JOINT BASE ANDREWS: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he thinks China can open its markets to American goods, once again asserting he has a good relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“I think it’s going to happen,” Trump said when asked if he thinks Chinese markets could open to US goods. He did not elaborate.

Washington and Beijing have had tense ties for years over issues such as trade tariffs, intellectual property, human rights, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber security and policies towards Taiwan, Hong Kong and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

A day earlier, Trump threatened to slap a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran, risking reopening old wounds with Beijing, Tehran’s biggest trading partner.

China condemned Trump’s threat, and Trump did not provide details on his plan to impose tariffs on countries conducting trade with Iran, which is currently seeing some of its biggest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Trump has been weighing how to respond to the situation in Iran, which fought a 12-day war with US ally Israel last year and whose nuclear sites were bombed by the American military in June.

Chris Noth has sparked fresh conversation around his relationship with former Sex and the City co-star Sarah Jessica Parker after a brief but pointed interaction on social media that many fans quickly picked up on.

The moment has reignited long-standing rumours of tension between the two actors, especially given its timing.

On Friday, Noth shared a photo of himself working out at the gym on Instagram, captioning it with an expletive-filled message about the new year. 

While the post initially appeared to be about motivation and energy, one comment shifted the tone. 

A fan replied by jokingly asking whether his caption was actually aimed at Parker and her recent award recognition. 

Noth’s response was short but striking, as he replied with a single word: “Right.” 

The comment came just one day after Parker was honoured with the 2026 Carol Burnett Award on Jan. 7, ahead of the main Golden Globes ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.

The exchange stood out because of the long professional history between Noth, 71, and Parker, 60. 

The two famously played love interests on HBO’s Sex and the City for six seasons starting in 1998 and later reunited for the franchise’s two films released in 2008 and 2010. 

Noth also briefly returned as Mr. Big in the sequel series And Just Like That…, which premiered in December 2021.

Despite their shared success, Noth has not been publicly associated with Parker or several other cast members in recent years. 

In past interviews, Parker has acknowledged that she has not been in contact with him for a long time. 

Reports have also suggested that Noth has felt excluded from the group, a claim he has previously dismissed as untrue.

Adding to speculation, Noth appeared to subtly stir the pot last year when he publicly wished Kim Cattrall a happy birthday. 

He was reportedly the only main cast member to do so, a move that caught attention given the well-documented tension between Cattrall and Parker.

Noth’s latest comment may have been brief, but it has once again placed his relationship with Parker under the spotlight, leaving fans revisiting the complicated dynamics behind one of television’s most iconic casts.

Britain is set to drop plans to make it mandatory for workers to hold a digital identity document, The Times newspaper, the BBC and other media reported on Tuesday, potentially marking another policy U-turn for the Labour government.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in September last year that his government would require every employee to hold a digital ID in an attempt to tackle illegal migration and reduce the threat from the populist Reform UK party.

The government said the digital ID would be held on people’s mobile phones and become a mandatory part of checks employers must make when hiring staff.

The plan drew criticism from political opponents, with some arguing it would not deter illegal migration and others warning it could infringe on civil liberties.

The Times said the government abandoned the plan amid concerns it could undermine public trust in the scheme, noting that when introduced in 2029, digital IDs would be optional rather than mandatory.

Other forms of documentation, such as an electronic visa or passport, would still be valid, The Times said.

“We are committed to mandatory digital right to work checks,” a government spokesperson said. “We have always been clear that details on the digital ID scheme will be set out following a full public consultation which will launch shortly.”

The spokesperson said current checks rely on a “hodgepodge” of paper-based systems, with no record of whether they were ever carried out, leaving the process open to fraud and abuse.

If plans for a mandatory digital ID are dropped, it would mark another policy climbdown for Starmer.

In December, the government scaled back a plan to raise more tax from farmers, months after it backed down on cuts to welfare spending and scaled back a proposal to reduce subsidies on energy bills for the elderly.