AFP USA

Several people were killed when a small plane crashed in a California neighborhood before dawn Thursday, destroying a home and setting more than a dozen cars on fire.At least 10 houses were hit by debris and vehicles on both sides of a street went up in flames when the Cessna 550 slammed into the ground, spewing burning jet fuel in a part of San Diego that is home to military families.San Diego Fire Department Assistant Chief Dan Eddy told reporters one house had been badly damaged, but that no one on the ground had been seriously hurt.”When (the plane) hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,” he said.The plane had six people aboard, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration.One of the dead was identified as Dave Shapiro, a music agent who founded San Diego-based Sound Talent Group (STG).The company said two other members of staff who were aboard the plane had also died.”We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” an STG spokesperson told US media.The San Diego Police Department said Thursday afternoon that at least two people had died, but first responders at the scene said the plane had been totally destroyed and they expected the toll to rise.- ‘Engulfed in flames’ -Yasmine Sierra told AFP how she had helped her neighbors escape their burning house in the middle of the night after being awakened by what she initially thought was an earthquake.”It looked like all the homes were on fire because I could see the smoke and the flames, it looked like the trees were on fire,” she said.Moments later she heard screams from her neighbors who were trapped in their back garden.”Me and my son grabbed the ladder, we jumped on our trampoline, and we tried to bounce as much as we possibly could, to throw that ladder over so that they can climb onto the ladder into our backyard,” said Sierra, 35.A woman, two children and two small dogs climbed to safety over the ladder.”She was very distraught when she came over. I brought her to the front of the house, and I told her that, you know, we needed to leave.”Jeremy Serna, 31, who is in the Navy, said he and his wife had been awoken by a loud bang.”We looked outside, and the sky was orange. And then I came running outside to see what it was, and everything was on fire over here,” he told AFP.”I saw the corner house was just engulfed in flames. And then came back over here and told my wife, hey, we have to get out of here.”- Thick fog -Investigators were combing the scene Thursday, picking through the scattered debris of the plane, which appeared to have broken into hundreds of pieces.Bits of fiberglass were scattered among the twisted and charred remains of cars, and the smell of fuel hung in the air.The accident happened in thick fog when the plane, which had come via Kansas, was nearing the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.It was not immediately clear what had happened, but the fire department’s Eddy said a nearby power line appeared to have been clipped.The plane went down around 3:45 am (1045 GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration, striking the Murphy Canyon neighborhood.The residential area is largely military housing. San Diego is home to US Navy facilities, Marine Corps bases and Coast Guard stations.The accident came at a time of heightened tension in the skies above America.Air traffic control outages have struck the busy Newark airport on the East Coast at least twice in recent weeks, and in January there was a mid-air collision over Washington between a passenger plane and a military helicopter.This month two people died when their small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood northwest of Los Angeles.

A US court on Thursday ordered a former Mexican security chief convicted of drug trafficking and his wife to pay more than $2.4 billion to their country, Mexico’s government said.Mexico sued Genaro Garcia Luna, who is imprisoned in the United States, for alleged corruption and money laundering involving dozens of public contracts.The ruling is the latest twist in the saga of the former high-flying minister who earned himself the nickname of “supercop” but instead aided and abetted drug traffickers.The money awarded by a Florida court is three times the amount that the Mexican government had originally sought, a government statement said. It said Garcia Luna was ordered to pay nearly $749 million and his wife Linda Cristina Pereyra is to pay a staggering $1.74 billion.”The judgment is consistent with seven guilty verdicts previously issued and enforced against Garcia Luna, his wife, and his five companies as a result of their failure to appear at trial,” the statement added.It said that nearly $3 million had already been recovered from assets, including a company owned by the couple, as well as real estate.Garcia Luna, 56, was convicted by a US court in 2023 of taking millions of dollars in bribes to allow the Sinaloa Cartel to smuggle tons of cocaine.A New York judge sentenced him to more than 38 years in prison and a $2 million fine.Garcia Luna, who held high-ranking security positions in his country from 2001 until 2012, was the highest-ranking Mexican government figure ever to face trial in the United States.He served as chief of the Mexican equivalent of the FBI from 2001 until 2006, when he was elevated to secretary of public security, essentially running the federal police force and most counter-drug operations.Garcia Luna is considered an architect of the US-backed war on drugs launched in 2006 by Mexico’s then president Felipe Calderon.In 2012, after retiring from public service, he moved to the United States and used his extensive contacts to win lucrative contracts with the Mexican government.He was arrested in December 2019 in Dallas, Texas.The Mexican government accused a business conglomerate belonging to Garcia Luna’s family of obtaining 30 public contracts and obtaining funds totaling more than $745 million.Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit alleged that the money was transferred abroad through the use of tax havens and the acquisition of property and other assets in Florida.

US senators on Thursday blocked California’s landmark mandate phasing out gas-powered cars, dealing a blow to the state’s move towards electric vehicles in a pointed rebuke of Democratic climate change policies.The Republican-led Senate revoked a waiver instituted under then-president Joe Biden that allowed the state to set aside national pollution standards for cars and set its own more stringent regulations.But the Senate’s rubber stamp of a House-passed bill was immediately set for a challenge, with California’s liberal government announcing it would sue President Donald Trump’s administration.California Governor Gavin Newsom said the vote was a “big day for big oil, big day for GM and Toyota, big day for China. “Terrible day for your kids, terrible day for air quality, terrible day for innovation and entrepreneurship.”The state, especially its biggest city, Los Angeles, historically tolerated the nation’s worst smog before decades of efforts to clean up.Part of that push was a mandate ensuring that a third of new 2026 model cars sold in the state must be zero-emission, rising to two-thirds in 2030 and 100 percent in 2035. Republicans in Washington argue that this is costly, unworkable and anathema to consumer choice.”California got special permission from the Biden administration to ban gas-powered cars. Because of their market share, this would impact the entire nation,” said right-wing Utah Senator Mike Lee.”But Gavin Newsom doesn’t get to ruin 49 other states.”Republicans argue that the Congressional Review Act gives them the right to overturn California’s carve-out on a simple majority vote.But Democrats say Thursday’s move was illegal, as nonpartisan watchdogs including the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian said the CRA could not be applied to waivers.California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he would sue over the Senate’s move.”The president and his administration are attempting to trample on our authority to maintain long-standing clean vehicle standards and keep our air breathable,” he said.”We’re not going to let that happen… Our lawsuit will be about ensuring California can enforce its state laws.”The Senate has only overruled its parliamentarian a handful of times since the role was launched in the 1930s.Trump harshly criticized electric vehicles (EVs) as he sought reelection, despite significant federal funding allocated to projects in Republican districts, where thousands of jobs are expected to be created.He took aim at the sector as part of his flurry of executive orders on his first day in office in a bid to ensure what he called a “level” playing field for gasoline-powered motors.But he has not been consistent in his opposition — even taking time out of his schedule to promote his ally Elon Musk’s prestige EV company Tesla at the White House.  US EV sales reached 1.3 million units last year, up 7.3 percent from 2023, according to Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book, but automakers have recently scaled back investments, pointing to slowing demand growth. 

A highly anticipated White House report outlining Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agenda devotes significant space to raising alarm over vaccines, while touching on environmental and nutrition concerns that remain at odds with broader administration actions.Kennedy has long warned of soaring childhood chronic illness, blaming ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, and sedentary lifestyles. Critics, however, say he downplays the danger of infectious disease — while President  Donald Trump’s administration generally undercuts Kennedy’s green goals by deferring to industry.  In a document released Thursday by the “Make America Healthy Again” commission, the administration expands on those concerns yet also assails the US childhood vaccine regime, even reviving a debunked link to chronic disease.”Despite the growth of the childhood vaccine schedule there has been limited scientific inquiry into the links between vaccines and chronic disease, the impacts of vaccine injury, and conflicts of interest in the development of the vaccine schedule,” the report states. Since taking office, Kennedy has ordered the National Institutes of Health to probe the causes of autism — a condition he has long falsely tied to the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.The report’s chronic disease references appear to nod to that same disproven theory, discredited by numerous studies since the idea first aired in a late 1990s paper based on falsified data.It also rails against the “over-medicalization” of children, citing surging prescriptions of psychiatric drugs and antibiotics, and blaming “corporate capture” for skewing scientific research.”At its core, this report is a call to action for common sense,” Kennedy said at a White House event formally launching the assessment, which Trump hailed as a “historic milestone.”- Statements at odds with actions -Some of Kennedy’s goals enjoy broad bipartisan appeal.  Last month he urged industry to phase out synthetic food colorings  — though experts fault the administration for making the step voluntary.  Ultra-processed foods are another area of common ground as US childhood obesity continues to climb, yet the Trump administration has slashed funding for diet-improvement research.  The commission likewise brands “forever chemicals” found in cookware, textiles and firefighting foam a grave menace  —  even though, just last week, the administration relaxed limits on those same pollutants in drinking water.  Microplastics found in nearly all breast milk samples also get flagged for causing hormonal disruption — yet the Trump administration has reversed a plan to ban single-use products in national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands.”Even when the report has a good idea, like increasing consumption of whole, unprocessed foods, the remedies suggested are at odds with efforts of Kennedy, Trump, Musk, and Republicans in Congress to decimate federal workforce and government spending,” said Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.”How is the American diet to improve when Republicans are hell-bent on cutting SNAP benefits (food stamps), slashing school meals, ripping millions of Americans from their health insurance coverage,  withdrawing proposed rules that would reduce foodborne Salmonella, and laying off food inspectors?”Before its publication, the report split Republicans over agricultural pesticides, long targeted by Kennedy during his environmental law career. Pro- Big Agriculture lawmakers and lobbyists found themselves pitted against Kennedy’s fervent base, which includes wellness influencers and so-called “MAHA Moms.” A key flashpoint was glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller — but ultimately, pesticides received limited space. A single subsection names glyphosate, listing possible health effects “ranging from reproductive and developmental disorders to cancers, liver inflammation, and metabolic disturbance,” while stating that human studies are limited and further research is needed to confirm real-world harm.  

G7 finance ministers wrapped up talks in western Canada on Thursday with a show of unity, saying the economic policy uncertainty that has swept the globe was easing and vowing further progress towards stability.US President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs have caused global economic turbulence, and this week’s meeting was seen as a test of whether the Group of Seven advanced economies could overcome tensions since Trump’s return to office.Leaders at the talks, which included central bank governors, conceded the discussions faced challenges, including continuing disagreement over tariffs.But in a final communique, the G7 — comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — said: “We acknowledge that economic policy uncertainty has declined from its peak, and we will work together to achieve further progress.”The meeting’s host, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, characterized the talks as “constructive and productive” and said that there was a need “to reduce uncertainty in order to increase growth.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who attended the talks at Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, faced consistent pushback on Trump’s tariffs, which many fear will drag down global economic growth.”Obviously, tariffs are on all of our minds,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told reporters at a closing press conference. “The communique highlights that we were pleased to see that uncertainty has come down, but we clearly have more work to do,” he added.Bessent told AFP as he left the summit: “I don’t think there were any major disagreements, I thought the meeting went great.”German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters Thursday it was crucial to “resolve the current trade disputes as quickly as possible,” as tariffs had placed “a heavy burden on the global economy.” “Our hand is extended,” Klingbeil added.French Finance Minister Eric Lombard told AFP: “The atmosphere was warm. We spoke as friends and allies.””We don’t agree on everything, but we talked about everything,” he said.Joshua Meltzer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, called the joint communique “a very positive sign,” setting the tone for a leaders summit in June that Trump is set to attend.Meltzer told AFP that while it is unclear if peak uncertainty has passed, this is “a signal that (Bessent is) wanting to send to the globe and to markets.”- ‘Maximize pressure’ -Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko attended the talks and urged the G7 to maintain pressure on Russia.In their communique, G7 finance leaders agreed Russia could face further sanctions if it resisted a push towards a ceasefire.  “If such a ceasefire is not agreed, we will continue to explore all possible options, including options to maximize pressure such as further ramping up sanctions,” the communique said.  Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have accelerated in recent weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian officials holding their first face-to-face talks in more than three years last week in Istanbul.But the Kremlin said Thursday that new peace talks with Ukraine had “yet to be agreed,” disputing reports the two nations would soon hold negotiations at the Vatican.Trump spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday in a call aimed at ending the “bloodbath,” but neither his contact nor the earlier talks in Istanbul resulted in Russia offering any concessions.France’s Lombard welcomed “clear progress” on support for Ukraine.While Trump’s return has rattled the G7, German finance minister Klingbeil told public broadcaster ARD that “there are always conflicting signals.”While there may be US statements that cast doubt on the extent of support towards Ukraine, “in the end, the United States has always been on Ukraine’s side,” he said.In an additional step on Ukraine, the G7 communique condemned “Russia’s continued brutal war” and said any entity that supported Russia during the conflict would be barred from Ukrainian reconstruction contracts.”We agree to work together with Ukraine to ensure that no countries or entities, or entities from those countries that financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be eligible to profit from Ukraine’s reconstruction,” it said.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday will host a private event for hundreds of top investors in his crypto memecoin, with leaders of the Democratic opposition blasting it as “an orgy of corruption.”The unprecedented melding of US presidential power and personal business will take place at Trump’s golf club outside Washington, where the 220 biggest purchasers of the $TRUMP memecoin will have dinner with the president.The top 25 investors, according to an event website, will get a private session with Trump beforehand and a White House tour.Trump launched the memecoin three days before his January inauguration, quickly increasing his net worth by billions and raising major ethics concerns, including over possible foreign influence.Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and colleagues called Thursday for Trump to disclose who is attending the dinner.Calling the dinner “an orgy of corruption,” Warren told a press conference that Trump “is using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto.”Data analytics firm Inca Digital has confirmed that many transactions occurred through international exchanges unavailable in the United States, suggesting foreign buyers.Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun claims the top investor position, having committed $20 million to the memecoin as part of his $93 million total investment in Trump-linked crypto ventures.Sun, founder of top 10 cryptocurrency TRON, was under investigation by US authorities for market manipulation, but regulators, now controlled by Trump appointees, agreed in February to a 60-day pause to seek a settlement.According to the website Popular Information, a few weeks before that decision, Sun purchased $30 million in digital assets from a venture backed by Trump and his family.”Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation to attend President Trump’s Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!” Sun wrote Tuesday on X.Justin Unga of advocacy group End Citizens United described the crypto dinner as a blatant example of Trump profiting from the presidency while roiling the US economy.”Some say this is a back door to corruption,” Unga said.”I would argue it’s the front door with valet parking, and it’s got a red carpet… and a slap in the face of hard working Americans.”White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the allegations of impropriety Thursday, telling a briefing that Trump is attending the dinner in his “personal time” and abiding by applicable conflict of interest laws.- More regulation? -The dinner comes as the US Senate is pushing through legislation to more clearly regulate cryptocurrencies, a long-sought request of the industry.Senators on Monday advanced a landmark bill known as the GENIUS Act that proposes a regulatory framework for stablecoins — a type of crypto token seen as more predictable for investors as its value is pegged to hard currencies like the dollar.That legislation had faced roadblocks in part because of Trump’s dabbling in cryptocurrencies — a rising sector he once dismissed as a scam.His stance reversed during the 2024 presidential campaign when crypto tycoons, frustrated by perceived unfair treatment under the Biden administration, became major contributors to his campaign.Bitcoin’s price hit a new all-time high on Thursday, climbing above $111,000 before falling slightly.- Expanding empire -Trump’s newfound enthusiasm for digital currencies has expanded into multiple ventures led primarily by his eldest sons.Their growing portfolio includes investments in Binance, a major crypto exchange whose founder seeks a presidential pardon to re-enter the US market.This investment flows through World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed venture launched last September with significant Mideast deals. The company’s founding team includes Donald Jr. and Eric Trump alongside Zach Witkoff, son of Trump’s diplomatic adviser.President Trump has taken concrete steps to reduce regulatory barriers, including an executive order establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” for government holdings of the leading digital currency.

Two people were killed when a small plane crashed onto a California neighborhood before dawn Thursday, destroying a home and setting more than a dozen cars on fire.At least 10 houses were hit by debris and cars on both sides of one street went up in flames when the Cessna 550 slammed into the ground spewing burning jet fuel everywhere in a part of San Diego that is home to military families.San Diego Fire Department Assistant Chief Dan Eddy told reporters one house had been badly damaged, but that no one on the ground had been seriously hurt, with the two dead aboard the plane.”When (the plane) hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,” he said.”We have jet fuel all over the place.”Yasmine Sierra told AFP how she had helped her neighbors escape their burning house in the middle of the night after being awakened by what she initially thought was an earthquake.”It looked like all the homes were on fire because I could see the smoke and the flames, it looked like the trees were on fire,” she said.Moments later she heard screams from her neighbors who were trapped in their back garden.”Me and my son grabbed the ladder, we jumped on our trampoline, and we tried to bounce as much as we possibly could, to throw that ladder over so that they can climb onto the ladder into our backyard,” said Sierra, 35.A woman, two children and two small dogs climbed to safety over the ladder.”She was very distraught when she came over. I brought her to the front of the house, and I told her that, you know, we needed to leave.”Jeremy Serna, 31, who is in the Navy, said he and his wife had been awoken by a loud bang.”We looked outside, and the sky was orange. And then I came running outside to see what it was, and everything was on fire over here,” he told AFP.”I saw the corner house was just engulfed in flames. And then came back over here and told my wife, hey, we have to get out of here.”It was pretty scary.”Footage of the immediate aftermath of the crash showed a line of burning fuel linking cars that were entirely in flames.- Thick fog -Investigators were combing the scene Thursday, picking through the scattered debris of the plane, which appeared to have broken into hundreds of pieces.Bits of fibreglass were scattered among the twisted and charred remains of cars, and the smell of fuel hung in the air.The accident happened in thick fog when the plane, which had come from Kansas, was nearing the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.It was not immediately clear what had happened, but the fire department’s Eddy said a nearby power line appeared to have been clipped.The plane, which can carry up to eight people, went down around 3:45 am (1045 GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration, striking the Murphy Canyon neighborhood.The residential area it hit is largely military housing. San Diego is home to US Navy facilities, Marine Corps bases and Coast Guard stations.The accident came at a time of heightened tension in the skies above America, with a number of incidents rocking public confidence in flying.Air traffic control outages have struck the busy Newark airport on the East Coast at least twice in recent weeks, and in January there was a mid-air collision over Washington between a passenger plane and a military helicopter.This month two people died when their small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood northwest of Los Angeles.

International tensions over anti-Semitism erupted Thursday after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead at a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested.Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar blamed European criticism of his country’s stepped-up Gaza offensive, claiming “a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.””This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe,” he said.French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called the accusation “completely outrageous and completely unjustified.”The killings took place just outside the Capital Jewish Museum late Wednesday as the venue, a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the White House, hosted a social event for young professionals and diplomatic staff.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited “the terrible price of anti-Semitism” and decried “wild incitement against the State of Israel.”Soon after the shooting, President Donald Trump — who spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday — posted on social media that the attack was clearly anti-Semitic and such killings had to stop.Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple planning to marry.Police detained the shooter, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, at the scene.- ‘Free Palestine’ -Video footage on social media showed a bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting “free, free Palestine” as he was led away.The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide in the wake of Israel’s devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.Tensions have risen in the United States and many other countries over the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, with pro-Palestinian activists decrying what they say is the intolerable human cost of the military offensive.Britain and France — who have stepped up their criticism of Israel’s actions — were among those condemning the shooting, as well as Germany and the United Arab Emirates.But Netanyahu on Thursday accused France, Britain and Canada of emboldening militants, saying “they want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas’s army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild and repeat the October 7 massacre.”They “think that they’re advancing peace. They’re not,” he said in a video.Israel’s consul in New York City also sought to draw a link between the shooting and US student protests against the war in Gaza, which he painted as “unprecedented riots organized by terrorists.”- ‘Anti-Semitism, I feel it every day’ – On Thursday, mourners gathered at the museum in Washington to sing and pray.”We have to find a better way to a better future for Israelis, for Palestinians, for American Jews, for Muslims, for all of us,” said Hadar Susskind, head of the progressive New Jewish Narrative group.”Obviously the war is awful,” mourner Gil Livni told AFP. “(But) anti-Semitism, I feel it every day…  people that I thought were my friends showing that they are anti-Semitic. It’s become the norm.”Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter told reporters at the scene Thursday that he rejected any “insinuation that anti-Semitism is rising because of Israel’s defense of its country. Hamas declared war, Israel is responding.”Witnesses said security personnel appeared at first to mistake the gunman for a victim of the shooting and allowed him into the museum, where he was initially comforted by bystanders.”They sat him down. ‘Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?’ And he’s like ‘Somebody call the cops’,” Yoni Kalin, who was in the museum, told US media.Police said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting around 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Thursday).The targeted event was an annual reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.Lischinsky was a researcher at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department, according to their LinkedIn profiles.Lischinsky was Christian, according to The Times of Israel, for whom he had previously worked as a blogger. He also held a German passport.

A man sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of his wife and her two sons was executed in Tennessee on Thursday, according to the state’s Department of Correction. Oscar Smith, 75, was the third death row inmate to be executed in the United States this week, all of which were carried out by lethal injection.Smith was pronounced dead at 10:47 am local time (1547 GMT) at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee. He was convicted of fatally shooting and stabbing his estranged wife, Judy Smith, and her two sons, Chad and Jason Burnett, in 1989.Mike Robirds and Terri Osborne, Judy’s siblings, said in a statement that the pain of losing their sister and nephews “is something we will continue to carry.””Through our heartbreak, we are reminded of the devastating consequences of domestic violence,” the statement said.”This tragedy is not only a personal loss — it is part of a much larger issue that affects countless families across our society.”There have been 19 executions in the United States this year: 15 by lethal injection, two by firing squad and two using nitrogen gas.The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and called on his first day in office for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”

G7 finance leaders played down their differences Thursday, despite turmoil from US President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, and sought common ground on Ukraine as talks in Canada entered the final hours.The Group of Seven advanced economies are expected to issue a joint statement at the end of their three-day gathering, a diplomatic source told AFP, but all eyes are on whether they can overcome tensions sparked by Trump’s trade wars.”The mood in the meetings was positive and constructive,” EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis told AFP early Thursday.He said officials made progress on many issues, including the global economy, in addressing imbalances but also with regards to a response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”All in all, we are making good progress,” added Dombrovskis, the European Union commissioner for the economy.Leaders opened a final morning of talks early Thursday, with sessions on financial crimes and artificial intelligence on the agenda at the session, held in western Canada’s spectacular Banff National Park.But tensions among the finance ministers and central bank governors from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States remained.- ‘Joint solutions’ -“On tariffs, obviously that remains a concern,” Dombrovskis said, adding that the G7 partners were working together, as well as bilaterally with Washington, “to address this tariffs situation and to find a negotiated solution.” German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters Thursday it was crucial to “resolve the current trade disputes as quickly as possible.”He stressed that higher tariffs place “a heavy burden on the global economy, unsettle the financial markets and ultimately reduce global prosperity.” “Our hand is extended,” Klingbeil added, noting that US tariffs threaten jobs and economic strength on both sides of the Atlantic. A European official told AFP that while the trade issue is not resolved with this week’s talks, “we see the positive side.”French Finance Minister Eric Lombard told AFP: “The atmosphere was warm. We spoke as friends and allies.””We don’t agree on everything, but we talked about everything,” he said.Ministers also held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the gathering. Klingbeil noted his “intensive and constructive discussion” with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whom he plans to meet again in Washington.Bessent has been expected to face pushback on the US tariffs policies’ effects, though he told reporters that Wednesday’s talks were “very productive.”The week’s meetings come ahead of the G7 Summit next month, and are seen as a litmus test of how the leaders’ gathering — which Trump is to attend — will proceed.One topic where consensus could prove easier to achieve is China, with the G7 broadly aligned on addressing Beijing’s trade practices. – ‘Clear progress’ -Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko attended the talks in Banff and has urged the G7 to maintain pressure on Russia.France’s Lombard welcomed “clear progress” on support for Ukraine and the issue of increasing pressure on Moscow.While Trump’s return has rattled the G7, German finance minister Klingbeil told public broadcaster ARD that “there are always conflicting signals.”While there may be US statements that cast doubt on the extent of support towards Ukraine, “in the end, the United States has always been on Ukraine’s side,” he said.Wednesday’s session on Ukraine was chaired by UK finance minister Rachel Reeves, who said “pressure on Russia’s war machine is needed now more so than ever,” according to a government statement.She charged that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has “failed to engage in good faith with proposals”, and attempts to broker a ceasefire from his “illegal and brutal war.”Reeves also aired an ambition to move fast in lowering the $60 price cap on Russian crude oil, the UK statement said.