Author: Alade Adisa

President Donald Trump is facing pushback from some MAGA allies as he prepares to impose new tariffs on goods from other countries in what he’s calling ‘Liberation Day’ on April 2. U.S. stocks fell dramatically when markets opened on Monday as the selloff continues around the globe as investors brace for the president’s latest action in the escalating trade war. Republican lawmakers have been expressing concerns ahead of the deadline on Wednesday. That’s when the president is expected to impose reciprocal dollar-for-dollar tariffs on countries that levy duties on U.S. goods. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has been leading the vocal…

US President Donald Trump said he is “pissed off” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” on Russian oil if a truce with Ukraine is not done. In a telephone conversation with NBC, Trump said that if Moscow obstructs his attempts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, he will slap secondary tariffs of 25 percent to 50 percent on all Russian oil within a month. Since Russia is among the top three oil producers in the world, penalising Moscow’s supplies might significantly impact the oil market, leading to a surge in global inflationary pressures. The latest…

*Sahel alliance imposes 0.5% import duty on ECOWAS goods *This marks the end of free trade across West Africa and highlights a growing rift between Sahel states and influential democracies in ECOWAS *Diplomatic resolution crucial to avoiding further economic fragmentation in West Africa This import duty on ECOWAS states will take immediate effect and aims to finance the activities of the Sahel states, although specific details have not been provided. The introduction of this levy marks the end of free trade across West Africa, which has been a cornerstone of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for decades.…

The Initial public offering (IPO) market was expected to see a resurgence during Donald Trump’s second term, fuelled by his promises of deregulation and tax cuts, which were anticipated to encourage tech companies to go public. However, early signs suggest that the market is not responding as hoped. This weakness was demonstrated by the underwhelming debut of CoreWeave, a leading GPU supplier for AI workloads. The company’s IPO was downsized, and its stock showed little movement on its first day of trading. This reflects broader market scepticism about the current economic environment. IPO market stalls amid Trump’s trade wars Despite…

A bill seeking to stop persons above 60 years from vying for election to the offices of the Nigerian President and state governor currently on the floor of the House of Representatives, has been dividing Nigerians. The bill, which was sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Ideato North South Federal Constituency of Imo State passed second reading at the green chamber on Thursday. The magnitude of the fallout if the bill scales through legislative scrutiny and is signed into law, is huge to the extent that political heavyweights and the majority of the 2027 presidential…

Paris judges decided on Monday that Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, was guilty of misappropriation of public funds. This was a crucial moment for Le Pen that could determine her political future. Eight National Rally MEPs and their twelve assistants have also been found guilty. Le Pen and 24 other National Rally members have been accused of embezzling money intended for European Parliament aides to pay staff who worked for the party over a four-year period. Their full sentences will be read out individually by the court in the next few hours. Le Pen, sitting in…

The Nigerian military has vowed that the people that killed 16 Northern hunters in Edo State, last week would be fished out and prosecuted. Condemning Sunday’s barbaric act, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, vowed that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. This comes as the state government said, that Governor Monday Okpehbolo had reached out to the victims’ families, the Hausa community leaders in the state, and the northern governors over the incident. Also, it was gathered on Sunday that about 14 suspects have been arrested by the police in connection with the tragic incident.…

President Bola Tinubu and seven others have been summoned by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt over the imposition of state of emergency in Rivers State. Named as defendants in the suit are the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; the National Assembly; and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi. The newly-appointed Rivers Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, the Revenue and Fiscal Mobilization Commission, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), are also joined in the suit. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the case, filed…

The Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz stated on Sunday that Europe desires cooperation with the United States, but emphasised that the EU is prepared to respond collectively if Washington forces their hand by imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium. The German leader spoke at the opening of the Hanover Industrial Trade Fair, which this year featured Canada as its partner country. Scholz also emphasised Canada’s independent status in reaction to US President Donald Trump who had speculated about annexing Canada and referred to it as the 51st US state. “We stand by your side. Canada is not a state that…

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that the Islamic Republic rejected direct negotiations with the United States in response to a letter President Trump sent earlier this month over the country’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme. It was Tehran’s first official response to Trump’s letter. “Although the possibility of direct negotiations between the two sides has been rejected in this response, it has been emphasized that the path for indirect negotiations remains open,” Pezeshkian said, adding Iran’s response was delivered via the sultanate of Oman. President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian Presidency Office via AP It’s unclear, however, whether Trump would accept indirect…