BEIJING: China has strongly rejected a fresh US threat to impose higher tariffs on its goods, calling the move a serious mistake and warning that it will respond with firm countermeasures as trade tensions between the two sides continue to escalate.

Beijing’s strong response comes as US President Donald Trump threatened fresh levies of 50 percent on imports from the world’s second-largest economy.

“The US threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the US’s blackmailing nature,” a ministry spokesperson said.

“China will never accept this,” they added.

“If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end,” the spokesperson warned.

“If the US escalates its tariff measures, China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests,” they stated.

Trump upended the world economy last week with sweeping tariffs that have raised fears of a global recession and triggered criticism even from within his own Republican Party.

As the trade war escalates, Beijing – Washington’s major economic rival – unveiled its own 34 percent duties on US goods, to come into effect on Thursday.

China’s commerce ministry also on Tuesday reiterated that it sought “dialogue” with the United States, and that there were “no winners in a trade war”.

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that the United States’ decision to cut emergency food aid to 14 countries could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger.

The World Food Programme (WFP), which was already grappling with a 40 percent drop in funding for this year, said it had been advised of the new American aid halt to 14 countries.

In comments on X, the agency did not name these countries.

“If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation,” the agency said.

The WFP is not the only UN body hit by US funding cuts, as the United States under President Donald Trump turns sharply inward and stops trying to help other countries around the world as part of an isolationist agenda.

The Trump administration told the UN Population Fund, an agency dedicated to promoting sexual and reproductive health, that it was ending two programmes, the organisation told AFP on Monday.

One of the programmes was for Afghanistan, while the other involved Syria.

Other countries besides the United States have also announced funding cuts in recent months, causing alarm among NGOs and international organisations.

The Trump administration has largely gutted USAID, the main US humanitarian assistance organisation. It previously had a yearly budget of $42.8 billion, which was 42 percent of all aid money disbursed around the world.

TOKYO: A medical helicopter crashed into the sea off southwestern Japan killing three of the six people on board, the coast guard said on Monday. 

The medical helicopter took off from Tsushima Island in the Nagasaki region and was headed to a hospital in Fukuoka city on Sunday afternoon. 

The hospital’s head, Ryuji Tominaga, told the reporters that the crash was “utterly heartbreaking” .

A few hours after losing communication, the six passengers were found by a patrol ship along with the helicopter.

A few hours after losing communication, the six passengers were found by a patrol ship along with the helicopter.

The 86-year-old patient, her 68-year-old family member and a 34-year-old doctor were unresponsive and later confirmed dead, the Japan’s coast guard said.

The other three people, found holding on to the helicopter, were conscious, it added.

An official from the helicopter operator said on Monday that the pilot and mechanic on board were both experienced and that the weather did not appear to be a problem for the flight.

The national Maritime Safety Committee will carry out investigations, he added.

According to the Asahi Shimbun daily, a helicopter operated by the same company crashed into farmland in the Fukuoka region, killing two people on board, in July last year.

DUSHANBE: Tajikistan has introduced 10-year prison sentence for those using electricity illegally as a decades-long energy crisis caused by water shortages worsens in the poor Central Asian country.

Tajikistan’s electricity consumption is limited for about six months per year due to its outdated energy infrastructure struggles to keep up with rising demand. 

The country’s energy and water resources ministry on Saturday announced measures to introduce “criminal liability for violations of regulations on the use of electricity”.

In a sign of how tightly the country controls the press and flow of information, it was only reported by independent media outlets on Monday.

Under the new rules, anybody found trying to disconnect or bypass an electricity meter will face up to 10 years in prison.

Ex-Soviet Tajikistan is ruled by President Emomali Rakhmon, a former state farm boss who has held power since 1992.

Justice Minister Rustam Shoemurod said earlier in April that those who alter meter readings or bypass them to avoid payments are “seriously damaging the country’s economic interests”.

A shortage of water needed to fuel hydroelectric plants, which generate about 95% of electricity output in Tajikistan, has led to years of regular power outages.

In March, Rakhmon said he was concerned about the irrational use of electricity in the Central Asian country, where the average salary is below $240.

He is pushing the colossal Rogun hydro power plant as a possible solution to the power crisis.

First envisioned in the 1970s under the Soviet Union, it was hit with setbacks due to the Soviet collapse and Tajik civil war in the 1990s.

Rakhmon’s plan, revived in the 2000s, has been beset by ballooning costs — estimated at more than $6 billion.

The Sahara Desert is one of the driest and most barren regions on Earth, extending across much of North Africa. It spans parts of 11 countries and covers an area roughly the size of China or the United States. But it has not always been so inhospitable.

During a period from about 14,500 to 5,000 years ago, it was a lush green savannah rich in bodies of water and teeming with life. And, according to DNA obtained from the remains of two individuals who lived about 7,000 years ago in what is now Libya, it was home to a mysterious lineage of people isolated from the outside world.

Researchers analysed the first genomes from people who lived in what is called the “Green Sahara.” They obtained DNA from the bones of two females buried at a rock shelter called Takarkori in remote southwestern Libya. They were naturally mummified, representing the oldest-known mummified human remains.

“At the time, Takarkori was a lush savannah with a nearby lake, unlike today’s arid desert landscape,” said archaeogeneticist Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, one of the authors of the study published this week in the journal Nature.

The genomes reveal that the Takarkori individuals were part of a distinct and previously unidentified human lineage that lived separated from sub-Saharan and Eurasian populations for thousands of years.

“Intriguingly, the Takarkori people show no significant genetic influence from sub-Saharan populations to the south or Near Eastern and prehistoric European groups to the north. This suggests they remained genetically isolated despite practicing animal husbandry — a cultural innovation that originated outside Africa,” Krause said.

Archeological evidence indicates that these people were pastoralists, herding domesticated animals. Artifacts found at the site include tools made of stone, wood and animal bones, pottery, woven baskets and carved figurines.

The ancestry of the two Takarkori individuals was found to have derived from a North African lineage that separated from sub-Saharan populations around 50,000 years ago. That roughly coincides with when other human lineages spread beyond the continent and into the Middle East, Europe and Asia — becoming the ancestors of all people outside Africa.

“The Takarkori lineage likely represents a remnant of the genetic diversity present in northern Africa between 50,000 and 20,000 years ago,” Krause said.

“From 20,000 years ago onward, genetic evidence shows an influx of groups from the Eastern Mediterranean, followed by migrations from Iberia and Sicily around 8,000 years ago. However, for reasons still unknown, the Takarkori lineage persisted in isolation for much longer than expected. Since the Sahara only became habitable about 15,000 years ago, their original homeland remains uncertain,” Krause said.

Their lineage remained isolated throughout most of its existence before the Sahara again became uninhabitable. At the end of a warmer and wetter climate stage called the African Humid Period, the Sahara transformed into the world’s largest hot desert roughly around 3,000 BC.

Members of our species Homo sapiens who spread beyond Africa encountered and interbred with Neanderthal populations already present in parts of Eurasia, leaving a lasting genetic legacy in non-African populations today. But the Green Sahara people carried only trace amounts of Neanderthal DNA, illustrating that they had scant contact with outside populations.

Although the Takarkori population itself disappeared around 5,000 years ago when the African Humid Period ended and the desert returned, traces of their ancestry persist among various North African groups today, Krause said.

“Their genetic legacy offers a new perspective on the region’s deep history,” Krause said.

The viral American woman who recently made headlines with her statements during her dramatic stay in Pakistan has resurfaced with another surprising claim. 

Onijah Andrew Robinson was left stranded in Karachi for four months after being dumped by her “lover” upon arrival. The US citizen had travelled to Pakistan in pursuit of love, only to be abandoned by the young man named Nidal Ahmed Memon, a resident of Karachi’s Garden area, leaving her stranded in the country. 

Now, she’s back with a new claim — that this very man is still her “husband”.

A recently surfaced video revealed that Onijah, who was stuck in Dubai for another month after her time in Pakistan, is finally back in her country.

“I’m glad to be back in New York. I’m glad about that. I’m happy about that. To be back in New York. That’s all I have to say right now,” she said in response to a question on where she had been.

When asked if she was still in contact with anybody from Pakistan, Onijah made a bold claim that she is indeed in touch with someone, who is her “husband”.

“Yes, I am [with] my husband. He lives in Pakistan. […] I love you, baby. We are together,” she said.

Onijah said that “this is one guy. This is my husband. Nidal Ahmed,” when the woman behind the camera asked if it was “a different guy” or she had met anyone else.

Revealing the details of how she had met her husband, Onijah shared that she came to know him “on a romantic date” after coming across each other through the internet.

When asked if she had any plans about going back to Pakistan, she said: “You know, we’re going to discuss that. Well, right now, we’re all staying in New York.

It may be noted that during her stay in Pakistan, Onijah had demanded the authorities pay her $3,000 per week for her expenses.

When asked if she received any money or land in Pakistan, she said “they’re saying they gonna give that land, they gonna give that $20K […] $50K straight”.

“They were gonna give me the $100K every week, but I left. So we’re gonna see what they gonna work on while I’m not there. I do have chips that have my face on it in Pakistan. I love you guys […] I miss you guys in Pakistan.”

Onijah also claimed that she will soon be having her own show out soon with her “husband” and it would be “exclusive”.

Onijah’s viral story

The 33-year-old American woman had found herself in a dire predicament in Pakistan after falling for a Karachi teenager. She travelled from New York to Karachi, with plans to marry him, but was left stranded when the teenager backed out of the marriage under pressure from his family.

Onijah had reportedly arrived in Karachi on October 11, 2024, on a tourist visa valid for 30 days. During her stay, her visa expired, and she overstayed, leaving her unable to exit the country.

As Robinson did not hold a valid ticket for the US, she was not allowed to enter the airport premises by the Airport Security Force (ASF). Later, she was facilitated with the issuance of a new visa, a return ticket and a permit for her exit after Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori intervened. 

However, after receiving clearance from airport staff, she abruptly changed her mind and refused to board the flight, accusing airline staff of forcing her to leave the country.

She also spent some time in Jinnah Hospital’s psychiatric ward after her health deteriorated. It may be noted that her son, Jeremiah Robinson, had released a video from the US, claiming that Onijah was “bipolar”, after she went viral on social media.

She finally agreed to return to the US after being persuaded by staff from the US Consulate in Karachi, and flew to the US. There were reports that she was then stuck in Dubai for almost a month due to some issues with her travel documents. 

The death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has risen to 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 still missing, according to local media reports.

The United Nations aid chief, visiting the disaster-hit country, praised humanitarian and community groups for their efforts in the ongoing aid response.

Meanwhile, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s military government, returned to Naypyitaw after attending a summit in Bangkok with leaders from South and Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and India.

During his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hlaing reaffirmed the junta’s commitment to conduct “free and fair” elections in December.

Modi called for a post-quake ceasefire in Myanmar’s civil war to be made permanent and said the elections needed to be “inclusive and credible”, an Indian foreign affairs spokesperson said on Friday.

Critics have derided the planned election as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.

Since overthrowing the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, the military has struggled to run Myanmar, leaving the economy and basic services, including healthcare, in tatters, a situation exacerbated by the March 28 quake.

The civil war that followed the coup has displaced more than 3 million people, with widespread food insecurity and more than a third of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, the UN says.

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher spent Friday night in Myanmar’s second-biggest city Mandalay, near the epicentre of the quake, posting on X that humanitarian and community groups had led the response to the quake with “courage, skill and determination”.

“Many themselves lost everything, and yet kept heading out to support survivors,” he said.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday the junta was restricting aid supplies to quake-hit areas where communities did not back its rule.

The UN office said it was investigating 53 reported attacks by the junta against opponents, including airstrikes, of which 16 were after the ceasefire was declared on Wednesday.

A strong 6.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Tremors of the quake were felt early on Saturday morning, around 6:04am local time, about 175 kilometres southeast of Kimbe, in the West New Britain Province.

The quake occurred at a depth of 49 kilometres beneath the surface.

Experts say the jolt is likely to have been widely felt in nearby areas, with the potential for light to moderate damage. Residents in Kimbe, home to nearly 19,000 people, may have experienced noticeable shaking.

A tsunami warning has been issued by the US Tsunami Warning Center. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation.

There have been varying assessments of the quake’s strength. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported it as magnitude 7.1, while France’s national seismic network recorded it at 6.6. German and American scientific institutions also reported similar events with slightly different magnitudes.

Such differences are not unusual in the early hours after a quake, as seismologists continue to analyse the data.

No immediate reports of injuries or major damage have been confirmed, but updates are expected as more details come in.

The situation is still developing, and authorities are urging people in coastal areas to remain alert and follow official guidance.

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— Additional inputs from Reuters and AFP. 

WASHINGTON: A planned deal to separate TikTok’s US operations into a new American-owned company has been delayed after China signalled it would not approve the move, following President Trump’s decision to sharply raise tariffs on Chinese goods.

The structure of the deal, which was largely finalised by Wednesday, according to one of the sources, would have spun off TikTok’s US operations into a new company based in America, owned and operated by a majority of US investors. ByteDance would hold a minority stake of under 20%.

The deal was approved by existing investors, new investors, ByteDance, and the US government, the source said.

ByteDance and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese Embassy in Washington DC also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump on Friday extended by 75 days a deadline for Chinese technology firm ByteDance to sell US assets of the popular short video app TikTok to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban that was due to take effect in January under a 2024 law.

“The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” Trump said on social media, explaining why he was extending the January deadline that was supposed to expire on Saturday. “We hope to continue working in good faith with China, who I understand is not very happy about our reciprocal tariffs.”

China now faces a 54% tariff on goods imported into the United States after Trump announced a 34% hike this week, prompting China to retaliate on Friday. Trump has said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to finalise a deal with ByteDance to sell the app used by 170 million Americans.