1. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a general election for May 3. The focus is on whether his ruling Labor Party can retain power amid growing public discontent about its economic policies. Albanese said there has never been a more important time for Australia to stand on its own two feet. He added that only the Labor Party is building an economy where more things are made in the country.
2. US President Donald Trump’s plan to impose a 25 percent tariff on auto imports is sending shockwaves through global markets, rattling close allies, and could mark the unraveling of the era of post-war era of free trade. The Trump administration says the tariffs, set to take effect on April 3, are designed to reduce trade deficits and push foreign automakers to shift production to US soil.
3. French President Emmanuel Macron says his country and Britain will send a joint team to Ukraine in the next few days to plan for a proposed troop deployment to help secure a possible ceasefire in the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as leaders of nearly 30 countries, NATO and the European Union, met in Paris earlier on Thursday. Macron said the participants unanimously agreed that the time was not right to lift sanctions on Russia. Russia says some of the sanctions must be removed for its agreement with the United States over safety in the Black Sea to take effect.
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