Trump's ‘big, beautiful' tax bill passes US House vote, Speaker Johnson reveals key features of the Act
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Hindustan Times
34 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘We'll see what happens': Trump hopeful of Hamas decision on Gaza ceasefire in 24 hours
US President Donald Trump said on Friday it would probably be known in 24 hours whether the Palestinian militant group Hamas has agreed to accept what he has called a "final proposal" for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza. President Donald Trump, center, speaks with reporters as, from left, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Rep. Zachary Nunn, R-Iowa, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem listen as they arrive on Air Force One, Friday, July 4, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP) The president also said he had spoken to Saudi Arabia about expanding the Abraham Accords, the deal on normalization of ties that his administration negotiated between Israel and some Gulf countries during his first term. Trump said on Tuesday Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war. He was asked on Friday if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, and said: "We'll see what happens, we are going to know over the next 24 hours." A source close to Hamas said on Thursday that the Islamist group sought guarantees that the new US-backed ceasefire proposal would lead to the end of Israel's war in Gaza. Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out. Dozens of Palestinians were killed on Thursday in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza authorities. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's subsequent military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. A previous two-month ceasefire ended when Israeli strikes killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18. Trump earlier this year proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza, which was condemned globally by rights experts, the U.N. and Palestinians as a proposal of "ethnic cleansing." ABRAHAM ACCORDS Trump made the comments on the Abraham Accords when asked about U.S. media reporting late on Thursday that he had met Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the White House. "It's one of the things we talked about," Trump said. "I think a lot of people are going to be joining the Abraham accords," he added, citing the predicted expansion to the damage faced by Iran from recent U.S. and Israeli strikes. Axios reported that after the meeting with Trump, the Saudi official spoke on the phone with Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces. Trump's meeting with the Saudi official came ahead of a visit to Washington next week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Stephen Coates)
Hindustan Times
35 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Russia launches largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine after Trump-Putin call
Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight on Friday just hours after a telephone call between US and Russian presidents ended without any breakthrough. Women stand next to the wreckage of a car following mass Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's capital Kyiv on July 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP) AFP journalists in the capital heard drones buzzing over Kyiv and explosions ringing out as Ukrainian air defence systems fended off the attack. President Donald Trump said he had made no progress with Vladimir Putin on ending the war in a call, as the Kremlin insisted Russia would pursue its war aims. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the air alerts had begun echoing out across the country as reports of the presidents' call emerged. "Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror," Zelensky said on social media. "All of this is clear evidence that without truly large-scale pressure, Russia will not change its dumb, destructive behaviour," he added, urging the United States in particular to ramp up pressure on Moscow. He said that 23 people were wounded in the Russian barrage that the air force said included 539 Russian drones of various types and 11 missiles. A representative of Ukraine's air force told Ukrainian media that the attack was the largest of the Russian invasion. - 'Complete disregard' - Overnight Russia attacks have escalated over recent weeks. An AFP tally shows Moscow launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in June, as direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appeared to stall. "Putin clearly shows his complete disregard for the United States and everyone who has called for an end to the war," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media after the attack. In Kyiv, AFP journalists saw dozens of residents of the capital taking shelter in a metro station. Russian attacks escalated as concerns mount in Kyiv over continued delivery of US military aid, which is key to Ukraine's ability to fend off the drone and missile barrages. The US announced this week that it was reducing some deliveries of military aid to Ukraine, in what EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said was a clear signal that the bloc needed to "step up". Trump's view of the call with Putin was unusually bleak. After most of his previous five calls with Putin since returning to power in January he has given optimistic reports of progress towards a deal. But he has shown increasing frustration with Putin after an early pivot towards the Russian leader. Ukraine has also ramped up its drone strikes in Russia, where a woman was killed when a Ukrainian drone crashed into an apartment building, the region's acting governor said.
Hindustan Times
35 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump may impose unilateral tariff rates starting Friday
US President Donald Trump said that his administration may begin sending out letters to trading partners as soon as Friday setting unilateral tariff rates ahead of a July 9 deadline for negotiations. The president on Tuesday said he was not considering delaying next week's deadline.(AFP) 'We're probably going to be sending some letters out, starting probably tomorrow, maybe 10 a day to various countries saying what they're going to pay to do business with the US,' Trump told reporters on Thursday as he left Washington for an event in Iowa. Trump has long threatened that if countries fail to reach deals with the US before next week's deadline, he would simply impose rates on them, raising the stakes for trading partners who have rushed to secure agreements with his administration. The US president initially announced his higher so-called 'reciprocal' tariffs on April 2, but paused those for 90 days to allow countries time to negotiate, putting in place a 10% rate during that interval. So far, the Trump administration has announced deals with the UK and Vietnam and agreed to a truce with China that saw the world's two largest economies ease tit-for-tat tariffs. Asked Thursday if more deals were on the way, Trump responded that 'we have a couple of other deals, but you know, my inclination is to send a letter out and say what tariffs they are going to be paying.' 'It's much easier,' he said. Trump announced the Vietnam deal on Wednesday, saying that the US would place a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports to the US and a 40% rate on goods deemed transshipped through the nation — a reference to the practice whereby components from China and possibly other nations are routed through third countries on their way to the US. While the rates are lower than the 46% duty Trump imposed on Vietnam initially, they are higher than the universal 10% level. And many of the particulars of the deal are still unclear, with the White House yet to release a term sheet or publish any proclamation codifying the agreement. Still, investors who have eagerly anticipated any deals between the US and trading partners were buoyed Wednesday by the Vietnam announcement, which saw share prices of American manufacturers with facilities in the country rise. Many major trading partners, however, such as Japan, South Korea and the European Union, are still working to finalize deals. The president has expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with India but has spoken harshly about the prospects of an accord with Japan, casting Tokyo as a difficult negotiating partner. He intensified his criticism this week, saying that Japan should be forced to 'pay 30%, 35% or whatever the number is that we determine.' The president on Tuesday also said he was not considering delaying next week's deadline. Asked about any potential extension of talks, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier Thursday that Trump would make the final call. 'We're going to do what the president wants, and he'll be the one to determine whether they're negotiating in good faith,' Bessent said on CNBC when asked whether the deadline might be lengthened.
