The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

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World Trade Organization says trade between US and China is expected to plunge by 81% in ‘decoupling’

Donald Trump’s tariffs will send international trade into reverse this year, depressing global economic growth, the World Trade Organization has warned.

In its latest snapshot of the global trading system, the Geneva-based institution says it had previously expected goods trade to expand by a healthy 2.7% this year. As a result of Washington’s trade policy, it is now forecasting a 0.2% decline.

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Chancellor says wages are growing faster than prices but acknowledges many are still struggling with the cost of living

A government minister has reiterated the call for the Unite union to accept a deal and end the bin strike in Birmingham.

Speaking on GB News this morning, Lillian Greenwood , parliamentary under-secretary of state for the future of roads, said residents were facing “a completely unacceptable situation”

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Embassy criticises ‘slandering’ of Chinese government and defends Jingye over furnaces dispute

• Business live – latest updates

China has accused UK politicians of “arrogance, ignorance and a twisted mindset” as it defended British Steel’s owner, Jingye, after a barrage of criticism over the narrowly averted shutdown of its blast furnaces.

Beijing’s embassy to the UK accused unspecified British public figures of slandering China’s government and businesses, in comments published on Wednesday on its website.

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Police used a stun gun on two people and made three arrests as Maga representative was repeatedly interrupted

• US politics live – latest updates

Police used a stun gun on two people, and arrested three attenders overall, at a town hall meeting hosted by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday.

Protesters repeatedly interrupted Greene during a town hall in Acworth, which is about 30 minutes outside Atlanta . One man, Andrew Russell Nelms, began booing Greene almost as soon as she began speaking, and was dragged out of the room by police officers, who used a stun gun on him, according to the New York Times .

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Chinese restrictions could affect more than a dozen defence and aerospace firms and give Beijing ‘crucial advantage’

America’s advanced weapons manufacturers are likely to face a critical shortfall of key rare-earth minerals that they import from China as a consequence of Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with Beijing.

New export licensing restrictions imposed by China on seven rare earths are like to cause disruptions in supply to more than a dozen US defence and aerospace companies involved in the production of everything from fighter jets to submarines and drones, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a commentary.

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Class action argues US tech firm charged more for advertising on its preinstalled apps than it could in fair market

Google is being sued in the UK for up to £5bn in damages over allegations it shut out rivals in the internet search market and abused this dominance to overcharge businesses for advertisements.

A class action filed at the competition appeal tribunal on Tuesday argues that the US technology company has taken actions that enable it to charge higher prices for the promotions that appear in search inquiries than it otherwise could in a fair market.

It alleged that Google, which is owned by the US tech company Alphabet, contracted phone makers to preinstall the Google search app and Chrome browser on Android devices and paid Apple to make it the default search engine on iPhones, with the intention of shutting out competition.

The claim is filed by the competition law expert Or Brook on behalf of thousands of businesses and alleges Google ensured its search engine had better functionality and more features for Google’s own advertising offering than that of its competitors.

A Google spokesperson said: “This is yet another speculative and opportunistic case – and we will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it helpful, not because there are no alternatives.”

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World Central Kitchen mobile bakery’s production limited by flour shortage as result of Israel’s blockade

Palestinians witnessed a large white trailer being laboriously towed through the bomb-pitted roads of southern Gaza by a red tractor earlier this month, though it is unclear how many realised it was one of their last humanitarian lifelines in the face of a total Israeli blockade.

The trailer contained Gaza’s last working bakery, forced by Israeli evacuation orders to move around the territory so it can keep functioning. Aid workers say the amount of bread it can produce is only a fraction of the needs of the people of Gaza.

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Officials discuss plan to exchange people who come to UK irregularly for some with family case for being in Britain

The British and French governments are involved in early talks about a returns agreement that would involve both countries exchanging people seeking asylum.

Officials have discussed a pilot scheme under which a small number of people who come across the Channel to the UK by irregular means would be sent back to France.

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