Ata mārie and welcome to your Friday catch up of the top business and political stories making global headlines.
First up, US President Donald Trump threatened a 200% tariff on all alcohol from the European Union, the BBC reported.
Trump made the threat in response to the EU's plans for a 50% levy on US-produced whiskey as part of its retaliation for US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
He called the bloc "nasty", "hostile and abusive", and "formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States". Trump said the US tariff would be "great for the wine and champagne businesses in the US".
Meanwhile, US tariffs could push Europe’s largest economy into a recession, German central bank president Joachim Nagel warned.
“Now we are in a world with tariffs, so we could expect maybe a recession for this year, if the tariffs are really coming,” Nagel said.
“I hope that there is understanding within the Trump administration that the price that has to be paid is the highest on the side of the Americans.”
Trump also accused Ireland of stealing the US pharmaceutical industry and the tax revenue that should be paid to the US Treasury, the Guardian reported.
“The Irish are smart, yes, smart people,” Trump said.
“You took our pharmaceutical companies and other companies. This beautiful island of five million people has got the entire US pharmaceutical industry in its grasps.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was "in favour" of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but details of any truce brokered by the US still needed to be worked out, the ABC reported.
“We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities. The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” he said.
“But there are issues that we need to discuss. And I think we need to talk to our American colleagues as well. But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and would eliminate the original causes of this crisis.”
Bloomberg reported that despite the ambiguity in Putin’s comments, Trump had an optimistic view.
“We’re getting word that things are going OK in Russia,” Trump said.
“It doesn’t mean anything until we hear what the final outcome is”, he added, noting that if Russia doesn’t sign on to the truce “that’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world”.
Syria’s interim president signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase, CNN reported.
Insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led an insurgency that overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in December last year.
Ahmad al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president. At a meeting, it was agreed that the country’s old constitution would be repealed and a new one drafted.
The temporary constitution included provisions to protect freedom of expression and the media.
In India, authorities arrested a cryptocurrency exchange administrator accused by the US of money laundering, conspiracy, and violating sanctions, Reuters reported.
The US, Germany and Finland took down the online infrastructure used by the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, according to the US Justice Department.
One of those administrators was 46-year-old Aleksej Besciokov, who was charged with money laundering and also faced accusations of violating sanctions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, while 40-year-old Aleksandr Mira Serda was also charged with money laundering and conspiracy.
Finally, Niantic Labs said it would sell its video game division to Saudi Arabia-owned Scopely for US$3.5 billion, the Guardian reported.
The US augmented reality company planned to shift its focus after failing to recreate the success of Pokémon Go in 2016.
Saudi Arabia wanted to become a global hub for gaming. Niantic said it would distribute an extra US$350 million to its equity holders under the deal. It would also spinoff its geospatial artificial intelligence business into a new firm called Niantic Spatial.
After Pokémon Go became successful, Niantic struggled to replicate its success and had to axe jobs in 2022 and 2023, the Guardian reported.
