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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Tragedy as two British brothers, 11 and 13, drown in front of their father while swimming off Spanish beach
Two young British brothers tragically died on a beach in Spain after coming into trouble while swimming in the sea. According to the the Civil Protection force, the boys, aged 11 and 13, drowned off Llarga beach in Salou, Tarragona, on Tuesday night. The father, who had also entered the water with his children, was rescued alive. The 112 emergency service operator first received a call at 8.47pm, sparking an large response. Paramedics from the Medical Emergency System (SEM) were dispatched to the scene alongside a team of psychologists to assist the grieving family. The Salou Local Police, the Catalan Police (Mossos d'Esquadra), and the Generalitat Fire Brigade, which activated five units, were also mobilised. The authorities said the deaths marked the 15th and 16th fatalities on Catalan beaches since the summer campaign officially began on June 15. The figure 'already exceeds by five those registered in the same period last summer'. Catalonia's Civil Protection said in a statement: 'Two brothers, of British nationality and aged 11 and 13, drowned this evening on the Llarga beach in Salou (Tarragona). 'The father of the minors, who had also entered the water, was rescued alive.' Seven land units arrived on the scene on Tuesday evening with a team of psychologists to assist the relatives, they said. 'The Civil Protection of the Generalitat reminds us of the importance of taking extreme precautions on beaches, swimming pools and inland waters this summer. 'If you notice that someone is unwell or has difficulties in the water, you should urgently notify the lifeguard service or call 112 to facilitate their rapid action.' Separately, a German tourist, 54, drowned in Cambrils, Tarragona on Tuesday. Last summer, 11 deaths were reported on Catalan beaches.
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
What Trump's EU trade deal means for your wallet
But for U.S. consumers, even the reduced tariff is expected to spur higher prices. The Yale Budget Lab estimates that Trump's tariffs, including the new rate for EU imports, would raise prices by 1.8% in the short run, the equivalent of an average household income loss of roughly $2,400. While the increase may sound insignificant, "the Federal Reserve's inflation target is 2%. So we're talking about almost a year's worth of inflation above and beyond the inflation that we would've gotten anyways," said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale Budget Lab. "So that's meaningful." Here are some of the sectors that could see higher prices in the months to come. European cars Automobiles, one of the EU's largest export sectors, will likely see some of the most noticeable price hikes, according to Gary Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. While the 15% tariff is a relief from the current 27.5% rate, Hufbauer said the auto industry's margins are thin enough that EU companies won't want to absorb the higher cost. "I suspect European auto prices sold in the U.S. will go up probably at least 10%," he told USA TODAY. German Association of the Automotive Industry President Hildegard Muller warned the 15% tariff could cost the German automotive industry "billions annually." Already, Volkswagen has trimmed its full-year sales forecast after reporting a $1.5 billion hit from tariffs over the first half of the year. Automobile price hikes will likely vary across European makes and models, according to Tedeschi, since many already operate factories in North America. That means trade deals with Canada and Mexico could also influence pricing. "Consumers should keep an eye out for rising prices for European car imports, but they should not assume that all European brands are going to go up in price because of how complicated the supply chain is," he said, adding that he expects to see price increases tied to the new EU tariffs play out this summer and fall. What were the EU tariffs before? What to know after trade deal Furniture Furniture is another sector that could get hit by tariffs, according to Stephen Brown, Capital Economics' deputy chief North America economist. The Swedish company IKEA, for instance, relies on China, Poland, Italy, Germany and Sweden to supply "the majority" of products, according to its website. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Inter IKEA - which produces IKEA furniture - told Reuters in November that just 10% of the products it sells in the U.S. are made in the region. "Unless they find somewhere else to import from or move around their supply chain, furniture prices ... could see some effects," Brown said. Pharmaceuticals While certain sectors like wine and spirits appear to still be under negotiation, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said pharmaceuticals will be covered by the 15% tariff, with certain generic drugs not subject to tariffs. The EU is behind about 60% of pharmaceutical imports to the U.S., according to Reuters, making them the largest European export to the U.S. by value. But Brown noted that pharmaceutical companies may be able to more easily shift production to the U.S. compared to other industries. For instance, the Danish manufacturer behind the GLP-1s Wegovy and Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, already has a presence in North Carolina and has plans to expand. "Although there could be some short-term price increases, those might not be as durable as they are for other products," Brown said. Additionally, consumers may not pick up on the industry's price hikes if their insurance covers the imported drug. Luxury items Luxury items like imported designer handbags and apparel could also see higher prices, as well as imported food. "The difference between China and Europe, in terms of tariffs, is that the tariffs on China increase what people buy in Walmart and Target. The tariffs on European imports will mainly hit what people buy at Whole Foods and high-end retail stores," said Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He noted that the companies behind luxury goods tend to have higher margins, though, and may be more willing to absorb some of the higher costs tied to tariffs. Machinery Machinery and appliances are also major exports from the EU, accounting for roughly 20% of U.S. imports from the EU in 2021, according to the Commerce Department. While consumers won't buy machinery directly, experts warn the higher prices could eventually trickle down as manufacturers adjust to higher costs. "These are not necessarily products that immediately or directly impact the consumers, but they can indirectly affect consumers, especially after many years," Tedeschi said.
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump has just shown that the EU is nothing without the UK
This moment exposes the myth of Brussels as a global trade superpower. When push came to shove, it couldn't defend its own economic interests. Key sectors, from German autos to French luxury goods, will suffer. But Ireland is especially exposed. Its economy relies heavily on US-focused pharma exports and EU protections. With both now undermined, Dublin's carefully-built model looks dangerously unstable. For years, anti-Brexiters claimed the EU was essential to Britain's success. In truth, it was the EU without Britain that was always doomed. The UK was its diplomatic spine, along with its special relationship with America, and strategic balance. Without it, the EU became over-regulated, politically paralysed, and incapable of standing up to global powers. The fallout also goes beyond the headlines. For the SNP it's a hammer blow. Leaving the UK to join a weakened EU now looks absurd. The UK is by far Scotland's largest market, accounting for over 60% of its trade. Why walk away from that to join a bloc that just accepted worse terms than Britain with the world's largest economy? This isn't just a one-off deal. It's a strategic shift. Britain has regained control of its trade policy and reaped the benefits. The EU meanwhile, has been exposed as vulnerable and reactive, no longer setting the rules, just absorbing the fallout. Ian Lakin, Aberdeen. Read more letters A dearth of political talent Sarah Vine, Michael Gove's ex-wife, was a Brexiter of the first order and makes no apologies for it ('How not to be a politician's wife, from someone who knows to her own high cost', The Herald, July 28). She describes Margaret Thatcher as a memorable and talented politician who could not understand the human collateral damage of her policies. Surely that is true of most Tory policies, which usually put profit before people – or at least us lower-than-elite classes. Obviously she and Michael have no regrets about Brexit or the home nations which were against it. There are a significant number of politicians who were elevated well beyond their capabilities, Boris Johnson being the worst, but Michael Gove and several of his colleagues had a similar lack of ability. Unfortunately the same can be said for many of the present leading MPs of all parties, hence the advance of the carpetbaggers of Reform (which bears a similar attitude to that of the late Margaret Thatcher). JB Drummond, Kilmarnock. • Apologies for my delayed reaction, but Denis Bruce's anti-Thatcher rant (Letters, July 23) merits a few words in her defence. Your correspondent goes on about public utilities, the right to buy, the miners' dispute. We are now suffering the consequences of Thatcher's vultures coming home to roost, he declares, and he is entitled to his opinion. Divisive she may have been; but as Prime Minister – and first woman in that office – she was the victor of three General Elections, and left a prouder and more stable nation in her wake than she had inherited. The Iron Lady she proved to be; "not for turning" her mantle eternal, and one which our present government might care to adopt. She remains, in my view, at the top as a peacetime leader. Brian D Henderson, Glasgow. Emotion and xenophobia John Swinney has proclaimed his new strategy for achieving independence ("Indy ref 'only secured through majority at Holyrood election'", [[The Herald]], July 29) but it has a glaring omission. Since the 1930s, the [[SNP]] has been chasing a dream to drag Scotland out of the United Kingdom. The big guns of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon failed despite the latter foolishly and embarrassingly offering a referendum in October 2023. Now Mr Swinney is back to rally the troops offering 'opportunities' to make it this time. The glaring omission: facts. Does he really expect sensible Scots to support his nationalist dream without the economic, the financial and increasingly important, defence facts, to make Scotland a successful independent country where Scots will be better off? Economic, financial and defence facts are of no importance to nationalist leaders. They would lead their followers to the promised land based on the politics of emotion and xenophobia because there is nothing else. They will of course be depending on the support of 16-year-olds and nationalist emotion will be right up the street of most of them. The once-vocal Andrew Wilson, author of a discredited White Paper, had a much-repeated saying (every time on television): 'independence will be hard but will be worth it'. The problem: neither he nor anyone else in the nationalist hierarchy could tell the people of Scotland how 'hard' it will be and how 'worth it' it will be. Nothing has changed. Douglas Cowe, Newmachar. We need a vote on borrowing June's figures for public sector borrowing came in at £20.7 billion, well above the OBR's forecast and City expectations. What's more, £16.4bn of this was accounted for by debt interest payments. Yes, that's right: £16.4bn in one month. We are borrowing vast sums to pay the interest on past borrowings of vast sums. The time has come for a national referendum on government borrowing. Doug Clark, Currie. Demographic myopia Seldom have I read a more incoherent piece than Roz Foyer's article on the need for more immigrant workers in Scotland ("Scotland needs more workers – not forcing existing ones to work longer", The Herald, July 28). I hardly know where to start. She echoes (despite being head of the STUC) the corporate employers' line regarding a Scottish visa. She must surely know it's a non-starter; the UK Government would never allow it given that those invited here could move down south and work in the black economy. She dishes up the hoary old "demographic crisis" argument, despite Scotland's population having surged of late and now being in overshoot relative to our biocapacity (Greens, please note). This is straight out of the globalists' population-transfer prescription for all states with fertility below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman (as the UK's has been since the Pill arrived many decades ago, hence our ever-increasing immigration at the behest of corporate employers and landlords). It is ultimately the demographic myopia of Ms Foyer and others which is water on the mills of Reform UK, doing very well in Scotland thank you, despite the unpopularity of the polarising Nigel Farage. George Morton, Rosyth. Former Conservative minister Michael Gove (Image: PA) Expensive halt of wind farms When Alan Simpson described planning applications from energy developers as a 'David and Goliath' experience, I wondered which one Highland Council, covering an area almost as large as Belgium, was supposed to be ("Rural Scots are right, it is time to pause onshore wind are more than enough already", [[The Herald]], July 28). But the simple fact is that onshore wind farms are much cheaper than offshore wind farms or new nuclear reactors. Pylons are much cheaper than buried cables. If we continue to build onshore wind, we can discuss how the difference in price is split between the land owners, the local community, and the consumers of the generated electricity. If we pause onshore building, will the land owners and local communities saved from having wind turbines near them make any contribution towards the higher bills faced by consumers? Presumably there is some value in it for a golf course, grouse moor or holiday cottage to have an unspoilt view, which would be reflected in its business rates valuation? Alan Ritchie, Glasgow. Which warnings are fallacious? It is very clear that Malcom Parkin (Letters, July 28) is no admirer of Ed Miliband. Many others may share Mr Parkin's concern about "targets conveniently in decades ahead", though from different perspectives. But he is also exercised about "warnings that have not come true". Presumably this refers to climatic matters, and presumably your correspondent is putting himself forward as one who has a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of such things than the majority of climatologists. Perhaps he could be indulged with an opportunity to explain exactly what such fallacious warnings consisted of, and in what ways they have not come true: specifically in relation to changes in temperature; changes in the frequency of extreme weather events; and changes in global sea level. William Patterson, East Linton.
