Washington (United States) (AFP) – A new wave of US tariffs targeting 60 trading partners took effect Friday, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

The levies range from 10 percent to 12.5 percent and impact major economies like China, India and the European Union.

“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

He earlier added that the targeted economies represent the majority of US trade.

The Trump administration has moved swiftly to rebuild the president’s tariff wall after the Supreme Court struck down a host of his duties in February – dealing a blow to his ability to unleash steep levies at will.

After the setback, Trump tapped different authorities to reimpose a 10-percent tariff on imports. But this only lasted 150 days and expired Friday.

The volley of new duties, initially proposed in June, now takes its place.

The measures were planned after a months-long investigation and are considered more resistant to legal challenges than earlier moves.

Under Thursday’s announcement, economies that have implemented a forced labor import prohibition or committed to do so are hit with the lower 10-percent rate. They include Canada, the EU, India and the United Kingdom.

China, Japan, South Korea and dozens of others were deemed to deserve the higher 12.5 percent tariff.

But the EU, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland receive some relief in line with trade pacts they previously reached with the United States.

The new levies received swift condemnation from target countries, with Japan saying it “regrets” the duties and Australia’s trade minister calling them “unjustified.”

Goods already facing sector-specific tariffs – like steel and aluminum – will not be impacted.

Certain energy products and fertilizers will be exempt too, alongside products covered by the US-Mexico-Canada free trade pact, a US official told reporters.

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United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The International Criminal Court’s 125 member states will convene Friday to determine the fate of prosecutor Karim Khan, who was suspended over allegations of sexual assault against a member of his staff – accusations he firmly denies.

In May 2025, Khan had stepped back from his duties to fight the allegations made by one of his female colleagues, after an inquiry was launched the previous year.

The 56-year-old Briton was then suspended last month by a key governing body of the ICC, the 21-member bureau of the Assembly of State Parties (ASP), which called Friday’s meeting at UN headquarters in New York.

At that time, the bureau said the suspension was “not an indication of the final outcome” in the matter.

The decision on whether to relieve Khan of his duties is now subject to a secret ballot by the 125 countries party to the International Criminal Court during a closed-door session. An absolute majority carries the vote.

The alleged victim, a Malaysian lawyer who worked as Khan’s direct assistant, has offered her account of what happened for the first time, in an interview last week with CNN.

The woman, who asked to be identified by her first name Sarah, described “an escalation of attempts” that resulted in physical assault.

“There is no way for something to be consensual when you have such a power disparity,” she told CNN. “What I think many people don’t understand is that Mr. Khan was not just my boss, he was everyone’s boss.”

Khan, who has been in the job since 2021, categorically denies the accusations.

In an open letter published this week on X, his attorneys called on ICC member states not to remove Khan from his position, saying the procedures in place allowing Khan to defend himself had not been respected.

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After several months, I finally finished watching the entire Twin Peaks series and the movie Fire Walk with Me. For me, there’s no doubt that it’s a masterpiece, in fact, I think the movie can only be understood after watching the third season. What do you think of Twin Peaks? Do you think you understood it? What’s your take on it?