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A portrait of former US President Ronald Reagan hangs behind US President Donald Trump as he answers questions from members of the news media in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on May 28, 2025.
Donald Trump’s tariff gamesmanship ran into a legal brick wall on Wednesday when the Court of International Trade ruled that he did not have the authority to impose his sweeping “Liberation Day” import duties. The ruling also applies to fentanyl-related tariffs but does not affect sectoral duties on Canadian automobiles, steel, and aluminum. Markets rallied, the White House plans to appeal the ruling, so uncertainty prevails.
Trump’s fight with Harvard moves to court
While the White House lawyers are coping with a setback on trade, they pushed forward with another battle that will test the limits of executive power. In a Boston courtroom today, Harvard University will argue that the Trump administration violated the university’s free speech rights when it revoked international student visas. Expect Harvard, home to one of the world’s highest rated law schools, to make compelling arguments, using the president’s words to show he is on an ideological crusade.
Airlines cut routes as Canadians stay away
Canadian airlines are grounding flights to US destinations as Canadians continue to stay away from the United States in a grassroots reaction to Trump’s threats. In April, return air trips by Canadians fell 20% compared to 2024, Statistics Canada has reported, and automobile trips fell 35%. The decline in visitors is hitting the US tourism industry hard, putting more than 230,000 jobs at risk.
31: Hold up, dawg. Guinness World Records has temporarily rescinded the title of World’s Oldest Dog that was awarded last year to a Rafeiro do Alentejo guard dog in Portugal that was allegedly 31 when it died (that’s more than 200 human years). New vet testimony has cast doubt on the dog’s real age.
⅔: Ireland is suffering from a serious housing crisis. Rents are so high that some two-thirds of Irish young adults live with their parents, which is nearly 20 points higher than the EU average. Experts blame a failure to invest in social housing and an overreliance on market solutions, which created incentives for developers to build luxury or short-term rental properties rather than lower or middle-income housing.
8: Russia’s commercial airline industry is hitting some serious turbulence. In the first eight days of December, according to a new report, Russian civilian airliners suffered at least eight separate serious mechanical failures. The rash of incidents is part of a wider problem: Western sanctions preventing the delivery of parts and service to Western-made aircraft in Russia are causing Russia’s commercial fleets to fall apart,
65: Houthi airstrikes on commercial ships navigating the Red Sea have caused cargo volumes through that waterway to fall 65% from normal levels. On Tuesday, even after two rounds of US-led airstrikes on Houthi targets, a Houthi missile struck a Greek-owned ship off the Yemeni coast. The Houthis say they’ll stop when there’s a cease-fire in Gaza, a call echoed by Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday at Davos. (See our explainer on why Qatar is a small country with big influence these days.)
An Air India flight heading to San Francisco was forced to land in Siberia, Russia, on Tuesday due to engine problems. US citizens aboard the flight were reportedly nervous, given the state of US-Russian relations amid the war in Ukraine.
The incident comes just days after United Airlines’ CEO Scott Kirby warned such a thing could happen. He noted that United refuses to take the risk that carriers from China and India take by flying over Russia. He was pointing out the possible risks of needing to make an unplanned landing in Russian territory, but Kirby was also highlighting the competitive advantage that airlines like Air India enjoy by taking to the skies over Russia, compared to their American competitors.
While some passengers complained about the makeshift accommodations they were provided on the ground in Russia, the airline said the support was the “best possible” given the unusual circumstances. Air India, for its part, is sending a retrieval plane that’s due to arrive in Russia on Thursday morning.
“Given the high amount of tension between the US and Russia and the detention of US nationals by Russian authorities,” says Alex Brideau, Eurasia Group’s lead Russia analyst, “the concern among US nationals on the flight is understandable. That said, Russia probably does not want to create a precedent that could be applied to Russian nationals abroad.”
Also, since India is an increasingly important economic partner to Russia, Brideau adds, Moscow will want to avoid creating a situation that would cause a problem for the Indian government.
There's no sugarcoating it. America needs work. Not just when it comes to the state of democracy, either. A 2022 report found that 43,000 US bridges are “structurally deficient.” The report also found that those same bridges are crossed 168 million times a day. At the current rate, it would take 30 years to fix all of the country’s structurally deficient bridges. Do you feel lucky?
It's not a question Americans particularly want to ask themselves on every morning commute or summer road trip. The richest country in the history of the world should be able to keep its infrastructure updated and its roads intact. Globally, of course, the number of faulty bridges is much higher, but at least here in the United States, things may be starting to change. On November 6, 2021, Congress passed the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes $550 billion for America’s roads, bridges, mass transit, rail, airports, and ports. On GZERO World, Secretary Pete Buttigieg discusses what he has called "the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the Interstate highway system."
As we all know, allocating the money is only half the battle. Ensuring it’s spent correctly is where the...rubber meets the road. In a wide-ranging interview with Ian Bremmer, Secretary Buttigieg addresses pressing news, from the debt ceiling showdown in DC to the latest revelations following February's East Palestine train derailment. They also look big-picture at US infrastructure's role in foreign policy and where China's global aspirations clash with America's manufacturing concerns. Oh, and they talk 2024, of course, and about why the Secretary recently changed his permanent address from Indiana to that swing state, Michigan.
Listen: In this episode of the GZERO World podcast, we’re bridging America’s divides, and we mean that literally. It’s infrastructure week on GZERO World, and Ian Bremmer is talking to Mr. Infrastructure himself: US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. They discuss the state of America’s roads, bridges, and tunnels, as well as the landmark legislation meant to upgrade them all. They also talk about how major technological advances in electric vehicles and industrial shipping are poised to change the ways we move, and the things we ship. Oh, and they talk 2024 and why the Secretary recently changed his permanent address to that swing state, Michigan.
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KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) - Governments in Asia could require inbound travellers to receive Covid-19 vaccinations, AirAsia Group's Chief Executive Officer said on Wednesday (Dec 9), with such conditions expected to become a trend in the region.
SYDNEY • Australia will likely require international arrivals to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face a prolonged quarantine, as officials sketch out what "new normal" virus curbs may look like.