
Trump claims South Korea ‘went crazy' over defence demand
Trump claimed that during his first presidency, he negotiated a deal for South Korea to pay billions of dollars for the upkeep of American troops, a deal he alleges Joe Biden subsequently cancelled.
He stated that South Korea initially "went crazy" but agreed to pay $3bn after he sought $10bn for the presence of US forces.
South Korea, in response to Trump's latest demands, affirmed its commitment to the existing defence cost-sharing terms previously agreed with the US.
Trump's remarks follow his announcement of a 25 per cent import tariff on goods from South Korea and Japan, effective from 1 August.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Mexico says 26 capos extradited to US were requested by Trump administration
Mexico sent 26 alleged cartel figures to face justice in the United States because the Trump administration requested them and Mexico did not want them to continue running their illicit businesses from Mexican prisons, officials said Wednesday. The mass transfer was not, however, part of wider negotiations as Mexico seeks to avoid higher tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, they said. 'These transfers are not only a strategic measure to ensure public safety, but also reflect a firm determination to prevent these criminals from continuing to operate from within prisons and to break up their networks of influence,' Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said in a news conference on Wednesday. The 26 prisoners handed over to American authorities on Tuesday included figures aligned with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel among others. They were wanted by American authorities for their roles in drug trafficking and other crimes. It comes months after 29 other cartel leaders were sent to the U.S. in February. In the exchange, the U.S. Justice Department promised it would not seek the death penalty against any of the 55 people included in the two transfers, which experts say may help avoid any violent outburst by the cartels in response. Authorities said the operation involved nearly a thousand law enforcement officers, 90 vehicles and a dozen military aircraft. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said earlier Wednesday that the transfers were 'sovereign decisions,' but the move comes as the Mexican leader faces mounting pressure by the Trump administration to crack down on cartels and fentanyl production. García Harfuch also confirmed Wednesday that a U.S. government drone — non-military — was flying over central Mexico, but at the request of Mexican authorities as part of an ongoing investigation. So far, Sheinbaum has tried to show the Trump administration a greater willingness to pursue the cartels than her predecessor — a change that has been acknowledged by U.S. officials — and continued to slow migration to the U.S. border, in an effort to avoid the worst of Trump's tariff threats. Two weeks ago, the two leaders spoke and agreed to give their teams another 90 days to negotiate to avoid threatened 30% tariffs on imports from Mexico. 'Little by little, Mexico is following through with this demand by the Americans to deliver drug capos," said Mexican security analyst David Saucedo. "It's buying (the Mexican government) time." Saucedo said the Mexican government has been able to avoid a burst of violence by cartels – a reaction often seen when capos are captured – in part, because Ovidio Guzmán, a son of infamous capo Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, showed it's possible to negotiate with U.S. prosecutors. Ovidio Guzmán pleaded guilty last month to drug trafficking and other charges and hopes for a lighter sentence in exchange for his cooperation. But Saucedo warned that if such mass prisoner transfers continue, the Latin American country is bound to see another outburst of violence in the future.


The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Scientists rush to bolster climate finding Trump administration aims to undo
Veteran climate scientists are organizing a coordinated public comment to a US Department of Energy (DOE) report that cast doubt on the scientific consensus on the climate crisis. The report, published late last month, claimed concerns about planet-warming fossil fuels are overblown, sparking widespread concern from scientists who said it was full of climate misinformation; it was an attempt to support a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to undo the 'endangerment finding', which forms the legal basis of virtually all US climate regulations. 'A public comment from experts can be useful because it injects expert analysis into a decision-making process that might otherwise be dominated by political, economic, or ideological considerations,' said Andrew Dessler, a climate researcher at Texas A&M University who is organizing the response to the report. 'Experts can identify technical errors, highlight overlooked data, and clarify uncertainties in ways that improve the accuracy and robustness of the final policy or report.' The response comes as part of a broader wave of experts' attempts to uphold established climate science as the Trump administration promotes contrarian and unproven viewpoints. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Nasem), the country's top group of scientific advisers, has launched a 'fast-track' review of the latest evidence on how greenhouse gases threaten human health and wellbeing – a move announced following the proposed endangerment-finding rollback. Nasem, which advises the EPA and other federal agencies, plans to release their findings in September, in time to inform the EPA's decision on the endangerment finding. The initiative will be self-funded by the organization – a highly unusual practice from the congressionally chartered group, which usually responds to federal bodies' calls for advice. 'It is critical that federal policymaking is informed by the best available scientific evidence,' said Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, in a statement. Trump administration efforts to block access to data have also inspired pushback. This month, the president ousted the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after baselessly saying the data it publishes is 'rigged'. In earlier weeks, federal officials have also deleted key climate data and reports such as the national climate assessments and the US Global Change Research Program from government websites. The administration has changed 70% more of the information on official environmental websites during its first 100 days than the first Trump administration did, according to a report the research group Environmental Data and Governance Initiative published last week. In light of these actions, research organizations such as the Public Environmental Data Project and Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative have worked to safeguard and publicize data that the federal government is hiding from the public. 'Attacks on science are dangerous because they erode one of society's most effective tools for understanding the world and making decisions in the public interest,' said Dessler. 'When political or ideological forces undermine scientific institutions or discredit experts, they weaken our ability to harness this powerful tool.' Asked for comment about the Nasem review, an EPA spokesperson repeated a comment offered earlier this month: 'Congress never explicitly gave EPA authority to impose greenhouse gas regulations for cars and trucks.' The Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to set emission standards for cars if the EPA administrator determines that their emissions endanger public health or welfare. That includes greenhouse gas emissions, due to the endangerment finding. Asked for comment on the DOE report supporting the EPA's position, Department of Energy spokesperson Ben Dietderich also repeated an earlier comment. 'This report critically assesses many areas of ongoing scientific inquiry that are frequently assigned high levels of confidence – not by the scientists themselves but by the political bodies involved, such as the United Nations or previous presidential administrations,' he said. The UN and the US have regularly convened top scientists to produce scientific climate reports, which warn that urgent action to curb emissions is needed. Dietderich also said officials 'look forward to engaging with substantive comments' on the report. However, 'the real question is whether they'll listen to us', said Dessler.

Western Telegraph
30 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
JD Vance greeted by Palestine protesters as he begins holiday in Scotland
Donald Trump's second-in-command landed at Prestwick Airport on Wednesday evening before travelling with a large motorcade to the luxury Carnell Estate near Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. He was greeted at the resort by dozens of pro-Palestine protesters, who accused him of supporting a 'genocide' by Israel in Gaza. The demonstrated were kettled by police as they bashed pots and pans, waved Palestine flags and shouted pro-Palestine chants. Police had initially told the protesters they would need to move and that officers would do so if they refused to leave to a different space nearby. Airspace restrictions are in place around the estate until Sunday. Mr Vance will reportedly spend five days in Scotland – the same amount of time his boss did during his trip to the country last month. President Trump split his stay between his golf courses in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire, during which time he met the First Minister and Prime Minister. US vice president JD Vance disembarks an official US plane at Prestwick Airport (Jane Barlow/PA) A Police Scotland spokesperson previously said: 'Planning is under way for a potential visit to Scotland by the vice president of the United States. 'Details of any visit would be for the White House to comment on, however it is important that we prepare in advance for what would be a significant policing operation.' Mr Vance had been holidaying in the Cotswolds, but travelled to the Foreign Secretary's Chevening House retreat in Kent on Friday – and he joined David Lammy for a spot of carp fishing at the countryside estate. Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Vance described the UK-US relationship as 'a beautiful alliance' during a speech at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.