International
Trump stops enforcement of US law banning bribery of foreign officials

The United States of America President, Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the US justice department to stop prosecuting Americans accused of bribing foreign government officials to win business.
The new Trump’s order mandates the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, to pause prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 until she issues revised enforcement guidance that promotes American competitiveness.
“Future FCPA investigations and enforcement actions will be governed by this new guidance and must be approved by the attorney general,” the document said.
In a further analysis of the development, according to the White House, the law puts US firms at a disadvantage to foreign competitors because they cannot engage in practices that are “common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field.”
“American national security depends on America and its companies gaining strategic commercial advantages around the world, and President Trump is stopping excessive, unpredictable FCPA enforcement that makes American companies less competitive,” according to a copy of a White House factsheet cited by Reuters.
Meanwhile, the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said the FCPA made the United States a leader in addressing global corruption.
Reacting to the development in a statement, Gary Kalman, executive director of Transparency International US, said Trump’s executive order “diminishes— and could pave the way for completely eliminating— the crown jewel in the US’s fight against global corruption.”.
Recall that in the past weeks, Trump has signed several executive orders, including dismantling US Agency for International Development.
International
EU ready to hit US with 21-billion-euro tariff list
He said the goal should be “zero tariffs” and an open market among Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.

MILAN (Reuters) -The European Union has already prepared a list of tariffs worth 21 billion euros ($24.52 billion) on U.S. goods if the two sides fail to reach a trade deal, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a newspaper interview on Monday.
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the EU starting on Aug. 1, after weeks of negotiations with major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive deal.
Tajani also told daily Il Messaggero that to help the euro zone economy the European Central Bank should consider a new “quantitative easing” bond-buying-programme, and more interest rate cuts.
The European Union said on Sunday it would extend its suspension of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement.
Tajani said the 21-billion-euro package of tariffs the EU has already prepared could be followed by a second set if a deal with the U.S proves impossible.
He added, however, that he was confident that progress could be made in negotiations.
“Tariffs hurt every one, starting with the United States,” he said. “If stock markets fall that puts at risk the pensions and the savings of the Americans.”
He said the goal should be “zero tariffs” and an open market among Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.
International
Senegal scraps Akon’s $6bn Wakanda-inspired city project
Akon will retain just 8 hectares of the original land allocation, which will be absorbed into the broader development.

• Akon
The government of Senegal has cancelled Akon’s $6 billion plan to build a futuristic “Akon City” on the country’s Atlantic coast, after years of inaction and missed payments by the Senegalese-American singer.
Bloomberg reports that the project, first announced in 2020, was pitched as a tech-driven smart city inspired by Marvel’s Wakanda and promised to transform the quiet village of Mbodiène into a modern hub powered by solar energy and Akon’s own cryptocurrency.
But five years later, the Senegalese government has reclaimed most of the 136 acres of land initially allocated to the singer, after construction failed to begin and financial commitments were not met.
“That project no longer exists,” Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of Sapco-Senegal, the state agency responsible for developing coastal and tourism zones, told L’Agence de presse sénégalaise.”
Bloomberg reports on Wednesday that SAPCO said it would now pursue a scaled-down, state-backed tourism project in the same area, with a budget of 665 billion CFA francs (about $1.2 billion), largely sourced from private investors.
Akon will retain just 8 hectares of the original land allocation, which will be absorbed into the broader development.
Despite the setback, officials say the revised plan could generate up to 15,000 jobs in its first phase, offering long-awaited economic hope for Mbodiène residents.
International
Russian minister commits suicide after sack by Putin
Starovoyt, 53, served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024.

Russia’s former transport minister Roman Starovoyt killed himself Monday, July 7, 2025, hours after being officially dismissed by President Vladimir Putin.
The country’s Investigative Committee confirmed the incident via a statement on Monday.
Authorities said Starovoyt’s body was found in a Moscow suburb after the firing was announced, with “suicide” being considered the most likely cause of death.
Starovoyt, 53, served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024.
He was previously the governor of the Kursk region, where Russia had battled a Ukrainian incursion.
The Investigative Committee said: “Today, the body of former Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt was found in his private car with a gunshot wound in the Odintsovo district.
“The main version (considered) is suicide.”
Russian state media and news agencies said Starovoyt shot himself.
It was not clear exactly when Starovoyt died.
(The Star.ng)
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