Economy

Chinese authorities have summoned domestic companies, including major internet firms Tencent and ByteDance, over their purchases of Nvidia’s H20 chips.

Authorities asked the companies on Tuesday to explain their reasons and expressed concerns over information risks, three people familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and other agencies also held meetings with Baidu and smaller Chinese tech firms in recent weeks, said one of the two people and a third source.

The Chinese officials asked companies why they needed to buy chips made by Nvidia, a US company, when they could purchase from domestic suppliers, the sources said.

Authorities in China expressed concern that the materials Nvidia has asked companies to submit for review with the US government could contain sensitive information, including client data, one of the sources said.

However, the people, who declined to be identified because the meetings were not public, said the companies have not been ordered to stop buying H20 chips.

Nvidia said on Tuesday that the H20 chip was “not a military product or for government infrastructure”.

“China has ample supply of domestic chips to meet its needs. It won’t and never has relied on American chips for government operations, just like the US government would not rely on chips from China,” the statement said.

Baidu, ByteDance, Tencent and the CAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Discouraged use

Earlier on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that Chinese authorities have urged domestic companies to avoid using Nvidia’s H20 chips, particularly for government-related purposes.

Several companies were issued official notices discouraging the use of the H20, a lower-end chip, mainly for any government or national security-related work by state enterprises or private companies, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

In a separate report, The Information reported that ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent had been ordered by the CAC in the past two weeks to suspend Nvidia chip purchases altogether, citing data security concerns.

The CAC directive was communicated at a meeting the regulator held with more than a dozen Chinese tech firms, shortly after the administration of United States President Donald Trump reversed the export curbs on H20 chips, according to the Information report.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports, and Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment. Top contract chipmaker SMIC rose 5 percent on Tuesday on expectations of rising demand for locally-produced chips.

But even without an outright ban, the concerns expressed by Chinese authorities could threaten Nvidia’s recently restored access to the Chinese market as Chinese companies look to keep in step with regulators.

Nvidia designed the H20 specifically for China after export restrictions on its more advanced AI chips took effect in late 2023. The H20 has since been the most sophisticated AI chip Nvidia was allowed to sell in China.

Earlier this year, US authorities effectively banned its sale to China, but reversed the decision in July following an agreement between Nvidia and the Trump administration.

Threat to revenue stream

Last month, China’s cyberspace regulator summoned Nvidia representatives, asking the company to explain whether the H20 posed backdoor security risks that could affect Chinese user data and privacy.

State-controlled media have intensified criticism of Nvidia in recent days. Yuyuan Tantian, affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, published an article on WeChat over the weekend claiming that H20 chips pose security risks and lack technological advancement and environmental friendliness.

The scrutiny threatens a significant revenue stream for Nvidia, which generated $17bn from sales to China in its fiscal year ended January 26, or 13 percent of total revenue.

China has accelerated work on domestic AI chip alternatives, with companies such as Huawei developing processors that rival the H20’s performance, and Beijing urging the technology sector to become more self-sufficient.

However, US sanctions on advanced chipmaking equipment, including lithography machines essential for chip production, have constrained domestic manufacturers’ ability to boost production.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump suggested that he might allow Nvidia to sell a scaled-down version of its advanced Blackwell chip in China, despite deep-seated fears in Washington that Beijing could harness US AI capabilities to supercharge its military.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it hoped the US would act to maintain the stability and smooth operation of the global chip supply chain.

The Trump administration last week confirmed an unprecedented deal with Nvidia and AMD, which agreed to give the US government 15 percent of revenue from sales of some advanced chips in China.

China’s renewed guidance on avoiding chips also affects AI accelerators from AMD, Bloomberg also reported. It was not clear, however, whether any notices from Chinese authorities specifically mentioned AMD’s MI308 chip.

AMD did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

The US is sanctioning the Pareco-FF armed group, as well as the Congolese mining company CDMC.

The United States has sanctioned an armed group accused of illicit mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as both the army and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group traded accusations of violating a recently reached US-mediated ceasefire deal by attacking each other’s positions.

The US Department of the Treasury said on Tuesday that it was blocking all interests and restricting transactions with Pareco-FF, an armed group that it said controlled the key coltan mining site of Rubaya from 2022 to 2024, and which has opposed the M23 group.

The administration of President Donald Trump has been pushing for US access to the region’s minerals, as it has done in other parts of the world, including Ukraine.

It also slapped sanctions on the Congolese mining company CDMC, saying it sold minerals that were sourced and smuggled from mines near Rubaya and two Hong Kong-based export companies, East Rise and Star Dragon, which have been accused of buying minerals from the armed group.

“The United States is sending a clear message that no armed group or commercial entity is immune from sanctions if they undermine peace, stability or security in the DRC,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

Rubaya is currently under the control of the M23 group, which is already targeted by US sanctions. The mine there produces 15 to 30 percent of the world’s supply of coltan, a mineral used in electronics such as laptops and mobile telephones.

Many Pareco rebels integrated into the DRC military in 2009, but Pareco-FF emerged in 2022 in response to the M23 gains.

The sanctions come as Congolese army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said in a statement that the M23 group’s “almost daily” attacks constitute an “intentional and manifest violation” of the declaration of principles, which the two parties signed in mid-July in Doha, whose terms include a “permanent ceasefire”.

It followed a separate peace deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments, signed in Washington, DC, the previous month, which also helped the US government and US companies gain control of critical minerals in the region.

The Congolese army said it was ready to respond “to all provocations from this [M23 group] coalition, accustomed to violating agreements”, the statement said.

M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a post on X on Monday that DRC’s government was continuing “its offensive military manoeuvres aimed at full-scale war”.

The eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources but plagued by non-state armed groups, has suffered extreme violence for more than three decades.

A new surge of unrest broke out early this year when the M23 group captured the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, setting up their own administrations, with thousands killed in the conflict.

Violence has continued on the ground despite the US and Qatar-brokered peace deal, with fighting becoming more intense since Friday around the town of Mulamba in South Kivu province, where the front line had been relatively stable since March.

The M23 attacked positions between Friday and Monday held by pro-Kinshasa militia and army forces, and pushed them back several kilometres, after clashes using light and heavy weapons, local and security sources said.

The DRC government and the M23 rebels have agreed to sign a permanent peace deal by August 18, but the renewed fighting has threatened this effort.

This is the second major offer the AI startup has made this year to buy a major asset. In January, it offered to buy TikTok.

Perplexity AI said it has made a $34.5bn unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet’s Google Chrome browser.

The deal, if Alphabet agreed to it, would also require financing above the startup’s most recently reported valuation of $18bn.

The nearly three-year-old startup’s purchase of Chrome, if approved, would give the company access to its more than three billion users as regulatory pressure weighs on Google’s control over the tech industry.

Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer, but has raised $1bn in funding from investors including SoftBank and the semiconductor chip giant Nvidia.

Several funds have said they would finance the deal in full if Alphabet accepts, the Reuters news agency reported citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Alphabet has not offered to sell Chrome and has planned to appeal a United States court ruling that said Google held an unlawful monopoly over the online search marketplace. The US Department of Justice has said that divestiture of Chrome would help remedy that case. A federal judge is expected to rule on remedies for the case later this month.

Web browsers as vital gateways

As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech’s AI ambitions.

Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user’s behalf. Buying Chrome would allow it to tap the browser’s more than three billion users, giving it the heft to better compete with bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent is also working on its own AI browser.

Perplexity, run by CEO Aravind Srinivas, has said it will keep the browser’s code open source and make no changes to the default search engine, according to Reuters.

The San Francisco-based startup is far from the only company to express interest in Google Chrome. ChatGPT owner OpenAI has also expressed interest, as has Yahoo and New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

It is not the first eye-catching bid from the AI startup this year. In January, Perplexity AI offered to buy TikTok after regulators called for the Chinese-owned app to be sold to a US company. The White House has delayed the ban several times. The most recent delay was announced in late June.

Neither Google nor Perplexity immediately responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

On Wall Street, Alphabet’s share price surged up 1.4 percent since the market opened. Potential funder Nvidia is relatively flat, only up about 0.1 percent. However, SoftBank is surging up more than 6.9 percent as of 1pm in New York (17:00 GMT). Perplexity is not a publicly traded company.

China’s Xi and Brazil’s Lula discuss cooperation amid fallout of US President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has suggested that China and Brazil set an example of “unity and self-reliance” in the Global South, Chinese state media has reported.

In a phone call on Monday, Xi told Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that China was ready to work with Brazil to be a model for other countries and build a “more just world and a more sustainable planet”, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Xi told Lula that China-Brazil ties were “at their best in history” and the “alignment” of the two countries’ development strategies was making “smooth progress”, Xinhua reported.

“Xi also said that China backs the Brazilian people in defending their national sovereignty and supports Brazil in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, urging all countries to unite in resolutely fighting against unilateralism and protectionism,” Xinhua said.

Lula’s office said the two leaders agreed on the role of the Group of 20 and BRICS in “defending multilateralism”, discussed efforts to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine, and committed to expanding cooperation to sectors such as health, oil and gas, the digital economy and satellites.

“Both presidents also emphasised their willingness to continue identifying new business opportunities between the two economies,” Lula’s office said.

Lula also reiterated the importance of China for the success of the COP30 world climate conference in November in Belem, Brazil, his office said.

The two leaders held the discussion as United States President Donald Trump’s trade salvoes are spurring calls for greater cooperation among emerging economies, including China and Brazil.

In an interview with the Reuters news agency last week, Lula said he planned to contact the leaders of the 10-member BRICS group, which includes India and China, to discuss the possibility of a coordinated response to US tariffs.

Trump last month announced a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods, and on Monday he signed an executive order extending a pause on a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods until November.

China surpassed the US as Brazil’s largest trading partner in 2009, with two-way trade last year reaching $188.17bn.

US president’s nomination comes after firing of agency head raised concerns about integrity of US government statistics.

United States President Donald Trump has tapped an economist from a conservative think tank to lead a key statistics agency after firing its previous head over her role in the release of weak employment figures.

Trump said on Monday that he had nominated EJ Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE. I know E.J. Antoni will do an incredible job in this new role. Congratulations E.J.!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s nomination of Antoni, who requires confirmation by the US Senate, comes after his firing of Erika McEntarfer earlier this month raised concerns about US government statistics remaining credible and free of political influence.

Trump justified McEntarfer’s dismissal by claiming, without evidence, that the latest jobs report, which showed sharply slower jobs growth for May and June than previously estimated, had been “rigged” to make him look bad.

At the Heritage Foundation, Antoni, who had called for McEntarfer’s removal shortly before she was fired, has consistently showered Trump with praise.

After Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with Japan last month, Antoni described the agreement as “darn close” to perfect and the US president and his Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, as “artistic masters”.

Last week, Antoni said in a social media post that there were “better ways to collect, process, and disseminate” economic data, and that the next head of the BLS would need to deliver “accurate data in a timely manner” to rebuild trust in the agency.

Antoni and the Heritage Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Antoni’s nomination swiftly drew criticism from economists, who raised concerns about his qualifications and partisan leanings.

Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard Kennedy School who served as an adviser to former US President Barack Obama, called Antoni “completely unqualified”.

“He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant expertise. He would be a break from decades of nonpartisan technocrats,” Furman said in a post on X.

Erica Groshen, who led the BLS under Obama, voiced similar concerns.

“So far, what worries me is that the nominee and his work are not well known in the business, academic or public service communities,” Groshen told Al Jazeera.

Cannabis stocks soar after US president says he is ‘looking at’ reclassification.

United States President Donald Trump has said his administration is “looking at” reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said he would make a determination on the legal classification of the drug over the next few weeks.

“That determination hopefully will be the right one,” Trump said. “It’s a very complicated subject.”

Trump said that while he had heard “great things” about medical-use cannabis, he had heard bad things about “just about everything else” to do with the drug.

“Some people like it, some people hate it,” he said. “Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children.”

Stocks in cannabis-related businesses soared following Trump’s remarks.

New York-based Tilray Brands jumped nearly 42 percent, with Canada’s Village Farms International and Canopy Growth Corp closing up about 34 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

Trump made his comments after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that he told attendees at a recent fundraising dinner that he was interested in reclassifying the drug.

While cannabis is fully legal, including for recreational use, in 24 US states, the use and possession of the drug is illegal at the federal level.

Cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, putting it in the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

Under the Drug Enforcement Administration’s classification system, Schedule I drugs are defined as those with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.

Former US President Joe Biden proposed reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III drug – defined as those with a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” – but failed to enact the change before leaving office in January.

US President Donald Trump signed an extension just before midnight in Beijing, when a pause on tariffs was set to expire.

United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending the China tariff deadline for another 90 days.

The extension came only hours before midnight in Beijing, when the 90 day pause was set to expire, CNBC reported on Monday, citing a White House official.

The White House did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said he has been “dealing very nicely with China” as Beijing said it was seeking positive outcomes.

If the deadline had passed, duties on Chinese goods would have returned to where they were in April at 145 percent, further fuelling tensions between the world’s two largest trading partners.

While the US and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products this year, reaching prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling global trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower tariffs at a meeting between negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland.

But the pause comes as negotiations still loom. Asked about the deadline on Monday, Trump said: “We’ll see what happens. They’ve been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with [China’s] President Xi [Jinping] and myself.”

“We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian in a statement.

He added that Beijing also hopes Washington will “strive for positive outcomes on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit”.

In June, key economic officials convened in London as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers again met in Stockholm last month.

Even as both countries appeared to be seeking to push back the reinstatement of duties, US trade envoy Jamieson Greer said last month that Trump will have the “final call” on any such extension.

Ongoing negotiations

Kelly Ann Shaw, a senior White House trade official during Trump’s first term and now with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said she expected Trump to extend the 90-day “tariff detente” for another 90 days later on Monday.

“It wouldn’t be a Trump-style negotiation if it didn’t go right down to the wire,” she said.

“The whole reason for the 90-day pause in the first place was to lay the groundwork for broader negotiations, and there’s been a lot of noise about everything from soybeans to export controls to excess capacity over the weekend,” she said.

Ryan Majerus, a former US trade official now with the King & Spalding law firm, welcomed the news.

“This will undoubtedly lower anxiety on both sides as talks continue, and as the US and China work toward a framework deal in the fall. I’m certain investment commitments will factor into any potential deal, and the extension gives them more time to try and work through some of the longstanding trade concerns,” he said.

For now, fresh US tariffs on Chinese goods this year stand at 30 percent, while Beijing’s corresponding levy on US products is at 10 percent.

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped a 10-percent “reciprocal” tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington deemed unfair.

Markets are relatively flat on the news of extension. The Nasdaq is down by 0.07 percent, the S&P 500 is down 0.08 percent. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by about 0.4 percent at 3:30pm in New York (19:30 GMT).

US President Donald Trump said last week that Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan was ‘highly conflicted’ because of his ties to Chinese firms.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is due to visit the White House after United States President Donald Trump last week called for his removal.

The executive of the tech giant was set to meet the president on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.

Neither Intel nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.

Tan is expected to have an extensive conversation with Trump while looking to explain his personal and professional background, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which broke the news on Sunday, adding that he could propose ways Intel and the US  government could work together, the paper said.

Tan hopes to win Trump’s approval by showing his commitment to the US and guaranteeing the importance of keeping Intel’s manufacturing capabilities as a national security issue, the WSJ added.

Last week, Trump demanded the immediate resignation of Tan, calling him “highly conflicted” due to his ties to Chinese firms, comments that raised doubts about Tan’s plans to turn around the struggling US chip icon.

It was a rare instance of a US president publicly calling for a CEO’s ouster, and sparked debate among investors.

Tan said he shared the president’s commitment to advancing US national and economic security.

Reuters reported exclusively in April that Tan invested at least $200m in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military.

Tan, a Malaysian-born Chinese American business executive, was also the CEO of Cadence Design from 2008 through December 2021, during which time the chip design software maker sold products to a Chinese military university believed to be involved in simulating nuclear explosions.

Last month, Cadence agreed to plead guilty and pay more than $140m to resolve the US charges over the sales.

Intel’s stock surged ahead of the meeting. The company, which trades under the ticker INTC, is up more than 7.5 percent for the day as of noon in New York (16:00 GMT).

Trade experts express concern about reported deal linking exports controls to monetary payments.

Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the United States government a share of revenues from chip sales in China as part of a deal to secure export licences for their products, US media have reported.

Under the agreement reached with US President Donald Trump’s administration, Nvidia will share 15 percent of revenues from sales of its H20 AI chip, while AMD will pay the same percentage of MI308 chip revenues, multiple outlets reported on Sunday.

The unorthodox agreement, which has no known precedent, comes after the Trump administration last month agreed to reverse a ban on the sale of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China.

The Financial Times, which first reported the news, said the Trump administration had yet to decide how it would use the collected revenues.

AMD did not respond to a request for comment.

Nvidia neither confirmed nor denied the deal, but said it follows US government rules for doing business in overseas markets.

“While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,” a company spokesperson said.

“America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.”

Following reports of the deal, which was confirmed by The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC, trade experts expressed concern about the implications of linking controls on sensitive technology to monetary payments.

Christopher Padilla, the former head of the US Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, called the agreement “astonishing”.

“If the Trump administration is allowing companies to buy their way past export controls imposed to protect US national security, we are in very dangerous waters,” Padilla said in a post on LinkedIn.

“A mix of bribery and blackmail that is certainly unprecedented and possibly illegal.”

Peter Harrell, a nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the deal set a worrying precedent.

“The Chinese would pay a lot for F35s and advanced US military technology, too,” Harrell said in a post on X.

“Regardless of whether you think Nvidia should be able to sell H20s in China, charging a fee in exchange for relaxing national security export controls is a terrible precedent.”

Mexican officials say sportswear giant took design idea from Indigenous community in country’s southern Oaxaca state.

Mexico’s government is seeking compensation from Adidas, accusing the sportswear giant of cultural appropriation for launching a new shoe design strikingly similar to traditional Indigenous footwear known as huaraches.

Adidas’s new Oaxaca Slip-On was created by United States fashion designer Willy Chavarria, who has Mexican heritage.

But the footwear has drawn strong pushback from officials in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, who say no authorisation was given by the Indigenous community, in the village of Villa de Hidalgo Yalalag, behind the original design.

“It’s collective intellectual property. There must be compensation. The heritage law must be complied with,” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her regular news conference on Friday.

“Big companies often take products, ideas and designs from Indigenous communities,” Sheinbaum said.

“We are looking at the legal part to be able to support them,” she said.

The government said that Adidas representatives had agreed to meet with Oaxaca authorities.

In a public letter to Adidas, Oaxaca state governor, Salomon Jara Cruz, criticised the company’s design – which has a sneaker sole topped with the weave of huarache sandals – saying that “creative inspiration” is not a valid justification for using cultural expressions that “provide identity to communities”.

“Culture isn’t sold, it’s respected,” he said.

Mexican news outlet Periodico Supremo said the country’s National Institute of Indigenous Peoples will launch a legal challenge over the Adidas design, and asked followers on social media: “Are you going to buy them?”

🔴 Están “padres”….🩴

Gobierno de #México defiende propiedad intelectual indígena, en contra de la reconocida marca ADIDAS (@adidas)

El INPI (@INPImx) reclamará legalmente el uso indebido del diseño tradicional de guaraches originarios de Villa Hidalgo Yalálag, #Oaxaca

¿Vas a… pic.twitter.com/KPtrfZMLGC

— PERIÓDICO SupreMo 🔴 (@Diario_Supremo) August 8, 2025

Translation: The government of Mexico defends Indigenous intellectual property, against the well-known brand ADIDAS. The INPI will legally challenge the improper use of the traditional design of huaraches originating from Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, Oaxaca. Are you going to buy them?

The controversy is the latest instance of Mexican officials denouncing major clothing brands or designers using unauthorised Indigenous art or designs from the region, with previous complaints raised about fast fashion juggernaut Shein, Spain’s Zara and high-end labels Carolina Herrera and Louis Vuitton.

Mexico’s Deputy Culture Minister Marina Nunez confirmed Adidas had contacted Oaxacan officials to discuss “restitution to the people who were plagiarised”.

Neither Adidas nor the designer Chavarria, who was born in the US to an Irish-American mother and a Mexican-American father, immediately responded to requests for comment from reporters.

Chavarria had previously told Sneaker News that he had intended to celebrate his cultural heritage through his work with Adidas.

“I’m very proud to work with a company that really respects and elevates culture in the truest way,” he said.

Handicrafts are a crucial economic lifeline in Mexico, providing jobs for about half a million people across the country. The industry accounts for approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of states such as Oaxaca, Jalisco, Michoacan and Guerrero.

For Viridiana Jarquin Garcia, a huaraches creator and vendor in Oaxaca’s capital, the Adidas shoes were a “cheap copy” of the kind of work that Mexican artists take time and care to craft.

“The artistry is being lost. We’re losing our tradition,” she said in front of her small booth of leather shoes.

Singapore – As Singapore’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations draw to a close on Saturday night, a huge fireworks display will illuminate the city’s extraordinary skyline.

The numerous skyscrapers and futuristic buildings stand as a tribute to the country’s remarkable development after separating from Malaysia in 1965.

This tiny Southeast Asian state, with a population of just over six million people, has one of the highest rates of wealth per capita in the world. Its advanced economy also attracts workers from across the globe.

The financial hub is famed for its stability, high standard of living, forward-thinking approach and infamous for its centralised style of governance.

While Singapore will bask in some success this weekend, once the flags are taken down and the SG60 merchandise is removed from the shelves, the island-nation will get back to work and begin contemplating its future.

Plans are already in motion to continue Singapore’s growth, with its most famous landmark – Marina Bay Sands – set to house a new fourth tower of hotel rooms in 2029, while a 15,000-seat indoor arena will also be built at the site.

Changi international airport, which was ranked this year as the world’s best for the 13th time, will also gain a fifth terminal by the mid-2030s.

Residents of the “Lion City” clearly have plenty to look forward to, but the road ahead may also contain some potholes.

Al Jazeera has been taking a look at some of the challenges that Singapore could face in the next 60 years and how they might be tackled.

Climate change

As a low-lying island, sitting just north of the equator, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to the threat of a changing climate. The country’s former prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, once described it as a matter of “life and death”.

Rising seas and increased rainfall could lead to flooding, with extreme weather events set to be a more common occurrence.

While the city-state has so far dodged the kind of weather disruption that plagues many of its neighbours, the government is preparing for the worst.

Rising sea levels are of particular concern, with alarming estimates that the waters around Singapore could rise by more than a metre (3.2ft) by 2100.

To counter the threat, plans are being considered to build three artificial islands off the country’s east coast. These areas of reclaimed land would be linked by tidal gates and sit higher than the mainland, acting as a barrier.

Benjamin Horton, former director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said the country could come to a standstill if catastrophic rain were to combine with a high tide.

“If it flooded a lot of the infrastructure in Singapore, closing down MRTs [mass rapid transit], shutting down emergency routes, flooding a power station and the electricity went down – Singapore would be crippled,” Horton said.

The already-sweltering Southeast Asian financial hub will also have to cope with even hotter conditions.

A 2024 government study found that the daily average temperature could rise by up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.

Horton, who is now dean of the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong, said this could impact the country’s economic productivity.

“Singapore is always developing and is reliant on immigrant labour that works outside during the day. Climate change is going to impact that significantly,” he said.

Yet, Singapore, Horton said, has “the potential to be the lead in how you adapt to climate change and to be the leader in coastal protection”.

Demographic time bomb

Singapore’s population is ageing at a rapid rate.

By 2030, it’s estimated that almost one in four citizens will be aged 65 and above.

The life expectancy for a Singaporean born today is a little under 84 years, with residents benefitting from a high quality of life and a world-class healthcare system.

But this demographic shift is set to challenge the city-state over the next six decades.

An ageing population will inevitably require more investment in the medical sector, while the country’s workforce could face shortages of younger workers.

“The resulting strain will not only test the resilience of healthcare institutions but also place significant emotional, physical, and financial pressure on family caregivers,” said Chuan De Foo, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

While the authorities are looking to expand and strengthen healthcare facilities, they are also urging citizens to make better lifestyle choices in order to stay healthier for longer. New marketing campaigns encourage regular health check-ups, allowing for early intervention, while new technology is also being utilised.

“AI-driven tools are being developed to support mental wellbeing, detect early signs of clinical deterioration and assist in diagnosis and disease management,” Foo told Al Jazeera.

Fewer babies

Alongside living longer, Singaporeans – like many advanced Asian economies – are also having fewer babies, adding to the country’s demographic woes.

The fertility rate, which measures the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, fell below 1.0 for the first time in 2023 and shows little sign of increasing.

That figure is even lower than Japan’s fertility rate of 1.15. This week, Japan reported its 16th consecutive year of population decline, with nearly a million more deaths than births in 2024.

Kalpana Vignehsa, a senior research fellow at NUS’s Institute of Policy Studies think tank, said the Singapore government is “swimming against a cultural tide” in its efforts to reverse the decline in births.

“Now is the time for expansive action to make parenting less expensive, less stressful, and most importantly, a highly valued and communally supported activity,” said Vignehsa.

An unstable world

Singapore is renowned for its neutral approach to foreign policy, balancing strong ties with both China and the United States.

But as relations between the world’s two biggest superpowers become increasingly strained, the Lion City’s neutrality could be challenged.

Any pivot towards Washington or Beijing is likely to be subtle, said Alan Chong, senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

He said that this situation occurred during the COVID pandemic, when Washington was not forthcoming with assistance for Asian economies.

“Almost all of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, tilted towards Beijing for economic support without announcing it,” said Chong.

US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff policy has also caused consternation in the Southeast Asian business hub, which relies heavily on global trade.

Despite the threat from Washington’s increasingly protectionist policies, Chong believes that Singapore is prepared to weather the storm after signing a trade pact in 2020.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was agreed between 15 mainly Southeast Asian countries, plus major North Asian economies including China, Japan and South Korea.

“It’s a huge insurance against any comprehensive global trade shutdown,” said Chong.

Stability at home

While the international outlook appears increasingly troubled, Singapore’s domestic political scene is set for more stability over the coming years.

The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has been in power since the country was formed and shows no signs of losing control.

In May’s election, the PAP, led by new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, won all but 10 seats in parliament with just over 65 percent of the vote.

While the country’s leaders are likely to stay the same in the near-term, Teo Kay Key, research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies Social Lab, said younger Singaporeans will soon want a different style of politics, one that is more open and more participatory.

“They are more likely to favour discussions and exchange of views,” she said.

“There is also a growing trend where the preference is to conduct open discussions, with a more democratic exchange of ideas,” she added.

Trump’s sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminium and autos have hit the manufacturing sector hard and reduced hiring.

The Canadian economy lost tens of thousands of jobs in July, sending the share of people employed to an eight-month low as the labour market gave back the gains seen in the prior month.

The economy shed 40,800 jobs in July, compared with a net addition of 83,000 jobs in June, taking the employment rate, or the percentage of people employed out of the total working-age population, to 60.7 percent, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

The unemployment rate, however, remained steady at a multiyear high of 6.9 percent.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the economy would add 13,500 jobs and the unemployment rate would tick up to 7 percent.

“Canada’s labour market snapped back to reality in July,” Michael Davenport, senior economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note.

United States President Donald Trump’s sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars have hit the manufacturing sector hard and reduced the hiring intentions of companies, the Bank of Canada has previously said.

The number of people employed in manufacturing shrank by close to 10,000 in July on a yearly basis as sectors linked to steel, aluminium and carmaking curtailed hiring and experienced layoffs.

Marty Warren, the United Steelworkers’ national director for Canada, told Reuters that about 1,000 members have been laid off.

Oxford Economics’s Davenport predicts more layoffs in the coming months, forecasting about 140,000 lost jobs and an unemployment rate rising to the mid-7 percent range later this year.

Employment in some areas has held up well despite tariffs, the data showed.

Overall, there has been little net employment growth since the beginning of the year, StatsCan said. The layoff rate was virtually unchanged at 1.1 percent in July compared with 12 months earlier.

The bulk of the job losses in July occurred among workers aged between 15 and 24 – that group’s unemployment rate edged up to 14.6 percent, the highest since September 2010, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Policy rate

The youth unemployment rate is usually higher than the country’s average.

The employment rate for this group, which accounts for about 15 percent of the total working-age population, sank to 53.6 percent, the lowest level since November 1998 if the pandemic years are excluded.

The Bank of Canada kept its key policy rate unchanged last week, partly due to a strong labour market, but indicated it might reduce lending rates if inflation stays under control and economic growth weakens.

“We are now a bit more confident in our view that the Bank of Canada will resume cutting next month, although a surprisingly strong CPI [Consumer Price Index] print next week could prompt another pause,” said Alexandra Brown, North America economist at Capital Economics.

Money market bets show the odds of a rate cut at the next monetary policy meeting on September 17 at 38 percent, up 11 percentage points from Thursday.

The information, culture and recreation sector lost 29,000 jobs last month, marking the biggest decline, followed by 22,000 lost jobs in construction and 19,000 in business, building and other support services.

The average hourly wage of permanent employees – a gauge closely tracked by the Bank of Canada to ascertain inflationary trends – grew by 3.5 percent in July to 37.66 Canadian dollars ($27.4) per hour, against a 3.2 percent increase in the prior month.

India is pausing plans to procure new weapons and aircraft from the United States in apparent retaliation for President Donald Trump’s tariff hike on its exports this week, according to news agency Reuters, citing three Indian officials.

Two of the officials familiar with the matter told Reuters that India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that the trip had been cancelled, the news agency reported.

Following publication of the story on Friday, India’s government issued a statement it attributed to a Ministry of Defence source describing news reports of a pause in the talks as “false and fabricated”. The statement also said procurement was progressing as per “extant procedures”.

Relations between the two countries nosedived this week after Trump imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday as punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50 percent – among the highest of any US trading partner.

Trump has a history of reversing course on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the officials who spoke to Reuters said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but “just not as soon as they were expected to”.

Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that India had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was “no forward movement at least for now”.

New Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with the US in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest.

Reuters reported that discussions on India’s purchases of Stryker combat vehicles, made by General Dynamics Land Systems, and Javelin antitank missiles, developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, had been paused due to the tariffs.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items.

Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, two of the people said.

Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed $3.6bn deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and US governments. Raytheon did not return a Reuters request for comment.

Strained relations

India’s deepening security relationship with the US, which is fuelled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many US analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration.

New Delhi is the world’s second-largest arms importer, and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years, however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think tank.

The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia’s ability to export arms, which it is utilising heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly in the battlefield, according to Western analysts.

The broader US-India defence partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said.

India also remains open to scaling back on oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the US, if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources speaking to Reuters.

Trump’s threats and rising anti-US sentiment in India have “made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the US”, one of the people said. Nonetheless, discounts on the landing cost of Russian oil have shrunk to the lowest since 2022.

While the rupture in US-India ties was abrupt, there have been strains in the relationship. New Delhi has repeatedly rebutted Trump’s claim that the US brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. Trump also hosted Pakistan’s army chief at the White House in the weeks following the conflict.

In recent months, Moscow has been actively pitching India on buying new defence technologies like its S-500 surface-to-air missile system, according to one of the Indian officials, as well as a Russian source familiar with the talks.

India currently does not see a need for new arms purchases from Moscow, two Indian officials said.

But India is unlikely to wean itself off Russian weapons entirely as the decades-long partnership between the two powers means Indian military systems will continue to require Moscow’s support, one of the officials said.

The Russian embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

India is signaling it may seek to rebalance its global partnerships after Trump’s salvo of tariffs on Indian goods.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva have spoken by phone, their offices said, discussing a broad range of topics that included tariffs imposed by the United States on goods from both countries.

Lula confirmed a state visit to India in early 2026 during the call on Thursday, which occurred a day after the Brazilian leader told the news agency Reuters that he would initiate a conversation among the BRICS group of countries on tackling US President Donald Trump’s levies, which are the highest on Brazil and India.

The group of major emerging economies also includes China, Russia and South Africa.

“The leaders discussed the international economic scenario and the imposition of unilateral tariffs. Brazil and India are, to date, the two countries most affected,” Lula’s office said in a statement.

Trump announced an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, raising the total duty to 50 percent. The additional tariff, effective August 28, is meant to penalise India for continuing to buy Russian oil, Trump has said.

Trump has also slapped a 50 percent tariff on goods from Brazil, with lower levels for sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice, tying the move to what he called a “witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing ally on trial for an alleged coup plot to overturn his 2022 election loss.

On their call, Lula and Modi reiterated their goal of boosting bilateral trade to more than $20bn annually by 2030, according to the Brazilian president’s office, up from roughly $12bn last year.

Brasilia said they also agreed to expand the reach of the preferential trade agreement between India and the South American trade bloc Mercosur, and discussed the virtual payment platforms of their countries.

Modi’s office, in its statement, did not explicitly mention Trump or US tariffs, but said “the two leaders exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest.”

India is already signalling it may seek to rebalance its global partnerships after Trump’s salvo of tariffs on Indian goods.

Modi is preparing for his first visit to China in more than seven years, suggesting a potential diplomatic realignment amid growing tensions with Washington. The Indian leader visited Lula in Brasilia last month.

Aug. 7 (UPI) — Trump lauded the nation’s economy while celebrating his administration’s accomplishments on the 200th day of his second term in the White House on Thursday.

The White House promoted the day as “200 days of winning” for the nation and its economy.

“We have a country that is the hottest country right now anywhere in the world,” Trump said. “A year ago, it was in a lot of trouble.”

Trump made the comments during a White House event announcing the creation of National Purple Heart Day on Thursday.

A White House announcement lists several promises that Trump has kept many of the promises that he made while campaigning for office, according to a White House announcement.

They include “delivering the largest tax cut in history for working- and middle-class Americans,” including no tax on Social Security, overtime and qualifying tips.

Trump’s policies also closed the border, created “eight historic trade deals” with major trading partners and helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to reach record-highs several times, the announcement says.

“Inflation has moderated, business is booming, the economy is growing and egg prices fell 67% from their peak,” the White House says.

Americans can invest in alternative assets with their retirement accounts and enjoy greater freedom of financial services under executive orders signed Thursday by President Donald Trump.

More than 90 million Americans have employer-sponsored defined-contribution retirement accounts that have not allowed them to invest account funds in alternative assets, according to the White House.

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order enabling such investments while protecting against “burdensome lawsuits” and “regulatory overreach.”

He also signed his “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans” executive order to stop financial institutions from engaging in “unacceptable practices” that restrict individuals’ and businesses’ financial services due to political or religious beliefs.

The executive order cites the flagging of purchases made through Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop and those involving terms like “Trump” or “MAGA” despite no evidence of criminal conduct.

The executive order calls such policies “politicized or unlawful debanking activities” that are not based on “individualized, objective, risk-based standards.”

“As a result, individuals, their businesses and their families have been subjected to debanking on the basis of their political affiliations, religious beliefs or lawful business activities,” the executive order says.

The result often causes “frozen payrolls, debt, crushing interest and other significant harms to their livelihoods, reputations and financial well-being,” it continues.

The executive order requires federal banking regulators to end such practices and to make reasonable efforts to identify and reinstate any current or previous clients who were denied financial services due to politicized or unlawful debanking actions.

Miran, who currently sits on the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, has advocated for a far-reaching overhaul of Fed governance.

United States President Donald Trump has said he will nominate Stephen Miran, a top economic adviser to the US Federal Reserve’s board of governors, for four months, temporarily filling a vacancy while continuing his search for a longer-term appointment.

The president announced his decision on Thursday.

Miran, the chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, would fill a seat vacated by Governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee who is stepping down Friday. Kugler is returning to her tenured professorship at Georgetown University.

The term expires January 31, 2026, and is subject to approval by the Senate. Trump said the White House continues to search for someone to fill the 14-year Fed board seat that opens on February 1.

Miran, who served as an economic adviser in the Department of the Treasury during the first Trump administration, has advocated for a far-reaching overhaul of Fed governance that would include shortening board member terms, putting them under the clear control of the president, and ending the “revolving door” between the executive branch and the Fed and nationalising the Fed’s 12 regional banks.

The appointment is Trump’s first opportunity to exert more control over the Fed, one of the few remaining federal agencies that is still independent. Trump has relentlessly criticised the current chair, Jerome Powell, for keeping short-term interest rates unchanged – a major point of contention between the White House and the central bank.

Miran has been a major defender of Trump’s income tax cuts and tariff hikes, arguing that the combination will generate enough economic growth to reduce budget deficits. He has also played down the risk that Trump’s tariffs will generate higher inflation, a major source of concern for Powell.

Trump has unsuccessfully pressured Fed policymakers – who include Powell, his six fellow board members and the 12 Fed bank presidents – to lower rates. Appointing Miran to the central bank, even in a placeholder role, gives the president a potentially more direct route to pursue his desire for easier monetary policy.

‘Trump loyalist’

It is unclear how much time Miran would have at the Fed to try to deploy his ideas, or even vote on interest rates, though.

All Fed nominees require Senate confirmation, a process that includes a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, a vote from that panel advancing the nomination and a series of floor votes before the full Senate, where Democrats have been slowing the pace of approval for Trump appointments.

“Stephen Miran is a Trump loyalist and one of the chief architects of the President’s chaotic tariff policy that has hurt Americans’ wallets,” the Senate Banking Committee’s top-ranking Democrat, Elizabeth Warren, said on X following the announcement. “I’ll have tough questions for him about whether he’d serve the American people or merely serve Donald Trump.”

The Senate is on summer recess until September 2.

There are just four policy-setting meetings, including one on September 16-17, before the end of what would be Miran’s term.

Fed policymakers kept the policy rate in its current 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent range at their July meeting, with Powell citing somewhat elevated inflation and the concern that Trump’s tariffs could keep it that way as reasons to keep policy restrictive.

Several central bankers this month have raised concerns about labour market weakness, and at least a couple have expressed renewed confidence that tariffs may not push up inflation as much as earlier thought. Those views echo the arguments made by two Fed governors who last month dissented on the decision to leave policy on hold.

The ring light in Amina Yusuf’s* room stood near an old white wardrobe. For months, it remained unused, except during the occasional recordings where she mimed along to Hausa love songs, glancing between her phone screen and the mirror at the other side of the room. These moments were fleeting, unsure steps in her experiment with social media, particularly TikTok.

But when the news came that Facebook had rolled out monetisation features for content creators in Nigeria, something stirred. Opportunity, like the sudden spark of light, loomed and offered a new possibility. Not fame, no – at least not yet – but fortune, or its illusion.

“As soon as I heard about it,” she said, fiddling with the edge of her veil, “I knew this was a way to earn from what I was already doing.”

She speaks with the assurance of someone who has discovered a private economy within a public world. Amina converted her dormant Facebook profile, once used to scroll aimlessly through posts and video reels, into a professional page. She followed every breadcrumb Facebook’s interface dropped: optimize your bio, post consistently, engage followers, and cross-promote from Instagram. Soon enough, the app crowned her eligible for monetisation.

And that’s when her trouble began.

In this algorithmic marketplace, virality is currency. With 190 thousand followers on Facebook, her reach was growing – thousands of views, shares, and comments flooding her posts. Amina’s strategy was simple: find trending TikTok videos and repost them. It didn’t matter whether the videos were true or false, informative or inflammatory.

“My job is just to share,” she said. “It’s the viewer’s responsibility to figure out if it’s true or not.”

“Sometimes I earn between 10 to 15 dollars a day,” she said, not with pride, but a sense of surprise. “That’s a lot of money for someone like me. I even paid my school fees with it.”

As a university student in Northern Nigeria, where classrooms are overcrowded, lectures often suspended, and lecturers underpaid, she says her digital hustle has made her richer than her lecturers.

“I earn more than them,” she said plainly. “Imagine that.” She referenced how recently a university professor revealed the dire professional conditions they find themselves in.

To digital rights activists and fact-checkers, Amina is not just a clever student seizing a modern opportunity. She is part of a growing ecosystem that profits from confusion. What she calls content, they call misinformation. Monetised misinformation.

Facebook’s monetisation in Africa, especially in Nigeria and particularly in the northern part of the country, has become a double-edged sword. On one hand, it democratizes income in a region that ranks high in poverty rate. On the other hand, it rewards spectacle, sometimes at the expense of truth. Sensational headlines, recycled conspiracy theories, emotional hoaxes: these are the new exports of a digital continent eager to be seen, eager to be paid.

Amina does not deny this. But she also does not apologise.

“I don’t make the videos,” she said. “I just share what people have already posted. If it makes people comment and watch, that’s all I need.”

Her profile on Facebook is a mixture of different videos – politics, religion, celebrity gossip, football, and everything that may generate engagements. Among this, is the amplification of information disorder originally shared by the creators of the videos. 

For example, in a Facebook post that garnered over 60 shares, she amplified a false claim that Osun State Governor Adeleke had announced Babagana Zulum would spearhead the defection of five Northern governors to the new coalition of ADC. Despite the claim being publicly debunked, the post is still on her profile.

An algorithm designed for outrage

By design, Facebook’s algorithm privileges intensity over integrity. According to the platform’s own documentation, content that provokes strong emotional reactions – anger, fear, shock– is more likely to spread. For many users in Northern Nigeria, where Facebook doubles as both a social space and a news source, this has created a chaotic digital environment where engagement is currency and accuracy is often overlooked.

“Facebook isn’t just a platform here,” said Bashir Sharfadi, a journalist based in Kano. “It’s the main source of news for millions. So when influencers post fake news, the impact is immediate and vast.”

A 2020 report by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) West Africa, revealed that most of the viral posts flagged by Nigerian fact-checkers in the previous year originated from influencers who directly benefited from Facebook’s financial incentives. The rewards are tangible and tempting.

One such influencer, who regularly posts unverified videos to nearly a million followers, put it plainly: “It’s about engagement, not content.” He explained how influencers operate in coordinated communities, often through WhatsApp groups, sharing what trends, what triggers reaction. “The only reason we avoid some kinds of content, like nudity, is religious. But many others still post that too.”

The more scandalous the claim, the greater the traffic. And with traffic comes income.

But Sharfadi warns that the crisis goes beyond the individual pursuit of profit. It has become institutional: a digital ecosystem where misinformation is normalised, defended, and scaled.

“Our biggest challenge isn’t detecting lies,” he said. “It’s competing with the incentives that come with spreading them.” 

But Sharfadi has more concerns. People believe misinformation and they don’t care even after it is fact-checked.

In one recent case, a TikTok video targeting an activist named Dan Bello was re-edited and republished across Facebook and WhatsApp. Dan Bello is a popular Hausa vlogger with millions of followers on Facebook, TikTok, and X, posting mainly on accountability in governance.

The manipulated clip, falsely portrayed Dan Bello as ‘an enemy of Islam’ supporting an attack on Muslim clerics by showing him raising thumbs up on an audio attached to the video. It gained massive traction. The result: a popular cleric condemned Dan Bello publicly, sparking backlash that lingered even after the video was proven to be doctored.

“Even when the cleric apologised, people still believed he had been threatened into doing so,” said Sharfadi. “The damage had already been done.”

Another case involved one Sultan, a TikTok influencer known for posting commentary on current events. During the recent Israeli-Iran conflict, he claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was hiding in a bunker, near death. The clip was later manipulated to feature an image of Nigeria’s President Tinubu and circulated widely.

Sultan is now in jail.

“He was arrested in Kano for something he never did,” posted his lawyer on Facebook. “There was no investigation. No effort to verify. Just a swift response to digital noise.”

The story of Sultan is a portrait of a system where the line between user-generated content and criminal liability is dangerously blurred.

Who bears the burden?

In response to the growing crisis, Meta—Facebook’s parent company—has recently taken down and demonetised dozens of accounts for violating its content policies. But enforcement remains scattershot.

One influencer interviewed for this report admitted to receiving multiple warnings. Yet his account remains active and profitable.

About what caused a restriction on his account, he admitted, “I know it’s wrong, but if I stop, someone else will do it. So what’s the point?”

Critics argue that Facebook’s moderation policies are inconsistent and reactive. Content flagged in English may be removed, while misinformation in Hausa, spoken by tens of millions, is often overlooked.

“What we see is a system where the platform benefits, the influencers benefit, and the public suffers,” Sharfadi said. “It’s not just about demonetization. It’s about influence. These pages, with their massive followings, can be rented. You pay, they publish whatever narrative you want.”

The commodification of disinformation has taken root. Several influencers are now operating as pay-for-post vendors, spreading political propaganda and conspiracy theories on demand.

Fact-checkers like Muhammad Dahiru believe that Facebook must go beyond machine learning and invest in people—moderators fluent in local languages and cultures, equipped to flag false content in real time.

“We need language-specific moderation, especially in Hausa, which is the lingua franca in Northern Nigeria,” Muhammad said. “Otherwise, misinformation will remain the most profitable game in town.”

He added, “There must be accountability. Either platforms police themselves, or governments will do it for them. And when governments control speech, history reminds us what follows.” Muhammad believes the work against misinformation is shared responsibility  “between the government, Facebook, and civil society organisations.” 

For now, Northern Nigeria’s digital public is left to sort through a feed where facts and falsehoods blend seamlessly, where a student like Amina can pay tuition with profits from misinformation, and an activist like Dan Bello can be condemned for something that never happened.

The asterisked name is a pseudonym we have used at the source’s request to protect her against backlash.

Tougher United States trade penalties on goods originating in one country being re-shipped from another are not expected to immediately follow new US tariffs, three people in Southeast Asia with knowledge of the matter said, easing a major cause of concern.

Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam and Thailand, have been explicitly targeted by White House officials for their alleged role in facilitating the so-called transshipment to the US of Chinese goods, which would face higher tariffs if shipped directly from China.

The administration of US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on goods from dozens of countries from Thursday, and in an executive order, said products determined to have been illegally rerouted to conceal their country of origin would face additional duties of 40 percent. But it did not clarify what constitutes transshipment.

US imports from Southeast Asia’s biggest economies, which rely heavily on exports, are now subject to tariff rates of about 19 percent, many of which have been significantly reduced from previously threatened rates.

Existing US customs guidance states that goods from countries with no free trade agreements with Washington, such as Southeast Asian nations, can be labelled as made in the country where they undergo a “substantial transformation” of components, even if those parts entirely come from another country, such as China.

And with no new US guidance on rules of origin or specification of what transshipment means, some officials in Southeast Asia have told exporters that existing rules apply.

That effectively limits cases of transshipment to illegal activities, like the use of forged export certificates or documents obtained illicitly.

“Currently, all exported goods [from Thailand] are subject to a 19 percent rate because there are no rules on transshipment yet,” Arada Fuangtong, head of the Thai Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Foreign Trade, told Reuters on Thursday.

Her message was echoed by US officials in Vietnam, who told businessmen the tariff of 20 percent would apply to Vietnamese goods, even if they are entirely made with Chinese components and only assembled in Vietnam, according to one person familiar with those talks.

Trade consultants have said rules are vague, and they have advised clients, even before the new wave of US tariffs, to have at least 40 percent of local content for their exports to the US. That is “to be on the safe side”, one of them said.

The US embassy in Vietnam did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Office of the US Trade Representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside US working hours.

“Goods defined by US customs as transshipped are subject to 40 percent duties, but pending any new definition, that’s limited to old definitions,” said a Vietnam-based consultant.

Both people declined to be named in order to speak more freely.

China dependence

According to the US customs guidance, repackaging does not usually cause a “substantial transformation”, but assembly may, depending on the complexity of the operations.

It is unclear if this narrow interpretation of transshipment could be enforced for other countries.

Economic ministries in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the issue.

Manufacturers in Southeast Asia, which rely heavily on Chinese components, have been in the dark for months about what Washington would consider transshipment.

Questions remain about whether that would include goods with a large, but yet undefined, share of components or raw materials from China, even when they are legitimately transformed in Southeast Asian nations.

A strict definition of transshipment may come later, multiple investment consultants warned.

An executive order signed by Trump last week said the US will “publish every six months a list of countries and specific facilities used in circumvention schemes”.

That will “inform public procurement, national security reviews, and commercial due diligence”, it said.

“The message from Washington is deterrence,” said Marco Forster, director for Southeast Asia at investment consultancy Dezan Shira and Associates.

“If your supply chain cuts corners, it won’t be treated as a technical error. It’ll be treated as fraud.”

The world’s top-selling carmaker joins a growing list of companies reporting profit hits because of tariffs

Toyota expects a $9.5bn hit from United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars imported to the US, the largest of any company to date, underscoring growing margin pressures.

The world’s top-selling carmaker announced the forecast impact alongside its updated annual guidance on Thursday.

Toyota also cut its forecast for full-year operating profit by 16 percent, reflecting challenges for global manufacturers grappling with rising costs from US levies on cars, parts, steel and aluminium.

“It’s honestly very difficult for us to predict what will happen regarding the market environment,” Takanori Azuma, Toyota’s head of finance, told a briefing, vowing to keep making cars for US customers, regardless of tariff impact.

Azuma said the 1.4-trillion yen ($9.50bn) estimate also includes fallout that suppliers are facing, particularly those in the US importing parts from Japan, though he declined to say how much of the total was attributable to that.

Toyota’s North American business swung to an operating loss of 63.6 billion yen ($431.3m) in the first quarter, from a profit of 100.7 billion yen ($682.9m) a year earlier, as it took a hit of 450 billion yen ($3bn) from the tariffs.

Its broad production operations, which include US, Canadian, Mexican and Japanese plants, expose it to tariffs not only on direct exports but also on vehicles and parts shipped across borders within North America.

Last week, the automaker said it turned out some 1.1 million Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles in North America in the first six months of 2025, including more than 700,000 in the US.

Forecasts tumble

Toyota cut its operating profit forecast for the financial year to the end of March 2026 to 3.2 trillion yen ($21.7bn) down from a previous outlook of 3.8 trillion yen ($25.7bn).

It had previously estimated a tariff hit of 180 billion yen ($1.2bn) for April and May, but that was solely for the impact from tariffs on Toyota’s vehicles. It had not issued a full-year projection until now.

Rivals have reported smaller tariff hits so far: Jeep maker Stellantis said tariffs were expected to add $1.7bn in expenses for the year. General Motors (GM) has projected one of $4bn to $5bn for the year, while Ford expects a $3bn gross hit to pretax adjusted profit.

On Wednesday, Ford reported that second-quarter results took an $800m hit from tariffs.

Trade deals

The first-quarter results highlight the pressure US import tariffs are putting on Japanese automakers, even as a trade pact between Tokyo and Washington offers potential relief.

Under the deal agreed last month, Japanese auto exports into the US would face a 15 percent tariff, down from levies totalling 27.5 percent previously. But a timeframe for the change has yet to be unveiled.

Last week, Toyota reported record global output and sales for the year’s first half, driven by strong demand in North America, Japan and China, including that for petrol-electric hybrid vehicles.

The carmaker also announced on Thursday a plan to build a new vehicle factory in Japan, where car sales have been falling due to a shrinking population and declining ownership.

Toyota said it planned to start operations early next decade at the new plant, but has yet to decide production models.

On Wall Street, Toyota’s stock is on the decline amid its downward revised forecast. As of 11:30am in New York City (15:30 GMT), it is down by 1.6 percent. Competitors’ stocks are mixed. Ford is down 0.5 percent, Stellantis is up 2.4 percent and GM is up by about 0.7 percent.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick forecasts the revenue increase even as Trump announces higher pharma and semiconductor chip levies, which have yet to kick in.

The United States expects to bring in at least $50bn a month from tariffs as higher levies on imports from dozens of countries begin to kick in.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday outlined the forecasted revenue, an increase of $20bn from last month, when tariffs brought in $30bn.

“And then you’re going to get the semiconductors, you’re going to get pharmaceuticals, you’re going to get all sorts of additional tariff money coming in,” Lutnick said in an interview with Fox Business Network.

US President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries took effect on Thursday, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century, with countries facing tariffs of 10 percent to 50 percent.

Trump on Wednesday also announced plans to levy a tariff of about 100 percent on imported semiconductor chips unless manufacturers commit to producing in the US, as well as a small tariff on pharmaceutical imports that would rise to 250 percent over time.

Details of those sectoral tariffs are expected in the coming weeks after the Commerce Department completes investigations into the impact of those imports on US national security.

Lutnick told Fox Business Network that companies could win exemptions from the expected semiconductor tariff if they filed plans to build plants in the US, and those plans were overseen by an auditor.

“[Trump’s] objective is to get semiconductor manufacturing done here,” he said, predicting that the initiative would result in some $1 trillion in investment to bolster domestic manufacturing.

Other exemptions have already been agreed, including with the European Union, which said its agreement to accept a 15 percent tariff on most EU exports includes chips, and with Japan, which has said the US agreed not to give it a worse rate than other countries.

The push to boost domestic chip manufacturing is not new.

The US Congress created a $52.7bn semiconductor manufacturing and research subsidy programme in 2022 under former President Joe Biden, and all five leading-edge semiconductor firms agreed last year to locate chip factories in the US.

Last year, the Commerce Department said the US produced about 12 percent of semiconductor chips globally, down from 40 percent in 1990.

Lutnick, asked about separate talks under way with China on extending a tariff truce that is due to end on August 12, said he felt an agreement was possible.

“I think we’re going to leave that to the trade team and to the president to make those decisions,” he said. “It feels likely that they’re going to come to an agreement and extend that for another 90 days, but I’ll leave it to that team.”