Day: March 11, 2025

President Donald Trump says that he will double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada, escalating a trade war with the United States’ northern neighbor.

Trump says the increase of the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday is a response to the price increases that the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.

American manufacturers that use aluminum and steel are already paying more for these metals than competitors in Europe. This is even before President Donald Trump’s import duties on these materials have come into effect.

The difference with European factories amounts to tens of percent, according to financial news agency Bloomberg. Manufacturers who want to buy aluminum in the United States at current market prices pay about 23 percent more for this than in Europe. Steel is 40 percent more expensive.

These higher prices are the result of the larger stocks that aluminum and steel consumers want to build up in the run-up to the duties, which should go into effect on Wednesday according to a decision by Trump. This involves a tariff of 25 percent on all aluminum and steel entering the US.

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Pollution from a collision between a cargo ship and oil tanker in the North Sea is an “immediate environmental disaster”, according to experts.

Leaking oil and fuel being released could leave a “toxic legacy” for ocean wildlife that should be protected, according to Hugo Tagholm.

The executive director of Oceana UK said oil pollution could have a “long term impact” on ecosystems which are home to threatened seabird colonies, grey seals, harbour porpoises, fish, and minke whales.

Fires on both vessels continued to burn overnight after the Solong struck the US-chartered Stena Immaculate off the coast of Humberside shortly before 10am on Monday.

Martin Slater, Director of Operations at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said he was “very worried” about the impact any spill could have on wildlife populations including significant colonies of seabirds, as well as wintering waders and migrating birds.

Dr Jonathan Paul, from the earth sciences department at Royal Holloway, University of London, said that if sodium cyanide has leaked from the Solong cargo ship, there is a “potential immediate risk to humans and wildlife”.

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The record assault unfolded ahead of US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia, where Washington will pressure for peace

Moscow faced its largest-ever wave of Ukrainian kamikaze drones on Tuesday night, with Russian air defenses successfully intercepting hundreds of the incoming UAVs, according to officials.

Later in the day, senior Ukrainian and US officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss potential peace negotiations – a process President Donald Trump is pushing both Kiev and Moscow to embrace.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 337 Ukrainian drones were neutralized overnight.

The ministry’s statement detailed that 126 of these were intercepted over Kursk Region, which is adjacent to the Ukrainian border and well-covered by Russian air defenses; 91 were brought down over Moscow Region, which surrounds the capital.

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