Spain just swore in a ‘feminist’ government, and the US may invite Kim Jong-un to the US if the Singapore meet is a success. 

Temporary ceasefire during the month of Ramzan

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani has called for a temporary ceasefire with the Taliban from 12-19 June, reports Al Jazeera. However, it is still unclear whether the Taliban has agreed to it or not.

Security forces have been ordered to stop operations during the month of Ramzan. “The ceasefire will last “from the 27th of Ramadan until the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr (holiday)”, the President tweeted from the official account.

Ghani also tweeted that this was a chance for the Taliban to “introspect”.

However, according to the report, operations against “other armed groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) will continue”.

Trump and Trudeau are now at war over trade tariffs

US President Donald Trump has imposed trade tariffs with Canada, Mexico and the European Union, leading to global outrage. The tariffs target steel and aluminium imports. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the tariffs “unacceptable” and an “affront” to the relationship between the two neighbours.

CNN reports that Trump has justified the tariffs as a “national security” issue. When Trudeau asked how Trump could have justified it as such, the President apparently responded with the question. “Didn’t you guys burn down the White House?” This was a reference to the War of 1812, during which British colonialists burned down the White House. Canada didn’t exist at the time.

In retaliation, Canada has now placed tariffs on American goods, as well as imports like maple syrup, reports Reuters.

The countries will further discuss trade at a G7 summit to be held later this week in Quebec, Canada.

French President says G7 leaders should be ‘civil’ to Trump

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said all G7 leaders should pressure US President Donald Trump on import tariffs at the upcoming summit while still remaining civil, reports Reuters.

“But Macron, speaking to reporters after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, also said the remaining six members were a powerful bloc that could survive if the United States did decide to give up its global role,” the report adds.

Macron’s comments reflect the tensions between the countries that will play out during the summit, to be held from 8-9 June. “Non-US G7 members say they will be firm as they confront Trump but do not want a rupture that could cause a major trade war,” the report adds.

The summit is expected to have “optimistic” results, according to Trudeau.

Trump may invite Kim to the US

US President Donald Trump Wednesday said he may invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the United States if the 12 June meeting at Singapore goes well, reports CNN.

The President said that there is a possibility of normalisation of ties between the two nations if a deal is struck. He also reiterated his position on a series of other issues, making clear that the US, South Korea, Japan and China will help North Korea’s economy if a deal is reached.

Stating that “maximum pressure” is retired for now and it would be a friendly negotiation with the Asian nation, Trump maintained that the meeting will decide the road ahead.

Trump said he had a list of 300 “massive sanctions” to apply on Pyongyang, but he was holding them off as diplomatic negotiations are underway.

Spain has sworn in a ‘feminist’ government

“Spain’s King Felipe VI has sworn in a new socialist government with a record number of 11 women in 17 cabinet posts,” reports the BBC.

Spain’s new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government is trying to fulfil its vision of a “progressive society that was both modernising and pro-European”. This cabinet is markedly different from Sanchez predecessor Rajoy’s, which was entirely male-dominated.

The new government is 61.1 per cent female, the highest ever in the country’s history.

“Women have been given some of the biggest jobs in the new Spanish cabinet, including the defence, economy, finance and education portfolios,” reports the BBC.

Iraq orders recount of all votes from 12 May election

“Iraq’s parliament has ordered a full recount of the country’s recent parliamentary election that resulted in a shock victory for Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr,” reports Al Jazeera. All 11 million votes cast will be counted again.

The country’s outgoing parliament voted in favour of a manual recount for the 12 May elections, because of suspicions of electoral fraud.

“According to intelligence services, tests of electronic voting machines — used for the first time in Iraqi elections — produced varied results, appearing to give credence to the fraud claims,” the report said.

The independent electoral commission, made up of nine members, that oversaw the elections was also sacked and replaced with a body of judges.

UAE aims to have almost half its energy from renewable sources by 2050

The United Arab Emirates aims to draw 44 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.

According to the UAE government, “The UAE is looking to increase its target for power generation from clean energy to 30 per cent by 2030. It also aims to produce 25 to 30 per cent of its electricity requirement from both nuclear and solar energy.”

Another source reports that the UAE has tie-ups with Tesla, which aims to help the Emirates reach the goal of 44 per cent as early as 2025.

A genetically modified soybean is ‘modernising Brazil economy’

A paper released by an international group of academics suggests that the modernisation of Brazil’s economy has a lot to do with genetically modified soybeans.

Brazil experienced a mass migration of agricultural workers to the industrial sector in 2000s, and a seed known as the ‘Maradona soy’, genetically engineered to be herbicide resistant, had a big role to play in this, researchers from Kellogg School, US, the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and Spain’s Center for Monetary and Financial Studies, have said.

“Up until this point, farmers had not been able to control weeds by broadly applying herbicides without also killing their crops. Instead, at the start of each planting season, they tilled their fields — a laborious process — to remove weeds,” they wrote.

“An herbicide-resistant seed meant farmers could plant without having to till each year, allowing them to produce the same amount of soy with less than half of the work. This, in turn, meant that farms needed many fewer workers to get the job done,” they added.

Using Brazil as a case study, the research paper essentially seeks to show that high agricultural productivity can push workers into more innovative industries. Though this may not always lead to industrialisation, the paper presents a contradictory viewpoint to the common belief that innovation usually doesn’t come from the agricultural sector.

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