U.K. will recognize Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to ceasefire, British PM says
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September — unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace.
Starmer called ministers together for a rare summertime Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza.
He told them that Britain will recognize a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly, "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution."
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump's new tariffs give some countries a break, while shares and US dollar sink
BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariff rates of up to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens of countries drew expressions of relief Friday from some countries that negotiated a deal or managed to whittle them down from rates announced in April. Others expressed disappointment or frustration over running out of time after hitting Trump's Aug. 1 deadline for striking deals with America's trading partners. The new rates are due to take effect on Aug. 7, but uncertainty over what Trump might do next remains. The way ahead for China, which runs the largest trade surplus with the U.S., is unclear after talks earlier this week in Stockholm produced no deal. Trump has yet to say if he'll extend an Aug. 12 pause on painfully high import duties on Chinese products. The reaction from financial markets was muted. Benchmarks fell in Asia, with South Korea's Kospi dropping nearly 4% after the tariff rate for the U.S. ally was set at 15%. The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, trading at more than 150 yen per dollar. For Canada and Switzerland, regret and disappointment Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government was disappointed by Trump's move to raise the U.S. tariff on goods from America's northern neighbor to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. Goods transshipped from unspecified other countries face a 40% import duty. Trump cited what he said was a lack of cooperation in stemming trafficking in illicit drugs across the northern border. He also slammed Canada's plan to recognize a Palestinian state and has expressed frustration with a trade deficit largely due to U.S. oil purchases. 'Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes,' Carney said in a statement. Many of Canada's exports to the U.S. are covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and face no tariff. But steel, lumber, aluminum and autos have been subject to still higher tariffs. Switzerland was reeling after Trump ordered a 39% tariff rate for the land of luxury watches, pharmaceuticals and financial services. That was up from his original proposal of a 31% duty. 'The Federal Council notes with great regret that, despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerland's very constructive stance from the outset, the U.S. intends to impose unilateral additional tariffs on imports from Switzerland,' the government said in a post on X. It said it would continue to seek a negotiated solution. Still working on it New Zealand officials said Friday they would keep lobbying Trump to cut the 15% tariff he announced for their country's exports to the U.S., up from the original 10% baseline set in April. 'We don't think this is a good thing. We don't think it's warranted,' Trade Minister Todd McClay told Radio New Zealand. The exporter of meat, dairy, wind and farm machinery ran a $1.1 billion trade surplus with the U.S. in 2024, according to U.S. Trade Representative data. McClay said New Zealand exporters had reported they could absorb a 10% tariff or pass it on to U.S. consumers through increased costs. A further increase would 'change the equation,' he said. Neither New Zealand nor its neighbor Australia have struck tariff deals with the Trump administration. Australian steel and aluminum exports have faced a steep 50% tariff since June. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said the 10% overall tariff on Australia's exports to the United States was a vindication of his government's 'cool and calm negotiations.' But he said even that level was not justified. The U.S. exports twice as much to Australia as it imports from its bilateral free trade partner, and Australia imposes no tariffs on U.S. exports. Japan watches, while Taiwan keeps trying for a deal Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi was cautious in welcoming Trump's executive order setting Japan's tariff at 15% after the two sides worked out an agreement, much to Tokyo's relief. 'We believe it is necessary to carefully examine the details of the measure,' Hayashi said. 'The Japanese government will continue to urge the U.S. side to promptly implement measures to carry out the recent agreement, including reducing tariffs on automobiles and auto parts.' Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said the self-ruled island had yet to engage in final negotiations with the U.S. side owing to scheduling difficulties and that he was hopeful the final tariff rate would be reduced even further after a final round of talks. The Trump administration lowered its tariff for Taiwan to 20% from the originally proposed 32%. Taiwan is a key supplier of advanced semiconductors needed for many products and technologies. '20% from the beginning has not been our goal, we hope that in further negotiations we will get a more beneficial and more reasonable tax rate,' Lai told reporters in Taipei Friday. The U.S. is Taiwan's largest ally even though it does not formally recognize the island. 'We want to strengthen U.S. Taiwan cooperation in national security, tech, and multiple areas,' Lai said. For some trading partners, relief that tariffs are lower than they might be Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, who led his nation's trade talks with the United States, thanked Trump for setting the tariff rate on Cambodian goods at 19% and said his country will impose zero tariffs on American goods. The rate for Cambodia that Trump proposed in April was 49%, one of the highest in the world. He said the U.S. estimated average Cambodian tariffs on U.S. exports at 97%. Cambodia has agreed to up purchases of U.S. goods. Sun said it would purchase 10 passenger aircraft from Boeing in a deal they hoped to sign later this month. Several other nations had already announced similar aircraft purchase deals as part of their trade packages. Trump had threatened to withhold trade deals from Cambodia and Thailand if they didn't end an armed conflict over border territory. The two nations agreed on a ceasefire that began Tuesday. Thailand also is subject to a 19% tariff, a rate that its Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said 'reflects the strong friendship and close partnership between Thailand and the United States.' That was down from 36% proposed earlier. 'The outcome of this negotiation signals that Thailand must accelerate its adaptation and move forward in building a stable and resilient economy, ready to face global challenges ahead,' he said. For Bangladesh, a new 20% tariff warded off an earlier threat of a 35% import duty for the South Asian exporter of garments and other light manufactured goods. 'That's good news for our apparel sector and the millions who depend on it,' said Khalilur Rahman, the country's national security advisor and lead negotiator. 'We've also preserved our global competitiveness and opened up new opportunities to access the world's largest consumer market' Rahman said. 'Protecting our apparel industry was a top priority, but we also focused our purchase commitments on U.S. agricultural products. This supports our food security goals and fosters goodwill with U.S. farming states.' ___ AP journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
5 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Statehood remains a distant dream for Palestinians as nightmare unfolds in Gaza
People walk along a street lined with destroyed buildings following Israeli bombardments during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Statehood remains a distant dream for Palestinians as nightmare unfolds in Gaza
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Plans announced by France, the United Kingdom and Canada to recognize a Palestinian state won't bring one about anytime soon, though they could further isolate Israel and strengthen the Palestinians' negotiating position over the long term. The problem for the Palestinians is that there may not be a long term. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Palestinian statehood and has vowed to maintain open-ended control over annexed east Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the war-ravaged Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their state. Israeli leaders favor the outright annexation of much of the West Bank, where Israel has already built well over 100 settlements housing over 500,000 Jewish settlers. Israel's offensive in Gaza has reduced most of it to a smoldering wasteland and is pushing it toward famine, and Israel says it is pressing ahead with plans to relocate much of its population of some 2 million to other countries. The United States, the only country with any real leverage over Israel, has taken its side. Critics say these countries could do much more Palestinians have welcomed international support for their decades-long quest for statehood but say there are more urgent measures Western countries could take if they wanted to pressure Israel. 'It's a bit odd that the response to daily atrocities in Gaza, including what is by all accounts deliberate starvation, is to recognize a theoretical Palestinian state that may never actually come into being,' said Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. 'It looks more like a way for these countries to appear to be doing something,' he said. Fathi Nimer, a policy fellow at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think tank, says they could have suspended trade agreements with Israel, imposed arms embargoes or other sanctions. 'There is a wide tool set at the disposal of these countries, but there is no political will to use it,' he said. It's not a completely empty gesture Most countries in the world recognized Palestinian statehood decades ago, but Britain and France would be the third and fourth permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to do so, leaving the U.S. as the only holdout. 'We're talking about major countries and major Israeli allies,' said Alon Pinkas, an Israeli political analyst and former consul general in New York. 'They're isolating the U.S. and they're leaving Israel dependent — not on the U.S., but on the whims and erratic behavior of one person, Trump.' Recognition could also strengthen moves to prevent annexation, said Hugh Lovatt, an expert on the conflict at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The challenge, he said, 'is for those recognizing countries to match their recognition with other steps, practical steps.' It could also prove significant if Israel and the Palestinians ever resume the long-dormant peace process, which ground to a halt after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office in 2009. 'If and when some kind of negotiations do resume, probably not in the immediate future, but at some point, it puts Palestine on much more equal footing,' said Julie Norman, a professor of Middle East politics at University College London. 'It has statehood as a starting point for those negotiations, rather than a certainly-not-assured endpoint.' Israel calls it a reward for violence Israel's government and most of its political class were opposed to Palestinian statehood long before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the war. Netanyahu says creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel's borders. Hamas leaders have at times suggested they would accept a state on the 1967 borders but the group remains formally committed to Israel's destruction. Western countries envision a future Palestinian state that would be democratic but also led by political rivals of Hamas who accept Israel and help it suppress the militant group, which won parliamentary elections in 2006 and seized power in Gaza the following year. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose authority administers parts of the occupied West Bank, supports a two-state solution and cooperates with Israel on security matters. He has made a series of concessions in recent months, including announcing the end to the Palestinian Authority's practice of providing stipends to the families of prisoners held by Israel and slain militants. Such measures, along with the security coordination, have made it deeply unpopular with Palestinians, and have yet to earn it any favors from Israel or the Trump administration. Israel says Abbas is not sincerely committed to peace and accuses him of tolerating incitement and militancy. Lovatt says there is much to criticize about the PA, but that 'often the failings of the Palestinian leadership are exaggerated in a way to relieve Israel of its own obligations.' The tide may be turning, but not fast enough Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. If you had told Palestinians in September 2023 that major countries were on the verge of recognizing a state, that the U.N.'s highest court had ordered Israel to end the occupation, that the International Criminal Court had ordered Netanyahu's arrest, and that prominent voices from across the U.S. political spectrum were furious with Israel, they might have thought their dream of statehood was at hand. But those developments pale in comparison to the ongoing war in Gaza and smaller but similarly destructive military offensives in the West Bank. Israel's military victories over Iran and its allies have left it the dominant and nearly unchallenged military power in the region, and Trump is the strongest supporter it has ever had in the White House. 'This (Israeli) government is not going to change policy,' Pinkas said. 'The recognition issue, the ending of the war, humanitarian aid — that's all going to have to wait for another government.' ___ Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed.
