Briefly

UNITED STATES

Steel, aluminum tariffs may be overhauled

The US President Donald Trump's administration is preparing to reshape its steel and aluminum tariff regime, keeping a 50 percent tariff for commodity-grade steel and aluminum products while finished products made with imported steel and aluminum would be tariffed at 25 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. It said the presidential proclamation could be issued as soon as this week.

Sanctions on Venezuela's acting president lifted

The US on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control entry on the Treasury Department website. It is the latest US recognition of Rodriguez as a legitimate authority in Venezuela since the US forcibly captured her predecessor Nicolas Maduro on Jan 3.

ITALY

19 migrants found dead, 58 rescued

The Italian coast guard found 19 bodies and rescued 58 people after intercepting a dinghy filled with migrants about 80 nautical miles from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Tuesday, a coast guard spokesperson said. The tiny island of Lampedusa is the main entry point to Europe for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa.

RUSSIA

Claims in Japan's textbooks slammed

The new edition of Japanese school textbooks, set to be introduced in 2027, reflects Tokyo's efforts to instill a sense of revanchism in the younger generation and to deny the outcomes of World War II, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. The updated textbooks have "unfounded" territorial claims against neighboring states while there are virtually no references to the war crimes committed by militarist Japan. Tokyo and its leadership are deliberately misleading their younger generation and distorting their understanding of geopolitical realities, she added.

Agencies Via Xinhua