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Apr 4, 2025 - World

Moderate Democrat believes she can unseat Republican Derrick Van Orden, who was at the Capitol on January 6Wisconsin’s third congressional district has voted for Donald Trump every time he’s been on the ballot, but the moderate Democrat Rebecca Cooke, a waitress who grew up on a dairy farm, thinks she can flip the state’s most competitive seat next year.Last year, Cooke outperformed other Democrats when she tried to unseat incumbent Derrick Van Orden, a retired US Navy Seal who attended the January 6 “Stop the Steal ” rally at the Capitol and shouted “lies” during Joe Biden’s 2024 state of the union address. She lost the race by less than three points. Continue reading...

Apr 4, 2025 - World

Closure of Nippon Electric Glass plant would put further pressure on Rachel Reeves’s industrial strategyBusiness live – latest updatesA glass factory in Wigan that produces fibreglass for electric cars and wind turbines faces closure and the loss of 250 jobs unless its Japanese owner can find a new partner or a buyer.In the latest blow to Britain’s industrial base, Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) announced a “strategic review” of its composites business Electric Glass Fiber UK (EGF), which it expects to last approximately two months, putting about 250 jobs at risk. Continue reading...

Apr 4, 2025 - World

Livia Tossici-Bolt given conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 costs in case that drew US state department concernAn activist whose case had been cited by the US state department over “freedom of expression” concerns in the UK has been convicted of breaching a buffer zone outside an abortion clinic.Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner, went on trial at Poole magistrates court last month accused of breaching a public spaces protection order on two days in March 2023 near to a clinic in Bournemouth. On Friday she was found guilty of two charges of breaching the order. Continue reading...

Apr 4, 2025 - World

Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate, overturning decades of global trade policyThe day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs.Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports, as well as diamonds. Continue reading...

Apr 4, 2025 - World

by Joy CHIANGTaiwan has earmarked $2.7 billion to help industries affected by US President Donald Trump's new tariffs, the government said Friday.Taipei had sought to avoid Trump's threatened levies by pledging increased investment in the United States and more purchases of US energy, but it was still hit by a 32 percent tax on its imports, excluding semiconductor chips. The government has described the tariffs as "unreasonable" and "extreme", and plans to seek negotiations with Washington in the hope of reducing their impact.Announcing the NT$88 billion ($2.7 billion) assistance package, Premier Cho Jung-tai said the plan was to "address various needs of industries and society in the future."Taiwan's trade surplus with the United States is the seventh highest of any country, reaching $73.9 billion in 2024.Around 60 percent of Taiwan's exports to the United States are information and communications technology products, or ICT, which includes chips.The government has argued that the surplus reflected soaring demand in the United States for Taiwan's semiconductors and other tech products, further driven by US tariffs and export controls targeting China that Trump imposed during his first term.Cho told a news conference that the industrial and agricultural sectors would be the main targets of the assistance.The funds will be used for financial support, reducing administrative costs, improving competitiveness, offering tax incentives and diversifying markets, he said.Products expected to be hardest hit by Trump's tariffs include ICT, electronics, steel, metal and machinery, components and building materials.Tea, orchids and fish are also likely to be hurt, Cho said, flagging a possible "shrinking consumer market or a weakening of our competitive advantage".Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun told reporters the government had drawn up response measures based on a possible 25 percent tariff ahead of Trump's announcement."I must clarify that a 32 percent tariff falls under an extreme scenario," Cheng said."While we did run simulations based on it, that doesn't mean we consider it reasonable. In our view, it exceeds what would be a reasonable expectation -- it's neither reasonable nor fair."Semiconductor chips, a sector that Taiwan dominates and has been a source of friction between Washington and Taipei, were excluded from Trump's levies.However, analysts warned that tariffs on components would have a knock-on effect for the critical chip industry that is the lifeblood of the global economy.Trump has accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry and recently threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on semiconductor imports from the island."Taiwan will lobby for exemption or at least see what Trump wants -- Trump wants something," Andrew Kam Jia Yi, an associate professor at the National University of Malaysia told AFP."(Trump) gives you the worst-case scenario then batters you down to a deal that you might not want but seems more reasonable than the original threat."joy/amj/dhw© Agence France-Presse