Good morning. We’re covering China’s retaliatory tariffs and a campus shooting in Sweden. Plus, the women reinventing Sri Lankan politics.
Beijing was swift to retaliate after Trump’s tariffsChina struck back yesterday against President Trump’s 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese products with tariffs of its own on U.S. coal and gas as well as restrictions on exports of some minerals. China’s tariffs will not take effect until Feb. 10, according to the Chinese government, meaning there is still some time for negotiations. The White House press secretary said that a call between Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, was being scheduled and would happen very soon. Here’s the latest. Details: China’s tariffs would cover about $20 billion of U.S. exports, compared with Trump’s tariffs on more than $450 billion of Chinese goods, economists estimated. Chinese authorities also started an antitrust investigation into Google. Context: As Trump alienates allies and partners with the threat of tariffs, his actions give Beijing an opening to strengthen its global standing. Catch up: The leaders of Canada and Mexico each negotiated a 30-day delay in U.S. tariffs. Our reporters looked at the different routes they took to arrive at the same outcome.
Trump was set to host Netanyahu in WashingtonPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was set yesterday to become the first foreign leader to hold an in-person meeting with President Trump at the White House since his return to power. The meeting was expected to focus on negotiations for the second phase of the cease-fire in Gaza, Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon, arms shipments and a possible deal with Saudi Arabia. Follow our live coverage here. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Trump said that Palestinians had no choice but to leave Gaza after the devastation wrought by Israel’s war with Hamas. He said he wanted Egypt and Jordan to take them in. West Bank violence: Two Israeli soldiers were killed in a shooting attack in the northern West Bank as Israel pressed ahead with a military operation there.
A shooting in Sweden left 10 deadAt least 10 people were killed and a number of others were injured yesterday in a shooting at a center for adult education in Orebro, Sweden, the authorities said. The suspect, who was not immediately identified, was among the dead. “We have seen a brutal act of violence,” Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said in a televised address. “This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.” Context: Shootings are rare in Swedish schools, but the country has been grappling with a steady surge in gun violence.
Sports
Two years after Sri Lankans cast out a strongman dynasty that destroyed the economy, a leftist movement is seizing a rare opportunity to rally more women into politics. Making up more than half of registered voters, women are slowly and steadily reshaping a political culture that allows them equal space. Lives lived: Merle Louise Simon, the only person to play roles in the original Broadway productions of four Stephen Sondheim musicals, died at 90.
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