Marcos offers condolences to U.S. amid deadly texas floods
In a statement released Wednesday, Marcos expressed the Philippines' solidarity with the United States, emphasizing shared grief and hope for recovery.
'On behalf of the Filipino people, I offer our deepest sympathies to President Trump and the American people during this time of tragedy,' said Marcos. He added that the Philippines, being no stranger to natural disasters, empathizes with those who lost loved ones.
The President voiced confidence that the people of Texas, under the leadership of President Trump, will recover with resilience and unity.
Massive flooding has inundated large parts of Texas, triggered by over 20 inches of rain in areas like Houston and Austin. The death toll continues to rise, and many remain stranded as emergency crews work through widespread devastation.
Texas is home to over 200,000 Filipino-Americans, prompting concern and prayers from many in the Philippines.
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Middle East Eye
5 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
With Damascus strikes, Israel seeks to tear up Trump's vision for Syria
Israel and the US appear to be on divergent paths in Syria. While the allies aren't on a collision course yet, current and former Arab, US and Israeli officials say their differences could complicate the Trump administration's grand diplomatic plans. On Wednesday, Israel carried out powerful air strikes on Damascus, blowing up a part of the defence ministry and hitting near the presidential palace, as it framed its attacks as an effort to protect Syria's Druze minority. The strikes marked a significant Israeli escalation against the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa and came despite his warming ties with the US and his burgeoning security contacts with Israel. "Israel and the US are definitely not on the same page," Dareen Khalifa, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, told Middle East Eye. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Israel claimed that its attack was in response to requests from Druze inside Israel for intervention, where the minority is around 150,000-strong. Prominent Syrian Druze, Sheikh Hikmat Salaman al-Hajri, who is seen as close to Israel, did in fact call for international support, saying the minority faced a "total war of extermination". Other Syrian Druze leaders, however, have rejected Israel's intervention. "There is definitely genuine Druze pressure inside Israel to intervene," a US diplomat in the region who has been monitoring the fighting told MEE. "Regardless of whether the pressure is real or not, the outcome is the same: a zone of influence for Israel in Syria. That means telling the Syrians where they can and cannot put their tanks." When asked to comment on Israel's strikes and the instability plaguing the war-ravaged country, US President Donald Trump declined to comment and instead deferred reporters to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Earlier in the day, Rubio tried to characterise the strikes and worsening security situation as a simple "misunderstanding". 'All roads lead to Damascus' Israel's move to assert itself as the dominant power protecting the Druze in a swath of southern Syria clashes with the visions of the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the US rejected Israeli pleas to keep more troops in northeastern Syria, MEE revealed. Kurdish fighters there are lobbying for more autonomy. The Trump administration wants to reduce its military footprint in Syria and ensure the country - a tapestry of Christians, Muslims, Druze and Kurds - has one undisputed power centre backed up by US allies like Nato member Turkey, cash-rich Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Tom Barrack, Trump's billionaire, Lebanese-American envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, waxed on about Syria just last week in front of reporters. "You have the Druze that want it to be Druze land. You have the Alawites who want it to be Alawite land. You have the Kurds who want it to be Kurdistan," Barrack said. "What Syria is saying, what Damascus is saying, that's not going to happen - all roads lead to Damascus." 'In Netanyahu's mind, undermining the Syrian state is way more important than any normalisation' - Alon Pinkas, former Israeli diplomat "There's not an indication on our part that there's going to be a separate Alawite state or a separate Druze state. There's Syria," he said. To be sure, Syria has been battered by sectarian violence since Sharaa, a former leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and before that al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, ousted former President Bashar al-Assad last year. In March, Syrian security forces killed hundreds of Alawites - the sect to which Assad belonged - along the Mediterranean coast. In June, at least 25 people were killed in a bombing at Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church. Sharaa was criticised for his handling of the fallout. While the Trump administration condemned the attacks, it is focused on a speedy lifting of sanctions and assuaging sectarian tensions. Barrack has praised Gulf investments in Syria. And if there is an outside military power that the US has leaned towards recognising in Syria, it is Turkey, experts say. MEE revealed that the US was instrumental in pressing Turkey and Israel to establish a deconfliction line in Syria earlier this year. 'Default mode' For Trump, Gulf investment and Turkish buy-in complement the normalisation of ties between Syria and Israel. When Trump met Sharaa in Riyadh in May, he asked him to join the Abraham Accords - the diplomatic agreements between Israel, Morocco, Bahrain and the UAE that Trump sees as one of his signature foreign policy achievements. Barrack told The New York Times that the US has supported back-channel talks between Israel and Sharaa's government, which have reportedly been held in Baku, Azerbaijan - Turkey's closest ally. The UAE has also mediated talks between the two, according to Reuters. Talk of Syria and Israel striking an agreement reached a crescendo after the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict ended. Posters sprang up in Tel Aviv showing Trump, Netanyahu and Sharaa along with other Arab leaders. How Turkey and Qatar are playing an outsized role in Trump's new Middle East Read More » "This puts to shame the nonsense of normalisation," Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat, told MEE. "In Netanyahu's mind, undermining the Syrian state is way more important than any normalisation." Diplomats in the region say that the Israeli strikes are a direct rejection of Trump's efforts. "The Israelis will go along with Trump talking peace, but they prefer Syria divided," an Arab diplomat told MEE. "The minute they got the opportunity, they went back to default mode - tear up Syria." Israel's willingness to bomb Damascus as they were talking to the Syrians does reflect a real difference of opinion between the two allies on Sharaa, the US and Arab diplomats told MEE. "The Trump administration has been much more willing to give Sharaa a chance with Turkish and Saudi backing. For the Israelis, Sharaa is not genuine - he is a jihadist," the US diplomat told MEE. After Assad's removal, Israel launched widespread strikes on Syria. Netanyahu sent soldiers to occupy a swath of southwestern Syria that includes a United Nations buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Israel seized much of the strategic plateau in the 1967 war. Arab and US diplomats say the first step to any normalisation would be reinstating a 1974 disengagement agreement that created the buffer zone along the two countries' borders. Some of the biggest advocates of normalisation now say it is in jeopardy. "Israel's unnecessary strikes must cease immediately," Republican Congressman Joe Wilson said on Wednesday, before calling the strikes "suicidal for Israel'.
Middle East Eye
7 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Turkey says ceasefire in Syria may take place within hours
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that a ceasefire could take hold in Syria within the next three to four hours, as Israeli military strikes continue to target Syrian government forces in Sweida and Damascus. 'By working together with the Americans, I hope that within the next three to four hours, we will enter a period of calm and ceasefire,' he told journalists on Wednesday in New York. Fidan said he was coordinating Ankara's efforts with Jordan and Saudi Arabia, seeking to halt hostilities not only between government forces and the Druze militia in the area but also to address broader regional tensions. 'It is, of course, unacceptable that some of the Druze there are being provoked and supported by Israel, and are becoming a source of instability,' he said. 'The clashes between the Druze and the Bedouins must be brought to an end, ideally through the intervention of security forces.' Fidan emphasized that while Turkey wants to prevent civilian casualties, it is equally important for the central government to assert its authority throughout the country to ensure security. 'At the same time, we conveyed our views and suggestions on this issue to the Israelis through our intelligence agency,' he added.
Gulf Today
8 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Trump ‘not currently firing Fed Chair, but not ruling out'
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was not currently planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but added that he did not rule it out. Trump's mixed messaging, after months of escalating attacks on the independent central bank chief, sent the yield on the 30-year US Treasury bond surging above five per cent. Asked about whether he would eject Powell, Trump said he is 'doing a lousy job but no, I'm not talking about that.' 'I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely,' he added. Trump noted that he would in any case be able to make a change at the top of the Fed when Powell's term ends next year. 'We'll pick somebody that's good,' Trump said. 'We want to see lower interest rates.' Powell's term at the helm of the US central bank does not conclude until May 2026, and his term as a Fed governor is up at a later date. The Fed chair has said that he did not plan to step down early, and considers the central bank's independence over monetary policy to be a matter of law. A Supreme Court order recently suggested that Fed officials cannot be taken out of their jobs over policy disagreements, meaning they have to be removed 'for cause,' which could be interpreted to mean wrongdoing. The US leader has repeatedly lashed out at Powell for not lowering interest rates more quickly, calling the central banker a 'numbskull' and 'moron' recently. Late Tuesday, Trump suggested that a $2.5 billion renovation plan at the Fed could be sufficient cause to force Powell out. Asked by a reporter if the spending was a fireable offense, Trump said: 'I think it sort of is.' The US leader on Wednesday floated the possibility of 'fraud' involved with the renovation, but provided no details substantiating the allegation. The president has received political backing from his party for firing the Fed chair, US media reported Wednesday, noting that he told a room of Republican lawmakers that he would do so. A White House official told CNBC: 'They expressed approval for firing him. The president indicated he likely will soon.' The New York Times reported that Trump showed off a draft letter to oust Powell at his meeting with about a dozen House Republicans late Tuesday, although the president said Wednesday that he only 'talked about the concept' of removing Powell instead. Trump added Wednesday that many people want the top job at the Fed, saying: 'I think it's one of the easiest jobs in government, you show up once a month and you make a statement about where the economy is going, and we're going to raise or lower interest rates.' US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said he believes it would be beneficial to have new leadership at the US Federal Reserve, although he's not sure the president has the authority to fire Chair Jerome Powell, according to media reports. 'I do I believe new leadership would be helpful at the Fed,' a Wall Street Journal reporter on X quoted Johnson as saying. Punchbowl News, in a separate X post, reported Johnson said he's 'really not sure' if the president can fire Powell. Financial markets took a hit after reports about Trump's plans, although they recouped some losses after his later remarks. The dollar initially fell by one percent against the euro before regaining ground, while safe haven asset gold logged gains. Wall Street's main indexes stumbled, while the yield on the 30-year US bond surged on market worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat while the broad-based S&P 500 Index and tech-focused Nasdaq both lost 0.1 per cent. Meanwhile, gold prices jumped on Wednesday following news reports that US President Donald Trump planned to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but trimmed gains after Trump denied the claim. Trump said he was not planning to fire Powell, but declined to rule anything out, citing an investigation into cost overruns on a $2.5-billion Fed renovation project. Spot gold rose 0.9% to $3,352.49 per ounce, as of 1233 pm after rising as much as 1.5% earlier. US gold futures were up 0.7% at $3,360.80. 'Headlines suggesting Trump was considering firing Powell drove gold prices higher ... He later clarified it's highly unlikely. Gold markets were whipsawed by the back and forth,' said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities. Israel launched powerful airstrikes in Damascus, damaging the Defence Ministry and striking near the presidential palace. The attack added to geopolitical worries and supported purchases of safe-haven gold. On the trade front, the European Commission prepared to target $84.1 billion worth of US goods for possible tariffs if trade talks with Washington fail after Trump threatened last week to impose 30% tariffs on imports from the EU. Adding support to gold was data that showed US producer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in June from a 0.3% rise in May. It followed Tuesday's data that showed overall consumer prices rose 0.3% in June, up from 0.1% in May, signalling the Federal Reserve may continue to exercise caution before cutting interest rates. Agencies
