Rajab's Ramp: A skateboarder's call from a starving Gaza
28/07/2025
Russia: Numerous flights cancelled after massive cyberattack
28/07/2025
Impact of US tariffs varies across European Union
28/07/2025
Trump says many are starving in Gaza, vows to set up food centres
28/07/2025
Thailand and Cambodia agree to ceasefire to end deadly border row
28/07/2025
Starmer–Trump meeting: US president sees signs of 'real starvation' in Gaza"
28/07/2025
REPLAY: Trump says Gaza ceasefire 'possible' amid Starmer talks
28/07/2025
Food arrives in Gaza after Israel pauses some fighting
28/07/2025
Thailand and Cambodia agree truce after five days of fighting
28/07/2025
Turkey: Firefighters battle wildfires amid strong winds
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France 24
5 minutes ago
- France 24
Trump seeks sway over Los Angeles Olympics with new task force
The group will engage the federal government to "ensure the Games are safe, seamless and historically successful," potentially offering Trump and his allies greater influence over the sporting event. Trump will serve as chairman and Vice President JD Vance will be vice-chair of the task force, which will encompass several other leaders in his administration. Signing an order to establish the group Tuesday, Trump said "we'll do anything necessary to keep the Olympics safe" -- including potentially deploying "our National Guard or military." He enraged Los Angeles and state officials in June with his highly unusual decision to deploy California's National Guard against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom. Trump claimed the deployment was necessary to quell protests that had flared up against federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, which has a huge migrant population. On Tuesday he doubled down on his feud with Karen Bass, the city's Democratic mayor, by labeling her "not very competent." Trump has previously criticized her response to wildfires that impacted Los Angeles in January. However, Casey Wasserman, the chairman of the 2028 LA Olympics organizing committee, gave no hints of animosity as he joined Trump for the task force announcement at the White House. "You've been supportive and helpful every step of the way. And we wouldn't be here without you," Wasserman said. Los Angeles was awarded the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in September 2017, during Trump's first term. Wasserman also flattered the president with examples of gold, silver and bronze medals that were given to athletes the last time Los Angeles hosted the Games in 1984. And he offered Trump a chance to carry the Olympic flame -- something he has already done in New York ahead of the Athens Games in 2004. "For the first time in history, we are going to take the Olympic torch relay to all 50 states," Wasserman said. "And sir, if you'd like to run on Park Avenue again to revisit history, you're more than welcome," he told Trump. Trump's second term will coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics -- two major global sporting events taking place in the United States. He has previously targeted transgender individuals, particularly athletes, and further stated on Tuesday that the "United States will not let men steal trophies from women at the 2028 Olympics."
France 24
7 minutes ago
- France 24
Sean 'Diddy' Combs seeking Trump pardon: lawyer
"It's my understanding that we've reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon," Nicole Westmoreland told CNN in an interview. Trump has indicated, however, that he is unlikely to grant a pardon to the 55-year-old Combs. "I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy," Trump said in an interview on Friday with Newsmax. "I didn't know him well, but when I ran for office, he was very hostile." Asked if that meant he was not inclined to pardon Combs, Trump said: "I would say so, yeah." A New York jury found Combs guilty last month of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges after a marathon trial in which he was accused of harrowing abuse. Sentencing has been set for October 3. © 2025 AFP
Fashion Network
an hour ago
- Fashion Network
Switzerland's US tariff blow threatens its go-it-alone approach
The two-minute video isn't subtle. Wielding a medieval halberd, the president of the conservative Swiss People's Party lays out the choice Switzerland faces: a simpler life that the country's founders spelled out in a one-page declaration more than 700 years ago or a 2,000 page treaty with the European Union. It's a choice between 'freedom and serfdom,' Marcel Dettling says before tossing the treaty documents onto a bonfire. The trouble for Dettling and Switzerland's other EU naysayers is that the alternative vision of a nimble nation trading freely with the rest of the world isn't looking so good anymore. On the day the video was released — Aug. 1, Switzerland's national day — the White House delivered a bombshell by announcing the country would face tariffs of 39% on all exports to the US, among the highest anywhere in the world. President Karin Keller-Sutter is traveling to Washington on Tuesday as she and her colleagues race to get Donald Trump to reconsider. They don't have much time, with the levies due to kick in on Thursday. Helene Budliger-Artieda, one of the chief negotiators for Switzerland, held a phone call with business representatives on Monday. She told them that Switzerland's main goal is to get the overall tariff number down, but didn't reveal any potential concessions it might make, according to people briefed on the call. Budliger also received a clear message from businesses: there's no substitute for the US market. While the Swiss try to figure out how to deal with Trump and the US, the episode has cast a new light on the country's relationship with the EU. That's long been a divisive issue, with arguments about trade and economic benefits clashing with concern about immigration and sovereignty. For the pro-EU voices, the chaotic back and forth with the US will give them fresh reason to push the benefits of ties with the bloc, particularly as it secured a far better 15% rate. 'This will undoubtedly strengthen the camp of those who argue that Switzerland needs to move closer to the EU,' said Rene Schwok, a professor of political science at the University of Geneva. 'Their argument is that the EU is a much more reliable partner than the US and China.' Keller-Sutter and her officials had expressed confidence right up until late last week that they'd secured a far better deal with the US. But it all fell apart at the end during a phone call with Trump. Critics say she didn't have anything to offer and came unprepared to the negotiation table. The US president sees his country's 39 billion dollar trade deficit with Switzerland as tantamount to theft, and didn't appreciate being told otherwise by Keller-Sutter. 'I don't believe that the US is a reliable partner under this presidency,' Andri Silberschmidt, a Liberal lawmaker and member of Keller-Sutter's party, told Bloomberg. 'As a small nation, we are dependent on reliable partners who abide by agreements.' Switzerland is in the midst of a separate debate on an agreement with the EU that it hammered out late last year and is due to go to a national vote. In a survey – conducted before Trump's self-declared Liberation Day announcement on tariffs — 47% of Swiss respondents were in favour, while 35% were against it. To be sure, Switzerland's low unemployment, low inflation economy is robust enough that it could withstand the 39% tariff hit. If pharmaceutical exports were included at the unchanged rate, this would translate to a hit of at least 0.7-percentage point hit to the economy, according to Hans Gersbach at KOF economic research institute in Zurich. If drug exports were excluded, the hit would be between 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points. That would be a harsh blow but not enough to tip the economy into recession. Still, that would jeopardise 'tens of thousands of jobs' in key manufacturing industries, said Stefan Brupbacher, director of trade group Swissmem. However Keller-Sutter's last-minute bid in Washington works out, the lesson for Switzerland is that it needs to realise it's not in the same league as the US, China or the EU but a small player. This may push the Swiss to reconsider the advantages of 'splendid isolation,' Kirkegaard said. 'When the elephants are dancing, the mice get trampled and that's a little bit of what's happened here.'
