Canadian businessman Maninder Sidhu, who was a parliamentary secretary, has been appointed as International Trade Minister.

Sidhu, 41, who was sworn in as a minister on Tuesday, is an entrepreneur who runs his own international trade specialist business.

He says in his LinkedIn page that he “worked with businesses across Canada to provide strategic advice with a focus on trade, tariffs and growth opportunities”.

Elected to parliament in 2019, he did a short stint as the parliamentary secretary to the Foreign Minister.

Sidhu next parlayed his business experience to become the parliamentary secretary to the International Trade Minister and has now jumped to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet, assuming that portfolio.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan had held a phone conversation to discuss efforts to resume a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and coordinate plans for post-war reconstruction, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

During the call on Monday, Abdelatty outlined Egypt's ongoing mediation efforts, undertaken in coordination with Qatar and the US, "to resume the ceasefire, facilitate the release of hostages and detainees, and ensure uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian, medical, and shelter aid into the war-torn enclave," according to the ministry's statement.

Taiwan on Tuesday said that it spotted 31 Chinese aircraft (30 of which crossed the median line of the strait and entered the northern and southwest airspace), 7 Chinese warships, and one official ship, continuing to operate around the Taiwan Strait.

The Taiwanese army used mission aircraft, ships, and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor and respond.

"31 sorties of Chinese army aircraft, 7 Chinese navy vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 30 out of 31 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern Air Defence Identification Zone," the Ministry of National Defence posted on X.

The defence ministry also stated that China carried out a satellite launch mission that passed through central Taiwan toward the western Pacific Ocean, and as the altitude is outside the atmosphere, it posed no threat to Taiwan.

South Korean Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im will visit the United States later this week to discuss ways to expand cooperation with Nvidia in securing advanced graphic processing units (GPUs), the ministry said on Tuesday.

The announcement came during a meeting of the government-led special committee on artificial intelligence (AI) computing, which Yoo chairs.

At the meeting, the ministry also unveiled an additional budget of 1.46 trillion won ($1.03 billion) aimed at purchasing 10,000 high-performance GPUs, reports news agency.

The budget will support a comprehensive plan covering procurement, infrastructure development and GPU utilisation through public-private collaboration.

Violent clashes erupted in the Libyan capital Tripoli between rival armed factions, amid reports of the death of Abdul-Ghani al-Kikli, known as Ghaniwa, who headed the Stability Support Department affiliated with the Presidency Council.

Local media reported on Monday that al-Kikli was killed inside the headquarters of the 444 Brigade, which is affiliated with the Tripoli Military Zone.

At the same time, they noted, citing an unnamed security source, that "the reason for al-Kikli's presence inside the headquarters of the 444 Brigade is unknown."

The reports about al-Kikli's death coincided with residents of parts of southern Tripoli confirming hearing sounds of intense gunfire involving heavy weapons, as other areas of Tripoli are experiencing serious security tensions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced here on Monday that an agreement has been reached with China, at the trade talks held here, for a bilateral reduction in tariffs with effect from May 14 for a 90-day period.

The US will reduce tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 per cent to 30 per cent for 90 days, while China said it will cut tariffs on US goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent for 90 days.

“We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and to substantially move down the tariff levels. Both sides on the reciprocal tariffs will move their tariffs down 115 per cent,” Bessent said at a press conference.

“We had a very robust and productive discussion on steps forward on fentanyl. We are in agreement that neither side wants to decouple,” he added.

According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, after taking the aforementioned actions, the two countries will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.

In a new executive order, US President Donald Trump has vowed to cut the price of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals in the US between 30 per cent to 80 per cent.

Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump promised to sign the order on Monday morning, and provide Americans relief from high medication costs “almost immediately”.

He also cited years of frustration of US consumers in paying significantly higher prices for medications than people in other countries.

“For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were so much higher in price than they were in any other nation,” Trump said in the post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday expressed willingness to hold discussions with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to end the ongoing conflict between the two nations.

This statement came shortly after US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine to immediately agree to the negotiations proposed by Russian President Putin, which could take place in Turkey on May 15.

"Here in Ukraine, we have absolutely no problem engaging in negotiations, we are ready for any format. I will be in Turkey this Thursday, May 15, and I expect Putin to come to Turkey as well. Personally. And I hope that this time, Putin won't be looking for excuses as to why he "can't" make it. We are ready to talk, to end this war. President Trump has expressed support. All the leaders support this," Zelensky posted on X.

YouTube has restricted access to at least six Bangladeshi television channels in India following a takedown request from the Indian government "citing concerns related to national security and public order", Bangladeshi media reported on Saturday.

The six Bangladeshi television news channels blocked in India are Jamuna TV, Ekattor TV, DBC News , Somoy TV, BanglaVision News & Mohona TV. While four channels became inaccessible on Friday, two more - DBC News and Somoy TV — were added to the block list on Saturday, reports cited.

Geo-blocking is a practice used to restrict online content based on the geographical location of the user. In this instance, Bangladeshi TV news channels remain available globally, except in India.

Korean Air Lines, South Korea's leading air carrier, said it will acquire a 10 percent stake in WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, in a bid to strengthen its presence in the North American market.

The South Korean airline's board approved the US$220 million deal earlier in the day, the company said in a press release. Delta Air Lines, Korean Air's joint venture partner in the United States, will also purchase a 15 percent stake in WestJet for $330 million, reports news agency.

Founded in 1994, WestJet operates a fleet of over 180 aircraft and serves more than 100 airports globally. Korean Air has maintained a codeshare partnership with WestJet since June 2012.

Korean Air emphasized that the equity investment is aimed at deepening the codeshare alliance and expanding connectivity in Canada and the broader North and Latin American markets.

The company noted that the stake acquisition does not entail a management takeover or a merger with WestJet.