Briefly

AUSTRALIA

New search launched for missing MH370 flight

A new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 started on Tuesday, covering an Indian Ocean area of around 15,000 square kilometers off the coast of Perth in western Australia. United Kingdom-based exploration firm Ocean Infinity has signed a "no find, no fee" contract with the Malaysian government for the search, according to Australian news outlet 9News. Compared to a previous search that covered about 200,000 square kilometers, the latest effort aims to be more precise and targeted. Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 aircraft, went missing during its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The plane was carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers.

UNITED STATES

Canada, Mexico tariffs on schedule: Trump

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are "on time and on schedule", despite efforts by the countries to beef up border security and halt the flow of fentanyl into the US ahead of a March 4 deadline. He later referred to his desire for "reciprocal "tariffs to match the duty rates and offset the trade barriers of all countries. Many had hoped the top two US trading partners could persuade the Trump administration to further delay the tariffs that would apply to over $918 billion worth of US imports from the two countries, from autos to energy. Canada and Mexico have taken steps to beef up border security, which bought them about a month's reprieve from Trump's earlier Feb 1 deadline to impose the tariffs.

Musk renews threat to fire federal workers

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said US federal workers had "another chance" to justify their work or lose their jobs, as the original deadline passed on Tuesday. "Failure to respond a second time will result in termination," Musk said on Monday evening on X, without offering a new deadline. The original deadline came and went, creating much confusion among an already anxious workforce after several US federal agencies, including the FBI and the State Department, told their staff to ignore the email, at least temporarily.

China Daily - Agencies