World Briefing: February 2, 2025

Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada on Saturday by imposing a 25 per cent tariff on virtually all goods from this country — an unprecedented strike against a longstanding ally that has the potential to throw the economy into a tailspin. Trump’s long-threatened plan to inflict economic pain on Canada has materialized on the day he said it would, and it includes a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy products, according to a fact sheet from the White House sent to CBC News. Trump is also levying tariffs of 25 per cent on all Mexican goods and 10 per cent on goods from China.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Saturday the federal government will hit back against the U.S. after President Donald Trump launched a trade war this weekend with punitive tariffs on all Canadian goods. Trudeau said Canada won’t stand for an attack from a country that was supposed to be an ally and friend. To start, Canada will slap 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods coming into Canada as of Tuesday. The tariffs will then be applied to another $125 billion worth of American imports in three weeks’ time. The prime minister said American liquor like beer, wine and spirits, vegetables, clothing, shoes and perfume will be among the first items to face Canadian retaliatory tariffs. Canada will also put tariffs on American consumer products such as household appliances, furniture and sports equipment - CBC

Donald Trump said he ordered military strikes on a senior “attack planner” of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Somalia who had been hiding with other members in the impoverished East African nation. The action on February 1 marked the first military action carried out by Trump since he took office for his second term on January 20. “These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies,” Trump said in a statement. “The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.” - RFE/RL

The website for the US Agency for International Development, or USAid, appeared to be offline on Saturday, as the Trump administration moves to put the free-standing agency, and its current $42.8bn budget for global humanitarian operations, under state department control. Two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Friday that the Trump administration was moving to strip USAid of its independence as a government agency and put it under state department control. The apparent failure of the website comes after plaques embossed with the agency’s official seal were removed on Friday, according to Reuters, a sign that the merger into the state department was in the works. The move comes as the Trump administration has vowed to overhaul the distribution of foreign aid, saying last week it was freezing foreign aid while conducting a review to ensure that assistance worldwide is aligned with Trump’s “America First” foreign policies. Current and former USAid officials said this week that a purge of senior staff appeared designed to silence any dissent and that bringing the agency under the state department would be a “seismic shift”. - Guardian

President John F. Kennedy created USAID at the height of the Cold War to counter Soviet influence. Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961, and Kennedy signed that law and an executive order establishing USAID as an independent agency. USAID today is at the center of US challenges to the growing influence of China, which has a successful “Belt and Road” foreign aid program of its own, CNN reported

The secretary general of the UN’s cultural wing, Audrey Azoulay, has left Ukraine without making a statement condemning the Russian attack on a World Heritage Site, Odesa, after it sustained heavy damage Friday. Ukrainians are also asking questions of UNESCO after it emerged that a famous Russian star, Zarifa Mgoyan, is claiming she remains an “artist for peace” for the organization. Also known as Zara, the Russian was appointed by UNESCO in 2016. A request for clarification to UNESCO’s press office sent several weeks ago has not ben answered. According to UNESCO’s website, Azoulay was in Lviv to “increase UNESCO’s support for cultural professionals involved in the country’s recovery.”My comment: Local and national Ukrainian officials, who could be seen fawning over Madame Azoulay throughout her visit, should either freeze contact with UNESCO or demand answers on whether Mgoyan remains an artist for peace for the Paris-based organization - three years into a war which has destroyed countless cultural properties in Ukraine. That UNESCO hasn’t replied to a direct inquiry on this issue is unacceptable. Mgoyan continues to advertise herself as a UNESCO representative. Retaining her represents an unacceptable double standard by the organization.

Residents in Northeast Philadelphia on Saturday stood in disbelief at the devastation they witnessed in their neighborhood after a small medical plane crashed the previous night near a shopping center. At least seven people — everyone onboard and one person on the ground — were killed, and at least 19 others were injured. Investigators are seeking answers on why the medical transport plane plunged out of the sky, less than a minute after it took off with a pediatric patient and her mother. It was the second aviation tragedy to rattle the country this week, after nearly 70 people were killed in a Wednesday midair collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington.

Airline passengers should ensure their power banks are in good condition and from reputable brands before boarding flights, experts have warned, after a charging device was suspected to have caused a fire on board an aircraft preparing for departure from South Korea to Hong Kong. Investigations are continuing into what sparked the fire that engulfed the Air Busan aircraft at Gimhae International Airport in the country’s south on Tuesday but local media reports suggest a power bank stowed in an overhead locker started it. Authorities initially reported that three people were hurt but increased the number to seven on Wednesday. One person remained in hospital, the country’s transport ministry said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated from the Airbus A321 using inflatable slides. Lo Kok-keung, a retired engineering professor who provides expert witness testimony on traffic accidents, said on Thursday that passengers should check their power banks to ensure they were in good condition and avoid bringing old ones on board - SCMP

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