Category Archives: Donald Trump

Macron calls on EU to ‘defend European interests resolutely’ from Trump tariffs

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French president says bloc should be ready for trade war after 30% tariff threat but other EU leaders call for calm

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called on the EU to “defend European interests resolutely” after Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on nearly all imports from the EU.

It came as the EU moved to de-escalate tensions after the blunt move by Trump on Saturday. The bloc declared a further pause on €21bn of retaliatory tariffs until 1 August, dovetailing with the US president’s new deal deadline.

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Rosie O’Donnell dismisses Trump’s threat to revoke her US citizenship

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Actor says she is latest in long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by US president

Rosie O’Donnell has shrugged off a threat from Donald Trump to revoke her US citizenship on the grounds that she is “a threat to humanity”.

The New York-born actor and comedian said on Sunday that she was the latest in a long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by the US president.

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Trump’s 10% tariff on most UK goods ‘here to stay’, says Lord Mandelson

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British ambassador to US believes universal levy unlikely to change but there is ‘scope’ for negotiations in some sectors

The 10% tariffs on most UK goods imported into the US are likely “here to stay”, according to Lord Mandelson.

The British ambassador to the US said the “universal 10% tariff” was unlikely to change but that there was “scope” for negotiations in different sectors and industries, such as technology.

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World Cup will use more indoor venues for day-time kick-offs to combat heat

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  • Infantino acts after player welfare fears at Club World Cup

  • ‘Heat is definitely an issue. We have covered stadiums’

Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has said indoor air-conditioned venues will be used as much as possible for day-time kick-offs at the 2026 World Cup to combat expected high temperatures. Concerns have been raised about player welfare during the Club World Cup in the US, which will co-host next year’s tournament with Canada and Mexico.

Enzo Fernández described conditions during Chelsea’s semi-final against Fluminense, when the temperature was 35C, as “very dangerous”.

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EU will be reeling over how to tackle trade talks after Trump’s 30% tariff threat

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Bloc had already backtracked from tough talk to seeking a bare bones deal – but US president has turned tables again

Second-guessing Donald Trump is a fool’s errand.

But Saturday’s shock threat to impose tariffs of 30% on the EU is a blow to the bloc’s confidence, which had already secretly capitulated during negotiations with diplomats revealing they had to sacrifice trade for the wider prize of security and defence of the continent.

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Donald Trump announces 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico

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The president made the announcement on social media, even as the EU was hoping for a trade agreement

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% US tariff rate starting 1 August, in letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The tariff assault on the EU came as a shock to European capitals as the European Commission and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer had spent months hammering out a deal they believed was acceptable to both sides.

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Netanyahu flies home without a Gaza peace deal but still keeps Trump onside

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Israeli PM manages to avoid breach with US president through high-profile assurances he is seeking end to war

Benjamin Netanyahu arrived back in Israel on Friday without a ceasefire in the Gaza war despite heady predictions from US and Israeli officials that this week could provide a breakthrough in negotiations. But he did not come home completely empty-handed.

The Israeli PM’s visit was his third since Donald Trump’s inauguration, with several high-profile meetings at the White House, a nomination for Trump to receive the Nobel peace prize, and suggestions from Trump and the special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that peace could be achieved in a week.

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Enduring confusion is the only certainty amid Trump’s latest tariff threats

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Experts suspect ‘frontloading’ of activity may have masked deeper impact of tariffs on the US economy

“There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,” Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform this week. “All money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 – no extensions will be granted.”

There had, in fact, been a change. The 90-day “pause” on the highest tariffs threatened by Trump on his so-called “liberation day” in April, elapsed on Wednesday. But with just three trade agreements in place, instead of the 300 once promised, the White House had switched one deadline for another.

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Trump expected to resume weapons deliveries to Ukraine through Nato allies

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President hints at ‘major announcement’ on Monday after halting arms shipments due to dwindling stockpiles

Donald Trump appears poised to deliver weapons to Ukraine by selling them first to Nato allies in a major policy shift for his administration amid frustrations with Vladimir Putin over stalling negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

During an interview with NBC News, Trump said he will probably have a “major announcement” on Russia on Monday and confirmed he had struck a deal with Nato leaders to supply weapons to Ukraine.

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Trump to tour Texas flood damage as disaster tests vow to shutter Fema

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Since disaster that has killed at least 120 people, Trump has remained quiet about promises to axe relief agency

As Donald Trump heads to Texas on Friday for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by catastrophic flooding, he has remained conspicuously quiet about his previous promises to do away with the federal agency in charge of disaster relief.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the Trump administration has backed away from plans to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but administration officials continue to dodge questions about the agency’s future and many are still calling for serious reforms, potentially sending much of its work to the states.

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Shunned Myanmar leader thrilled at US contact after Trump tariff letter

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Min Aung Hlaing expresses ‘sincere appreciation’ for letter from US president threatening 40% tariff

Myanmar’s military leader has praised Donald Trump and asked him to lift sanctions, as the junta sought to capitalise on a tariff letter from the US president believed to be Washington’s first public recognition of its rule.

Min Aung Hlaing, who has been in power since a 2021 coup, expressed his “sincere appreciation” for Trump’s letter, which threatened a tariff of 40% on its goods, and commended the US president for his “strong leadership” and for guiding the US “toward national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot”.

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US will impose 35% tariffs on Canadian imports, Trump says in letter

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New levies, apart from the 25% on auto parts and 50% on steel and aluminum, will come into effect on 1 August

Donald Trump has said the US will impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada next month and threatened to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trade partners.

In a letter released on his social media platform, Trump told Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, the new rate would go into effect on 1 August and would increase if Canada retaliated.

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Nick Adams: Trump picks former Sydney councillor and self-described ‘alpha male’ as Malaysia ambassador

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In 2023 posts on X, Adams listed interests including restaurant chain Hooters, rare steaks, ‘extremely’ heavy weights and the Bible

A former Sydney councillor and self-described “alpha male” has been picked by Donald Trump to be the new US ambassador to Malaysia, with the US president describing the Hooters fan as an “incredible patriot”.

In a post to X after his nomination, Nick Adams thanked the US president for the “honor of a lifetime”, saying that “In your America, all dreams come true”.

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Lobbyists linked to Donald Trump paid millions by world’s poorest countries

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Somalia, DR Congo and Yemen among states forced to sign deals and barter their minerals for aid or military support

Some of the world’s poorest countries have started paying millions to lobbyists linked to Donald Trump to try to offset US cuts to foreign aid, an investigation reveals.

Somalia, Haiti and Yemen are among 11 countries to sign significant lobbying deals with figures tied directly to the US president after he slashed US foreign humanitarian assistance.

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Trump announces 50% tariff on Brazil, citing a ‘witch-hunt’ against Bolsonaro

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Latest threats heighten fears that the president’s erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the US

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on products sent to the US, tying the move to what he called the “witch-hunt” trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Posting letters on Truth Social, the US president had earlier in the day targeted seven other countries – the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka – for stiff US tariffs on foreign exports starting on 1 August.

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Trump praises English of the leader of Liberia – where English is the official language

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Trump inquired where Liberian president Joseph Boakai got his language skills during meeting with African leaders

Donald Trump was basking in the praise of a group of African leaders on Wednesday, when the Liberian president took the microphone.

“Liberia is a longtime friend of the United States and we believe in your policy of making America great again,” President Joseph Boakai said in English at a White House meeting before advocating for US investment in his country. “We just want to thank you so much for this opportunity.”

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Trump sues California over transgender athletes in girls’ school sports

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Justice department says state policy violates Title IX, which offers legal protection against sex discrimination

The Trump administration has sued California over its policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ school sports, alleging that their participation violates federal anti-discrimination laws.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, claims that California’s policies violate Title IX, which affords legal protection against sex discrimination.

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Has the Trump-Putin bromance finally run its course?

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US president appears to have run out of patience with his Russian counterpart – but how that transmits into practical support for Kyiv remains to be seen

“I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now,” Trump said, expressing his frustration with the Russian leader over the war in Ukraine. “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin … He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

It may not have been Churchillian in oratorical flourish, and with Trump everything is capable of being reversed in hours, but possibly, just possibly, the rupture between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has happened. If so it is a transformatory moment, and a vindication for both Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives in Rome for the annual Ukraine reconstruction conference and for those others, notably the British and the French governments, who have patiently helped the scales to fall from Trump’s eyes about Putin’s true intentions. At long last and after many false starts, the US president seems to have accepted he is unpersuadable on ending the war.

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US supreme court clears way for Trump officials to resume mass government firings

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Justices lift lower court order that froze ‘reductions in force’ federal layoffs while litigation in case proceeded

The US supreme court has cleared the way for Donald Trump’s administration to resume plans for mass firings of federal workers that critics warn could threaten critical government services.

Extending a winning streak for the US president, the justices on Tuesday lifted a lower court order that had frozen sweeping federal layoffs known as “reductions in force” while litigation in the case proceeds.

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Qatar dashes hopes of rapid Gaza ceasefire, saying talks ‘will need time’

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Comments suggest obstacle to Trump’s wish to announce deal during Netanyahu’s Washington visit

Progress towards a ceasefire in Gaza has been slow, officials in Qatar say, dashing hopes of a rapid end to hostilities in the devastated Palestinian territory.

The new round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday, after both sides accepted a broad US-sponsored outline of a deal for an initial 60-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the 21-month conflict.

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