Car Stocks Accelerate on U.S.-China Truce
BMW's iX electric sports utility vehicle. The German company make SUVs in the American south for the U.S. market and for global export. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg News)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Large majority of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports to Israel
BERLIN (Reuters) -Some 73% of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports to Israel, including 30% who favour a total ban, a poll showed on Wednesday, reflecting growing public unease over the government's Israel policy. Since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Germany has remained one of Israel's staunchest allies and its second largest arms supplier, despite Israel's increasing international isolation and rising criticism over its devastating war in Gaza. Between Hamas' attack and mid-May this year, Germany approved military equipment exports to Israel worth 485 million euros ($553.72 million), according to a response to a parliamentary inquiry published on Tuesday. The deliveries included firearms, ammunition, weapons parts, special equipment for the army and navy, electronic equipment, and special armoured vehicles. No lawsuit challenging German arms exports to Israel has yet succeeded, including a case brought by Nicaragua at the International Court of Justice. But Germany's stance shifted last week when new Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised Israel's intensified airstrikes in Gaza, calling them no longer justified or comprehensible. His foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, warned of possible consequences - hinting at steps towards arms export sanctions. Three out of four Germans back Merz's criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza, according to a poll by public broadcaster ARD. The survey, conducted among 1,292 respondents on June 2-3, also found that 55% reject the idea that Germany bears a special responsibility to protect Israel due to the legacy of the Nazi-era Holocaust of European Jews. Thirteen percent of those surveyed believe Germany should stand unconditionally with Israel in the Middle East conflict, while 74% opposed such a stance. Additionally, 63% said Israel's military response in Gaza has gone too far, an increase of six percentage points since August, while 73% consider Israeli military actions unjustified. ($1 = 0.8759 euros)
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's New Budget Bill Threat Sends Republicans Scrambling
Congressional Republicans are stuck between a rock and a hard place as their former financier, Elon Musk, threatens to use his gargantuan fortune to unseat anyone who supports the president's 'big, beautiful bill.' Last month, Musk confessed in an interview with CBS that he believed Donald Trump's spending package—which would add trillions to the national deficit in order to extend his 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy—was actually a bad idea. But the tech billionaire has become more brazen in his read of the bill in the weeks since he's left the White House. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote Tuesday afternoon on X, the social media platform he owns. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' In a separate post, the world's richest man—who had promised to bankroll Republican primaries mere months ago—made clear what he now planned to do with his cash. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' wrote Musk. The bill passed the House by a vote of 215-214, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in voting against it. Republicans plan to offset the expensive tax cut by slashing more than $800 billion from Medicaid. But Musk's issue with Trump's plan has little to do with slashing programs aimed at supporting and uplifting the most vulnerable Americans—instead, he's condemned the bill since it would effectively undo his work atop the Department of Government Efficiency, which was tasked with paring down government spending. Senator Rand Paul quote-tweeted Musk, arguing that Congress knows adding another $5 trillion to the national debt would be a 'huge mistake.' Senators Ron Johnson, Rick Scott, and Mike Lee have also spoken out against the bill's price tag. Senators Josh Hawley, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Joni Ernst have claimed that slashing Medicaid—the third rail of American politics—could prove to be a fatal political move. Senators John Curtis and Thom Tillis have drawn red pen under the bill's elimination of green energy tax cuts. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene told NewsNation Tuesday that she agreed with Musk 'to a certain extent,' hitching herself to the tech billionaire as another conservative who entered government because she was irate with Republicans. 'However, I don't want to continue this government on a CR that's funding Democrat and Biden policies and funding, and this bill was important to transition over to exactly what the American people voted for,' Greene said. The Georgia lawmaker further specified that she was wary of some of the inclusions tacked on to the bill, one of which would prevent states from drafting regulation around the artificial intelligence industry for the next decade. 'I think that's pretty terrifying,' she told NewsNation. 'We don't know what AI is going to be capable of within one year, we don't know what it will be capable of in five years, let alone 10 years.' (Greene had admitted earlier Tuesday that she hadn't actually read the bill before voting in favor of it.) Representative Scott Perry also hailed Musk as 'right to call out House leadership' over the bill. 'We expect MASSIVE improvements from the Senate before it gets back to the House,' he wrote on X Tuesday. (Perry voted for the bill.) Still, Republican leadership has continued to defend the spending bill. 'It's very disappointing, okay?' House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN, reacting to Musk's threat. 'I've come to consider Elon a good friend. But with all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the One Big Beautiful Bill.' The White House similarly brushed off Musk's threat. 'The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing Tuesday. 'It doesn't change the president's opinion.' Musk was Trump's top financial backer in the 2024 election, spending at least $250 million in the final months of the president's campaign after Trump was shot in July. Musk had also promised to funnel funds toward other Republicans, declaring in the wake of the November election that his super PACs would 'play a significant role in primaries.' In the following months, Musk threatened to use his money to fund primary challengers to Trump's agenda and go after Democrats, and that he would be preparing 'for the midterms and any intermediate elections, as well as looking at elections at the district attorney level.'
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine allies pledge continued support despite US minister's absence
Defence ministers from the Ukraine Defence Contact Group pledged further support for Ukraine on Wednesday despite the absence of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from the meeting. The talks, once led by the United States, are chaired by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and UK Defence Secretary John Healey and aim to coordinate and raise further military support for Kiev. The format, also dubbed the Ramstein Group, comprises around 50 countries and was initiated by former US secretary of defense Lloyd Austin to help Ukraine defend itself from a full-scale Russian attack. Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced a new support package for maritime security worth €400 million ($457 million). The package will include over 100 vessels, like patrol boats, transport boats, interceptors, special operations craft, over 50 sea drones, weapon systems, reserve parts and training, Brekelmans said. Ukraine's European allies are under increased pressure to step up aid to Ukraine after Washington suspended US military aid to Kiev and put its commitment to safeguarding Europe into question. Hegseth did not attend the meeting in Brussels, after Washington had previously made clear that it no longer wants to lead the pledging meetings. Instead, it aims to push Kiev and Moscow towards reaching a ceasefire agreement as quickly as possible. Other countries fear that such an agreement could come at Ukraine's expense. Pistorius said that so far there was no indication that Washington's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine was final. "But the Europeans are ready, and Germany is ready to take responsibility," he stressed. "What we can compensate for remains to be seen. But we are making it very clear that we are determined not to leave Ukraine alone and to do what is necessary and possible to support Ukraine in its defence," Pistorius said. "The important thing is that we remain in discussion, and that's what we're doing," Pistorius said of Hegseth's absence. Brekelmans also suggested that the US position on military aid for Ukraine might change in the near future. "We see that Russia and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin are not willing to truly negotiate. And I think the United States is also starting to realize that," he said. For the time being, Ukraine's allies should increase pressure on Russia and keep supporting Ukraine, Brekelmans said.
