U.S. President Donald Trump pauses new tariffs on Mexico and Canada exports amid trade war threats.
Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story is coming up, but first, making headlines:
The Philippines' House of Representatives has impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, accusing her of plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and misusing millions of dollars in public funds. At least 215 lawmakers signed the impeachment complaint, which will now be sent to the Senate for a trial.
U.S. company OpenAI has expanded its partnership with Kakao, a popular messaging app in South Korea. The collaboration will add ChatGPT functionality to the app while providing OpenAI with valuable training data and insights into user behavior.
“We are particularly interested in AI and messaging. I think there is really a rich thing to explore there that can improve the experience a lot for users”
The agreement comes just a day after Japan’s SoftBank offered $3 billion to incorporate OpenAI technologies into its business.
Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka attended a presidential prayer breakfast in Washington. His aim: to push the region's aid and climate priorities with the Trump administration after it placed most of the United States Agency for International Development staff on administrative leave. Fiji is scrambling to find a way to pay staff after the U.S. froze its funding.
Indonesian authorities have escorted Serge Atlaoui, a French national who spent nearly 20 years on death row in Indonesia, back to France. Authorities convicted Atlaoui of drug offenses in 2005, and France's government intervened in 2015 to grant him a last-minute reprieve from execution. This transfer agreement between France and Indonesia allows him to serve the rest of his sentence in France.
The U.S. Postal Service lifted its suspension of parcels from China and Hong Kong on Wednesday. USPS announced the short-lived suspension on Tuesday after the U.S. imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, causing the Postal Service to stop accepting parcels from these regions.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico sent global markets in a downward spiral Monday. They recovered some lost ground when Trump announced he would postpone a 25% tariff on Mexican goods for a month in exchange for concessions. He later announced a similar pause with Canada. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.
President Donald Trump’s weekend tariff announcement is being felt in Ottawa, in Mexico City, in Beijing — and here, in New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Taipei. Around the world, markets fell Monday after Trump dropped 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and 10 percent on China.
In Washington, Trump spoke of his agreement Monday with Mexico to pause the tariffs for a month in exchange for concessions from Mexico City meant to stop migration flows and the movement of illegal drugs across the southern border. Markets quickly made up some losses after his announcement. He also announced a similar pause with Canada later on Monday.
"We have to stop people from pouring in, and we have to stop fentanyl, and that includes China. Fentanyl has killed this year at least 200,000 people. It's pouring in from China through Mexico and Canada. And they've got to stop it. And if they don't stop it, the tariffs are going to get worse.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sounded a hopeful note on Monday.
"I'm sure that in this month, we'll be able to have results, good results for your people, good results for the people of Mexico, and this was the result of the agreement. It was a good conversation, with respect."
China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Fu Cong, on Monday said Beijing would turn to the World Trade organization for recourse.
"We do believe that this is in violation of the WTO rules. So, that's why China is filing a complaint at the WTO. And we're also aware we may be forced to take countermeasures. And let me also emphasize that there is no winner in a trade war."
Trump acknowledged that the move could raise prices but said the higher tariffs would be “worth the price” to bolster U.S. interests.
Anita Powell, VOA News, the White House.
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I’m Chris Casquejo.
Finally, India’s leader took a big splash in a holy river for Hindus.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a ritual dip in the river at the world's largest religious festival, Kumbh Mela. Modi dunked his head under the water several times to cleanse himself of sin. Millions of people have already bathed in the river and participated in the ritual.
Thanks for watching VOA Asia Weekly.