The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
China warns countries against striking trade deals with US at its expense
China warns countries against striking a broader economic deal with the United States at its expense, ratcheting up its rhetoric in a spiraling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
China respects all parties resolving economic and trade differences with the United States through consultation on an equal footing, but it will firmly oppose any party striking a deal at China’s expense, its Commerce Ministry says.
Beijing “will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner” if any country seeks such deals, a ministry spokesperson says, addressing a news report that the Trump administration is preparing to pressure other countries to limit trade with China in exchange for tariff exemptions from the United States.
The “United States has abused tariffs on all trading partners under the banner of so-called ‘equivalence,’ while also forcing all parties to start so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ negotiations with them,” the spokesperson says.
China is determined and capable of safeguarding its own rights and interests, and is willing to strengthen solidarity with all parties, the ministry says.
The Trump administration is preparing to pressure nations seeking tariff reductions or exemptions from the US to curb trade with China, including imposing monetary sanctions, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Trump threatens to cut another $1 billion in Harvard funding, WSJ reports
US President Donald Trump is threatening to cut another $1 billion in funding for Harvard University, this time targeting health research, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the administration’s row with elite schools escalates.
The Trump administration has withheld government funding from Harvard, Columbia and other universities in response to their tolerance of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in what the administration has labeled a failure to control antisemitism on campus.
Harvard pushed back last week, rejecting demands for control of its student body, faculty and curriculum, saying that would cede control of the university to the government.
Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration announced it was freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding to the school and the next day threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status.
The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reports the plans to pull an additional $1 billion in research funds arose after administration officials thought a long list of demands they sent Harvard on April 11 was a confidential starting point for negotiations, and officials were surprised when Harvard released the letter to the public.
Trump officials had been planning to treat Harvard more leniently than Columbia but now want to increase the pressure on Harvard, the Journal reports.
US airstrikes kill 12 people in Yemen’s capital, Houthi rebels say
US airstrikes targeting Yemen’s capital killed 12 people and wounded 30 others, the Houthi rebels say.
The deaths mark the latest in America’s intensified campaign of strikes targeting the rebels. The US military’s Central Command declines to answer questions about the strike or discuss civilian casualties from its campaign.
The Houthis describe the strike as hitting the Farwa neighborhood market in Sanaa’s Shuub district. That area has been targeted before by the Americans.
Footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel shows damage to vehicles and buildings in the area, with screaming onlookers holding what appeared to be a dead child. Others wail on stretchers heading into a hospital
Strikes overnight into Monday also hit other areas of the country, including Yemen’s Amran, Hodeida, Marib and Saada governorates.
The strikes come after US airstrikes hit the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen last week, killing at least 74 people and wounding 171 others.
The strikes follow the resumption of negotiations in Rome between the US and Iran over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, which Washington has linked to its attacks in Yemen.