Asian markets swing as tariff uncertainty looms large

Hong Kong (AFP) – Asian markets were mixed Tuesday following the previous day’s global rally as traders keep a nervous eye on Donald Trump’s next moves after he signed off on 25 percent tariffs for steel and alumium imports, having warned of more measures to come.

Gold prices have pushed to fresh records and have topped $2,900 for the first time

Venezuela sends planes to fetch irregular migrants from US

Caracas (AFP) – Venezuela sent two planes Monday to bring nearly 200 undocumented migrants back from the United States, saying it hoped for a “new beginning” in ties with Washington, which does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) met US envoy Richard Grenell in Caracas on January 31

Playgrounds come alive again with Brazil school phone ban

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – In Rio de Janeiro, children are playing again “like in the old days,” and their focus in class has improved after a school cellphone ban pioneered in the city that has now gone national.

A student leaves his cellphone at the beginning of the school day at Reverend Martin Luther King public school in Rio de Janeiro

YouTube, the online video powerhouse, turns 20

San Francisco (AFP) – YouTube has evolved from a dinner party lark 20 years ago into a modern lifestyle staple poised to overtake US cable television in paid viewership.

Analysts at Emarketer say YouTube is on pace to have more paid subscribers that any cable television service in about two years

Trump's tariff tactics may reshape global trade: analysts

Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs as a blunt weapon to extract concessions on everything from commerce to immigration and drug trafficking could redraw global trading norms, analysts say.

US President Donald Trump sees tariffs as a means to raise revenue,  remedy trade imbalances and push countries to act on US concerns

Trump warns of 'all hell' if Gaza captives not freed by Saturday

Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump set a Saturday deadline for all hostages to be released from Gaza, saying that otherwise “all hell” would break out and he would call for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire to be canceled.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 10, 2025.

Elon Musk heads group trying to buy control of OpenAI: report

San Francisco (AFP) – Elon Musk is leading an investment group offering $97.4 billion for the nonprofit that controls OpenAI, marking a new front in his war with the ChatGPT-maker, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman seemed to dismiss an Elon Musk led effort to buy control of the startup in a social media post countering with a facetious offer to buy X, formerly Twitter, for a fraction of what Musk paid for it