
Donald Trump threatens to impose 100% tariffs on Russia's allies, Kremlin says it doesn't respond to ultimatums
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that Moscow is ready to negotiate, but warned that Russia 'did not warm to ultimatums.' The Kremlin has not formally responded to the 50-day deadline, but Ryabkov's statement signals reluctance to engage under threat.
The tariffs, Trump warned, would be 'biting' and 'very, very powerful.' He added, 'we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent — you'd call them secondary tariffs.'
Trump has previously floated the idea of secondary sanctions, targeting countries that continue doing business with Russia, as a way to isolate Moscow from global trade networks. 'We've been very successful in settling wars with trade,' Trump said, citing India-Pakistan and Rwanda–DR Congo as examples.
Alongside the tariff warning, Trump confirmed a major NATO weapons deal to support Ukraine, including shipments of US-made Patriot missile systems. He said 'billions of dollars' worth of military equipment' would be purchased by NATO allies from the US and 'quickly distributed to the battlefield.'
Countries involved in the deal include Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada, according to Rutte, who emphasised, that 'speed is of the essence here.' Trump added that 'one country has 17 Patriot systems getting ready to be shipped,' and confirmed that Norway would be among those contributing batteries.
'This is only the first wave,' said Rutte, suggesting more arms will follow. The Patriot missile system is the only one in Ukraine's arsenal capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. Rutte said the deal would be structured to account for US military stockpile needs.
Russia, meanwhile, has escalated its aerial attacks on Ukraine. Hundreds of Iranian-designed suicide drones along with cruise and ballistic missiles have struck civilian and military infrastructure in recent weeks. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, June saw the highest number of civilian casualties in three years — with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.
Ukraine's air defence systems have been under strain. While the country maintains an interception rate around 70 per cent, the volume of attacks means dozens of drones and several missiles are still hitting targets. The UN said Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June 2025 than in June 2024.
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First Post
2 minutes ago
- First Post
Another win for Trump in Senate, bill to cut spending by $9 bn in foreign aid & broadcasting passed
In another legislative victory for US President Donald Trump, the Senate has passed a bill cutting around $9 billion of federal funds to public broadcasting and foreign aid. read more Advertisement US President Donald Trump delivers address at US military parade in Washington DC. AP The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid, moving forward on one of the president's top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators. The legislation, which now moves to the House, would have a tiny impact on the nation's rising debt but could have major ramifications for the targeted spending, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to US food aid programs abroad. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It also could complicate efforts to pass additional spending bills this year, as Democrats and even some Republicans have argued they are ceding congressional spending powers to Trump with little idea of how the White House Office of Management and Budget would apply the cuts. The 51-48 vote came after 2 am Thursday after Democrats sought to remove many of the proposed rescissions during 12 hours of amendment votes. None of the Democratic amendments were adopted. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, said Republicans were using the president's rescissions request to target wasteful spending. He said it is a 'small but important step for fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue'. But Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the bill 'has a big problem — nobody really knows what program reductions are in it.' Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined Democrats in voting against the legislation. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader, had voted against moving forward with the bill in a Tuesday procedural vote, saying he was concerned the Trump White House wanted a 'blank check', but he ultimately voted for final passage. The effort to claw back a sliver of federal spending comes after Republicans also muscled Trump's big tax and spending cut bill to approval without any Democratic support. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that measure will increase future federal deficits by about $3.3 trillion over the coming decade. Lawmakers clash over cuts to public radio and TV stations Along with Democrats, Collins and Murkowski both expressed concerns about the cuts to public broadcasting, saying they could affect important rural stations in their states. Murkowski said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday that the stations are 'not just your news — it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Less than a day later, as the Senate debated the bill, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the remote Alaska Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings on local public broadcasting stations that advised people to get to higher ground. The situation is 'a reminder that when we hear people rant about how public broadcasting is nothing more than this radical, liberal effort to pollute people's minds, I think they need to look at what some of the basic services are to communities', Murkowski said. The legislation would claw back nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it's due to receive during the next two budget years. The corporation distributes more than 70 per cent of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some funding administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidize Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But Kate Riley, president and CEO of America's Public Television Stations, a network of locally owned and operated stations, said that deal was 'at best a short-term, half-measure that will still result in cuts and reduced service at the stations it purports to save, while leaving behind all other stations, including many that serve Native populations'. Slashing billions of dollars from foreign aid The legislation would also claw back about $8 billion in foreign aid spending. Among the cuts are $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation and family reunification for those who flee their own countries and $496 million to provide food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts. There also is a $4.15 billion cut for programs that aim to boost economies and democratic institutions in developing nations. Democrats argued the Trump administration's animus toward foreign aid programs would hurt America's standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to fill. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the amount of money it takes to save a starving child or prevent the transmission of disease is miniscule, even as the investments secure cooperation with the US on other issues. The cuts being made to foreign aid programs through Trump's Department of Government Efficiency were having life-and-death consequences around the world, he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'People are dying right now, not in spite of us but because of us,' Schatz said. 'We are causing death.' After objections from several Republicans, GOP leaders took out a $400 million cut to PEPFAR, a politically popular program to combat HIV/AIDS that is credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under then-President George W Bush. Looking ahead to future spending fights Democrats say the bill upends a legislative process that typically requires lawmakers from both parties to work together to fund the nation's priorities. Triggered by the official recissions request from the White House, the legislation only needs a simple majority vote instead of the 60 votes usually required to break a filibuster, meaning Republicans can use their 53-47 majority to pass it along party lines. The Trump administration is promising more rescission packages to come if the first effort is successful. But some Republicans who supported the bill indicated they might be wary of doing so again. 'Let's not make a habit of this,' said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, who voted for the bill but said he was wary that the White House wasn't providing enough information on what exactly will be cut. Wicker said there are members 'who are very concerned, as I am, about this process.' North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis echoed similar concerns and said Republicans will need to work with Democrats to keep the government running later in the year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The only way to fund the government is to get at least seven Democrats to vote with us at the end of September or we could go into a shutdown,' Tillis said. Republicans face a Friday deadline Collins attempted to negotiate a last minute change to the package that would have reduced the cuts by about $2.5 billion and restored some of the public broadcasting and global health dollars, but she abandoned the effort after she didn't have enough backing from her Republican colleagues in the Senate and the House. The House has already shown its support for the president's request with a mostly party line 214-212 vote, but since the Senate amended the bill, it will have to go back to the House for another vote. The bill must be signed into law by midnight Friday for the proposed rescissions to kick in. If Congress doesn't act by then, the spending stands. (This is an agency copy. Except for the headline, the copy has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)


India Today
2 minutes ago
- India Today
Dalal Street not Asia's darling anymore, says BofA survey
Dalal Street, once considered one of the top investment destinations in Asia, has now slipped to fourth place among fund managers in the Asia-Pacific is according to the latest survey by Bank of America (BofA), which shows that investor interest in Indian equities has dropped in recent findings come at a time when the Nifty index has been stuck in a two-month-long consolidation phase, with no clear signs of a breakout. As global investors look for better returns, countries like Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea have moved ahead, thanks to their strong performance in sectors like semiconductors and expected economic to the BofA survey, only 10% of fund managers are now overweight on India. In comparison, 32% favour Japan, 19% prefer Taiwan, and 16% back South Korea. This data shows that many investors are moving their money away from India and putting it into markets that are being boosted by the rising demand for semiconductor-related report noted that 'both Taiwan and Korea are benefiting from the resurgent semiconductor cycle,' while also pointing out that South Korea is gaining extra attention due to policy hopes under new news is particularly disappointing for India's IT services sector, which has seen a sharp decline in investor interest. BofA said that its India IT services indicator has dropped to a 20-month low. This suggests that investors are losing confidence in one of India's key industries, which has traditionally been seen as a strong VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said that Indian markets are currently stuck in a tight range. 'There are no triggers for the market to break out of the consolidation range in which it has been stuck for two months now,' he said. He added that even positive news such as an India-US interim trade deal has already been factored in by Vijayakumar did point to one possible event that could boost markets. 'One positive and surprise factor that can trigger a rally is a tariff rate much below 20%, say 15%, which the market has not discounted. So, watch out for developments on the trade and tariff front,' he also shared a mixed view on sector performance. While IT results continue to disappoint and may weigh down the broader market, he sees promise in banking stocks. 'Leading private sector banks are in a defensive mode now. The market is discounting NIM compression in the Q1 results. But this will reverse from Q3 onwards, making them good buys now,' he the BofA survey signals a clear shift in investor mood. With other Asian markets offering stronger short-term returns, Dalal Street may need new drivers to attract attention again.- EndsMust Watch advertisement


India.com
2 minutes ago
- India.com
Coward Pakistan begs US to not help India with..., will Trump agree?
Coward Pakistan begs US to not help India with..., will Trump agree? In a desperate plea, Pakistan has appealed to the US not to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to India which was offered to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by US President Donald Trump during his US visit in February. After this, when US Vice President JD Vance visited India in April, he also offered F-35 to India. Will India take it from US? Even though there has been no official confirmation on this, last week Defense Secretary RK Singh had definitely said, without naming US, that India is seriously considering buying stealth fighter jets from a 'friendly country.' What Pakistan has pleaded? Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu who visited US has requested the US not to sell F-35A stealth fighter to India. During this time, he met US Air Force Chief General David Allwine, along with some other US military officials and some MPs. In which he requested the US officials not to give F-35 stealth fighter to India. Expressing his fear, he said that if US gives F-35 to India, then it can dangerously disturb the regional strategic balance. Pakistan, whose air force capability is much weaker and limited than India, believes that if India gets fifth generation stealth fighters like F-35A, then it will seriously affect the balance of air power in South Asia and regional strategic stability will be threatened. Will China help Pakistan with J-35 stealth fighter jet? Pakistan has raised this concern to the US at a time when it has reached the final stage in the process of buying J-35A stealth fighter jet from China. China's Shenyang Aircraft Corporation has built the J-35A, a twin-engine stealth fighter and is considered a competitor to the F-35. According to reports, Pakistan has ordered 40 J-35A aircraft, the delivery of which is expected to be completed in the next two years. China has speeded up production to deliver the first batch in the next 6–8 months. Apart from this, there are also reports of Pakistani pilots training with the J-35. This fighter aircraft will be equipped with long-range PL-15 or PL-17 missiles. Pakistan aims to deploy a full stealth squadron by the year 2026. Reports say that China is selling it the J-35 at a 50 percent discount. Will India buy F-35 fighter jets from the US? To counter the possible acquisition of J-35 stealth fighter by Pakistan and China, India is seriously considering buying advanced fighter jets like F-35A from the US or Su-57E from Russia. However, nothing has been said officially about both the aircraft. The Indian Air Force has already signed several defense agreements with the US, including MQ-9B drones, C-17, P-8I and Apache helicopters. Apart from this, the US is going to supply the engine of Tejas-1 fighter aircraft to India and talks with the US to manufacture the engine of Tejas-2 fighter aircraft have reached the final stage. Now the Donald Trump administration is planning to offer India the F-35A stealth fighter jet specifically according to the needs of the Indian Air Force, which will include software defined radio, advanced IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system and other custom hardware according to Indian operational needs. This will be a similar customization as has been done in the Israeli F-35I 'Adir' version. This proposal was also mentioned in the talks between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi.