Donald Trump repeated his threat to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China from Saturday, and added that he would also tax goods from the European Union. He insisted that the levies were not merely “a negotiating tool”, and said he would “eventually” put tariffs on goods ranging from semiconductors to aluminium. Earlier the White House press secretary denied a report by Reuters that the president would delay the tariffs.
Germany’s Bundestag voted against a draft law to curb irregular immigration proposed by the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU). On Wednesday a separate, non-binding CDU motion on the topic passed with the backing of the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Other mainstream parties accused the CDU’s leader, Friedrich Merz, of weakening the “firewall” that binds them against working with the AfD. Mr Merz’s party leads polls ahead of elections on February 23rd.
Hamas released three more Israeli hostages as the fragile ceasefire signed on January 15th continued to hold. Israel is also due to release more than 180 Palestinian prisoners as part of this fourth round of exchanges. Imminent talks will focus on the next stage of the ceasefire, which includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all of Gaza and the release of more hostages.
Five political parties in Belgium struck a deal to form a new right-leaning government after nearly eight months of negotiations. Bart De Wever, a Flemish nationalist leader, is expected to become the prime minister. Talks had dragged on as parties could not agree on budget-related issues. Mr De Wever has vowed to improve Belgium’s public finances.
A former adviser to America’s Federal Reserve was arrested for sharing economic secrets with China. John Rogers worked in the Fed’s international finance division between 2010 and 2021. From at least 2018 Mr Rogers allegedly began supplying sensitive information to Chinese officials under the “guise of teaching”. The Chinese embassy in Washington said it was “not familiar” with the case.
A Swiss court found Trafigura and one of its former executives guilty of bribery charges. It sentenced Mike Wainwright, the commodity conglomerate’s former chief operating officer, to 32 months in prison (with 20 suspended) for paying bribes in Angola. The court ruled the company’s anti-bribery safeguards were insufficient and told it to pay fines and compensation worth almost $149m.
Russian missiles damaged several historic buildings, including a concert hall and a luxury hotel, in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, called the attack “a deliberate strike” on the district, which the UN has classified as a world heritage site. At least seven people were injured.
Word of the week: wu nu, or “housing slave”, slang for young Taiwanese homebuyers who feel trapped by their expensive mortgages. Read the full story.
American politics matters intensely to the rest of the world. Read The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.