International
The United States and its allies will sanction Iran “in the coming days” for the attack on Israel
The US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, said on Tuesday that the United States and its allies will sanction Iran “in the coming days” for the attack on Israel.
“We will take additional measures against Iran in the coming days,” he said at a press conference on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), which are being held this week in Washington.
Yellen said that he will use those meetings, attended by the Ministers of Economy and Finance from almost the world, to coordinate a new round of sanctions against Iran.
“We never give details of the sanctions before announcing them. But in the conversations I have had, all the options to interrupt Iran’s terrorist financing are still on the table,” he stressed.
The head of the Treasury did not offer details about what sanctions they will impose on Iran the U.S. and its allies; but, asked by the press, she mentioned the possibility of increasing controls to prevent Tehran from bypassing the US sanctions they already thought about its oil sector.
“Iran continues to export some oil. It is possible that something else can be done. I don’t want to advance anything about the sanctions that we could impose but, without a doubt, that is one of the areas that we could address,” he simply said.
In 2018, under the administration of Donald Trump, the United States again imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil sector and, since then, the Joe Biden Administration has tried to enforce those restrictions by imposing sanctions on companies from different countries that help Tehran export oil.
Despite these efforts, Iran continues to be able to evade US sanctions to export oil, China being one of its main customers.
The United States is studying with its G7 partners to impose more sanctions on Iran and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group after the attack on Israel.
Several countries have already designated the Revolutionary Guard, a branch of the Armed Forces of Iran created after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, as a terrorist group.
In 2019, the United States included the Revolutionary Guard on the blacklist of terrorist groups, while the Government of Canada said in January of this year that it was studying ways to include the Revolutionary Guard on its list of terrorist organizations.
For its part, the European Union (EU) is currently studying new sanctions against Iran to contain its drone and missile programs, according to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Sunday.
These efforts by the United States and its allies to promote new sanctions against Iran occur while several countries in the West have urged Israel to show restraint and avoid a strong military response to Iran’s attack, at the risk of triggering a large-scale war in the Middle East.
The spring meetings of the WB and the IMF that are held this week in Washington will bring together the world’s leading finance and economic ministers.
In addition, in parallel with those events, it is planned that there will be meetings of the ministers of Economy and Finance of the G20 and also of the G24, a group that brings together developing countries, including Iran.
International
Colombian Education Minister fails master’s thesis for lack of rigor
Colombia’s Minister of Education, José Daniel Rojas, failed his master’s thesis due to a lack of theoretical rigor, according to the National University, a decision that sparked widespread criticism and mockery on Wednesday.
Local media quickly picked up the news, while social media users flooded platforms with jokes, asking, “What’s the ultimate irony for an Education Minister?”
Rojas’ thesis on “Guaranteed Employment in Colombia” for his Master’s in Economic Sciences was graded as failed due to “theoretical weaknesses and lack of conceptual rigor,” the National University (UNAL), the country’s most prestigious public institution, stated in a press release.
“Additionally, the student’s responses to the questions posed during the defense were not considered satisfactory,” the statement added.
International
Trump announces 25% tariffs on EU products, including cars
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that tariffs on European Union (EU) products will be set at 25% across the board.
“We will announce them very soon, and they will be 25% in general terms, applying to cars and all kinds of things,” he stated during his first cabinet meeting at the White House.
Trump reiterated his grievances against the EU, claiming that the bloc “does not accept [U.S.] cars or [U.S.] agricultural products.”
“They take advantage of us in a different way than Canada or Mexico,” he added. The Republican president once again cited the U.S. trade deficit with Europe at “$300 billion,” a figure the European Commission disputes, estimating it at €150 billion ($157 billion) in goods, and only $50 billion when factoring in the U.S. trade surplus in services.
“The EU was designed to screw the United States. That was the goal, and they succeeded. But now I’m the president,” Trump said, adding that European countries might consider retaliating, but “they won’t.”
International
NASA confirms asteroid 2024 YR4 poses no threat to Earth
NASA has confirmed that asteroid 2024 YR4, initially identified as a potential threat, does not pose a significant danger to Earth in 2032 or beyond.
The near-Earth asteroid, roughly the size of a football field, was first discovered in December last year. Experts initially estimated a 3% chance of impact with our planet, later reducing it to 0.28% last week.
Following new observations, NASA further updated the impact probability for December 22, 2032, lowering it to just 0.004%, according to the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. The agency also stated that the asteroid does not pose any significant risk to Earth for at least the next century.
However, there remains a 1.7% chance that it could impact the Moon.
Colombian Education Minister fails master’s thesis for lack of rigor
Trump announces 25% tariffs on EU products, including cars
NASA confirms asteroid 2024 YR4 poses no threat to Earth
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