 "This Week in Explainers: What happens to Trump’s tariffs after US court struck them down?")
It is Trump vs the world. The US president continued to grab headlines with his tariff policy as well as changes to the American immigration system.
However, the cornerstone of his economic policy, the tariffs, received a huge blow on Friday when a federal appeals court ruled them to be illegal, stating that the president had overstepped his authority.
America also made the news this week after a shooter went on a rampage in Minneapolis, killing two children and injuring others while they attended Mass at a school church.
All eyes are on China. The Asian giant is hosting two big events — the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, which will be attended by 20 world leaders, including PM Narendra Modi, and the huge military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It has been reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be attending the military parade, which will feature China’s deadliest and newest military hardware.
And what could only be dubbed as the biggest news in the pop world also took place this week. Global popstar Taylor Swift is now engaged after her boyfriend of two years, American football player Travis Kelce, got down on one knee and proposed in one of the dreamiest settings possible.
We talk about all of this and more in our weekly wrap.
1) Since Donald Trump has taken office, he has wreaked havoc with his tariff policy, levying duties ranging from 10 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on America’s trading partners. However, on Friday, Trump received a rude shock; a US federal appeals court struck down a majority of his tariffs, saying he had overstepped his presidential authority.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhat does this ruling mean for America’s trading partners? Do countries such as India, which have been slapped with a 50 per cent tariff, receive any relief? What is the future of the tariff policy now that the court ruled them illegal?
Our explainer has all the answers for you.
2) While on the topic of the US, the country witnessed another mass shooting this week — the 286th one for this year. A 23-year-old armed individual opened fire at school children attending a church service in Minneapolis’ Annunciation Catholic School, killing two pupils and wounding 17 people. Later, the suspect turned their guns on themselves and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, “a male born as Robert Westman.” Westman, now 23, legally changed her name in 2020 and identified as female. In addition to identifying the shooter, authorities also found some pretty scary and chilling features about Westman, including their obsession with other mass shooters.
Social media videos and a manifesto, which were uncovered, exposed Westman’s grievances, anger and ideations of harm to self and to others. Read on to find out more.
3) This week is also a significant one for world diplomacy and geopolitics. China is hosting the 25th edition of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1. This will be the grouping’s largest ever gathering with 20 world leaders, including PM Narendra Modi and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, attending. Here’s why this SCO gathering is more significant than earlier meetings of the bloc.
4) Away from the US, big news emerged from Thailand where the top court permanently removed the country’s youngest Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office, plunging the nation into fresh political turmoil. The ruling came two months after the court had suspended Shinawatra over charges stemming from a conversation she had with the Cambodian leader.
She becomes the third member of her family to be ousted from the prime minister’s post. Her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a coup in 2006 soon after he was re-elected to a second term. Her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra was removed by the Constitutional Court in 2014 weeks before another coup.
5) Over the next few days, starting Sunday (August 31), all eyes will move to China. The Dragon is hosting the biggest ever SCO Summit in Tianjin. And on September 3, China will be hosting a grand military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, where China emerged victorious over its neighbour Japan.
At the heart of the showcase will be the DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the longest-range and most powerful weapon in the arsenal of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF).
Here’s all you want to know about this weapon and how it compares to India’s Brahmos.
6) Immigration continues to be a hot-button topic around the world. And in the United States, the Trump administration is looking to revamp its H-1B visa programme for highly skilled foreign workers. The move comes amid growing criticism from Trumps’ supporters and officials against the programme, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick even going as far as calling it a “scam” that takes jobs away from American workers.
In our essay , we analyse what this means for the US as well as Indians, who are the biggest beneficiary of the H-1B visas.
7) Technology has pervaded every aspect of our lives. Artificial Intelligence is everywhere — it’s being used at work, in schools and even in medicine. But here’s a case that may make you rethink your use of AI. Parents of a 16-year-old in California have filed a case against OpenAI and Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT guided their teenager in planning and ending his life earlier this year.
Read the full story here .
8) But maybe the biggest news of the week was Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce. The American footballer proposed to the pop princess with a really huge diamond ring that got many people buzzing about its size and price. We take a look at how Swift is just among the many celebrities who have jumped on the supersized engagement ring bandwagon.
With that, we conclude our weekly roundup. You can keep reading more of our explainers here .
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