Russian drones battered the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and glide bombs hit Zaporizhzhia, local authorities said Tuesday, as the Kremlin again warned that negotiators are unlikely to obtain a swift breakthrough in peace talks on the war.

Ukrainian, British, French and U.S. officials are due to meet in London on Wednesday to discuss the war. Anticipation is building over whether diplomatic efforts can stop more than three years of fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Hostility has run deep since Russia invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that negotiations were “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the war. That came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested the U.S. might soon back away from negotiations if they don't progress.

At Home Plate BBQ, an American-style restaurant in Beijing, staff are reprinting menus. The U.S.-China trade war means American beef - once the star ingredient - will soon be off the table.

Home Plate's beef, previously sourced entirely from the U.S., is increasingly Australian. The restaurant uses about 7 to 8 tonnes of brisket each month, and when the U.S. beef in the freezers is used up in a few weeks, the southern-style BBQ restaurant will only serve meat from Australia.

U.S. beef is one of thousands of casualties in the trade war between the world's largest trading partners. Even before the battle began, American beef was expensive. Beijing's 125% retaliatory tariffs, on top of the existing 22%, made it unaffordable.
"It's essentially just made it very hard for us to continue using U.S. beef," said Home Plate's operations director, Charles de Pellette.

$125 million a month in U.S. beef exports to China is a sliver of the mammoth goods trade, beef's disappearance from men

Thailand's negotiations with Washington on steep trade tariffs were postponed because the United States has asked Bangkok to review important issues, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said.

Thailand is among the Southeast Asian nations hardest hit by U.S. President Donald Trump's measures, facing a 36% tariff if a reduction cannot be negotiated before a global moratorium expires in July.

"We're not too slow and we are reviewing issues, including our tariffs that may be adjusted appropriately," Paetongtarn said, adding that Thai agriculture exports and additional imports were being examined.
The United States was Thailand's largest export market last year, accounting for 18.3% of total shipments, or $54.96 billion. Washington has put its deficit with Thailand at $45.6 billion.

"We are consulting academics and all parties and doing our best in this situation," she added.

"We are protecting the agricultural interests as much as possible," she said.

As the U.S. presses its trading partners to cut ties with China, Beijing is reminding neighbors in Southeast Asia that doing Washington’s bidding will come at a cost.

On Monday, Beijing said it “resolutely opposes any party reaching a deal [with the U.S.] at the expense of China’s interest,” and threatened retaliation in the event that a country did try to sacrifice trade with China.

China’s warning comes after a weeklong visit by President Xi Jinping to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, against the backdrop of global trade uncertainty emanating from the White House.

Xi’s trip “was a reassurance and a warning,” says Trinh Nguyen, senior economist for emerging Asia at Natixis. She suggests the trip was a reminder to Southeast Asian economies that China wants to be seen as a responsible actor, and open to engaging with neighbors on trade.

China has warned countries against striking trade deals with the U.S. at its expense to secure relief from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, threatening retaliation against those that do.

As the trade war between the world’s two largest economies escalates, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce promised to retaliate against any country that reaches an agreement with the U.S. that limits its trade with China. The U.S. tariffs against other countries are economic bullying, the ministry said in a statement attributed to an unnamed spokesperson, translated by the Associated Press.

“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” the Chinese government said Monday.

“If this happens, China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner. China is determined and capable of safeguarding its own rights and interests.”

With his storm of tariffs on Chinese goods, US President Donald Trump has torched ties with Beijing and likely wrecked any hope of meeting his counterpart Xi Jinping in the near term, analysts say.

Since taking office in January, Trump's maelstrom of import duties against friend and foe alike has rattled diplomats and pushed global markets to the brink of financial meltdown.

A screeching halt on further levies for most countries has calmed nerves -- for now at least -- but there has been no reprieve for China, accused by the US leader of trying to "screw" Washington.

Adding to the tensions, talks between the two superpowers on international issues like climate change and opioid addiction seem to have stalled.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday as New Delhi looks to avoid American tariffs, negotiate a bilateral trade deal with Washington and strengthen ties with the Trump administration.

Vance, who is on a largely personal four-day visit to India, met with Modi at his residence in New Delhi and the two leaders “reviewed and positively assessed the progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation," Modi’s office said in a statement. They also “welcomed the significant progress” in the negotiations of an expected trade deal between the two countries, the statement said.

The White House in a statement said that Vance and Modi set the terms for ongoing talks, “laying down a roadmap for further discussions." It's a sign that talks are moving forward but remain far from finalized, though Trump administration officials also spoke with their counterparts from India in a sign of the high level of engagement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signalled he is open to bilateral talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the early stages of the war.
Putin said Russia has "always looked positively on any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way".

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin's comments indicated a willingness to engage in direct talks with Ukraine about not striking civilian targets.

Zelensky did not respond directly to Putin's comments, but said Ukraine was "ready for any conversation" that would ensure the safety of civilians.
There have been no direct talks between the two sides since the initial weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Peskov said: "When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian s

The infighting and backstabbing that plagued President Donald Trump’s first term have returned as a threat to his second, with deepening fissures over trade, national security and questions of personal loyalty.

The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed out top advisers and faces fresh controversy over sharing sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen outside of classified channels. A former Pentagon spokesperson who was ousted last week wrote in Politico that Trump should fire Hegseth for presiding over a “full-blown meltdown."

Hegseth lashed out on Tuesday on Fox News Channel, where he was a weekend host before joining Trump's administration, by faulting the people who used to work for him.

“Those folks who were leaking, who have been pushed out of the building, are now attempting to leak and sabotage the president’s agenda," he said.

https://www.siecindia.com/...

As we celebrate with heavy heart to the passing of Pope Francis so let's pray for his soul to rest in peace.

Breathe deeply and slowly.
Let yourself become centered - shut out all distractions.
Breathe out your worries; empty your body of regrets and resentments.
Breathe in eternal peace; let your body fill with unconditional love.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Breathe; let go; relax; forgive.
A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.
-John Ikeji-Uju

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.
Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.
- Zhuangzi

Make your life a masterpiece-
I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece.
I challenge you to join the ranks of those people
who live what they teach, who walk their talk.
- Tony Robbins

Make your life a masterpiece-
Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Make your life a masterpiece-
Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations.
For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
- Henry David Thoreau

Make your life a masterpiece-
Today's affirmation: Today, I will do my best...
and then relax in the knowing that I have done all I could.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

To be alive means to have a sense of humor-
The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.
- Mark Twain

To be alive means to have a sense of humor-
A well-developed sense of humor is the pole
that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.
- William Arthur Ward

To be alive means to have a sense of humor-
Life is not a tragedy, it is a comedy.
To be alive means to have a sense of humor.
- Osho

To be alive means to have a sense of humor-
A sense of humor... is needed armor.
Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign
that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.
- Hugh Sidey

https://afriprime.net/post...

https://afriprime.net/post...

The Kremlin said on Monday that the position of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine gave Moscow satisfaction.

Trump, seeking to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants to end the "bloodbath" of the three-year conflict in Ukraine - which his administration casts as a proxy war between the United States and Russia.

U.S. envoy General Keith Kellogg said on Sunday that NATO alliance membership was "off the table" for Ukraine. Trump has said past U.S. support for that was a cause of the war.
"We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine's membership in NATO is excluded," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Of course, this is something that causes us satisfaction and coincides with our position."

Ukrainian membership of the U.S.-led alliance would threaten Russian interests, Peskov added. "And, in fact, this is one of the root causes of this conflict."

Australia has rejected as “propaganda” Moscow’s assertions that it had “no cards” to play in a regional military cooperation between Russia and Indonesia.

In a pointed letter published by The Jakarta Post, Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov, dismissed Australia’s concerns over reports that Moscow had requested access to a military airbase in Indonesia’s Papua province.

Canberra's “national interests cannot extend to the territory of neighbouring sovereign states that pursue active and independent policies”, Mr Tolchenov wrote, before concluding with a barbed reference to former US president Donald Trump’s remarks to Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky: “You have no cards.”

Mr Tolchenov accused Australian leaders of exploiting the issue for political gain during the country’s federal election campaign, claiming both major parties were “heating up the situation” and “playing the so-called ‘Russian card’”.

South Korea has found increased attempts to disguise foreign products as Korean exports, primarily from China, to avoid U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, its customs agency said on Monday.
The Korea Customs Service said it has found 29.5 billion won ($20.81 million) worth of violations related to country of origin from the first quarter, with U.S.-bound shipments accounting for 97% of the total, after a special probe last month.

That compared to a total of 34.8 billion won worth of violations for all of 2024, among which U.S.-bound shipments accounted for 62%.
Trump, who took office in January, has imposed significant tariffs on various products and countries, including those on China that began to rise from February.

"There was a rise in disguised export attempts during Trump's first presidency and we expect there to be a similar trend," said Lee Kwang-woo, investigation planning director at the KCS.

President Donald Trump slammed business leaders who are against his tariff policy on Easter Sunday.
Trump said his critics are bad at both business and politics.
Corporate titans like Jamie Dimon and Mark Cuban have criticized Trump's tariffs.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that business leaders who oppose his reciprocal tariffs do not appreciate what he is doing for them.
"THE BUSINESSMEN WHO CRITICIZE TARIFFS ARE BAD AT BUSINESS, BUT REALLY BAD AT POLITICS," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Easter Sunday.
"THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND OR REALIZE THAT I AM THE GREATEST FRIEND THAT AMERICAN CAPITALISM HAS EVER HAD!" Trump added.

Trump announced sweeping tariffs on more than 180 countries on April 2.
A baseline rate of 10% went into effect on April 5, while a higher set of tariffs that varied by country took effect on April 9 before Trump announced a 90-day pause on the same day. Trump's tariffs triggered a massive market sell-off.

A second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran has concluded, with both sides indicating there has been progress.
Delegations from both countries met in Rome on Saturday for negotiations following an initial round in Oman last weekend. The Gulf Arab nation has mediated both rounds of the indirect talks. A third high-level round is expected next Saturday in Oman.

The Trump administration expressed optimism following the latest talks, pointing to “very good progress” and saying the parties had “agreed to meet again” next week. “Today, in Rome, over four hours in our second round of talks, we made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions,” a senior administration official told CNN.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also signalled that the talks had been positive. “I can say that there is movement forward. We’ve reached better understanding and agreement on some principles and goals in these Rome negotiations,” he said.

Who said panda can eat bamboo to survive...?
China on Monday accused Washington of abusing tariffs and warned countries against striking a broader economic deal with the United States at its expense, ratcheting up its rhetoric in a spiralling trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Beijing will firmly oppose any party striking a deal at China's expense and "will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner," its Commerce Ministry said.

The ministry was responding to a Bloomberg report, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the Trump administration is preparing to pressure nations seeking tariff reductions or exemptions from the U.S. to curb trade with China, including imposing monetary sanctions.
President Donald Trump paused the sweeping tariffs he announced on dozens of countries on April 2 except those on China, singling out the world's second largest economy for the biggest levies.