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US and Chinese officials will meet in London on Monday, Trump says

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CNN
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President Donald Trump announced Friday that US and Chinese officials will meet in London on Monday to discuss trade between the two nations.

“I am pleased to announce that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, will be meeting in London on Monday, June 9, 2025, with Representatives of China, with reference to the Trade Deal,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The announcement comes after Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping spoke for 90 minutes on Thursday. After the phone call, the US president said he was encouraged that ongoing trade tensions could soon be resolved.

The last talks between the Trump administration and their Chinese counterparts, held on May 12 in Geneva, represented a major turning point for the global trade war. Delegates from China and the United States announced they would significantly roll back their historically high tariffs on one another. Markets rallied, Wall Street banks curtailed their recession forecasts, and moribund USconsumer confidence rebounded significantly.

That marked a significant change from April, when tensions ran so high that trade between the United States and China came to an effective halt. The 145% tariffs on most Chinese imported goods made the math impossible for American businesses to buy virtually anything from China, America’s second-largest trading partner.

But since then, tensions had re-escalated. Trump on Wednesday said in a Truth Social post that Chinese leader Xi Jinping was “extremely hard to make a deal with.” Trade talks have stalled, Bessent said, apparently frustrating Trump.

Last week, Trump posted on social media that China “TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.” Trump said that he made a “fast deal” with China to “save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation.” He added: “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

The Trump administration had expected China to lift restrictions on rare earth materials that are critical components for a wide range of electronics, but China has largely refused, causing intense displeasure inside the Trump administration and prompting a recent series of measures to be imposed on the country three administration officials told CNN last week.

For example, the White House warned US companies against using AI chips made by China’s national tech champion Huawei. It stopped US companies from selling to China software that is used to design semiconductors. And the US State Department announced it would “aggressively revoke visas” for some Chinese students in America.
China, in turn, has accused the United States of “provoking new economic and trade frictions.”

“The United States has been unilaterally provoking new economic and trade frictions, exacerbating the uncertainty and instability of bilateral economic and trade relations,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Sunday.

In the meantime, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, America’s chief negotiator in the détente with China, said talks with China had stalled.

But Trump and and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a long-awaited phone call Thursday, which appears to have lowered the temperature a bit. The New York Times on Friday reported China has issued some licenses for rare earths, although the market is hardly back open.

The talks in the UK are significant, and much is riding on their success – US economic growth remains steady but there are signs of cracking. And no one wants to return to April’s standoff, which threatened to plunge the global economy into a recession.
US stocks, which had rallied earlier in the day on a strong jobs report, rose a bit higher after Trump’s Truth Social message about the resumed talks. The Dow was up 450 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, and the Nasdaq was 1.3% higher.



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Small plane crashes at London Southend Airport

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Associated Press
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Emergency services raced Sunday to the scene of a small plane crash at London Southend Airport.

No details on where the plane was heading or how many people were on board were immediately disclosed.

In a statement on social media, the airport confirmed a “serious incident” involving what it termed a general aviation aircraft.

It later said that all flights to and from the airport have been cancelled until further notice, while police, emergency services and air investigators assess the incident.

British media said it was a medical transport jet equipped with medical systems for transporting patients, specifically a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air heading to the Netherlands.

Soon after the crash, images circulated on social media showing a plume of fire and black smoke emanating from the crash site. The plane involved is said to be 12 meters (39 feet) long.

Witness John Johnson, who was at the airport with his family, said he saw a “big fireball” after the plane “crashed head first into the ground.”

“It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed just head-first into the ground,” he said. “There was a big fireball.”

Johnson said that before the plane got into position for take-off, he and his family waved at the pilots and “they all waved back at us.”

After the crash, Johnson said the airport’s fire service responded straight away, with two fire engines sent to the crash site, followed by local police, ambulance and fire services.

Essex Police said it was alerted just before 4 p.m. local time to the “serious incident” at the relatively small airport, which is around 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of the capital.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours,” Essex Police said.

The local member of Parliament, David Burton-Sampson, urged people to stay away and let the emergency services do their work.

“My thoughts are with everyone involved,” he said.



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Cole Palmer leads Chelsea to dominant victory over PSG to win FIFA Club World Cup

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East Rutherford, New Jersey
CNN
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Chelsea delivered a shocking 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

And it was the Blues’ star Cole Palmer who led the way to the second CWC title in the English Premier League side’s storied history, the first since 2021.

Palmer netted an early brace with two almost identical goals just eight minutes apart midway through the first half.

Cole Palmer scored two goals in the first half to help lead Chelsea to a win.

The 23-year-old did his signature “cold” celebration in the New Jersey heat at MetLife Stadium much to the delight of Chelsea fans, who were looking for a way to cool off.

It had felt like European champions PSG had all but dominated the CWC besides the 1-0 loss to Botafogo in the group stage – the club’s only loss of the tournament coming into the final. But Sunday got worse and worse for the French side as the afternoon wore on.

João Pedro, playing in his second match for the Blues after a transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion, tacked on another goal in the 43rd minute, his third tally of the tournament.

Chelsea’s first half trio of surprises for PSG was followed by another unexpected twist during the halftime show when British rock band Coldplay appeared for a cameo performance which also featured J Balvin, Doja Cat, Tems, and Emmanuel Kelly.

While the goal-scoring slowed down in the second half, Chelsea’s intensity did not suffer as they held PSG in check to cruise to the victory.

Les Parisiens finished the match with nine players after midfielder João Neves received a red card after pulling Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella’s hair.

After the referee blew the whistle for full time, Chelsea players were wearing kits with “World Champions” and the number 25 and rushed onto the pitch to celebrate the trophy.

Chelsea fans celebrate at the end of the Club World Cup final.

The CWC victory caps off an impressive season for the London-based club, who takes home its second trophy of the season.

The Blues clinched UEFA Champions League berth for next season after finishing fourth in the EPL and a 4-1 win over LaLiga side Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final in May.

Palmer finishes the season with an impressive 18 goals just two years after joining the club from Manchester City.

The forward called it a “great feeling” to win the tournament, while commending Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca for his leadership.

“The gaffer put a great game plan out,” Palmer told FIFA after the game. “He knew where there would space and tried to free me up as much as possible. I just had to repay him and score some goals. He [Maresca] is building something special. I feel we’re going in the right direction.“

The Italian 45-year-old Maresca, who joined the Blues from Leiceister City this season, gave credit to his players for the win.

“I have no words for the players,” Maresca said. “For me, we won the game in the first ten minutes. We set the tempo, we knew the way we wanted to play. Today we found a position for Cole [Palmer] where there was more space to attack. The effort from all the players has been fantastic.”

Despite its historic UCL win, it was a slightly sour way for the Paris-based club to end a season where they attempted to complete a quadruple after winning Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France as well.

According to the Associated Press, PSG had not lost by three goals since a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Newcastle in October 2023.

Frustrations from the game boiled over after the final whistle with a confrontation between Pedro and PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and manager Luis Enrique.

After the scuffle cooled off, Maresca was seen talking to Donnarumma as he was heading to the locker rooms.

After the final whistle, a scuffle broke out between Chelsea and PSG players and managers.

As tensions cooled, US President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino led the trophy celebration on the field, with scattered booing from some fans in the stadium.

Palmer was awarded the Golden Ball Award – given to the best player of the tournament.

Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez took home the Golden Glove award and 20-year-old PSG forward Désiré Doué was named the best young player of the tournament.

Chelsea players lift the Club World Cup trophy along with President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

With Trump and Infantino in the middle of the stage, the Chelsea squad lifted the trophy to officially celebrate the win.

Chelsea now has less than five weeks until the 2025-2026 EPL season begins while PSG has a quick turnaround and will face Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup at Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy, on August 13.



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Former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari dies at age 82

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CNN
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Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military general who campaigned on rooting out government corruption, has died at age 82, the presidential press office said in a statement on Sunday.

He died in London at about 4:30 p.m. after a “prolonged illness,” according to the statement.

Nigeria’s current president Bola Ahmed Tinubu offered his condolences to Buhari’s wife and ordered his vice president to travel to the UK to accompany Buhari’s body back to Nigeria.

Tinubu hailed Buhari’s legacy as “a patriot, a soldier, a statesman” with a “deep commitment to the unity and progress” of his country.

“He stood firm through the most turbulent times, leading with quiet strength, profound integrity, and an unshakable belief in Nigeria’s potential. He championed discipline in public service, confronted corruption head-on, and placed the country above personal interest at every turn,” Tinubu said.

Buhari was elected president in 2015 after running unsuccessfully three times. He was re-elected for another four-year term in 2019.

A former general who first came to power in a 1983 military coup only to be overthrown by another military coup two years later, Buhari will be remembered for his strong anti-corruption agenda in a country famously described as “fantastically corrupt” by former British prime minister David Cameron. Others laud his tough stance against the Boko Haram insurgency and security issues that plagued the northeast of the country for years.

A Fulani Muslim, he was born in Daura, Katsina state in Nigeria’s northern province in December 1942 and completed military training in Kaduna state, Great Britain, India and the United States.

He first came into political prominence in 1975 after a military coup that overthrew then-ruler Yakubu Gowon. Buhari was made military governor of Borno state – a state plagued by Boko Haram.

Nigeria's former president Goodluck Jonathan, left, and then-opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, hug after signing a renewal of their pledge to hold peaceful elections, at a hotel in the capital Abuja, Nigeria on March 26, 2015.

Buhari, who was married twice and has ten children, was part of Nigeria’s ruling establishment both as a military ruler and later a “reformed democrat” as he called himself during the 2015 election campaign, which he won by a landslide.

Nigerians lined the streets celebrating his victory; however, the honeymoon didn’t last long as many believed he squandered his goodwill by being too slow in his presidential actions.

He took six months to appoint ministers to his cabinet and then failed to act quickly to tackle the country’s economic crises, which was in part brought about by a weak currency and falling global oil prices.

For months, Buhari refused to devalue Nigeria’s falling currency, the naira, and weakened investor confidence. This further led to a gulf between the official and black market exchange rate.

According to economic analyst Bismarck Rewane, one of Buhari’s failings was his limited understanding of modern economics and markets policies, which plunged the country into recession. This lack of understanding was rooted in paranoia and suspicion after he was overthrown during his first military rule, according to Rewane.

He said: “In 1983, Buhari felt he was swindled when he was asked by the IMF to devalue the Naira and remove subsidy. Three weeks later there was a coup against him. Since then he has been suspicious of free market policies and he took a long time to do things. When he did do them, the impact was too little too late and not optimal.”

Rewane, who met President Buhari several times on the campaign trail and gave him some policy advice after his victory, says Buhari will be remembered as a “strong and principled leader.”

“He was a very unique governor,” Rewane told CNN. “Some people will say he was rigid, he didn’t shift when he believed in something. But I see that as a good thing. He had a strength of character is very rare in this part of this world. People here are too flexible and corrupted.”

Buhari’s first term was characterized by war on many fronts, including the Boko Haram insurgency, the secessionist pro-Biafra movement in the east of Nigeria and rampaging Fulani herdsmen across Nigeria.

Despite growing concerns around the country’s security situation, Buhari was reelected in 2019. During his second term, furious protests against police brutality erupted across the country, decrying reported incidents of kidnapping, harassment, and extortion by a controversial police unit.

Buhari vowed to do more to fight militant groups and fix the economy as the demonstrations turned deadly and continued to simmer for the remainder of his presidency.

In his final UN speech in 2022, Buhari criticized the “corrosive” effect” of fellow leaders who extend term limits to cling to power. The next year, he praised his successor and fellow party member Tinubu as “the best person for the job.”



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