Trump gets down to business with trade talks after round of golf at Scotland resort
He is set to meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday for discussions on the trading relationship between Europe and the US.
Further talks are scheduled with Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, expected to focus on trade issues, including potential tariff reductions for British steel.
Trump will also meet Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who plans to address global and humanitarian concerns, notably the suffering in Gaza.
The visit has seen significant security operations, and while no protesters were present during his golf game, demonstrations occurred in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
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The Guardian
a few seconds ago
- The Guardian
What does Texas redrawing its voting maps mean and why have Democrats left the state? Explained
At the insistence of Donald Trump, Republicans in Texas are pushing ahead with an effort to redraw their congressional map to pick up as many as five additional Republican seats. The decision has set off a cascading legal battle. State lawmakers have fled Texas as part of an effort to stop Republicans from passing the map. Democrats in other states have said they will retaliate, setting the stage for a nasty and prolonged redistricting tit-for-tat that could last for years. After a nationwide census every 10 years, all 50 US states are required to redraw their congressional districts to account for population shifts. The US constitution entrusts the power to draw congressional lines to the state legislatures in each state. Since the 18th century, politicians have tried to use this line drawing power to punish their political rivals. In the 19th century, the practice of manipulating district lines for political lines became known as gerrymandering. While states are required to redistrict every 10 years, the constitution contains no explicit ban on redrawing boundaries before the decade is up. Republicans currently hold an extremely slim 219-212 majority in the US House (there are four vacancies, three of which are seats previously held by Democrats). Republicans know they will probably lose seats in next year's mid-term elections, when all members of the US House will stand for re-election and the sitting president's party typically does not perform well. Republicans have complete control of state government in Texas, which has 38 US House seats (second only to California's 52 seats). Republicans currently hold 25 of those seats. Seeking to shore up the Republican advantage in the US House, Trump urged the Texas governor Greg Abbott to redraw the state's lines to add additional Republican-friendly districts. Abbott called a special session to draw the districts last month. Last week, Republicans unveiled a map in which they could pick up five additional seats, giving them a 30-8 advantage in the state's delegation. Texas also undertook a mid-decade redistricting in 2003. In 2006, the US supreme court said that nothing in the US constitution prohibited Texas from redrawing its district mid-decade. The US supreme court has also given states virtually unlimited leeway to gerrymander districts for partisan gain. In a 5-4 decision in 2019, it said that federal courts could not do anything to stop the drawing of districts for partisan advantage, no matter how severe. There are still legal protections that prohibit states from diluting the influence of minority voters when they draw districts or explicitly sorting them based on their race. But the supreme court has made those cases extremely difficult to win and they can take years to resolve in court. Democrats are in the minority in the Texas state legislature. But the body's bylaws require the presence of two-thirds of its lawmakers to conduct business. There are 150 members of the Texas house of representatives, 62 of whom are Democrats. More than 51 fled the state on Sunday to Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to deny that quorum, halting the legislature from moving forward on the maps. This isn't the first time Democrats have fled the state to break quorum to try to stop Republicans from passing legislation. In 2021, Democrats fled to Washington DC as Republicans were poised to pass sweeping new voting restrictions. That standoff lasted several weeks, but Democrats eventually returned to the state and the legislation passed. Democrats also fled the state in 2003 to try and stop mid-decade redistricting. The Texas house voted on Monday to authorize arrest warrants for the members who fled the state. Such warrants are unlikely to be enforced while the members are out of the state. Abbott and the Texas attorney general Ken Paxton have pledged to aggressively pursue the Democrats. Abbott has cited a 2021 non-binding opinion from Paxton's office to suggest that the lawmakers who broke quorum could be removed from office. But such an extraordinary action would need to go through the Texas courts and would likely be tied up in state court for some time. Rules enacted by the House in 2023 subject state lawmakers to a $500 daily fine for each day they are absent. Lawmakers are paid about $600 a month. While the rules prohibit lawmakers from using campaign funds to pay the fines, there are loopholes Democrats can use to have someone else cover them. The current special legislative session runs through 19 August but Abbott can continue to call more sessions, and it's unclear how long Democrats are willing to wait out returning. As Texas has moved ahead with its effort to implement a new map, Democrats have threatened to retaliate by redrawing districts in states where they have complete control. Most notably, California Governor Gavin Newsom is leading an effort to redraw California's 52 districts to drastically reduce the number of Republican seats (Democrats already hold 43 seats). Democratic governors in Illinois and New York have also pledged to retaliate. Democrats face significant legal obstacles to achieving this goal. In California, voters approved a referendum in 2010 that strips lawmakers of their redistricting power and instead hands it to a bipartisan and independent citizens commission. Newsom and California Democrats are reportedly moving ahead with a plan to have voters approve a new map through a referendum this fall. In New York, the state constitution bars mid-decade redistricting absent a court order, but Democrats are reportedly considering putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow them to redistrict later in the decade. 'I'm tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back,' Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said on Wednesday. Trump is reportedly urging Republicans in Missouri to redraw their congressional map to pick up an additional GOP seat. Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, has also suggested that his state, where Republicans hold 20 of 28 seats, should redraw districts, which would likely lead to additional GOP gains. Ohio, where Republicans hold 10 of 15 seats, is required to redraw its map this year because of a unique state law. That is likely to also lead to additional Republican seats.
Telegraph
a few seconds ago
- Telegraph
Demand return of hostages before recognising Palestine, Labour MP tells Starmer
Britain must demand that Hamas returns all the remaining hostages before it agrees to recognise a Palestinian state, a Labour MP has told Sir Keir Starmer. Mike Tapp, the vice-chairman of the Labour Friends of Israel, has warned that a 'unilateral recognition' of a Palestinian state risks 'handing Hamas a PR victory'. The Prime Minister announced last week that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in September unless Israel met certain conditions. Downing Street has refused to say whether Hamas could still be in power in the region, or whether or not the hostages had to be released, before a state would be recognised. Mr Tapp, the MP for Dover and Deal, is the first Labour MP to publicly call for the release of hostages to be a precondition for the recognition of Palestine. Writing for Jewish News, he said: 'The release of the hostages must be among the conditions for any UK recognition.' He added: 'For a two-state solution to achieve the ends we all desire – self-determination for the Palestinian people and security for the Israeli people – it is crucial that Britain also conditions recognition on Hamas committing to disarmament and having no further role in the governance of a Palestinian state . 'This is the common-sense view of the British people.' Conditions set out by the Prime Minister last week for Israel included agreeing to a ceasefire and allowing the United Nations to restart the supply of aid. But in his speech outlining his plan, he did not outline any specific demands for the Palestinian Authority, nor Hamas, as part of the recognition process. A spokesman for the Prime Minister said on Monday: 'We've been very clear that Hamas must release all hostages unconditionally and immediately, and the Prime Minister and the Government have said that.' Hostage families and a British hostage released earlier this year criticised the Prime Minister's announcement. Emily Damari, a dual British-Israeli citizen who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, said: 'This is not diplomacy – it is a moral failure. Shame on you, Prime Minister.' 'Handing Hamas a PR victory' Last week, Hamas released a video of an emaciated Israeli hostage digging his own grave inside a small tunnel in Gaza. Mr Tapp wrote on Tuesday: 'Unilateral recognition in September risks handing Hamas a PR victory and, by playing the card before the conditions for lasting peace are met, diminishing Britain's relevance in any future peace process. 'It remains a mirage: an easy, symbolic act which suggests there is some way to short circuit the hard graft of direct negotiations – wrestling with tough compromises and minute details – which ultimately remains the only credible, serious path to a two-state solution.' Last week, a senior Hamas official welcomed the Prime Minister's promise to recognise Palestine, saying that 'victory and liberation are closer than we expected'. Basem Naim, a former minister in the terror group's government of Gaza, said: 'International support for Palestinian self-determination shows we are moving in the right direction.' Sir Keir had been under increasing pressure from his backbenchers to recognise a state of Palestine, as images of severe malnutrition of adults and children kept emerging from Gaza. In January, 2,846 children were diagnosed with malnutrition – a figure that has jumped month on month, to 5,870 in June, according to Unicef. More than 100 Labour MPs had demanded that the Prime Minister recognise Palestine, in a letter coordinated by backbencher Sarah Champion. But Sir Keir's announcement was not universally welcomed by those calling for recognition either. Ms Champion said: 'I'm troubled our recognition appears conditional on Israel's actions.'
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
US requires Zambia, Malawi citizens to pay up to $15,000 bond for some visitor visas
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration will require visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, the State Department said on Tuesday. "Starting August 20, 2025, any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa must post a bond in amounts of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, determined at time of visa interview," the State Department said in a notice on its website. A notice about the program, which gives U.S. consular officers worldwide the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, appeared on the Federal Register on Monday but no country names had been mentioned. A State Department spokesperson on Monday said countries would be identified based on "high overstay rates, screening and vetting deficiencies, concerns regarding acquisition of citizenship by investment without a residency requirement, and foreign policy considerations." The spokesperson, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the list of countries may be updated from time to time. The bond amount will be returned to the applicant if the applicant leaves the U.S. within the allowed window of time in line with their visa and complies with all the terms of their visa status. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arresting people who are in the U.S. illegally. He issued a travel ban in June that fully or partially blocks citizens of 19 nations from entering the U.S. on national security grounds. Numerous countries in Africa, including Burundi, Djibouti and Togo, also had high overstay rates, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data from fiscal year 2023. Visa holders who have posted a visa bond must arrive and depart the United States via three specific ports of entry, the State Department notice said on Tuesday. It listed those as Boston Logan Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Washington Dulles Airport. It warned that if such travelers arrive or depart from anywhere else, they could be denied entry or their departure may not be appropriately registered.
