With late-night calls, even bedtime isn't safe from work
After Mr Howard Lutnick is tucked up in bed, at about 1am, he takes a phone call from his boss, US President Donald Trump, to discuss trade and shoot the breeze. This revelatory titbit appeared in a New Yorker profile on the Secretary of State for Commerce.
'They talk about 'real stuff', like Canadian steel tariffs and also about 'nothing',' the journalist wrote. 'Sporting events, people, who'd you have dinner with, what was this guy like, can you believe what this guy did, what's the TV like, I saw this on TV, what'd you think of what this guy said on TV, what did you think about my press conference, how about this Truth?'

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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
US dollar gains after Friday's slump as Fed cuts loom; Swiss franc drops
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Trump says he will 'substantially' raise tariffs on India over Russia oil purchases
WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump said on Monday (Aug 4) he will substantially raise tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil - a key source of revenue for Moscow's war on Ukraine. "India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA." He did not elaborate on what the tariff would be. Trump last week said he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India and added that the world's fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty but gave no details. Over the weekend, two Indian government sources told Reuters that India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite Trump's threats. The sources did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Trump's heightened pressure on India comes after he signalled fresh sanctions on Moscow if it did not make progress by Friday towards a peace deal with Kyiv, more than three years since Russia's invasion.

Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
US could require up to $19,300 bonds for some tourist visas under new pilot programme
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The new visa programme, effective August 20, will last for approximately a year, the government notice said. WASHINGTON - The US could require up to US$15,000 (S$19,300) bonds for some tourist and business visas under a new pilot programme launching in two weeks, a US government notice said on Aug 4, an effort that aims to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas. The programme gives US consular officers the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, according to a Federal Register notice. The bonds also could be applied to people coming from countries where screening and vetting information is deemed insufficient, the notice said. US President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a central focus of his presidency, surging resources to secure the border and arresting people in the US illegally. The Republican president issued a travel ban in June that blocks citizens of 12 nations from entering the US on national security grounds. The new visa programme, effective August 20, will last for approximately a year, the government notice said. The US government launched a similar pilot programme in November 2020 during the last months of Mr Trump's first term in office, but it was not fully implemented due to the drop in global travel associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the notice said. REUTERS