Page 139 - Donald Trump

Trump warns of severe consequences if Putin does not agree to stop war

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that there will be very severe consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after the two leaders meet for a summit later this week in Alaska. Trump made the comment in response to a question from a reporter after announcing this year's Kennedy Centre Honours recipients in Washington. He did not say what the consequences might be. The remark came soon after Trump consulted with European leaders, who said the president assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets with Putin on Friday in Anchorage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined several of Kyiv's main allies in the virtual meeting with the US leader, and Zelenskyy told the group that Putin is bluffing ahead of the planned summit about Russia's ability to occupy all of Ukraine and shake off sanctions. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said afterward that important decisions could

Brazil's Lula announces $5.5 bn in credits for exporters hit by US tariffs

The Brazilian government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to support local exporters affected by a 50 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on several products from the South American nation. Dubbed Sovereign Brazil," the plan provides for a credit lifeline of 30 billion reais (USD 5.5 billion), among other measures. Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva described the plan, which includes a bill to be sent to Congress, as a first step to help local exporters. Congressional leaders attended Wednesday's ceremony, a first in months, in a sign of growing political support for the leftist leader in response to Trump's tariffs. Other measures announced by the Brazilian government include postponing tax charges for companies affected by US tariffs, providing 5 billion reais (USD 930,000) in tax credits to small and medium-sized companies until the end of 2026 and expanding access to insurance against cancelled orders. The plan also incentivises public purchases of items th

Trump admin ordered to restore some withheld grant funding to UCLA

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore millions of dollars in National Science Foundation grants it has withheld from the University of California, Los Angeles, saying they were made in violation of her earlier court ruling. US District Judge Rita F. Lin ruled late Tuesday that the NSF must reinstate the research grants that were suspended for reasons she had already ruled arbitrary and capricious, and gave the administration until Aug. 19 to show compliance or explain why it hasn't restored the money. It was not immediately clear how much funding could be returned to UCLA. The school's chancellor said last week that the Trump administration has pulled USD584 million in federal grants from various federal agencies. The judge's ruling applies specifically to NSF grants. UCLA's money as been frozen as part of a wider pressure campaign targeting universities that Trump says are out of step with his political agenda. University of California researchers challen

Judge weighs if Trump violated law by deploying National Guard to LA

A federal judge in San Francisco is weighing whether the Trump administration violated federal law by sending National Guard troops to accompany immigration agents on raids in Southern California. A three-day trial on the matter concluded Wednesday. California has argued the troops violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally prohibits military enforcement of domestic laws. Lawyers for the administration said the law doesn't apply because President Donald Trump called up the National Guard under an authority that allows their deployment if "the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States. Federal and military officials were called to testify, and the trial's third day largely focused on weedy arguments about the 1878 law and whether the court even had a role in determining the limits of presidential power. Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard members and later 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June after protests in response to immigration .

No unilateral peace deal in Alaska: Zelenskyy, European leaders urge Trump

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened a virtual summit with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and several European leaders

Dollar extends losses as Fed rate cut hopes and political pressure grow

The dollar index, measuring the currency against a basket of peers, fell 0.2 per cent to 97.81, its lowest since July 28, extending its 0.5 per cent drop on Tuesday

Trump warns of severe consequences if Putin doesn't stop war after summit

Trump did not provide a timeframe for a second meeting. He is to meet Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday

Trump Wins Fight to Withhold Billions of Dollars in Foreign Aid

In a 2-1 decision on Wednesday, the appellate panel reversed a Washington federal judge who found that US officials were violating the Constitution's separation of powers principles

Leaving top Trump admin post? President may have ambassadorship for you

Diplomacy may be soft power, but in President Donald Trump's administration, it is also lately a soft landing. National security adviser Mike Waltz was nominated as United Nations ambassador after he mistakenly added a journalist to a Signal chat discussing military plans. Trump tapped IRS Commissioner Billy Long to be his ambassador to Iceland after Long contradicted the administration's messaging in his less than two months in the job. And Trump last weekend named State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as deputy representative to the UN after she struggled to gel with Secretary of State Marco Rubio's close-knit team. The new appointments can be viewed as consolation prizes for leaving a high-profile post in the Trump administration following rocky tenures. But they also reflect the degree to which Trump is trying to keep his loyalists close, even if their earlier placements in the administration were ill-fitting. Breaking with the reality TV show that helped make Trump a ...

Trump tariff impact: US kids to see higher price tag on Christmas toys

Majority of US retail firms put their orders on hold due to uncertainty in tariff situation

Zelenskyy rejects ceding Donbas to Russia, seeks role in US-Russia talks

Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that together form Donbas as a condition to unlock a ceasefire

Zelenskyy to visit Berlin for meetings ahead of Trump-Putin summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Berlin on Wednesday to join German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for talks with European and US leaders ahead of the Trump-Putin summit later this week, the German government said. Merz has convened a series of virtual meetings on Wednesday in an attempt to have the voice of European and Ukraine's leaders heard ahead of a summit that they have been sidelined from. Zelenskyy is due to meet with European leaders first, to prepare for a virtual call with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance about an hour later. A call between leaders involved in the coalition of the willing countries prepared to help police any future peace agreement will take place last. Trump has said he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year. Trump has disappointed allies in Europe by saying Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was

Russian forces advance in Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin Alaska summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns of fresh Russian offensives as Trump and Putin prepare for talks in Alaska without Kyiv at the table

Alaska's Russian ties in spotlight as Trump, Putin meet in the 49th state

When US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, it will be the latest chapter in the 49th state's long history with Russia and with international tensions. Siberian fur traders arrived from across the Bering Sea in the first part of the 18th century, and the imprint of Russian settlement in Alaska remains. The oldest building in Anchorage is a Russian Orthodox church, and many Alaska Natives have Russian surnames. The nations are so close Alaska's Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait is less than 5 kilometres from Russia's Big Diomede that former Gov. Sarah Palin was right during the 2008 presidential race when she said, You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, though the comment prompted jokes that that was the extent of her foreign policy experience. Alaska has been US territory since 1867, and it has since been the location of the only World War II battle on North American soil, a focus of Cold War tensions and t

Trump's meeting with Putin 'listening exercise for President': White House

Donald Trump will be meeting Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, where the two leaders will hold a one-on-one conversation regarding the Russia-Ukraine war

Panama Canal set to enter ports business as Trump-China feud simmers

Though China has no role in operating the canal, Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd has operated ports on the Atlantic and Pacific sides

Trump's labour chief pick suggests suspension of monthly jobs report

EJ Antoni criticised the monthly employment report as 'flawed' and proposed replacing it with more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data for US economic planning

US July budget deficit up 20% Y-o-Y despite record Trump tariff income

The US budget deficit in July climbed 20 per cent this fiscal year compared to the last despite the US taking in record income from President Donald Trump's tariffs, according to Treasury Department data released Tuesday. The US saw a 273 per cent increase - or USD21 billion - in customs revenue in July over the same period last year, the data showed. A Treasury official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the data said overall increased spending is in part due to a mix of expenditures, including growing interest payments on the public debt and cost-of-living increases to Social Security payouts, among other costs. This comes as the federal government's gross national debt creeps up to the USD37 trillion mark. Even as Trump talks about America becoming rich because of his import tax hikes, federal spending keeps outpacing the revenues collected by the government. That financial picture might change as companies exhaust their pre-tariff inventories, forcing them to ...

Trump admin calls out human rights records of countries accepting deportees

The Trump administration on Tuesday released human rights reports for countries worldwide, which eliminate mentions of discrimination faced by LGBTQ people, reduce a previous focus on reproductive rights and criticise restrictions on political speech by US allies in Europe that American officials believe target right-wing politicians. The reports, which cover 2024 before President Donald Trump took office, reflect his administration's focus on free speech and protecting the lives of the unborn. However, the reports also offer a glimpse into the administration's view of dire human rights conditions in some countries that have agreed to accept migrants deported from the United States under Trump's immigration crackdown. This year's reports were streamlined for better utility and accessibility in the field and by partners, the State Department said. The congressionally mandated reports in the past have been frequently used for reference and cited by lawmakers, policymakers, academic ..

Trump rebukes Goldman Sachs' economics research on tariff impact

Trump did not specify which Goldman report he was referring to, but Goldman has taken a bearish position on Trump's tariffs. The Wall Street investment bank declined to comment on the matter