Tag: Donald Trump

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Trump to slap allies Japan, South Korea with 25% tariffs

President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25 per cent on Japan and South Korea on Monday, stepping up pressure on the two key US allies and a dozen other economies to reach trade deals with Washington.

Trump issued similar letters to South Africa, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Kazakhstan, saying he would slap duties on their products ranging from 25 per cent to 40 per cent.

The president had said at the weekend that, starting from Monday, he would send a first batch of letters to countries informing them that he would reimpose harsh levies earlier postponed in April.

In near-identically worded letters to Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said the tariff hikes came as their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”

The tariffs set out in Trump’s latest letters are due to take effect on August 1. He warned of further escalation if the countries involved retaliated against the duties.

Currently, the affected countries have been hit with a 10 per cent levy Trump imposed on almost all trading partners.

But Trump said he was ready to lower the new levels if countries changed their trade policies: “We will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter.”

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that Trump would sign an order later in the day to delay his original July 9 deadline for steeper tariffs to take effect – postponing their imposition to August 1.

She added that besides Japan and South Korea, there would be approximately 12 other partners receiving letters from Trump soon.

With the deadline extension, Leavitt noted that Trump would set out the “reciprocal tariff rate” for partners in the coming month as negotiations continue.

Trump originally announced sweeping tariffs on world economies on what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2, claiming the United States was being “ripped off.”

Amid market turmoil, he then suspended the initial tariffs for 90 days, a deadline that would have expired Wednesday without the latest extension.

While the Trump administration had signalled hopes of striking dozens of deals by July – at one point boasting of “90 deals in 90 days”- there have been limited results so far.

Washington has unveiled pacts with only Britain and Vietnam, while the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other’s products that earlier reached three digits. (Punch)

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White House to host UFC fight, Trump announces

The White House will host a UFC bout next year as part of events to mark 250 years of American independence, US President Donald Trump has announced.

The event will be a “championship fight” with an audience of 20,000-25,000, Trump told a crowd in Iowa on Thursday.

The president, who is a friend of UFC president Dana White, said: “We are going to have some incredible events, some professional events, some amateur events.”

Trump has attended several UFC events, including UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, last month, where he was pictured watching a fight with White.

Addressing the crowd during an appearance at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Trump said: “Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White? We’re going to have a UFC fight. We’re going to have a UFC fight – think of this – on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there.”

Following Trump’s announcement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the plans on X, writing: “It’s going to be EPIC!”

Trump’s links to UFC date back more than 20 years. In 2001, he hosted a UFC fight at Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City when White was struggling to find a venue.

White has backed the president’s political career from the beginning, endorsing his presidential bid in 2016, calling Trump a “fighter”.

Following a failed assassination attempt on Trump last year, White described Trump as a “tough guy” and “the legitimate, ultimate, American badass of all time”.

Trump suggested the UFC event would be one of many to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence on 4 July next year.

He said: “Every one of our national parks, battlefields and historic sites are going to have special events in honour of America250.” (Punch)

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Ukraine fears increased Russian aggression after US halt of weapons supply

Kyiv has warned that an interruption of US weapons shipments will encourage Russia to prolong the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

On Tuesday the White House said it had cut off some weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

The decision was taken “to put America’s interests first” following a defence department review of US “military support and assistance to other countries”, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the two countries were now “clarifying all the details on supplies”, while the foreign ministry warned any delays “would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace”.

The ministry particularly emphasised the need for Kyiv to strengthen its air defences – as Russia continues to pummel the country with missiles and drones on a near-nightly basis.

A Kyiv-based US diplomat was invited to the foreign ministry for talks on Wednesday.

However, Ukraine’s defence ministry said it had not received any official notification from the US about the “suspension or revision” of the weapons deliveries, and urged people not to speculate on the basis of partial information.

But in a statement the defence ministry also said the path to ending the war was “through consistent and joint pressure on the aggressor”.

At the weekend Ukraine endured its biggest aerial attack since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with more than 500 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles launched at its cities.

US officials did not immediately say which shipments were being halted.

According to American broadcaster NBC, the weapons being delayed could include Patriot interceptors, Howitzer munitions, missiles and grenade launchers.

The US has sent tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, leading some in the Trump administration to voice concerns that US stockpiles are too low.

The Kremlin, for its part, welcomed news of the reduction in weapons shipments, saying reducing the flow of weapons to Kyiv will help end the conflict faster.

“The fewer the number of weapons that are delivered to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Fedir Venislavskyi, an MP for Ukraine’s ruling party, said the decision was “painful, and against the background of the terrorist attacks which Russia commits against Ukraine… it’s a very unpleasant situation”.

A Ukrainian military source quoted by the AFP news agency said Kyiv was “seriously dependent on American arms supplies, although Europe is doing its best, but it will be difficult for us without American ammunition”.

Ukraine’s European allies have spent billions in military aid over the last three-and-a-half years.

However, military support for Kyiv is not endorsed by everyone on the political spectrum.

Czech President and former top Nato official, Petr Pavel, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine – but he told BBC Russian he could “not guarantee” continued ammunition support for Kyiv, as that was dependent on the result of forthcoming Czech elections.

“I don’t know what will be the priorities of a new government,” he said.

The Pentagon’s move is based on concerns that US military stockpiles are falling too low, a source told CBS News, although Anna Kelly stressed “the strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned – just ask Iran”.

Separately, the US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, said in a statement the Pentagon “continues to provide the President with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine”.

However, he added “the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces’ readiness for Administration defence priorities”.

The pause comes less than a week after President Donald Trump discussed air defences with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Nato summit in the Netherlands.

Trump said US officials “are going to see if we can make some of them available” when asked by the BBC about providing extra Patriot anti-missile systems to Ukraine.

Referring to his conversation with Zelensky, Trump said: “We had a little rough times sometimes, but he couldn’t have been nicer.”

The two had a heated confrontation in the Oval Office in February. Afterwards, Trump said he was pausing military aid to Ukraine that had been earmarked by the previous Biden administration. Intelligence sharing with Ukraine was also suspended. (BBC)

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Trump says Israel has agreed to conditions for 60-day Gaza ceasefire

Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalise a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, US President Donald Trump has said.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that during the proposed ceasefire the US would “work with all parties to end the War”.He did not provide details on what the ceasefire would entail.

“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope… that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump wrote.

Israel has not confirmed it agreed to the conditions of a deal. A Hamas official told the BBC the group is “ready and serious” to reach an agreement if it ends the war.

Hamas is “prepared to agree to any proposal if the requirements for ending the war are clearly met or if they lead to its complete end,” said Taher al-Nunu.

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar posted on X that there is majority support in the government “for a framework to release hostages,” and this opportunity “must not be missed.”

For Israel, the key component of any deal will have to be the release of most, if not all, hostages still being held in Gaza.

Of the 50 or so hostages remaining in captivity, more than 20 are still thought to be alive and their plight has been at the forefront of regular demonstrations in Israel calling for an end to the war.

A recent Israeli newspaper poll suggested that a significant majority of Israelis want the war to end – but polling on Wednesday, from the Israel Democracy Institute, also suggests that most Israelis still don’t trust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or his intentions.

Netanyahu has for months insisted on “complete victory” over Hamas before ending the war. It’s unclear if his position will now change under renewed pressure from Washington – and the answer could be pivotal to reaching a deal.

Trump’s announcement comes before a meeting with Netanyahu scheduled for next week, in which the US president has said he would be “very firm”.

He earlier said that he believed Netanyahu wanted to end hostilities in Gaza. “He wants to. I can tell you he wants to. I think we’ll have a deal next week,” Trump said.

Hamas has already indicated it would be willing to agree to a ceasefire if it led to the end of the war. But without that provision, Hamas negotiators might question the value of releasing all the hostages if the Israeli military is likely to resume bombing Gaza.

Another consideration before an agreement can be signed – perhaps while Netanyahu is in Washington next week – is Hamas’s demand for a partial Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, at least for the duration of the ceasefire.

The international community is also likely to lobby hard for the resumption of full-scale UN-backed aid deliveries into Gaza.

Prior to Trump’s announcement, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the BBC Israel was “absolutely” ready for a ceasefire.

Speaking on the BBC News channel, Danon said that Hamas was “playing hardball”.

“We are putting pressure on Hamas, and if they will not come to the table, the only option we will have to bring back the hostages, is to apply more military pressure,” Danon said.

“The war will end when the hostages are back home,” he added.

Last week, a senior Hamas official told the BBC mediators have increased efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, but that negotiations with Israel remain stalled. (BBC)

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Paramount to pay Trump $16m to settle 60 Minutes lawsuit

US media company Paramount Global has agreed to pay $16 million (£13.5m) to settle a legal dispute with US President Donald Trump regarding an interview it broadcast on CBS with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump filed a lawsuit last October, alleging the network had deceptively edited an interview that aired on its 60 Minutes news programme with his presidential election rival Kamala Harris, to “tip the scales in favour of the Democratic party”.

Paramount said it would pay to settle the suit, but with the money allocated to Trump’s future presidential library, not paid to him “directly or indirectly”.

The company noted the settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret.

CBS, which is owned by Paramount, previously said the case was “completely without merit” and had asked a judge to dismiss it.

The settlement marks the latest concession by a US media company to a president who has targeted outlets over what he describes as false or misleading coverage.

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Texas, CBS aired two versions of the Harris interview in which she appeared to give different answers to the same question about the Israel-Gaza war.

Interviewer Bill Whitaker asked the Democratic nominee about the Biden administration’s relationship with Israel. The network later aired two different versions of her response, according to the claim.

One clip aired on Face the Nation and the other on 60 Minutes. Trump claimed Harris’s “word salad” answer had been deceptively edited in one version to shield her from backlash.

CBS said it edited Harris’s answer for time, in accordance with television news standards.

Trump sued, originally claiming for $10bn (£8.5bn) but that figure was later increased to $20bn ($17bn) for damages.

In May this year, the company offered $15m (12.7m) to settle the suit but Trump wanted more than $25m (£21m).

In a statement released on Tuesday, Paramount confirmed the settlement fee included the president’s legal fees, and that it had agreed that 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with future presidential candidates.

According to both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, the settlement was agreed – with the help of mediator – so as to not affect Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance Media, which the Federal Communications Commission has been reviewing and therefore Trump technically has the power to halt.

During the month-long settlement talks, some CBS News executives including chief executive Wendy McMahon have left their roles, due to their unwillingness to issue an apology to Trump.

There were also reportedly concerns over whether paying to settle the lawsuit could be viewed as bribing a public official.

A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said the settlement was “another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit.”

He added that CBS and Paramount “realised the strength of this historic case.”

CBS has said the broadcast was “not doctored or deceitful”.

The Paramount settlement follows a decision by Walt Disney-owned ABC News to settle a defamation case brought by Trump. (BBC)

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Iran attacks Al Udeid Air Base housing US troops in Qatar

Iran has said it launched an attack on United States forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, after Tehran said it would retaliate against the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, with the Qatari authorities saying missiles were successfully intercepted.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officially confirmed on Monday that it launched a retaliatory missile attack targeting the Al Udeid base, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports. Tasnim said the operation is called “Annunciation of Victory”.

US military officials said that Al Udeid Air Base was the only US military base targeted by Iran, according to the Reuters news agency. The official confirmed there was no impact on the base just outside Qatar’s capital, Doha. A US defence official added that “Al Udeid Air Base was attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran today”.

“At this time, there are no reports of US casualties. We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available,” the official said.

Following the attack, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a post X that “we have not violated anyone’s rights, and we will not under any circumstances accept any violation against us, nor will we surrender to anyone’s aggression; this is the logic of the Iranian nation.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later added that the country is ready to respond again if the US takes any further action, according to a statement posted on Telegram.

United States President Donald Trump said Iran had “a very weak response” and thanked the country’s leadership for providing “early notice” of the retaliatory attack.

“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured.”

Flares were visible over Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Monday. It was initially not immediately known if this was the air defence system or missiles.

Loud explosions were also heard, although so far no injuries have been reported. Qatar’s Ministry of Defence says its air defence systems successfully intercepted missiles targeting Al Udeid Air Base.

In a statement, the ministry said the incident resulted in no deaths or injuries, crediting “the vigilance of the armed forces and precautionary measures taken”.

Qatar has confirmed that a total of 19 missiles were fired from Iran. It added that only one of those hit Al Udeid Air Base but caused no casualties. (AlJazeera)

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Trump tariffs can stay in place for now, appeals court rules

US President Donald Trump can keep collecting import taxes, an appeals court has ruled, a day after a trade ruling found the sweeping global tariffs to be illegal.

A federal appeals court granted a bid from the White House to temporarily suspend the lower court’s order, which ruled that Trump had overstepped his power by imposing the international duties.

Wednesday’s judgement from the US Court of International Trade drew the ire of Trump officials, who said it was an example of judicial overreach.

Small businesses and a group of states had challenged the measures, which are at the heart of Trump’s economic and international agendas.US President Donald Trump can keep collecting import taxes, an appeals court has ruled, a day after a trade ruling found the sweeping global tariffs to be illegal.

A federal appeals court granted a bid from the White House to temporarily suspend the lower court’s order, which ruled that Trump had overstepped his power by imposing the international duties.

Wednesday’s judgement from the US Court of International Trade drew the ire of Trump officials, who said it was an example of judicial overreach.

Small businesses and a group of states had challenged the measures, which are at the heart of Trump’s economic and international agendas.

In its appeal, the Trump administration said the decision issued by the trade court a day earlier had improperly second-guessed the president and threatened to unravel months of hard-fought trade negotiations.

“The political branches, not courts, make foreign policy and chart economic policy,” it said in the filing, which threatened to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court if the earlier ruling was not put on hold.

Shortly before Thursday’s tariff reprieve from the appeals court, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told a press briefing: “America cannot function if President Trump, or any other president, for that matter, has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges.” (BBC)

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President Trump signs order seeking to end federal funding for NPR and PBS

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to end federal funding for America’s two biggest public broadcasters, which have faced a series of attacks from the White House and Republican lawmakers accusing them of biased reporting.

The order instructs the CPB’s board to terminate direct funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to the “maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding.” It also orders the board to take steps to “minimize or eliminate” indirect funding to NPR and PBS.

The corporation, however, is a private entity that is supposed to be protected from government interference, including executive orders from the president. The corporation is currently suing Trump because the White House tried to terminate three of its board members earlier this week.

“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority,” the corporation’s CEO, Patricia Harrison, said in a statement. “Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.”

“The President’s blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years,” PBS CEO Paula Kerger said in a statement Friday morning. “We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans.”

Each year, the CPB disperses $535 million in taxpayer funds to public radio and TV stations nationwide and to producers of educational and cultural programming.

Stations, in turn, provide free and universal access to news, emergency alerts and a wide array of programming.

In Trump’s first term, his annual budget proposals zeroed out the funding for the corporation, but Congress always allocated the funds anyway – a reflection of the fact that national Republican opposition to NPR and PBS is countered by local support.

In Trump’s second term, he is being much more aggressive about trying to shut down the public broadcasters. The White House is alleging that the networks “spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”

PBS and NPR executives reject that, but they recognize that Trump feels emboldened to pursue their federal funding.

The White House has said it will soon ask Congress to claw back the money already allocated for the corporation over the next two years.

“These are funds that we were already counting on,” PBS CEO Paula Kerger said earlier this week, “because it’s already appropriated. So we’re anxious to see what they’re talking about and we will be responding very quickly.”

House speaker Mike Johnson said of the expected rescission proposal, “I don’t know what the final outcome is going to be, but I can tell there’s a lot of thoughtful debate about it.”

Trump’s executive order is another pursuit of the same goal – a zeroing out of federal funding for public media.

The order also directs Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to investigate NPR and PBS for possible employment discrimination, and it instructs the heads of all other federal agencies to “identify and terminate” any direct or indirect funding of the media organizations.

When Congress established the corporation in 1967, it specifically tried to insulate public media from political pressure.

The law said the corporation is a private entity, not a federal agency, “to afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control.”

The legislation expressly forbids the government from exercising “any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting.”

But Congress could choose to stop funding the corporation. In that case, bigger stations with lots of donors and other sources of revenue would survive, but smaller stations could be forced off the air, especially in rural areas that are Republican strongholds.

In many cases “these are the last locally owned broadcasters in these communities,” Ed Ulman, the CEO of Alaska Public Media, told CNN last month. (CNN)

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Kenyan president visits China as country pivots away from the US

Kenyan President William Ruto has begun a five-day state visit to China, signalling a deepening of strategic and economic ties between the nations. Ruto’s first state visit to China since taking office in 2022 is being viewed by some as a strategic shift amid evolving geopolitical dynamics.

Ruto is expected to seek funding for key infrastructure projects, including the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Malaba and a major highway project.

Deals worth €750 million have already been secured from seven Chinese companies, aimed at boosting Kenya’s manufacturing, agriculture and tourism sectors, according to Kenyan newspaper The Standard. 

Trade between China and Kenya is on the rise, with a reported 11.9 percent increase in the first quarter of 2025. China is Kenya’s largest trading partner and top import source, while Kenya is China’s biggest trade partner in East Africa.

President Xi Jinping is scheduled to host a welcome ceremony and banquet for Ruto, with discussions focused on strengthening cooperation within the Global South. Ruto has also expressed Kenya’s interest in joining the BRICS intergovernmental group of emerging economies.

Faced with stalled funding from the United States and trade friction, Kenya has turned to China, according to analysts.

Adhere Cavince, a Nairobi-based international relations researcher, quoted by Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, says that US tariffs and reduced aid have pushed Ruto to seek new markets and investment from China.

Cavince sees Ruto’s visit as a “symbolic” win for Beijing. “Beijing’s hosting of Ruto amid escalating geopolitical and trade tensions with the US is a win for China in terms of optics,” he said. “Nairobi is not just an option [for China], it is also a strong gateway to the rest of Africa.”

The Chinese foreign ministry said the visit will “contribute to deepening China’s relations with Kenya” and promote “solidarity and cooperation” within the Global South.

On 8 April, US President Donald Trump imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on Kenya, as part of a wide range of import tax measures.

Six days later, Beijing’s embassy in Nairobi took to X (formerly Twitter) to post an image of Communist China’s founder Mao Zedong and his 1946 remark that: “The US intimidates certain countries, stopping them from doing business with us. But America is just a paper tiger. Don’t believe it’s bluff. One poke, and it’ll burst.”

Meanwhile, Kenya is also pivoting away from European investors. On 11 April, Reuters reportedthat Nairobi will terminate a €1.3 billion highway expansion deal with a consortium led by France’s Vinci SA, with the project expected to go to a Chinese contractor instead.

The deal to turn 140km of single-lane road into a multilane highway linking the capital Nairobi to the Rift Valley city of Nakuru was signed in Paris in 2020, during a visit by then-President Uhuru Kenyatta. (RFI)

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Saudi Arabia slams Netanyahu’s suggestion it should host Palestinian state

Saudi Arabia has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that the kingdom’s land be used to establish a Palestinian state.

In a statement on Sunday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Netanyahu of attempting to “divert attention” from Israel’s ongoing “crimes” in Gaza, including “ethnic cleansing”.

“The kingdom affirms that the Palestinian people have a right to their land, and they are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes,” said the Foreign Ministry.

On Thursday, Netanyahu responded to an interviewer on Israel’s Channel 14 who misspoke by saying “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state”.

“The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” Netanyahu said.

The interviewer replied that it was an idea worth exploring.

The exchange drew angry reactions from Arab states, including Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, as well as the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

“These dangerous and irresponsible statements confirm the approach of the Israeli occupation forces in their disrespect for international and UN laws and treaties and the sovereignty of states,” said GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry thanked the “brotherly countries” for denouncing Netanyahu’s remarks.

Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza had already been upended by an earlier shock proposal from United States President Donald Trump for the US to “take over” and “own” Gaza, resettling Palestinians elsewhere in a move that would amount to ethnic cleansing. That suggestion, amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has also been roundly condemned by Arab leaders.

Trump has also said Saudi Arabia would not require the formation of a Palestinian state as a precondition to normalise ties with Israel, a claim Riyadh has repeatedly denied.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,700 Palestinians including about 18,000 children, and wrecked much of the enclave’s infrastructure. More than 14,000 more people are missing and are presumed to be dead.

The Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 that sparked the war killed 1,139 people and seized more than 250 captives, dozens of whom are still believed to be in the enclave. (AlJazeera)