6 h. ago What does China really think of Trump? That he and vengeful chairman Mao would have got on well | Tania Branigan

Many see parallels with the architect of the Cultural Revolution. Both relished disruption and have exploited the power of the mobWhen rare protests flared in China in 2022, one slogan read: “We want reform, not a Cultural Revolution.” It alluded to complaints that the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, was behaving in an increasingly Mao-esque manner. His extraordinary dominance over his party, political repression, tight social controls and burgeoning personality cult all lent themselves to comparison with the man who ruled China for decades.Yet Xi is committed to order and discipline, exerting authority through the organs of the Communist party. Mao Zedong relished disruption and turned to the power of the masses. That’s why, increasingly, many in China are comparing Mao to another modern-day leader. Despite the ferocity of Donald Trump’s trade war, they are perhaps just as shocked by what he is doing to his own country. They see a proud nation felled not by an external threat, but by...

Politics

15 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy to Trump – come and see Putin’s war for yourself

Impose ceasefire on Russia, says France’s Macron, as leaders condemn deadly Palm Sunday strike on Sumy. What we know on day 1,146Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has urged Donald Trump to visit Ukraine to “understand what Putin did”. In a CBS interview broadcast on Sunday, Zelenskyy said: “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.”Russia’s missile strike on Sunday on the Ukrainian city of Sumy showed the urgent need to impose a ceasefire on Russia, declared the French president, Emmanuel Macron. “Everyone knows it is Russia alone that wants this war. Today it is clear that Russia alone wants to continue with it, showing its scorn for human life, international law and diplomatic efforts made by President [Donald] Trump,” said Macron. “Strong measures are needed to impose a ceasefire on Russia. France is working tirelessly toward this goal, alongside it...

Politics

27 h. ago BP dropped its green pledges and turned back to oil. Now the price of crude has collapsed

At its AGM this week, the company will face not only the activist investor at its heels, but a global economy being changed from the White HouseAfter Donald Trump’s “liberation day” on Wednesday last week, BP lost almost a quarter of its market value in a share price rout even deeper than the oil giant endured in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The collapse in global oil prices in the wake of the US president’s ­tariff blitz may have wiped billions from its ­market value – but Trump isn’t BP’s only problem.The oil company will face shareholders this week for the first time since it bowed to investor pressure to abandon its green energy ambitions in favour of a return to fossil fuels, and its chair, Helge Lund, agreed to step down from the board. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago Price hike on Shein? How Trump tariffs could shift the US’s love of fast fashion

Trump ended the ‘de-minimis’ rule while launching a trade war with China – which will make retail giants such as Temu more expensive, experts sayAfter a chaotic week of flip-flopping tariff policies, cheap clothes from China are nearly certain to face a steep price hike soon – prompting concern among fast fashion retailers and potentially pushing consumers to look for other alternatives.As part of a package of global tariff policies announced on “liberation day” last week, Donald Trump signed an executive order that ended a duty-free exemption for low-priced goods to enter the US from China and Hong Kong. Known as the “de-minimis” rule, packages under $800 do not qualify for any taxes or tariffs on the goods and are inspected minimally at the border. Continue reading...

Politics

46 h. ago Trump rolls back some more tariffs as his ‘Liberation Day’ plans continue to face scrutiny: Live updates

Electronics exemption to Trump’s tariffs are boost for high-tech companies like Apple and Tesla, as well as China, which still remains under 145 percent levy

Politics

69 h. ago Judge says Trump lawyers’ failure to explain how they plan to return wrongly deported man ‘extremely troubling’ – live

US district judge Paula Xinis demands administration identify whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego GarciaAdvocates for academic freedom are bracing for what they expect to be the next phase of the government’s effort to reshape higher education: an overhaul of the system accrediting institutions of higher learning.Donald Trump has made no secret of such plans. During the campaign, he boasted that accreditation would be his “secret weapon” against colleges and universities the right has long viewed as too progressive.We may lose a lot of materials.All of the states, we are in dire shape. We have had a reconsideration of everything with regard to what Doge [is doing].” Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago ‘There isn’t an hour to lose’ – Harris says tariff pause vital for negotiations

Ireland’s deputy premier said it is important to ‘utilise’ US President Donald Trump’s 90-day tariffs pause.

Politics

3 d. ago Trump administration ordered to help return man wrongly deported to El Salvador – US politics live

Supreme court upholds earlier order that Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be released after being improperly sent to prisonChinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Friday that “the US cannot act recklessly, and the wheel of history cannot go backwards,” referring to US tariffs on China.Reuters reports that Wang made the remarks in a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general Rafael Mariano Grossi in Beijing. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Emmanuel Macron urges Europe to 'mobilise' and says 'we are right to fight' in response to Trump's 'unfair tariffs'

Macron warned that Europe would still need to 'mobilise' its leverage to protect itself, warning of the 'fragility' of Trump's 90-day 'pause' on harsh tariffs

Politics

3 d. ago Life in Shanghai, China’s commercial capital, goes on but anti

Chinese companies are relieved Trump’s wider tariffs have been paused but on social media, posts are full of defianceOn Thursday morning in Shanghai, as shoppers filled the luxury malls and delivery drivers whizzed around the winding streets at breakneck speed, financiers breathed a cautious sigh of relief. Overnight, US President Donald Trump had reversed course, announcing a 90-day pause on his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” of up to 50% for dozens of countries. Although China got no such reprieve – instead, the levy on Chinese goods was increased to 145% – the temporary return of normal trade channels showed Chinese businesspeople that all was not lost.Trump’s announcement of punitive tariffs on countries across south-east Asia had risked closing off the routes that Chinese companies have been using since his first term in office to circumvent his levies. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Donald Trump claims he could clinch global trade deals 'all in one day' as world holds its breath

President Donald Trump leaves everyone guessing as he backtracks over 'reciprocal' tariffs on most of the world, but insists 'more great days coming', while the world holds its breath

Politics

3 d. ago Tariffs live: Trump admits ‘costs’ but warns higher levies will return if countries can’t strike deals with US

European stock markets rebound slightly after Trump makes humiliating U-turn on tariffs for most countries

Events

3 d. ago Trump live updates: US stocks plunge day after historic surge in response to president’s 90

S&P 500 down five percent in midday trading, cutting into 9.5 percent surge that came on Wednesday after president paused many of his global tariffs

Politics

3 d. ago Tariffs live: Trump warns higher tariffs will return if countries can’t strike deals with US in 90 days

European stock markets rebound slightly after Trump makes humiliating U-turn on tariffs for most countries

Events

3 d. ago Trump claims TikTok deal still on the table as China tariffs threaten to derail agreement

Trump announced a 90-day pause on all reciprocal tariffs this week, except for those placed on China

Economics

3 d. ago Tariffs live: Trump levies on China hit 145% as Starmer told only ‘extraordinary’ deal will let UK escape tariffs

European stock markets rebound slightly after Trump makes humiliating U-turn on tariffs for most countries

Economics

3 d. ago Trump live updates: US stocks plunge day after historic soar in response to president’s 90

S&P 500 down five percent in midday trading, cutting into 9.5 percent surge that came on Wednesday after president paused many of his global tariffs

Politics

3 d. ago Stock markets tumble day after Trump’s tariff pause erasing most of the record gains seen Wednesday

After a day of historic gains, the markets tumbled as uncertainty reigns following Trump’s tariff plan pause

Economics

4 d. ago House passes Republican budget framework paving way for Trump’s agenda

Multitrillion-dollar resolution unlocks path to deliver Trump’s sweeping tax cut and immigration planUS politics live – latest updatesThe House Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, muscled through a multitrillion-dollar budget framework that paves the way for Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”, one day after a rightwing rebellion threatened to sink it.The resolution passed in a 216-214 vote, with just two Republicans – fiscal conservatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana – joining all Democrats in opposition. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Starmer urged to accelerate global trade deals after Trump tariff chaos

Exclusive: The UK is warned it cannot isolate itself from the effects of a trade war between the US and China after Donald Trump’s U-turn on tariffs

Economics