Swiss ready to make Donald Trump a ‘more attractive offer' after 39pc tariff shock
Switzerland is ready to make a "more attractive offer" in trade talks with Washington, its government said yesterday, following a crisis meeting aimed at averting a 39pc US import tariff on Swiss goods that threatens to hammer its export-driven economy.
The Federal Council – the country's governing cabinet – said it was determined to pursue discussions with the US, if necessary beyond the August 7 deadline that US president Donald Trump has set for the tariff to come into effect.
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Irish Daily Mirror
8 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Donald Trump makes bizarre gesture and yells 'nuclear missiles' at White House
Donald Trump made a peculiar gesture whilst taking a stroll on the White House roof - moments after seemingly declaring his intention to position nuclear missiles there. Journalists assembled on the White House lawn called out questions to the President, who had been conducting an inspection of the building's rooftop. He's plotting major refurbishments to the legendary residence and administrative headquarters. His initial alteration involved concreting over the renowned Rose Garden - a move that has provoked outrage amongst detractors. The subsequent scheme he's revealed involves adding an enormous ballroom to the East Wing's exterior - blueprints bearing striking resemblance to the ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, reports the Mirror. On this occasion, he answered enquiries about his future construction plans by seemingly yelling "missiles. Nuclear missiles." President Donald Trump talks to the press as he surveys the White House grounds from the roof on Tuesday. (Image: AP) He gestured towards the White House roof below him, then executed a rigid-armed motion, repeating it twice. It appears probable that the President was simply mimicking a missile launch. However, following the controversy surrounding a comparable gesture Elon Musk made at a celebration for his inauguration, his opponents will likely highlight the movement's resemblance to a Nazi salute. Trump seemed to be surveying multiple locations including the press briefing room roof and the Rose Garden. Dressed in a suit paired with a crimson tie, Trump toured the space alongside several companions, whilst someone amongst them captured photographs. Trump might have been casting an eye over the ongoing refurbishments and building works at the White House. He's made a comeback to the Oval Office with ambitious plans to transform the premises, including proposals to concrete over the Rose Garden and erect an opulent ballroom. After surveying the scene from atop the White House, Trump meandered to a spot above the press briefing room, where he exchanged a few words with the journalists assembled beneath him. When quizzed about his rooftop venture, Trump remarked he was "taking a little walk" and dropped a hint about the "ballroom on the other side." In the previous month, it was publicised by the White House that come September, work would commence on a grandiose new $200 million ballroom – marking the first major architectural addition to the Executive Mansion since the Truman balcony in 1948. Amongst the entourage accompanying him was a figure believed to be James McCrery, the architect spearheading the project. "Just another way to spend my money for this country," Trump quipped. "Anything I do is financed by me." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Sunday World
29 minutes ago
- Sunday World
Bill and Hillary Clinton ordered to testify in Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking probe
The move is part of a congressional probe that politicians believe may show links to President Donald Trump and other former top officials Former US President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Photo:. The US House Oversight Committee subpoenaed former president Bill Clinton, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and eight former top law enforcement officials for testimony in the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The move is part of a congressional probe that politicians believe may show links to President Donald Trump and other former top officials. The committee's actions showed how even with members away from Washington on a monthlong break, interest in the Epstein files is still running high. Mr Trump has repeatedly tried to move past the Justice Department's decision not to release a full accounting of the investigation, but politicians from both major political parties, as well as many in the Republican president's political base, have refused to let it go. US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania on Sunday (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP) Since Epstein's 2019 death in a New York jail cell as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges, conservative conspiracists have stoked theories about what information investigators gathered on Epstein – and who else could have been involved. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee nodded to that line of questioning last month by initiating the subpoenas for the Clintons, both Democrats, as well as demanding all communications between former president Joe Biden's Democratic administration and the Justice Department regarding Epstein. The committee is also demanding interviews under oath from former attorneys general spanning the last three presidential administrations: Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales. Also subpoenaed were former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. However, it was Democrats who sparked the move to subpoena the Justice Department for its files on Epstein. They were joined by some Republicans to initiate successfully the subpoena through a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee. 'Democrats are focused on transparency and are pushing back against the corruption of Donald Trump,' Robert Garcia, who is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told reporters last month. 'What is Donald Trump hiding that he won't release the Epstein files?' The committee had previously issued a subpoena for an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, who had been serving a prison sentence in Florida for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the wealthy financier but was recently transferred to a Texas facility. However, the committee's Republican chairman, James Comer, has indicated he is willing to delay that deposition until after the Supreme Court decides whether to hear an appeal to her conviction. She argues she was wrongfully prosecuted. Former US President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Photo:. News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, August 5th
Irish Times
37 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Russia issues missile warning to West ahead of US deadline for Ukraine ceasefire
The Kremlin has said it is no longer bound by any constraints on deploying short- and intermediate-range missiles near European Union and Nato states, as nuclear sabre-rattling escalated before a US deadline for Moscow to halt fighting with Ukraine . US president Donald Trump has threatened to impose 'severe' tariffs on imports from Russia and from countries – including China and India – that buy Moscow's oil, unless the Kremlin agrees to a ceasefire by Friday. Envoys for Mr Trump are expected in Moscow and Kyiv this week – Russian state media say Steve Witkoff will arrive on Wednesday, and Keith Kellogg is set to visit Ukraine – amid sharpening rhetoric between the White House and the Kremlin. After former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned that Mr Trump's 'ultimatum game' was stoking the risk of war between their countries, the US leader said last Friday that he was moving two nuclear-powered submarines to 'appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that'. READ MORE On the same day, Russia said it had started regular production of a new nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile called Oreshnik, and would deploy it this year in neighbouring Belarus, which borders Ukraine and EU and Nato members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Tuesday that Moscow now felt free to deploy short- and mid-range missiles wherever it liked, in response to what it claims are US plans to deploy such missiles in areas of Europe and Asia that would threaten Russia. [ Opinion: Trump's threats against Russia are a charade meant to buy Putin time Opens in new window ] 'Russia no longer has any constraints in this regard. Russia no longer considers itself to be limited in any way. Russia considers itself to have the right, if necessary, to take appropriate measures,' he said. During Mr Trump's first term as president in 2019, the US withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which banned missiles with a range of 500-5,500km. Russia denied US claims at the time that it was secretly developing such weapons, but said it would not deploy anything that had been banned under the INF for as long as the US and its allies did the same. 'Our repeated warnings on this account have been ignored, and US-made ground-based INF systems are being deployed in Europe and the Asia-Pacific,' the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday. 'In this regard, [Russia] states that the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar systems have ceased to exist. We are authorised to declare that the Russian Federation no longer considers itself bound by the previously adopted self-imposed restrictions.' Moscow claimed that some versions of the US-made Himars rocket system – which Ukraine uses to powerful effect against Russia's invasion force – could fire further than 500km and so fall 'into the category of ground-launched INF-range missile systems'. Mr Trump reiterated on Tuesday that he would raise tariffs on India 'very substantially' due to what he considers to be New Delhi's unfair trade rules and because it is 'fuelling the war machine' by buying Russian oil. [ The Irish Times view on Trump and Putin: the dangerous nuclear backdrop Opens in new window ] He also claimed that lower world energy prices would force Russian president Vladimir Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine. 'If energy goes down enough, Putin is going to stop killing people,' Mr Trump told US television. 'If you get energy down, another $10 a barrel, he's going to have no choice because his economy stinks.' Mr Peskov said US threats to impose financial penalties on Russia's trading partners were 'illegal'. Sweden, Norway and Denmark announced that they would contribute about $500 million (€433 million) to a new plan for Nato members in Europe to buy US arms for Ukraine. The Netherlands said on Monday it would put €500 million into the scheme.
