Fear grips Nigeria’s LGBTQ+ community after popular cross-dresser killed  VOA – Voice of America English News
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Bad news for Trump’s Golden Dome: He can’t build it without Canada  Politico
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Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency has dropped a money-laundering case against a top cryptocurrency executive to allow him to get medical treatment abroad.
Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen, was arrested on a business trip to Nigeria in February and later charged alongside his company Binance with laundering $35.4m (£28m) – which they denied.
The 40-year-old was in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange that Nigeria blames for much of its recent economic turmoil.
It accused the digital platform – where investors can buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies – of fixing exchange rates and currency speculation leading to the free-fall of the local currency.
The charges against Binance, including tax evasion offences that it denies, were part of a clampdown by the Nigerian authorities on cryptocurrency firms in general over fears they were being used for money laundering and financing terrorism.
Mr Gambaryan’s family has been calling for his release over concerns about his health, saying conditions at the Kuje Correctional Centre – a prison in the capital, Abuja where he had been held since April – were exacerbating a back problem.
“The herniated disc in his back has worsened to the point where it might leave permanent damage and affect his ability to walk,” his wife Yuki said in August.
The High Court judge has twice denied him bail, saying he was a potential flight risk.
This followed the escape from custody of his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national who was Binance’s Africa regional manager.
He was arrested alongside Mr Gambaryan in February but fled the country within weeks of the pair being put under house arrest – and is still wanted by the Nigerian authorities.
According to the Reuters news agency, Gambaryan’s trial was adjourned last Friday as he was not able to appear because of illness.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) then announced in court in Abuja on Wednesday that it was dropping the case against him.
"We have withdrawn the money laundering charges against Tigran Gambaryan to allow him to get medical treatment outside the country," Reuters quotes EFCC lawyer Ekele Ihenacho as saying.
The tax evasion charges filed against Binance by the Federal Inland Revenue Service will still be pursued in court.
Binance has also fallen foul of US laws. Last November its founder Changpeng Zhao resigned and in April was sentenced to four months in prison for allowing criminals to launder money on his platform.
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
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Tariffs
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President Trump on Friday threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on exports from the European Union. He also targeted Apple.
Note: Goods from Canada and Mexico that fall under the U.S.M.C.A. trade pact — the agreement that replaced NAFTA — are not subject to tariffs that took effect in March targeting those countries.
By The New York Times
Since re-entering office, President Trump has announced a barrage of tariffs to try to rewire the global economy. The trade actions have taken effect in fits and starts and created wild swings in markets and fresh tension among some of America’s closest trading partners. They have drawn warnings from economists about an economic downturn that could punish consumers.
In April, Mr. Trump rolled out his most punishing tariffs yet on dozens of U.S. trading partners before abruptly reversing them for 90 days for every country except China to give governments, including the European Union, time to make deals. On May 12, he temporarily paused the China tariffs. But on Friday morning, he threatened to revive his global trade wars.
European Union:
Mr. Trump said on Friday that discussions with the European Union “are going nowhere” and that he is recommending a 50 percent tariff on imports from the bloc, starting June 1.
Apple:
Mr. Trump also targeted the chief executive of Apple, Tim Cook, on Friday. He said he had told Mr. Cook he expected iPhones sold in the United States to be “manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else” or face a 25 percent tariff.
China:
The United States and China on May 12 said they had reached an agreement to reduce the tariffs they have imposed on each other for 90 days while they try to negotiate a trade deal.
The announcement came after a weekend of high-stakes negotiations between officials from the two countries in Switzerland.
The Tit-for-Tat Tariffs
Between the U.S. and China
April 9
145%
President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese
goods multiple times this year before
lowering the rates temporarily while
the two sides negotiate.
April 8
104%
March 26
25% on cars
and parts
Feb. 10
April 2
25% on steel
and aluminum
54%
May 12
30%
March 3
Feb. 1
20%
10% on all goods
April 11
125%
China retaliated against the tariffs with equivalent levies but has also agreed to a pause during ongoing talks.
April 9
84%
April 4
Feb. 4
March 4
10% on U.S. food and agricultural products
10% on natural gas, coal and farm machinery
34%
May 12
10%
The Tit-for-Tat Tariffs
Between the U.S. and China
President Trump raised
tariffs on Chinese goods
multiple times this year
before lowering the rates
temporarily while the
two sides negotiate.
April 9
145%
April 8
104%
March 26
25% on cars
and parts
Feb. 10
April 2
25% on steel
and aluminum
54%
May 12
30%
March 3
20%
Feb. 1
10% on all goods
China retaliated against
the tariffs with equivalent
levies but has also agreed
to a pause during
ongoing talks.
April 11
125%
April 9
84%
March 4
10% on U.S. food and agricultural products
Feb. 4
April 4
10% on natural
gas, coal and farm machinery
34%
May 12
10%
Sources: White House, China’s Ministry of Finance
By Agnes Chang and Pablo Robles
Many Chinese imports entering the United States had been subject to at least a 145 percent tariff — essentially a tax equal to one-and-a-half times the cost of the product itself. That will now be 30 percent. For its part, China agreed to lower the tariffs it had put on imports from the United States to 10 percent, from 125 percent. The agreement apparently left unchanged a move by Mr. Trump to eliminate a longstanding exception that allowed many relatively inexpensive goods from China to enter the country duty free.
Britain:
Last month, Mr. Trump imposed the same 10 percent tariff on Britain that he put on other countries. Cars shipped to the United States from Britain face a 27.5 percent tariff, and British steel is subjected to an import duty of 25 percent.
In early May, Mr. Trump unveiled a preliminary agreement with Britain that would pare back these tariffs. Under the terms of the deal, Britain would be allowed to send 100,000 vehicles to the United States under a tariff of 10 percent, and U.S. tariffs on steel would fall to zero.
The 10 percent levy in place for all British exports would remain in place, though the British government said it was still pushing to bring it down.
Though Britain is not one of America’s biggest trading partners, Mr. Trump said the agreement would be the first of many. U.S. officials have also been negotiating with India, Israel, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, among other trading partners.
Mr. Trump’s point of view appears to be that any trade deficit — the value of goods the United States imports from a country, minus what it sends as exports — is bad. He has long described bilateral trade deficits as examples of America being “ripped off” or “subsidizing” other countries.
Note: Data is adjusted for seasonality and shows 2024 trade in goods.
Source: Census Bureau
By The New York Times
The president and his advisers say their goal is to make the tariffs so painful that they force companies to make their products in the United States. They argue that this will create more American jobs and push up wages.
But Mr. Trump has also described tariffs as an all-purpose tool that will force Canada, Mexico and China to crack down on the flow of drugs and migrants coming into the United States. The president also maintains that tariffs will rake in huge sums of revenue that the government can use to pay for domestic tax cuts.
Economists say that tariffs cannot simultaneously achieve all of the goals that Mr. Trump has set. In fact, many of his aims contradict one another. The same tariffs that are supposed to increase U.S. manufacturing are also making life painful for U.S. manufacturers, by disrupting their supply chains and raising the cost of their raw materials.
“All of these tariffs are internally inconsistent with each other,” said Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank. “So what is the real priority? Because you can’t have all those things happen at once.”
A tariff is a government surcharge on products imported from other countries.
Tariffs are paid by the companies that import the goods. The revenue from U.S. tariffs is paid by U.S. importers to the U.S. Treasury Department.
For example, if Walmart imports a $100 shoe from Vietnam — which faces a 46 percent tariff — Walmart will owe $46.00 in tariffs to the U.S. government.
What happens next?
Walmart could try to force the cost onto the Vietnamese shoe manufacturer, by telling it Walmart will pay less for the product.
Walmart could cut into its own profit margins and absorb the cost of the tariff.
Walmart could raise the price of the shoes at its stores.
Or, some combination of the above.
Earlier this month, Walmart’s chief executive cautioned that tariffs would push the company to start raising prices soon, and refrained from projecting profits for its current quarter. Mr. Trump, in turn, scolded the retailer on social media, telling it to “EAT THE TARIFFS” and keep prices down.
It’s hard to imagine an American home without Chinese products. Many essentials are imported almost entirely from China — and with new tariffs, they’re likely to become more expensive.
The New York Times analyzed import data to show where Americans may see product shortages, fewer choices and price increases.
We analyzed import data to show where Americans may see product shortages, fewer choices and price increases.
What happens if shelves are emptier? Sacrifice for your country, the president says.
“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be open,’” Mr. Trump recently said. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
Mr. Trump’s tariffs target countries that supply a wide variety of goods to the United States. In some cases, prices have already started to go up. But for American families, the full effect of the new policies is still to come, but they are likely to result in higher prices at grocery stores, car dealerships, electronics retailers and clothing outlets.
Wirecutter has advice about how consumers can cope.
One way to understand how companies are reacting to the tariffs is to think about Christmas.
The production of toys, Christmas trees and decorations is usually in full swing by now. It takes four to five months to manufacture, package and ship products to the United States. And factories in China produce nearly 80 percent of all toys and 90 percent of Christmas goods sold in America.
Toy makers, children’s shops and specialty retailers have recently begun pausing orders for the winter holidays as the import taxes cascade through supply chains.
“If we don’t start production soon, there’s a high probability of a toy shortage this holiday season,” said Greg Ahearn, chief executive of the Toy Association, a U.S. industry group representing 850 toy manufacturers.
Mattel, the U.S. toy company and maker of Barbies, recently said it would raise prices on U.S. toys because of Mr. Trump’s tariffs on imports from China.
1789: At its founding, the United States relied heavily on tariffs to finance the federal government and protect domestic manufacturers, as proposed by Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury secretary.
1828: The federal government passed tariffs averaging 38 percent to shield the country’s manufacturing sector from foreign competitors. These were labeled the “Tariff of Abominations” by Southern states, whose economies relied on exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods, leading to a constitutional standoff.
1930: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was enacted after the stock market crash of 1929, an attempt to protect U.S. businesses. Instead, as described in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the tariffs “did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression.”
1934: Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, which gave the president the authority to negotiate bilateral trade agreements. This set the stage for more than 90 years of liberal free trade policies.
This article is by Ana Swanson, Lazaro Gamio, Daisuke Wakabayashi, Jack Ewing Tyler Pager, Ben Protess, Andrea Fuller, Joe Rennison, Jeanna Smialek, Mark Landler, Eshe Nelson, Alexandra Stevenson, Andrew Duehren, June Kim, Jack Ewing, Karl Russell, Colby Smith, Ian Austen, Vjosa Isai, Annie Correal, Keith Bradsher, Alan Rappeport and Christine Zhang.
Markets Drop: Stock markets dropped after President Trump threatened the European Union and Apple with steep tariffs.
Apple and India: Apple and India have invested years and billions of dollars in teaming up against China. Things are looking tougher for India now, and for its American business partners. Trump has changed up his tactics with China, backing off his highest tariffs.
Outselling Tesla in Europe: Despite steep tariffs, the Chinese carmaker BYD of China leapfrogged Tesla for the first time, in what an analyst called a “watershed moment” for the continent’s auto market.
Malaysia’s New Reality: A crucial cog in the global semiconductor industry, Malaysia aims to build high-end chips. It will have to contend with President Trump’s trade policy.
Chinese Battery Giant’s Debut: Tensions between China and the United States pushed Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of batteries for electric cars, to shut U.S. onshore investors out of its share sale.
Trump Berates Companies: President Trump is telling some of the nation’s largest companies that they should eat the cost of his tariffs. Economists and populists on the left and right disagree on the necessity of passing along the cost increases.
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