President Donald Trump announced a new peace pact between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which he linked to US access to critical minerals. At a meeting in Washington, Trump claimed his administration had "succeeded where many others have failed," calling this the eighth war he has ended in less than a year. However, the reality on the ground is far more complicated, as fighting in eastern Congo continues despite the signing of the previous peace agreement. The agreement is not just about a ceasefire; it also concerns the mineral trade. The agreement grants US companies access...
Even as a U.S.–China trade truce appears to be holding, analysts caution that the détente remains fragile in a rivalry increasingly defined by strategic competition. A flurry of decisions, outlined in the sweeping trade deal struck by U.S. President Donald Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month, took effect on Monday, with rollbacks of steep tariffs and export controls. The U.S. halved fentanyl-linked tariffs on imports from China to 10% and extended for a year a truce that lowered the reciprocal tariff rate from 34% to 10%. In return, China's Ministry of Commerce rolled back...
Lawmakers returned to Washington on Tuesday (November 11th), after a 53-day recess, facing crowded airports across the country for a vote that could end the longest US government shutdown in history. With more than 1,000 flights canceled on Tuesday due to the shutdown, lawmakers, including Republicans Rick Crawford of Arkansas and Trent Kelly of Mississippi, said they would drive to the Capitol, while Representative Derrick Van Orden said he would drive 16 hours from Wisconsin on his motorcycle. "It's going to be a little cold, but I'm going to do my job," the Republican said in a video...
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history could end this week after a compromise that would restore federal funding cleared an initial Senate hurdle late on Sunday, though it was unclear when Congress would give its final approval. The deal would restore funding for federal agencies that lawmakers allowed to expire on October 1, bringing welcome relief to low-income families that have seen food subsidies disrupted, hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have gone unpaid for more than a month and travelers who have faced thousands of canceled flights. It would extend funding...
The U.S. Senate is expected to hold a test vote on a spending bill on Sunday evening to end the longest ever U.S. government shutdown, with ABC News reporting that enough Democrats now supported the measure. ABC reported that there will be enough Democratic votes to pass a measure approving funding for the government until January 31, citing a senior Democratic senator. The bill is unlikely to include any extension of the Obamacare subsidies that the Democrats have been holding out for, ABC reported. The ABC report came just before the Senate kicked off a rare late-Sunday session at 6:00...
China has begun designing a new rare earth licensing regime that could speed up shipments, but it is unlikely to amount to a complete rollback of restrictions as hoped by Washington, industry insiders said. The Ministry of Commerce told some rare earth exporters they will be able to apply for new streamlined permits in the future and in industry briefings outlined the documents that will be required, two sources familiar with the matter said. The export curbs have become Beijing's most potent source of leverage in its trade rivalry with Washington, as China produces over 90% of the world's...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
President Donald Trump announced a new peace pact between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which he linked to US access to critical minerals. At a meeting in Washington, Trump claimed...