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Here's what you'll learn when you read this story:The Inca quipu was a complex system of knotted cords, encoded numerical records and possibly even a full logosyllabic language.New research demonstrates that the quipu's hierarchical structure can function as a versatile modern computer data structure.The researchers built working spreadsheets, file systems, and encryption tools powered by quipu data, rivaling conventional computing methods.

The EU must implement its trade deal with the US without amendments or risk losing “favourable” access to liquefied natural gas shipments from American exporters, Donald Trump’s ambassador to the bloc has warned. EU ratification of last year’s agreement between the US president and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been delayed by several issues, including Trump’s threats to invade Greenland.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio Dominguez on Friday sought to convince Canada to prop up the fading Communist regime in Havana, arguing that Canadian companies could lose billions from nullified contracts if the regime falls. De Cossio praised Cuba’s “important trade relations” with Canada and the hefty investments Canadian companies have made in Cuba. “Despite the fact that we do not have a coincidence in all the political and international positions, we have always known how to solve our problems, our differences, and work with them based on dialogue and based on mutual respect,” he said. The...

President Donald Trump has waived the Jones Act for 60 days to mitigate supply disruptions resulting from conflict in the Middle East. This raises a fundamental question: why do policymakers regularly suspend this law during emergencies yet leave it in place the rest of the time?The Jones Act is an antiquated 106-year-old law officially known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 that places draconian restrictions on the use of ships to transport goods within the United States. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the waiver allowing the use of foreign vessels to transport goods “will allow vital...

Oil prices fell back near $95 a barrel in U.S. futures markets Monday as Iran's Straight of Hormuz strategy became clearer, with the hard-line regime allowing passage of ships bound for Pakistan, India and China. The pullback in oil prices is allowing the S&P 500 to rally on Monday morning even as the U.S. struggles to find partners for an effort to guarantee safe passage through the key shipping route.

Insurance giant Chubb will be the lead underwriter for a U.S. government-led program to provide insurance to ships making the risky transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Chubb will work with the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., or DFC, as part of a $20 billion plan to help get oil tankers and other commercial traffic moving again amid risks from the Iran war, the agency said. Oil prices have spiked since the war began at the end of February. Brent crude traded above $91 a barrel midmorning Wednesday. Oil prices have stayed relatively high despite an announcement Wednesday that the...

The move was met Friday with dismay in Europe, where officials and experts feared it would aid the Russian war machine in Ukraine. The Kremlin pressed Washington to go further.... The United States has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil, a boost to the Kremlin as Washington tries to contain energy prices sent soaring by the American-Israeli assault on Iran. President Vladimir Putin’s team welcomed the move to ease penalties that were imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and pushed Friday for the U.S. to go further. The decision caused dismay in Europe, where officials feared it would give a...

https://x.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/2029621652427096264 KanekoaTheGreat@KanekoaTheGreat·5h🚨NEW: Venezuela’s acting president just thanked Donald Trump — the same president whose administration removed Nicolás Maduro two months ago — and offered cooperation on energy, mining, and critical minerals.Delcy Rodríguez said it standing next to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during a joint press conference in Caracas.Two months ago: Maduro captured.Today: the interim government thanking the architect of that removal and opening the door to U.S. access on gold, rare earths, and oil.While the world focuses on Iranian missiles and U.S. airstrikes, the Trump administration is quietly rewriting resource maps across the Global South.Venezuela holds the largest proven...

On Monday, I wrote about Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to block the U.S. from using jointly operated military bases on its territory for strikes on Iran. President Donald Trump wasted no time responding forcefully, saying Tuesday that the U.S. is "going to cut off all trade with Spain." Trump made the comments from the White House during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He noted that some European nations have been helpful to the U.S. regarding Iran, saying Germany has been “great.” He also praised NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, calling him “fantastic.” Then he spoke...

Trump says he's given instructions to cut off all trade with Spain, citing Madrid's announcement that US can't use its bases

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The European Union’s executive arm requested “full clarity” from the United States and asked its trade partner to fulfill its commitments after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s most sweeping tariffs. Trump has lashed out at the court decision and said Saturday that he wants a global tariff of 15%, up from the 10% he announced a day earlier. The European Commission said the current situation is not conducive to delivering “fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” trans-Atlantic trade and investment, as agreed to by both sides and spelled out in the EU-U.S. Joint Statement of...

A 6-3 Supreme Court majority on Friday struck down President Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs (Learning Resources v. Trump) in a monumental vindication of the Constitution’s separation of powers. You might call it the real tariff Liberation Day. It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Court’s decision for the law and the economy. Had Mr. Trump prevailed, future Presidents could have used emergency powers to bypass Congress and impose border taxes with little constraint. As Chief Justice John Roberts explains in the majority opinion, “Recognizing the taxing power’s unique importance, and having just fought a revolution motivated in large part...

India has delayed plans to send a trade delegation to Washington this week, chiefly because of uncertainty after the US Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, a source in its trade ministry said on Sunday (Feb 22). One of the first concrete reactions among Asian nations to the decision, it follows Trump's move on Saturday to levy a temporary tariff of 15 per cent, the maximum allowed by law, on US imports from all countries, following the court's rejection. "The decision to defer the visit was taken after discussions between officials of the two countries," said...

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday said the Trump administration would need guidance from the courts on how to handle tariff refunds after the Supreme Court struck down duties authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. “Well, we need the court to tell us what to do. They’ve created a situation where they struck down the tariffs and gave zero guidance on this,” Greer said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” “Historically, you know, as a trade attorney, in my experience, courts will normally give you some instruction on what to do, when.” “The Court of International...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced legislation today to repeal Donald Trump’s global tariffs, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The binding measure will be treated as a privileged resolution that must receive a vote on the Senate floor. The measure would terminate the emergency that Trump declared in order to slap tariffs of up to 40% on products Americans buy from other countries. In the wake of Trump’s tariff declaration, costs have...

Trump’s response to the Supreme Court tariff ruling points beyond China to “foreign interests” tied to the British Empire's Adam Smith free-trade ideology, defended by the US Chamber of Commerce and Cato Institute. She cites Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ambassador Jamieson Greer framing the administration’s approach as Hamiltonian economic sovereignty, and says tariffs will continue under other laws, including a new 10% global tariff. She contrasts this with Thursday’s Board of Peace meeting, where 60 nations backed “peace through construction,” funding housing, security, and development, rejecting Kissinger-style managed conflict. She warns midterm demoralization risks ending Trump’s agenda. RT 14...

As was true for many conservatives, when I saw the headline saying that the Supreme Court had reversed Trump’s tariffs, I admit that my stomach sank. My first thought was that this was an epic disaster for the Trump administration. More than that, I thought that this is an epic disaster for the strong Trump economy, because tariffs have been a major leg of that stool.AdvertisementThen I took a deep breath and had a couple of useful thoughts. My first thought was, I bet Trump has a backup plan, because he’s always known that this could happen. He’s not the...

President Trump said on Saturday that he is going to raise his global tariff to 15%, up from 10% he imposed on Friday, after the Supreme Court struck down a set of sweeping global tariffs.

President Trump said Saturday he’s going to bump his newly imposed global tariff to 15%, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision blocking his sweeping import taxes on international trading partners.The increase was “based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social. “During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of...