US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Chinese FM at Asia summit
11/07/2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at ASEAN summit in Malaysia
Asia / Pacific
11/07/2025
Marco Rubio met with Russian & Chinese counterparts during ASEAN summit
Asia / Pacific
11/07/2025
Texas officials are trying to figure out who's really missing from the floods
Americas
11/07/2025
'Brazil is ours!': Protests in Sao Paulo after Trump threatens 50% levy
Americas
10/07/2025
'Tribal politics: If Trump can claim victory to MAGA base domestically that's all that matters'
Americas
08/07/2025
John Bolton deems Trump's lack of philosophy and coherent policy 'disconcerting to US allies'
Americas
07/07/2025
Texas deadly floods: A state 'can't deal with this scale of disaster' without federal resources
Americas
07/07/2025
White House visit: 'For Netanyahu the issue is mostly about domestic politics, not Israeli security'
Middle East
07/07/2025
Deadly floods killed dozens in Texas
Americas
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LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Trump cancels billions in funds for California high-speed rail
US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, July 16, that his administration was cutting billions in federal funding for the construction of a high-speed rail line in California, a project beset by delays. The Republican had previously signaled his opposition to the project, launched 15 years ago to build a high-speed train connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco. "Not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again," he posted on social media, using a pejorative name for California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and bitter political rival of the US president. "This was an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of Taxpayer money," added Trump. Launched in 2008, the project to connect the two main cities of the country's most populous state has seen numerous delays and overshot budgets. Trump had earlier canceled federal funding for the project in his first term, but the move was suspended after California challenged it in court. When Democrat Joe Biden was elected president in 2020, he restored the funds. Trump returned to office in January, and in June, his administration threatened to cancel $4 billion in funding for the project after a report by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) concluded that the initial section of the line would not be completed by a 2033 deadline. 'Train to nowhere' "Governor Newsom and California's high speed rail boondoggle are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption," said US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a post on social media. Duffy alleged the project's price tag had gone up from $33 billion to $135 billion, "with no completion date in sight." "That's why TODAY we're pulling the plug on federal funding for this train to nowhere," he said. Governor Newsom hit back on social media by assailing Duffy over the recent US air safety record. "Won't be taking advice from the guy who can't keep planes in the sky," he said. Even if California once again challenges Trump's decision in court, the funding cancellation would be a serious blow to the project, with new delays almost inevitable. Unlike Europe or Asia, passenger rail travel is one of the least developed forms of transportation in the United States, with high-speed rail virtually non-existent. The country's first fully high-speed rail line, planned to run about 220 miles (355 kilometers) between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, is expected to be completed by 2028, in time for the Olympic Games.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Asian stocks struggle as traders eye Fed saga, trade war
Traders have walked a cautious line this week as they ascertain the trade outlook after the US president unveiled a flurry of fresh tariff threats, with the latest being letters to scores of countries notifying them of levies of up to 15 percent. Meanwhile, Tokyo-listed shares in the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven plunged after its Canadian rival pulled out of an almost $50 billion takeover bid, ending a long-running battle over the convenience store giant. All three main indexes in New York ended in the green on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq at another record, following a brief sell-off that came after it emerged Trump had raised the idea of firing Fed boss Jerome Powell in a closed-door session with lawmakers. The markets soon bounced back after Trump denied he was planning to do so, saying: "I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely." The news caused a spike in US Treasury yields amid fears over the central bank's independence and came after the president spent months lambasting Powell for not cutting interest rates, calling him a "numbskull" and "moron". "This Trump vs Powell saga is obviously important to market sentiment, and it seems fair to think Trump's series of social posts was strategically designed to gauge the reaction in markets -- a trial balloon if you will," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "It seems that Trump indeed got his answers, and while (economic adviser) Kevin Hassett or any of the other names on the billing would be highly capable, the market has shown that it will take its pound of flesh if indeed Powell's dismissal were to become a reality." The Fed issue came as investors were already digesting a series of trade war salvos from Trump in recent weeks that saw him threaten Brazil, Mexico and the European Union with elevated tariffs if they do not reach deals before August 1. He also flagged hefty levies on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and while he reached an agreement with Indonesia on Tuesday, there are around two dozen more still unfinished. On Wednesday, Trump said he would send letters to more than 150 countries outlining what tolls they would face. "We'll have well over 150 countries that we're just going to send a notice of payment out, and the notice of payment is going to say what the tariff" will be, he told reporters, adding they were "not big countries, and they don't do that much business". He later told the Real America's Voice broadcast that the rate would "be probably 10 or 15 percent, we haven't decided yet". Meanwhile, the Fed's "Beige Book" survey of economic conditions pointed to increasing impacts from the tariffs, with many warning they passed along "at least a portion of cost increases" to consumers and expected costs to remain elevated. Asian markets struggled to build on Wall Street's lead. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were flat, while Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta rose, with losses seen in Seoul and Manila. Tokyo was also down, with 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings plunging more than nine percent at one point after Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard withdrew its $47 billion offer for the firm. ACT released a letter sent to Seven & i's board, accusing it of "a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay". The decision ends a months-long saga that would have seen the biggest foreign buyout of a Japanese company, merging the 7-Eleven, Circle K and other franchises to create a global convenience store behemoth. Key figures at around 0230 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 39,602.58 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 24,512.01 Shanghai - Composite: FLAT percent at 3,502.27 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1617 from $1.1641 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3395 from $1.3414 Dollar/yen: UP at 148.34 yen from 147.80 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.73 pence from 86.72 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $66.94 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $68.97 per barrel
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Syria withdraws army from Sweida after Israel bombs Damascus
Syria announced that its army had begun to withdraw from violence-hit Sweida on Wednesday, following a wave of Israeli strikes on the capital and a US call for government forces to leave the majority-Druze southern city. The United States, which is close allies with Israel and has been trying to reboot its relationship with Syria, said an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area, and urged "all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made". The Syrian government earlier announced a new ceasefire in Sweida that would bring a halt to military operations there, after clashes that a war monitor said had left more than 300 people dead since Sunday. The Syrian army "has begun withdrawing from the city of Sweida in implementation of the terms of the adopted agreement, after the end of the sweep of the city for outlaw groups", a defence ministry statement said. The statement did not mention any withdrawal of other government security forces, which had deployed to the city on Tuesday with the stated aim of overseeing a previous truce agreed with Druze community leaders following days of deadly fighting with local Bedouin tribes. That ceasefire appeared to have little effect, however, with witnesses reporting that the government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians in a bloody rampage through the city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that the violence in Sweida province had left more than 300 people dead, including government forces, local fighters and 27 Druze civilians killed in "summary executions". The Syrian presidency vowed to investigate the "heinous acts" in Sweida and to punish "all those proven to be involved". 13:57 Damascus strikes Israel, which has its own Druze community, has presented itself as a defender of the group, although some analysts say that is a pretext for pursuing its own military goal of keeping Syrian government forces as far from their shared frontier as possible. Following the fall of Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the Israeli military took control of the UN-monitored demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights and conducted hundreds of strikes on military targets in Syria. After carrying out air strikes in Sweida province earlier this week in what it said was defence of the Druze, Israel launched a series of attacks on the capital Damascus on Wednesday. AFP images showed the side of a building in the defence ministry complex in ruins after one strike, as smoke billowed over the area. Israel said it had also struck a "military target" in the area of the presidential palace, while a Syrian interior ministry source reported strikes outside the capital in "the vicinity of the Mazzeh (military) airport". Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called on Damascus to "leave the Druze in Sweida alone", and threatened to unleash "painful blows" until government forces pulled back. Syria's foreign ministry slammed the attacks as a "dangerous escalation", while Israel's military chief insisted his forces were "acting with responsibility, restraint and sound judgment". The Syrian health ministry said that at least three people were killed and 34 wounded in the strikes on Damascus. 01:58 Halt to Sweida operations Announcing the new ceasefire on Wednesday, Syria's interior ministry said there would be a "total and immediate halt to all military operations", as well as the formation of a committee comprising government representatives and Druze spiritual leaders to supervise its implementation. An AFP correspondent in Sweida, however, reported hearing gunfire in the city even after the announcement. In a video carried by state television, Sheikh Youssef Jarboua, one of Syria's main Druze spiritual leaders, read out the 10 points of the accord, which also includes "the full integration of the province" of Sweida into the Syrian state. Until now, Druze areas have been controlled by fighters from the minority community. The latest fighting was the most serious outbreak of violence in Syriasince government forces battled Druze fighters in Sweida province and near Damascus in April and May, leaving more than 100 people dead. The clashes between the Bedouin and the Druze that first prompted the government deployment were triggered by the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable merchant, according to the Observatory. The two groups have been at loggerheads for decades. The Islamist authorities have had strained relations with Syria's patchwork of religious and ethnic minorities, and have been repeatedly accused of not doing enough to protect them. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had expressed concern on Wednesday about the Israeli bombings, adding "we want it to stop". A State Department spokesperson said Washington was also asking Syria to "withdraw their military in order to enable all sides to de-escalate". Rubio later announced on X that all sides had "agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end". "This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do," he wrote, without elaborating on the nature of the agreement.
