
Those lips, that face...: Trump's flirty praise for Karoline Leavitt sparks row
Leavitt, 27, is Trump's fifth press secretary and the first of his second term. During a White House press briefing the day prior, she praised Trump's international efforts, calling for a Nobel Peace Prize for him, claiming he had 'brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month' since taking office six months ago.However, netizens did not find Trump's comments very pleasing. His remarks have sparked swift reaction across social media, with many users describing his language as 'uncomfortable,' 'cringey,' and 'unprofessional.''This definitely sounds like something Jeffrey Epstein's best friend would say,' one social media used said, referencing long-standing controversy over Trump's past social ties to the late financier.Others questioned the double standard in professional conduct, with one user writing: 'If any man said this on the job about a fellow employee, they'd be fired instantly, and the company sued.'Critics also called out the lack of media accountability. 'Will ANYONE in the MSM ask him or the White House about this incredibly bizarre, creepy, cringey comment? Of course not,' one post read.- EndsTrending Reel

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India.com
10 minutes ago
- India.com
‘Do As We Say, Not As We Do'? EU Lectures India Over Russian Oil, But Trade Numbers Reveal A Story It Won't Say Out Loud
New Delhi: Europe's top leaders speak in strong voices against Russia, but behind closed doors and shipping docks, the numbers tell another story. In 2024, the European Union's total trade with Moscow reached $70.3 billion. It was nearly equal to India's $72 billion, despite the EU leading global calls for Russia's economic isolation. For months, India has faced pressure from Western capitals. It has been cast as one of Moscow's key post-war trade partners. But the EU's own engagement with Russia runs deep. It covers not only fuel, but chemicals, metals, food and machinery. India's trade with Russia last year leaned heavily on energy. Fuel shipments alone reached $59.5 billion, making up over 80% of its total trade volume. Meanwhile, Europe has reduced its oil imports (only $24.2 billion in 2024) but maintains high-volume transactions across other sectors. Chemical trade between the EU and Russia stood at $17.6 billion. It is over six times India's $3.1 billion. In metals, the EU clocked $6.7 billion, far exceeding India's $0.9 billion. The bloc also recorded $5 billion in food imports and $4.4 billion in machinery and electronics from Russia. Imports tell only half the story. The EU exported $34 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2024. That was over seven times India's $4.9 billion exports. Europe sent $14.6 billion in chemicals, $5 billion in food and $3.7 billion in machinery and electronics. The patterns are tangled even among critics across the Atlantic. The United States imported $3.8 billion worth of Russian goods in 2024, more than half of which was fertiliser and chemicals. From Ukraine, the country it supports militarily and diplomatically, the United States imported only $1.23 billion in goods. It was less than India's $1.48 billion from the war-torn country. Ukraine paid $1.69 billion for US exports, raising questions about balance and benefit in a time of conflict. US President Donald Trump has renewed his attack on India over its energy imports from Russia. 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. While global speeches focus on isolation, trade flows reveal a more complicated map. Between policy podiums and port-side manifests, Moscow's trade routes remain far from silent.


Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
U.S. Sells $1 Billion in Arms to Europe for Ukraine, Sealing Shift in Approach
In one of the clearest demonstrations to date of how the West's approach to arming Ukraine against Russia is shifting under President Trump, four European countries are buying U.S. military equipment valued at roughly $1 billion for delivery to Kyiv's forces. The purchases, in two separate transactions coordinated by NATO, are expected to be the first of many funded by European governments and Canada following an agreement in principle earlier this summer. Trump has balked at providing U.S. weapons directly to Ukraine, as the Biden administration did, but he has signaled openness to selling the embattled country American arms. Trump and his senior officials have also said that Europe should shoulder more of the burden of supporting Ukraine because it is closer to them, and the U.S. is focused on China and the Pacific. The Netherlands on Monday agreed to the first $500 million purchase, and a consortium of Denmark, Sweden and Norway on Tuesday agreed to a similar purchase. The deals were coordinated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following an agreement at the White House on July 14 between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and earlier discussions among leaders at NATO's annual summit in June. President Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where Trump announces a deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO, in Washington in July. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo 'This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,' said Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister. NATO and Ukraine have established a shopping list of Kyiv's requirements for lethal and nonlethal equipment, dubbed the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List. NATO, Ukraine and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, will ensure the packages meet Kyiv's needs. NATO is dividing the list into packages valued at roughly $500 million apiece Governments are making financial commitments toward the packages and NATO, which has pledged 'rapid delivery from U.S. stockpiles' will coordinate delivery of the arms to Ukraine. Rutte said he had 'written to all NATO Allies, urging them to contribute toward this burden sharing initiative, and I expect further significant announcements from other Allies soon.' Deliveries of American weapons to Kyiv that were authorized by the Biden administration are still flowing across the border from Poland. Some of those weapons—primarily munitions like Patriot air-defense interceptors—were paused in June as part of a Pentagon review of U.S. munitions stockpiles. But those deliveries have since resumed, officials said. As part of the effort to arm Ukraine, the U.S. struck an agreement with Berlin under which Germany would send additional Patriot air-defense systems to Kyiv. Ukraine is set to receive the first two of these systems in the coming days, the German government announced Friday. In exchange, Germany will be the first nation to receive the newest Patriot systems off the U.S. production line at 'an accelerated pace,' according to a release from the German government. To facilitate this agreement, the Pentagon moved Germany ahead of Switzerland in the queue for the next Patriots, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. The U.S. plans to reshuffle future Patriot deliveries as additional countries sign on to send the systems from their arsenals to Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said. Write to Daniel Michaels at and Lara Seligman at


Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Trump's Ten: Realty majors to promoters in hot markets
From long-standing realty majors to flamboyant start-ups — some with politicians among owners and stakeholders, and a few others on the radar of investigative agencies. This is the US President's Ten: a diverse mix of companies that has teamed up with The Trump Organization or its licensed partner in India Tribeca Developers to showcase the brand in the country. In 2023, a year before Trump was elected again as President, the promoters of three realty companies in this team were arrested in 2023 on charges of allegedly bribing a judicial officer in Haryana. The case is ongoing but an adverse verdict could leave The Trump Organization potentially vulnerable under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — the 1977 law that prohibits US companies or their business partners from bribing, or unduly influencing, foreign officials to advance a business deal. The Act has currently been paused by the Trump administration. Rohan Landscapes: In 2011, The Trump Organization inked its first deal in India with Rohan Landscapes, a company formed in 2007, for a 45-60 storey building in Mumbai's Chowpatty. The project fizzled out after the Maharashtra government denied permission to amalgamate two plots due to several alleged irregularities. Rohan Landscapes chairman Harresh Mehta has also been part of a CBI probe into an alleged SBI loan fraud case since 2016. Panchshil Realty: The Trump Organization's next deal in India was with this Pune-based firm in 2012. A year before the deal was announced, the then Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Eknath Khadse had raised allegations of a land scam and sought to link NCP leader Sharad Pawar's family to the Panchshil Group. At that time, Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule and her husband held 8% stake in a Panchshil subsidiary. Panchshil Realty was founded by Atul Chordia in 2002. In 2017, an FIR was filed in Pune naming Chordia along with other builders for alleged forgery related to acquiring 326 acres. In 2022, the Bombay High Court quashed the FIR. In 2018, Pune Municipal Corporation initiated action after accusing Panchshil of allegedly cutting 500 trees illegally near the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary — the company denied any wrongdoing. Lodha Group: In 2013, The Trump Organization announced a 78-storey tower in Mumbai's Worli with the Lodha Group (now Macrotech Developers), which was founded in 1980 by Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP MLA from Malabar Hills since 1995. Now Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Maharashtra government, Lodha served as the BJP's state president during 2019-2022. Ireo Group: In 2016, The Trump Organization signed its fourth deal in India before Tribeca Developers entered the picture. The project with Ireo Group was labelled as the first Trump-branded commercial property under a branding and design agreement for an office tower at Gurgaon's Golf Course Extension Road — but it never took off. Founded in 2004, the Ireo Group was accused of 'large-scale fraud' and 'illegally siphoning off' at least $147 million of investor money by two global investment companies based in New York and London that had put nearly $300 million in the realty company, The Washington Post reported in 2018 — the company had earlier denied the charges. In 2021, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Lalit Goyal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on charges of allegedly diverting more than Rs 2,600 crore belonging to homebuyers and investors through offshore entities in offshore tax havens. In 2023, he was arrested over charges of allegedly bribing a judicial officer in Haryana's Panchkula. Goyal is on bail. Unimark & RDB: In 2017, Tribeca teamed up with Unimark Group and RDB Group for a 38-storey residential Trump Tower in Kolkata. Unimark was founded in 1996 by Harsh Vardhan Patodia. In 2015 and in 2016, its pharmaceutical arm Unimark Remedies reportedly received warning letters from the USFDA for alleged quality-control issues. Subsequently, the company entered insolvency proceedings. RDB Group was founded in 1981 by Sunder Lal Dugar. Shortly after Donald Trump Jr's visit to promote Trump Tower Kolkata, the Income Tax Department raided the offices of the RDB Group in February 2018. Earlier in 2011, SEBI barred RDB Group company RDB Rasayans and its promoters from accessing markets for four years for routing IPO funds as loans to RDB Realty & Infrastructure without adequate disclosure. M3M & Smartworld Developers: In 2018, Tribeca launched Trump Towers in Gurugram with M3M Group founded in 2010 by Basant, Roop and Pankaj Bansal. Tribeca announced its second project in Gurugram this April with Smartworld Developers established in 2021 by the same promoters behind the M3M Group. In 2023, the Enforcement Directorate arrested the M3M promoters, raided multiple offices of M3M and Ireo in Gurugram and Delhi. M3M was charged with allegedly siphoning of up to Rs 400 crore from the Ireo Group through shell companies and bribing a judicial officer in Haryana along with Ireo's Goyal. The M3M promoters were granted bail but the probe under PMLA continues. Kundan Spaces: In March 2025, Tribeca and Kundan Spaces launched a 27-storey commercial twin towers project in Pune — the first Trump-branded office development in India. Kundan Spaces was founded in 1986 by B K Jain. This January, Kundan Spaces managing director Ashish Jain and M3M managing director Pankaj Bansal attended Donald Trump's inauguration alongside Kalpesh Mehta, the founder of Tribeca Developers. IRA Realty: The latest deal for the Trump brand in India was announced this April — two 63-floor residential towers in Hyderabad's Golden Miles to be developed by IRA Realty founded in 2019 by Narsi Reddy Posham. Last month, the owner of one of the land parcels for the project claimed in a public notice that he had not agreed to the development. IRA, Kundan Space, Unimark, RDB, IREO, M3M and SmartWorld did not respond to requests for comment from The Indian Express on project tie-ups linked to The Trump Organization. The Lodha Group declined to comment. Rohan Landscapes and Panchshil Realty do not have any delayed, current or future projects linked to Trump's business interests. Jay Mazoomdaar is an investigative reporter focused on offshore finance, equitable growth, natural resources management and biodiversity conservation. Over two decades, his work has been recognised by the International Press Institute, the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, the Commonwealth Press Union, the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, the Asian College of Journalism etc. Mazoomdaar's major investigations include the extirpation of tigers in Sariska, global offshore probes such as Panama Papers, Robert Vadra's land deals in Rajasthan, India's dubious forest cover data, Vyapam deaths in Madhya Pradesh, mega projects flouting clearance conditions, Nitin Gadkari's link to e-rickshaws, India shifting stand on ivory ban to fly in African cheetahs, the loss of indigenous cow breeds, the hydel rush in Arunachal Pradesh, land mafias inside Corbett, the JDY financial inclusion scheme, an iron ore heist in Odisha, highways expansion through the Kanha-Pench landscape etc. ... Read More