Latest news with #Left-wing
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump is winning his trade war. Only the Left-wing media refuses to admit it
The deal 'will bring stability. It will bring predictability', said EU President Ursula von der Leyen at Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland on Sunday. 'Stability' and 'predictability' are not words the EU typically employs when discussing anything connected with the US president. But when you lead an economic bloc that has just been comprehensively outmanoeuvred in a trade dispute, forced into a deal that even your own side says favours the US, you could be forgiven for acting out of character. The basic rate of 15 per cent that will now be charged on most European goods entering the US was perhaps not coincidentally the same rate that Trump had extracted from Japan in a similar deal last week. It is the same rate that could, pending an announced review, become a new general norm in US foreign trade relations. It is also substantially higher than the less than 2 per cent effective rate that the US charged the EU before Trump returned to office. It was 'the best we could get', von der Leyen said almost apologetically in a news conference after the deal was announced. Indeed, a hard US-imposed deadline to conclude negotiations loomed on August 1, only four days after the agreement was reached. Without the deal, US tariffs on EU imports, which form about 20 per cent of the US's total foreign purchases, would have shot up to 30 per cent across the board, with high levies on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and other key industries in which the EU has a competitive advantage left painfully in place. In other words, Trump appears to be winning his trade war. US markets were flat on Monday, largely in anticipation of corporate earnings reports, and have risen strongly in the year to date. Wiser commentators have also come to the realisation that Trump's tariff strategy is not the economic disaster that so many of them had predicted – noting robust aggregate data and little sign that households are under pressure. The IMF's latest forecasts indicate that the US will continue to significantly outperform its developed world rivals. The president has secured commitments for considerable new investment in the US from a range of trading partners, alongside a more level playing field for American exporters. America's discredited legacy media, however, refuses to accept that there might be any advantages to the president's approach. 'Few are cheering,' said CNN of Trump's EU deal. It also felt compelled to argue that the agreement will not allow the president to escape questions about the simmering scandal around the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. For good measure, the Left-wing news network featured a human interest story claiming Trump's tariffs could 'ruin' a women's golf apparel brand. 'Questions, critiques and discrepancies are hanging over the framework agreement,' declared a sceptical New York Times analysis, apparently written by seven reporters, who accused the deal of having 'drawn plenty of grumbling' from critics just hours after its announcement. On Monday, a follow-up New York Times article warned that the tariffs could inflict higher prices for Botox, Ozempic, and other cosmetic drugs. One could argue that the former paper of record, as it is often called, knows its remaining audience, but that same day it also unironically published an article observing that doctoral graduates in economics, an academic field overwhelmingly critical of Trump's tariffs, now face poor employment prospects. In fairness, on Tuesday, it did acknowledge that the slew of deals 'has seemingly proved Mr Trump right that his tariff threats are a powerful bargaining tool ', but it couldn't resist casting doubt on whether they would prove an economic success. 'Much of this would have happened anyway', sniffed the lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal of the EU's commitment to invest hundreds of billions more in the US. Pointing out that EU investment increased by about $200bn from 2023 to 2024, it joylessly observed that 'those investment inflows will increase the US trade deficit because of balance-of-payments accounting'. Perhaps some of these criticisms will be proven correct. But it is not hard to detect an unwillingness among the president's detractors to accept any upside to his approach, or to acknowledge when their own gloomy predictions have been proven disastrously wrong. Not all observers are so down in the mouth. ' The stock market is at record highs … I don't see a country in a depression … And I would have thought … that these tariffs were going to f‑--ing sink this economy by this time, and they didn't,' admitted the liberal American comedian and political commentator Bill Maher, a sometime Trump critic who has a record of giving the president credit when it is due. If the rest of the news media wants to recover ground among the 69 per cent of Americans who say they place little or no faith in it, its practitioners should recognise a good thing when they see it.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
PM Modi Praises Transformation Of Ex-Maoists Into Fish Farmers In Jharkhand
New DelhI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised the remarkable transformation of former Maoists in Jharkhand's Gumla district who have traded violence for fish farming, calling it proof that "the lamp of development can be lit even in the most difficult circumstances". The prime minister referenced the PTI story "From guns to gills: How fish farming is transforming former Maoists in Jharkhand" published on June 27, 2025. In his 124th edition of monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme, PM Modi narrated the inspiring story of Om Prakash Sahu, a former Maoist who abandoned the path of violence to become a successful fish farmer and catalyst for change in the once-terror-struck Basia block. "Sometimes the most radiant light emerges from where darkness dwells the most," PM Modi said during the 124th edition of his radio address. The Prime Minister noted that the Basia block in Gumla was once known for Maoist violence, with villages getting deserted and people living in fear. Youth were migrating due to lack of employment opportunities and vacant lands. PM Modi said the change began when Sahu decided to abandon violence and start fish farming. "Those who were earlier holding guns, have now taken up fishing nets," he observed. Despite facing initial protests and threats, Sahu's determination remained firm. The launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) provided him with new strength, government training and assistance in pond construction, PM Modi said. The initiative has led to a fisheries revolution in Gumla, with more than 150 families of Basia block now engaged in fish farming. Many former Maoist organisation members are living respectfully in villages and providing employment to others, the PM noted. "This journey of Gumla teaches us -- if the path is right and there is trust in the mind, the lamp of development can be lit even in the most difficult circumstances," PM Modi added. The prime minister referenced the PTI story that explored how aquaculture initiatives are creating new pathways for rehabilitation and economic empowerment in Jharkhand. Apart from Sahu, the PTI story highlighted transformative stories of former Maoists Jyothi Lakra and Ishwar Gop. Jyothi Lakra, 41, abandoned Left-wing insurgency in 2002 and runs a fish feed mill that earned Rs 8,00,000 net profit last year under the PMMSY scheme. "Villagers had to travel 150 km to buy fish feed," said Lakra, who received Rs 18 lakh to set up his mill in Basia block. "So I decided to establish one locally." His mill now serves the entire community. Ishwar Gop, 42, a former Maoist who later joined the anti-Maoist Shanti Sena group, harvests eight quintals of fish annually worth Rs 2,50,000 from a government pond leased for Rs 1,100 per three years. "I make a profit of Rs 1,20,000 after expenses," said Gop, who found fish farming more profitable than farming his 25 acres. His transformation represents the complete ideological shift from insurgency to counter-insurgency to peaceful livelihood. Gumla district was removed from the Union Home Ministry's list of Maoist-affected areas in May 2025, alongside Ranchi district, marking a significant decline in Left-wing extremism in the region.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Time of India
Detonators, Maoist literature recovered in Jamui forest
Patna: A joint team of Special Task Force (STF) and police in Jamui on Monday recovered 46 detonators, Maoist literature and uniforms during a raid in the forest area of Jamui district. Meanwhile, in another operation in Purnia district, an arms dealer was arrested by the joint team of police and STF. They seized a German pistol, a rotating bolt of an AK-47 assault rifle, and 440 cartridges of different pistols and rifles from his possession, said a press statement issued by the police headquarters on Monday. According to the press release, "In the forest and hilly area of Pachkatiya within the jurisdiction of Chihra police station in Jamui district, 46 detonators and other items, including Maoist literature, were recovered, which were hidden by the Left-wing extremists. The recovered items also include receipts, handwritten and computer-generated documents and files. A case was registered at Chihra police station in Jamui, and further action is being taken. " In another incident in Purnia district, the Patna STF and K Hat police station team conducted a joint raid and seized a large consignment of arms and ammunition late Sunday night. Arms smuggler, Kunal Singh, was arrested during the operation. "Based on the identification, the illegal firearms were recovered from a vegetable vendor's shop in the K Hat area. In this context, a case was registered at the K Hat police station, and further action is being taken. A country-made pistol, a .47 calibre revolver, 345 rounds of .32 calibre, 40 rounds of 8 mm, 25 rounds of 7.62×25 calibre, five rounds of 7.62×25 calibre, and 25 rounds of 6.35 calibre cartridges were recovered from him," said the press release. Kunal has a criminal record and was jailed earlier for arms smuggling. The police are investigating the source of the arms and the purpose for which they were meant to be used.
Hans India
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
How fish farming is transforming former Naxalites in J'khand
Gumla: Former insurgents in eastern Jharkhand are trading guns for fishing nets under a central government scheme that has helped transform a once violence-torn region and contributed to its removal from a list of Naxalite-affected areas. Jyothi Lakra, 41, was once part of a Naxalite group before abandoning the Left-wing insurgency in 2002. Today, he runs a fish feed mill that earned him Rs 8,00,000 in net profit last year under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme. "There were no shops selling fish feed nearby. Villagers had to travel 150 km to buy fish feed," said Lakra, who received Rs 18 lakh grant to set up his mill in Gumla district's Basia block. "So I decided to set up a fish feed mill," he told PTI. The PMMSY scheme, launched in 2020-21 with joint central and state implementation, has trained 157 individual beneficiaries in Gumla district over four years. About 25 per cent of the 8,000-9,000 families in the district now engaged in fish farming were former Naxalite supporters or participants, according to District Fishery Officer Kusumlata. Gumla district was removed from the Union Home Ministry's list of Naxalite-affected areas in May 2025, alongside Ranchi district, marking a significant decline in Left-wing extremism in the region. The transformation is stark in areas where "eight out of ten families" once supported what they called a "revolutionary" way of life, according to local officials. Deserted villages have been repopulated, schools and hospitals reopened, and agricultural activity resumed. Ishwar Gop, 42, another former Naxalite who joined the anti-Maoist Shanti Sena group, now harvests eight quintals of fish annually worth Rs 2,50,000 from a government pond he leases for Rs 1,100 per three-year period. "I make a profit of Rs 1,20,000 after expenses," said Gop, who owns 25 acres of farmland but found fish farming more profitable than traditional agriculture. The fish farming initiative began in 2009 when State Fishery Extension Officer Mugda Kumar Topo was posted in the region despite security concerns. "It was difficult to enter Basia block of Gumla district as Naxal activities were at their peak," said Topo, now based in state capital Ranchi. "After speaking to 50-odd families, a pilot was launched." The government leased 22 tanks to interested families, including one in a remote forest area that required convincing a former Naxalite to operate due to security fears. Om Prakash Sahu, an active Naxal supporter until 2007, now operates six fish ponds and harvests 40 quintals annually. In 2024, he received assistance for three ponds with advanced Recirculatory Aquaculture System technology.
Deccan Herald
27-06-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
From guns to gills: How fish farming is transforming former Naxalites in Jharkhand
Jyothi Lakra, 41, was once part of a Naxalite group before abandoning the Left-wing insurgency in 2002. Today, he runs a fish feed mill that earned him Rs 8,00,000 in net profit last year under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme.
