and schools, and in 2021, Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration expanded the policy to include playgrounds, social services centers and other locations. The policy has always had an exception for “exigent circumstances.”

On January 20, the day Trump took office, DHS rescinded all prior guidance on sensitive places and said there would no longer be “bright line rules” about immigration enforcement.

Since then, according to the lawsuit, at least three immigration enforcement actions have taken place at churches, including one church that is a plaintiff in the case, and other places of worship have been subject to surveillance.

The religious organizations sought a preliminary order barring DHS or other agencies from carrying out any enforcement activities at the plaintiffs’ places of worship or during their religious ceremonies without a judicial warrant or exigent circumstances while the lawsuit went forward.

Friedrich, in denying the request, said there was no evidence that places of worship were being “singled out,” meaning that the plaintiffs had not shown that they faced a “credible threat.”

Five Quaker groups separately sued the administration over the policy change in Maryland federal court in January, later joined by a Sikh temple and a Baptist organization. In February, a judge agreed to a request by the plaintiffs in that case to issue a preliminary order restricting enforcement at their places of worship.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Lauds Trump’s Knowledge Of Ukraine Conflict

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 20:50

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday commended U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he had a clearer understanding of the Ukraine conflict than any other Western leader.

“When we speak about eliminating root causes of any conflict, including the Ukrainian conflict, this is the only way to resolve the problem and to establish long-lasting peace. Remove root causes,” Lavrov said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Turkey.

“President Trump was the first and so far, I think, almost the only one among the Western leaders who repeatedly, with conviction, several times stated that it was a huge mistake to pull Ukraine into NATO. And this is one of the root causes which we quoted so many times.”

President Vladimir Putin, who launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has long cast Ukraine’s tilt to the West, including its desire to join NATO, as a threat to Russia.

Lavrov’s remarks followed talks in St. Petersburg on Friday between Putin and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff about the search for a peace deal.

Witkoff has emerged as a key figure in the on-off rapprochement between Moscow and Washington. However, Friday’s talks took place at a time when U.S.-Russia dialogue aimed at agreeing a ceasefire ahead of a possible peace deal appears to have stalled over disagreements around conditions for a full pause in hostilities.

Commenting on an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to pause strikes on each other’s energy facilities, Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow has been keeping its word and accused Kyiv of striking Russian energy infrastructure almost every day.

“I gave to our colleagues from Turkey, to (Foreign) Minister (Hakan) Fidan, what we gave to the Americans, to the U.N., to the OSCE – the list of facts listing the attacks by Ukraine during the last three weeks against Russian energy infrastructure.”

Ukraine has made similar accusations against Russia since the U.S.-backed moratorium was approved.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Georgia Becomes First US State To Introduce Bill To Recognise ‘Hinduphobia’

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 20:40

Georgia has become the first U.S. state to introduce a bill to formally recognise ‘Hinduphobia’ and anti-Hindu prejudice, according to media reports.

If the bill becomes law, the penal code in Georgia will be updated and consequently enable law enforcement agencies to consider Hinduphobia and take appropriate action, reported Wion News.

The introduction of the bill became significant since Indian-origin lawmakers have been voicing concerns over a rise in Hindu-hatred cases in the country.

The bill, SB 375, dated April 4, was introduced in the Georgia General Assembly, the state legislature, and its sponsors include both Democrats and Republicans, reported Wion.

The four sponsors of the bill are Georgia State Senate members Shawn Still and Clint Dixon, both Republicans, and Democrats Jason Esteves and Emanuel Jones.

Advocacy Group Welcomes

The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), an advocacy group, welcomed the move and said history will be created if the bill is passed in future.

The group wrote on X handle: “The State of Georgia has introduced SB 375, which formally updates the state’s penal code to recognize Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu prejudice, and enables law enforcement and other agencies to consider Hinduphobia while cataloging such discrimination and taking appropriate action.”

“We are proud to work closely with Senator @SenShawnStill on this important bill and thank him along with Senator @emanueldjones, Senator @jasonesteves, and Senator @VoteClintDixon for supporting the needs of the Hindu community in Georgia and the United States,” the group said.

“We also thank Hindus of Georgia PAC for their leadership in this important initiative,” the statement posted on X handle further said.

“SB 375 builds upon the important work that we started in April 2023, when Georgia became the first state to pass a County Resolution condemning Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry while celebrating the positive contributions of Hindus in Georgia and beyond,” the statement said.

The advocacy group said it is looking forward to advocating for the bill once the Georgia legislative session reopens.

(With inputs from IBNS)

US Human Rights Advocates File Lawsuit To Block Trump’s Sanctions On ICC Prosecutor

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 20:23

Two U.S. human rights advocates, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), on Friday filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s sanctions on the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The advocates argue that an executive order Trump signed in February imposing sanctions on ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and barring U.S. citizens from providing services benefiting him unconstitutionally chills their free speech, in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Bangor, Maine.

Fortify Rights co-founder Matthew Smith and international human rights lawyer Akila Radhakrishnan say the order bars them from speaking with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor, including by providing legal advice and evidence, in violation of their rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

The White House and ICC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The ICC, which opened in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the U.N. Security Council.

Trump’s ICC Sanctions

Trump’s February 6 order authorised potentially far-reaching economic and travel sanctions on people who work on ICC investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel, repeating action he took during his first term.

The order specifically imposed sanctions on Khan, who is British. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added him to a registry of sanctioned individuals and entities days later.

Trump’s order also said that U.S. citizens who provide services for the benefit of Khan or other sanctioned individuals could face civil and criminal penalties.

The ICC and dozens of countries have condemned the sanctions, pledging to stand by its staff and “continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it.

In Friday’s lawsuit, Smith and Radhakrishnan said they had been forced as a result of Trump’s order to cease human rights work involving the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor in which they had been seeking justice for victims of atrocities.

Smith, who lives in Maine, said he had previously provided the office evidence of atrocities against the Rohingya, a minority Muslim group in Myanmar. Radhakrishnan said she has advised the office on investigating gender-based violence committed against Afghan women under the Taliban.

“This executive order doesn’t just disrupt our work—it actively undermines international justice efforts and obstructs the path to accountability for communities facing unthinkable horrors,” Smith said in a statement.

(With inputs from Reuters)

EU Mulls Defence Fund To Address Debt Concerns Over Military Gear

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 19:59

European Union (EU) finance ministers began discussions on Saturday on a joint defence fund that would purchase and own military equipment, charging member states a usage fee—an effort to boost defence spending without increasing national debt burdens.

The EU-proposed defence fund, called the European Defence Mechanism, was proposed by the Bruegel think tank in a paper for the ministerial discussions as a way of addressing concerns about how highly indebted countries could pay for costly military equipment.

It is part of a broader European effort to prepare for a potential attack from Russia as EU governments realise they can no longer fully rely on the United States for their security.

“It’s a good starting point for discussion,” Portuguese Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said.

Several other EU countries also expressed initial support, noting that setting up such a fund could be technically relatively simple because it would be based on the model of the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism.

“We’ll still have several issues in terms of the mandate, the finance, the contributions, and the leverage in the market. There are several issues on the financing, but also on the military aspect,” Sarmento said.

The EU is already looking to boost military spending by 800 billion euros ($876 billion) over the next four years by loosening its fiscal rules on defence investment and jointly borrowing for large defence projects against the EU budget.

But such options increase national debt – a worry for many high-debt countries – while the Bruegel idea would provide a way to keep some of the defence investment off national books.

Open To Non-EU Countries

The fund would be established under an intergovernmental treaty and have substantial paid-in and callable capital, allowing it to borrow on the market.

The EDM could admit members from outside the EU, such as Britain, Ukraine or Norway. Because the fund would own the equipment it buys, the debt incurred to pay for it would stay on the EDM’s books, rather than national accounts.

The EDM would also promote a single European market for defence equipment to lower costs and pool resources.

Defence procurement and production in the 27-nation EU is highly fragmented with at least seven different types of tanks, nine types of self-propelled howitzers and seven types of infantry fighting vehicles, which increases costs, reduces interoperability and hinders economies of scale.

“We have to consider the possibility of creating new instruments … to reinforce the defence capacities of Europe,” Sarmento said.

The fund could focus on “strategic enablers” – costly military infrastructure and equipment armies need to operate – now often provided by the United States.

These include joint command and control systems, satellite-based intelligence and communication, development of expensive new weapon systems such as fifth- or sixth-generation fighter jets, integrated weapon systems needed by multiple countries like strategic air defence, strategic large-scale air transport and maritime logistics, missiles and nuclear deterrence.

The Bruegel paper on the EDM said Europe had a chance to reduce its military dependence on the U.S. by 2030 only if it pooled procurement to the greatest extent possible and created a common European defence market, including Britain as a major industrial defence player to boost competition.

($1 = 0.9128 euros)

(With inputs from Reuters)

Global Trade May Shrink 3% Due To New US Tariffs, Says UN Trade Agency

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 19:24

Global trade is expected to contract by up to 3% due to the United States’ newly imposed tariffs, but the measures could ultimately pave the way for stronger regional trade ties, the chief of a UN trade agency said on Friday.

“There will be shifting, I think, in supply chains, and there will be a reassessment of global alliances. There will be geopolitical shifts and economic as well,” said Pamela Coke-Hamilton, head of the International Trade Centre (ITC).

90-Day Pause

Speaking in Geneva after Wednesday’s announcement by the White House of a 90-day pause on “reciprocal tariffs” for most countries with the exception of China, Mrs. Coke-Hamilton noted that exports from Mexico had already been “highly impacted” by earlier seismic changes to US trade policy.

“Countries like Mexico, China and Thailand, but also countries in southern Africa, are among the most affected, alongside the US itself,” she said.

While the 90-day pause on the so-called reciprocal tariffs applies to imports from most countries and brings down rates to a still hefty 10%, tariffs on imports from China currently stand at 145%.

China, meanwhile, has raised tariffs against US exports – in effect, import taxes on goods – to 125%.

Already, Mexico’s products for export have shifted away from markets such as the US, China, Europe and other Latin American countries to make “modest gains” instead in Canada, Brazil, “and to a lesser extent, India”, the ITC chief insisted.

Shifts In Trade Flows

Other countries have followed suit, including Vietnam, whose exports “are redirecting away from the US, Mexico and China”, while “increasing substantially” towards the EU, Republic of Korea and others, said Mrs. Coke-Hamilton, whose UN specialised agency offers assistance to developing countries.

The problem for emerging economies is that they are less well equipped to “pivot” when faced with “instabilities”, the ITC chief explained, since they often lack the manufacturing diversity and ability to add value to raw commodities of more industrialized nations.

Especially vulnerable trading partners of the US include Lesotho, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Madagascar and Myanmar which are “the most exposed”, she continued.

Confirming that the World Trade Organization (WTO) had estimated that commerce between China and the US could drop by up to 80 per cent if the highly unusual situation continues, the ITC Executive Secretary pointed out that they constituted only “three per cent to four per cent of world trade…[so] there is 96 per cent out there that is still trading and that will trade”.

‘No Stability’

Nonetheless, the impact of the “indeterminate extension of 90 days on and on” has not been good for global commerce and “does not necessarily lend itself to stability”, Mrs. Coke-Hamilton continued.

“Irrespective of whether there is an extension, on and on, the fact that there is no stability, there is no predictability will affect trade and firms and decisions that are being made in real time.”

She added: “This would not be the first time that there have been tremors in the world economic system. We have seen it over the last 50 years in different dispensations. This one is probably a little more harsh, a little more tremulous.”

(With inputs from IBNS)

Pennsylvania Man Charged Over Threats To Kill Trump, Other Officials

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 19:08

A 32-year-old man from Pennsylvania has been charged with making online threats to kill President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials.

The person was identified as Shawn Monper.

Threat From Butler, PA

The US Department of Justice said in a statement, “Shawn Monper, 32, a resident of Butler, Pennsylvania, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with making threats to assault and murder President Donald Trump, other U.S. officials, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.”

Attorney General Responds

Attorney General Pamela Bondi appreciated investigative officials for identifying and apprehending the man before he could carry out his threats against Trump and other US officials.

In a statement, she said: “Rest assured that whenever and wherever threats of assassination or mass violence occur, this Department of Justice will find, arrest, and prosecute the suspect to the fullest extent of the law and seek the maximum appropriate punishment.”

Threats Posted To YouTube

According to the federal criminal complaint, on April 8, the FBI National Threat Operations Section (NTOS) received an emergency disclosure regarding threats posted to YouTube by user “Mr Satan.”

The Department said Federal agents determined that the threatening statements occurred between January 15 to April 5.

“The subsequent federal investigation affirmed that the internet activity associated with ‘Mr Satan’ corresponded with Monper’s residence,” the statement issued by the US Department of Justice said.

The investigation further established that Monper sought and obtained a firearms permit shortly following President Trump’s inauguration.

Suspect Arrested

The FBI, with the assistance of the Butler Township Police Department, arrested Monper on April 9.

“On April 10, Monper was ordered detained pending preliminary and detention hearings scheduled for April 14, at 1:00 pm,” the statement said.

Shawn Monper is from Butler, Pennsylvania, where President Donald Trump had escaped an assassination attempt last July while campaigning for the presidential polls.

(With inputs from IBNS)

WHO Members Near Deal On Preparing For Future Pandemics

Team StratNews;

Apr 12 2025, 18:53

Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) are nearing an agreement on a treaty to prepare for future pandemics, though discussions have been paused until Tuesday, sources said on Saturday.

The pact, which has been arduously negotiated for three years and which would be legally binding, is intended to shore up the world’s defences against new pathogens after the COVID-19 pandemic killed millions of people in 2020-22.

“They (the talks) went overnight until 9 a.m. (Saturday) but didn’t manage to resolve the final issues,” one source involved in the discussions in Geneva said.

A diplomatic source in Geneva added that “big advancement was made … almost all the treaty was agreed upon with few outstanding yet crucial issues”.

The talks missed a key deadline last year despite several rounds of late-night talks.

The negotiating body’s co-chair had earlier told the AFP news agency that it had reached an agreement “in principle”.

The United States, which was slow to join the early talks, left the discussions this year after new President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February withdrawing from the WHO and barring participation in the talks.

The other 192 members of the WHO who joined the discussions would be free to ratify the deal or not after it is formally adopted.

One of the most contentious issues between wealthy countries and developing states is how to share drugs and vaccines fairly to avoid the mistakes of the COVID era.

The negotiations have been vexed throughout by allegations from right-wing commentators, including in the U.S. but also Britain and Australia, that they could undermine national sovereignty by giving too much power to a U.N. agency.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus rejects such assertions and says the accord would help countries better guard against pandemic outbreaks.

This week in Geneva, a small group of campaigners protested against the talks with one holding up a sign with a fanged snake uncoiling itself from the WHO symbol, with the motto: “WHO ARE YOU TO TAKE AWAY MY FREEDOMS?!”

The agreement, if finalised, would be a historic victory for the global health agency. Only once in the WHO’s 75-year history have its member countries agreed to a treaty – a tobacco control accord in 2003.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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