Trump says no one asked him to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, won't pardon Diddy
'I'm allowed to do it, but nobody's asked me to do it. I know nothing about it. I don't know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it,' Trump told Newsmax.
Trump also said he would not pardon Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who was convicted in July on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. — Reuters
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The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Cambodian and Thai officials meet in Malaysia; both countries are aiming to iron out ceasefire details
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP): Thai and Cambodian officials met in Malaysia on Monday for the first round of cross-border committee talks since a tense ceasefire was brokered last week after five days of deadly armed border clashes that killed dozens and displaced over 260,000 people. The four-day General Border Committee meetings were initially due to be hosted by Cambodia, but both sides later agreed to a neutral venue in Malaysia, the annual chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), which has mediated the halt in hostilities last month. The July 28 ceasefire followed economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who had warned the two warring nations that the U.S. would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting persisted. Washington lowered tariffs on goods from the two countries from 36% to 19% on Aug. 1 following the truce. Monday's talks focused on ironing out details to avoid further clashes. Discussions of the decades-long competing territorial claims over the pockets of land near the shared border are not on the agenda. Thailand and Cambodia have been feuding neighbours for centuries, since both were mighty empires. In modern times, a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice awarding Cambodia the land on which the ancient Preah Vihear temple stands marked a new low point in relations, and other border territory remained claimed by both countries. Fighting erupted in 2011 at Preah Vihaer, after which the International Court of Justice in 2013 reaffirmed its earlier ruling, rankling Thailand. Relations deteriorated again sharply in May this year, when a Cambodian soldier was shot dead in a brief fracas in one of the disputed border zones, setting off diplomatic and trade sanctions, one against the other. Soon after two incidents last month in which Thai soldiers were wounded by land mines in disputed territory, for which Thailand blamed Cambodia, the two sides downgraded diplomatic relations and fighting broke out, each side blaming the other for starting the armed clashes. The talks this week will include finalizing details and scope of reference for an Asean monitoring team, Malaysian Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Mohamad Nizam Jaffar said Monday. Despite some reports of attacks after the ceasefire came into effect, Nizam said such incidents were typical spillover violence and both sides showed strong commitment during Monday's talks to uphold the ceasefire. The main session of the General Border Committee on Thursday will be led by Thai Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Natthaphon Nakpanit and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister cum Defense Minister Tea Seih and include observers from Malaysia, the United States and China, officials said. Despite the truce, tensions have persisted as both countries organised tours of the former battle areas for foreign diplomats and other observers to highlight damage allegedly caused by the other side. The two countries also continue to accuse each other of having violated international humanitarian laws with attacks on civilians and the use of illegal weapons. - AP
Sinar Daily
6 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
Swiss President's 'disastrous' call with Trump resulted in higher tariffs
Swiss officials were confident that they had managed to reach a preliminary deal; they were counting on tariffs at the level of 10 per cent. 04 Aug 2025 09:00pm Switzerland's President Karin Keller-Sutter (C) puts on headphones as he prepares to deliver a speech after a meeting to discuss trade relations and tariffs, in Geneva, on May 9, 2025. Switzerland and the United States agreed to speed up talks on striking a deal on Washington's tariffs, the Swiss president said following a meeting with top US officials. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) MOSCOW - Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter had a "disastrous" phone call with US President Donald Trump, after which the US leader announced high tariffs of 39 per cent on Swiss goods, reported Sputnik quoting a Financial Times report, citing a Swiss diplomat. The 30-minute conversation was the culmination of more than three months and hundreds of hours of negotiations, during which Swiss officials believed they were on track to reach the same deal as the one with the UK, which agreed on 10 per cent tariffs. Instead, Trump announced 39 per cent, one of the highest rates in the world, the newspaper said. US President Donald Trump waves upon arrival at the White House in Washington, DC, on August 3, 2025 after spending the weekend at his Bedminster residence. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) Swiss officials were confident that they had managed to reach a preliminary deal; they were counting on tariffs at the level of 10 per cent. However, in a telephone conversation with the Swiss president, Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the deficit in trade with Switzerland, emphasising that he considered 10 per cent duties insufficient. "There was nothing Keller-Sutter could say," the source concluded. The new tariffs are being introduced to 69 American trading partners; they come into force on August 7, which may give the countries on the list some time to conclude a trade deal with the United States and avoid raising import rates. According to the text of the decree, the highest tariffs of 41 per cent are imposed on Syria, imports from Myanmar and Laos will be subject to a rate of 40 per cent, and goods from Iraq and Serbia will be subject to a tariff of 35 per cent. - BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI More Like This
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Analysis-Korea, US prepare for summit with details of trade deal unresolved
SEOUL (Reuters) -As South Korea and the United States prepare for a summit of their leaders, topics left unresolved by a recent trade deal provide scope for more disputes between the key allies and trade partners, six former negotiators and experts said. President Donald Trump may use the summit with counterpart Lee Jae Myung to seek more concessions on defence costs and corporate investments, left out of the deal, while non-tariff barriers and currency could prove thorny issues, experts said. No official summit date has been disclosed, though Trump last week gave a timeframe of two weeks. The absence of a written agreement underpinning last week's talks could open the way for disputes, with some differences already emerging in the two sides' accounts of the deal. Key among these was Sunday's denial by a South Korean presidential adviser of U.S. claims that it would take 90% of the profit from project investments of $350 billion by South Korea, which also agreed to open up its domestic rice market. "Even a binding deal like the FTA has been efficiently scrapped," warned Choi Seok-young, a former chief negotiator for the Korea-U.S. free trade deal, signed in 2007. "And this is just promise." Last week's pact was scaled down from South Korea's previous plans for a package deal on trade, security and investment envisioned in the run-up to the summit between Trump and the newly-elected Lee. But Japan struck a deal with the United States sooner than expected, spurring South Korea into a scramble for a trade-focused pact, leaving issues of security and investment for the coming summit, presidential adviser Kim Yong-beom said. Uncertainty clouds plans for $350 billion in funds Trump has said South Korea would invest in the United States in projects "owned and controlled by the United States" and selected by him, though he gave few details of the plan's structure or timing. The allies face challenges in ironing out details of the fund at upcoming working-level talks, South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol told reporters on Friday. "People say the devil is in the details," he added. In a social media post, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gave an assurance of "90% of the profits going to the American people", while White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said part would go to the U.S. government to help repay debt. But Kim, the presidential adviser, said the two sides did not discuss profit distribution during talks, and South Korea expected the profit to be "reinvested" in the United States. 'POLITICAL RHETORIC' The idea of the United States potentially taking most of the profit is "hard to understand in a civilised country", he added, while dismissing as "political rhetoric" Washington's claim that it would make all decisions about the fund. South Korea had added a safety mechanism to reduce financing risk, including U.S. commitments to buy products from the projects, under an "offtake" clause and invest in commercially feasible projects, he said. Seoul officials have said $150 billion would go to the shipbuilding industry, with the rest earmarked for areas such as chips, batteries, critical minerals, biotechnology, nuclear power and other strategic industries. The specifics of the structure have not been determined, said Kim, adding that loans and guarantees make up a majority of the funds, with equity investments accounting for a small part. Leavitt said South Korea would provide "historic market access to American goods like autos and rice," echoing earlier comments by Trump. But South Korea said repeatedly there had been no agreement on the agriculture market, including beef and rice, despite strong pressure from Washington. Trump expressed keen interest in Korea's quarantine process for fruits and vegetables, Seoul said, improvements to which will figure in planned technical talks on non-tariff barriers that will also cover vehicle safety rules, but gave no details. Other non-tariff barriers such as regulation of Big Tech could be hurdles. "We cannot be relieved because we do not know when we will face pressure from tariffs or non-tariff measures again," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said last week on returning from Washington. Defence costs are expected to emerge as a key issue during the upcoming summit, with Trump having long said South Korea needed to pay more for the U.S. troop presence there. In addition to the $350 billion, Trump said South Korea agreed to invest a large sum of money in the United States, to be announced during the summit, which he said on July 30 would be held within two weeks. The allies are holding working level-talks on currency policy, put on the agenda at April's opening round of trade talks. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
