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A list of Tariffs by Nation are shown here in the BBC. DJT held out a chart showing these tariffs in the Rose Garden on Liberation Day, April 2, 2025. These are half reciprocal tariffs says DJT, only half each country charges as tariffs on US products including manipulating currency and non tariff barriers, the US he says is being "kind."  Top of the list in tariffs were- China  34%  European Union 20% Vietnam   46% Japan    24% South Korea 25% India     26% Taiwan 32% Britain    10% Brazil      10% Turkey     10% Argentina  10% ...

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Jaguar Land Rover is dropping the Land Rover name and will be called JLR with an all electric line planned by 2036. The holding company JLR will have 4 brands- Range Rover at the high end, the off-road Defender made in Slovakia, the Discovery as a family brand, and the Jaguar now priced at the high end. The strategy is designed to cope with stiff competition from Tesla and other EV brands, by moving it upscale- the average price of JLR going to 77,000 pounds from 44,000 pounds.  Batteries will be sourced from a new gigafactory in Europe built by Tata Motors, the parent company. A new Range Rover all electric will come out in 2024. With the new strategy only 330,000 vehicles would take it to breakeven instead of 660,000. JLR turned profitable in the last financial year generating cash flow of $1.3 billion pounds in last 6 months. It will invest 15 billion pounds over 5 years. 29,000 employees out of 40,000 will be upskilled to support the all new electric line to build, sell and service new EV's. ...

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Africa's Harrison Mwillima looks at Geman reunification from an African perspective of regional integration, and says unity should be an everpresent endeavour. Visiting cities in East and West Germany organized by DW's Africa department he is struck by how much East Germans feel left behind. Merkel herself grew up in East Germany but like many young people in 1990 left for the west and seemed to forget the east where they came from. He remembers the time when people from Angola , Mozambique and other African countries studied at universities in the German Democratic Republic, former east Germany,  and the sense of socialist solidarity that aroused much enthusiasm.  Mwillima says a sense of unity can only go so far if there is a lingering sense of inequality  between the two parts. He sees a distinct hunger to achieve unity among regions and peoples or countries. Yet 31 years later in Germany its not only worth pursuing this ideal but remembering that it has to be done as a natural and ever growing endeavor that is not just an event. ...

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About half of people in Britain in a recent poll taken during the second wave of coronavirus say they see a negative impact on mental health. Depression is affecting a fifth of the population in Britain. It has never been more important to be kind to each other and ourselves as the second wave hits a weary and fatigue stricken society.  People found many activities and hobbies to do during the 6 week lockdown period and there was an expectation that spring would bring better conditions. During the second wave of coronavirus there is a sense of a dreary period that goes on through Christmas. The uncertainty from the U.S. elections, Brexit in Britain, the reopening in countries such as India, the loss of jobs and income in countries that range from severe in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina to moderate in China, adds to the anxiety of daily life with surging cases. Creating what amounts to a low grade depressive effect during the second wave that needs to be addressed by the authorites, by health agencies, and in other ways, says this report in The Times. ...

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The deep deterioration in U.S. China relations as the U.S. sees itself in a disadvantage in trade with China and the Trump administration imposes tariffs, calls for changing existing supply chains and trade to safeguard U.S. interests. The lack of transparency from China about the coronavirus and the underreporting that led to the U.S. and Europe not taking the threat seriously enough or taking defensive steps is also seen as a part of the deeper problem as the U.S. and Europe bear the brunt of the coronavirus in terms of deaths and cases.  This presents a deeper problem than the trade issue by itself as the U.S. had a trade issue with Japan which was later resolved. The way the Trump administration sees itself as the only protector of U.S. interests in trade, security and international cooperation creates a new level of tensions. Other countries such as Australia, India, Japan, and countries in South East Asia are seen as having similar concerns as supply chains are being remade to reflect the new trading conditions and economic structures. ...

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Most questions about the vaccines from Oxford, Pfizer and Moderna are answered in this Q&A in The Times.  The Oxford vaccine is the only vaccine that is being provided at cost to the public at a cost of 4 pounds, Pfizer using German technology at 15 pounds and Moderna from Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 28 pounds. The Oxford vaccine can be stored in a fridge, the others use mRNA technology of messenger RNA which requires ultra low temperature storage. Astra Zeneca could have handled the trials and methodology for results in a better way. As the two trials one that produced results of 62% and the other results of 90% cannot be combined to give results of 70% but are two distinct and separate trials. However too much emphasis has been placed on the vaccine, as other prevention measures remain important for 2021. Other vaccines are being developed in Britain with new technology and in India by ICMR which are in trials stage and about which not enough is known. The Russian and Chinese vaccines have not released detailed data limiting their use around the world. ...

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Israeli leader Yair Lapid says "we need a government where right, left and centre work together as a way of life." The result is that Lapid's party is putting together a coalition of the right, left and centre- parties of Bennett, Labor, Gantz, and Lapid getting together to form a new government with sharing of ministries. Bennett would be the prime minister for 2 years followed by Lapid under this new arrangement. The whole arrangement is a result of no one  party or group of parties gaining a majority in repeated elections. Under the last arrangement Benny Gantz and Netanyahu shared power with Netanyahu going first as prime minister.  The new arrangement is designed as an effort to give Israel a chance to have anyone other than Netanyahu as prime minister, so intense is the desire for changes- almost as if Israel needed it "as it needs air to breathe," the way Lapid puts it. Lapid says the goal was not compromise which was tried in the past, the goal now was a government of change. ...

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Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia's leader for less than 2 years, is a courageous choice for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, says the Guardian. He has accomplished much in a short time with the peace arrangements with Eritrea, ending a 20 year old war, and opening up dialogue and discussion in the country by lifting bans on opposition groups. Half of the cabinet is female, and the head of the election commission an exiled dissident.  Yet the Guardian is cautiously optimistic because the change is sudden and dramatic, it needs to be consolidated for the long term. The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front appointed him as leader to make these changes. What the Nobel Prize COmmittee has done is to recognize the hope that this brings to Africa, torn as it has been by recurring wars and ethnic conflicts for  way too long after the scars of colonialism. Can the positive changes in Asia provide new inspiration to Africa that this can be overcome and modernization, improvement in the lives of people happen as everyone each on his own account takes personal responsibility.   ...

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The president of the European Parliament and head of the socialist bloc in the parliament, Martin Schulz, is now headed for a comeback after losing the election to Merkel and the CDU. He will be the new Foreign Minister of Germany in a coalition agreement between the CDU of Merkel and the SPD party. After losing the election- even though polls showed him at 50% support in Feb. 2017- Schulz ruled out another coalition with Merkel's CDU which appeared to drain the SPD of energy and identity.  With the need to avoid fresh elections Schulz agreed to Merkel's overtures. He has a passion for football, and it played a part in his turning to alcoholism and missing out on graduating from high school. Yet he rebounded, running a bookstore with his sister- books were an elixir for Schulz- and becoming mayor of a small town Wurselen near Aachen in western Germany. His start in European politics came with a win for European parliament seat in 1994, rising to be president.   ...

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A sanitary health expert Arne Panesar of the German Corporation for International Cooperation says for about six of ten persons in the world there are no sustainable sanitary systems for the waste. It is not enough he says to build toilets, equally important  is how the waste is treated and disposed. Prime minister Modi of India has stated that toilets are more important than temples in India and the goal is set for all Indians to have secure sustainable toilets in 2019.  Panesar says of Dacca, Bangladesh, that for its 16 million only 2% have securely managed sustainable sanitary provisions. Waste that is not treated and correctly disposed off ends up in streams and neighborhoods creating health hazards- diseases like cholera, typhus and polio thriving in such conditions. It is not clear says this report that sanitation needs can be met by even 2030. In India the focus is now not just toilet building but on on safe sanitary provisions to make health a priority, as well as women's education which suffers without adequate toilets. ...

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French president Hollande's approval ratings dropped to a new low of 12% in a survey by TNS Sofres. In 2013 Hollande's approval ratings dropped to 26% before increasing to 30% after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in Jan. 2015. The recent terrorist attacks, France's high unemployment rate, his appearance of being indecisive, and the new labor law, have increased Hollande's unpopularity. As a result his colleague in the Socialist Party, prime minister Manuel Valls, now plays an important role in the administration. Middle class workers 35-49 years are the group where Hollande does poorly. Former president Sarkozy's rating never dropped below 30%. Compared to Hollande, Merkel of Germany has an approval rating that is far better at 54% and Obama in the U.S. of 56%. Merkel has achieved this following the differences in Germany over letting in large numbers of immigrants, and Obama after 8 years in office and differences in the Democratic Party on trade and economic policy. Trudeau in Canada has an approval rating of 63%. ...

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The decision to let the soccer game go on between Atalanta and Valencia ion the Champions League in San Siro Stadium, Milan, accelerated the spread of coronavirus says this report in terh WSJ. Practically the whole town of Bergamo moved to Milan to watch the game for a home team. Italian dfoctors say there was a surge in coronavirus cases two weeks after the game on February 19. The virus then hit both Spain and Italy.  New York also went ahead with games with Madison Square Garden putting 100,000 people through its doors, having not received government guidance to stop. It was not till March 12 that game locations and stadiums were shut down. Doctors in infectious diseases say this was a distinctive amplifier, mass gatherings of people spread the virus quickly, especially one as contagious as this one. This report says in early January the coronavirus arrived from Munich, and in mid-February was still based on rumors about its spread in Lombardy, Italy, so that authorites were lax about it, not understanding the threat being faced.  ...

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The letter of December 2017 from Director NIH that announced the lifting of the ban on "gain of function" research. The lifting of the ban led to research at labs that is seen as a possible scenario of what happened to cause an accidental pandemic. 

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Statements made by Boris Johnson, the new Foreign Secretary of Britain, and former Mayor of London, have gained wide attention in the media.  He has made controversial statements about Obama, Putin, Hillary Clinton, the European Union and written a poem on Turkey's president Erdogan for The Spectator. Theresa May, Britain's new prime minister, is described as making an astute move by making Boris Johnson the Foreign Secretary, as this keeps him  away from the Brexit negotiations, while at the same time including a leader of the Leave campaign in the cabinet.  Foreign ministers of Sweden and France expressed dismay after learning of his appointment. Johnson said of Obama that he was motivated by an anti-imperialist agenda because of "an ancestral dislike of the British Empire," following Obama's recent visit to Britain. Obama's grandfather was a Kenyan porter in British run Kenya. On Trump he says " he is clearly out of his mind," about some of Trump's comments on Muslims. He has apologized for comments on Hillary Clinton. He is in person quite different say people who know him. As Mayor of London he remained popular and helped host the Olympic games in 2012, and setup the city's bike sharing program. He is a prolific author, journalist, and a contributor to the The Telegraph newspaper, with fees of 275,000 pounds a year. ...

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India stands true to the principles of Mohandas Gandhi and joins Pope Francis in strongly condemning the killing of innocent civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Gandhi would have done in his own way when he even paused the nonviolent struggle against the British after the burning of police stations in British India. Of no less significance is the danger of food insecurity caused by the war in Asia, Africa and Latin America which India is meeting. India is America's true partner in the free world in a way that even Germany, France, even Britain fail to be now that we know Merkel's policy "errors" and Macron's lofty ambitions for Europe, emboldened Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. American and German business integration of the American and German economies with China may also have emboldened Russia and China in their perceptions of world affairs that directly conflict with China's Buddhist history, Gandhi's view of the world, and India as the land of the Buddha.  Mr. Biden will talk with Modi about the invasion of Ukraine , the Indo-Pacific, and the building of strong India-US partnership. A major issue that has not been discussed at this level is the challenge India is facing and meeting of food security after the war in Ukraine. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and many developing countries are feeling the effects of the war with soaring food prices denying access to basic necessities in these countries. This extends to countries from Asia to Africa and Latin America affecting hundreds of millions of people.  India is providing food assistance following its effort to share vaccines in a remarkable effort that has not received the world's attention. Vaccination for over a billion people in India has taken place in one of the significant achievements during the pandemic. This was combined with food security assistance to hundreds of millions of people in India in India's population of 1.2 billion people. India is now in a position to meet some of the world's food needs with its own efforts in agricultural production. In this way the role played by the US since World War II for peace and security is being met by India as a significant partner in the free world, and in a way this is returning the kind of help the US offered India during the period of famine in the sixties. US president Biden understands this as he will discuss "mitigating the destabilising impact on global food supply and commodity markets" of the war in Ukraine. These are the hidden costs of the war that are not less painful than the gory war scenes unfolding today in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and because they are about food they are of no less importance. ...

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As the coronavirus surges in India with over 300,000 cases a day on April 26, a clear picture on the vaccination drive in the country is critical. The following is the picture of the vaccination progress from Union Health Ministry in India as shown in The Hindustan Times. India has vaccinated 140 million people with at least one dose says this report in The Hindustan Times.  On Saturday 24th April 2.4 million doses were given for that day at 8 pm. This was done over 99 days. This means about 12% of the population of 1.2 billion has been vaccinated.  This compares with the vaccination in Germany for about 21% of people vaccinated with over 18 million getting the first dose in Germany by around April 25. Both Germany and India have suffered from vaccine shortages, some skepticism about vaccinations. Gradually sentiment is shifting in both countries so that once skeptical Germany now has about 75% of people willing to take vaccine on April 25, 2021. In India about 6 million healthcare workers have 2 doses of vaccine, and about 9 million have 1 dose. About 6 million frontline workers have 2 doses and 12 million frontline workers have 1 dose of vaccine.  There is a shortage of vaccine supplies and a bold decision was made by the Indian government on April 25th 2021, after the surge of cases to a world wide maximum of over 300,000 cases a day. The decision was to give immediate regulatory approval for the three major vaccines in the US to be brought and used in India. And delivery will be speeded up - no customs duties and fast processing of supplies access to speedy logistical supply routes. This is a huge step forward for the vaccination drive as this means Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines can now be used in India. The government is also urging the companies to make in India or export to India with prices that provide flexibility in pricing for the private market. The locally produced Covishield Astra Zeneca based vaccine produced by Serum Institute will be allowed to be sold to the private market at 600 rupees or close to about $10. Pfizer and Moderna, J&J can price in a way that would be somewhere around this price range. The access to more vaccines and the ability of the companies to make a reasonable profit in the Indian private market means that vaccine supplies should open up in May and June.  This could give a huge boost to vaccination numbers so that India's vaccination percentage of population vaccinated should keep up with that in countries like Germany and France that were slower to get started in Europe but are now catching up quickly. This is a massive achievement because the population numbers are huge compared to Europe. ...

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The Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian Government Mr. Anantha Nageswaran, makes these comments on the economy of India before the presentation of the new Budget for April 2023 to March 2024. The Economic Survey of India states that "India is prepared to grow at its potential once the one-off shocks of the Covid pandemic and of the supply chain recede." He sees the sweeping effects of the reforms across multiple dimensions taken from 2016 to 2022 having a lag effect and now making their impact. This means that potential growth can go up to 7 or 8% with macroeconomic improvement, fiscal improvement, infrastructure efforts, women's employment, and getting rid of LIC (License, Inspect and Compliance) across local, state and central levels. He says the central bank estimate of 6.8% retail inflation for 2022-2023 is outside its target range but yet not high enough to deter private consumption, and no low enough to weaken the inducement to invest. He says slower growth in the world including the US will bring two advantages for India- low oil prices and a better current account deficit situation.  ...

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iCET Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies is a new program that was agreed to between president Biden and prime minister Modi at the Quad Summit in May 2022. It has the focus of building the US relationship with India for advanced and emerging technologies in the competition with China, and also as a way to expand India's role in the US and EU supply chain arrangement. Its first inaugural dialogue happened this week between Jake Sullivan NSA for the US and Ajit Doval NSA for India. The goals of iCET are To seek to build supply chains which increase co-production and co-development between the countries  To increase linkages between the countries startup ecosystems To broaden defense innovation and technology cooperation To build resilient semiconductor supply chains  Space cooperation STEM talent Next generation 5G and 6G telecommunications cooperation The US will speed up approval of GE Engines making of engines in India for light combat aircraft manufactured in India. ...

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This WSJ report shows Russian oil exports to European ports actually increased in April compared to March 2022. Some of the shipments are sent out with destination unknown, and some oil is transferred to bigger oil tankers further out at sea. Mixing of the oil blurs its origin says this report. It cites TankerTrackers.com showing that ports in European Union member states which are historically the largest buyers of Russian oil had seen exports of Russian crude oil to these ports rise to an average of 1.6 million barrels a day in April from 1.3 million a day in March. Companies such as Shell consider oil that is less than 50% Russian as not Russian oil. Countries such as Netherlands are seeing increase in oil from Russia according to charts shown here. Simon Johnson, professor at MIT and former chief economist at the IMF says until there is an oil embargo this is likely to happen, and it is all about cheap energy. Even with an oil embargo Johnson asks will they sanction tankers out at sea. ...

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Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, visits Mohandas Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on his visit to India in April 2022. After returning from South Africa and following writing Hind Swaraj in 1910, Mohandas Gandhi set up the Ashram during the period after 1915 as the place where he lived and worked in organizing the struggle for Indian independence. This is where he started a campaign of spinning and weaving homespun cloth so that Indians would not buy British textiles in a form of non-cooperation with British rule. By 1930 this evolved into the Salt Satyagraha and noncooperation with British laws in making of salt. The British approved provincial assemblies as a limited self rule concept in 1936-37. In 1942 Mohandas Gandhi launched the Quit India movement leading to arrest and jail for Gandhi and his followers. After the war ended in 1945 Labour party's Clement Attlee was elected British prime minister. In 1946 Mountbatten began the final negotiations that led to independence and Hind Swaraj in 1947, 37 years after Gandhi first wrote Hind Swaraj. ...

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US aid to Ukraine shifts to the long term. Republicans ask the president and Democrats to leave Ukraine aid on a stand alone basis and not mixed with other health or budget requests where there are differences. Republicans want to move quickly on aid to Ukraine as the invasion on the east of Ukraine builds up. In comments earlier this week Mr. Biden told a national audience in a televised speech that he wants to make Ukraine aid to be ongoing as this could be a long effort to resist the Russian invasion. Ramstein now has a new symbolism - US Joint Chiefs head Gen. Mark Milley was clear about it- "The outcome of this battle, right here today, depends on the people in this room." The battle is one in eastern Ukraine. Defense Secretary Austin was clear about also clear- "the war had galvanized the world." About 40 countries were represented at Ramstein base, some virtually. There was a sense that the previous symbolism with Anglela Merkel and Mr. Steinmeier and Mr. Schroeder may have emboldened Russia into invasion of Ukraine. ...

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Paul Krugman says in this column in the NYT that Biden's policies for trade reflect a stronger conviction for protecting American technologies and building its manufacturing base than previous administrations including the Trump administration. With less rhetoric and with quiet determination Biden has placed American domestic manufacturing as a requirement for renewable subsidies for new electric vehicles manufacturing and sale in the Inflation Reduction Act. In the Chips and Science Act Biden has placed US semiconductor technology promotion and manufacturing at the core of the Act. Krugman says this was the right thing for Biden to do. The renewable subsidy comes from ordinary Americans paying taxes who would benefit most from new jobs created in the electric vehicle industry. China has gained such a big lead in semiconductor chips manufacturing and materials by supporting its industry, that it is the right thing to do to give American manufacturers the same kind of support. Trade rules were about creating a level playing field, yet previous administrations failed to create that level playing field, and the Biden administration has boldly made its point clear. ...

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Rohan Premkumar in The Hindu provides this report of Chinese prisoners from the Opium wars of the 1850's sent to this "ancient sub-jail"in the Nilgiris hills Tamilnadu by the British.  These POW camps provided cheap indentured labor to establish tea plantations in the Nilgiri hills. It helped to bring in revenue for the Empire through tea cultivation. About $1 million was spent to renovate this building so that future generations know what happened here since the arrival of the British by 1800. By contrast Yuen Yuen Ang at John Hopkins University from Singapore is interviewed for the NYT by Ezra Klein on China's Xi Jinping and the autocracy with democracy characteristics that prevailed under Deng, without an awareness of this period. For Zhongxun and Qi Xin, Jinping's parents this period of the Opium Wars, Taiping Rebellion, Boxer Uprising from 1850's and British, European invasion, must have been very real in the 1930's. And added to this the Japanese invasion of China. This has deeply influenced Xi Jinping.  ...

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This WSJ podcast looks at the influx of 3 million refugees into Poland from war torn Ukraine. During the last two decades many people from Poland left the country to find jobs in the European Union and Britain. As a result there were more elderly in many parts of Poland and acute shortage of workers. In the long run Polish officials see the refugees as assimilating easily and welcomed by the people in Warsaw and other cities. The influx of new people is seen as a positive for Poland in the long run. Yet in the current situation there are concerns about the ability of Poland to cope with social services needed for the elderly and traumatized refugees.  About one million of the three million refugees now in Poland from Ukraine are children and there is a dire need for school teachers and other help. Many are women and elderly with young men remaining in Ukraine. Poland has asked the US and Canada for help with dealing with the huge influx of refugees in a period of 2 weeks. ...

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The different views on Ukraine of the Republican party in the US are shown here in this WSJ report. The views range from Rand Paul, Donald Trump to Republican leadership in the Senate under Mitch McConnell. Mr. Trump is also seen as representing an older view of relations with Russia that may no longer exist after the full scale invasion of Ukraine. In this sense Russian tanks invading Ukraine is a watershed event like that of Prague in 1968 and Hungary in 1956. Old views no longer hold. The Cold War began with the Berlin Blockade in 1948- the response of president Harry Truman was the Berlin Airlift supplying the city of Berlin, and some such response is taking shape with the $350 million immediate aid to Ukraine that Biden promised on Feb. 26, within 48 hours of the invasion. The Hungarian revolution in 1956 set the stage for the Cold War after Soviet tanks entered Budapest. The West and the entire free world rallied in 1956 and again in 1968. Some such change is happening now throughout the free world. ...