Donald Trump signs executive order to establish White House task force for 2028 LA Olympics
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West Australian
15 minutes ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: Treasurer Chalmers backs new stock exchange as ASX faces fresh competition
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. The White House announced Wednesday that it is imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on India, bringing the total levies against the major United States trading partner to 50 per cent. 'I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,' President Donald Trump said in an executive order. 'Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent,' the executive order reads. The new tariffs are set to go into effect in 21 days, according to the order, while the previously announced 25 per cent tariffs are set to take effect on Thursday. Read the full story. A helicopter crash in Ghana, has killed eight people including the West African nation's defence and environment ministers, the government says. The military says the helicopter took off on Wednesday morning from the capital, Accra, toward Obuasi, a gold-mining area in the Ashanti region, but went off the radar. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were killed alongside the vice-chair of the National Democratic Congress ruling party, a top national security adviser and crew members. Ghana's government described the crash as a 'national tragedy'. Read the full story. A man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum has been indicted on federal hate crimes charges. The indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, charges Elias Rodriguez with nine counts, including a hate crime resulting in death. The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which would allow the Justice Department to potentially pursue the death penalty. It accuses him of carrying out a hate crime resulting in death motivated by the 'actual and perceived national origin of any person'. Rodriguez also faces charges of first-degree murder and murder of a foreign official. Elias Rodriguez, 31, is accused of gunning down Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, as they left an event at the museum in May. Read more. Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has urged caution regarding Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan's plan to enshrine the right to work from home into law, advising that the government should 'get their constitutional advice spot on' before proceeding further. The proposal has drawn criticism from legal experts and academics, who argue it presents significant constitutional challenges and would be difficult to enforce. Meanwhile, business groups warn the law could encourage companies to relocate to other states. This debate follows the federal Coalition's unsuccessful attempt to limit remote working during the recent election campaign, a move that was abandoned amid widespread public opposition. Though Mr Bragg conceded the Coalition's handling of remote work issues had been 'not well handled,' he stressed the importance of ensuring any legislation is legally sound. 'My view is that work from home is very good, I do it myself and it should be facilitated,' Mr Bragg told ABC Radio National. 'The Victorian government needs to get their right constitutional advice in order, and they need to make sure that whatever they're proposing to legislate, that would actually work … we're very happy to facilitate it, but that's really a matter for the Victorians and their constitutional advice.' Australia's $3 trillion stock exchange looks set for a new competitor as the corporate watchdog readies to approve a bid by Cboe to expand operations Down Under. Cboe Global Markets — which owns the Chicago Board Options Exchange — wants to launch a new platform for local companies to list their shares in direct competition with the Australian Securities Exchange. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealed on Wednesday that it was in the final stages of considering the plan, which would give businesses a new place to raise cash. Treasurer Jim Chalmers talked up the benefits of the plan after talks with regulators and big investors on Wednesday. 'Making our markets more competitive will make our economy more prosperous and productive,' he said. Read the full story. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has urged the introduction of new regulations to protect songwriters and creative artists from the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. This follows an interim report by the Productivity Commission which suggested that current Australian copyright laws may act as a 'barrier to building and training AI models.' The report claimed that existing regulations 'does not adequately facilitate the use of copyrighted works,' drawing criticism from arts bodies who are concerned this will take away the last existing protections artists have. 'I have concerns about artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity, and rather than adopting it, holus bolus and rolling it out en masse across our country, we do need to understand the risks,' Ms McKenzie told Nine on Thursday morning. 'Particularly to our songwriters, our creative artists, to make sure that they're not bearing the cost. We need to protect our artists, and that means putting some regulation in place,' she said.


Perth Now
31 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Trump to put additional 25pct import taxes on India
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to place an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil. It brings the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 per cent. The tariffs would go into effect 21 days after the signing of the order, meaning both India and Russia might have time to negotiate with the administration on the import taxes. Trump's moves could scramble the economic trajectory of India, which until recently was seen as an alternative to China by American companies looking to relocate their manufacturing. China also buys oil from Russia, but it was not included in the order signed by the Republican president. As part of a negotiating period with Beijing, Trump has placed 30 per cent tariffs on goods from China, a rate that is smaller than the combined import taxes with which he has threatened New Delhi. Trump had previewed for reporters that the tariffs would be coming. During an event in the Oval Office on Wednesday, local time, with Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Trump affirmed the 50 per cent tariff number, not giving a specific answer as to whether additional tariffs on India would be dropped if there were a deal between Russia and Ukraine. "We'll determine that later," Trump said. "But right now they're paying a 50 per cent tariff." The White House said on Wednesday that Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the war. The Indian government called the additional tariffs "unfortunate". "We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that India would take all actions necessary to protect its interests. Jaiswal said India has already made its stand clear that the country's imports were based on market factors and were part of an overall objective of ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people. Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official, said the latest tariff places the country among the most heavily taxed US trading partners and far above rivals such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. "The tariffs are expected to make Indian goods far costlier with the potential to cut exports by around 40-50 per cent to the US," he said. Srivastava said Trump's decision was "hypocritical" because China bought more Russian oil than India did in 2024. "Washington avoids targeting Beijing because of China's leverage over critical minerals which are vital for US defence and technology," he said. In 2024, the US ran a $US45.8 billion ($A70.4 billion) trade deficit in goods with India, meaning America imported more from India than it exported, according to the US Census Bureau. American consumers and businesses buy pharmaceutical drugs, precious stones and textiles and apparel from India, among other goods. As the world's largest nation, India represented a way for the US to counter China's influence in Asia. But India has not supported the Ukraine-related sanctions by the US and its allies on Moscow even as India's leaders have maintained that they want peace. The US and China are currently in negotiations on trade, with Washington imposing a 30 per cent tariff on Chinese goods and facing a 10 per cent retaliatory tax from Beijing on American products. The planned tariffs on India contradict past efforts by the Biden administration and other nations in the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations that encouraged India to buy cheap Russian oil through a price cap imposed in 2022.

Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump's fury at India leaves Albanese in a tight spot
Australia is facing a tough choice about whether to line up with Donald Trump on a global flashpoint – but this time the argument is not about trade, Gaza or defence spending. The argument is about Russian oil worth about $10 billion, and how Australia buys it from India. The US president is punishing India with steep tariffs because he blames the country for making big profits from Russian oil. India has hit back, saying it will safeguard its national interest against his 'unjustified and unreasonable' claims. The dispute is creating a huge gulf between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the two had claimed to be great friends. The leaders are also meant to be partners in the Quad group with Australia and Japan, so the rift erodes a strategic friendship. There will be an enormous price to pay for this rift if Trump's abrasive approach unravels the effort to draw India into the Quad as a friend in the Indo-Pacific, when it has always seen itself as a non-aligned nation. But Trump is right: India is making money from Russian oil. And Australia cannot look away because some of that oil makes its way to diesel and petrol bowsers across the country. This reality shatters some of the political platitudes about the sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. While it is true that Australia and others have frozen Russian assets and targeted individuals with sanctions, the oil trade has been hard to stop. Here is how it works: Russia ships the oil to Indian refineries, gaining hard currency to help fund the war in Ukraine. The refineries, including the giant Jamnagar facility in Gujarat, ship diesel, petrol and aviation fuel to the world. Australia is a willing customer.