International
Trump hints at softening China tariffs and says no plan to sack Fed boss

US President Donald Trump has appeared to soften his recent comments on China and the head of the US Federal Reserve after recent clashes as he pursues his economic agenda.
He said he has “no intention of firing” Jerome Powell after repeatedly criticising the head of the central bank, but he added that he would like Powell to be “a little more active” on cutting interest rates.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump also said he was optimistic about improving trade relations with China.
He said the level of tariffs – or import taxes – that he had imposed on Chinese imports would “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”.
The president’s tariffs are an effort to encourage factories and jobs to return to the US. This is a pillar of his economic agenda – as is a cut in interest rates, aimed at reducing the cost of borrowing for Americans.
Trump has ratcheted the rate on Chinese goods up to 145% – sparking reciprocal measures from Beijing and warnings from economists about the global impact of a trade war.
In his comments to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said he would be “very nice” in negotiations with Beijing – in the hope of securing a trade deal.
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly said he expected a de-escalation of the trade war, which he said was unsustainable. Responding to comments from China, he said the current situation was “not a joke”.
The trade war has led to turbulence in financial markets around the world – to which Trump’s comments on Powell have also contributed.
The Fed has not cut rates so far this year, after lowering them by a percentage point late last year, a stance Trump has heavily criticised.
Last week, the president intensified his attacks on the Fed chief, calling him “a major loser”.
The comments sparked a selloff of stocks, bonds and the US dollar – though markets have since been recovering from those losses.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Friday that Trump was looking into whether it would be possible to sack Powell – who he first nominated to lead the central bank in 2017.
Powell was then renewed in 2021 by Joe Biden.It is unclear whether Trump has the authority to fire the Fed chair. No other US president has tried to do so.
Most major Asian stock markets were higher on Wednesday as investors appeared to welcome the latest remarks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose about 1.9%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed by around 2.2%, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite was down less than 0.1%.
That came after US shares made gains on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 ending Tuesday’s session up 2.5% and the Nasdaq rose 2.7%.
US futures were also trading higher overnight. Futures markets give an indication of how financial markets will perform when they open for trading.
Investors feared that pressure on Powell to lower interest rates could cause prices to rise at a time when trade tariffs are already seen boosting inflation.
Trade tensions between the world’s biggest economies, as well as US tariffs on other countries around the world, have triggered uncertainty about the global economy. Those concerns triggered turmoil in financial markets in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the forecast for US economic growth for this year was given the biggest downgrade among advanced economies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to uncertainty caused by tariffs.
The sharp increase in tariffs and uncertainty will lead to a “significant slowdown” in global growth, the Fund predicted.
Trump has imposed taxes of up to 145% on imports from China. Other countries are now facing a blanket US tariff of 10% until July.
His administration said last week that when the new tariffs are added on to existing ones, the levies on some Chinese goods could reach 245%.
China has hit back with a 125% tax on products from the US and vowed to “fight to the end”.
The Chinese government has not yet officially responded to the latest statements from the Trump administration.
However, an article in the state-controlled Global Times on Wednesday quoted commentators who said the remarks showed that the US is beginning to realise the tariffs do more harm than good to America’s economy.
BBC
Crime
Chinese national apprehended in Anambra for involvement in illegal mining.

A 45-year-old Chinese national, Mr. Mu Hua Qiang, has been arrested in Aguleri, Anambra State, for alleged involvement in illegal mining. He was apprehended by operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade during a surveillance operation and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka.
Police spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect’s statement was taken and he is in custody pending further investigation. Authorities say illegal mining remains a serious concern in Anambra due to its environmental and security risks.
International
Education: Denmark permitting use of AI for English exams from 2026
We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.

Image credit: Shutterstock
The Danish education ministry announced on Friday students in some high schools in Denmark will be allowed to use artificial intelligence to write English language exams from next year.
The move comes as education authorities around the world debate whether AI is a useful learning tool for those entering an increasingly digital economy, or a slippery slope to producing dumbed-down graduates.
The Danish government said the permitted use of AI in the English curriculum from 2026 would be experimental, and apply only to the oral component of the English exam for the high school diploma.
In that test, once a student is handed their topic, they would have one hour to prepare, during which they would be “permitted to use all available tools, including generative AI”, the ministry said.
The students would then have to give their oral presentation in person in front of an examiner.
“We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.
“With students growing up in both analogue and digital worlds, we need to ready them in the best way possible for the reality they will encounter after their schooling.
”When it comes to the written part of the English test, the ministry said students would have to do part of it handwritten to ensure no reliance on computers.
International
Trump pledges to maintain federal forces in Washington amid mounting criticism.

President Donald Trump on Thursday visited police and troops he has deployed in the US capital in what he calls a crackdown on crime, saying they were going to “stay here for a while.”
Trump ordered hundreds of members of the Guard, a reserve force, to deploy in Washington last week vowing to “take our capital back,” despite protests by some residents and statistics showing violent offenses falling.
“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect,” he said outside a US Park Police facility in Washington.
The 79-year-old Republican was surrounded by law enforcement from various local and federal agencies as well as National Guard troops.
Earlier Thursday he suggested he would go on patrol with police and the military, but instead he made a short speech and gave out pizzas and hamburgers.
“Everybody feels safe,” Trump said, adding that he plans to get the capital “fixed up physically.”
“One of the things we’re going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being,” he added.
Trump wrote on social media early Friday that “there were no murders this week for the first time in memory” in Washington.
He said Mayor Muriel Bowser “must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”
Bowser has said that violent crime in the capital has been its lowest level in three decades.
Trump’s visit came a day after his vice president, JD Vance, was greeted by boos and shouts of “Free DC” — referring to Washington’s formal name, the District of Columbia — on his own meet-and-greet with troops.
Vance dismissed the hecklers as “a bunch of crazy protesters.”
The DC National Guard has mobilized 800 troops, while Republican states Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are sending a total of around 1,200.
They have been spotted in tourist areas such as the National Mall and its monuments, the Nationals Park baseball stadium and others.
The overwhelmingly Democratic US capital faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.
But data from Washington police showed significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, though that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.
Some residents have welcomed the crackdown, pointing to crime in their areas — but others have complained the show of force is unnecessary, or has not been seen in parts of Washington where violence is concentrated.
– Sandwich guy –
Several incidents involving the surge of law enforcement have gone viral as residents voice their discontent, including the arrest of one man who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at an agent.
Banksy-style posters honoring the so-called “sandwich guy” have popped up around the city.
The National Guard troops have provided “critical support such as crowd management, presence patrols and perimeter control in support of law enforcement,” according to social media statements.
In addition to sending troops into the streets, Trump has also sought to take full control of the Washington police department, attempting at one point to sideline its leadership.
The deployment of troops in Washington comes after Trump dispatched the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles, California, that was sparked by immigration enforcement raids
AFP
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