court

South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate

BY CLAIRE LEE

Many law and constitution experts expect that the court will uphold Yoon's impeachment.

The fate of South Korea's presidency hangs on the Constitutional Court Friday as it decides whether to uphold Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over a disastrous martial law declaration or to return him to power.
Many law and constitution experts expect that the court will uphold Yoon's impeachment.

The fate of South Korea's presidency hangs on the Constitutional Court Friday as it decides whether to uphold Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over a disastrous martial law declaration or to return him to power.

Yoon, 64, was suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament. He was also arrested on insurrection charges as part of a separate criminal case.

At least six of the Constitutional Court's eight justices must vote to remove Yoon. Otherwise, he will be reinstated.

All eight justices arrived at the courthouse early Friday, a court spokesperson told AFP. The justices have been given additional security protection from police.

Police raised the alert to the highest possible level Friday, enabling the deployment of their entire force. Officers encircled the courthouse with a ring of vehicles and stationed special operations teams in the vicinity.

Nearby, authorities set up field medical clinics for any emergencies.

A large crowd of pro- and anti-Yoon protesters camped out near the court and the suspended leader's residence overnight, AFP reporters saw.

Anti-Yoon protesters were also streaming into central Seoul, AFP reporters saw.

Political divisions

If removed, Yoon would become the second South Korean leader to be impeached by the court after Park Geun-hye in 2017.

After weeks of tense hearings, judges spent more than a month deliberating the case, all while public unrest has swelled.

Yoon, who defended his attempt to subvert civilian rule as necessary to root out "anti-state forces", still commands the backing of extreme supporters, who have staged protests for weeks in the run-up to the verdict.

The wait for the ruling had led to the deepening of political divisions and the emergence of unverified conspiracy theories, some suggesting that the justices were locked in intense disagreements.

At least two staunch Yoon supporters -- one in his 70s and the other in his 50s -- have died after self-immolating in protest of the controversial leader's impeachment.

Opposition MP Back Hye-ryun last month was hit in the face with an egg outside the court, as she was urging justices to uphold Yoon's impeachment.

Embassies -- including the American, French, Russian and Chinese -- have warned citizens to avoid mass gatherings in connection with Friday's verdict.

The decision "would indicate first and foremost the resilience of South Korean democracy," Byunghwan Son, professor at George Mason University, told AFP.

"The very fact that the system did not collapse suggests that the Korean democracy can survive even the worst challenge against it -- a coup attempt."

'Highly unlikely' to reinstate

South Korea has spent the four months since Yoon declared martial law without an effective head of state, as the opposition impeached Yoon's stand-in -- only for him to be later reinstated by a court ruling.

The leadership vacuum comes during a series of crises and headwinds, including an aviation disaster and the deadliest wildfires in the country's history.

This week, South Korea was slammed with 25 percent tariffs on exports to key ally the United States after President Donald Trump unveiled global, so-called reciprocal levies.

Since December, South Korea has been "partially paralysed -- it has been without a legitimate president and has been challenged by natural disasters and the political disaster called Trump," Vladimir Tikhonov, Korean Studies professor at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

Yoon also faces a separate criminal trial on charges of insurrection over the martial law bid, making him the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case.

Many law and constitution experts expect that the court will uphold Yoon's impeachment.

"Given the patently unconstitutional and illegal nature of attempting to seize the National Assembly through the deployment of martial law forces, it seems highly unlikely that a dismissal of the impeachment is a viable outcome," Lee Jong-soo, a professor at Yonsei University Law School, told AFP.

"Based solely on legal principles, I would expect an 8-0 unanimous ruling in favour of upholding the impeachment."

But another expert, professor Lee In-ho at Chung-Ang University's school of law, predicts the court could end in a deadlock.

Lee told AFP he thinks the impeachment will likely be dismissed with "the constitutional interpretation concerning the president's justification for declaring martial law (to) remain unresolved."

cdl/ceb/tym

disinformation

Experts warn 'AI-written' paper is latest spin on climate change denial

BY MANON JACOB

The paper rejects climate models on human-induced global warming and has been widely cited on social media as being the first "peer-reviewed" research led by artificial intelligence (AI) on the topic.

Climate change deniers are pushing an AI-generated paper questioning human-induced warming, leading experts to warn against the rise of research that is inherently flawed but marketed as neutral and scrupulously logical.
The paper rejects climate models on human-induced global warming and has been widely cited on social media as being the first "peer-reviewed" research led by artificial intelligence (AI) on the topic.

Climate change deniers are pushing an AI-generated paper questioning human-induced warming, leading experts to warn against the rise of research that is inherently flawed but marketed as neutral and scrupulously logical.

The paper rejects climate models on human-induced global warming and has been widely cited on social media as being the first "peer-reviewed" research led by artificial intelligence (AI) on the topic.

Titled "A Critical Reassessment of the Anthropogenic CO2-Global Warming Hypothesis," it contains references contested by the scientific community, according to experts interviewed by AFP.

Computational and ethics researchers also cautioned against claims of neutrality in papers that use AI as an author.

The new study -- which claims to be entirely written by Elon Musk's Grok 3 AI -- has gained traction online, with a blog post by Covid-19 contrarian Robert Malone promoting it gathering more than a million views.

"After the debacle of man-made climate change and the corruption of evidence-based medicine by big pharma, the use of AI for government-funded research will become normalized, and standards will be developed for its use in peer-reviewed journals," Malone wrote.

There is overwhelming scientific consensus linking fossil fuel combustion to rising global temperatures and increasingly severe weather disasters.

Illusion of objectivity

Academics have warned that the surge of AI in research, despite potential benefits, risks triggering an illusion of objectivity and insight in scientific research.

"Large language models do not have the capacity to reason. They are statistical models predicting future words or phrases based on what they have been trained on. This is not research," argued Mark Neff, an environmental sciences professor.

The paper says Grok 3 "wrote the entire manuscript," with input from co-authors who "played a crucial role in guiding its development."

Among the co-authors was astrophysicist Willie Soon -– a climate contrarian known to have received more than a million dollars in funding from the fossil fuel industry over the years.

Scientifically contested papers by physicist Hermann Harde and Soon himself were used as references for the AI's analysis.

Microbiologist Elisabeth Bik, who tracks scientific malpractice, remarked the paper did not describe how it was written: "It includes datasets that formed the basis of the paper, but no prompts," she noted. "We know nothing about how the authors asked the AI to analyze the data."

Ashwinee Panda, a postdoctoral fellow on AI safety at the University of Maryland, said the claim that Grok 3 wrote the paper created a veneer of objectivity that was unverifiable.

"Anyone could just claim 'I didn't write this, the AI did, so this is unbiased' without evidence," he said.

Opaque review process

Neither the journal nor its publisher –- which seems to publish only one journal –- appear to be members of the Committee of Publication Ethics.

The paper acknowledges "the careful edits provided by a reviewer and the editor-in-chief," identified on its website as Harde.

It does not specify whether it underwent open, single-, or double-blind review and was submitted and published within just 12 days.

"That an AI would effectively plagiarize nonsense papers," does not come as a surprise to NASA's top climate scientist Gavin Schmidt, but "this retread has just as little credibility," he told AFP.

AFP reached out to the authors of the paper for further comment on the review process, but did not receive an immediate response.

"The use of AI is just the latest ploy, to make this seem as if it is a new argument, rather than an old, false one," Naomi Oreskes, a science historian at Harvard University, told AFP.

mja/rl/aha

tariff

Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic

BY SEBASTIAN SMITH

"Let Donald Trump run the global economy.

Wall Street led a global markets bloodbath Thursday as countries around the world reeled from President Donald Trump's trade war, while the White House insisted the US economy will emerge victorious.
"Let Donald Trump run the global economy.

Wall Street led a global markets bloodbath Thursday as countries around the world reeled from President Donald Trump's trade war, while the White House insisted the US economy will emerge victorious.

Shock waves tore through markets in the United States, Europe and Asia after Trump's tariff bombshell, as foreign leaders signaled readiness to negotiate but also threatened counter-tariffs.

The S&P 500 dropped 4.8 percent in its biggest loss since 2020. The tech-rich Nasdaq plummeted 6.0 percent and the Dow Jones 4.0 percent.

Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 index was down 1.8 percent in early trade Friday.

Trump slapped 10 percent import duties on all nations and far higher levies on imports from dozens of specific countries -- including top trade partners China and the European Union.

Separate tariffs of 25 percent on all foreign-made cars also went into effect, and Canada swiftly responded with a similar levy on US imports.

Stellantis -- the owner of Jeep, Chrysler and Fiat -- paused production at some Canadian and Mexican assembly plants.

Trump dismissed the turmoil, insisting to reporters as he left for a weekend at his Florida golf resort that stocks will "boom."

Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Newsmax, also played down the market turbulence.

"I frankly thought in some ways it could be worse in the markets, because this is a big transition," Vance said.

'Trust Donald Trump'

Trump says he wants to make the United States free from reliance on foreign manufacturers, in a massive economic reshaping that he likened to a medical procedure.

"It's what is expected," the 78-year-old president said of the market reaction. "The patient was very sick. The economy had a lot of problems."

"It went through an operation. It's going to be a booming economy. It's going to be amazing."

Amid howls of protest abroad and from even some of Trump's Republicans, who fear price rises at home, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged patience.

"Let Donald Trump run the global economy. He knows what he's doing," Lutnick said on CNN

Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called "nations that treat us badly."

That included an additional 34 percent on goods from China -- bringing the new added tariff rate there to 54 percent.

The figure for the European Union was 20 percent, and 24 percent on Japan.

China demanded the tariffs be immediately canceled and vowed countermeasures, while France and Germany warned that the EU could hit back at US tech firms.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for suspending investment in the United States until what he called the "brutal" new tariffs had been "clarified."

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the tariffs "clearly represent a significant risk to the global outlook."

She appealed to Washington and its trade partners to work "constructively" to resolve tensions and reduce uncertainty.

Gold -- a safe-haven investment -- hit a new record price, oil fell and the dollar slumped against other major currencies.

Global economic 'sumo wrestler'

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organization, which helps manage global trading, warned the upheaval may lead to contraction of "one percent in global merchandise trade volumes this year."

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell broke ranks with Trump, slamming tariffs as "bad policy."

Preserving long-term prosperity "requires working with our allies, not against them," McConnell said.

Trump has said he would negotiate "as long as they are giving something that is good."

The 27-nation EU and other countries have sought to negotiate as they refrained from immediate retaliation.

Beijing said it was "maintaining communication" with Washington over trade issues, and EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic planned to speak with US counterparts on Friday.

But White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier that the president made it clear "this is not a negotiation."

And Lutnick also struck a hard line, saying, "You can't really fight with the United States."

"You're going to lose. We are the sumo wrestler of this world."

burs-cl/st

security

Trump purges national security team after meeting conspiracist

Waltz was seen boarding Trump's helicopter as the president left the White House for a trip to Florida on Thursday.

Donald Trump fired several US national security officials after a far-right conspiracy theorist questioned their loyalty in a White House meeting with the president, US media reported Thursday.
Waltz was seen boarding Trump's helicopter as the president left the White House for a trip to Florida on Thursday.

Donald Trump fired several US national security officials after a far-right conspiracy theorist questioned their loyalty in a White House meeting with the president, US media reported Thursday.

Influencer Laura Loomer, who is known for claiming that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job, laid out her concerns to Trump on Wednesday, the New York Times said in a report followed up by other outlets.

The reported purge comes as the National Security Council (NSC) faces scrutiny over a scandal in which a journalist was accidentally added to a chat on the Signal app in which officials discussed air strikes on Yemen.

Six people from the NSC were sacked after the Loomer meeting, including three senior officials on the body which advises the president on top foreign policy matters from Ukraine to Gaza, the New York Times said.

Loomer confirmed the meeting, but said on X that "out of respect for President Trump and the privacy of the Oval Office, I'm going to decline on divulging any details."

The activist later said she had presented "opposition research" to the Republican president.

Asked about the report of the firings, Trump later told reporters: "We're always going to let go of people -- people we don't like or people that take advantage of or people that may have loyalties to someone else."

Trump described Loomer as a "great patriot" but said she was "not at all" involved with the reported NSC firings.

"She makes recommendations... and sometimes I listen to those recommendations," he told reporters on Air Force One.

NSC spokesman Brian Hughes told AFP the council "doesn't comment on personnel matters."

The 31-year-old Loomer often flew with Trump on his campaign plane during the 2024 election.

She sparked accusations of racism when she said on social media that Trump's Democratic rival Kamala Harris -- whose mother was of Indian descent -- would make the White House "smell like curry" if she won.

In recent days Loomer has repeatedly targeted national security official Alex Wong -- who was reportedly not among those sacked -- over the so-called "Signalgate" scandal that has rocked the White House

She baselessly suggested that he was responsible for accidentally adding Atlantic magazine journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, even though National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for the error.

Trump has resisted calls to sack Waltz over the issue. Waltz was seen boarding Trump's helicopter as the president left the White House for a trip to Florida on Thursday.

But US media have reported that Waltz is considered by some in Trump's orbit as too tied to neo-conservative policies, rather than Trump's "America First" approach.

dk/des

tariff

With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies

BY SHAUN TANDON

Chipmaking giant TSMC of Taiwan, which counts on the United States for security against China, last month said it would invest $100 billion in the United States.

Japan and Taiwan promised billions in investment.
Chipmaking giant TSMC of Taiwan, which counts on the United States for security against China, last month said it would invest $100 billion in the United States.

Japan and Taiwan promised billions in investment. Britain offered an invitation from the king.

In the end, even US allies failed to dissuade President Donald Trump from hitting them with tariffs, which threaten to remake not just the global economy but the foundations of US foreign policy.

Trump, in what he called "Liberation Day," on Wednesday unleashed across-the-board global tariffs on US friends and foes alike with some of the most punishing rates hitting longstanding US allies.

"This is a huge change in how we deal with the world," said Danielle Pletka of the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

Trump, seeing himself as a master dealmaker, believes he can gain leverage when effectively "you take exports hostage, and then you start negotiating the price of their release."

"That's not usually how America does business. Sometimes it will do business this way with our adversaries," she said. "It is very rarely how we do business with our allies."

Heather Hurlburt, who was chief of staff to the US trade representative during former president Joe Biden's administration, said the United States traditionally has put security ties first.

"What you now have is the people around Trump saying we want to fix our economic relationships and the security relationships can follow where we approve of the economic relationships.

"That's a complete inversion in how US policy has worked," said Hurlburt, now an associate fellow at think tank Chatham House.

Flattery fails

In his first term, Trump confounded US allies, but many found combinations of flattery and incentives to prevent drastic actions.

Japan's late prime minister Shinzo Abe, whom Trump singled out for praise at Wednesday's event, had gifted the Republican mogul a golden golf club, building a rapport that helped shield Japan.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in office during both Trump terms, has feted him with an Eiffel Tower dinner and a seat of honor at a military parade. Macron notched up some successes, including persuading Trump to reverse course on pulling out of Syria.

In the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, Trump instead basked in praise from a blue-collar worker who declared Trump the greatest president ever as he was invited to the podium.

Ahead of the tariffs, some US partners tried to woo Trump with big announcements. Chipmaking giant TSMC of Taiwan, which counts on the United States for security against China, last month said it would invest $100 billion in the United States.

Trump acknowledged the investment in his remarks but said that Taiwan "took all of our computer chips and semiconductors" and announced 32 percent tariffs on its exports.

A Washington-based diplomat of one country hit by heavy tariffs said his government decided on a quiet approach, reaching out to Trump officials to plead for cooperation.

"It didn't work at all. The tariffs are much higher than anything we were expecting," he said on condition of anonymity.

'Nationalism' on two fronts

Trump, in sharp contrast to Biden, has piled pressure on allies. He has demanded Europe spend more on its own defense and take the lead in arming Ukraine.

Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Breitbart News, said the United States would no longer be the "piggy bank of the world" and drew a link between economic and security policies.

"In a word, it's nationalism," he told the right-wing outlet. "In our economic policy, we're going to fight back against ridiculous trade practices. In our foreign policy, we're going to stop starting stupid wars."

Trump has vowed to generate "trillions of dollars" from tariffs to reduce taxes and stimulate domestic manufacturing.

Most mainstream economists dismiss Trump's logic, noting that tariff costs will be passed on to consumers. Wall Street on Thursday suffered its worst fall in five years.

Hurlburt, the Chatham House expert, said that policymakers around Trump consider tariffs an "opening move" to reshape the economic order, with tariffs eventually stabilizing at a "reciprocal level" and a weaker dollar boosting US exports.

To achieve such a long-term transformation, she said, "you need at least some level of cooperation with other countries" -- which will need to be certain that they can make deals that the United States will honor.

"It's a little unclear that other countries will indeed conclude that negotiating with us is a good investment," she said.

sct/md/st/acb

defense

Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row

BY W.G. DUNLOP

The probe will evaluate the extent to which Hegseth and other defense personnel complied with "policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business," said a memo from acting inspector general Steven Stebbins.

The Pentagon inspector general's office will investigate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss air strikes on Yemen, the watchdog said Thursday.
The probe will evaluate the extent to which Hegseth and other defense personnel complied with "policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business," said a memo from acting inspector general Steven Stebbins.

The Pentagon inspector general's office will investigate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss air strikes on Yemen, the watchdog said Thursday.

President Donald Trump's administration is facing a scandal over the accidental leak of a group chat by senior security officials on the strikes, which targeted Yemen's Huthi rebels.

The probe will evaluate the extent to which Hegseth and other defense personnel complied with "policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business," said a memo from acting inspector general Steven Stebbins.

They will also review "compliance with classification and records retention requirements," it said.

The investigation came in response to a request from the top two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a Republican and a Democrat, the memo said.

The Atlantic magazine revealed last week that its editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included in the Signal chat in which officials including Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz discussed the strikes.

The magazine initially withheld the details the officials discussed, but later published them after the White House insisted that no classified information was shared and attacked Goldberg as a liar.

Strike timing, intelligence info

The chat included messages in which Hegseth revealed the timing of strikes hours before they happened and information on aircraft and missiles involved, while Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of the military action.

The White House and a string of officials involved in the chat -- including Hegseth -- have tried to downplay the story, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists this week that "the case is closed."

A US judge ordered the Trump administration last week to preserve all Signal communication between March 11 and March 15.

The dates cover the period between when Waltz set up the chat -- and mistakenly added Goldberg -- and the day of deadly US air strikes on the Iran-backed Huthis.

The Atlantic said that Waltz had set some of the Signal messages to disappear after one week, and others after four, saying it raised questions about whether federal records law was violated.

Trump has largely pinned the blame on Waltz, but has also dismissed calls by Democrats for top officials to resign and insisted instead on what he called the success of the raids on the Yemeni rebels.

The Huthis began targeting shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the Gaza war began in 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.

Huthi attacks have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal, a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic, forcing many companies into a costly detour around southern Africa.

The United States first began conducting strikes in response under the Biden administration, and US forces have continued to hammer the Huthis with near-daily air assaults since March 15.

wd/st

tariff

Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list

Mexico's economy is considered one of the most vulnerable to Trump's tariffs due to its close trade relations with the United States and their joint membership of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.

President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, the United States' top trading partner, on Thursday welcomed her country's exclusion from the list of nations targeted in Donald Trump's latest round of import tariffs.
Mexico's economy is considered one of the most vulnerable to Trump's tariffs due to its close trade relations with the United States and their joint membership of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.

President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, the United States' top trading partner, on Thursday welcomed her country's exclusion from the list of nations targeted in Donald Trump's latest round of import tariffs.

Sheinbaum told reporters Mexico was spared thanks to her government's "good relationship" with the US administration.

Mexico's economy is considered one of the most vulnerable to Trump's tariffs due to its close trade relations with the United States and their joint membership of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.

More than 80 percent of Mexican exports go to the United States, including about three million vehicles a year.

The Latin American nation is home to many foreign-owned vehicle assembly plants operated by companies including Ford, General Motors, BMW, Volkswagen and Toyota.

Trump has slapped a 25 percent import tariff on foreign-made cars and light trucks, effective from Thursday, though with some exceptions for USMCA-covered vehicles and parts.

The move prompted multinational car company Stellantis, which has plants in the Mexican cities of Toluca and Saltillo, to announce Thursday it was pausing production in Mexico, where it makes Dodge cars and Ram trucks.

The company has similarly announced it will shutter its Chrysler factory in the Canadian city of Windsor, at least temporarily.

'Major achievement'

Mexico's Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Thursday the USMCA remained intact, which he described as a "major achievement."

He said Mexico would, in the next 40 days, seek "the best conditions" for bilateral trade in automobiles, steel and aluminum.

"We must always be thankful for the willingness of the President of the United States to engage in dialogue with respect to our country," Sheinbaum said at an event later Thursday with business leaders.

Trump had previously threatened Mexico and Canada with a general 25 percent tariff on all goods, accusing its neighbors of allowing trafficked drugs and undocumented migrants into the United States.

Most have been suspended, but tariffs on Mexican goods not covered by the USMCA have entered into force.

About 50 percent of Mexican exports fall under the trade agreement, according to analysts' estimates -- coverage Sheinbaum wants to expand to 100 percent.

Her government is expected to present a "comprehensive" strategy soon as part of its so-called "Mexico Plan" to boost the economy in the face of Washington's tariff onslaught.

yug/mar/mlr/des/aha

education

French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner

BY MARINE LAOUCHEZ

"Who can put drain cleaner into the mouth of a child and then tell us that she didn't mean to kill her?"

A French court on Thursday sentenced a daycare worker to 25 years in prison for killing a baby by making the infant drink drain cleaner to stop her from crying.
"Who can put drain cleaner into the mouth of a child and then tell us that she didn't mean to kill her?"

A French court on Thursday sentenced a daycare worker to 25 years in prison for killing a baby by making the infant drink drain cleaner to stop her from crying.

Myriam Jaouen, 30, was charged with murder but the court in the southeastern city of Lyon found her guilty of "torture" and "barbarism resulting in death," but with no intention to kill.

There is an "unfathomable" element to the 2022 killing of baby Lisa, said prosecutor Baptiste Godreau, adding that Jaouen was "perfectly conscious" of what she was doing.

He said that the "heavy" sentence was needed to punish "the extreme seriousness of this act, for having taken the life of a defenceless child in a cowardly fashion, to protect society in a lasting way and to protect the interests of the family".

The accused admitted in police custody that she had given Lisa the corrosive liquid, but insisted that she had not intended to kill her.

She gave several versions before admitting during the trial that she had held the child's head and poured the product directly into her mouth.

She said that she could no longer bear the infant's crying.

Baby Lisa's parents were "shocked" that Jaouen had not been convicted of murder, their lawyer said after the trial.

The verdict "adds pain to pain," Catherine Bourgade told reporters, adding that the parents "have the impression of having lost their child twice."

"Who can put drain cleaner into the mouth of a child and then tell us that she didn't mean to kill her?" Bourgade said, adding that she hoped the prosecution would appeal the verdict.

'Cowardice'

Godreau denounced the defendant's "cowardice" after the incident, saying she did not call for help herself, got rid of the bottle before she finished her workday and then went shopping, seemingly indifferent to the baby's "agony."

Jaouen attended the proceedings with her back often hunched, without showing much emotion.

At the time of the killing, the woman, who is partially deaf, was living with her parents after a difficult school career and on-off jobs in the sector.

Despite her lack of experience, Jaouen was hired by the People and Baby group, a major player in the creche sector in France, which managed the nursery.

On June 22, 2022, she was alone at the opening of the facility when Lisa's father dropped off the infant.

A few minutes later, two women who had come to drop off their sons found the employee panicking and the child vomiting.

The girl, seriously burned, died hours later at the hospital where she was taken.

The death sparked outrage in France and triggered investigations by the government and media which highlighted shortcomings in the private daycare sector.

In their evidence at the trial, Lisa's parents sought to highlight the responsibility of the defendant, whom they described as the "monster" who killed their daughter.

mla-chp-sjw/yad/tw

quake

Myanmar junta chief arrives for summit as quake toll passes 3,000

His attendance at the summit represents a diplomatic win for Myanmar's isolated government as it breaks with a regional policy of not inviting junta leaders to major events.

The head of Myanmar's junta was due to discuss the response to his country's devastating earthquake at a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday after the death toll passed 3,000.
His attendance at the summit represents a diplomatic win for Myanmar's isolated government as it breaks with a regional policy of not inviting junta leaders to major events.

The head of Myanmar's junta was due to discuss the response to his country's devastating earthquake at a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday after the death toll passed 3,000.

Min Aung Hlaing will join a BIMSTEC gathering -- representing the seven littoral nations of the Bay of Bengal -- where he will raise the emergency response to last Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake.

The junta chief arrived at Bangkok's plush Shangri-La hotel, the summit venue, amid tight security, AFP journalists saw.

Many nations have sent aid and teams of rescue workers to Myanmar since the quake but heavily damaged infrastructure and patchy communications -- as well as a rumbling civil war -- have hampered efforts.

Myanmar has been engulfed in a brutal multi-sided conflict since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing's military wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Following reports of sporadic clashes even after Friday's quake, the junta joined its opponents on Wednesday in calling a temporary halt to hostilities to allow relief to be delivered.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, speaking in New York, called for the Myanmar truce to "quickly lead to a beginning of a serious political dialogue and the release of political prisoners."

AFP journalists saw hectic scenes on Thursday in the city of Sagaing -- less than 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the epicentre -- as hundreds of desperate people scrambled for emergency supplies distributed by civilian volunteers.

Roads leading to the city were packed with traffic, many of the vehicles part of aid convoys organised by civilian volunteers and adorned with banners saying where they had been sent from across Myanmar.

Situation 'devastating'

Destruction in Sagaing is widespread, with 80 percent of buildings damaged, half severely, UNDP resident representative for Myanmar Titon Mitra told AFP.

Food markets are unusable and hospitals are overwhelmed by patients and structurally unsound, he said, with patients being treated outdoors in heat of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

"We have seen children, pregnant women, injured people there. There's not enough medical supplies," he said.

"If you look at the overall impacted area, there's possibly three million-plus that may have been affected."

Residents say they still face a lack of help nearly a week after the quake.

"We have a well for drinking water but we have no fuel for the water pump," Aye Thikar told AFP.

"We also don't know how long we will be without electricity," she said.

The 63-year-old nun has been helping distribute relief funds to those left without basic amenities.

But many people are still in need of mosquito nets and blankets, and are forced to sleep outside by the tremors that either destroyed their homes or severely damaged them.

"People passing by on the road have generously donated water and food to us. We rely solely on their kindness," she said.

Eyes on summit

While Sagaing residents scrabbled for handouts of water and instant noodles, Min Aung Hlaing prepared to sit down for a gala dinner with fellow leaders at the $400-a-night Shangri-La hotel.

The leaders of the seven-member BIMSTEC grouping -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand -- will discuss trade, security and other issues, as Asia reels from US President Donald Trump's swingeing new raft of tariffs.

Host country Thailand has also proposed that the leaders issue a joint statement on the impact of the disaster when they meet on Friday.

Opposition groups and rights organisations have fiercely criticised Thailand's decision to host Min Aung Hlaing, accusing him of war crimes in Myanmar's brutal conflict.

His attendance at the summit represents a diplomatic win for Myanmar's isolated government as it breaks with a regional policy of not inviting junta leaders to major events.

Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura defended the decision, saying that the kingdom had a "responsibility" as summit host to invite all BIMSTEC leaders.

Min Aung Hlaing's arrival in the Thai capital came as a junta spokesperson said on Thursday that 3,085 deaths from the quake had been confirmed, with 341 people still missing and 4,715 injured.

Bangkok, hundreds of kilometres from the quake's epicentre, also suffered isolated damage.

The city's death toll has risen to 22, with over 70 still unaccounted for at the site of a building collapse.

A 30-storey skyscraper under construction was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds when the tremors hit, trapping dozens of workers.

Rescuers are still scouring the immense pile of debris but the likelihood of finding more survivors is diminishing.

burs-pdw/pbt/des/jhb

Global Edition

Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil

"The simultaneous decline in both stocks and the US dollar speaks volumes about investor confidence in Trump's trade policy," said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Stock markets and the dollar tumbled Thursday after President Donald Trump's latest worldwide tariff salvo fanned a trade war that many fear will spark recession and ramp up inflation.
"The simultaneous decline in both stocks and the US dollar speaks volumes about investor confidence in Trump's trade policy," said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Stock markets and the dollar tumbled Thursday after President Donald Trump's latest worldwide tariff salvo fanned a trade war that many fear will spark recession and ramp up inflation.

The dollar slumped by as much as 2.6 percent versus the euro, its biggest intraday plunge in a decade, and suffered sharp losses also against the yen and British pound.

On stock markets, Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down more than five percent in midday trading.

"The simultaneous decline in both stocks and the US dollar speaks volumes about investor confidence in Trump's trade policy," said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Shares in apparel companies, which rely on cheap labour in factories abroad, fell sharply with Nike sinking more than 11 percent and Gap tanking more than 20 percent.

Across the globe shares in major sectors including auto, luxury and banking, also took big hits.

Shares in Jeep-maker Stellantis fell 7.5 percent after it said it would shutter a Canadian factory for two weeks as 25 percent car tariffs came into force.

Tokyo's Nikkei briefly collapsed more than four percent. In Europe, both the Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges finished the day with losses of more than three percent.

Oil prices plummeted around seven percent to under $70 per barrel on concerns an economic downturn would hit demand.

Gold, a safe haven asset in times of uncertainty, hit a new peak of $3,167.84 an ounce.

Yields on government bonds fell as investors fled risky assets and piled into safe-haven treasuries.

Renewed rate cuts?

The panic came after the US president unveiled a blitz of harsher-than-expected levies aimed at countries he said had been "ripping off" the United States for years.

The measures included a 34 percent tariff on world number two economy China, 20 percent on the European Union and 24 percent on Japan.

A number of others will face specifically tailored tariff levels, and for the rest, Trump said he would impose a "baseline" tariff of 10 percent, including on Britain.

"Markets, unsurprisingly have reacted badly," noted Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at wealth manager Quilter.

"(US) Treasury yields have fallen sharply, as investors take flight and look for safe haven assets.

"This would suggest the Federal Reserve will need to put additional rate cuts on the table to look to prevent recession being triggered, but should it face inflation rising too, it is in somewhat of a bind," Carter added.

As world markets tumbled Trump acknowledged the shock brought by his tariffs onslaught, but said the US economy would emerge "far stronger".

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to rule out the possibility of Trump pulling back any of the tariffs before they are implemented over the coming weekend.

"The president made it clear yesterday this is not a negotiation," she said on CNN.

Investors are bracing for retaliatory measures, but governments also left the door open for talks.

China vowed "countermeasures" and urged Washington to cancel the tariffs, while calling for dialogue.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was "preparing for further countermeasures" but she emphasised it was "not too late to address concerns through negotiations".

Key figures around 1530 GMT

New York - Dow: DOWN 3.4 percent at 40,796.96 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 4.1 percent at 5,440.33

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 5.2 percent at 16,679.94

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 3.3 percent at 7,598.98 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 3.0 percent at 21,717.39 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.6 percent at 8,474.74 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.8 percent at 34,735.93 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 22,849.81 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,342.01 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1066 from $1.0814 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3127 from $1.2985

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.89 yen from 149.39 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 84.30 pence from 83.33 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 7.5 percent at $66.30 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 6.9 percent at $69.79 per barrel

burs-rl/gv

quake

Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims

I am sad to see them," said Ei Hay Mar Hlaing, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Believe Yourself".

A 21-year-old shopkeeper with little money of her own, Ei Hay Mar Hlaing has delivered more help to victims at the epicentre of Myanmar's devastating earthquake than most national or international aid organisations.
I am sad to see them," said Ei Hay Mar Hlaing, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Believe Yourself".

A 21-year-old shopkeeper with little money of her own, Ei Hay Mar Hlaing has delivered more help to victims at the epicentre of Myanmar's devastating earthquake than most national or international aid organisations.

When she saw the carnage the 7.7-magnitude tremor had inflicted on the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar, she decided to act.

"Myself and my friends gathered our pocket money and asked for donations," she told AFP at her impromptu distribution site Thursday.

"We can't afford much because we are youths. We donated with what we had. If anyone can afford it, I would like to request them to help."

They loaded a truck with drinking water, instant noodles, energy drinks and electrolytes, plus first-aid kits, and headed to the disaster zone from their homes in Monywa, about 110 kilometres (63 miles) away.

In matching white helmets, she and around eight of her friends handed out supplies in a field next to a school in Sagaing.

Scores of would-be recipients whose homes have been destroyed or made uninhabitable packed tightly together, hoping to secure a share of the goods.

Lwin Myint, 56, was looking for help for her family of six.

"I came here to see if I can get some snacks and water," she said. "Now, we do not have a place to live.

"We haven't received anything except some packets of rice and curry, and water as we queue. I want some rice and oil if possible."

Another woman walked away with two bottles of water and a few packs of instant noodles, looking slightly dazed.

A tattooed pro-junta militiaman armed with an assault rifle paced between the queues of mostly women to maintain order.

Over several days in the disaster zone, AFP journalists have not seen soldiers actively taking part in rescue or aid efforts, aside from one group putting up tents for the displaced around Mandalay Palace.

International rescue teams -– many of them Chinese –- have been working at multiple disaster sites in Mandalay, but in neighbouring Sagaing, organisation logos are mostly remarkable by their absence.

Instead, the road to the city was jammed with civilian aid convoys from neighbouring regions, draped with banners declaring the aid was sent to victims by their fellow Burmese.

"Myanmar has been experiencing earthquakes, flood, fire and bombing. I am sad to see them," said Ei Hay Mar Hlaing, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Believe Yourself".

"I want everyone to be okay," she said. "I want international communities to help us as much as they can."

At a World Food Programme site in the city -– the only international aid distribution AFP saw in Sagaing on Thursday -- bags of rice, boxes of fortified biscuits and bottles of sunflower oil were being handed out.

"The situation is really devastating" in Sagaing, said the UNDP's Resident Representative for Myanmar Titon Mitra, estimating 80 percent of buildings had been damaged, "50 percent probably severely".

"The markets are inoperable, the hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed, the structural integrity of the hospital itself is now compromised, so everyone is outside."

The hospital's medical director told Mitra he had received no international assistance.

"This is a crisis on top of a crisis on top of a crisis. The economy had collapsed, people's coping mechanisms had collapsed and on top of that, you have this earthquake.

"So, the short answer is that needs are immense."

bur/slb/lb

pollution

Nepal capital chokes as wildfires rage

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- registered above 178 micrograms per cubic metre on Thursday, according to Swiss monitoring firm IQAir.

Nepal's capital was blanketed in acrid smog Thursday as wildfires across the country pushed air pollution levels to among the worst in the world.
Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- registered above 178 micrograms per cubic metre on Thursday, according to Swiss monitoring firm IQAir.

Nepal's capital was blanketed in acrid smog Thursday as wildfires across the country pushed air pollution levels to among the worst in the world.

Experts say that widespread wildfires, fuelled by an exceptionally dry winter and stagnant atmospheric conditions, have caused the thick and throat-burning smog to cover the Kathmandu valley.

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- registered above 178 micrograms per cubic metre on Thursday, according to Swiss monitoring firm IQAir.

A reading above 15 in a 24-hour period is considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization (WHO), and IQAir ranked Kathmandu the world's most polluted city.

The Himalayan nation sees a spate of wildfires annually, usually beginning in March, but their number and intensity have worsened in recent years, with climate change leading to drier winters.

"The prevailing dry conditions have significantly increased the frequency of forest fires across the country, further worsening air pollution," Khushboo Sharma, an air pollution analyst at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development(ICIMOD) told AFP.

"This year, precipitation was exceptionally low, with hardly any rainfall, leaving forests dry and more susceptible to fire," she added.

Sharma said that stagnant meteorological conditions are also causing pollution to accumulate over the valley.

On social media, people complained of stinging eyes and itchiness because of the pollution.

Low visibility caused by the smog also disrupted flights at Kathmandu airport, sparking long delays.

"The mountain flights... as well as some other flights have been disturbed because of the pollution," said Rinji Sherpa, the airport's spokesman.

The health ministry issued a notice Wednesday requesting Nepalis to "avoid unnecessary travel" and to wear a mask when outside.

The government has also urged people to avoid construction and burning rubbish.

The Air Quality Life Index, issued by the University of Chicago, estimated that in 2024 air pollution stripped 3.4 years off the life of an average Nepal resident.

pm/pjm/lb

trade

'Shocking': US tariffs worse than feared for Vietnamese exporters

BY LAM NGUYEN AND ALICE PHILIPSON IN HANOI

"It's truly shocking," said Tran Nhu Tung, board chair at Thanh Cong, a factory in Ho Chi Minh City that makes clothes for DKNY and Walmart, among others.

At a garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City that exports T-shirts and underwear to the United States, staff were alarmed by "shocking" trade tariffs imposed on Vietnam that could severely impact their business.
"It's truly shocking," said Tran Nhu Tung, board chair at Thanh Cong, a factory in Ho Chi Minh City that makes clothes for DKNY and Walmart, among others.

At a garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City that exports T-shirts and underwear to the United States, staff were alarmed by "shocking" trade tariffs imposed on Vietnam that could severely impact their business.

A manufacturing powerhouse that counted the United States as its biggest market last year, the Southeast Asian nation was hammered with a thumping 46 percent tariff in President Donald Trump's global trade blitz.

Despite widespread fears it could be a key target over its huge trade surplus with Washington -- the third-largest after China and Mexico -- the size of the levies came as a bombshell for businesses and factory workers on Thursday.

"It's truly shocking," said Tran Nhu Tung, board chair at Thanh Cong, a factory in Ho Chi Minh City that makes clothes for DKNY and Walmart, among others.

"Especially in the textile industry, we did not anticipate (this). I thought that since Vietnam is a smaller country, the US would not impose such (high) tariffs," said Tung.

About 25 percent of his exports currently go to the United States, he added.

During the trade war between Beijing and Washington in Trump's first term, Vietnam took advantage of its geographic location and cheap skilled labour to position itself as an alternative manufacturing hub in Asia.

Many companies shifted parts of their supply chain, and Vietnam's trade surplus with the United States doubled between 2017 and 2023.

Now, big brands such as Nike -- which produced 50 percent of its footwear and 28 percent of its apparel in Vietnam in the 2024 financial year -- face vastly higher costs, which they will have to absorb or pass on to customers, and their shares dropped sharply Thursday.

The tariffs could force many to look elsewhere for manufacturing, analysts said.

"These products are low margin and price sensitive, prompting major companies to switch orders to countries with lower reciprocal tariffs," said Sayaka Shiba, senior country risk analyst at research firm BMI.

The tariffs would "significantly damage" Vietnam's current export-based growth model, which heavily relies on exports to the United States, she said, adding in the worst-case scenario there could be a three percent hit to GDP this year.

According to data from the US Trade Representative website, the United States imported $136.6 billion worth of goods from Vietnam last year, representing nearly 30 percent of its GDP.

In the wake of the announcement, Hanoi shares tumbled, with its main index closing down 6.7 percent on Thursday, its biggest drop since 2001 according to Bloomberg.

'Can't eat, can't sleep'

The tariffs have left workers in Vietnam fearing for their futures.

"I can't eat or sleep well because I keep worrying about losing my job," said 38-year-old Cao Thi Dieu, a worker at a factory in Ho Chi Minh City that makes shoes for brands such as Nike and Adidas.

"How will I manage if I lose my job? How will I continue earning money each month to take care of my two children's education?" she told AFP.

Hours after the announcement, Vietnam's prime minister requested the immediate establishment of a "rapid response team" and said Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc would head to the United States for a "working visit".

"Many here believe (the tariff figure) is more of a negotiation tool than a final position," said Dan Martin of business advisory firm Dezan Shira & Associates in Hanoi.

Although Vietnam may hope that it can clinch a reduction, previous charm offensives have not worked.

Earlier this week, Vietnam cut import duties on a wide range of goods from liquefied gas and some agricultural products to cars in what appeared to be a pre-emptive attempt to blunt the tariffs.

It also announced that it would allow Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch its Starlink satellite internet service in a pilot programme running to 2030.

But it appears the Trump administration was too angered by what it sees as Vietnam's role in attempts to get around tariffs imposed on China.

"The way the game works with Vietnam...." a White House official told reporters, "they'll set up these facilities, which look like from the air that they're manufacturing facilities, but all China does is ship in Chinese products into these warehouses and off they (Vietnam) send it to us."

But a 2024 report by the International Monetary Fund said there was "no clear evidence" of Vietnam's role in facilitating Chinese exports to the United States.

"Most manufacturers are not here to game the system," said Martin. "They're here because Vietnam makes strategic and operational sense."

lam-aph/slb/lb

accident

Search for Malaysia's long missing MH370 suspended

BY RAEVATHI SUPRAMANIAM

Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity, based in Britain and the United States, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year.

The latest search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been suspended by maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity as it is "not the season", Kuala Lumpur's transport minister said, more than a decade after the plane went missing.
Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity, based in Britain and the United States, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year.

The latest search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been suspended by maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity as it is "not the season", Kuala Lumpur's transport minister said, more than a decade after the plane went missing.

"They (Ocean Infinity) have stopped the operation for the time being, they will resume the search at the end of this year," Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a voice recording sent to AFP on Thursday by his aide.

Ocean Infinity, based in Britain and the United States, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year.

"Right now, it's not the season," Loke said in the recording, which was made during an event at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Wednesday.

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has not been found.

Loke's comments come a little over a month after authorities said the search had resumed, following earlier failed attempts that covered vast swaths of the Indian Ocean.

An initial Australia-led search trawled 120,000 square kilometres (46,300 square miles) of the Indian Ocean over three years, but found hardly any trace of the plane.

Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity, based in Britain and the United States, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year.

"Whether or not it will be found will be subject to the search, nobody can anticipate," Loke said, referring to the wreckage of the plane.

Relatives of the victims had voiced hope in February that a new search could finally bring them closure.

Aviation mystery

Loke said in December that a new 15,000 square kilometre area of the southern Indian Ocean would be scoured by Ocean Infinity.

The most recent mission was conducted on the same "no find, no fee" principle as Ocean Infinity's previous search, with the government only paying out if the firm finds the aircraft.

The plane's disappearance has long been the subject of theories -- ranging from the credible to outlandish -- including that veteran pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah had gone rogue.

A final report into the tragedy released in 2018 pointed to failings by air traffic control and said the course of the plane was changed manually.

Investigators said in the 495-page report that they still did not know why the plane vanished, and refused to rule out that someone other than the pilots had diverted the jet.

Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, while the others were from Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and elsewhere.

Relatives of passengers lost on the flight have continued to demand answers from Malaysian authorities.

Family members of Chinese passengers gathered in Beijing outside government offices and the Malaysian embassy last month on the 11th anniversary of the flight's disappearance.

Attendees of the gathering shouted, "Give us back our loved ones!"

Some held placards asking, "When will the 11 years of waiting and torment end?"

rs-tjx/lb

trade

Trump's tariffs sting Asian giants, including US allies

BY HIROSHI HIYAMA WITH LUNA LIN IN BEIJING

Those also hit South Korea, another close US ally which was saddled with new tariffs of 26 percent on Thursday.

Asia's manufacturing powerhouses were desperately seeking talks with Washington on Thursday after Donald Trump announced 10 percent "reciprocal" tariffs, and even more for some longtime US allies.
Those also hit South Korea, another close US ally which was saddled with new tariffs of 26 percent on Thursday.

Asia's manufacturing powerhouses were desperately seeking talks with Washington on Thursday after Donald Trump announced 10 percent "reciprocal" tariffs, and even more for some longtime US allies.

These include Japan, whose firms are the biggest investors into the United States but which was saddled with a 24 percent levy on its imports into the world's biggest economy.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba promised Trump in February a trillion dollars in investments, while the US president said Japan would partner in a "gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska".

Ishiba called the tariffs announcement "extremely regrettable" and the government was tight-lipped about any retaliatory measures.

Japan has also failed to win exclusion from 25 percent tariffs on car imports into the United States that bit on Thursday.

Those also hit South Korea, another close US ally which was saddled with new tariffs of 26 percent on Thursday.

Acting President Han Duck-soo said "the global tariff war has become a reality", instructing his trade minister to "actively engage in negotiations with the US to minimise damage".

Taiwan chips

Trump also saddled Taiwan with a 32 percent tax, although all-important semiconductor chips were excluded.

Taiwan had also pledged increased investment in the United States, more purchases of US energy and greater defence spending.

The government found the tariffs "highly unreasonable and deeply regretted it, and will initiate serious negotiations with the United States", cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee said.

The United States has been Australia's strongest military ally since World War II but its exports there will also be subject to a 10 percent tax.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would not retaliate but called Trump's move "unwarranted".

"This is not the act of a friend," Albanese said.

However, ANZ Bank agribusiness analyst Michael Whitehead said Australia had, in some ways, gotten off lightly.

"Ten percent on Australian beef at the moment, it's better than a lot of people were expecting -- or less worse, let's call it," he told AFP.

Trump unveiled tariffs of 34 percent on China, one of its largest trading partners, on top of a 20 percent rate imposed last month.

China had responded to those with levies of up to 15 percent on a range of US agricultural goods.

"There is no winner in a trade war," Beijing said on Thursday.

The commerce ministry said it will "resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests" and that the levies "do not comply with international trade rules".

The commerce ministry also said at a weekly briefing on Thursday that the two sides were "maintaining communication".

'Massive blow'

In South Asia, Indian exporters expressed some relief that the flat 26 percent on exports imposed on the fifth-largest economy could have been far worse.

"Many countries which we compete with globally, including China, Indonesia and Vietnam etc, have been hit harder than us," Ajay Sahai from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations told AFP.

India's government was yet to comment.

Bangladeshi textile industry leaders called the US tariffs a "massive blow" to the world's second-largest garment manufacturer.

Trump slapped new tariffs of 37 percent on Bangladesh, hiking duty from the previous 16 percent on cotton and 32 percent on polyester products.

Southeast Asian countries came in for harsh treatment, with Vietnam hit with a 46 percent levy and Cambodia 49 percent.

Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse heavily reliant on exports, said this week it had cut import duties on a range of goods in an apparent attempt to head off new tariffs.

Washington's trade deficit with Vietnam -- a major beneficiary of the trade war between Beijing and Washington during Trump's first term -- is its third highest.

Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said Thailand would "negotiate with understanding, not aggressive talk. But we have to talk which products they feel are unfair and we have to see whether we can adjust".

Australia also expressed puzzlement about a 29 percent tariff on its tiny Pacific territory of Norfolk Island, home to a little over 2,000 people.

"I'm not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States," Albanese said.

Trump also slapped 10 percent on Australia's Heard and McDonald Islands territory in the sub-Antarctic, inhabited by penguins but not people.

burs-stu/pbt

earthquake

Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake

BY HLA-HLA HTAY

"I am glad I am free now," Tin Maung Htwe told AFP. "I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was dead.

Entombed under his hotel bed for five days in the debris, two things enabled teacher Tin Maung Htwe to survive Myanmar's devastating earthquake: old school lessons and his own urine.
"I am glad I am free now," Tin Maung Htwe told AFP. "I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was dead.

Entombed under his hotel bed for five days in the debris, two things enabled teacher Tin Maung Htwe to survive Myanmar's devastating earthquake: old school lessons and his own urine.

The primary school headmaster was on a training course in Sagaing, the closest place to the epicentre, when the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck.

The 47-year-old remembered a decades-old school lesson to shelter under a bed if the world starts to shake.

"As soon as I went under the bed, the whole hotel fell down and was blocked. All I could afford was to say 'save me'," he said.

"I was shouting 'save me, save me'."

The Swal Taw Nann guesthouse where he was staying was reduced to a pile of bricks and twisted metal strips, the broken shell of its top storey resting on the remains of those below, and Tin Maung Htwe in a ground floor room underneath it all.

"I felt as though I was in hell," he said weakly, an oxygen tube running to his nose and two intravenous drips into his reduced frame.

"My body was burning hot and all I needed was water. I couldn't get that water from anywhere.

"So I have to refill the water my body needed with fluids coming out of my body."

- 'I am free' -

The intensity of destruction in Sagaing, closer to the epicentre, is far higher than in neighbouring Mandalay, with a much greater proportion of its buildings reduced to piles of debris.

Great gouges have been opened up in the main road towards it –- jamming traffic and hampering those trying to help the victims -– and the Ava bridge across the Irrawaddy linking the two cities is down, one end of six of its 10 spans resting in the placid waters.

Residents said the Myanmar Red Cross were recovering bodies from the site and were not expecting to find anyone alive when they located him, and a Malaysian rescue team was called in to extract him.

One of eight siblings, his sister Nan Yone, 50, was one of several of his relatives watching and waiting as they worked at the site.

"I can't describe it," said Nan Yone of his rescue on Wednesday.

"I was dancing, crying and beating my chest because I was so happy."

When he arrived at Sagaing's main hospital he gave her a thumbs-up and told her: "Sister I am very good."

"His will is very strong and I think that is why he survived," she said on the day he was rescued.

As she spoke nurses tended to her semi-conscious brother on a outdoor gurney, his head lolling occasionally from side to side.

No one is being treated indoors at the facility, for fear of an aftershock wreaking more havoc.

"I am glad I am free now," Tin Maung Htwe told AFP.

"I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was dead. I didn't die so now I can do whatever I wish."

He wants to go back to his work as a schoolteacher. But he added: "I am considering becoming a Buddhist monk."

bur/slb/hmn

diplomacy

Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest

"How can Sri Lanka promote tourism when we are a country known for animal cruelty?"

Sri Lankan animal rights activists marched on Thursday to protest the round-up of stray dogs a day ahead of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"How can Sri Lanka promote tourism when we are a country known for animal cruelty?"

Sri Lankan animal rights activists marched on Thursday to protest the round-up of stray dogs a day ahead of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Authorities in Colombo and the Buddhist pilgrim city of Anuradhapura have reportedly deployed dog catchers to impound hounds ahead of Modi's visit, which begins on Friday.

Many of Colombo's strays are beloved by their adopted neighbourhoods despite lacking formal owners -- and are dubbed "community" canines rather than street dogs.

Around a dozen protesters from the Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) waved placards outside President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office in Colombo after submitting a petition to India's high commission.

"Stop the cruel removal of our community dogs," one placard read.

Protesters said that many of the dogs in public parks had been vaccinated and neutered and were cared for by locals and animal welfare groups.

"How can Sri Lanka promote tourism when we are a country known for animal cruelty?" another placard read.

Protesters urged New Delhi's intervention to "prevent the cruel and unnecessary removal of these dogs", saying that the round-up of dogs would create "displacement, suffering, and potential harm".

Modi is set to receive an official welcome at Colombo's Independence Square, where dog catchers are reported to have been busy in this week.

He is also set to visit Anuradhapura, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north of the capital, to pay homage to a fig tree believed to have grown from a cutting from the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago.

The tree is both an object of worship and a symbol of national sovereignty on the majority Buddhist island of 22 million people.

aj/pjm/dhc

court

S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict

Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2017 presidential impeachment ruling, when four people died after the court upheld the removal of former president Park Geun-hye.

South Korean police began dialing up their security levels Thursday in preparation for a Constitutional Court ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, as they sealed off areas around the court.
Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2017 presidential impeachment ruling, when four people died after the court upheld the removal of former president Park Geun-hye.

South Korean police began dialing up their security levels Thursday in preparation for a Constitutional Court ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, as they sealed off areas around the court.

Police took the alert to the second-highest level Thursday and said they would issue the top alert Friday, enabling the deployment of 100 percent of the force. The top alert is typically issued in response to the potential for mass casualty events, acts of terrorism or major disasters.

Police have already cleared a 150-meter (490-foot) radius around the courthouse.

"The area surrounding the court is basically sealed off from any protesters," an official from the Korean National Police Agency, told AFP.

The move comes as multiple embassies -- including the United States and France -- have issued warnings to their citizens to avoid political rallies or mass gatherings in connection to Friday's verdict.

Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2017 presidential impeachment ruling, when four people died after the court upheld the removal of former president Park Geun-hye.

At the time, Park's supporters clashed with authorities, piling onto police buses, smashing windows with wooden sticks and assaulting officers.

Ahead of Friday's ruling, schools, embassies, major corporations, tourist sites and museums near the courthouse announced they would be closed.

Lee Ho-young, acting chief of the Korean National Police Agency, has said the ongoing situation has become "more grave than ever", citing "threats to the safety of key figures" and possibility of violent and illegal incidents.

Yoon plunged democratic South Korea into political turmoil when he declared martial law on December 3, suspending civilian rule and sending soldiers to parliament.

The suspended president still commands the backing of extreme supporters -- who include controversial religious figures and YouTubers -- who have staged protests for weeks in the run-up to the verdict.

Pro-Yoon rallies turned violent in January when extremist supporters, angered by the court's approval of Yoon's formal arrest warrant, stormed a Seoul courthouse, injuring at least 50 police officers and vandalising the building by smashing windows and doors.

Since the martial law bid, South Korea has effectively been "a leaderless state" and "unable to effectively stem the tide of violence", Vladimir Tikhonov, Korean Studies professor at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

Police said its forces will also be deployed to the National Assembly, media companies and the headquarters of both ruling and opposition parties.

In Seoul, more than 14,000 riot police will be deployed, and are currently closely monitoring around 20 YouTubers for possible violations and illegal actions, police said.

At least six of the Constitutional Court's eight justices must vote to remove Yoon. Otherwise, he will be reinstated.

cdl/ceb/lb

tariff

Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks

The EU had already been hit by several US tariff announcements since Trump returned to office in January, including a 25 percent levy on auto imports that came into force on Thursday.

European leaders hit out Thursday against sweeping new US tariffs, with the EU saying it was ready to respond with countermeasures while opening the door for last-ditch negotiations.
The EU had already been hit by several US tariff announcements since Trump returned to office in January, including a 25 percent levy on auto imports that came into force on Thursday.

European leaders hit out Thursday against sweeping new US tariffs, with the EU saying it was ready to respond with countermeasures while opening the door for last-ditch negotiations.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 20 percent tariff for the European Union as part of sweeping charges on imports that have sparked fears of a global trade war.

Trump has previously imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminium imports as well as cars and auto parts.

The 27-member bloc's chief Ursula von der Leyen called the levies a "major blow to the world economy" and said Brussels was "preparing for further countermeasures".

"I deeply regret this choice," von der Leyen said on a visit to Uzbekistan.

"There seems to be no order in the disorder. No clear path through the complexity and chaos that is being created as all US trading partners are hit."

But she said it was "not too late to address concerns through negotiations", aiming for a cool-headed response to the tariff threat facing the bloc.

Germany backed the efforts for a "negotiated solution" but economy minister Robert Habeck said the EU was ready to give a "balanced, clear and determined response" if talks fail.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet heads of sectors hit by the tariffs, and government spokeswoman Sophie Primas said the bloc was "ready for a trade war" and plans to "attack online services".

Britain -- no longer an EU member and a staunch US ally -- said it hoped an economic deal would "mitigate" the impact of the 10 percent tariff Trump is imposing on the UK.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told business leaders that "clearly there would be an economic impact" but that the government would "fight for the best deal".

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the new tariffs "wrong" and said the bloc would do all it can "to work for a deal with the United States, aiming to prevent a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global actors".

Her foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said he would meet with EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a response "based on a pragmatic approach, based on dialogue".

After Switzerland was hit with 31 percent tariffs, President Karin Keller-Sutter said the government would quickly decide on the next steps, adding that respect for international law and free trade were "fundamental".

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said friendship with the United States meant partnership, and therefore "really and truly reciprocal tariffs" would be necessary.

There are also concerns in Europe that Trump's higher customs duties will lead to a flood of cheap goods from other countries, especially China.

'Do not retaliate'

Bernd Lange, who leads the EU parliament's trade committee, slammed Trump's "unjustified, illegal and disproportionate measures".

European industry groups called Trump's move counterproductive for nations and customers alike.

The German Automotive Industry Association said the tariffs would "only create losers" and urged the EU to act "with necessary force, while continuing to signal its willingness to negotiate".

The Association of the German Chemical Industry called on the EU to "keep a cool head," warning that "a spiral of escalation would only increase the damage".

The EU had already been hit by several US tariff announcements since Trump returned to office in January, including a 25 percent levy on auto imports that came into force on Thursday.

The bloc's producers were also affected by a 25 percent US tariff on steel and aluminium from around the world -- to which Brussels has already promised countermeasures to begin in mid-April.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned countries not to retaliate.

"Sit back, take it in," he told Fox News. "Because if you retaliate, there will be escalation".

bur/jfx/phz/js

Global Edition

Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data

- Sickly white coral - From the arid outback to the tropical coast, swaths of Australia have been pummelled by wild weather in recent months.

Australia has just sweltered through its hottest 12 months on record, a weather official said Thursday, a period of drenching floods, tropical cyclones and mass coral bleaching.
- Sickly white coral - From the arid outback to the tropical coast, swaths of Australia have been pummelled by wild weather in recent months.

Australia has just sweltered through its hottest 12 months on record, a weather official said Thursday, a period of drenching floods, tropical cyclones and mass coral bleaching.

Senior government climatologist Simon Grainger said the rolling 12-month period between April 2024 and March 2025 was 1.61 degrees Celsius (34.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above average -- the hottest since records began more than a century ago.

"This is certainly part of a sustained global pattern," he told AFP.

"We've been seeing temperatures since about April 2023 that were globally much warmer than anything we have seen in the global historical record."

The previous hottest period was in 2019, Grainger said, when temperatures were 1.51 degrees Celsius above average.

"That is a pretty significant difference," Grainger said.

"It's well above what we would expect just from uncertainties due to rounding. The difference is much larger than that."

The record was measured on a rolling 12-month basis -- rather than as a calendar year.

Australia has also recorded its hottest-ever March, Grainger said, with temperatures more than two degrees above what would normally be seen.

"There has basically been sustained warmth through pretty much all of Australia," he said.

"We saw a lot of heatwave conditions, particularly in Western Australia. And we didn't really see many periods of cool weather -- we didn't see many cold fronts come through."

Sickly white coral

From the arid outback to the tropical coast, swaths of Australia have been pummelled by wild weather in recent months.

Unusually warm waters in the Coral Sea stoked a tropical cyclone that pummelled densely populated seaside hamlets on the country's eastern coast in March.

Whole herds of cattle have drowned in vast inland floods still flowing across outback Queensland.

And a celebrated coral reef off Western Australia has turned a sickly shade of white as hotter seas fuel an unfolding mass bleaching event.

The average sea surface temperature around Australia was the "highest on record" in 2024, according to a recent study by Australian National University.

This record run looked to have continued throughout January and February, said Grainger.

"We haven't seen much cooling in sea surface temperatures."

Moisture collects in the atmosphere as oceans evaporate in hotter temperatures -- eventually leading to more intense downpours and storms.

Australia follows a slew of heat records that have been toppling across the planet.

Six major international datasets confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record.

Scientists are unanimous that burning fossil fuels has largely driven long-term global warming.

Australia sits on bulging deposits of coal, gas, metals and minerals, with mining and fossil fuels stoking decades of near-unbroken economic growth.

But it is increasingly suffering from more intense heatwaves, bushfires and drought, which scientists have linked to climate change.

sft/djw/dhc

education

French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner

court

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Political divisions

'Highly unlikely' to reinstate

disinformation

BY MANON JACOBvar date = new Date("2025-04-04T01:35:31Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

Illusion of objectivity

Opaque review process

tariff

BY SEBASTIAN SMITHvar date = new Date("2025-04-04T01:23:28Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

'Trust Donald Trump'

Global economic 'sumo wrestler'

security

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tariff

BY SHAUN TANDONvar date = new Date("2025-04-03T22:25:28Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

Flattery fails

'Nationalism' on two fronts

defense

BY W.G. DUNLOPvar date = new Date("2025-04-03T19:45:29Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

Strike timing, intelligence info

tariff

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'Major achievement'

education

BY MARINE LAOUCHEZvar date = new Date("2025-04-03T18:31:17Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

'Cowardice'

quake

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Situation 'devastating'

Eyes on summit

Global Edition

var date = new Date("2025-04-03T15:55:53Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

Renewed rate cuts?

Key figures around 1530 GMT

quake

var date = new Date("2025-04-03T14:03:38Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

pollution

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trade

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'Can't eat, can't sleep'

accident

BY RAEVATHI SUPRAMANIAMvar date = new Date("2025-04-03T09:46:46Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

Aviation mystery

trade

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Taiwan chips

'Massive blow'

earthquake

BY HLA-HLA HTAYvar date = new Date("2025-04-03T08:47:02Z") var userTimezoneOffset = Math.abs(date.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000); var dd = new Date(date.getTime() - userTimezoneOffset) + " "; document.write(dd.split('(', 1)[0]);

- 'I am free' -

diplomacy

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court

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tariff

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'Do not retaliate'

Global Edition

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Sickly white coral

BY CLAIRE LEE

BY MANON JACOB

BY SEBASTIAN SMITH

BY SHAUN TANDON

BY W.G. DUNLOP

BY MARINE LAOUCHEZ

BY LAM NGUYEN AND ALICE PHILIPSON IN HANOI

BY RAEVATHI SUPRAMANIAM

BY HIROSHI HIYAMA WITH LUNA LIN IN BEIJING

BY HLA-HLA HTAY