DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Washington blasts China over retaliatory tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods A White House spokeswoman said China was targeting "fairly traded" US goods. Beijingʼs move has bolstered the prospect of an all-out trade war between the worldʼs two largest economies. The United States has lashed out at Beijing afterChinese tariffs on $3 billion (€2.4 billion) worth of US goods entered forceon Monday. "Instead of targeting fairly traded US exports, China needs to stop its unfair trading practices which are harming US national security and distorting global markets," White House deputy spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said. China said on Sunday that it would start taxing 128 mostly agricultural US goods at midnight on Monday, including a 25 percent tariff rate on pork products and a new 15 percent tariff on fruits and nuts.
Dalit caste protests hit India spurred by Supreme Court decision Several people have died in violent clashes between police and protesters led by Dalits. Demonstrators opposed a court ruling to slow down legal proceedings against those accused of crimes against Indiaʼs lowest caste. At least six people were killed on Monday in clashes betweenIndiaʼs lowest caste groupand the police. The street battles were sparked by a Supreme Court ruling that halted the immediate arrest of people accused of discriminating against the marginalized Dalits. The protests, called "Bharat Bandh," or "India shutdown," took place in multiple states in India. Protesters let by Dalits set police posts on fire, blocked rail tracks and major roads and attacked buses and government buildings. Live fire was also exchanged in some places.
76/2018 • 05 APRIL, 2018
Boris Johnson accused of making misleading UK government scientists have said they do not know
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has come in for criticism over a DW interview in which he said he had been assured the nerve agent came from Russia. However, UK government scientists have said they do not know. Johnsonʼs comments to DW were met with skepticism on Wednesday, after scientists said they could not be sure that the toxin used against former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia had come from Russia. The comments that drew criticism of Johnson were made by him in a DW interview last month, when the British foreign minister was asked how he knew Russia was the source of the Novichok nerve agent. "How did you manage to find out so quickly? Does Britain possess samples of this?" DWʼs Zhanna Nemtsova asked Johnson in the DW video. After a lengthy preamble about his efforts to improve relations with Russia, Johnson appeared to return to the subject of whether Russia was responsible. "When I look at the evidence, the people from Porton Down, the laboratory… they were absolutely categorical, I mean, I asked the guy myself, I said, ʼare you sure?ʼ and he said ʼthereʼs no doubt.ʼ And so, we have very little alternative but to take the action that we have taken." Among those hauling Johnson over the coals for his DW interview was the oppostion Labour Party Shadow
Home Secretary Diane Abbott, who retweeted a post featuring an edited clip from the interview. Speaking on Wednesday, Abbott questioned why Johnson had made such a robust assertion that Putin was responsible when Prime Minister Theresa May had taken the more cautious approach "with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia." "[May] was quite careful in her initial statement. But Boris Johnson apparently going on international media and saying he was 101 percent certain it was Putin - I donʼt understand where he got that information from," Abbott told the BBC. Abbott added that she hoped Labour would "get some credit for taking a more thoughtful approach and asking the right questions." Meanwhile, an embarrassed Foreign Office blamed the mistake on it tweeting a briefing given by the UK’s Ambassador to Russia "in real time" for the blunder. The now-deleted tweet read: "Analysis by world-leading experts at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down made clear this was a military-grade Novichok nerve agent produced in Russia."
Trump EPA officials to roll back Obama emissions standards for cars Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt has announced a plan to scrap pollution-preventing standards set in 2012. At the same time, a review of Californiaʼs vehicle emissions limits invites a legal battle. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday announced it would ease fuel efficiency rules for cars that had been put in place under Barack Obamaʼs administration. The move was hailed by automobile manufacturers and criticized by environmentalists. "The Obama administrationʼs determination was wrong," said EPA chief Scott Pruitt of the 2012 decision to increase average fuel efficiency across their fleet of car models to 54.5 miles per US gallon (4.32 liters per 100 kilometers) by 2025 from 35.5 miles per US gallon in 2016. The increased standards were intended to reduce fuel consumption and therefore vehicle emissions.
Crystal meth: Huge drugs haul seized in Thailand Police in Thailand have seized a bumper haul of the drug methamphetamine, after a series of raids in the past week. The UN has warned that the "Golden Triangle" region is flooding the region with drugs. Thai police said on Monday said they had confiscated some 700 kilograms of crystal meth as part of a series of raids in which 11 people were arrested. The drugs, which were seized en route to Malaysia, were said to be worth an estimated 700 million Thai baht ($22.42 million, 18.16 million euros), within Thailand.
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