German court to rule in climate case against automakers

While the world frets about surging energy prices pushed up by the Middle East war, one small German village has been reaping the benefits of its turn to climate-friendly renewables.

Surrounded by wind turbines and studded with solar panels, Feldheim, population 130, boasts its own electricity and heating networks, supplied entirely by cheap local energy, also including biogas.

When it comes to keeping the lights on, "what's happening in the rest of the world doesn't really interest us," 56-year-old Michael Knape, who served as Feldheim mayor for almost a quarter-century, told AFP.

Feldheim, 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of Berlin, started its move towards clean renewables in the 1990s after German unification and by 2010 was boasting of its "energy self-sufficiency".

The small village has since attracted attention from across the world as an example of Germany's decades-old energy transition project away from fossil fuels and nuclear power.

The process has benefited from unique local conditions and significant investments.

Like much of the eastern state of Brandenburg where it is located, Feldheim sits on a flat, windswept plain, meaning the tens of nearby wind turbines generate plenty of energy.

While one of them provides enough power for the whole village, the others earn it money through taxes and charges levied on the operators.

As for heating, a biogas plant runs on slurry and leftover grain from an agricultural cooperative. On very cold evenings, the village gets a boost from a woodchip-fired heating plant.

Excess energy is stored in a battery for use in periods with little sun or wind, so-called "dark lulls".

"We hope it always stays like this, this model makes us happy," said Petra Richter, 62, a long-time resident of Feldheim.

Like her neighbours, she pays an average of 12 cents before tax per kilowatt hour of electricity, less than half the price usually paid elsewhere in Germany.

Her oil-powered boiler was replaced 15 years ago with pipes carrying communal hot water and a heat exchanger, and the same system has been in place ever since.

- 'Economically it works' -

According to Knape, who has just handed over the mayor's post, the municipality saves several hundred thousand euros a year by doing without fossil fuels.

"Obviously I can't compare a small village with a big city, but economically it works," he said.

The Middle East war has once again highlighted Germany's dependence on foreign energy imports, with the government taking steps to limit price rises at petrol stations.

Europe's top economy is still suffering from the cut-off of plentiful and cheap Russian gas imports after the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In this context, Knape argued, Feldheim could become "a successful export product" for Germany, just as the mighty automobile once was. 

The village has made energetic efforts to publicise its model, attracting visitors including former chancellor Olaf Scholz but also professionals and politicians from the United States, India and even North Korea.

An information centre welcomes more than 3,000 people a year, schoolchildren come from across the state, and the technically curious can explore the inner workings of a wind turbine.

However, even in Feldheim, there are limits to how far residents can be truly insulated from the global energy shock. 

Although the village has an e-car charging station, Richter is among the locals who do not have an electric vehicle and for whom petrol remains a crucial resource.

"We have to use the car every day," she said, adding that the spike in prices at the pump was "no longer bearable".

Richter pointed out that the village's energy independence may not be guaranteed in the long term, with the biogas plant nearing the end of its service life.

"We have to think about new solutions," she said.

kas/jsk/fz/sbk/abs

The United States is set to come under scrutiny Friday on day two of the World Trade Organization's ministerial conference, with Washington wanting to shake up the multilateral trade system.

In the corridors of the WTO gathering in Cameroon's capital Yaounde, which runs until Sunday, a lot of the talk is about the United States.

"The Americans are highly awaited; without them, we can't move forward," confided one delegate from a Southeast Asian country, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The other members primarily expect the United States to clarify its intentions, and are asking it to demonstrate its continued commitment to the WTO through concrete actions," Sebastien Jean, an associate director at the French Institute of International Relations think-tank, told AFP.

Yaounde marks the WTO's first ministerial conference since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, unleashing a barrage of attacks on multilateralism and WTO rules with sweeping tariffs and bilateral trade deals, violating WTO rules along the way, according to many experts.

Trump has made tariffs a central instrument of his economic and foreign policy.

"US trade policy measures are a corrective response to a trading system, embodied by the WTO, that has overseen and contributed to severe and sustained imbalances," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday.

Under successive presidents, Washington is also accused of blocking the appointment of judges to the WTO's Appellate Body -- a mechanism for resolving trade disputes between countries -- which has been paralysed since late 2019.

Many observers, however, are pleased that the United States has not quit the WTO, thus avoiding major upheaval in the international trading system.

- 'Ultimatum' -

The US position, however, seems rigid. Washington has issued two documents, the latest on Monday, on reforming the WTO, contesting some of its fundamental rules.

"The US is setting down an ultimatum, and that ultimatum is that the current global order no longer suits the objectives" of the White House, said Jane Kelsey, a law specialist from the University of Auckland, who came to the conference with a coalition of NGOs, experts and activists.

"And the US threatens to relegate the organisation to even greater irrelevance if it doesn't get what it wants," she told AFP.

"So that kind of threat is hovering over this ministerial." 

A chief US demand is revision of the WTO's fundamental "most favoured nation" principle, which aims to extend any trade advantage granted to one country to all trade partners.

This system directly contradicts Trump's approach to trade.

The United States also wants the WTO to establish criteria to determine whether a country should be considered as developing, given that such countries benefit from certain advantages in the way rules are applied.

Here, Washington is targeting China, which despite its economic heft is classified as a developing country at the WTO.

- Uncertainty in the air -

The United States also wants measures encouraging countries to be more open in reporting subsidies.

WTO members are required to do so, but again, Western countries accuse Beijing of lacking transparency.

Like many other members, the United States is also calling for the development of plurilateral agreements within the WTO, something India categorically rejects, preferring to stick with the current full consensus system.

Washington is also demanding that WTO rules do not infringe upon countries' national "security".

This demand is being met with resistance, as other countries think the concept remains vague when it comes to justifying, for example, additional tariffs.

But according to Sebastien Jean, "great uncertainty remains" about what the United States is seeking at the WTO.

"Is it reform to improve its functioning, or is it disorganisation, or even lasting paralysis?

"Recent statements by Jamison Greer suggest that they wouldn't mind prolonging the uncertainty and paralysis" when it comes to institutional reform, he said. 

"This could lead them to make very minimal concessions, on procedural points or on very specific issues."

apo/ag/vk/rjm/abs

For a decade, President Donald Trump has been the gravitational force of the American right, but at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference a pressing question is animating conversations in the hallways: who comes next?

At what is billed as the world's largest conservative meeting, there is no clear consensus -- but an early contest is taking shape.

For the first time in years, the 79-year-old second-term president is skipping the conference -- typically held in Washington, but this year staged in the Dallas suburbs -- allowing other Republican stars to step out of his shadow.

Across conversations with attendees, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood out as the main contenders to lead a post-Trump Republican Party, with support split in a race that remains wide open.

Polling suggests Vance holds a comfortable national lead among Republican voters. 

But on the ground in Texas, the divide appeared more even -- with roughly half backing Vance and a significant share favoring Rubio or considering him at least as capable.

"I have the utmost confidence in both JD Vance and Marco Rubio to lead the country," said Suzy Phillips, 68, a retired nurse from Dallas. 

"They would be my top two."

- Two-horse race -

For many, the choice reflects a balance between continuity and experience.

Vance's appeal lies in his alignment with Trump's movement and personal story -- growing up in poverty in an Appalachian community beset by opioid addiction.

"I loved JD Vance before he ever went into politics...I just loved his rags-to-riches story -- that it was somebody who saw a better way and went the better way," said Phillips.

Others pointed to his communication skills and ideological fluency.

"He's very articulate, very educated," said Laura McGarraugh, 52, an emergency room nurse from Austin. 

"He has a great grasp of any kind of questions he can field. He's a little more diplomatic than Trump. I mean, I like Trump too, but I feel like JD Vance is a little more clean-cut."

Even Vance's past criticism of Trump -- once a potential liability -- was brushed aside.

"People change. People evolve. I haven't kept the same opinions my whole life," McGarraugh said.

Rubio's supporters, by contrast, emphasized experience and steadiness -- particularly on the world stage.

"Marco Rubio is an outstanding statesman," said Brian Su, 60, a consultant from Chicago. 

"He has a very clear vision of dealing with international relations. So personally, I love him."

Phillips said she would ultimately lean toward Rubio, citing "his international diplomacy" and background as the son of immigrants.

- Loyalty still matters -

Despite the split, both candidates are judged through the same lens: their relationship to Trump and the movement he reshaped.

Neither is seen as a break from Trumpism. Instead, they are viewed as competing heirs.

That dynamic leaves little room -- for now -- for alternative figures to gain traction.

Levi Mikula, 35, a media assistant from Dallas, said he would prefer Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, even as he acknowledged that Rubio was more likely to prevail.

"I didn't trust (Rubio) early on, but he's been a lot stronger," Mikula said. "And I think Donald Trump is the reason for it. But on foreign policy, he's amazing right now."

A handful of attendees floated other possibilities, including candidates in Trump's anti-establishment mold -- or even, in some cases, a return by Trump himself, despite the constitutional barrier to a third term.

That lingering focus on Trump underscores the central tension shaping the race.

Even as activists begin to weigh successors, many are not ready to move on.

“We're hoping he will go for four more years," Phillips said. "But we have to face the fact that we’re facing the end of the Trump era."

ft/msp

A cyclone off Australia triggered outages at two of the world's largest LNG plants, energy giant Chevron said Friday as Middle East turmoil stoked soaring demand for the fuel.

The Gorgon and Wheatstone gas plants in Australia collectively supply more than five percent of the world's liquefied natural gas, according to Chevron figures. 

Both suffered outages on Thursday afternoon as Tropical Cyclone Narelle lurked off the coast of Western Australia. 

"Chevron Australia is working to restore production at the Gorgon and Wheatstone gas facilities following production outages," Chevron said in a statement. 

"We will resume full production at both facilities once it is safe to do so."

The Gorgon gas plant -- which is the larger of the two  -- was continuing to operate at a reduced capacity, Chevron said.

It was not immediately clear to what extent supply might be impacted.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle was inching towards the coast of Western Australia on Friday morning, according to the government Bureau of Meteorology.  

The category four system was forecast to bring "destructive wind gusts and heavy rainfall" to some coastal areas, the bureau said. 

A sprawling industrial complex sitting just off Australia's western coast, the Gorgon plant is capable of pumping out more than 15 million metric tonnes of gas each year. 

At full capacity, the smaller Wheatstone project produces almost nine million metric tonnes.

- Major disruptions -

Australia is one of the world's largest LNG exporters -- and is a particularly crucial supplier to import-reliant northern Asia. 

Some 40 percent of Japan's LNG comes from Australia, according to the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association. 

The US-Israel war on Iran has caused major disruptions to global supplies of both oil and LNG. 

Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG producer, has seen LNG exports plunge as fuel tankers steer clear of the Strait of Hormuz.

LNG prices in some parts of Asia have more than doubled.

Chevron is one of two major natural gas producers in Western Australia, alongside Woodside Energy.

Between them, the two companies account for more than 15 percent of international natural gas exports.

With LNG profits set to soar on the back of the Middle East crisis, Australia is reportedly mulling a new windfall tax on fuel exporters.

sft/ane

A US federal judge on Thursday suspended sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump's administration on Anthropic, saying the measures likely violated the law in blacklisting the AI powerhouse for expressing unease about the Pentagon's use of its technology.

In the northern district of California, Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic's request for a preliminary injunction in its suit against the government, freezing a presidential order that barred all federal agencies from using Anthropic technology.

The ruling also suspends a Pentagon designation of Anthropic, the creator of the Claude AI model, as a national security supply chain risk -- a label typically reserved for organizations from unfriendly foreign countries.

The designation not only blocks use of the company's technology by the Pentagon, but also requires all defense vendors and contractors to certify that they do not use Anthropic's models in their work with the department.

The dispute erupted last month after Anthropic infuriated Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth by insisting its technology should not be used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons systems.

Hegseth said on X that Anthropic had "delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon."

The tech sector has largely supported Anthropic in the wake of the punitive measures, which were suspended for seven days by Thursday's ruling to allow the government ample time to file an emergency appeal in the short term.

At a hearing earlier this week, Lin said she was concerned that the government was "trying to punish Anthropic...for criticizing the government's contracting position in the press" -- which would be a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of expression.

In her ruling, she said the government's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was "likely both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious."

"Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the US for expressing disagreement with the government," she wrote.

Lin also cited other "serious procedural problems with the government's actions" as reasons for issuing the injunction.

bl/sst/msp

There is a lot of history between the Mizzou and Texas A&M baseball teams. The duo is set to face off for the 100th time Friday in Columbia.

After a six-game stretch on the road, Mizzou is returning home for a weekend set against No. 25 Texas A&M, which served up the Tigers' only Southeastern Conference wins in the 2025 campaign.  

Mizzou is already in a better position than last year. The Tigers earned their first SEC win in the series opener on the road against then-No. 23 Tennessee last weekend. They didn't earn an SEC win until May 9 in the 2025 season. 

The key to success for Mizzou this weekend will be capitalizing on runners in scoring position. There has been no shortage of base runners in the last few games, but getting them across the plate has been something Mizzou has struggled with. 

In the two midweek games against Illinois and Lindenwood, the Tigers left 17 runners on base and even blew a bases-loaded opportunity against Lindenwood on Wednesday. 

Designated hitter Jase Woita leads the offense with a .376 batting average and 32 hits, with 29 RBI. An offensive slump has hindered Tyler Macon, who previously led the country in hits. He has just one hit in the last two weeks and has recorded just three RBI in the month of March.

The usual weekend starting trio of lefty Javyn Pimental, righty Josh McDevitt and lefty Brady Kehlenbrink have been dominant in conference play. Pimental, who has an extensive injury history, will miss his Friday start and McDevitt will pitch in his place for the series opener. 

Kelenbrink is tied at 21st nationally in strikeouts, with 47. Despite the high strikeout numbers, he enters Saturday's game with a 4.91 ERA. Kehlenbrink tends to struggle late in starts and give up too many free bases. His Friday night counterpart McDevitt owns a 3.19 ERA and has given up just 11 runs in his six starts this season. 

Aggies in CoMo

The Tigers have a 16-15 home record against Texas A&M. The last time Texas A&M came to Columbia, it lost the series 2-1 in 2021 and only took the series opener. 

Caden Sorrell has been the undeniable force for the Aggies this season, leading the team with a .386 batting average, 34 hits, 29 runs and 39 RBI. He also sits fourth in the SEC in home runs with 12. 

It's not just him, however. The Texas A&M offense is ranked 22nd in batting average in the NCAA. The Aggies have five hitters batting above .300 and have outscored their opponents 226-100 this season. 

The pitching staff will also be hard to beat for Texas A&M. It ranks 16th in the NCAA with a 1.21 WHIP and ranks first in walks per nine innings with 2.44. The Aggies will start a trio of lefty Shane Sdao, righty Weston Moss and lefty Aiden Sims. They have a combined ERA of 4.75 and batting average against of .238. 

The Tigers and Aggies will take the field at 6 p.m. Friday in Columbia for Game 1 of the series and the 100th all-time matchup. 

Italy will face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the 2026 World Cup after beating Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday, as Wales and the Republic of Ireland suffered agonising penalty shootout defeats in their qualifying play-off semi-finals.

Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean struck second-half goals in Bergamo to keep four-time World Cup winners Italy on track to end a 12-year absence from the tournament.

Italy missed the last two editions in Russia and Qatar but Tonali's powerful drive and an excellent finish from Kean nudged Gennaro Gattuso's team a step closer to a return to international football's biggest stage.

"We had to work hard because it was not easy tonight," said Gattuso.

"We knew this game would be tough, all we can do now is try to recharge the batteries."

Italy will take on Bosnia in Zenica next Tuesday. A late header from 40-year-old Edin Dzeko cancelled out Dan James' superb opener for Wales and forced extra time in Cardiff, where Bosnia scraped through 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

"We're lost for words. We prepared as well as we could have and I thought we played well," Wales captain Ethan Ampadu told the BBC.

"We can hold our heads up high because we fought for everything, sometimes in life things don't go your way."

Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick in Sweden's 3-1 win over Ukraine.

Arsenal striker Gyokeres netted his first goals of the qualifying campaign to lead Sweden to the brink of the finals, despite a dismal group stage in which they picked up just two points in six matches.

Sweden got another chance as a result of their UEFA Nations League performances and Gyokeres turned in from close range early on against Ukraine, unable to play at home because of the war with Russia and instead having to move the tie to neutral ground in Valencia, Spain.

Gyokeres tucked away his second six minutes after the break and converted a penalty to complete his treble and seal victory for Graham Potter's team, with Matvii Ponomarenko grabbing a late consolation for Ukraine.

- Lewandowski inspires Poland comeback -

Sweden will play Poland in Stockholm for one of four remaining European tickets to the World Cup.

Robert Lewandowski helped Poland come from behind to scrape past Albania 2-1 after Arber Hoxha gave the visitors the lead in Warsaw.

Lewandowski headed in from a corner to bring Poland level with his 89th goal for his country before Piotr Zielinski grabbed the winner.

Czech Republic goalkeeper Matej Kovar saved two penalties in a shootout to steer his team past Ireland in Prague.

Ireland looked well placed for a first trip to the World Cup since 2002 as Troy Parrott's penalty and own goal by Kovar put them 2-0 ahead.

Patrik Schick pulled a goal back from the spot and Ladislav Krejci powered in a header on 86 minutes to level at 2-2 and send the semi-final to extra time.

Finn Azaz and Alan Browne both missed in the shootout as the Czechs lined up a showdown at home to a rampant Denmark.

"Just pain. We all feel pain. When you go this far it's a flip of a coin. Just pain we feel being that close," Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson told RTE.

The Danes eased to a 4-0 victory over North Macedonia in Copenhagen with all the goals coming in the second half. Mikkel Damsgaard broke the deadlock and Gustav Isaksen scored twice in as many minutes before Christian Norgaard added a fourth.

Kosovo are on the brink of a first appearance at any major tournament following a wild 4-3 win away to Slovakia.

Slovakia twice led in Bratislava through goals from Martin Valjent and Lukas Haraslin, but Kosovo fought back with efforts from Veldin Hodza and Fisnik Asllani.

Kosovo, who were only admitted to UEFA and FIFA competitions a decade ago, then went in front courtesy of Florent Muslija and got another goal from Kreshnik Hajrizi.

David Strelec's stoppage-time strike wasn't enough to deny Kosovo, who will host Turkey for the right to go to the World Cup.

Ferdi Kadioglu scored a second-half winner for Turkey in a 1-0 victory over Romania in their play-off semi-final in Istanbul.

Turkey, quarter-finalists at Euro 2024, are bidding to reach the showpiece tournament for the first time since finishing third in South Korea and Japan 24 years ago.

mw/as

Bolivia produced a second-half fightback to shatter Suriname's unlikely dream of World Cup qualification with a 2-1 victory in their FIFA playoff game in Mexico on Thursday.

A 79th-minute penalty from Santos striker Miguel Terceros following an equalizer from teenage substitute Moises Paniagua fired Bolivia into a winner-take-all final playoff against Iraq next Tuesday.

Suriname, who had been bidding to become the lowest ranked team in history to qualify for the World Cup, had taken the lead in the 48th minute when Liam van Gelderen bundled home a close-range finish at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey.

That goal looked like being enough to secure victory for the former Dutch colony, who are ranked 123rd in the world and are made up mostly of players from the Netherlands of Surinamese descent.

But Bolivia, who are chasing their first World Cup appearance since the 1994 finals in the USA, began to dominate as the second half drew on, and were thrown a lifeline when the 18-year-old Paniagua's low shot made it 1-1 after 72 minutes.

Six minutes later, an adventurous burst down the right flank from Bolivia fullback Diego Medina sowed panic in the Suriname defense.

Medina's low cross found substitute Juan Sinforiano Godoy who was tripped by Suriname defender Myenty Abena.

Australian referee Alireza Faghani pointed to the spot and after a brief delay, Terceros stepped up to drill in the spot kick and make it 2-1.

Bolivia now face Iraq next Tuesday with the winner advancing to the World Cup's Group I alongside France, Noway and Senegal at this year's finals in Mexico, Canada and the United States.

rcw/bb

Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes was sent to the exit after two-thirds of an inning while other pitchers and new technology created a historic Thursday of Major League Baseball season openers.

The New York Mets sent Pirates star Skenes packing early in an 11-7 home victory.

Most clubs began their 2026 campaign on Thursday, with the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers starting their quest for a World Series three-peat at home later against Arizona.

Pittsburgh's Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Skenes boasted an earned-run average of 1.97 -- the lowest for any Pirates starter since 1920 -- last year.

But the 23-year-old right-hander was blasted off the mound by the Mets in the shortest outing of his career.

Brett Baty's three-run triple powered a five-run first inning for the host Mets. A Marcus Semien single scored Baty and Skenes was pulled.

MLB history was made in the third inning at Citi Field when the first successful Automated Ball-Strike challenge in a Major League game was made by Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez.

Alvarez challenged a full-count fastball thrown by Freddy Peralta to Oneil Cruz and called a ball on the outside edge of the strike zone. The call was overturned by the new "robot umpire" system for strike three and the second out of the inning.

Francisco Lindor walked and scored three times, Juan Soto had two hits and a walk and Luis Robert added two hits and drove in two runs for the Mets.

Milwaukee pitcher Jacob Misiorowski surrendered a leadoff homer to the visiting Chicago White Sox, then the 23-year-old right-hander struck out 11 batters over the first five innings to set a Brewers opening-day record for strikeouts, eclipsing the mark of eight set by Ben Sheets the day before Misiorowski was born in 2002.

He is the youngest pitcher with 10 or more strikeouts on an MLB opening day since Seattle's Félix Hernández in 2007 at age 20.

Misiorowski's effort helped the Brewers beat the White Sox 14-2.

Japan's Munetaka Murakami blasted his first MLB homer in the ninth for the White Sox.

Homers by Joey Wiemer, Jacob Young and Brady House powered the Washington Nationals to a 10-4 triumph at the Chicago Cubs.

Colton Cowser's sacrifice fly and Blaze Alexander's single each drove in a run in the seventh inning to lift host Baltimore over Minnesota 2-1.

- McGonigle's big debut -

Detroit's Kevin McGonigle hit a two-run double down the right-field line on the first pitch he saw in his MLB career to help the Tigers win 8-2 at San Diego.

McGonigle was only the second Tiger, after Billy Bean in 1987, and 25th MLB player ever with four hits in his MLB debut.

Detroit's Tarik Skubal, a 29-year-old left-hander chasing his third consecutive American League Cy Young Award, struck out six and allowed only three hits in six innings for the victory.

Boston left-hander Garrett Crochet struck out eight and allowed only three hits in six scoreless innings as the Red Sox won 3-0 at Cincinnati.

Kyle Schwarber smacked a two-run homer in the first inning and Alec Bohm added a three-run homer in the fifth in Philadelphia's 5-3 home victory over Texas.

Jose Soriano struck out seven batters and allowed only two hits in six shutout innings as the Los Angeles Angels opened the season with a 3-0 victory at Houston.

Alec Burleson's two-run homer capped an eight-run sixth inning and made the difference in a 9-7 St. Louis home victory over Tampa Bay.

js/bb

US paper currency will soon bear Donald Trump's signature, the Treasury Department announced Thursday, in a move that would be a first for a sitting American president and coincide with the country's 250th anniversary.

Historically, the signatures on dollar bills belong to those of the Treasurer of the United States and the secretary of the Treasury. But the upcoming new bills will feature those of Trump and current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

"Under President Trump's leadership, we are on a path toward unprecedented economic growth, lasting dollar dominance, and fiscal strength and stability," Bessent said in a statement announcing the decision.

"There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than US dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial," he added.

The move would be the latest effort by Trump to circumvent longstanding practice and put his mark on American currency.

Last week, an advisory commission hand-picked by Trump approved the design of a commemorative gold coin featuring his image -- also intended to mark the 250th anniversary of the July 4, 1776 founding of the United States.

One side of it shows a glaring Trump standing with his fists bunched on a desk, and the other features an eagle perched with wings spread on what appears to be a bell.

The coin does not have a monetary value and its sale price has not been disclosed, but similar commemorative coins sold by the US Mint can cost more than $1,000.

The move to put Trump's countenance on a coin -- which runs counter to federal law that says no living president may appear on US currency -- has been criticized by his Democratic opponents.

But Trump has pressed ahead with other deeply controversial designs as well, including one bearing Trump's face on a $1 coin that would be temporarily added to circulating currency, and which would also celebrate the nation's 250th birthday.

mlm/sst