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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Putin's nuke button, ‘poo briefcase' & army of bodyguards… Giant security op that will go with Vlad for Trump showdown
AS one of the world's most powerful man on Earth, his security entourage will do anything to save his life from bloodthirsty would-be assassins. Vladimir Putin is expected to be surrounded by a high-profile security entourage as the despot with an international arrest warrant steps out of Russia. 10 Russian President Vladimir Putin, surrounded by his bodyguards, leaves the car Credit: Getty 10 Russia's President Vladimir Putin surrounded by bodyguards, as he leaves the Europe-Asia summit in 2014 Credit: Reuters 10 Russian nuclear briefcase was shown for the first time on state televison Credit: Wikipedia 10 The world's eyes will be on Alaska on Friday as leaders of the two superpowers sit down for a showdown that will decide Ukraine's fate. Trump and Vladimir Putin will sit down "one-on-one" at the Elmendorf-Richardson base in Alaska. The Kremlin confirmed key details of the crunch talks - with the showdown kicking off at 11.30am Alaskan time (8.30pm UK time). Putin, who has rarely set foot in a foreign country since begining his invasion of Ukraine in 2023, will be surrounded by his highly-trained bodyguards to ensure maximum protection. The former KGB agent, who has been ruling Russia for 25 years, is said to be obsessed with his security. A Russian official who attended the Victory Day parade on May 9 told The Moscow Times: "The Kremlin takes Vladimir Putin's security very seriously. He is protected by a whole army of visible and invisible guards." Members of ageing Putin's security team, who call themselves his "Musketeers", are said to be from a special unit within Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), according to The Economist. Among the many things they are expected to carry are a number of suitcases, but they are not ordinary luggage. Each one comes with a bulletproof protection that can be used as a shield in case shots are fired at Putin. One of them is said to be a "Poo suitcase", which is used to collect his stools and urine and deliver them back to Moscow. Inside remote Alaska ice base where Trump and Putin go head-to-head in CRUCIAL Ukraine war showdown French magazine Paris Match claimed that the bizarre practice was first noted in 2017 during a state visit to France. It is thought that Putin - who over the years has been at the centre of health rumours - does not want outsiders to know his physical condition, which could be studied using his faecal matter. In 2019, a strange video showed paranoid Vlad being accompanied to the bathroom by six male bodyguards during Ukraine peace talks at Paris' Elysee Palace. Putin also likes to carry his dreaded nuclear briefcase dubbed "Cheget". Developed during the 1980s for the Soviet KGB, earlier versions of these were said to have an explosive charge of one kiloton, equivalent to one thousand tons of TNT. That's enough to destroy everything within a half-mile radius. The current version is thought to act as a communication device, relaying orders to launch a nuclear attack. With just the press of a button, the General Staff in Moscow receives the signal and initiates the nuclear attack. 10 Russian President Vladimir Putin's bodyguard carrying special suitcases Credit: EPA 10 The despot is always pictured with suitcases close to him whenever he steps out in public Credit: EPA Meanwhile, Putin's bodyguards are said to be handpicked for qualities that include 'operational psychology,' physical stamina and the ability to withstand cold and not sweat in heat. They are equipped with an SR-1 Vektor pistol said which can fire armour-piercing bullets. Before Putin travels, advance teams scout out his destination months ahead of time, checking to see how the public will likely respond and even if the area could be affected by bad weather or natural disasters. Wherever he's going to stay gets inspected, jamming devices are installed to prevent remote detonation of bombs, and technicians conduct electronic surveillance of cellphones and other devices in the area. On the road, Putin rides amid a convoy of heavily armoured vans that carry military special operators armed with AK-47s, anti-tank grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missiles. The Friday summit is said to have a ring of steel security, made up of both Russian and American special agents. The base, near Anchorage, is bristling with troops from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps - as well as National Guardsmen and Reserves. 10 Elmendorf-Richardson base in Anchorage, Alaska, has been named as the setting for Trump's meeting with Putin Credit: DVIDS 10 Trump and Putin will touch down on the massive military runway on Friday Credit: DVIDS/USAF Airman First Class Mario Calabro 10 Trump and Putin will sit down for what the White House calls a 'listening exercise' Credit: Reuters In all, over 32,000 military personnel and their families live there - ten per cent of the population of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city - alongside grizzly bears, moose and wolves. It played a "particularly important" role in defending the US against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, according to the Library of Congress. The White House apparently wanted to avoid the sight of a Russian leader being welcomed into a US military setting - but concluded there was no other option. Elmendorf-Richardson is reportedly considered the only site in Alaska which could be locked down to the required level of security for the high-stakes meeting. Putin will fly the nine hours from Moscow and Trump the seven-and-a-half hours from Washington, with ample room on the runway for both their presidential aircraft.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
From pharma to food, the known unknowns of Trump's EU tariffs deal
The US/ EU tariff deal was meant to bring certainty for exporters. But almost three weeks later there is a lot that we don't know – and more that remains uncertain. A joint statement signed off by both sides had been expected shortly after the big summit in Scotland at the end of July , clarifying key parts of the deal and how it would be implemented. But this week, a European Commission spokesperson said, in best bureacrateese, that while further contacts with the US were expected on this, 'I don't believe at this stage we can put a timeline on these engagements.' 1. What is covered by the new tariffs? The deal had been hailed as bringing 'certainty' to Irish exporters. And it has done so, but only up to a point. A blanket 15 per cent tariff now applies on most categories or exports from Ireland to the US. READ MORE As ever with trade, there are tweaks. Some goods which had been subject to previous higher tariff charges (under the most favoured nation or MFN system) will still pay these. For Ireland, the main product affected here is butter – with Kerrygold now the second biggest seller on the US market. Before Trump came to office it had been levied at a rate based on weight – rather than the more usual percentage calculation. However, this worked out at somewhere over 16 per cent in practice. So this slightly higher rate will remain. Other sectors face tariffs for the first time, or higher charges. For example, the large medical products sector had previously been largely exempted, but is now being levied at 15 per cent. So are parts of the food sector and spirits. 2. What is not covered? US customs has published a list of goods that are excluded from the 15 per cent tariff and Carol Lynch, customs partner at BDO, says this is a good place for SMEs unsure if they are covered to check. A key point for Ireland is that pharma products, by far the State's biggest in value terms, are not currently subject to the 15 per cent tariff. This may change, as the Trump administration is undertaking a study of pharma supply into the US market and the national security issues that apply – the so-called section 232 investigation which refers back to a 1960s act of congress. This is the backdrop to Trump's talk of 150 per cent or 250 per cent tariffs on pharma in 18 months or two years' time, applying to companies that do not play ball and return production to the US market. The EU believes the US has signed up to a 15 per cent cap on pharma – and semiconductor – tariffs under the deal, but Trump's subsequent statements suggest otherwise. This is why the absence of a joint agreed statement between the EU and US is important. 3. What might change? Another frustration for the EU is that the outline agreement suggested that more areas would be excluded from the 15 per cent tariff net but, beyond aircraft and aircraft parts, none of these has yet been spelt out. These 'carveouts' were due to cover some areas of food of potential interest to Ireland, some generic drugs and chemicals and perhaps medical devices, a sector which typically has lower margins and fixed price contracts with US buyers. The EU had also been pushing for a 'zero for zero' tariff deal on wines and spirits, though the indications were the US was unlikely to concede this. So bar the list published by US Customs, we are no wiser on what other sectors may, in time, get a pass. 4. What can companies do? The practical steps, according to Lynch of BDO, are, first, to check whether goods were in transit before August 7th, in which case the old 10 per cent rate would apply rather than the new 15 per cent. Companies need to know the tariff codes being used by those importing their products and whether any of the exclusions they know about so far apply. And, she says, they need to examine whether they have any flexibility under the rules in terms of the value of goods declared for customs purposes. This is a complex area with detailed pricing rules applying but, particularly in high value sectors like pharma, companies may have options to readjust supply changes or pricing policies to cut their tariff bills. 5. Where next on pharma? The Trump administration has been promising the results of its section 232 investigation shortly, expected by way of a big report. Alongside this, Trump's team have been negotiating on prices with the big US pharma companies, demanding that they charge the same prices in the US as other countries. A 2022 study showed that US prices were, on average, three times higher than the OECD average. This – in Trump's view- means prices should fall in the US and rise in other countries, thus giving the US consumer a better deal while giving companies ongoing revenue to fund research. It is unclear what the outcome of this will be but the two areas are linked. Imposing tariffs on imports risks increasing prices on the US market, the opposite of the goal of the price negotiations. The US president is threatening tariffs which would gradually increase over time as a way of getting big pharma to relocate more production to the US of key drugs and ingredients. So will we see 15 per cent pharma tariffs when the result of the Section 232 probes are out? Or will the US president hold off for now while holding out the threat of tariffs if big pharma does not fall into line on prices and investment? 6. Ireland's pharma exposure: In a post on the pharma issue on LinkedIn, Ben McConkey, an Irish MSc student at the London School of Economics, underlines the extent of Ireland's 'pharma' exposure by pointing out that the US imported over $50 billion worth of Irish pharmaceutical products in 2004, making it the single largest category of goods imported from any EU country by a margin of $15 billion and representing 8.3 per cent of all US imports from the EU. While the noise around the trade talks was about German cars, Irish pharma exports have a higher value, though this is of course hugely inflated by the pricing practices of the firms involved, which have a financial incentive to declare as much profit as possible in low tax Ireland. McConkey also makes the interesting point that the bulk of Irish pharma and organic chemicals go to republican states such as Indiana – home of Eli Lilly – as well as Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Illinois. Many are not finished drugs but are high value ingredients in drugs then sold across the US. As tariffs will have an economic impact on these companies – and on US consumers – it remains to be seen what the president decides. But the stakes for Ireland in the Section 232 process are huge as it could influence both future manufacturing investment and the transfer pricing structures the companies employ which led to huge profits being declared in Ireland and a lot of corporate tax being paid here. 7. The uncertainty may just roll on: The EU's belief was that a joint statement would be agreed with the US on the basis of the political agreement between Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland. This would then be followed by further detailed negotiations. It is unclear if the absence of even a basic, joint written understanding is just a result of August holidays or whether it is a sign of the way the US president tends to operate – in headlines and in a way which leaves him with maximum flexibility to change tack. The president and his team have been continuing to push the boat out in terms of tariffs and pressure on US businesses to bend to their will. There is a fair chance that the uncertainty will roll on – and on. And this in itself will have a cost on businesses, even if the 15 per cent deal will have left many feeling they have some more solid ground on which to plan. And, it must be remembered that the US president's right to impose the 15 per cent tariffs at all is being challenged in the courts – a process likely to go right to the US supreme court for an ultimate decision.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Israel's Bezalel Smotrich announces West Bank settlement plan to 'bury' idea of Palestinian state
Standing at the site in Maale Adumim, Smotrich said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 scheme, though there was no immediate confirmation from either. 'Whoever in the world is trying to recognise a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighbourhoods," Smotrich said. Israel froze construction plans at Maale Adumim in 2012, and again after a revival in 2020, because of objections from the US, European allies and other powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians. The move could further isolate Israel, which has watched some of its Western allies condemn its military offensive in Gaza in the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas and announce they will recognise a Palestinian state. Palestinians fear the settlement building in the West Bank - which has sharply intensified since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the Gaza war - will rob them of any chance to build a state of their own in the area. In a statement headlined "Burying the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich's spokesperson said the minister had approved the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. In Maale Adumim, Smotrich told Reuters the plan would go into effect on Wednesday, without specifying what would happen on that day. The Palestinian foreign ministry called the plan an extension of crimes of genocide, displacement and annexation. Israel has long rejected accusations of genocide and rights abuses and said it is acting in its own defence. Hamas described the plan as part of Israel's "colonial, extremist" policies and called on Palestinians to confront it. Jordan's foreign ministry condemned the move as a flagrant violation of international law. Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity in the West Bank, said there were still steps needed before construction, including the approval of Israel's High Planning Council. But if all went through, infrastructure work could begin within a few months, and house building in about a year. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more 'The E1 plan is deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed," Peace Now said in a statement. HOUSE BUILDING 'IN A YEAR' Palestinians were already demoralised by the Israeli military campaign which has killed more than 61,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities, and fear Israel will ultimately push them out of that territory. About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7m Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most countries but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank. The UN and most world powers say settlement expansion has eroded the viability of a two-state solution by fragmenting Palestinian territory. The two-state plan envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area, which it calls Judea and Samaria, and says the settlements provide strategic depth and security. Most of the international community considers all settlements illegal under international law, a position backed by numerous UN Security Council resolutions, including one which called on Israel to halt all settlement activity. Israel rejects this interpretation, saying the West Bank is "disputed" rather than "occupied" territory. Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions in June on Smotrich and another far-right minister who advocates for settlement expansion, accusing both of them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Smotrich's popularity has fallen in recent months with polls showing his party would not win a single seat if parliamentary elections were held today. His party largely draws its support from settlers.
