President Trump on Thursday said he plans to follow through on Saturday on his threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada.
“We’ll be announcing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a number of reasons,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He cited the influx of migrants at the southern border, the flow of fentanyl into the United States and the trade deficit the U.S. has with its neighbors.
“I’ll be putting the tariff of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, and we will really have to do that because we have very big deficits with those countries,” he said. “Those tariffs may or may not rise with time.”
Trump added that he would decide Thursday night whether to include oil among the items subject to tariffs.
Hamas frees 8 more hostages and Israel releases 110 more Palestinian prisoners
The swap of hostages for prisoners is a key part of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas. Militants are still holding dozens more hostages abducted in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the war.
Also on Thursday, Hamas confirmed the death of Mohammed Deif, head of its military wing and one of the alleged masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack, six months after Israel announced he was killed in an airstrike in Gaza.
The militants in Gaza freed three Israelis and five Thai nationals, who were working on farms in southern Israel when taken hostage more than 15 months ago.
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Trump's Mideast envoy visits Gaza before meeting with Netanyahu

Witkoff's visit to Gaza was confirmed by a U.S. State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Israeli news organizations reported that the country's military took Witkoff to inspect the Netzarim Corridor, which it created during the war to split the Gaza Strip in two. It partially withdrew from the corridor in recent days, allowing tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the territory's north.
Large swaths of Gaza have been destroyed since Israel launched an offensive in response to Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants who killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel and took another 251 hostage. Over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since, according to Gaza health officials.
Ukrainian drone strike hits second Russian oil refinery in a week

Ukraine says its forces successfully hit an oil refinery in the Russian town of Kstovo, around 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
Four drones hit a Lukoil company depot, Ukrainian media said, adding that the facility suffered significant damage.
Videos posted on social media showed large flames rising over an industrial facility.
Regional governor Gleb Nikitin said that drone debris had fallen over the industrial zone, and that no casualties had been reported at the scene.
Separately, the governor of the region of Smolensk, Vasily Anokhin, said on Telegram that a "massive" drone attack against "civilian infrastructure" had occurred in his region, although no casualties were immediately reported.
UNRWA chief appeals to UN Security Council to stop Israeli ban
The head of UNRWA on Tuesday called on the UN Security Council to stop Israel from enforcing a ban that will prevent the UN Palestinian aid agency from operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, two days before it is set to take effect.
Implementing the legislation passed by the Israeli parliament "will heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territories at a critical moment," Philippe Lazzarini told the most powerful UN body in New York.
He called for a "decisive intervention in support of peace and stability" in the region.
Israel moved to bar the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from working on Israeli territory after alleging that some of its employees were involved in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.
Ukraine war briefing: Putin refuses direct talks with Zelenskyy

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin was “afraid” of negotiations on ending the war after the Russian president ruled out direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart. “Today, Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war,” Zelenskyy said. Putin on Tuesday ruled out speaking directly with Zelenskyy, whom he called “illegitimate” because elections have not been held since Russia started the war. Because of the war, Ukraine is under martial law, during which the Ukrainian constitution does not allow elections. Ukraine has warned against it being excluded from any peace talks between Russia and the US, accusing Putin of wanting to “manipulate” Donald Trump, the US president.
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Ukrainian drones targeted oil and power facilities in western parts of Russia, officials and media outlets reported on Wednesday. Baza, a Russian social media channel close to Russia’s security services, reported that an oil refinery was on fire at Kstovo in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow. In the western region of Smolensk, which borders Belarus, there was a “massive” drone attack and air defence systems destroyed a drone threatening a nuclear power facility, said the governor, Vasily Anokhin. Dozens more drones targeted the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, and the Tver region that borders the Moscow region to its south, regional governors said. Flights were halted for safety at the Kazan airport in the Republic of Tatarstan, 830km (516 miles) east of Moscow, officials said.
Make no mistake: Israel’s far right is planning for a Gaza without Palestinians

Two days in, Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinian civilians as they sought to return to their homes near Gaza’s southern border, killing a child. This weekend, Hamas opted to release only soldiers, despite having agreed to first release all remaining civilian women and children. Israeli forces then delayed the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, while Hamas dragged its feet on informing Israel how many of the remaining hostages to be exchanged were alive or dead.
TVNL Comment: How do you say 'ethnic cleansing' in Hebrew?
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- Trump threatens ‘disciplinary action’ for USAid staff ignoring foreign aid freeze
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