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Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Philips chops back US tariff bill
Shares in Philips jumped more than 10% during morning trading. (EPA Images pic) AMSTERDAM : Dutch medical equipment manufacturer Philips said today that the impact of US tariffs would be much less than it initially estimated, sending its share price surging. The company had originally estimated in April that US tariffs could cost it €250 million to €300 million this year after President Donald Trump unveiled a 20% tariff rate for goods from the EU. Brussels and Washington reached a deal over the weekend that will see goods from the EU face a baseline 15% levy when imported into the US. It said today it now expects between €150 million and €200 million impact from US tariffs this year. Chief executive Roy Jakobs said Philips updated 'the guidance because we have certainty now around what is happening between the EU and the US.' Shares in Philips jumped more than 10% during morning trading, while the Amsterdam market rose around 0.4% overall. The trade deal has come under widespread criticism in Europe as having been lopsided, saddling its manufacturers with a costly 15% rate with little in return from the US as certainty is a relative concept given Trump's propensity to change positions. Jakobs said that certainty 'is what we value in' in the deal, while acknowledging 'it's a painful additional cost we have to carry'. The company still targets a one to 3% increase in annual sales. Second quarter net profit fell by 47% to €240 million, but last year's performance was boosted by exceptional income from insurance payouts linked to long-running issues with its sleep apnoea machines. Sales slid by 2.8% to €4.3 billion, although they edged higher on a comparable basis that excludes currency changes. The company also noted orders rose by 6% on a comparable basis. The appreciation of the euro relative to the dollar and other currencies has been crimping the results of European companies as their revenues abroad result in fewer euros on the balance sheet. Long known for its light bulbs and television sets, the Dutch company has refocused its business towards medical equipment.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Ukrainian drone attacks leave 1 dead, spark fire at train station in Rostov
Rostov's acting governor confirmed a car was damaged as a result of the attack, killing the driver. (EPA Images pic) MOSCOW : Multiple Ukrainian drone attacks across Russia's southern Rostov region have left one person dead, sparked a fire and suspended train traffic at a railway station, Russian authorities said on Tuesday. Russia's defence ministry, which reports only how many drones were destroyed, not how many Ukraine launched, said its defence units downed a total of 74 drones overnight, including 22 over the Rostov region. In the town of Salsk, a car was damaged as a result of the attack, killing the driver, Rostov's acting governor, Yuri Slyusar, said on the Telegram messaging app. A stationary freight train caught fire and power was disrupted at the train station in Salsk, forcing the suspension of train traffic, Russia's Railways said on Telegram. Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has often said that its attacks inside Russia are in response to Moscow's relentless strikes on Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Terror threat to Singapore ‘remains high', says home affairs report
Singapore's home affairs ministry said Islamic State is using propaganda to exploit the war in Gaza. (EPA Images pic) SINGAPORE : The terrorism threat to Singapore remains high, said its home affairs ministry in a report released today, pointing to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 'continued traction of radical narratives'. While there was no current intelligence of an imminent attack against Singapore, the ministry said Islamic State uses propaganda to exploit the war in Gaza and local grievances to reinforce its narrative of armed violence. Since the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, six Singaporeans have been found to support or were making preparations to take part in armed violence because of the conflict, said the report. 'Singapore and our interests continue to be viewed as attractive and legitimate targets by terrorist and extremist elements, due to our friendly relations with western nations and Israel, the presence of iconic structures in Singapore, and our status as a secular and multicultural state,' it said. The ministry said a key threat was online self-radicalisation, in a variety of extremist ideologies, especially of youths. Since 2015, Singapore has used the Internal Security Act against 17 youth aged 20. Most recently it was used against two teenagers – one planned to shoot mosques, the other planned to join Islamic State. The law allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial, or to be given a restriction order limiting travel and internet access, among other conditions. The threat assessment report also said artificial intelligence was emerging as a terrorism enabler for 'generating and translating propaganda, producing convincing synthetic multimedia, creating personalised recruitment messages at scale, and planning and developing attacks'.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Netherlands bars 2 hardline Israeli ministers
Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have repeatedly called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza. (EPA Images pic) AMSTERDAM : The Netherlands has declared two hardline Israeli ministers, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, as persona non grata, the government said. 'They repeatedly incited settler violence against Palestinians, promoted illegal settlement expansion, and called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza,' Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp told parliament in a letter released late yesterday. In June, the Netherlands backed a Swedish proposal to impose EU sanctions on the far-right Israeli ministers, but the initiative failed to gain unanimous support in the EU Foreign Affairs Council. Smotrich said in a post on X that European leaders had surrendered to 'the lies of radical Islam that is taking over' and the 'rising antisemitism'. Ben-Gvir said he would continue to act for Israel, even if they ban him from entering 'all of Europe'. 'In a place where terrorism is tolerated and terrorists are welcomed, a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted,' he wrote.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Gunmen involved in Kashmir tourist attack killed
India and Pakistan have fought two wars and several conflicts over Muslim-majority Kashmir. (EPA Images pic) NEW DELHI : Indian security forces have killed three Pakistani gunmen who were involved in an April attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir that led to an intense military conflict between the two countries, home minister Amit Shah said today. The heavily-armed men were killed in a military operation yesterday, more than three months after 26 people were gunned down in a popular resort town of Indian Kashmir on April 22. 'I want to tell the parliament (that) those who attacked in Baisaran were three terrorists and all three have been killed,' he said. Shah said all three were Pakistani nationals and identified two of them as members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist group based in Pakistan. 'Indian security agencies have detailed evidence of their involvement in the attack,' he said in a speech in the lower house of parliament. Yesterday's operation took place in the mountains of Dachigam, around 30km from the disputed region's main city of Srinagar, the army said in a statement. The attack in April saw gunmen burst out of forests near Pahalgam and rake crowds of visitors with automatic weapons. All those killed were listed as residents of India except one man from Nepal. Survivors said gunmen had separated the men from the women and children and ordered some of the men to recite the Muslim declaration of faith. India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied, sparking an intense four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals in May that killed more than 70 people on both sides. Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbours – who both claim the region in full – have fought two wars and several conflicts over its control. Shah said a security meeting was held immediately after the attack and it was decided that the attackers should not be 'allowed to leave the country and return to Pakistan'. Investigators relied on eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence to establish that the rifles found on the men were the same that were used in the April attack, he said. 'It was confirmed that these three rifles were involved in killing of our innocent civilians,' said Shah. A shadowy group called The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility for the April attack. But as public criticism mounted over the killings, the group retracted its claim. Earlier this month, the US described the TRF as a 'front and proxy' of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
