Trump’s 100-day scorecard: Executive orders, tariffs and foreign policy
United States President Donald Trump is marking his first 100 days back in office with a rally in Macomb County, Michigan, just north of Detroit, a city renowned for its automotive industry. In the space of just more than three months, he has signed more executive orders than any other president, sent markets spiralling with tariffs and for the most part stuck to his America First policy, except when it comes to Israel. Al Jazeera looks at some of his biggest decisions in numbers: How did he use his executive powers? Trump has signed at least 142 executive orders so far, which, according to the American Presidency Project, is more than any other US president in their first 100 days in office. An executive order is a directive issued by the president to federal agencies that has the force of law but does not require congressional approval. On January 20, his first day in office, Trump signed 26 orders, which included pardoning more than 1,500 people convicted on January 6, 2021, Capitol riot charges; withdrawing from the World Health Organization; and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Advertisement The majority of Trump’s executive orders have focused on immigration and border security as well as energy and trade. How many people were pardoned? Since returning to office, Trump has pardoned more than 1,500 people, including his supporters convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Other notable pardons include Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, who was serving a sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering. DOGE cuts and layoffs Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was created by Trump through an executive order on January 20, in which he gave DOGE a mandate to slash government spending. According to figures published on DOGE’s website, the organisation is estimating that it has cut $160bn from the federal budget, representing about 8 percent of the $2 trillion Musk had initially pledged to save. DOGE said the biggest cuts have been made to the Department of Health and Human Services ($47.4bn), Agency for International Development ($45.2bn) and Department of State ($2.6bn). These figures have, however, been criticised for lacking sufficient evidence to back them up. According to data collated by CNN, at least 121,000 workers have been fired from federal agencies with about 10,000 employees fired from the Agency for International Development (USAID), where 100 percent of the jobs were culled. USAID was the first agency Trump went after, and it has now been almost dissolved. Advertisement Tariffs and the economy Trump’s administration has implemented a flurry of tariffs to, in his words, reduce the US trade deficit, remedy unfair trade policies against the US, bring manufacturing jobs back to the country and generate income for the US government. Starting on February 1, Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, including a 10 percent levy on Canadian energy, and hit Chinese goods with a 10 percent tariff. In the weeks that followed, Trump targeted steel and aluminium as well as auto imports with tariffs of 25 percent. By April, Trump had placed a baseline 10 percent tariff on goods imported from the rest of the world. China received the highest tariff rate at 145 percent. However, some exemptions have been applied to technology-related items, such as smartphones. Canada and Mexico are facing tariffs of 25 percent on goods that are noncompliant with the trilateral USMCA trade deal they have with the US, affecting $63.8bn worth of trade, according to Bloomberg News. The European Union is facing what is for now a suspended 20 percent tariff rate. How have the markets reacted? Since coming into office, Trump has sent shockwaves through the markets, largely due to his flip-flopping tariff announcements, which have caused uncertainty and volatility. Since the November election, despite an initial spike, all major indices have fallen: S&P 500 – down about 3.3 percent Nasdaq – down about 4.5 percent Dow Jones – down 5.3 percent Since inauguration day, the markets have fallen even further: Advertisement S&P 500 – down about 7.9 percent Nasdaq – down about 12.1 percent Dow Jones – down 8.9 percent Which world leaders have visited Trump? In his first 100 days in office, Trump has hosted at least 11 world leaders. Unsurprisingly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first leader to arrive at the White House on February 4. It was during this visit that Trump said he would turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. (Al Jazeera) World leaders who have visited Trump include: Netanyahu on February 4 Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on February 7 Jordanian King Abdullah II on February 11 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13 French President Emmanuel Macron on February 24 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on February 27 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28. This meeting was notable for its war of words between Trump and US Vice President JD Vance on one side and Zelenskyy on the other, which led to the US withdrawing military aid from Ukraine Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on March 12 Netanyahu for the second time on April 7 Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on April 14 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on April 17 Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on April 24 Foreign policy: Stance on Ukraine, Gaza and Yemen Since entering office, Trump has said he maintains an America First policy. On Ukraine, Trump has criticised the scale of US spending under former President Joe Biden, arguing that European countries should shoulder a greater share of the burden. On March 3, Trump ceased all military aid to Ukraine, a move that drew sharp criticism from European allies. The Trump administration has held several meetings with Ukrainian and Russian officials to try to end the fighting. Advertisement In the Middle East, Trump has brandished proposals to take control of Gaza and redevelop
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 14, hits second-fastest IPL century, breaks T20 record
Rajasthan Royals’ schoolboy prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes youngest T20 centurion after scoring a stunning 35-ball 100 against Gujarat Titans in the IPL. Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest centurion in men’s Twenty20 cricket as he guided Rajasthan Royals to an eight-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans in an Indian Premier League match in Jaipur. Suryavanshi doled out severe punishment to Gujarat’s bowling attack on Monday, hitting 11 sixes and seven fours in his 101 off 38 balls, as the hosts chased down a 209-run target in 15.5 overs. The left-hander reached his 100 in 35 balls to register the second-fastest century in IPL history, while combining with Yashasvi Jaiswal in a 166-run opening partnership. “It is a very good feeling. It’s my first hundred in the IPL and it’s my third innings. The result has shown here after the practice before the tournament,” the player of the match, Suryavanshi, said. “I just see the ball and play. It has been a dream to get a 100 in the IPL, and today, it materialised. There is no fear. I don’t think much, I just focus on playing.” Suryavanshi’s century was also the quickest by an Indian in the IPL, bettering Yusuf Pathan’s 37-ball effort for Rajasthan against the Mumbai Indians in 2010. Advertisement “Many congratulations to young Vaibhav Suryavanshi for breaking my record of the fastest IPL hundred by an Indian,” Pathan wrote on social media. “Even more special to see it happen while playing for Rajasthan Royals, just like I did.” Suryavanshi grabbed headlines when he became the youngest player to earn a contract in the lucrative IPL at the age of 13, before making his debut this month and announcing himself in style with a six off the first ball he faced. He played in the domestic Ranji Trophy red-ball competition aged 12 last year and has represented India’s Under-19 side against Australia, scoring a 58-ball century. Suryavanshi also made a triple hundred in a local tournament in his home state of Bihar. Rajasthan are eighth in the IPL standings, with the win over Gujarat snapping a five-game losing run for the 2008 champions. The Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Suryavanshi in action against the Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, India on April 28, 2025 [Abhijit Addya/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)
‘Traitors’: Hate-filled songs target Indian Muslims after Kashmir attack
Mumbai, India – Less than 24 hours after news broke of the April 22 attack, in which gunmen killed 25 tourists and a local pony rider in the Indian-administered Kashmir region, a new song surfaced on Indian YouTube. Its message was unmistakable: We made a mistake by allowing you to stay on, You got your own country, why didn’t you leave then? They call us Hindus “kaffirs”, Their hearts are full of conspiracies against us. The song, titled “Pehle Dharam Pocha” (They Asked About Religion First) targeted Indian Muslims, insisted they were conspiring against Hindus and asked them to leave India. In less than a week, the song has garnered more than 140,000 views on YouTube. And it is not the only song. The killings in the picturesque resort town of Pahalgam marked the worst attack against tourists in Kashmir in a quarter of a century. But even as New Delhi hits back against Pakistan, which it accuses of links to the attack – a charge Islamabad denies – a wave of incendiary music tracks, crafted and circulated within hours, has set off an anti-Muslim backlash in India. Set to pulsing beats and catchy rhymes, these songs, part of a genre that has come to be known as Hindutva Pop, are calling for violent retribution for the attack. From songs that label Indian Muslims as “traitors” to songs that advocate their boycott, the country’s smartphones are buzzing. Hindutva is the Hindu majoritarian political ideology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. Advertisement Al Jazeera found at least 20 songs that carried and amplified such Islamophobic themes at a time when Indians were anxiously scrolling through their digital feeds for more information on the aftermath of the attack. These songs have a chillingly consistent narrative: Since the attackers are believed to have singled out Hindu tourists, Indian Muslims can no longer be trusted – never mind that a Muslim Kashmiri pony rider who tried to stop the gunmen was also killed. Apart from these, a glut of other hyper-nationalist songs has also emerged in the past week, pushing warmongering rhetoric deeper into Indian digital veins. There are songs that call for Pakistan to be nuked or for the Indian government to “wipe Pakistan off the map”, and others that advocate for “Pakistani blood” in exchange for the deaths, These songs have become a part of a broader digital push by Hindutva groups, who are using social media and encrypted platforms like WhatsApp to stoke fear, hatred, and division among Indians – all at a time when tensions with neighbouring Pakistan are ratcheting up. This campaign is mirroring real-world violence, across multiple Indian states. In Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, Muslims have faced brutal attacks and threats. Kashmiri Muslims have been evicted from their homes, street vendors assaulted, and in chilling acts of retribution, Muslim patients have been denied medical care by Hindu doctors. On Friday, a Muslim man was shot dead, with a Hindu supremacist in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, claiming responsibility for the shooting and saying it was retribution for the Pahalgam attack. Advertisement Concerted campaign All the 20 songs that Al Jazeera analysed saw a common theme being pushed: a reiteration of the assertion that tourists were killed for their Hindu identities, and therefore, Hindus across the country must now feel threatened in living around Muslims. Multiple witness and survivor accounts of the Pahalgam attack suggest that the gunmen asked the tourists to recite the Kalimas (sacred Islamic verses) and the men who could not do so were shot. The song Pehle Dharm Poocha (They Asked About Religion First) was released on April 23, the day after the attack. Singer Kavi Singh insists that letting Muslims stay on in India after the country’s partition in 1947 was “a mistake”, and asks them to go to Pakistan. Another song, Ab Ek Nahi Huye Toh Kat Jaaoge (If You Don’t Unite Now You Will be Slaughtered), by singer Chandan Deewana, is addressed entirely to Hindus, asking them to rise up and “save our religion”. The song insists that Hindus, not Indians, are under threat and warns that they will be “slaughtered” if they do not unite. It has garnered more than 60,000 views on YouTube in just two days. Jaago Hindu Jaago (Wake Up, Hindus) is a song that asks Hindus to identify “traitors within the country”, a coded reference to Muslims. The song’s video on YouTube contains an AI-re-enactment of the Pahalgam attack and has more than 128,000 views so far. Another song, Modi Ji Ab Maha Yudh Ho Jaane Do (Modi ji, Let The Great War Begin), refers to Muslims as “snakes” living in India. Another song calls the events in the country a “religious war”, and yet another asks for Hindus in India to be allowed to carry arms. Advertisement These songs provide a background score for social media posts that bear similar themes. From AI-generated videos and memes recreating the attack to Ghibli images, social media timelines have seen a flood of content emerging from the attack. Much of it carries similar undertones: to paint the attack as an assault on Hindus and the Hindu religion, while exhorting Hindus to “unite” against the threat of Muslims. Some posts liken the Pahalgam killings to the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, and exhort the Indian government to “take revenge the Israel way”. Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip that has, since October 2023, killed more than 52,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 117,000 others. Raqib Hameed Naik, the executive director of the Washington, DC-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), which tracks hate speech in India, said the centre has observed “a sharp spike” in anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media since the Kashmir attack. “The [Muslim] community is frequently portrayed as an existential threat through memes, AI-generated images, videos and misinformation, systematically designed to inflame passions and justify exclusionary rhetoric,” Naik said.
Canada’s Liberal Party wins election dominated by Trump’s trade war
BREAKINGBREAKING, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on course to form next government, projections show. Canada’s governing Liberal Party has won national elections dominated by United States President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats. Prime Minister Mark Carney will keep the top job after projections showed his Liberals on course to win the most seats in the 343-member parliament, national broadcaster CBC and CTV News reported late on Monday. It was not clear if Carney, a career economist who cast himself as a champion for Canada in the face of Trump’s threats, would be able to form a majority government or need to rely on the support of a smaller party. Adblock test (Why?)
Fires continue to rage at key Iran port as explosion death toll rises to 65
Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni says the ‘culprits have been identified’ and the explosion was caused by ‘negligence’. Firefighters continue to battle raging fires at Iran’s largest commercial port, Bandar Abbas, two days after a massive explosion killed at least 65 people and injured more than 1,000, Iranian state media has reported, as questions linger as to the blast’s cause. Only “120 wounded are still in hospital”, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, who is visiting the affected area, told state TV on Monday. The blast took place on Saturday at Shahid Rajaei Port in Iran’s south near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. Iran’s state TV showed images of firefighters dousing the flames, saying the damage would be assessed after the fire is fully brought under control. Heavy charcoal-black smoke continued to billow over low flames at part of the site, above which a firefighting helicopter flew, pictures from the Iranian Red Crescent showed. What caused the blast? It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but the port’s customs office said it likely resulted from a fire that broke out at a depot storing hazardous chemical materials. Advertisement Momeni said on Monday that “culprits have been identified and summoned”, and that the blast was caused by “shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence”. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident. In the face of external and expert speculation, Iran has denied reports that the blast was caused by a shipment of missile fuel. National day of mourning declared On Sunday, President Masoud Pezeshkian visited hospitals treating the wounded in Bandar Abbas. Since the explosion, authorities have ordered all schools and offices in the area closed and urged residents to avoid going outside “until further notice” and use protective masks when doing so. Authorities declared Monday a national day of mourning, while three days of mourning began on Sunday in Hormozgan province. The explosion took place as Iranian and US delegations met in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress. While Iranian authorities so far appear to be treating the explosion as an accident, it also comes against a backdrop of years of shadow war with regional enemy Israel. Iran has in the past accused Israel of being behind such attacks. According to The Washington Post, Israel launched a cyberattack targeting the Shahid Rajaei Port in 2020. Adblock test (Why?)
Sudan’s RSF accused of ‘war crime’ after 31 people ‘executed’
[unable to retrieve full-text content] At least 31 people, including children, have been ‘executed’ by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Trump-China tariff war: Who’s winning so far?
After United States President Donald Trump suspended his “reciprocal tariffs” on major US trading partners on April 9, he ramped them up on China’s goods. US trade levies on most imports from China have climbed to 145 percent. Beijing retaliated with duties of its own, at 125 percent on US goods. Trump has long accused China of exploiting the US on trade, casting his tariffs as necessary to revive domestic manufacturing and reshore jobs back to the US. He also wants to use tariffs to finance tax cuts. Most economists remain sceptical Trump will achieve his aims. For now, the US and China are locked in a high-stakes game of chicken. The world is waiting to see which country will yield and which will stay the course. As Trump nears his first 100 days in office for the second time, here’s where the tariff war with China stands: What’s happening with negotiations? Trump recently played up the possibility of securing a trade deal with China. Last week, the US president said his tariffs on China will “come down substantially” in the near future. Advertisement “We’re going to have a fair deal with China,” Trump told reporters on April 23, stirring hopes of a de-escalation. He also said his administration was “actively” negotiating with the Chinese side without elaborating. On April 24, however, China’s Ministry of Commerce rebuffed president Trump’s remarks, saying there were no talks taking place between the two countries. “Any claims about the progress of China-US economic and trade negotiations are groundless and have no factual basis,” ministry spokesman He Yadong said. While he insisted that Beijing won’t duck any economic blows from Washington, he also said the door was “wide open” for talks. Last week, the Reuters news agency reported that China was evaluating exemptions for select US imports – a list of up to 131 products. Beijing has not made any public statement on the issue. Has the tariff war impacted US exports? Trump introduced his sweeping tariffs on China less than three weeks ago. The fallout for US businesses won’t be fully felt until later this year. Still, the warning signals are already flashing red. Data from the US Department of Agriculture shows that exports of soya beans – the biggest US farm export – fell dramatically for the period April 11-17, the first full week of reporting since Trump’s China tariff announcement. By April 17, net sales of US soya beans dropped by 50 percent compared with the previous week. That was driven by a 67 percent fall in weekly soya bean exports to China, which, until recently, was America’s biggest export destination for the legume. Advertisement According to Piergiuseppe Fortunato, an adjunct professor of economics at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, “China’s retaliatory tariffs will hit US farmers hard. Some may go out of business.” He added that all sectors with exposure to China would come under strain. In 2023, the US exported roughly $15bn of oil, gas and coal to China. Losing that market would hit US energy firms. Are imports to the US going to take a hit? Since the start of Trump’s tariff war, cargo shipments have plummeted. According to Linerlytica, a shipping data provider, Chinese freight bookings bound for the US fell by 30 to 60 percent in April. The drastic reduction in shipping from America’s third largest trading partner – after Canada and Mexico – has not yet been felt. In May, however, thousands of companies will need to restock their inventories. According to Bloomberg News, retail giants Walmart and Target told Trump in a meeting last week that shoppers are likely to see empty shelves and higher prices from next month. They also warned that supply shocks could roll out to Christmas. Electronic appliances, such as TV sets and washing machines, made up 46.4 percent of US imports from China in 2022. The US also imports a lot of its clothing and pharmaceutical product ingredients from China. The price of these goods will begin to rise from next month. On April 22, the International Monetary Fund raised its US inflation forecast to 3 percent in 2025, owing to tariffs – a full 1 percentage point higher than in January. The lender also lowered its US economic growth forecast and raised its expectation that the US will tip into recession this year. Advertisement How will China’s economy be affected? Despite growing tensions between the US and China, Washington and Beijing remain major trading partners. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, the US imported $438.9bn in Chinese goods last year. That amounts to roughly 3 percent of China’s total economic output, which remains heavily reliant on exports. In a report shared with its clients this month, Goldman Sachs said it expects Trump’s tariffs to drag down China’s gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 2.4 percentage points. For their part, China’s top officials said the country can do without American farm and energy imports and promised to achieve a 5 percent GDP growth target for this year. Zhao Chenxin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that together with non-US imports, domestic farm and energy production would be enough to satisfy demand. “Even if we do not purchase feed grains and oilseeds from the United States, it will not have much impact on our country’s grain supply,” Zhao said on Monday. He also noted there would be limited impact on China’s energy supplies if companies stopped importing US fossil fuels. In some ways, experts said, China has been preparing for this crisis. Fortunato told Al Jazeera: “The US is one of China’s biggest export markets, so tariffs will slow GDP growth. But Beijing has played this smartly as it began diversifying its imports away from the US during the first Trump trade war” in 2018. He also pointed out that “the US depends on China for up to 60 percent of its critical mineral imports, used in everything from clean energy to military technology. The opposite flow simply isn’t there,
Protests in Paris against Islamophobia after mosque stabbing
NewsFeed Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Paris to protest against Islamophobia after a Muslim man was stabbed to death at a mosque in southern France. Video has emerged showing the alleged attacker before the crime. French politicians attended the rally, condemning the growing climate of Islamophobia in the country. Published On 28 Apr 202528 Apr 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Israel bombs southern Beirut as its attacks in Lebanon continue
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Israel has bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs, part of a series of attacks across Lebanon that violate the ceasefire deal
Spain, Portugal and southwestern France hit by massive power outage
The Spanish and Portuguese governments have convened emergency cabinet meetings as the causes of the outage remain unknown. Spain, Portugal and parts of southwestern France have been hit by a widespread power blackout that paralysed public transport, caused large traffic jams, delayed flights, and left residents unable to access cash from ATMs, as utility operators scrambled to restore the grid. The Spanish and Portuguese governments convened emergency cabinet meetings after the outage on Monday, which also briefly affected a part of France bordering northeastern Spain. The head of operations of Spain’s grid operator REE, Eduardo Prieto, told a news conference that restoring power to the Spanish electric grid could take six to 10 hours. Authorities were unable to explain the cause of the outage at least an hour after it occurred, though a possible cyberattack had not been ruled out and investigations were ongoing, officials said. The Spanish government urged residents to stay put to avoid traffic chaos. “The government is working to identify the origin of this incident and dedicating all possible resources to resolve it as quickly as possible,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s office said. Advertisement The European Commission said it was “in contact” with local authorities “to understand the underlying cause” of the blackout. “The commission will keep monitoring the situation and make sure that there is smooth information exchange amongst all relevant parties,” a spokesperson for the EU’s executive arm said. Outage knocks out subway networks, traffic lights There were traffic jams in Madrid city centre as traffic lights stopped working, Cadena SER radio station reported, as well as people trapped in stalled metro cars and lifts in the Spanish capital. Panicked residents tried in vain to get a signal as the phone lines cut. “There’s no [phone] coverage, I can’t call my family, my parents, nothing: I can’t even go to work,” Carlos Condori told AFP. “People [are] stunned, because this had never happened in Spain.” At Cibeles Square, one of the Spanish capital’s busiest thoroughfares, the blackout of traffic lights unleashed a cacophony of sirens, whistles and car horns as police tried to control the pile-up of traffic. Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from the Spanish city of Valencia, said the outage had seemed a temporary one at first and “everyone carried on doing their normal business”. “But a little later, it turned out to be much larger. ATMs are not working, traffic lights are not working.” The Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended, forcing 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and his British opponent Jacob Fearnley off the court as scoreboards went dark and overhead cameras lost power. Advertisement The Portuguese police said traffic lights were affected across the country, the metro was closed in Lisbon and Porto, and trains were not running. Portugal’s utility REN said “all plans for the phased restoration of energy supply are being activated, in coordination with European energy producers and operators”. “REN is in permanent contact with official entities, namely the National Civil Protection Authority. At the same time, the possible causes of this incident are being assessed,” a spokesperson said. In a later statement, REN attributed the outage to a rare atmospheric phenomenon in Spain due to extreme temperature variations in the country’s interior. It added that fully restoring the country’s power grid could take up to a week. In France, grid operator RTE said there was a brief outage, but power had been restored. It was investigating the cause. “An electrical incident is currently affecting Spain and Portugal, the cause of which remains to be determined,” RTE said. “In France, homes were without power for several minutes in the Basque Country. All power has since been restored.” RTE said its teams had been mobilised to assist the Spanish grid operator, and 700MW of Spanish consumption had already been restored via France by RTE. Adblock test (Why?)