Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the European Union has a “strong plan to retaliate” against Donald Trump’s tariffs. America’s president is expected to announce a fresh round of tariffs on “all countries” on Wednesday; the White House said they would take effect immediately. Mrs von der Leyen said the EU still hoped for a “negotiated solution”.
BYD delivered nearly 1m cars in the first quarter of 2025, up 58% from one year earlier. The Chinese firm, which said that over 40% of the cars it shipped were electric vehicles, recently reported that its sales rose above $100bn for the first time last year. BYD’s soaring sales come as those of Tesla, its American rival, have fallen in Europe.
The judge who barred Marine Le Pen from public office was placed under police protection after receiving threats. The leader of France’s hard-right National Rally was sentenced to four years in prison, two of them suspended and two under house arrest, on Monday. Ms Le Pen accused the judge of making a “political decision”.
Pam Bondi, America’s attorney-general, instructed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in their case against Luigi Mangione, after Mr Trump reversed the Biden administration’s moratorium on federal executions. Mr Mangione was charged in December with murdering a health-care CEO. The killing and the ensuing manhunt captured national attention, as did the “manifesto” he penned against America’s health-care system. He pleaded not guilty.
During a visit to Moscow, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, told Russian state media that his country was ready to play a “constructive role” in achieving peace in Ukraine and that it welcomed warming relations between Russia and America. But he added that America would not divide China and Russia, suggesting the countries were “forever friends, never enemies”.
The euro zone’s annual inflation rate was 2.2% in March, down from 2.3% in February, according to a flash estimate. The European Central Bank, which has cut interest rates six times since last summer, will decide whether to lower rates again at its next meeting on April 17th. The ECB aims for an inflation rate of 2%.
Cory Booker delivered a marathon speech in America’s Senate to rail against the Trump administration’s “recklessness”. The Democratic senator from New Jersey began speaking on Monday evening and vowed to continue as long as he was “physically able”. He was still speaking 22 hours later, disrupting business in the Senate, which was due to convene at noon local time.
Figure of the day: 4.8bn tonnes, the amount of coal China produces each year. Read the full story.
How is America’s economy faring under Donald Trump? Assess the performance of stocks, the dollar, cryptocurrencies and other economic indicators on our presidential tracker.