NewsThe news overview: Trump unveils sweeping layoffs, EU braces for tariff battle
The news overview: Trump unveils sweeping layoffs, EU braces for tariff battle
It happened while you were sleeping. Here's what global agencies reported overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
- President Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk announced on Wednesday more mass layoffs of federal officials and expressed confidence that they could find a trillion dollars in savings. Trump suggested that another trillion could come from the sale of the right to permanent residency in the USA, commonly referred to as golden cards.
- The European Commission stated on Wednesday evening in response to Donald Trump's announcement of imposing 25% tariffs on goods imported from the European Union, including cars. The EU noted, "The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies."
- Tunisian citizen Brahim Aouissaoui was sentenced on Wednesday by a Paris court to life imprisonment for killing three people during a terrorist attack at the basilica in Nice in October 2020. Aouissaoui will not be eligible for parole. This is the highest possible sentence in the French justice system. The prosecution had sought such a sentence.
- Friedrich Merz, leader of the German Christian Democrats and most likely future Chancellor of Germany, met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday evening in Paris. German media announced their talks and reported that it was a private dinner at the French president's invitation.
- On Wednesday, the Parliament of the Republic of Srpska rejected Milorad Dodik's conviction as president of this autonomous part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Parliament also called on the government to prepare regulations prohibiting the operation of selected central institutions of BiH in RS territory.
- The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, submitted a bill to parliament on Wednesday to compensate former inmates of the infamous political prison Goli Otok from the communist Yugoslavia era, calling it a matter of "truth and justice" - reported RTCG television.
- Euronews reported on Wednesday that about 40% of Albania's workforce has emigrated from the country so far, seeking a better future outside its borders. The report cited the latest data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
- The Portuguese police dismantled a Romanian criminal group operating in the country for several years, enslaving children. By Wednesday, over 30 minors of Romanian origin, who were forced to beg, had been freed.
- The Nigerian Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) demanded the death penalty or life imprisonment for those caught trading counterfeit medicines and severe sentences for sellers of unhealthy processed food.
- The governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, criticized prison service officers nationwide on Wednesday for striking. She warned that they could be arrested. Public sector strikes are prohibited by law.
