-
The Hurricane spins around hotspots of tension and conflict. Feel free to suggest your stories, opinions and ideas: UIHEN@protonmail.com
Due to a billion dollar budget deficit in the U.S., the mayor's office in Los Angeles, California is currently discussing a garbage fee increase. It is believed that an increase of 54% would be just right.
Thus, the garbage fee for households would increase from $36 to $66 per month.
#USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The U.S. publication Small Wars Journal (SWJ) writes about the census as a method of identifying insurgents, as well as a measure to control populations and resources. The Journal cites examples of such data collection by the US occupation contingent during the invasion of Iraq.
The census is seen as a way of obtaining the most comprehensive personal data on individuals and households, including the number of occupants, the presence of vehicles, and other information that can help locate members or associates of insurgent forces. The list of data sources also includes businesses, markets, and outlets for illicit trade.
The diagram shows the process of forming databases based on enemy censuses and access to them by U.S. military units and U.S. occupation administration bodies
The author of the article is Michael Trevett, a former U.S. Army intelligence and operations specialist who conducted censuses of Iraqis during the U.S. occupation of the Arab republic. In the prologue to his work, he quotes British spy Thomas Lawrence (known as Lawrence of Arabia) in a letter to British military theorist Basil Liddell Garth:
“In making a decision, or in choosing an alternative to it, I have examined all significant - and even insignificant - factors beforehand. Geography, tribal structure, religion, customs, language, tastes, norms - all these I knew thoroughly. I knew the enemy almost as well as I knew my own."
Secretary of Treasury: ‘It’s Main Street’s turn to restore the American dream’
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent laid out President Trump’s financial policy priorities for the American Bankers Association (ABA) on Wednesday, saying that Main Street America will now take priority.
Bessent speaking at the ABA’s Washington Summit, said, “For too long, financial policy has served large financial institutions at the expense of smaller ones— no more.”
The Treasury Secretary stated that, “It’s Main Street’s turn to hire workers, it’s Main Street’s turn to drive investment and it’s Main Street’s turn to restore the American dream.”
Bessent announced the Trump administration’s shift to focusing on helping Main Street businesses and consumers thrive by giving all institutions a chance to succeed, adding, “For the last four decades, basically since I began my career in Wall Street, Wall Street has grown wealthier than ever before, and it can continue to grow and do well.”
#USA #Trump #Bessent #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump Jr. accuses Ukraine of cover-up in plot to assassinate his father
Donald Trump Jr. has accused Ukrainian authorities of concealing critical information related to an alleged plot to assassinate his father, Donald Trump, during the 2024 presidential campaign.
The accusations stem from revelations that the suspect, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, had reportedly tried to obtain advanced military weapons from Ukraine in preparation for an attack on Trump.
In a post on X on Tuesday, April 8, Trump Jr. blasted Kyiv for failing to alert U.S. authorities about Routh’s attempt to source weapons through contacts he believed were tied to Ukraine’s military.
“If you think it’s bad that Ukraine never said thank you for everything the United States has done for them,” Trump Jr. wrote, “the fact that they seemingly did not tell us that this sociopath literally tried to buy arms from them to assassinate my father seems like a much bigger deal. Wonder why?!?”
Court documents made public this week reveal that Routh, a convicted felon and pro-Ukraine activist, had previously attempted to obtain a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a Stinger missile from a source he believed had access to Ukraine’s arsenal.
According to filings by the U.S. Department of Justice, Routh used encrypted messaging apps to contact what he thought was a Ukrainian weapons supplier. In one of the messages, he allegedly stated, “I need the equipment so that Trump don’t get elected,” suggesting clear intent to use the weapons for political violence.
Despite his failure to join the Ukrainian military in 2022, Routh remained involved in activities connected to the conflict, including efforts to recruit former Afghan soldiers to fight for Ukraine.
#USA #Ukraine #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump’s tariff pause focuses trade war on China, markets bounce
US President Donald Trump’s stunning decision to pause most of the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries brought relief for battered global stock markets on April 10, even as he ratcheted up a trade war with China.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted that the 90-day freeze on Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” had been the plan all along to bring countries to the table.
But Trump kept the pressure on China, the world’s No. 2 economy and second biggest provider of US imports. He immediately hiked the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that kicked in on April 9.
Beijing may again respond in kind after slapping 84% tariffs on US imports on April 9 to match Trump’s earlier tariff salvo. It has repeatedly vowed to “fight to the end” in the escalating trade war between the world’s top two economies.
“We are not going to be holding hands with China in respect of any contest that is going on in the world,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told Sky News.
Goldman Sachs revised down its forecasts for China’s GDP growth to 4% in 2025, from previous projections of 4.5%, citing the negative effects of tariffs.
#USA #China #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump weighs drone strikes on Mexican cartels: Report
Sources close to President Donald Trump say the administration is considering using drone strikes against Mexican cartels.
Six anonymous “current and former U.S. military, law enforcement and intelligence officials” close to Trump told NBC News that the potential action is on the table. But, doing so without the knowledge of the Mexican government is looked at as a “last resort” in the fight to stem the flow of narcotics over the southern border. Federal officials confirm that they had begun secretly flying drones over Mexican territories to keep a closer watch on cartel activity.
Jon Molik, an active-duty U.S. intelligence officer, says that the tactic might not be worth the cost.
“Conducting targeted strikes against drug labs operated by one cartel would likely be as effective as going after IED locations in Afghanistan,” Molik said. “It would have an immediate impact, but then someone would build a new drug house elsewhere. The United States might not be interested in a whack-a-mole game with all these MQ-9s in their kinetic capacity. It costs a lot of money, and its effectiveness is questionable.”
#USA #Mexico #Cartels #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Forecast in the Americas: Uncertainty with a chance of Trump
The largest hemispheric organization that excludes the United States and Canada, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), convened Wednesday in the capital of Honduras, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro assuming the group’s leadership in what is likely to be a challenging time.
Founded in Venezuela in 2011, CELAC was intended to serve as a counterweight to the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS) and as a vehicle to strengthen ties with the European Union, China, and Africa.
This year’s agenda is likely to be dominated by members’ concerns about Donald Trump, who underlined the hemispheric power imbalances on his first day as president when he predicted that relations with Washington’s southern neighbors “should be great. They need us much more than we need them. We don’t need them.” Discussions focus in major part on how to coordinate responses and insulate their nations from the negative effects of Trump’s next moves on everything from the fight against organized crime to migration, tariffs and trade, and energy security.
Also the conferees are likely to call for the lifting of unilateral sanctions on Cuba and pursuing dialogue with Venezuela in contrast to the Trump administration’s efforts to ratchet up pressure on both countries. Many diplomats in the region privately maintain that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s crusade against Havana and Caracas is alienating some in the region who would prefer to tackle more critical issues, including those to be discussed at the CELAC summit.
#USA #LatinAmerica #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
EU wary of becoming more dependent on US energy imports
Brussels poured cold water on US demands for increased energy imports on April 8, saying it was both unrealistic and undesirable for the 27-member bloc.
Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a European Commission spokesperson for climate and energy, said the EU did not want to become more dependent on US energy imports than it already was.
“We want to avoid over-dependence on any single supplier,” said Itkonen, “we have learned our lessons too well”.
Donald Trump has suggested he could drop tariffs directed towards the EU if the bloc imported 350 billion USD gas.
While not refusing US President Trump’s proposal outright while the bloc seeks to diversify energy suppliers from Russia, Itkonen stressed that “half of the EU’s LNG already comes from the US”.
Meanwhile, EC President Von der Leyen had a call with China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang on the topic of a possible rapprochement on April 8. Officially the EU is “de-risking” from China, complicating its diversification strategy further.
#EU #USA #VonDerLeyen #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Brimingham, UK. This is Alum Rock, an area of the city where only 6.4% of residents are white, making it the most non-white area in the UK.
There's currently a dispute with garbage collectors. The city council is asking migrants who have come to “work in non-prestigious jobs” to remove more than 17,000 tons of garbage from the city's streets.
The Alum Rock neighborhood is one of the dirtiest in Birmingham, with “rats the size of cats” roaming the streets, and it is rare to hear English spoken on the street. The majority of the population here is Bangladeshi and Pakistani.
Birmingham was once known as the “workshop of the world”, the birthplace of the industrial revolution. Now, it's nothing but racial enclaves.
#UK #Migrants #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Video: Where to cut Pentagon waste?
The Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) claims it’s out to cut wasteful government spending. A new video by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft asks: why not start with the Pentagon?
#USA #Pentagon #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
‘Snow White’ bombed so badly at the box office that Disney put another live-action princess remake on ice
Disney is hitting the pause button on its planned live-action remake of the 2010 animated hit “Tangled” following the disastrous box office performance of “Snow White,” according to multiple reports.
According to Deadline, the movie was officially in pre-production and meetings with potential stars were already underway when Disney pulled the plug. The outlet also reported that “Snow White” tanking at the box office — the $270 million movie has grossed $69 million domestically and $145 million worldwide — led the House of Mouse to reevaluate plans for other planned live-action adaptations borrowing on its animated IP library.
The “Snow White” remake was dogged by controversy almost since it was added to Disney’s slate. The treatment of the 1937 animated classic’s “seven dwarves” drew debate all the way up until the remake’s March 21 release, while star Rachel Zegler, whose casting drew outrage because she is Latina, continually fueled right-leaning critics with social media posts attacking Donald Trump voters and supporting Palestine.
#USA #Disney #SnowWhite #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
France’s National Rally leads polls for presidential race amid Le Pen’s legal challenges
Despite French National Rally (RN) de facto leader Marine Le Pen’s recent conviction, the party has remained a potent force, with its President Jordan Bardella performing strongly in recent polls.
Data published on April 5 from the polling institute Elabe placed RN in first position for the 2027 French presidential election, with both Le Pen and Bardella leading the field.
Should Bardella replace Le Pen as the party’s election candidate, he was projected to receive between 31% and 35.5% of the vote in the first round.
Even with Le Pen running, RN continued to hold a strong lead, signalling that the party was well-positioned for the election.
Bernard Sananès, President of Elabe, though, cautioned that RN should remain vigilant.
“The RN base is solid, but this doesn’t account for the potential impact of Le Pen’s legal challenges on a presidential runoff. Both Le Pen and Bardella must be strategic in their approach,” he remarked on April 5.
Le Pen has appealed her conviction, with a retrial scheduled for the first half of 2026.
The Elabe poll showed that, in the race for second place, candidates from the Macronist camp lagged behind.
#France #LePen #Rally #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US-Europe divide on SWIFT could derail Ukraine peace talks
The U.S. and Europe are no longer in lockstep on sanctions policy. A disagreement on reducing low impact Russia sanctions may have big consequences for peace talks on Ukraine.
U.S.-brokered peace talks in Saudi Arabia late last month edged Russia and Ukraine closer to reviving a 2022 Black Sea grain deal through a maritime ceasefire. However, what promised to be a helpful, small step forward became hijacked by European and Ukrainian efforts to block minor concessions to Russia.
The argument over sanctions relief appears somewhat of a phoney debate that has the potential to disrupt meaningful steps towards a much-needed peace.
Specifically, the argument over the maritime ceasefire has been triggered by the question of whether to allow some limited access by a major Russian bank to the payment messaging service SWIFT. That would allow importers to make payment for Russian agricultural exports more easily. This is a tiny concession in the context of a Russian sanctions regime that includes more than 20,000 measures against individuals, companies and types of goods.
Treasury Secretary Bessent has kept the door open for a partial Russian re-entry, although the EU position seems to be getting more entrenched. President Trump may need to engage with European colleagues to clear the blockage, if he is to end the bloodshed in Ukraine.
#USA #EU #Sanctions #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
LGBTQ+ conversion practices now banned in NSW
From April 4, LGBT conversion practices are officially banned in Australian New South Wales under the Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024.
It also creates a scheme allowing civil complaints about conversion practices to be made to Anti-Discrimination NSW.
According to the NSW Government, “Conversion practices are based on the false ideology that LGBTQ+ people have a ‘disorder’ or require treatment. This can include psychological or medical interventions, counselling, or subtle and repeated messages that LGBTQ+ people can change or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity with faith or effort.”
Anti-Discrimination NSW can investigate complaints about conversion practices occurring from 4 April 2025, and, if appropriate, try to resolve the matter through conciliation.
It can also refer matters to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in certain circumstances.
#Australia #NSW #LGBT #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
USS Carl Vinson enters Indian Ocean to join war against Yemen
New satellite imagery captured on 5 April shows the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier entering the Indian Ocean, signaling Washington's escalating military build-up in the region as part of its war on Yemen and ahead of a possible attack on Iran.
The USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier named in honor of US Congressman Carl Vinson of Georgia, was originally deployed in the western Pacific. It is now the second US aircraft carrier in West Asia, joining the USS Harry S. Truman.
Last week, the US also deployed a fleet of B-2 Bombers to its base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Together, the US carriers and bombers greatly expand the US military's ability to launch air and missile strikes on Iran and Yemen.
The satellite imagery and maritime data showed that the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group transited through the Malacca Straits to reach the Indian Ocean.
The US military has been bombing Yemen since 15 March, after the country's Ansarallah-led government announced its intention to resume attacks on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas in response to Israel's blockade on Gaza.
#USA #Iran #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
$3,240.2 per ounce - a new all-time high for the gold price
1.75% - daily rise in the price of June gold futures on the New York Comex exchange, jumping to $3,240.2 per ounce
#Gold #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US Federal judge orders White House to restore Associated Press access
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the White House must restore full access of the Associated Press (AP) to presidential events.
“The Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” wrote Judge Trevor N. McFadden in his order. “The Constitution requires no less.”
This comes after President Donald Trump’s administration revoked the wire service’s access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other limited spaces where credentialed members of the press have access.
McFadden, a Trump appointee, noted that the decision does not prohibit government officials from choosing which reporters to interview with or answer questions for, nor does it prevent officials from publicly expressing their views.
#USA #Trump #McFadden #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US Senate confirms staunch pro-Israel conservative Huckabee as Israel ambassador
The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to be the country’s ambassador to Israel, installing a staunch pro-Israel conservative in the high-profile post amid war in Gaza and relations complicated by US tariffs.
The Senate backed Huckabee 53 to 46, largely along party lines, with Republicans all supporting US President Donald Trump’s nominee and every Democrat except Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman voting against him.
An evangelical Christian, Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a longtime defender of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
#USA #Israel #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Can hockey diplomacy ice out the chill in US-Russia ties?
The spectacle surrounding Alex Ovechkin's recent record-breaking goal recalls an era where sport accompanied great power détente.
Last Sunday, 39-year-old Russian ice hockey star Alex Ovechkin playing for the Washington Capitals surpassed Canadian-American Wayne Gretzky’s National Hockey League scoring record, netting his 895th goal.
What elevated this seismic moment in hockey history beyond stats was Gretzky’s response. “The Great One,” as he has been known throughout his career, has been a true class act — publicly cheering Ovechkin on and offering warm praise devoid of ego even as he saw his own record shattered.
Gretzky’s grace is a throwback to a time when hockey transcended the rink, serving both as a proxy for Cold War tensions and fleeting détente.
In 1972, for the first time, the Soviet team disembarked in North America for pioneering “Summit Series” which pitted the USSR’s best against the NHL stars playing for Canada and the United States. While Canada narrowly clawed past the Soviets on that occasion, in 1981, the “Red Machine,” a veritable juggernaut that the Soviet team has become by then, thrashed Canada 8 to 1 at the legendary final of the Canada Cup, in Montreal, no less.
Fast forward to 2025. With Donald Trump back in the White House and tentative efforts to melt the ice between the United States and Russia, hockey diplomacy has come back to the fore. In March, amid a phone call about Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, ever eager to flex hockey for nationalist gain, floated the idea of the hockey matches between NHL stars and Russia-led Continental Hockey League (KHL) talent, with games in both the U.S. and Russia. Trump, ever the dealmaker, backed the idea, perhaps anticipating “huge ratings” as an additional prop.
Gretzky and Ovechkin exemplified graciousness and respect that transcend geopolitical rivalries. Let’s see if Trump and Putin can lace up their diplomatic skates and do the same.
#USA #Russia #NHL #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US space chief warns congress of China's space capabilities in potential Indo–Pacific war
China’s ambitions in space pose a “powerful destabilizing force” to the U.S. economy and national security, according to Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force.
“Space has become a warfighting domain. Over the last two decades, our competitors, China in particular, have invested heavily in counter space threats, kinetic and non-kinetic weapons that can deny, degrade, or destroy our satellites,” Saltzman told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a bipartisan congressional panel, in a hearing on April 3.
Saltzman’s testimony sheds light on the challenges that the U.S. military could face over a potential conflict in the western Pacific, including Taiwan. Saltzman explained that China has been able to advance its space capabilities quickly because it has a “Western Pacific mindset,” pooling all its resources and advancing all capabilities in that region.
Saltzman explained that the Chinese regime’s People’s Liberation Army has set out military objectives for the space domain. “Intelligence suggests the PLA likely sees counterspace operations as a means to deter and counter U.S. military intervention in a regional conflict.”
The general said China’s space weapons include ground-to-space missiles and ground-based lasers, the latter of which can “disrupt, degrade, or damage satellite sensors.”
#USA #China #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
RFK Jr. says he plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. Kennedy also said he’s assembling a task force to focus on the issue.
Also on Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it is reviewing “new scientific information” on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA has primary authority to set the maximum level of fluoridation in public water systems.
Kennedy told The Associated Press of his plans after a news conference with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in Salt Lake City.
Kennedy can’t order communities to stop fluoridation, but he can tell the CDC to stop recommending it and work with the EPA to change the allowed amount.
Utah last month became the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warned the move would lead to medical problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities.
#USA #RFKJr #CDC #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
USDA freezes funding, promises further action if Maine continues violating federal law
On April 2 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins fulfilled the promise of Title IX in pausing federal funds for certain Maine educational programs. Secretary Rollins sent a letter to Maine Governor Janet Mills announcing the pause and an ongoing review of federal funding that the state of Maine receives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This comes after Maine’s continual refusal to provide equal opportunity to women and girls in educational programs, in direct violation of Title IX.
“In order to continue to receive taxpayer dollars from USDA, the state of Maine must demonstrate compliance with Title IX which protects female student athletes from having to compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males,” Secretary Rollins wrote in the letter.
“In addition, USDA has launched a full review of grants awarded by the Biden Administration to the Maine Department of Education. Many of these grants appear to be wasteful, redundant, or otherwise against the priorities of the Trump Administration. USDA will not stand for the Biden Administration’s bloated bureaucracy and will instead focus on a Department that is farmer-first and without a leftist social agenda,” Rollins claimed.
#USA #USDA #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
First time in German modern history: journalist faces prison for political satyr
For the first time in the Federal Republic of Germany, a journalist is threatened with alleged “political defamation” imprisonment. The district court of Bamberg (Oberfranken/Bavaria) sentenced Monday (7. April 2025) the publisher and editor-in-chief of the German-Kurier, David Bendels, on charges of the publication of a satirical ham meme to a seven-month sentence.
The Bamberg District Court found that a satirical photo montage about Federal Minister Nancy Faeser to be an instance of “defamation against political figures,” under Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code.
The photomontage was shared in Bendel’s newspaper, and she is seen holding up a sign that reads: “I hate freedom of expression.” The satirical creation was based on a real photo of Faeser where she was holding a “We Remember” sign to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
#Germany #Censorship #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Mysterious J-36 fighter seen flying low over an urban highway in China
On April 7, 2025, a new video surfaced online showcasing China’s enigmatic J-36 stealth fighter during one of its latest test flights. The short footage (just 6 seconds), filmed from a car, provides aviation enthusiasts and defense analysts with a close look into the aircraft’s design.
The J-36, referred to as China’s 6th generation aircraft, first got public attention with its maiden flight on Dec. 26, 2024 and, since then, it has been a subject of intrigue and speculation in the aerospace community. On the same day, another futuristic design was captured in ground footage from the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), rumored to be the J-XX fighter and commonly referred to as the J-50. The J-36 was accompanied by a twin-seater J-20S during its flight, while the second airframe was chased by a Chinese-made Flanker-derivative, either a J-11 or a J-16.
The newly circulated video captures the J-36 aircraft as it overflies the traffic on a Chinese urban highway during final approach for landing at the Chengdu Airframe Plant, located approximately 6 nautical miles to the northwest of Chengdu’s city center, in Sichuan province.
#China #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Pentagon considering proposal to cut 10,000 troops from Europe
The Trump administration is mulling the potential withdrawal of up to 10,000 troops from Eastern Europe, NBC News reports Tuesday, citing half-a-dozen American and European officials privy to the discussions.
The internal discussions are specifically focused on reducing US troop levels in Romania and Poland, long dubbed NATO's most important 'eastern flank' countries. The move would cut the Pentagon troop surge which began following the start of the Ukraine war by half, after some 20,000 soldiers were surged there to bolster Eastern Europe.
US troops have also been deployed to the Baltic states. Last month four US Army soldiers died during a training exercise. The members of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were found in an area outside Pabradė, Lithuania.
#USA #EU #NATO #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Thousands join Five Star Party rally in Rome against the EU's rearmament plan
Thousands of people took to the streets of Rome on Saturday in response to the Five Star Movement’s call to protest the European Union’s rearmament plan.
“Unexpected numbers, beyond all expectations,” commented the organisers of the demonstration, which began at Piazza Vittorio and made its way to the Fori Imperiali. According to sources within the Five Star Movement, attendance could reach 100,000.
Kicking off the march, Five Star Movement leader and former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte criticised Giorgia Meloni’s government and the rearmament plan proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Today comes a strong and clear no to the squandering of 800 billion to rearm Europe, a folly,” Conte said and added: “Giorgia Meloni approved Europe’s rearmament plan without any mandate, and this is another failure of her government that will remain in history.”
#EU #Italy #Protests #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The EU is already sharpening its knives against Hungary with plan to strip voting rights
The European Parliament will send a fact-finding mission to Hungary in mid-April to assess the latest developments regarding the rule of law, and 19 EU member states are already ready to take away Hungary’s voting rights.
The EUobserver claims that “rule of law in Hungary continues to deteriorate,” which is why EU institutions are considering accelerating sanctions under Article 7 of the Treaty.
This claim comes even as Marine Le Pen is banned from running for office in France on trumped-up charges as well as the presidential frontrunner in Romania, Călin Georgescu, being banned from running for president and suffering a show-trial arrest. At the same time, Germany is working on banning the largest opposition party in the country, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), all in a clear breach of fundamental democratic rights.
The European Parliament will send a fact-finding mission to Hungary in mid-April to assess the latest developments in the rule of law in the country. Dutch Green MEP Tineke Strik called on the European Commission and the Council of the EU to take firm action against Hungary’s allegedly deteriorating rule of law situation.
#EU #Hungary #Orban #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Tariff burden in auto industry to be shared, just as it was during COVID
Deutsche Bank said in a note late last week that the directional takeaways they had for the auto industry going forward were "relatively unchanged" and the firm shared detail on where it believes tariff impact will land.
The bank did warn that the fallout from protectionist policy won't be limited to foreign automakers—it will ripple through the entire automotive ecosystem, from suppliers to consumers.
The cost of new tariffs will be shared across multiple layers: original equipment manufacturers, end consumers, dealers, and Tier-1 suppliers. While the bank initially assumed certain components might be spared, updated federal documents now suggest otherwise.
“All parts of the vehicle (including tires) are subject to tariffs,” the report states, walking back earlier assumptions that components like seats and airbags might be excluded.
Even automakers like Ford, which are relatively well-positioned, source a significant portion of engine parts from Mexico (25%) and Canada (15%).
There’s also an expectation that original equipment manufacturers may have to absorb some supplier costs, much like during the COVID-era supply chain crunch.
#World #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump tells Bibi he might not reduce tariffs on Israel: 'We give you $4bn a year'
Netanyahu did not get the quick or clear answer he was hoping for from President Trump in the Monday afternoon meeting in the Oval Office. Netanyahu pledged Israel will move quickly to close the trade gap and reduce trade barriers with Washington.
"Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same," the Israeli leader said, adding, "I'm a free trade champion, and free trade has to be fair trade." However, Trump indicated he might not reduce tariffs on Israel. "We give Israel $4 billion a year," Trump said, and quipped in a troll-like manner: "Congratulations by the way."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Sunday for a visit to the White House. He is the first foreign leader who meets President Trump in-person in an effort to negotiate a deal to remove Trump's tariffs, which for Israel is a 17% rate, the result of a significant US bilateral trade deficit.
#USA #Israel #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Supreme Court sides with Donald Trump in deportation fight
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling allowing the Trump administration to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people from the U.S. but said they must get a court hearing before deportation.
President Donald Trump has been in the spotlight as his administration seeks to deport millions of people as part of a federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
That fight took center stage last month after the government deported more than 200 Venezuelan nationals, who the U.S. alleges have ties to the violent Tren de Aragua gang.
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's emergency request and overturned a lower court ruling that had temporarily halted deportations under the Alien Enemies Act while legal challenges proceeded.
The majority decision said, however, that detainees must still be given an "opportunity" to present their case to a judge before being removed from the U.S.
#USA #Migrants #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane