President Donald Trump had a cringeworthy moment with world leaders this week, an MSNBC panel argued on Thursday.

Trump was meeting with five African leaders, including Liberian President Joseph Boakai.

“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” Trump gushed.

The president attempted to explain that his country's national language is English, but Trump continued.

“Such good English,” he said. “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” Mr. Trump continued. “Where? Were you educated? Where?”

Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, responded to the moment by calling Trump "an embarrassment every day, but especially on the national stage when the world is watching."

"I mean, the capital of Liberia is Monrovia because it's named after the American President [James] Monroe," said Reickhoff, citing the fifth president of the United States. "I mean, the flag even looks like our flag. I mean, this is really basic stuff that most American representatives of our nation know, or at least have the respect to learn before they speak to a group of people."

He said that it's hurting America's standing.

"I mean, there's some folks who are laughing at us. There are some folks who just lost respect for us, but it's just — it's such an embarrassment, and I don't think we can just gloss gloss past it as a flub, or it's just how he is. I mean, this reflects poorly on our entire nation, and we should never normalize it."

The New York Times explained on Wednesday about Liberia's deep ties to the U.S. as part of "America’s 'Back to Africa' movement and the American Colonization Society, a group formed in 1816 by philanthropists, abolitionists, and some slave owners. That society, established in part as a response to rebellions of enslaved people, helped resettle free Black Americans in what would become Liberia."

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President Donald Trump scolded the leaders of several African nations because he said they were talking too much.

At a luncheon with the leaders on Wednesday, Trump spoke at length about his accomplishments before handing the floor over to the president of Mauritania. Within minutes, however, the U.S. president lost his patience and signaled for the leader to wrap up his remarks.

"I appreciate it," Trump said. "Maybe we're going to have to go a little bit quicker than this because we have a whole schedule. If I could just say your name and your country would be great."

Watch the video below from C-SPAN or click here.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) scolded President Donald Trump's nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Singapore.

During a Wednesday confirmation hearing, Duckworth expressed doubt about Anjani Sinha's ability to do the job.

"I don't think you are particularly qualified for this role, and I'm concerned about how your lack of understanding may even inadvertently cause friction in our critical relationship," the senator explained. "I need to know that you understand some basic facts about Singapore and its critical relationship with the United States."

Duckworth proceeded to quiz Sinha on various topics, including tariffs, ASEAN nations, and U.S. Navy cooperation with Singapore. But the Democrat grew more frustrated with each question.

"I just feel that you are not taking this seriously, and you think this is a glamour posting that you're going to live a nice life in Singapore," Duckworth concluded. "You are not currently prepared for this posting, period, and you need to shape up and do some homework."

Watch the video below from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or click the link here.

Parents of Venezuelan immigrants deported from the United States to El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison are saying that President Donald Trump is using their children as "bargaining chips," according to a new report from The New York Times.

The backlash comes at a time when U.S. and Salvadoran officials work to negotiate a prisoner swap involving "several Americans and dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela in exchange for sending home about 250 Venezuelan migrants the United States had deported to El Salvador," the Times reported.

“At first, when we heard that our sons were being used as bargaining chips, this offended us a lot,” Jetzy Arteaga, whose son has been held in CECOT since he was deported in March, told the outlet. “Our sons are not bargaining chips. But now we realize there is no other option.”

The Trump administration's deportation efforts are a central part of the president's domestic policy agenda. It struck a deal with El Salvador to send some immigrants to the country's infamous CECOT prison for $6 million. The Supreme Court has also said the administration can send detained immigrants to third countries with which they have no ties, such as South Sudan.

Part of the issue that the parents of detained CECOT are running into is that the Trump administration appears to be tripping over itself while negotiating with their Venezuelan and Salvadoran counterparts.

“The sense that we parents had was that you had various people talking, but they weren’t working together — one negotiator would say one thing, and another would say something else,” Petra Castañeda, whose son was arrested last year in Venezuela, told the Times. “You would think they would be duly coordinated.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the outlet that there is "no fraction or division" among Trump administration negotiators.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is laughing at President Donald Trump, said one MSNBC host on Tuesday.

Trump has been asked about Putin and the state of the war against Ukraine after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paused a weapons shipment to the war-torn country.

On Tuesday, when asked about the matter, Trump said, "We get a lot of bulls--- thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."

"Another reversal from Donald Trump today after a seemingly humiliating call during which he admitted he again made zero progress," MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace said.

"Getting to this took maybe the clearest, most obvious sign yet that Putin doesn't want peace," Wallace continued, noting that he launched "the largest air attack against Ukraine since the start of the war, just hours after his call with Donald J. Trump."

The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum said that, despite Trump's anger with Putin, he still seems to be laying on compliments while halting the issuance of new sanctions on Russia.

It's one of several things she said is "sending a message to the Russians, telling them, essentially, that the U.S. isn't playing the game anymore, and they're welcome to keep going. And that's why Putin is still going. That's why he's stepping up his attacks."

She was speaking to Wallace from Warsaw, Poland, and noted that Europeans see Trump making concessions to Putin.

"And then, somehow, Trump is surprised when Putin laughs at him and continues fighting, even though he said he seemed to believe that he said he wouldn't," said Applebaum.

Wallace wondered if there was a strategic play to move Trump away from the Russians while he's being "so publicly ignored. And it would seem Putin's laughing at him. He gets off the phone and bombs the you-know-what out of Ukraine after Trump asks him not to. I mean, is there any consideration given to playing this very public humiliation of Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin is clearly enjoying?"

Applebaum said that many Republican senators have pushed back on Trump "for a long time."

After a commercial break, Wallace recalled Trump being asked who he turns to for advice, and Trump said "himself" and his "big brain."

Commentator John Heilemann called Trump a "pouty little snowflake," who "sounds like a 14-year-old who's just been learning the hard way that the quarterback, the varsity quarterback, just is not into her — or into him. Whichever. It's just, it's the most infantile kind of pathetic display."

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth halted shipments of weapons to Ukraine that were already loaded onto trucks in Europe and ready for delivery. However, on Monday night, President Donald Trump intervened and instructed the aid be sent, and Republicans are celebrating that the president is embracing a defense against Russia.

Hegseth had previously claimed that sending the weapons would jeopardize the United States' readiness, but experts disagreed, NBC News reported last week.

Trump commented Monday, "We have to" send the weapons. "They have to be able to defend themselves."

McConnell said in a statement on his Senate website that he was pleased with the decision, following his criticism of the Trump administration's restrictions on aid and its military budget, which he alleged was insufficient, Politico reported.

“Today, the strategic incoherence of underfunding our military and restricting lethal assistance to partners like Ukraine is measured in the avoidable erosion of American credibility with allies and the mounting deaths of innocents,” McConnell said in a statement.

Speaking to his Cabinet on Tuesday, Trump was asked about Ukraine but seemed clueless on some details. CNN's Katlin Collins asked Trump who ordered the stop of the weapons delivery.

He confessed, "I don't know," as Hegseth was seated to his left. "Why don't you tell me?"

McConnell complained about “those at DoD who invoke munitions shortages to block aid while refusing to invest seriously in expanding munitions production.”

Without saying his name, McConnell was likely referring to defense policy chief Elbridge Colby, who has claimed U.S. stockpiles are running low. McConnell was the only person to vote against his appointment, said Politico.

“The self-indulgent policymaking of restrainers — from Ukraine to AUKUS — has so often required the President to clean up his staff’s messes,” McConnell said.

Another reporter questioned Trump on Tuesday about Ukraine's reports that Russia used toxic chemicals during the fight. Ukraine has requested that the International Criminal Court intervene. Trump didn't know about that either, the videos show.

"What do you know about this, Pete?" Trump asked, leaning over to Hegseth.

Hegseth could be heard whispering that CIA Director John Ratcliffe might know.

Trump pivoted, "Well, I'd ask John to discuss it."

Ratcliffe dodged, reiterating the international policy that the use of chemical weapons is illegal. He said he couldn't share any intelligence on the matter, but he knew that Trump doesn't stand for the use of chemical weapons.

Meanwhile, House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-AL) said that Trump sending the weapons could send a message to Putin that he must negotiate a peace agreement.

"President Trump is right that now is not the time to pause U.S. military aid to support Ukraine’s defense,” he said in a statement.

Read the full report here.

Any sign that the right-wing majority on the Supreme Court were interested in checking President Donald Trump's power have subsided, legal analyst Mark Joseph Stern wrote for Slate in a scathing roundup of the court's agenda this term.

He focused particularly on the abrupt heel-turn of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's third appointee.

His column follows the court's abrupt decision to allow the Trump administration to deport migrants to South Sudan, despite them never having been to that country and despite a near-total lack of due process.

"Less than six months into the second Trump administration, the Supreme Court has settled on a posture of complicity toward the executive branch’s assault on civil liberties and democracy itself," wrote Stern. "The 47th president seeks to restructure the government around his own whims, blasting through any barrier that restrains him as he embarks on a project to illegally freeze spending, end birthright citizenship, and disappear noncitizens to black sites, among other autocratic ambitions. And six Republican-appointed justices are falling over themselves to help him do it."

The particularly notable thing about the sudden shower of shadow-docket decisions nullifying lower-court checks on Trump, as well as the potentially landmark Trump v. CASA decision that puts new limits on the ability to even block illegal orders from the Trump administration, is how quickly the Supreme Court's modicum of resistance to Trump fell apart, Stern wrote.

"From January through March, the court looked to be taking a cautious approach to his presidency, seeking out compromises and imposing limits on his authority," he wrote. "Early on, Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s vote seemed to be in play, as did Chief Justice John Roberts’, to a lesser extent. Along with the liberals, the two justices forced Trump to attend his criminal sentencing shortly before he reentered the White House. They ordered his administration to pay out $2 billion in foreign aid that it illegally withheld."

The two justices then joined a few liberal dissents when the majority allowed Trump to resume certain illegal deportations and withhold Education Department grants.

However, he continued, "By May, these glimmers of independence had faded away. Roberts and Barrett now appear to be almost entirely on board with Trump’s agenda, enabling his consolidation of power at the expense of the other branches, the states, and the people. Perhaps they have simply given up trying to police this administration, fearing that, if they continued to try, they would reveal their own impotence in the face of an aspiring autocrat. Or maybe, as CASA suggests, they believe that the biggest outrage of Trump’s term so far isn’t his own lawless agenda, but the lower courts that dare shoot it down."

At this point, Stern continued, the only areas in which these justices shoot down Trump, as with placing limits on the Alien Enemies Act for deportations, it "may be better understood as preserving the court’s own authority — reminding the president that, in the end, the justices get the final say on what the law requires."

But all too often, that say still goes in Trump's favor, he concluded.

President Donald Trump announced nearly 15 new tariffs that will take effect Aug. 1, as the countries have not been willing to make a deal with the United States.

July 9 was the initial deadline for Trump to reach 90 trade deals in 90 days, but he's looking to push that deadline back after it became clear the president couldn't meet his "deals" goal.

Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard said he spoke to Peter Navarro, senior counselor to the president on trade, about the new tariffs.

Hillyard said that he asked why Trump couldn't make 90 deals in 90 days as he promised.

Navarro claimed, "Because the rest of the countries have it so good, they're dragging their heels."

Hillary then asked why countries should take the United States seriously about the new Aug. 1 deadline when it appears Trump is willing to push back the date repeatedly.

"Again, if, for example, the stock market falls and [Navarro] told me, 'It doesn't matter from the sense that we're collecting billions of dollars on behalf of the American public. I think this is a live ball here at this White House as we watch these new deadlines come into fruition."

For over a year, economists have been saying that Trump's tariffs are not being paid by the countries exporting the goods.

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President Donald Trump slapped a series of tariffs on several more countries Monday afternoon as the deadline for his "90 Deals in 90 Days" pledge approaches.

Trump, who penned several letters sent to leaders of Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and South Africa, issued another list a few hours later.

Posting to his Truth Social platform, Trump put up letters to Thailand, Cambodia, Serbia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Tunisia. In those letters, he announced tariffs of 30% to 36% on the countries and warned of consequences if they retaliated.

The top exports from Thailand include computers, teleprinters, telephone sets, and rubber products, the U.S. Trade Representative site says.

Cambodia's exports include apparel, footwear, and travel goods.

Serbia's exports focus on tires, arms and ammunition, and other machinery, the Observatory of Economic Complexity reported.

Bangladesh exports raw cotton, petroleum gas, scrap iron, and a number of apparel items, according to Trending Economics.

Indonesia exports electronics, apparel, footwear, and agricultural products.

Bosnia and Herzegovina exports explosive ammunition, rubber footwear and mattresses.

Tunisia exports pure olive oil, mixed mineral or chemical fertilizers, and crude petroleum.

Politico reported on Saturday that a person close to the White House said, “You only have to assume he doesn’t want to take them because he likes the game too much."

President Donald Trump posted several letters he sent to the leaders of Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and South Africa, telling them that as of Aug. 1, he will increase the tax on goods coming into the United States from their countries from 25-40%.

"If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge," he told the Malaysian prime minister in the letter.

The Trading Economics website said that the top exports to the United States from Malaysia are electrical and electronic products, machinery, and rubber products.

South Africa's top exports to the United States are precious metals and stones, such as minerals, lime, and cement, along with vehicles and agricultural products, according to the Department of Commerce.

Laos' top exports to the United States are optical fibers, leather footwear, and knitted hats.

Kazakhstan's exports to the United States are largely dominated by oil, including crude petroleum, ferroalloys, and refined petroleum

Myanmar exports include a lot of apparel, both knit and non-knit, articles of leather and travel goods, footwear, and electrical and electronic equipment.

President Donald Trump took time on Monday to lament the trial of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president, on charges of money laundering, criminal conspiracy related to undeclared diamonds and an attempted coup.

"I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year!" Trump exclaimed in a post on Truth Social. "He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE."

The U.S. president said he had "gotten to know Jair Bolsonaro, and he was a strong Leader, who truly loved his Country," and insisted he was "leading in the Polls."

"This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent — Something I know much about! It happened to me, times 10," Trump continued. "The Great People of Brazil will not stand for what they are doing to their former President."

He added: "I'll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters, very closely. The only Trial that should be happening is a Trial by the Voters of Brazil — It's called an Election. LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!"

Bolsonaro's charges involve alleged conspiracy to maintain power after losing the 2022 election, and suggest he plotted to stage a coup. He was formally accused in 2024.

In light of Donald Trump's contentious Oval Office meetings with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa, foreign leaders and diplomats are looking for a roadmap for how to deal with Donald Trump when they meet with him privately and before the cameras.

According to a report from CNN, second-term Trump is far different than the unsure Trump who won a surprising victory in 2016 and world leaders are having to adjust accordingly.

The report notes, "There are signs ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned White House visit Monday that even he is looking to avoid any chance of a fight, despite his close relationship with Trump. After Trump said Tuesday that he planned to be 'very firm' with Netanyahu on the need for a ceasefire in Gaza, an Israeli official indicated they accepted the terms of a 60-day ceasefire proposal about 24 hours later."

According to Gérard Araud, who served as France’s ambassador during Trump’s first presidency the first rule is, "You never contradict Trump publicly, because he will lose face and that’s something that he can’t accept.”

He added that during Trump's first presidency, the president was "insecure, he didn’t know the job. He hated to be patronized.”

Now he claims, "You should first be profusely grateful. You should really compliment the president. There is a sort of North Korean side in the White House. And you should let Trump really talk and talk.”

“A phone call with Trump. It’s a minimum 45 minutes, and you have at least 40 minutes of Trump," he joked.

Suggesting visitors treat Trump like “a whimsical and unpredictable child,” he warned, "Trump’s the only one making decisions,” he added, “and he’s making decisions from the hip.”

You can read more here.

Donald Trump and the media insist on one version of events, but a former Trump associate insists there's more to the story.

Trump recently completed a phone call with Putin, which the media has reported led to no progress in halting the war on Ukraine. A follow-up call with Ukraine's leader was reported as having featured Trump offering some assistance.

But there's more to the call with Ukraine's leader, according to Lev Parnas, a former associate of Trump who worked on issues related to Ukraine during the president's first term.

Parnas on his Substack flagged a devastating attack on Ukraine right after the call with Trump, saying, "The attack wasn’t random. It was systematic, with multiple drones launched in waves designed to overwhelm air defense systems. Targets included civilian zones, energy infrastructure, and transit hubs, with some of the heaviest activity tracked near Kirov Oblast—a name that’s now entering military dispatches as a hub for these new tactics."

According to Parnas, the attack was directly connected to Trump's publicized calls with foreign leaders.

"This is Putin’s escalation, timed perfectly after Trump’s back-to-back calls with him and then with Zelensky. Coincidence? Not even close," the ex-associate said, before blowing up the White House's (and the media's) description of the call.

"According to the press, Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was 'productive' and 'supportive.' But my sources—inside the room—tell a different story," he said. "Trump made no commitments to deliver weapons. He vaguely mentioned that he’d 'look into' retrieving U.S.-supplied arms that were held up. But as I’ve told you for weeks, this is part of a calculated delay tactic."

According to Parnas, "Donald Trump has no intention of sending Ukraine the weapons it needs."

"The strategy is simple: stall the Ukrainians, comfort Putin, and let the situation in eastern Ukraine deteriorate while Washington is distracted with optics," the ex-insider added. "I’m also hearing credible intel about a large-scale Russian troop buildup in the Sunni region, with over 50,000 troops mobilizing. The kind of movement that signals a major new offensive—one that could shift the war."

Read the piece here.

Donald Trump's twin obsessions of wanting to be center stage all the time combined with his desire to be linked to popular sporting events may put him on a collision course with his most rabid MAGA supporters.

That is according to Politico which is reporting that the Trump administration is bending over backwards to accommodate the 2026 World Cup to be played in the U.S. at the same time that the same administration is waging war on immigrants and foreign visitors.

According to Politico's Sophia Cai, a quick phone call to the White House from Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York-New Jersey 2026 World Cup Host Committee, got the White House to call off plans to send “suited and booted” ICE agents to matches which had alarmed officials after it was posted on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Facebook page. That Facebook post was later deleted.

The report notes that all the harsh rhetoric about foreigners coming to the U.S. fades into the background when it comes to the world's most popular sport holding its most popular event in Trump's U.S.

As Cai wrote, Trump's apparent desire to make himself a main character during the World Cup has led his administration to work more closely not only with foreign governments but the leaders in the cities and states hosting games, many of them Democrats.

"Trump has long gravitated personally to the testosterone and glitz of athletic competition," Cai wrote before adding, "Now in his second he has the opportunity to preside over the games themselves. But that requires his administration to coordinate logistically complex events that rely on the type of global cooperation and free movement of people that is anathema to Trump’s 'America First' agenda."

Adding, "Enthusiasm for the pageantry has led Trump to quickly embrace every aspect of what will be among the largest sporting events ever, even at the risk of alienating his most loyal supporters," Cai reported Trump "regularly dismisses the United Nations, NATO and World Health Organization, [but] he caters to the demands of FIFA."

Alan Rothenberg, who assisted in putting on the 1994 U.S. World Cup, suggested, "Trump, as we all know, likes attention. How could you have more attention than a couple billion people watching you kick out the ceremonial first ball and awarding the World Cup trophy to the ultimate champion?”

According to the report, in May, Vice President J.D. Vance was put on the spot about the administration, "attempting to balance its otherwise uncompromising attitude towards foreign visitors with a newfound desire to welcome soccer fans."

Vance replied,"We want them to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home. Otherwise they’ll have to talk to Secretary [Kristi] Noem.”

You can read more here.

According to a White House insider who is deeply involved in talks with U.S. trading partners, Donald Trump's tariff threats are not to be taken seriously because they are just a "theatrical show" being put on by the attention-obsessed president.

According to a report from Politico, as Trump's 90-day window on getting trade deals done before onerous tariffs are put in place looms, there is no real urgency at the White House which has negotiators and even some White House staff taking a dim view of the proceedings.

Politico's Daniel Desrochers and Megan Messerly are reporting, "Foreign officials, trade experts, lawmakers and even some White House allies have expressed a nihilistic view of the July deadline, questioning whether a deal with the Trump administration means anything at all given the president’s penchant for using tariffs as leverage to get his way."

After noting Trump himself was wavering this past week when he told reporters, "We could extend it, we could make it shorter. I’d like to make it shorter,” one insider offered a candid assessment about what is really going on.

“Trump knows the most interesting part of his presidency is the tariff conversation,” they admitted. “I find it hard to believe he’s going to surrender it that easily. It’s all fake. There’s no deadline. It’s a self-imposed landmark in this theatrical show, and that’s where we are.”

The report notes that the president has delegated negotiations to three individuals, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, with Politico is reporting they have little actual authority and are often working at cross purposes.

"The result has been a convoluted process with little progress and no end in sight. Countries have sent representatives to the U.S. on repeated visits to negotiate, but some have failed to secure meetings. Those who have secured facetime with Trump officials have sometimes left confused about U.S. demands or have been later seen their countries chastised by Trump on social media," the report states.

Another White House insider suggested Trump just likes the attention tariff threats bring him.

“You have wins. Take them,” they remarked. "You only have to assume he doesn’t want to take them because he likes the game too much.”

You can read more here.

Donald Trump just precipitated a "brutal" and deadly attack abroad, according to the president's former "trusted operative" Friday.

Lev Parnas, a former insider of the Trump administration who said he "saw how he thinks" and "how he operates," published an article on Independence Day called, "BREAKING: Putin Bombs Kyiv After Trump Call."

Parnas began with an explanation of the devastating attack Russia just launched on Ukraine, saying, "Yesterday morning, just hours after Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin, Russia unleashed one of the most brutal, coordinated assaults on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began."

Parnas went on to level an allegation against Trump himself.

"This was the largest aerial assault on Kyiv since the war began — and it didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was greenlit. It was enabled. It was part of a chain reaction — triggered from the Oval Office," he said.

According to Parnas, it all began when "Trump lifted key sanctions on Russian military-financing banks just days ago," which freed "up the cash Putin needed to escalate his war."

"Next," according to the ex-operative, "Trump ordered the rollback of U.S. missile systems on the Polish border meant for Ukraine."

"That decision, according to my sources, came after direct pressure from the Kremlin," he wrote.

Then Trump had his private call with Putin, after which "Putin launched the deadliest wave of attacks on Ukraine in over a year," according to Parnas.

He then added, "And now — my sources tell me Trump is preparing to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to pressure him to accept a 'deal,' which really means a surrender."

Parnas then adds, "You’re watching this unfold in real time. Trump lit the match, Putin launched the missiles, and now the plan is to close the deal. Hand Ukraine over in pieces — a slow suffocation of a sovereign nation."

Read the full post here.

With sweeping tariffs on friend and foe, US President Donald Trump has roiled financial markets and sparked a surge in economic uncertainty -- and tensions are mounting days before a fresh volley of higher duties are due to kick in.

Here is a rundown of what Trump has implemented in his second presidency, with levies on dozens of economies set to bounce from 10 percent to a range between 11 percent and 50 percent on Wednesday.

- Global tariffs -

While Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on most US trading partners in April, the rate is set to rise for dozens of economies including the European Union and Japan come Wednesday.

To avoid higher levies, countries have been rushing to strike deals with Washington.

So far, the UK and Vietnam have struck pacts with the United States, while China has managed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties.

There are notable exceptions to the duty.

Immediate US neighbors Canada and Mexico, which were separately targeted over illegal immigration and fentanyl, are not affected by the 10 percent global tariff.

Also off the hook are copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber -- although these are sectors that Trump is mulling levies on. Gold and silver, as well as energy commodities, are excluded too.

- China focus -

China has borne the brunt of Trump's levies. The world's two biggest economies engaged in an escalating tariffs war this year before a temporary pullback.

Both sides imposed triple-digit tariffs on each other's goods at one point, a level effectively described as a trade embargo.

After high level talks, Washington agreed to lower its levies on Chinese goods to 30 percent and Beijing slashed its own to 10 percent.

The US level is higher as it includes a 20 percent tariff imposed over China's alleged role in the global fentanyl trade.

- Autos, metals -

Trump has also targeted individual business sectors in his second term.

In March, he imposed a 25 percent levy on steel and aluminum imports and last month doubled them to 50 percent.

He has also rolled out a 25 percent tariff on imported autos, although those imported under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) can qualify for a lower levy.

Trump's auto tariffs impact vehicle parts too, while the president has issued rules to ensure automakers paying vehicle tariffs will not also be charged for certain other duties.

- Canada, Mexico -

Canadian and Mexican products were initially hard hit by 25 percent US tariffs, with a lower rate for Canadian energy.

Trump targeted both neighbors saying they did not do enough on illegal immigration and the flow of illicit drugs across borders.

But he eventually announced exemptions for goods entering his country under the USMCA, covering large swaths of products. Potash, used as fertilizer, got a lower rate as well.

- Other threats -

Beyond expansive tariffs on Chinese products, Trump ordered the closure of a duty-free exemption for low-value parcels from the country. This adds to the cost of importing items like clothing and small electronics.

Trump has also opened the door for 25 percent tariffs on goods from countries importing Venezuelan oil. He has threatened similar "secondary tariffs" involving Russian oil.

And he has ordered investigations into imports of copper, lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals that could eventually bring new duties.

- Legal challenges -

Trump's sweeping tariffs on countries have faced legal challenges. The US Court of International Trade ruled in May that Trump had overstepped his authority with across-the-board global levies.

It blocked many of the duties from going into effect, prompting the Trump administration's challenge, and a US federal appeals court has since allowed the duties to remain while it considers the case.

The U.S. Independence Day holiday motivated a new mural in France that shames America.

While France was once a key ally in the Revolutionary War against Britain, it is now shaming the U.S. with a massive mural of Lady Liberty covering her eyes with mortification. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France after the U.S. Civil War, recalled the National Parks Service.

The mural is titled "The Statue of Liberty's Silent Protest" and was created by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw. In an interview, Leeuw revealed to Storyful that it is meant to reflect shame for the United States over President Donald Trump's immigration policies, a USA Today video said.

A bronze plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," from the sonnet "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus.

"With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand. A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame; Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name; Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command. The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame," it continues.

Her poem was meant to help raise money to construct the pedestal for the statue. Lazarus was involved in helping bring Jewish refugees fleeing antisemitic pogroms from Eastern Europe to the U.S. at the time and she saw the Statue of Liberty as an inspiration for migrants fleeing to the welcoming arms of the United States.

In a post on Instagram, Leeuw explained that the Statue of Liberty was a "celebration of friendship, and given in the name of Independence Day — a day meant to honor the right to freedom for all."

"But today, that freedom feels out of reach. Not for everyone. Not for migrants. Not for those pushed to the margins, silenced, or unseen," she continued. "In Roubaix — a city with one of France’s largest migrant populations — I painted her covering her eyes, because the weight of the world has become too heavy to witness. What was once a shining symbol of liberty now carries the sorrow of lost meaning. The project was finished on July 4th — Independence Day. A quiet reminder of what freedom should be."

The mural took six days to complete and was unveiled the day before the United States' Independence Day. However, the artist called the unveiling on July 3, a "meaningful coincidence."

See the mural in the video from the artist below or at the link here.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly the one responsible for halting aid to Ukraine, blindsiding the U.S. State Department.

According to NBC News, no one, including members of Congress, officials in Kyiv, and allies in Europe, knew that the allocated aid was going to be paused, officials said.

Hegseth claimed that sending Ukraine U.S. stockpiles was putting the military at risk of having fewer weapons in the event of war.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), however, called the claim disingenuous.

“We are not at any lower point, stockpile-wise, than we’ve been in the 3½ years of the Ukraine conflict,” said Smith, who is the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee.

He explained that his staff has "seen the numbers" and that there was no evidence of a shortage that would stop the aid shipments.

President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday morning. However, three congressional aids and one former U.S. official said that was a "unilateral" decision from Hegseth.

“We can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell on Wednesday. “Part of our job is to give the president a framework that he can use to evaluate how many munitions we have where we’re sending them. And that review process is happening right now and is ongoing.”

The weaponry was already in Europe and had been loaded onto trucks aimed for Kyiv when Hegseth stopped it at the last minute, two sources told NBC.

Read the full report here.

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador pushed back on claims made by Kilmar Abrego Garcia through his lawyers that he was tortured while he was housed in the country's infamous CECOT prison.

In a court filing on Wednesday, Abrego Garcia claimed that he was physically abused, mentally tortured, and sleep deprived while he stayed at CECOT. His lawyers said they are working with him to file a more detailed account of his stay.

The story Abrego Garcia's lawyers are telling didn't sit well with Bukele. The president posted on X a more than three-minute video clip with pictures of Abrego Garcia at CECOT.

"If he’d been tortured, sleep-deprived, and starved, why does he look so well in every picture? Why would he gain weight? Why are there no bruises, or even dark circles under his eyes?" Bukele wrote in the post.

Some of the photos in Bukele's montage appear to show Abrego Garcia in a lower-security facility. When Abrego Garcia met with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in April, he told the senator that he was not being held in a low-security part of the prison. The filing that his lawyers put together also suggests that Abrego Garcia was kept in the maximum-security wing with known gang members.

Bukele took issue with these assertions in his post.

"Apparently, anything a criminal claims is accepted as truth by the mainstream media and the crumbling Western judiciary," Bukele wrote.

"But the man wasn’t tortured, nor did he lose weight. In fact, photos show he gained weight while in detention. There’s plenty of footage from different days, including his meeting with Senator Van Hollen, who himself confirmed the man seemed fine," his post continued.

President Donald Trump staged a Thursday morning phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin where they discussed issues including a ceasefire with Ukraine, as well as diplomatic solutions with Iran, Reuters reported.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Trump "again raised the issue of an early end to military action" in Ukraine, but that Putin refused to back down from accomplishing his original goals for the region.

"Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that we continue to seek a political and negotiated solution to the conflict," Ushakov said.

"Our president also said that Russia will achieve the goals it has set: that is, the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs, to the current acute confrontation, and Russia will not back down from these goals," he added.

Reuters reported that the phrase "root causes" Putin used "is shorthand for the Kremlin's argument that it was compelled to go to war in Ukraine to prevent the country from joining NATO and being used by the Western alliance as a launch pad to attack Russia."

Ushakov said that Putin and Trump "did not talk about the U.S. decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine."

Trump has not yet spoken about the phone call.

Read the Reuters story here.

Donald Trump is actively committing "obstruction" against Ukraine, according to the president's former "trusted operative."

Lev Parnas, who worked closely with the president and his associates in the run-up to his first impeachment, flagged the breaking news in a Substack piece Thursday.

"Overnight, Ukraine was hit with one of the fiercest barrages in recent weeks. Russian missiles rained down on Odesa, crippling grain export terminals. Mykolaiv was struck again, shaking entire apartment blocks. And in the Lipsk region, strategic radar sites and energy infrastructure were targeted in a coordinated assault," Parnas said. "But this time, something was different. This time, Ukrainian officials were expecting help—help that never arrived."

Now, according to Parnas, "we know why."

"As I told you earlier, Donald Trump didn’t just 'pause' military aid to Ukraine—he sabotaged it. The missiles were already in Poland. Already staged. Already approved. And my sources confirm: Trump ordered them pulled back," he wrote. "Not delayed. Pulled. Back. This is active obstruction. This is betrayal. And yes—it’s emboldening Vladimir Putin and reshaping the battlefield right now as you’re reading this."

The "fallout" in Congress has begun, according to Parnas.

"Yesterday, Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick—yes, the same Fitzpatrick I told you to watch—found out about the missile pullback. And he didn’t stay quiet," Parnas wrote. "He sent a scathing letter to the President, demanding answers and accountability. And when it came time to vote on Trump’s so-called 'big, beautiful' bill—he voted NO. One of the few Republicans to stand up."

But, Parnas added, "Fitzpatrick’s not alone."

"Don Bacon. Thomas Massie. Tom Tillis. One by one, Republicans are breaking ranks. The cracks are no longer just forming—they’re spreading," he said.

Read the full post right here.

President Donald Trump announced his second trade deal as part of his "90 Deals in 90 Days" marathon, and this one is with Vietnam. For political analysts, however, the deal doesn't look as good as Trump boasts.

"It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam," Trump announced on Truth Social Wednesday.

Trump said that all imports from Vietnam will be taxed at 20% with a 40% tax on "transshipping." He goes on to celebrate that the United States will have "TOTAL ACCESS" to sell U.S. goods in Vietnam.

As foreign affairs journalist Olga Nesterova explained, Trump is taxing Americans 20-40% while Vietnam gets products for free.

However, the country's economy, cost of living and salaries are vastly different from those in the United States. For example, Numbeo data shows the cost of a 12-ounce bottle of soda is about 50 cents. The monthly cell phone bill with at least 10 gigabytes of data is under $6. A one-bedroom apartment in the City Centre averages under $400 a month.

As political and media researcher Craig Harrington explained, "Our trade relationship with Vietnam was growing before Trump, but we still only exported $13.1 billion worth of goods to Vietnam in 2024 (they exported $136.6 billion to us). Tariffs aren't the reason we don't export much to Vietnam, it's because they are poorer than we are."

Meanwhile, University of Michigan professor of public policy and economics, Justin Wolfers, noted on X, "'New' trade deal just dropped: US businesses get tariff-free access to the Vietnamese market, just as they were offered 8 years ago in the TPP, but Trump refused to sign. In addition, Trump's imposing a 20% tax on Americans who import goods from Vietnam."

Political commentator Brian Krassenstein posted on X that the deal is "horrible" for the U.S.

"Trump announces what appears to be a horrible trade deal for the United States and Vietnam. American businesses will now be paying between 20 and 40% for imports coming from Vietnam. It’s literally like they want inflation," he wrote.

The group Republicans Against Trump agreed, noting, it "sounds like a really terrible deal."

Harrington pointed out that on April 4, there was a "zero-rate tariff offer in Vietnam was proposed." Trump announced his "Liberation Day" on April 2. "He's essentially done nothing in 3 months. A true genius at work. The art of the deal."

Zeteo News founder and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan attacked, "Trump is brazenly and deliberately lying here - but American consumers and businesses will pay."

Federal judges have found a way to get under the skin of Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's "border czar." And it involves protecting the rights of migrants that Homan wants to deport.

On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes agreed to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in federal custody until at least mid-July over fears that he could be deported again. Abrego Garcia was deported to the infamous Salvadoran prison CECOT in March, even though an immigration judge granted him the legal right to remain in the United States in 2019 because of a well-founded fear of persecution if he returned to El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States in June after months of wrangling between the Trump administration and federal courts.

The judge's decision irked Homan, and he appeared on Fox News' "The Will Cain Show" to voice his displeasure.

"It's just another disgusting story," Homan said. "These judges are telling us, 'I don't want you to abide by federal court orders issued by two judges that say this person needs to be deported.'"

The situation between federal officials and Abrego Garcia came to a head last week. Holmes granted Abrego Garcia's request for a pre-trial release while he fights federal human trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty to charges.

However, Abrego Garcia's lawyers told Holmes there was a high probability that immigration officials would detain Abrego Garcia again if he were released. The Department of Justice acknowledged this possibility in court, which caused Holmes to delay issuing her ruling on Abrego Garcia's release.

Homan described Holmes delaying her order to release Abrego Garcia as a "radical, independent decision." He said the Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi are "on top of this" recent ruling, and that they will "take this fight all the way."

"Bottom line is, there is no place in this country for this man," Homan said.

You can watch the entire exchange here.

There is reportedly a fatwa, or religious edict, against Donald Trump.

Trump recently ratchetted up the language against Iranian officials on his social media, leading to a "murder fatwa" against him, according to an ex-insider. In 1989, Iran's Supreme Leader issued a fatwa against author Salman Rushdie.

Lev Parnas, a former "trusted operative" of Trump, flagged the news over the weekend.

In a post called "BREAKING: U.S. Intelligence Intercepts Iran’s Private Response to Strike — Fatwa Issued Against Trump," Parnas says, "After Trump’s latest unhinged Truth Social post attacking Ayatollah Khomeini, a second Grand Ayatollah — Noori Hamedani — issued an official murder fatwa against Donald Trump."

He highlights the following quote:

“Any insult to the Ayatollah Khamenei is an insult to the foundations of Islam. Any individual or state threatening or striking him or aiding in such a crime is Mohareb — an enemy of Allah."

"This is unprecedented," he said. "The geopolitical fallout from Trump’s actions isn’t just theoretical — it’s personal, global, and explosive."

Parnas continued:

"At the same time, Putin and Trump’s carefully choreographed theater from last week is unraveling, just as I warned. And now Trump is teasing a 'major announcement' related to Russia tomorrow — a cryptic post that has my sources working overtime. I’m hearing this could involve a shift on sanctions, an energy deal, or even an announcement tied to Ukraine."

Parnas isn't the only one reporting the news. Tehran Times also Sunday published similar claims in a story, "Fatwas draw a red line: No tolerance for threats against Ayatollah Khamenei."

Read more here.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly disputed details from an intercepted Iranian call that suggested damage to the country's nuclear program was not as extensive as President Donald Trump has claimed.

On Sunday, The Washington Post first reported the existence of signals intelligence, which included Iranian government officials discussing the recent U.S. attack on nuclear facilities.

"The communication, intended to be private, included Iranian government officials speculating as to why the strikes directed by President Donald Trump were not as destructive and extensive as they anticipated, these people said," the Post noted.

For his part, Trump has claimed that Iran's nuclear program was "completely and totally obliterated."

Leavitt did not deny that the call had been intercepted but disagreed with conclusions suggesting Trump's statements were wrong.

"It's shameful that The Washington Post is helping people commit felonies by publishing out-of-context leaks," she told the paper. "The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over."

A senior U.S. intelligence official also told the Post that "one slice of signals intelligence on its own does not reflect the full intelligence picture."

"A single phone call between unnamed Iranians is not the same as an intelligence assessment, which takes into account a body of evidence, with multiple sources and methods," the person insisted.

President Donald Trump was brutally mocked over the weekend after he referred to Japan's leader as "Mr. Japan."

The president made the statement during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo about tariffs. As his July 9 deadline for tariff deals approached, Trump said he would rather send a letter to countries instead of negotiating.

"But I'd rather just send them a letter, a very fair letter, saying, congratulations, whether it will allow you to trade in the United States of America," Trump told Bartiromo. "You're going to pay a 25% tariff, or 20% or 40% or 50%. I would rather do that."

"We'll send a letter and we'll say we would consider it a great honor, and this is what you'll have to do to shop in the United States," he opined. "We're like a department store to shop in the United States, and you'll pay a 25% tariff, or we wish you a lot of luck, and that's the end of the trade deal."

"I could send one to Japan. Dear Mr. Japan, here's the story. You're going to pay a 25% tariff on your cars."

Trump's statement was met with mockery online.

"His brain is peanut butter," commenter Leslie Jones wrote.

"If President Biden started a sentence with 'Dear Mr. Japan,' Republicans would never shut up about it and '25th Amendment' is all they'd be talking about," another commenter said. "This is f—ing INSANE."

"Paging Jake Tapper," D. Villella joked.

"If Biden said that Maria would have leaped into the air to wave the DEMENTED flag on air," one person noted.

Watch the video below from Fox News.

CNN host Jake Tapper did not get the answer he expected from Sen. Mark Warner when he pressed the Virginia Democrat over the success of Donald Trump surprise attack on Iran over a week ago.

During his appearance on CNN's 'State of the Union," the chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence was asked by the CNN host, "So we still don't know the degree of the damage, but let me just ask you this as a basic just calling balls and strikes here: isn't the world safer today because of these strikes than it was nine days ago?"

"If we don't end up seeing Iran attacking us through cyber or through proxies, if they --," Warner began before Tapper interrupted him.

"They were doing that," Tapper interjected as Warner continued, "If the ceasefire, if the ceasefire stays between Israel and Iran and Iran's program is set back for whatever period of time..."

"I just mean as of today," the CNN host interrupted again. "I'm not saying you're saying this for the rest of your life and you know, whatever, but as of today, we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. but as of today, isn't the world safe?"

"I am glad that these capabilities have been cut back," Warner conceded before cautioning, "Do we know what Iran's next step is going to be? Do we? Are we going to be saying the same thing if Iran now tries to race to a bomb in the trunk of a car, because we don't have any inspectors on the ground, are we going to be say that as well if Iran launches major cyber attacks against us, when this administration has literally cut half of the folks who do cyber security at the federal government level?"

"So I think it's too early to tell, okay" he continued before adding, "Am I glad to see some of this capabilities taken out? Absolutely."

You can watch below or at the link.

- YouTube youtu.be

Donald Trump just "threatened Israel" on Saturday, according to a former associate of the president.

Lev Parnas, a former "trusted operative" of the president, over the weekend reported on a secretive global power shift involving Trump and other world leaders.

After that report, Trump came out with a comment about Israel.

"It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu. He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran," Trump wrote. "Importantly, he is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.)."

Trump also said, "The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this."

That's the part that stood out for Parnas, who highlighted those two sentences.

"BREAKING: Donald Trump is threatening Israel, demanding they halt the criminal proceedings against Prime Minister Netanyahu—or face consequences," Parnas wrote on Saturday. "This is an unprecedented intrusion into a sovereign legal process."

Parnas went even further in a Substack post, writing, "Trump issued a thinly veiled threat to a sovereign democracy—Israel—for daring to hold its own Prime Minister accountable."

He added that Trump's comment was "as if American aid to Israel should come with personal immunity for Bibi Netanyahu."

"Let me be clear: Donald Trump is using U.S. foreign aid as a political weapon to protect fellow authoritarians. He did it with Ukraine and now he’s doing it with Israel," Parnas said. "This is a man actively undermining our global alliances for his personal power network."

Read the Substack post right here.

Donald Trump on Saturday again went to bat for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the foreign leader's trial.

The president took to Truth Social over the weekend to vent his concerns.

"It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu. He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran," Trump wrote. "Importantly, he is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.)."

Trump then continued:

"It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure. This travesty of 'Justice' will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations. In other words, it is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu."

Trump added, "The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel."

"We are not going to stand for this. We just had a Great Victory with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu at the helm — And this greatly tarnishes our Victory," Trump concluded. "LET BIBI GO, HE’S GOT A BIG JOB TO DO!"

Read it here.

Men from Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar were removed from the US and flown to the war-torn country

Tom Homan, the US border czar, has said he does not know what happened to the eight men deported to South Sudan after the Trump administration resumed sending migrants to countries that are not their place of origin, known as third countries.

“They’re free as far as we’re concerned. They’re free, they’re no longer in our custody, they’re in Sudan,” Homan told Politico on Friday. “Will they stay in Sudan? I don’t know.”

ECHR rules South African runner did not have fair trial on need to lower testosterone levels to compete in women’s sport

The South African runner Caster Semenya has called for athletes’ rights to be better protected after Europe’s top human rights court ruled that she had not been given a fair trial when she contested a policy that required her to lower her testosterone levels in order to compete in women’s sport.

The decision, handed down on Thursday by the European court of human rights, was the latest twist in the two-time Olympic gold medallist’s extraordinary legal battle.

Curbs on LGBTQ+ rights and a halt to US funding may reverse decades of progress in fight to end Aids epidemic, warns UNAids

People at higher risk of HIV, such as gay men and people who inject drugs, are facing record levels of criminalisation worldwide, according to UNAids.

For the first time since the joint UN programme on HIV/Aids began reporting on punitive laws a decade ago, the number of countries criminalising same-sex sexual activity and gender expression has increased.

Somalia, DR Congo and Yemen among states forced to sign deals and barter their minerals for aid or military support

Some of the world’s poorest countries have started paying millions to lobbyists linked to Donald Trump to try to offset US cuts to foreign aid, an investigation reveals.

Somalia, Haiti and Yemen are among 11 countries to sign significant lobbying deals with figures tied directly to the US president after he slashed US foreign humanitarian assistance.

At least 10 people killed and 100 young people arrested since protests began in west African country in June

On the night last month that he and 34 other young people were arrested in the Togolese capital, Lomé, for coordinating an anti-government demonstration, Bertin Bandiangou said gendarmes beat him with ropes and slapped him. The next morning he was tortured while a commanding officer filmed proceedings.

He was lucky to get out alive: at least 10 people have been killed by security officials since protests began in June calling for the resignation of the small west African country’s president, Faure Gnassingbé.

Leiweke, ex-president of Denver Nuggets and former CEO of MLSE, which owns Toronto’s major sports franchises, indicted over $388m arena

A prominent sports executive has been criminally charged with organising a conspiracy to ensure his own company won the bid to build a $388m sports arena in Texas.

Timothy Leiweke, the former president of the Denver Nuggets basketball team and former CEO of MLSE, which owns Toronto’s major sports franchises including the Leafs and Raptors was charged on Wednesday by a federal grand jury. He resigned as chief executive of the company at the center of the case, Oak View Group (OVG), after the announcement.

Scientists say Perito Moreno, which for decades defied trend of glacial retreat, now rapidly losing mass

One of the few stable glaciers in a warming world, Perito Moreno, in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, is now undergoing a possibly irreversible retreat, scientists say.

Over the past seven years, it has lost 1.92 sq km (0.74 sq miles) of ice cover and its thickness is decreasing by up to 8 metres (26 ft) a year.

Country’s navy announced seizure of uncrewed narco sub, first capture of such a vessel in Colombian waters

The bust was unusual – a narco submarine capable of carrying more than 1.5 tons of cocaine. There were no drugs onboard this time, but most notably, there were no traffickers.

Last week, the Colombian navy announced that it had seized an “autonomous semisubmersible”, the first seizure of such a vessel in the country’s waters.

Latest threats heighten fears that the president’s erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the US

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on products sent to the US, tying the move to what he called the “witch-hunt” trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Posting letters on Truth Social, the US president had earlier in the day targeted seven other countries – the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka – for stiff US tariffs on foreign exports starting on 1 August.

Facebook post helps track down Anita and Brad, who had been dating for a year at time of message and wed in 2016

In September 2012, a young couple capped a romantic date in Newfoundland, on Canada’s eastern tip, by putting a message in a bottle and dropping it into the Atlantic.

“Anita and Brad’s day trip to Bell Island. Today, we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other, at the edge of the island,” it said. It asked whomever might find the message to “please call us”, followed by a scribbled number.

Rubio meets Chinese counterpart at gathering, as questions remain about US trade polices and commitment to region

Even as they face among the most punitive tariffs globally, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has sought to reassure south-east Asian countries of Washington’s commitment to the region, saying they may get “better” trade deals than the rest of the world.

In his first official visit to Asia, Rubio met the foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Malaysia on Thursday, telling his counterparts that the US had “no intention of abandoning” the region.

His visit came days after Donald Trump renewed his threat to impose severe tariffson many south-east Asian countries if they did not strike deals by 1 August.

In 2023 posts on X, Adams listed interests including restaurant chain Hooters, rare steaks, ‘extremely’ heavy weights and the Bible

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A former Sydney councillor and self-described “alpha male” has been picked by Donald Trump to be the new US ambassador to Malaysia, with the US president describing the Hooters fan as an “incredible patriot”.

In a post to X after his nomination, Nick Adams thanked the US president for the “honor of a lifetime”, saying that “In your America, all dreams come true”.

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Choi Min-kyung is seeking damages from the state represented by its leader and has also submitted a criminal complaint alleging crimes against humanity

A North Korean defector has filed a lawsuit against Kim Jong-un in a South Korean court, alleging torture and sexual violence in the regime’s detention facilities.

Choi Min-kyung, 53, is seeking 50m won (US$37,000) in damages from the North Korean state represented by its leader, Kim Jong-un, and six other officials. She also submitted a criminal complaint asking prosecutors to investigate crimes against humanity charges against Kim and five other officials.

Pair accused of spying on Neptune missile programme, which is seen as critical to defence against Russia

Ukraine says it has arrested a Chinese father and son on suspicion of spying on its Neptune anti-ship missile programme, a key part of Kyiv’s growing domestic arms industry that is critical to its defence against Russian forces.

The announcement by Ukraine’s security service (SBU) follows assertions by Kyiv in recent months that Beijing, which has sought to project an image of neutrality, is helping the Kremlin’s war effort.

Politician spent 52 days in jail after being charged with insurrection but was released four months ago

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol returned to jail on Thursday after a court approved a warrant sought by prosecutors investigating his attempt to impose martial law last year.

The Seoul central district court’s decision bolstered the special counsel investigation into allegations that Yoon’s move in December represented obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

PM jets to Beijing to strengthen ties as multibillion-dollar US submarine deal spurred by China’s military buildup hangs in doubt

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Anthony Albanese departs for his second trip to China with the spectre of Donald Trump looming large over meetings with Xi Jinping.

While the prime minister flies to Beijing to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties with Australia’s largest trading partner, a nervous eye must stay on the US’s promised Aukus nuclear submarines: military commitments of hundreds of billions of dollars, spending spurred by China’s own military buildup, now under review by the US defence department. According to some reports, they are a potential bargaining chip from a Trump administration seeking guarantees of support in any conflict over Taiwan.

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The 26-year-old’s van had been found abandoned but police hail a ‘great result’ in finding her safe but ‘ravaged by mosquitoes’

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German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been found alive after going missing 12 days ago in remote Western Australian bushland.

Insp Martin Glynn of WA police told reporters on Friday evening that the 26-year-old had been located walking on a bush track on the edge of the reserve where she had gone missing.

Coalition’s decades-long brawl over climate change and energy policy laid bare as former deputy prime minister sends out clarion call on Facebook

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Barnaby Joyce has vowed to wind back the “lunatic crusade” of net zero by 2050 in a private member’s bill once parliament resumes later this month.

The former deputy prime minister and Nationals backbencher’s clarion call on Friday afternoon laid bare the Coalition’s decades-long brawl over climate change and energy policy.

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Businesses and industry urged to stay alert after invasive species discovered at coalmine in Moranbah, about 150km inland from Mackay

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Fire ants have been detected in central Queensland for the first time in history after a major outbreak at a BHP Broadmeadow coalmine.

The discovery has prompted fury among the Invasive Species Council, who have questioned how the invasive pest had travelled almost 800km from the closest known infestation zone.

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The political leader of the central Tibetan administration – Tibet’s government in exile – is visiting Australia this week.

It comes as Anthony Albanese heads to China this weekend.

It is not enough to have freedom only in a few countries in this world. Freedom is necessary for every human being in this world.

When prime minister Albanese’s visiting there, I would urge him to also say that he would like to visit Tibet.

Ex-PM among those saying they will take legal action over ‘covert’ plans to return sculptures to Greece

The former British prime minister Liz Truss and a hard-right lobby group have been accused of stoking culture wars after putting their names to a letter claiming they would take legal action over alleged “covert” plans to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece.

The letter, addressed to Keir Starmer and the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, as well as trustees of the British Museum, was organised by a rightwing campaign group called Great British Pac, led by the Conservative activist Claire Bullivant and the former Reform deputy co-leader Ben Habib, who was ousted from the party by Nigel Farage.

President hints at ‘major announcement’ on Monday after halting arms shipments due to dwindling stockpiles

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Donald Trump appears poised to deliver weapons to Ukraine by selling them first to Nato allies in a major policy shift for his administration amid frustrations with Vladimir Putin over stalling negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

During an interview with NBC News, Trump said he will probably have a “major announcement” on Russia on Monday and confirmed he had struck a deal with Nato leaders to supply weapons to Ukraine.

Donald Trump said overnight that group of US trading partners, including the bloc, would get a letter ‘today or tomorrow’

Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, condemned as a “desecration of historical truth” new plaques near a Polish monument to the wartime Jedwabne massacre of Jews by their Polish neighbours, AFP reported.

The plaques, crowdfunded and placed by the far-right on a private plot in vicinity of the official memorial just before of the 84th anniversary of the massacre, question the official findings and falsely claim that “the crime was committed by a German pacification unit” instead of local Poles.

UK is confident deal will be approved but EU says it wants to know more about ‘substance and form’ of agreement

The EU has said it will assess Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron’s migrant return deal to see whether it is compatible “with the spirit and the letter of the law”.

While the UK has said it is confident the deal will be approved, a spokesperson for the European Commission said it wanted to know more about the “substance and form” of the agreement before expressing support.

Cabaret venue marks restoration of red-painted windmill with 90-strong troupe performing signature can-can dance

The sails of the red-painted windmill on top of the Moulin Rouge, the most celebrated cabaret in Paris, have begun turning again, restoring the home of French can-can to its full glory more than a year after they tumbled inelegantly to the ground.

In a profusion of red feathers, members of the Montmartre institution’s 90-strong troupe performed its signature dance on the road outside to mark the occasion on Thursday night, after the second of two daily performances that draw 600,000 visitors a year.

Israeli PM manages to avoid breach with US president through high-profile assurances he is seeking end to war

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Benjamin Netanyahu arrived back in Israel on Friday without a ceasefire in the Gaza war despite heady predictions from US and Israeli officials that this week could provide a breakthrough in negotiations. But he did not come home completely empty-handed.

The Israeli PM’s visit was his third since Donald Trump’s inauguration, with several high-profile meetings at the White House, a nomination for Trump to receive the Nobel peace prize, and suggestions from Trump and the special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that peace could be achieved in a week.

Majority of those killed were in the vicinity of sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

The number of people killed by strikes in Gaza on Friday has risen to seven, according to the region’s civil defence agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.

Nearly all of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than 2 million people living there.

UN human rights office says 615 of the deaths were in vicinity of sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

At least 798 people have been killed while seeking food at distribution points operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and other humanitarian convoys since the end of May, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday.

The GHF, proposed by Israel as an alternative to the UN aid system in Gaza, has been almost universally condemned by rights groups for its violation of principles of humanitarian impartiality and what they have said could be complicity in war crimes.

United Nations’ special rapporteur for Palestinian territories stresses all eyes must remain on Gaza as she urges ‘let’s stand tall, together’

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, has responded to news that she will be sanctioned by the Trump administration with a post on X saying “the powerful punishing those who speak for the powerless, it is not a sign of strength, but of guilt”.

On Wednesday, as part of its effort to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza, the state department sanctioned Albanese, an independent official tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.

Children among at least 15 killed in attack that NGO says was ‘blatant violation of international humanitarian law’

At least 15 people, including 10 children, have been killed by an Israeli strike as they queued outside a medical point in central Gaza, amid intensifying Israeli attacks that left 82 people dead across the strip.

The uptick in Israeli bombing came as negotiators said a Gaza ceasefire deal was in sight, but not yet achieved.