PARIS (AP) — After his arrest, the boy’s mother was stunned to discover that her 12-year-old had been learning how to kill and gorging on videos of decapitation and torture so gruesome they made even…
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Category: 4. World
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Xi Jinping Travels to Southeast Asia Amid Tariff War with U.S.
As China faces off with the United States over a punishing trade war, it is under pressure to shore up its friendships around the world, starting with its neighbors in Southeast Asia. But its relations there are complicated.
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, will be testing these ties this week as he visits Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia in the hope of blunting the effect of huge tariffs imposed by President Trump on Chinese exports to the United States.
Mr. Xi is likely to cast China as a reliable global partner in contrast to the unpredictable United States of President Trump, whose on-again, off-again tariffs have upended financial markets and confounded governments. While in Vietnam, for instance, Mr. Xi is expected to oversee the signing of around 40 agreements, including deals that would advance plans for Vietnam to accept Chinese loans for part of a $8.3 billion railway connecting northern Vietnam with China.
But his visit also points to a diplomatic tightrope that countries like Vietnam and Malaysia must walk as the Southeast Asian nations try to negotiate with the Trump administration for a reprieve from the tariffs.
Mr. Xi’s tour will start in Vietnam on Monday, followed by a three-day visit to Malaysia, ending the week in Cambodia.
Trade at the Forefront
For the past decade, Beijing has engaged in a huge push to extend its economic and political influence across Southeast Asia. China is now the region’s most important trading partner. Senior officials, including Mr. Xi, regularly travel there.
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Euro won’t affect Bulgarian savings – DW – 04/13/2025
Bulgaria is now in the final stages of joining the eurozone, the currency union of 20 EU member states. The country‘s ruling coalition said adopting the euro is a top priority that, ideally, will become a reality at the beginning of 2026.
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Central Myanmar shaken by new quake in one of the biggest aftershocks since March 28 temblor
BANGKOK (AP) — A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck on Sunday morning near Meiktila, a small city in central Myanmar, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake came as Myanmar is engaged in relief…
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Brother of Manchester Arena bomber attacks officers in prison
One of the terrorists responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing attack in 2017, which saw 22 people killed while attending an Ariana Grande concert, allegedly attacked three prison officers with weapons and hot oil, according to British…
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Ukrainians living under Russian occupation fear Trump’s peace talks
CNN
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Asked why she and other Ukrainian people choose to keep living under Russian occupation instead of fleeing, the woman paused for a moment.
“I…
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Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro hospitalized with abdominal pain related to old stab wound
CNN
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Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized for severe abdominal pain related to a wound sustained when he was stabbed on the campaign trail seven…
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Manchester Arena Bomber’s Brother Is Accused of Attack on Prison Guards
The brother of the terrorist who bombed an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, in 2017 was accused on Saturday of launching a violent attack inside a high-security jail where he was serving time for his own role in the concert bombing.
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Thousands attend pro-Serbia government rally after months of unrest
Thomas MackintoshBBC News
Guy De LauneyBalkans correspondent
Getty ImagesPresident Aleksandar Vucic rallied his supporters in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade Tens of thousands of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s supporters have held a rally in Belgrade following months of unrest across the country.
A monitoring organisation said around 55,000 people had gathered in front of the National Assembly. Despite some Vucic followers travelling from neighbouring countries, attendance was significantly lower than last month’s huge anti-government protest.
There have been regular demonstrations in Serbia since November when the collapse of a railway station canopy in the city of Novi Sad killed 15 people, triggering widespread public anger.
A number of Serbians blamed the incident on alleged corruption and corner-cutting by Vucic’s Progressive Party.
The Serbian leader had promoted the rally on Saturday as the launch of a “Movement for the People and the State”, which would “save” Serbia from forces working to “destroy” the country.
In a speech at the event, he called on prosecutors to work to restore order and peace.
He claimed the student-led protests had been threatening Serbia’s peace and stability, accusing attendees of being paid by “foreign intelligence agencies”.
“Certain foreign powers cannot bear to see a free, independent and sovereign Serbia”, he said, without clarifying which “powers” he was referring to.
Vucic also criticised national broadcaster RTS, describing it as a “key participant” in an attempted “colour revolution”.
Getty ImagesThose showing their support for Vucic and his government did so well into Saturday evening After the Novi Sad incident last November, some blamed what had happened on more than a decade of governing by the Progressive Party of Vucic – who closely associated himself with the station’s prior renovation.
It was considered a key part of the government’s flagship infrastructure project – the high-speed line from Belgrade to Budapest in Hungary.
The demonstrations that followed the disaster saw attendees use the slogan “corruption kills”.
They claimed that the opaque procurement procedures the government used for infrastructure projects had enriched a few favoured contractors while putting public safety at risk.
Despite multiple resignations – and Vucic’s insistence that he was going nowhere – protests grew.
Last month, hundreds of thousands of people descended on Serbia’s capital.
An independent monitor estimated 325,000 – if not more – had gathered, making it Serbia’s largest protest ever.
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