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Global markets rally as Beijing considers US trade talks

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Global markets rally as Beijing considers US trade talks

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Signs of a possible thaw in trade tensions helped drive global markets higher on Friday after Beijing said it was “evaluating” recent overtures from Washington on starting trade talks.

China’s commerce ministry said the US had recently “conveyed messages to China through various channels, expressing a desire to engage in discussions”.

“China is currently evaluating this,” the ministry spokesperson said.

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Global equities extended their gains further after stronger-than-expected US jobs figures on Friday morning, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.4 per cent in early trading. The Wall Street benchmark has now erased all of its losses since Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff blitz on April 2 sent global markets into a tailspin.

“It is very clear that markets are past the peak tariff fear,” said Manish Kabra, head of US equity strategy at Société Générale.

“But have we really passed through the peak tariff impact? I think we are far, far away from that,” he added, suggesting that equities could fall again if Trump’s 90-day tariff pause, set to end in July, doesn’t result in trade deals that significantly lower the levies.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 index was up 1.8 per cent, with Germany’s Dax jumping 2.4 per cent. Asian markets had also rallied earlier, with Taiwan’s Taiex climbing 2.7 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 1.7 per cent on Friday.

Kabra said that what happens next for stocks is “contingent on what happens in the trade talks.” His view was that equities could return to their April lows “if the US-China tariff discussions lead to more than a 50 per cent effective tariff between the US and China.”

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Asian currencies rallied against the US dollar on the signs of easing trade tensions. China’s offshore renminbi climbed 0.7 per cent to Rmb7.23 while the Korean won strengthened 2.6 per cent to 1,406 to the dollar. The Taiwanese dollar led gains as it surged 5.2 per cent.

“[Asia ex-Japan] currencies are having a field day,” said Fiona Lim, a senior FX strategist at Maybank. “An end to this trade war . . . would provide a more benign environment for growth and investment in the region.”

Friday’s statement from China’s commerce ministry said the US must show “sincerity” for any talks to take place, which included “being prepared” to cancel its unilateral tariffs and taking other unspecified steps.

It marks a slight softening of China’s stance from last week, when Beijing said Washington would need to drop its steep levies on China for talks to begin. The potential opening for talks was first signalled by a social media account tied to state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday.

Beijing said its position had not changed. “China emphasises that in any possible dialogue or negotiation, if the US fails to correct its erroneous unilateral tariffs, it would indicate a complete lack of sincerity and would further erode mutual trust,” the spokesperson said.

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“If it is talks, the door is wide open,” the ministry said. “If it is a fight, we’ll see it through to the end.”

The remarks from Beijing came as the US and Japan agreed to aim to have a trade deal ready by June.

Wall Street earnings also helped buoy sentiment in Taiwan and South Korea, home to the chip manufacturers essential for the continuing build-out of artificial intelligence servers.

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 4.6 per cent while SK Hynix climbed 4.8 per cent.

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.

The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.

The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.

The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.

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Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.

The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.

“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”

The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.

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Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.

“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”

Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. We include an update at the end of the episode. “The Girls” is a 4-part series from the Louisville Public Media’s investigative podcast, Dig.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.

The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.

In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.

Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.

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A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.

Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.

According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.

A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.

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When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.

He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.

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