Daily World Briefing, June 28

Canada Standard

a day ago

Trump continues pushing Fed chair to lower interest rates
U.S. President Donald Trump has continued to lob personal insults and attacks at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a bid to get the central bank to lower interest rates.
Frustrated with the Fed's wait-and-see attitude toward lowering interest rates, Trump has ramped up attacks against Powell in recent weeks.
Earlier this week during a NATO summit in the Netherlands, Trump hurled his latest oratory grenade at the Fed chief, who the president nominated for the position eight years ago.
"I think he's terrible," Trump told reporters during a press conference, referring to Powell.
The president called Powell a "very average mentally person," and said the Fed chief has "a low IQ for what he does."
"I think he is a very stupid person, actually," Trump said.
Canadian PM says negotiations with U.S. "complex"
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday called the negotiations with the United States "complex" when he responded to the announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump to terminate all trade talks with Canada with potential new tariffs.
"We'll continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said to local media. "It's a negotiation."
Trump announced Friday that the United States would terminate all trade talks with Canada due to Canada's digital services tax on U.S. tech companies.
Canada's digital services tax on American technology companies is a direct and blatant attack on the United States, said Trump in a post on social media.
Set to take effect on June 30, the digital services tax would have U.S. companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb pay a three percent levy on revenue from Canadian users.
Canada and the United States have been in negotiations to get Trump to lift the tariffs on Canadian goods, which have already led to major economic shrinking.
U.S. Supreme Court limits injunctions against Trump's birthright citizenship order
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that district judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions against the Trump administration's executive order to effectively end birthright citizenship.
In a 6-3 vote along ideological line, Supreme Court justices granted a request by the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by district judges.
"Federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch," Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority, noting that "When a court concludes that the executive branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too."
However, the three liberal justices issued dissents to the decision.
"Children born in the United States and subject to its laws are United States citizens," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, adding "that has been the legal rule since the founding."
Iran's FM says IAEA chief's insistence on visiting bombed nuclear sites "meaningless"
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday the insistence of the United Nations nuclear watchdog's chief on visiting Iran's bombed nuclear sites is "meaningless."
He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X while accusing Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi of facilitating the adoption of a resolution by the agency's Board of Governors against Tehran and the bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States and Israel.
"Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent. Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defense of its interests, its people, and its sovereignty," he said.
He pointed to a recent plan approved by the Iranian parliament, and later passed into law by the country's Constitutional Council, which called for a halt in Iran's collaboration with the IAEA, adding, "This is a direct result of Grossi's regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the agency had -- a full decade ago -- already closed all past issues (with Iran)."
Grossi on Friday highlighted the necessity for IAEA inspectors to continue their verification activities in Iran, "as required under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement," according to a statement published on the agency's website.
Russia, Ukraine agree to hold 3rd round of talks after prisoner exchange: Putin
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to hold the third round of negotiations after completing their war prisoner exchange, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday after the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to hold the third-round of talks after the completion of the exchange of prisoners of war and the transfer of bodies of dead militants, negotiated in Istanbul on June 2, Putin told reporters.
Russia is ready for new round of negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, the president said, noting that the time and place of the third-round talks need to be agreed on.
The draft memoranda between Russia and Ukraine on the settlement should become the subject of discussion during the third round of negotiations, Putin said.