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India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and bilateral talks ahead of EU trade deal
US President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on Friday for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European told reporters upon his arrival that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom he called a "highly respected woman."advertisementAs hundreds of onlookers cheered his arrival, Trump repeated his earlier comment about a 50-50 chance of securing a deal with the EU, adding it would be his administration's biggest trade agreement thus far, if it came together. However, he said there were still "sticking points" with Brussels on "maybe 20 different things."Trump said his meeting with Starmer would be more of a celebration of the trade deal already reached than continued work on it, adding, "It's a great deal for both."Before he left Washington, Trump said his administration was working hard on a possible trade deal with the EU, and Brussels was keen to make a deal. Von der Leyen said later she would meet Trump in Scotland on diplomats say a deal could result in a 15% tariff on EU goods, mirroring a framework accord with Japan reached this week and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by August has sought to reorder the global economy after imposing a 10% tariff on nearly all trading partners in April and threatening sharply higher rates for many countries to kick in a week from now. Trump says the moves will reduce the US trade deficit and bring in extra revenue, but economists warn the new trade policies could drive up inflation.'DON'T TALK ABOUT TRUMP'Trump, facing the biggest domestic political crisis of his second term, expressed frustration about ongoing questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and his 2019 death in prison."You make it a very big thing over something that's not a big thing," Trump told reporters in Scotland, urging them to focus on other prominent Americans with ties to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton."Talk about Clinton. Talk about the former president of Harvard. Talk about all of his friends. Talk about the hedge fund guys that were with him all the time. Don't talk about Trump," he said. "What you should be talking about is the fact that we have the greatest six months in the history of a presidency."The Epstein issue has caused a rare breach with some of Trump's most loyal Make America Great Again supporters, and majorities of Americans and Trump's Republicans say they believe the government is hiding details on the case, according to Reuters/Ipsos House officials are hoping the controversy dies down while Trump is abroad, two people familiar with the matter TIESTrump will stay at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before traveling on Monday to a golf property in Aberdeen, where he will open a second 18-hole course named in honor of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. MacLeod was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the USAs he left the White House, Trump said he looked forward to meeting both Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney, who had publicly backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential trip gives Trump and Starmer a chance to deepen their already warm ties, with key issues on the agenda to include ending Russia's war in Ukraine, British and U.S. sources deteriorating situation in Gaza is also likely to arise. Starmer on Thursday said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over what he called the "unspeakable and indefensible" suffering and starvation being reported there, and called on Israel to allow aid to enter the Palestinian health authorities say more than 100 people have died from starvation, most in recent weeks. Human rights groups have said mass starvation is spreading even as tons of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the being elected last year, Starmer has prioritized good relations with Trump, stressing the importance of Britain's defense and security alliance with the US, while working to clinch the first tariff-reduction deal with the US in framework agreement reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the UK's aerospace sector, but left steel tariffs in is expected to press for lower steel tariffs, but sources close to the matter said it was unclear if any breakthrough was possible during Trump's has described Scotland as a "very special place" and made a similar trip there in 2016 during his earlier run for the presidency, but he will not necessarily get a warm 70% of Scots have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a favorable opinion, an Ipsos poll in March police are girding for protests on Saturday in both Aberdeen and in Edinburgh, the country's will return to Britain from September 17-19 for a state visit hosted by King Charles. It will make Trump the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. The late Queen Elizabeth hosted him at Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Shock media closure deals new blow to press freedom in Balkans
Nearly 14 years after presenting the first newscast of Al Jazeera Balkans , Sasa Delic, like his 250 colleagues, learned of the channel's closure in a shock announcement. The Bosnian journalist inaugurated the new network on November 11, 2011, telling viewers: "You are watching the first news channel in the region," and promising them "accurate, verified and impartial" information. But on July 10, management suddenly announced the Qatari-based channel's regional branch was closing, the latest in a wave of closures and downsizing to hit the Balkans' strained media industry. "I had no idea," Delic, 47, told AFP. "It was sudden, but you have to adapt. It's the owner's decision." Two days later, his colleague Dalija Hasanbegovic gave the channel's farewell sign-off: "That was the final Al Jazeera Balkans newscast. "We always tried to be the voice of those who didn't have one, an island of truth." - 'Silencing the last voices' - Claiming more than 22 million viewers, "AJB" broadcast across most of the Balkans, with studios in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Zagreb. "We never adhered to anyone's political agenda," said Delic, who added he fears the closure will hurt strained media freedoms in the region. "A beacon of free journalism in the Balkans goes dark," said philosopher and journalist Dragan Bursac in his final column published on the Al Jazeera Balkans website. Al Jazeera Balkans' executive director and one of its founders, Edhem Foco, told AFP the closure was a consequence of a "strategy shift" at the parent channel, which is investing in developing its online platform Al Jazeera 360. The loss will be felt mostly at the broadcaster's Sarajevo hub, where nearly 200 employees worked, according to Foco. "It is a warning: independent journalism in the region is increasingly under threat," said the SafeJournalists Network (SJN), a coalition of journalist associations and unions in the Balkans. For Maja Sever, director of the European Federation of Journalists, "we are witnessing the silencing of the last voices that embodied professional and quality journalism". The network's shuttering comes after the United States cut funding to a slew of foreign-based media outlets, part of President Donald Trump's budget cuts -- including to news outlets he deems hostile to his agenda. Voice of America's Serbian office closed in March after 82 years, and the future of the regional newsrooms of Radio Free Europe remains unclear. Many other independent outlets that relied on US government funding have also closed or are struggling around the world. "The damage is very significant, profound," Sever said. - Independent media disappearing - Balkan countries rate poorly in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, created by watchdog group Reporters Without Borders . Out of 180 countries, Bosnia ranks 86th and Serbia 96th. The report also noted that Serbian media "bear the brunt of attempts by the authorities to quell" large-scale anti-government protests that have rocked the country for months. At least 28 media professionals had been assaulted by police or supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic since February, it said. Independent media in the Balkans are increasingly rare, and some, like the N1 channel, are not distributed by public or government-affiliated cable operators. As these outlets shrink, many journalists will leave the profession, Sever warned. "Those who ask questions are leaving, those who think independently are leaving. Who, then, will ask a question to a prime minister or a president at a press conference? Algorithms? Artificial intelligence?" she said.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Trade on agenda as Trump lands in Scotland for diplomacy and golf
US President Donald Trump landed in Scotland on Friday for a five-day visit set to mix diplomacy, business and leisure, as a huge UK security operation swung into place amid planned protests near his family-owned golf resorts. HT Image The president, whose mother was born in Scotland, will split his time between two seaside golf courses bearing his name, in Turnberry on the southwestern coast and Aberdeen in the northeast. Air Force One, carrying the president and White House staff, touched down at Prestwick Airport near Glasgow shortly before 8:30 pm (1930 GMT). Police officers lined surrounding streets and several hundred curious Scots came out hoping for a glimpse of the US leader as he made his way to Turnberry. Trump has no public events scheduled for Saturday and is expected to play golf at his picturesque resort, before meeting EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday for trade talks. Trump is also due to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the trip. "We're going to do a little celebrating together, because we got along very well," Trump told reporters as he left the White House Friday, calling Starmer "a good guy" doing "a very good job". He said they would discuss "fine tuning" the bilateral trade deal struck in May, and would "maybe even improve it". But the unpredictable American leader appeared unwilling to cede to a UK request for reduced steel and aluminium tariffs. Trump has exempted British exports from blanket 50 percent tariffs on both metals, but the fate of that carve-out remains unclear. "If I do it for one, I have to do it for all," Trump told reporters, when asked if he had any "wiggle room" for the UK on the issue. The international outcry over the conflict in Gaza may also be on the agenda, as Starmer faces growing pressure to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and announce that Britain will also recognise a Palestinian state. Trump is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit -- his second -- at the invitation of King Charles III, which promises to be lavish. During a 2023 visit, Trump said he felt at home in Scotland, where his mother Mary Anne MacLeod grew up on the remote Isle of Lewis before emigrating to the United States at age 18. "He's original, he does things the way he wants to. I think a lot of our politicians could take a good leaf out of his book," 45-year-old Trump fan Lisa Hart told AFP as she waited to see his plane touch down. But the affection between Trump and Scotland is not always mutual. Residents, environmentalists and elected officials have voiced discontent over the Trump family's construction of a new golf course, which he is expected to open before he departs the UK on Tuesday. Police Scotland, which is bracing for mass protests in Edinburgh and Aberdeen as well as close to Trump's golf courses, have said there will be a "significant operation across the country over many days". Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who will also meet Trump during the visit, said the nation "shares a strong friendship with the United States that goes back centuries". Trump has also stepped into the sensitive debate in the UK about green energy and reaching net zero, with Aberdeen being the heart of Scotland's oil industry. In May, he wrote on his Truth Social platform that the UK should "stop with the costly and unsightly windmills" as he urged incentivising drilling for oil in the North Sea. The trip to Scotland puts physical distance between Trump and the latest twists in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking who died in prison in 2019 before facing trial. In his heyday, Epstein was friends with Trump and others in the New York jet-set, but the president is now facing backlash from his own MAGA supporters who demand access to the Epstein case files. Many support a conspiracy theory under which "deep state" elites protected rich and famous people who took part in an Epstein sex ring. But Trump is urging his supporters to move on from the case. The Wall Street Journal, which published an article detailing longstanding links between Trump and the sex offender, is being punished by the White House. Its reporting team plans to travel to Scotland on their own and join the White House press pool. But it has now been denied a seat on Air Force One for the flight back home. While Trump's family has undertaken many development projects worldwide, the president no longer legally controls the family holdings. But opponents and watchdog groups have accused him of having many conflicts of interest and using his position as US president to promote private family investments, especially abroad. aue-jkb-jj-pdh/dc
