Gaza ceasefire could happen this week, while Israeli forces kill 100 in 24 hours
Israeli forces killed at least 100 Palestinians in 24 hours even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew into Washington to discuss a Gaza ceasefire. His warplanes were also pounding Yemeni Houthi targets overnight after warning residents to flee for their lives as large-scale air-strikes had been ordered.
US President Donald Trump has suggested a ceasefire - supposedly lasting 60 days in exchange for half of the hostages - could happen as soon as this week. At least 82 Gazans were killed on Sunday and on Monday the death toll shot up over 100 as Israeli troops drove on with their assaults, despite the Hamas- Israel talks. Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are also thought to be taking place in Doha, Qatar today, possibly hammering out plans to release more Palestinian prisoners.
Israel's military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen's Houthi rebels, with the rebels responding with missile fire targeting Israel. The attacks came after a Sunday assault which targeted a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, forcing its crew to abandon it.
A security firm said bomb-carrying drone boats appeared to hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. A renewed Iran-backed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in US and Western forces to the area.
The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance. Iran is also weighing up whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites.
The Israeli military said it struck Houthi-held ports at Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant. It released footage showing an F-16 launching from Israel for the strike, which came after the Israeli military issued a warning for the area.
The Israel Defence Force s aid: "These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies.' The Israeli military also said it struck the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle-carrying vessel that the Houthis seized back in November 2023 when they began their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
The IDF added: "Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities.' The Houthis's military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed its air defense forces "effectively confronted" the Israelis.
Israel has repeatedly attacked Houthi areas in Yemen, including a naval strike in June. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz t hreatened: "What's true for Iran is true for Yemen."
Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have it cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions." The Houthis responded with an apparent missile attack on Israel. The Israeli military said it attempted to intercept the two missiles launched by the Houthis, but they appeared to make impact, though no injuries have been reported. Sirens sounded in the West Bank.
Saree on Monday claimed launching missiles and drones targeting Israel in its attack. He said: "We are fully prepared for a sustained and prolonged confrontation, to confront hostile warplanes and to counter attempts to break the naval blockade imposed by our armed forces on the enemy.'
The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors.
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NBC News
33 minutes ago
- NBC News
U.S. tariffs on European goods threaten to shake up the world's largest trade relationship
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Union expects to find out on Monday whether President Donald Trump will impose punishing tariffs on America's largest trade partner in a move economists have warned would have repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the United States has a trade imbalance. Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, he put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations. Expressing displeasure with the EU's stance in trade talks, however, Trump said he would increase the tariff rate for European exports to 50%, which could make everything — from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals — much more expensive in the U.S. The EU's executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc's 27-member nations, said its leaders hope to strike a deal with the Trump administration. Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN's 'State of the Union' program on Sunday that 'the EU was very slow in coming to the table' but that talks were now making 'very good progress.' Here are important things to know about trade between the United States and the European Union. US-EU trade is enormous The European Commission describes the trade between the U.S. and the EU as 'the most important commercial relationship in the world.' The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. The biggest U.S. export to Europe was crude oil, followed by pharmaceuticals, aircraft, automobiles, and medical and diagnostic equipment. Europe's biggest exports to the U.S. were pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits. EU sells more to the US than vice versa Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billion-euro trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more stuff from European businesses than the other way around. However, American companies fill some of the gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services. The U.S. services surplus took the nation's trade deficit with the EU down to 50 billion euros ($59 billion), which represents less than 3% of overall U.S.-EU trade. What are the issues dividing the two sides? Before Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained a generally cooperative trade relationship and low tariff levels on both sides. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products. But the White House has taken a much less friendly posture toward the longstanding U.S. ally since February. Along with the fluctuating tariff rate on European goods Trump has floated, the EU has been subject to his administration's 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 25% tax on imported automobiles and parts. Trump administration officials have raised a slew of issues they want to see addressed, including agricultural barriers such as EU health regulations that include bans on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef. Trump has also criticized Europe's value-added taxes, which EU countries levy at the point of sale this year at rates of 17% to 27%. But many economists see VAT as trade-neutral since they apply to domestic goods and services as well as imported ones. Because national governments set the taxes through legislation, the EU has said they aren't on the table during trade negotiations. 'On the thorny issues of regulations, consumer standards and taxes, the EU and its member states cannot give much ground,' Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Germany's Berenberg bank, said. 'They cannot change the way they run the EU's vast internal market according to U.S. demands, which are often rooted in a faulty understanding of how the EU works.' 'Consequence for many companies' Economists and companies say higher tariffs will mean higher prices for U.S. consumers on imported goods. Importers must decide how much of the extra tax costs to absorb through lower profits and how much to pass on to customers. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the U.S. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo 'significant increases' in coming years. Simon Hunt, CEO of Italian wine and spirits producer Campari Group, told investment analysts that prices could increase for some products or stay the same depending what rival companies do. If competitors raise prices, the company might decide to hold its prices on Skyy vodka or Aperol aperitif to gain market share, Hunt said. Trump has argued that making it more difficult for foreign companies to sell in the U.S. is a way to stimulate a revival of American manufacturing. Many companies have dismissed the idea or said it would take years to yield positive economic benefits. However, some corporations have proved willing to shift some production stateside. France-based luxury group LVMH, whose brands include Tiffany & Co., Luis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Moet & Chandon, could move some production to the United States, billionaire CEO Bernaud Arnault said at the company's annual meeting in April. Arnault, who attended Trump's inauguration, has urged Europe to reach a deal based on reciprocal concessions. 'If we end up with high tariffs, ... we will be forced to increase our U.S.-based production to avoid tariffs,' Arnault said. 'And if Europe fails to negotiate intelligently, that will be the consequence for many companies. ... It will be the fault of Brussels, if it comes to that.' 'Road could be rocky' Some forecasts indicate the U.S. economy would be more at risk if the negotiations fail. Without a deal, the EU would lose 0.3% of its gross domestic product and U.S. GDP would fall 0.7%, if Trump slaps imported goods from Europe with tariffs of 10% to 25%, according to a research review by Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels. Given the complexity of some of the issues, the two sides may arrive only at a framework deal before Wednesday's deadline. That would likely leave a 10% base tariff, as well as the auto, steel and aluminum tariffs in place until details of a formal trade agreement are ironed out. The most likely outcome of the trade talks is that 'the U.S. will agree to deals in which it takes back its worst threats of 'retaliatory' tariffs well beyond 10%,' Schmieding said. 'However, the road to get there could be rocky.' The U.S. offering exemptions for some goods might smooth the path to a deal. The EU could offer to ease some regulations that the White House views as trade barriers. 'While Trump might be able to sell such an outcome as a 'win' for him, the ultimate victims of his protectionism would, of course, be mostly the U.S. consumers,' Schmieding said.
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump tells Brazil to stop 'witch hunt' against Bolsonaro
US President Donald Trump has urged Brazilian authorities to end their prosecution of the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing them of carrying out a "WITCH HUNT".Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, is standing trial for allegedly attempting a coup against current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The former leader has denied involvement in any alleged a social media post, Trump said Bolsonaro was "not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE" and told prosecutors to "LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!"President Lula said Brazil is a sovereign country that "won't accept interference or instruction from anyone." "No one is above the law. Especially those that threaten freedom and the rule of law," he wrote in a post on his earlier post on Truth Social, Trump praised Bolsonaro as a "strong leader" who "truly loved his country". The US president compared Bolsonaro's prosecution to the legal cases he himself faced between his two presidential terms."This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent - Something I know much about! It happened to me, times 10," Trump thanked Trump for his comments, describing the case against him as "clear political persecution" in a social media to Trump's remarks, Minister of Institutional Affairs Gleisi Hoffmann said: "The time when Brazil was subservient to the US was the time of Bolsonaro.""The US president should take care of his own problems, which are not few, and respect the sovereignty of Brazil and our judiciary," she back and fourth comes as Lula hosted representatives from China, Russia and other nations at a Brics summit in Rio de had earlier threatened to levy additional tariffs against countries aligned with what he called the bloc's "anti-American" policies. Trump and Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, with the pair meeting at the White House in 2019. Both men subsequently lost presidential elections and both refused to publicly acknowledge defeat.A week after Lula's inauguration in January 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in the capital, Brasilia, in what federal investigators say was an attempted coup. Bolsonaro was in the United States at the time and has always denied any links to the has been barred from running for public office until 2030 for falsely claiming Brazil's voting system was vulnerable to fraud, but he has said he intends to fight that ban and run for a second term in in court for the first time last month, Bolsonaro said a coup was an "abominable thing". The 70-year-old could face decades in prison if convicted.
Sky News
38 minutes ago
- Sky News
Trade war: Trump reveals first nations to pay delayed 'liberation day' tariffs
Donald Trump has warned that all goods from Japan and South Korea will face tariffs of 25% from 1 August. The announcement, via his Truth Social platform, marks the restart of the threatened "liberation day" escalation that was paused in April, for 90 days, to allow for negotiations to take place with all US trading partners. The US president included copies of letters to the leaders of both Japan and South Korea informing them of the tariff rates. Those duties will come on top of sector-specific tariffs - such as 50% rates covering steel - which are already in force. He warned the rates could be adjusted "upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country". Country-specific tariffs had been due to take effect from Wednesday this week but Mr Trump had earlier revealed that nations would start to get letters instead, setting out the US position. Duties would take effect from 1 August, without any subsequent deal being agreed, it was announced. The letters sent to Japan and South Korea cited persistent trade imbalances for the rates and included the sentence: "We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far." He ended both letters by saying, "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" The European Union - the biggest single US trading partner - is among those set to get a letter in the coming days. Mr Trump has also threatened an additional 10% tariff on any country aligning itself with the "anti-American policies" of BRICS nations - those are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and whose members also include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The UK, bar a massive shock U-turn, should be exempt. 2:49 The country was the first to be granted a trade deal, of sorts, in May and the Trump administration has claimed many others had been offering concessions since the clock ticked down to 9 July. The UK is not expected to face any changes to its current 10% rate due to the trade truce, which came into effect last week. While UK-made cars aerospace products face no duties under a new quota arrangement, it still remains to be seen whether 25% tariffs on UK-produced steel and aluminium will be cancelled. 5:08 They could, conceivably, even be raised to 50%, as is currently the case for America's other trading partners, because no agreement on eliminating the rate was reached when the government struck its deal in May. It all amounts to more uncertainty for the UK steel sector. A No 10 spokesman said on Monday: "Our work with the US continues to get this deal implemented as soon as possible. "That will remove the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium, making us the only country in the world to have tariffs removed on these products. "The US agreed to remove tariffs on these products as part of our agreement on 8 May. It reiterated that again at the G7 last month. The discussions continue, and will continue to do so." China and Vietnam have also secured some US concessions. The dollar strengthened but US stock markets lost ground in the wake of the letters to Japan and South Korea being made public, with the broad-based S&P 500 down by 1%. Stock markets in both Japan and South Korea were closed for the day but US-traded shares of SK Telecom and LG Display were down 7.5% and 5.8% respectively.
