Category News

Trump slaps 35 percent tariff on Canada starting August 1

By in News, World News

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States would impose a 35 percent tariff on imports from Canada next month, while eyeing blanket tariffs of 15 or 20 percent on most other trading partners as he broadens his trade war.

In a letter released on his social media platform on Thursday, Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney the new rate would go into effect on August 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated.

It was the latest of more than 20 such letters issued by Trump since Monday, as he continues to pursue his trade war threats against dozens of economies.

The letter on Thursday came despite what had been warming relations between Trump and Carney.

The Canadian leader visited the White House on May 6 and held a cordial meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.

They met again at the G7 summit last month in Canada, where leaders pushed Trump to back away from his punishing trade war.

In an interview with NBC News published on Thursday, Trump also said that other trading partners that had not yet received such letters would likely face blanket tariffs.

“Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs,” Trump said in the interview.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20 percent or 15 percent. We’ll work that out now,” Trump was quoted as saying by the network.

In recent days, he also set new tariffs on a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, along with a 50 percent tariff on copper.

On Friday, Myanmar, which was also hit by stiff Trump tariffs, pleaded with Trump for a reduction in the 40 percent tariff rate, with ruling Senior General Min Aung Hlaing saying he is ready to send a negotiation team to Washington if needed, according to state media.

Locked in talks

Canada and the US are locked in trade negotiations, hoping to reach a deal by July 21, and the latest threat seems to put that deadline in jeopardy.

Canada, as well as Mexico, are trying to find ways to satisfy Trump so that the free trade deal uniting the three countries, known as the USMCA, can be put back on track.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced the previous NAFTA accord in July 2020, after Trump successfully pushed for a renegotiation during his first term in office.

It was due to be reviewed by July of next year, but Trump accelerated the process by launching his trade wars after taking office in January.

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

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

Argentina’s ex-president Fernandez to stand trial for corruption

By in News, World News

Argentina’s former President, Alberto Fernandez, has been ordered to stand trial for alleged corruption related to insurance policies taken out by the government for the public sector during his 2019-2023 term.

Fernandez will be prosecuted for “negotiations incompatible with the exercise of public office”, according to Judge Sebastian Casanello’s ruling published in Argentinian media on Thursday, and confirmed by the former leader’s lawyer, Mariana Barbitta.

The 66-year-old stands accused of fraudulent administration over his government’s use of brokers – one of whom allegedly had ties to his office – to contract insurance policies that could have been negotiated directly.

The judge noted in his order that in December 2021, in the middle of his presidency, Fernandez issued a decree that forced the entire public sector to contract exclusively with Nacion Seguros SA, an insurance company then led by Alberto Pagliano, a friend of Fernandez.

It resulted in a boon and tremendous growth for the company.

The main broker of the deal was allegedly the husband of Fernandez’s personal secretary.

The court ordered a freeze on about $10m of Fernandez’s assets as the case proceeds, according to Thursday’s ruling.

Some 33 other people are also named in the case. Fernandez did not immediately comment on the case.

Fernandez did not seek re-election after serving a single term, handing the keys of the presidential palace to self-described “anarcho-capitalist” President Javier Milei in December 2023.

The corruption allegations emerged when a court ordered an examination of his secretary’s phone while investigating assault claims made against Fernandez by his ex-partner Fabiola Yanez.

Yanez filed a complaint accusing Fernandez of having beaten her during their relationship, which ended after he left office.

He faces a separate trial on charges of domestic abuse.

Fernandez’s leftist Peronist movement, which dominated Argentinian politics for most of the country’s post-war history, has been dogged by allegations of corruption.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,233

By in News, World News

Here is how things stand on Friday, July 11:

Fighting

  • Russia’s escalation of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded in June, the United Nations said. The UN verified at least 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded during the month – the highest combined toll since April 2022.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s latest assault involved about 400 drones and 18 missiles, primarily targeting the capital.
  • Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had hit “military-industrial” targets in Kyiv as well as military airfields. It denied targeting civilians, although towns and cities have been hit regularly in the war, and thousands have been killed.
  • Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defences had brought down four Ukrainian drones bound for the Russian capital. Three airports in the Moscow area – Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky – suspended operations temporarily but later resumed, Russia’s aviation authority said.
  • In the Kursk region in western Russia, Acting Governor Alexander Khinstein said a Ukrainian drone had killed a man in his own home, two days after four people died in a drone attack on the city’s beach.
  • Russia’s Defence Ministry said 14 drones were shot down over the Bryansk region and another eight over the Belgorod region, which border Ukraine. A later ministry bulletin said 26 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Kursk and Bryansk regions.

Weapons

Politics and diplomacy

  • Participants in a Rome conference on the economic recovery of Ukraine have pledged more than 10 billion euros ($11.7bn) to help the war-torn country, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced.
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had reinforced the message that Moscow should show more flexibility in dealing with Kyiv during his 50-minute talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ summit in Malaysia.
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged President Trump to “stay with us” in backing Ukraine and Europe. Speaking in Rome, where a Ukraine summit was being held, Merz said Germany was prepared to buy Patriot air defence systems from the US and provide them to Kyiv.
  • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has complained that the Trump administration’s contradictory actions and words made it difficult to work with, though Moscow was dedicated to working on improving ties with Washington. However, he denied that there was a slowdown in efforts to normalise US ties.
  • The UK has announced that Paris would be the new headquarters for the so-called “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, with plans under way for a future coordination cell in Kyiv.
  • Hungary has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador after a report that a Hungarian-Ukrainian dual citizen was beaten to death during forced mobilisation, an allegation Ukraine’s army rejected, saying he died of a pulmonary embolism.
  • Beijing said it was still “verifying” the case of a Chinese father and son detained by Ukraine for allegedly trying to smuggle navy missile technology out of the war-torn country. Relations between Kyiv and Beijing, a key Russian ally, are strained, with Ukraine accusing China of enabling Russia’s invasion through trade and of supplying technology, including for deadly drone attacks.

Crime

Democrats publish leaked Justice Department messages on US deportation push

By in News, World News

Democrats in the United States Senate have released a string of text messages and email correspondences that they say raises questions about the executive branch’s commitment to complying with court orders.

On Thursday, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, released what he described as “whistleblower” evidence about government lawyer Emil Bove.

In his role as acting deputy attorney general for the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bove directed his colleagues to ignore or mislead courts about President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts, according to Durbin.

“Text messages, email exchanges, and documents show that the Department of Justice misled a federal court and disregarded a court order,” Durbin wrote on social media.

“Mr Bove spearheaded this effort, which demanded attorneys violate their ethical duty of candor to the court.”

Bove – formerly a personal lawyer to President Trump during his criminal trials – was recently nominated to serve in a lifetime position as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. But the Senate must first vote to confirm him to the role.

“Emil Bove belongs nowhere near the federal bench,” Durbin wrote. “This vote will be a litmus test for Senate Judiciary Republicans.”

Durbin indicated the emails and texts he released come from a Justice Department source: Most of the names in the correspondences have been redacted.

But they appear to corroborate allegations made in a complaint in June by Erez Reuveni, a Justice Department lawyer who worked under Bove until his dismissal in April.

In his complaint, Reuveni alleged that Bove told Justice Department lawyers that they “would need to consider telling the courts ‘f*** you’” if they interfered with President Trump’s deportation plans.

The expletive came up in the context of Trump’s controversial use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law that, until recently, had only been used in the context of war.

Trump, however, has argued that undocumented immigration constituted an “invasion” and has attempted to deport people under the law’s authority, without allowing them to appeal their removal.

According to Reuveni, Bove explained to the Justice Department that Trump planned to start the deportation flights immediately after invoking the Alien Enemies Act. He “stressed to all in attendance that the planes needed to take off no matter what”.

Reuveni understood that interaction as an attempt to circumvent the power of the courts.

In another instance, Reuveni said he was discouraged from asking questions about the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant wrongfully deported to El Salvador despite a court protection order.

When Reuveni admitted before a Maryland court that he did not have “satisfactory” answers about Abrego Garcia’s return, he said Trump officials pressured him to make assertions against Abrego Garcia that “were not supported by law or the record”. He was fired shortly afterwards.

The documents gathered by Senate Democrats appear to offer a look inside those incidents.

In one series of emails, dated March 15, Reuveni responded to a notification that planes bearing deportees under the Alien Enemies Act were still in the air.

“The judge specifically ordered us not to remove anyone in the class, and to return anyone in the air,” he wrote back.

The emails reflected an injunction from District Judge James Boasberg barring deportations and ordering the planes to turn around.

Nevertheless, the planes landed in El Salvador and delivered their human cargo to a maximum security prison, where many remain to this day.

In another instance, a member of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) replied to an email thread by saying: “My take on these emails is that DOJ leadership and DOJ litigators don’t agree on the strategy. Please keep DHS out of it.”

Text messages also show Reuveni and an unnamed colleague discussing Bove’s request to tell the courts “f*** you”.

“Guess we are going to say f*** you to the court,” one text message reads.

In another, the colleague appears to react to Trump officials lying before the court. “Oh sh**,” they write. “That was just not true.”

In an interview published with The New York Times on Thursday, Reuveni underscored the grave dangers posed by an executive branch that he sees as refusing to comply with judicial authority.

“The Department of Justice is thumbing its nose at the courts, and putting Justice Department attorneys in an impossible position where they have to choose between loyalty to the agenda of the president and their duty to the court,” he told the Times.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has responded with defiance, repeating its claim that Reuveni is simply a “disgruntled employee” lashing out at the employer who fired him.

“He’s a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame, conveniently timed just before a confirmation hearing and a committee vote,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

“No one was ever asked to defy a court order. This is another instance of misinformation being spread to serve a narrative that does not align with the facts.”

Bove himself denied ever advising his colleagues to defy a court order. The Senate is set to decide on his confirmation to the circuit court in the coming weeks.

Love Island viewers praise Maya Jama’s ‘intervention’ as she makes cutting comment to Helena

By in Entertainment News, News

Love Island star Helena Ford was met with comments from host Maya Jama on the latest episode after reuniting with Harry Cooksley following time apart amid Casa Amor

Maya Jama spoke to Helena Ford about her relationship on the latest episode of Love Island(Image: ITV)

Fans have reacted to remarks made by Love Island host Maya Jama to islander Helena Ford after Casa Amor. The presenter was made aware of what Harry Cooksley had been up to whilst they were apart after they reunited this week.

Last night’s episode of the ITV2 show continued the latest recoupling as the two villas came together. Helena and Harry were among the couples who chose to stay together rather than recouple with one of the new additions introduced recently.

Shortly after their reunion, Helena was introduced to dumped islander Rheo Parnell, who had grown close to Harry in Casa Amor. Rheo said: “I don’t think I need to explain what he may have been up to over there. Harry strikes again!”

Helena and Harry in the Love Island villa.
Helena Ford (left) and Harry Cooksley (right) reunited on Love Island recently after being apart amid Casa Amor(Image: ITV)

Helena asked: “How bad are we talking?” Rheo replied: “Well, I mean there were kisses in bed. There was like … cuddles.” Amid discussion about his latest antics, Harry said that he had been “exploring the connection” whilst in the other villa.

Andrada Pop added: “I did ask Harry did he miss Helena and he said he didn’t.” Helena reacted: “To be fair, I think I did say I didn’t miss Harry on the first day either.” Helena and Harry were then seen laughing together over the situation.

Rheo said: “Fair enough.” Love Island host Maya then shared her thoughts, saying: “I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t find it that funny if I was in a couple with someone like that but…”

Jamie Rhodes said: “Yeah, I can’t lie, this is like repeated behaviour. Like you gotta wake up at some point.” After confirming he was talking to Helena, he added: “Personally, I think you deserve more respect.”

Maya – who also confronted Ben Holbrough in the episode over a comment that he made in another scene – said: “Helena, you laugh quite a lot when he’s been doing things. Is that to avoid upset or are you genuinely not bothered?”

Helena responded to the presenter: “It’s not that I’m not bothered. It’s more that I’m just not surprised.” Rheo said: “But do you not think that you deserve more? You do.”

Harry then explained: “If I wanted to be with Rheo, I would have come back with her. No, I’m not excusing anything. I’m not saying that everything I do is right, I just do what feels right in the moment [and] then deal with it after.”

Later, Harry spoke to Helena about their time apart. He admitted to kissing Rheo “once in bed” but said he felt it was “never gonna be” their relationship. Helena was later told by Andrada that he had kissed Rheo more than once.

Maya Jama in a black dress in the Love Island villa.
Host Maya Jama ended up sharing her thoughts with Helena after the pair laughed amid a discussion about his behaviour behind her back(Image: ITV)

She later told him that his behaviour in Casa Amor had been “disrespectful”. Addressing him having been “pursuing” someone else, she said about the future: “We’re not having that.” Harry said that were “on the same page”.

Fans reacted to scenes from the episode on X, including Maya’s remarks to Helena. One viewer wrote: “Is this the first time even Maya is basically calling a contestant a mug. She said ‘Helena, you seem to be laughing everytime he does this, I wouldn’t find this funny’.”

Another said: “Maya basically told Helena to stop embarrassing herself and she laughed.” A third wrote: “Everyone looked at Helena with real concern including Maya. Its becoming a little sad now.”

One fan said: “There’s actually no helping Helena atp wdym the entire firepit is telling her she deserves better INCLUDING MAYA and she’s still excusing Harry’s treatment of her.” Someone wrote: “I’m screaming at the Helena intervention at the recoupling how is everyone telling you to respect yourself, even Maya who’s meant to be impartial.”

Sharing their thoughts, one viewer said: “Helena could walk in on Harry having sex and still be laughing.” Someone replied: “I know….. for Maya to actually pipe in, you know its bad. She’s never done that. I get second hand embarrassment honestly watching her disrespect herself like that.”

Article continues below

One person wrote: “I genuinely hope Helena’s parents have a talk with her when she comes back from the villa because this lack of self-respect and self-love at her age is concerning and sad.” However, not everyone felt the same, with someone responding: “She’s having fun on a stupid game show and you idiots are triggered like a bunch of spoilt children. Pathetic.”

Love Island continues tonight from 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

‘My heart is bleeding’ – Wimbledon winners rue mixed doubles change

By in News, Sports News
Getty Images
Jess Anderson
BBC Sport journalist at Wimbledon
Laura Scott
Sports News Correspondent
@laurascott__

Wimbledon 2025

Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club

Wimbledon mixed doubles champion Sem Verbeek says his “heart is bleeding” over a change in format at the US Open that means he and partner Katerina Siniakova will be unable to play there together.

The duo beat Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) in the final on Centre Court on Thursday.

The US Open will hold its mixed doubles competition as a standalone event before the start of the Slam from this year onwards in an attempt to attract top singles players to participate.

Several eye-catching partnerships have been announced for the new-look event, including British number one Emma Raducanu teaming up with two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

But it means the vast majority of doubles specialists will miss out on playing in the mixed competition in New York.

“It’s a shame they decided to do it,” Czech Siniakova, the world number one in women’s doubles, told BBC Sport.

“I think it’s a marketing step, but they are taking [away the] chance of doubles players.”

Dutchman Verbeek agreed, adding: “As two athletes that would love to play it, it’s a shame to obviously know that we can’t.

“I’m not going to actively root against it for it not to be a success. The positive I can think of is that there’s going to be more people that can see the top single stars earlier in the tournament when they are maybe a bit more accessible to the public.

“But as a doubles athlete, my heart is bleeding.”

Salisbury misses out on maiden Wimbledon title

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Britain’s Salisbury missed out on a maiden Wimbledon title as he and Brazilian partner Stefani were beaten on a blustery Centre Court.

It means Wimbledon remains the only title missing from Salisbury’s illustrious career.

The 33-year-old has twice reached the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon, having previously done so alongside compatriot Harriet Dart in 2021, but has suffered defeat in both.

After a tight opening set where the duos could not be separated, Verbeek and Siniakova rapidly took a 5-1 lead in the tie-break.

Two brilliant rallies offered Salisbury and Stefani a glimmer of hope but the damage had already been done, and Stefani’s volley dropped long to hand Verbeek and Siniakova the opener.

A break of serve apiece in the second set teed up another tie-break, and Siniakova showed why she is a 10-time major doubles champion with clever net play and confident volleys.

The 29-year-old’s overhead smash sealed victory for the pair and Verbeek picked up his partner and hugged her before leading the crowd in singing ‘happy birthday’ to his father.

It is a maiden major title for Verbeek and a first Grand Slam mixed doubles triumph for Siniakova.

Related topics

  • Tennis