environment

EPA employees accuse Trump administration of 'ignoring' science

  • "This politicized messaging distracts from EPA's core responsibility: to protect human health and the environment through objective, science-based policy."
  • US President Donald Trump's administration is "ignoring the scientific consensus to benefit polluters," hundreds of Environmental Protection Agency employees said in a letter of dissent Monday, accusing the government of undermining the EPA's core mission.
  • "This politicized messaging distracts from EPA's core responsibility: to protect human health and the environment through objective, science-based policy."
US President Donald Trump's administration is "ignoring the scientific consensus to benefit polluters," hundreds of Environmental Protection Agency employees said in a letter of dissent Monday, accusing the government of undermining the EPA's core mission.
The scathing letter, signed by more than 200 current and former officials and their supporters, accused EPA chief Lee Zeldin of enacting policies dangerous to both humans and the environment.
"The decisions of the current administration frequently contradict the peer-reviewed research and recommendations of Agency experts," said the letter.
"Make no mistake: your actions endanger public health and erode scientific progress -- not only in America -- but around the world."
Under Zeldin, the EPA has worked to deliver Trump's campaign promises of lifting environmental regulations, boosting fossil fuel production and cutting clean energy spending.
The letter identifies five main areas of concern, including the increasing politicization of the agency, the reversing of programs aimed at marginalized communities and the "dismantling" of the agency's Office of Research and Development.
It described the agency's communications under Zeldin as being used "to promote misinformation and overtly partisan rhetoric."
"This politicized messaging distracts from EPA's core responsibility: to protect human health and the environment through objective, science-based policy."
As an example, the letter cited official communications that likened "climate science to a religion."
Zeldin has repeatedly stated that he sees the EPA's role as supporting US economic growth, and under his guidance the agency has set in motion a full-scale reversal of several environmental standards and greenhouse gas regulations.
Unveiling a set of policy initiatives in March, Zeldin hailed the move as "the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen."
"We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the US and more," said the administrator of the federal agency charged with protecting the environment.
The letter came weeks after the publication of a similar text signed by dozens of employees of the National Institutes of Health over the Trump administration's "harmful" policies.
The EPA letter had more than 170 "anonymous signers," with the text stating the administration had promoted "a culture of fear" at the agency.
cha-aha/mlm

research

Over 14 million people could die from US foreign aid cuts: study

BY DANIEL LAWLER

  • The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found.
  • More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die because of the Trump administration's dismantling of US foreign aid, research projected on Tuesday.
  • The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found.
More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die because of the Trump administration's dismantling of US foreign aid, research projected on Tuesday.
The study in the prestigious Lancet journal was published as world and business leaders gather for a UN conference in Spain this week hoping to bolster the reeling aid sector.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had provided over 40 percent of global humanitarian funding until Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. 
Two weeks later, Trump's then-close advisor -- and world's richest man -- Elon Musk boasted of having put the agency "through the woodchipper".
The funding cuts "risk abruptly halting -- and even reversing -- two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations," warned study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
"For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict," he said in a statement.
Looking back over data from 133 nations, the international team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021. 
They also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83 percent -- the figure announced by the US government earlier this year -- could affect death rates.
The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found. That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five -- or around 700,000 child deaths a year.
For comparison, around 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during World War I. 
Programmes supported by USAID were linked to a 15-percent decrease in deaths from all causes, the researchers found. For children under five, the drop in deaths was twice as steep at 32 percent.
USAID funding was found to be particularly effective at staving off preventable deaths from disease. 
There were 65 percent fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS in countries receiving a high level of support compared to those with little or no USAID funding, the study found. Deaths from malaria and neglected tropical diseases were similarly cut in half. 

'Time to scale up'

After USAID was gutted, several other major donors including Germany, the UK and France followed suit in announcing plans to slash their foreign aid budgets. 
These aid reductions, particularly in the European Union, could lead to "even more additional deaths in the coming years," study co-author Caterina Monti of ISGlobal said.
But the grim projections for deaths were based on the current amount of pledged aid, so could rapidly come down if the situation changes, the researchers emphasised.
Dozens of world leaders are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville this week for the biggest aid conference in a decade. The US, however, will not attend. 
"Now is the time to scale up, not scale back," Rasella said.
Before its funding was slashed, USAID represented 0.3 percent of all US federal spending.
"US citizens contribute about 17 cents per day to USAID, around $64 per year," said study co-author James Macinko of the University of California, Los Angeles.
"I think most people would support continued USAID funding if they knew just how effective such a small contribution can be to saving millions of lives."
dl/giv

economy

US Senate in final slog towards vote on Trump spending bill

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • But senators eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over savings that would strip around $1 trillion in subsidized health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than $3.3 trillion to the nation's already yawning budget deficits over a decade.
  • US senators were bogged down in a marathon session of amendment votes Monday as Republicans sought to pass Donald Trump's flagship spending bill, an unpopular package expected to slash social welfare programs and add an eye-watering $3 trillion to the national debt.
  • But senators eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over savings that would strip around $1 trillion in subsidized health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than $3.3 trillion to the nation's already yawning budget deficits over a decade.
US senators were bogged down in a marathon session of amendment votes Monday as Republicans sought to pass Donald Trump's flagship spending bill, an unpopular package expected to slash social welfare programs and add an eye-watering $3 trillion to the national debt.
US President Trump wants the "One Big Beautiful Bill" to extend his expiring first-term tax cuts at a cost of $4.5 trillion, boost military spending and fund his plans for unprecedented mass deportations and border security.
But senators eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over savings that would strip around $1 trillion in subsidized health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than $3.3 trillion to the nation's already yawning budget deficits over a decade.
Trump wants to have the package on his desk by the time Independence Day festivities begin on Friday.
The process had ground to a glacial pace by early evening, however, after members considering dozens of amendments as part of the so-called "vote-a-rama" required before final passage managed to complete only 14 votes in the first seven hours.
With little sign of the pace picking up ahead of a final floor vote that could be delayed until well into the early hours of Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called for Republican resolve.
"Republicans need to stay tough and unified during the home stretch and we are counting on them to get the job done," she told reporters at the White House. 
Given Trump's iron grip on the party, he is expected to get what he wants in the Senate, where Republicans hold a razor-tight majority. All Democrats in that chamber are expected to vote "nay."
It will be a huge win for the Republican leader -- who has been criticized for imposing many of his priorities through executive orders that sidestep the scrutiny of Congress.
But approval by the Senate is only half the battle, as the 940-page text will have to pass a separate vote in the House of Representatives, where several rebels in the slim Republican majority are threatening to oppose it. 

'Debt slavery'

Trump's heavy pressure to declare victory has put more vulnerable Republicans in a difficult position.
Nonpartisan studies have concluded that the bill would ultimately pave the way for a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest 10 percent of Americans to the richest.
And cuts to the Medicaid program -- which helps low-income Americans get coverage in a country with notoriously expensive medical insurance -- and cuts to the Affordable Care Act would result in nearly 12 million more uninsured people by 2034, independent analysis shows.
Polls show the bill is among the most unpopular ever considered across multiple demographic, age and income groups.
Senate Democrats have been focusing their amendments on highlighting the threats to health care, as well as cuts to federal food aid programs and clean energy tax credits.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune can only lose one more vote, with conservative Rand Paul and moderate Thom Tillis already on the record as Republican rebels. 
A House vote on the Senate bill could come as early as Wednesday. 
However, ultra-conservative fiscal hawks in the lower chamber have complained that the bill would not cut enough spending and moderates are worried at the defunding of Medicaid.
Former close Trump aide Elon Musk -- who had an acrimonious public falling out with the president earlier this month over the bill -- reprised his sharp criticisms and renewed his calls for a new political party as voting got underway.
"It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country — the PORKY PIG PARTY!!" Musk wrote on social platform X, which he owns. 
The tech billionaire, who headed Trump's Department of Government Efficiency before stepping down at the end of May, had earlier described the text as "utterly insane" for seeking to gut government subsidies for clean energy.
He accused Republicans of supporting "debt slavery" and vowed to campaign for the removal of any lawmaker who ran on reduced federal spending only to vote for the bill.
ft/aha

US

Trump dismantles Syria sanctions program as Israel ties eyed

BY SHAUN TANDON

  • Trump administration officials argued that lifting the sanctions on Syria would better integrate the country into the region and incentivize overtures by Israel.
  • President Donald Trump on Monday formally dismantled US sanctions against Syria, hoping to reintegrate the war-battered country into the global economy as Israel eyes ties with its new leadership.
  • Trump administration officials argued that lifting the sanctions on Syria would better integrate the country into the region and incentivize overtures by Israel.
President Donald Trump on Monday formally dismantled US sanctions against Syria, hoping to reintegrate the war-battered country into the global economy as Israel eyes ties with its new leadership.
Trump lifted most sanctions against Syria in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey after former Islamist guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa ended a half-century of rule by the Assad family.
In an executive order, Trump terminated the "national emergency" in place since 2004 that imposed far-reaching sanctions on Syria, affecting most state-run institutions including the central bank.
"This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Brad Smith, the Treasury Department official in charge of sanctions, said the move "will end the country's isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanizing investments from its neighbors in the region as well as from the United States."
The orders still maintain sanctions on elements of the former government, including Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia late last year.
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani said the US move marked a "major turning point."
"With the lifting of this major obstacle to economic recovery, the long-awaited doors are opening for reconstruction and development" as are the conditions "for the dignified return of displaced Syrians to their homeland," he wrote on X.
Syria recently carried out its first electronic transfer through the international banking system since around the time it descended into a brutal civil war in 2011.

Israel sees opportunity

Israel kept pounding military sites in its historic adversary after the fall of Assad and initially voiced skepticism over the trajectory of its neighbor under Sharaa, who was formerly linked to Al-Qaeda.
But Israel said earlier Monday that it was interested in normalizing ties with Syria as well as Lebanon in an expansion of the so-called "Abraham Accords," in what would mark a major transformation of the Middle East.
Iran's clerical state's once-strong influence in Syria and Lebanon has declined sharply under pressure from Israeli military strikes since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
Trump administration officials argued that lifting the sanctions on Syria would better integrate the country into the region and incentivize overtures by Israel.
Israel's intensive attacks on Iran in June opened a "window that has never existed," said Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who serves as Trump's pointman on Syria.
"It's an opportunity that we have never, ever seen, and this president's put together a team that can actually get it done," Barrack told reporters.
Despite the upbeat picture of the new Syrian leader, the country has seen a series of major attacks against minorities since the fall of Assad, a largely secular leader from the Alawite minority sect.
At least 25 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suspected Islamist attack against a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus on June 22.
Until Trump's surprise announcement of sanctions relief during a trip to Saudi Arabia, the United States had insisted on progress first in key areas including protection of minorities.
The United States still classifies Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation that could take longer to lift and which also severely discourages investment.
sct/mlm

conflict

Netanyahu to visit White House as Gaza truce pressure mounts

BY DANNY KEMP

  • A senior Israeli official, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, is due to visit the White House this week for talks to lay the ground for Netanyahu's visit, Leavitt said.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week for talks with President Donald Trump, a US official said Monday, as Washington ramps up the pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza.
  • A senior Israeli official, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, is due to visit the White House this week for talks to lay the ground for Netanyahu's visit, Leavitt said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week for talks with President Donald Trump, a US official said Monday, as Washington ramps up the pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The July 7 visit -- Netanyahu's third since Trump returned to power in January -- comes after Trump said that he hoped for a truce in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory within a week.
A Trump administration official confirmed the visit to AFP on condition of anonymity.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier that Netanyahu had "expressed interest" in a meeting with Trump and that both sides were "working on a date.
"This has been a priority for the president since he took office, to end this brutal war in Gaza," Leavitt told reporters in a briefing.
"It's heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end."
A senior Israeli official, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, is due to visit the White House this week for talks to lay the ground for Netanyahu's visit, Leavitt said.
Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to visit Trump in his second term in February, when the US president surprised him by suddenly announcing a plan for the United States to "take over" Gaza.
The Israeli premier visited again in April.
The end of Israel's 12-day war with Iran has provided a window of opportunity for a deal, with Trump keen to add another peace agreement to a series of recent deals he has brokered.
"We think even next week, we're going to get a ceasefire," Trump told reporters on Friday. He followed up by pressing Israel in a post on his Truth Social network on Sunday to "make the deal in Gaza".
But on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its offensive across the Palestinian territory in a bid to destroy the militant group Hamas. 
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 51 people on Monday, including 24 at a seafront rest area.
Trump meanwhile appeared to leverage US aid to Israel at the weekend as he called for that country's prosecutors to drop corruption charges against Netanyahu.
"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," Trump posted.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages during Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Of these, 49 are still believed to be held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 56,531 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.
dk/mlm

Florida

Trump to visit 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention center

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Florida announced last week that it was constructing the site, which is in the heart of a sprawling network of mangrove forests and swamps in the middle of the Everglades conservation area.
  • US President Donald Trump will visit a migrant detention center this week in a reptile-infested Florida swamp dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," the White House said Monday.
  • Florida announced last week that it was constructing the site, which is in the heart of a sprawling network of mangrove forests and swamps in the middle of the Everglades conservation area.
US President Donald Trump will visit a migrant detention center this week in a reptile-infested Florida swamp dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," the White House said Monday.
Trump will attend the opening of the 5,000-bed facility -- located at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands -- on Tuesday, part of his expansion of deportations of undocumented migrants, his spokeswoman said.
"The facility is in the heart of the Everglades and will be informally known as Alligator Alcatraz," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
"There is only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight. It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain."
Asked if the scaly-skinned predators were a "design feature," Leavitt replied: "When you have illegal murderers and rapists and heinous criminals in a detention facility surrounded by alligators, yes I do think that's a deterrent for them to try to escape."
Republican Trump's visit comes as he is trying to push a huge tax and spending bill through Congress which includes funding for his massive migrant deportation program.
"His trip to this detention facility actually underscores the need to pass the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill,' because we need more detention facilities across the country," Leavitt added.
Florida announced last week that it was constructing the site, which is in the heart of a sprawling network of mangrove forests and swamps in the middle of the Everglades conservation area.
State Attorney General James Uthmeier recently described the 30-square-mile (78-square-kilometer) area as a "low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility, because you don't need to invest that much in the perimeter."
The facility's nickname references the famous former prison on Alcatraz Island, located in the San Francisco Bay, which Trump has also sought to re-open.
"If people get out, there's not much waiting for them, other than alligators and pythons," Uthmeier added. 
It is expected to cost roughly $450 million per year to operate.
The project is part of a broader campaign of harsh optics which Republican officials hope will discourage migrants from coming to the United States.
Since the billionaire businessman's return to the White House in January, his administration has enlisted local authorities to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ramp up arrests of undocumented migrants.
While officials highlight the targeting of violent criminals, many migrants without any charges have also been swept up.
The deportation drive has prompted pushback among critics of the crackdown -- and recently sparked anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles and other American cities.
Environmental groups have also opposed its construction in a subtropical ecosystem that is home to more than 2,000 species of animals and plants.
dk/des

politics

Trump administration sues 'sanctuary city' Los Angeles

  • In a statement, the department said it had filed suit against the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles City Council over policies that "interfere with the federal government's enforcement of its immigration laws."
  • US President Donald Trump's administration ramped up its immigration crackdown in Los Angeles on Monday, filing a lawsuit against its "sanctuary city" policies for undocumented migrants.
  • In a statement, the department said it had filed suit against the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles City Council over policies that "interfere with the federal government's enforcement of its immigration laws."
US President Donald Trump's administration ramped up its immigration crackdown in Los Angeles on Monday, filing a lawsuit against its "sanctuary city" policies for undocumented migrants.
The move comes three weeks after the Republican sent the National Guard to the Democratic-run California city to quell protests against roundups of migrants by federal agents.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the thousands of troops were not necessary to address the mostly peaceful protests, but his legal efforts to have them removed have failed so far.
Los Angeles is one of a number of US "sanctuary cities" that prohibit local police from arresting people based on their immigration status and limit what information can be shared with federal authorities.
That has brought it in direct confrontation with Trump, who assailed undocumented migrants on the campaign trail, likening them to "animals" and "monsters," and promised to launch the biggest deportation drive in US history.
Under Trump, the Justice Department has sued Chicago and several other Democratic-run cities with sanctuary policies.
In a statement, the department said it had filed suit against the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles City Council over policies that "interfere with the federal government's enforcement of its immigration laws."
Attorney General Pam Bondi said sanctuary policies are "illegal under federal law" and contributed to the "recent lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism" in the country's second-largest city.
"Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," Bondi alleged, a claim denied by the California authorities.
US Attorney Bill Essayli said the lawsuit "holds the City of Los Angeles accountable for deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration law."
"By assisting removable aliens in evading federal law enforcement, the City's unlawful and discriminatory ordinance has contributed to a lawless and unsafe environment that this lawsuit will help end," Essayli added.
In the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, the Justice Department said federal government efforts to address an immigration "crisis" were being "hindered by Sanctuary Cities such as the City of Los Angeles."
rfo/cl/aha

tariff

White House says Canada 'caved' to Trump on tech tax

  • Prime Minister Carney and Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a daily briefing.
  • The White House said Monday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had "caved" to President Donald Trump, after Canada dropped a tax on US tech firms that prompted Trump to call off trade talks.
  • Prime Minister Carney and Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a daily briefing.
The White House said Monday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had "caved" to President Donald Trump, after Canada dropped a tax on US tech firms that prompted Trump to call off trade talks.
"It's very simple. Prime Minister Carney and Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a daily briefing.
Leavitt said Trump "knows how to negotiate," adding that "every country on the planet needs to have good trade relationships with the United States."
"And it was a mistake for Canada to vow to implement that tax that would have hurt our tech companies here in the United States."
Canada announced late Sunday that it would rescind taxes impacting US tech firms and said trade negotiations with Washington would resume.
The digital services tax, enacted last year, would have seen US service providers such as Alphabet and Amazon on the hook for a multi-billion-dollar payment in Canada by Monday.
But Trump, who has weaponized US economic power in the form of tariffs, abruptly said on Friday that he was ending trade talks with Canada in retaliation for the levy.
Then over the weekend Trump revived his rhetoric about wanting Canada to become the 51st US state, which had strained ties between the two countries.
"Frankly, Canada should be the 51st state, okay? It really should, because Canada relies entirely on the United States. We don't rely on Canada," Trump told Fox News show "Sunday Morning Futures."
The blow-up over the tech tariffs came despite what had been warming relations between Trump and Carney.
The Canadian leader came to the White House on May 6 and had a cordial meeting with Trump in the Oval Office. 
They met again at the Group of Seven summit earlier this month in Canada, where leaders pushed Trump to back away from his punishing trade war. 
A July 9 deadline that Trump has set for countries to negotiate trade deals is now rapidly approaching before harsh tariffs kick in.
"He is going to set the rates for many of these countries if they don't come to the table to negotiate in good faith, and he is meeting with his trade team this week to do that," Leavitt said.
dk/mlm

education

Trump administration threatens new Harvard cuts over Jewish rights

  • Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Harvard was in violation of civil rights legislation and "if you break federal law, you should not be receiving federal tax dollars."
  • The Trump administration on Monday accused Harvard of violating the civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students and threatened to cut off all federal funding if the university does not take urgent action.
  • Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Harvard was in violation of civil rights legislation and "if you break federal law, you should not be receiving federal tax dollars."
The Trump administration on Monday accused Harvard of violating the civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students and threatened to cut off all federal funding if the university does not take urgent action.
Harvard has been at the forefront of Donald Trump's campaign against top US universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and "viewpoint diversity."
Trump and his allies claim that Harvard and other prestigious universities are unaccountable bastions of liberal, anti-conservative bias and anti-Semitism.
In a letter sent to the president of Harvard, a federal task force accused it of failing to protect the students during campus protests against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Following an investigation, the task force concluded that "Harvard has been in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff," according to the letter.
The letter went on to say that the majority of Jewish students at Harvard felt they suffer discrimination on campus, while a quarter felt physically unsafe.
"Jewish and Israeli students were assaulted and spit on; they hid their kippahs for fear of being harassed and concealed their Jewish identity from classmates for fear of ostracization," the letter said.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Harvard was in violation of civil rights legislation and "if you break federal law, you should not be receiving federal tax dollars."
The school said it strongly disagreed with the government's findings as it "has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community."
The Trump administration has also sought to remove Harvard from an electronic student immigration registry and instructed US embassies around the world to deny visas to international students hoping to attend the Massachusetts-based university.
Harvard has sued the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to block the efforts, arguing that they were illegal and unconstitutional and the courts have put those moves on hold for now.
International students accounted for 27 percent of total enrollment at Harvard in the 2024-2025 academic year and are a major source of income.
gl/bgs/md

diplomacy

UN chief urges aid surge in world of 'climate chaos, conflicts'

BY IMRAN MARASHLI

  • He urged nations to "change course" and "repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment" in "a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts".
  • UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the world to "rev up the engine of development" at an aid conference in Spain on Monday as US-led cuts jeopardise the fight against poverty and climate change.
  • He urged nations to "change course" and "repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment" in "a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts".
UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the world to "rev up the engine of development" at an aid conference in Spain on Monday as US-led cuts jeopardise the fight against poverty and climate change.
Dozens of world leaders and more than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are in the city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 meeting to seek fresh impetus for the crisis-hit sector.
But the United States is snubbing the biggest such talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change.
Guterres told the opening of the conference that two-thirds of UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 were "lagging" and more than $4 trillion of annual investment were needed to achieve them.
President Donald Trump's gutting of US development agency USAID is the standout example of aid cuts but Germany, Britain and France have also slashed funds while boosting spending in defence and other areas.
The Oxfam charity says the cuts are the largest since 1960, while according to the World Bank rising extreme poverty is affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular.
Disruption to global trade from Trump's tariffs and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty.
The crisis meant children going unvaccinated, girls dropping out of school and families suffering hunger, said Guterres.
He urged nations to "change course" and "repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment" in "a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts".
A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed delegates, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fuelling.
French President Emmanuel Macron lambasted Trump's tariffs as an "aberration" and "a killer for poor and emerging countries".
China and the United States were the "main guilty guys" in trade imbalances, he told a roundtable event.

'Message to the powerful'

Among the key discussion points is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that is holding back progress in health and education.
The total external debt of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data.
Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for reform to improve their representation of the Global South.
"Public international finance remains indispensable. Africa is not asking for favours. We are asking for fairness, partnership and investment," said Kenyan President William Ruto, urging the United States to reconsider its position.
A common declaration was adopted that reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions.
The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion.
"What was once radical is now becoming mainstream. We finally have a consensus on reforming the international financial architecture," said Ruto.
Coalitions of countries are seeking to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called "Seville Commitment", which is not legally binding.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was "time to take a step forward and not only reaffirm our commitment, but also redouble it".
But campaigners criticised the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality.
Responding to a question by AFP, Guterres insisted in a press conference that the Seville agreement was a step forward. But he acknowledged "resistances" to the drive for change and sent a "message to the powerful".
"It is better for them to lead the reform of the system now than to wait and eventually suffer the resistance later when power relations change," he said.
vab-imm/phz

tariff

Canada rescinds tax on US tech firms in hopes of Trump trade deal

  • Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the tax -- but on Friday Trump, who has weaponized US financial power in the form of tariffs, said he was ending trade talks with Ottawa in retaliation for the levy. 
  • Canada will rescind taxes impacting US tech firms that had prompted President Donald Trump to retaliate by calling off trade talks, Ottawa said Sunday, adding that negotiations with Washington would resume.
  • Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the tax -- but on Friday Trump, who has weaponized US financial power in the form of tariffs, said he was ending trade talks with Ottawa in retaliation for the levy. 
Canada will rescind taxes impacting US tech firms that had prompted President Donald Trump to retaliate by calling off trade talks, Ottawa said Sunday, adding that negotiations with Washington would resume.
The digital services tax, enacted last year, would have seen US service providers such as Alphabet and Amazon on the hook for a multi-billion-dollar payment in Canada by Monday, analysts have said. 
Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the tax -- but on Friday Trump, who has weaponized US financial power in the form of tariffs, said he was ending trade talks with Ottawa in retaliation for the levy. 
He also warned that Canada would learn its new tariff rate within the week. 
But on Sunday, Ottawa binned the tax, which had been forecast to bring in Can$5.9 billion (US$4.2 billion) over five years.
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne "announced today that Canada would rescind the Digital Services Tax (DST) in anticipation of a mutually beneficial comprehensive trade arrangement with the United States," a government statement said.
It added that Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney "have agreed that parties will resume negotiations with a view towards agreeing on a deal by July 21, 2025."
There was no immediate comment from the White House or Trump.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Friday that Washington had hoped Carney's government would halt the tax "as a sign of goodwill."
Canada has been spared some of the sweeping duties Trump has imposed on other countries, but it faces a separate tariff regime.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminum and autos.
Canada is the largest supplier of foreign steel and aluminum to the United States.
Last week, Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25 percent counter tariffs on US steel and aluminum -- in response to a doubling of US levies on the metals to 50 percent -- if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days.
"We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said Friday.
He had previously said a good outcome in the talks would be to "stabilize the trading relationship with the United States" and "ready access to US markets for Canadian companies" while "not having our hands tied in terms of our dealings with the rest of the world."
Carney and Trump met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada earlier this month. Leaders at the summit pushed Trump to back away from his punishing trade war. 
Dozens of countries face a July 9 deadline for steeper US duties to kick in -- rising from a current 10 percent.
It remains to be seen if they will successfully reach agreements before the deadline.
Bessent has said Washington could wrap up its agenda for trade deals by September, indicating more agreements could be concluded, although talks were likely to extend past July.
bur-st/dan

internet

Trump says 'very wealthy' group to buy TikTok

  • In mid-June Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States.
  • President Donald Trump said Sunday a group of buyers had been found for TikTok, which faces a looming ban in the United States due to its China ties, adding he could name the purchasers in two weeks.
  • In mid-June Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States.
President Donald Trump said Sunday a group of buyers had been found for TikTok, which faces a looming ban in the United States due to its China ties, adding he could name the purchasers in two weeks.
"We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way," Trump said in an interview on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. 
"Very wealthy people. It's a group of wealthy people," the president said, without revealing more except to say he would make their identities known "in about two weeks."
The president also said he would likely need "China approval" for the sale, "and I think President Xi (Jinping) will probably do it."
TikTok is owned by China-based internet company ByteDance.
A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's inauguration on January 20. But the Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause. 
In mid-June Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States.
Tech experts quickly described the TikTok kerfuffle as a symbol of the heated US-China tech rivalry. 
While Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, he reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform -- which boasts almost two billion global users -- after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election.
"I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump told NBC News in early May. "If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension."
Now after two extensions pushed the deadline to June 19, Trump has extended it for a third time.
He said in May that a group of purchasers was ready to pay ByteDance "a lot of money" for TikTok's US operations.
The previous month he said China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over Trump's tariffs on Beijing.
ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be "subject to approval under Chinese law."
mlm/md

NewYork

Trump blasts 'communist' winner of NY Democratic primary

  • "He's pure communist" and a "radical leftist... lunatic," Trump fumed on Fox News talk show "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."
  • US President Donald Trump branded the winner of New York City's mayoral Democratic primary a "pure communist" in remarks that aired Sunday, an epithet the progressive candidate dismissed as political theatrics.
  • "He's pure communist" and a "radical leftist... lunatic," Trump fumed on Fox News talk show "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."
US President Donald Trump branded the winner of New York City's mayoral Democratic primary a "pure communist" in remarks that aired Sunday, an epithet the progressive candidate dismissed as political theatrics.
Zohran Mamdani's shock win last week against a scandal-scarred political heavyweight resonated as a thunderclap within the party, and drew the ire of Trump and his collaborators, who accused Mamdani of being a radical extremist.
The Republican's aggressive criticism of the self-described democratic socialist is sure to ramp up over the coming months as Trump's party seeks to push Democrats away from the political center and frame them as too radical to win major US elections.
"He's pure communist" and a "radical leftist... lunatic," Trump fumed on Fox News talk show "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."
"I think it's very bad for New York," added Trump, who grew up in the city and built his sprawling real estate business there.
"If he does get in, I'm going to be president and he is going to have to do the right thing (or) they're not getting any money" from the federal government.
Trump's White House has repeatedly threatened to curb funding for Democratic-led US cities if they oppose his policies, including cutting off money to so-called sanctuary cities which limit their cooperation with immigration authorities. 
Mamdani also took to the talk shows Sunday, asserting he would "absolutely" maintain New York's status as a sanctuary city so that "New Yorkers can get out of the shadows and into the full life of the city that they belong to."
Asked directly on NBC's "Meet the Press" whether he is a communist, Mamdani -- a 33-year-old immigrant aiming to become New York's first Muslim mayor -- responded "No, I am not. 
"And I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I'm from, who I am, ultimately because he wants to distract from what I'm fighting for," Mamdani said.
"I'm fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower, that he has since then betrayed."
The Ugandan-born state assemblyman had trailed former governor Andrew Cuomo in polls but surged on a message of lower rents, free daycare and buses, and other populist ideas in the notoriously expensive metropolis.
Although registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one in New York, victory for Mamdani in November is not assured.
Current Mayor Eric Adams is a Democrat but is campaigning for re-election as an independent, while Cuomo may also run unaffiliated.
mlm

justice

US chief justice warns anti-judge rhetoric can spark violence

  • "The danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that, and we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges just simply for doing their work," Roberts told the conference.
  • The head of the US Supreme Court warned that judges are being put at risk by rhetoric from politicians and the "threats of violence and murder."
  • "The danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that, and we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges just simply for doing their work," Roberts told the conference.
The head of the US Supreme Court warned that judges are being put at risk by rhetoric from politicians and the "threats of violence and murder."
Although Chief Justice John Roberts did not name names, his rare public warning came against a backdrop of constant verbal attacks led by President Donald Trump against courts blocking some of his more contentious policies.
Addressing a judicial conference in North Carolina on Saturday, Roberts cautioned against people "expressing a high degree of hostility to the court" or to judges who may be deemed "part of the problem" during more volatile political disputes.
"The danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that, and we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges just simply for doing their work," Roberts told the conference.
"I think the political people on both sides of the aisle need to keep that in mind," he said, stressing he did not believe the threats were associated more with Republicans or Democrats.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has launched fierce attacks on federal judges who have ruled against his executive orders, or blocked his efforts on the deportation of migrants or the slashing of the federal workforce.
The administration has expanded its withering attacks on judges. In April the FBI arrested a Milwaukee judge, Hannah Dugan, for trying to help an individual evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The White House has been accused of defying some court orders it disagrees with, accusations the administration denies.
Amid multiple standoffs between the Trump White House and federal courts, the president and some Republican lawmakers have called for the impeachment of judges who have temporarily paused Trump's orders to cut government spending or ramp up deportations.
He has blasted federal judges as "monsters" who suffer from a "sick" ideology and want the United States to "go to hell."
As recently as Friday he lashed out at "radical left judges" who he said pose a "grave threat to democracy" for seeking to curb the president's powers.
Violence and threats against judges in the United States have risen in recent years. A man in 2022 was arrested for threatening to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In 2023 a Maryland judge was murdered, while a judge in Kentucky was shot and killed in his courthouse in 2024.
Roberts said people from across the political spectrum should be mindful of the dangers.
"Threatening the judges for doing their job is totally unacceptable," he said.
In March, Roberts clashed in extraordinary fashion with the executive branch when he rebuked Trump for seeking the impeachment of US District Judge James Boasberg, who had issued an order blocking deportation flights that Trump was carrying out.
Trump had blasted Boasberg as a "Radical Left Lunatic."
mlm/md

economy

US Senate opens debate on Trump's controversial spending bill

  • - Divisive cuts - Republicans are scrambling to offset the $4.5 trillion cost of Trump's tax relief, with many of the proposed cuts to come from decimating funding for Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans.
  • US senators debated into the early hours of Sunday Donald Trump's "big beautiful" spending bill, a hugely divisive proposal that would deliver key parts of the US president's domestic agenda while making massive cuts to social welfare programs.
  • - Divisive cuts - Republicans are scrambling to offset the $4.5 trillion cost of Trump's tax relief, with many of the proposed cuts to come from decimating funding for Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans.
US senators debated into the early hours of Sunday Donald Trump's "big beautiful" spending bill, a hugely divisive proposal that would deliver key parts of the US president's domestic agenda while making massive cuts to social welfare programs.
Trump is hoping to seal his legacy with the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which would extend his expiring first-term tax cuts at a cost of $4.5 trillion and beef up border security.
But Republicans eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over the package, which would strip health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than $3 trillion to the country's debt.
The Senate formally opened debate on the bill late Saturday, after Republican holdouts delayed what should have been a procedural vote -- drawing Trump's ire on social media. 
Senators narrowly passed the motion to begin debate, 51-49, hours after the vote was first called, with Vice President JD Vance joining negotiations with holdouts from his own party.
Ultimately, two Republican senators joined 47 Democrats in voting "nay" on opening debate.
Trump has pushed his party to get the bill passed and on his desk for him to sign into law by July 4, the United States' independence day.
"Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the vote to begin debate.
"Republicans must remember that they are fighting against a very evil, corrupt and, in many ways, incompetent (Policywise!) group of people, who would rather see our Country 'go down in flames' than do the right thing," he said in an earlier post.
Democrats are bitterly opposed to the legislation and Trump's agenda, and have vowed to hold up the debate. They began by insisting that the entirety of the bill be read aloud to the chamber before the debate commences. 
The bill is roughly 1,000 pages long and will take an estimated 15 hours to read.
"Republicans won't tell America what's in the bill," said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. "So Democrats are forcing it to be read start to finish on the floor. We will be here all night if that's what it takes to read it."
If passed in the Senate, the bill would go back to the House for approval, where Republicans can only afford to lose a handful of votes -- and are facing stiff opposition from within their own ranks.

Divisive cuts

Republicans are scrambling to offset the $4.5 trillion cost of Trump's tax relief, with many of the proposed cuts to come from decimating funding for Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans.
Republicans are split on the Medicaid cuts, which will threaten scores of rural hospitals and lead to an estimated 8.6 million Americans being deprived of health care.
The spending plan would also roll back many of the tax incentives for renewable energy that were put in place under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden.
On Saturday, former Trump advisor Elon Musk -- with whom the president had a public falling out this month over his criticism of the bill -- called the current proposal "utterly insane and destructive."
"It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future," said Musk, who is the world's richest person, and owns electric vehicle company Tesla and space flight firm SpaceX, among others.
Independent analysis also shows that the bill would pave the way for a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest 10 percent of Americans to the richest.
The bill is unpopular across multiple demographic, age and income groups, according to extensive recent polling. 
Although the House has already passed its own version, both chambers have to agree on the same text before it can be signed into law.
bur-aha/acb/tjx/sco

conflict

Rwanda, DR Congo sign peace deal in US after rebel sweep

BY MARION DOUET

  • - 'A significant step' - Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States would be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo."
  • Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a peace agreement Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerrillas -- and President Donald Trump boasting of securing mineral wealth.
  • - 'A significant step' - Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States would be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo."
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a peace agreement Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerrillas -- and President Donald Trump boasting of securing mineral wealth.
"Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity," Trump said as he welcomed the two nations' foreign ministers to the White House on Friday. "This is a wonderful day."
The agreement comes after the M23, an ethnic Tutsi rebel force linked to Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma.
The deal -- negotiated through Qatar since before Trump took office -- does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war but calls for Rwanda to end "defensive measures" it has taken.
Rwanda has denied directly supporting the M23 but has demanded an end to another armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
The agreement calls for the "neutralization" of the FDLR, with Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe saying the "irreversible and verifiable end to state support" to the Hutu militants should be the "first order of business."
The process would be "accompanied by a lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures," Nduhungirehe said at a signing ceremony at the State Department.
But he added: "We must acknowledge that there is a great deal of uncertainty in our region, and beyond, because many previous agreements have not been implemented."
His Congolese counterpart, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, highlighted the agreement's call for respecting state sovereignty.
"It offers a rare chance to turn the page, not just with words but with real change on the ground. Some wounds will heal, but they will never fully disappear," she said.
The agreement also sets up a joint security coordination body to monitor progress and calls vaguely for a "regional economic integration framework" within three months.

'A significant step'

Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States would be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo."
The DRC has enormous mineral reserves that include lithium and cobalt, vital in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies, with US rival China now a key player in securing the resources.
The agreement drew wide but not universal praise.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the deal "a significant step towards de-escalation, peace and stability" in the eastern DRC and the Great Lakes region.
The landmark agreement was also praised by the chairman of the African Union Commission.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who witnessed the signing of the deal in Washington, "welcomed this significant milestone and commended all efforts aimed at advancing peace, stability, and reconciliation in the region," a statement said.
But Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the DRC's epidemic of sexual violence in war, voiced alarm about the agreement, saying it effectively benefited Rwanda and the United States.
The deal "would amount to granting a reward for aggression, legitimizing the plundering of Congolese natural resources, and forcing the victim to alienate their national heritage by sacrificing justice in order to ensure a precarious and fragile peace," he said in a statement ahead of the signing.
Physicians for Human Rights, which has worked in the DRC, welcomed the de-escalation but said the agreement had "major omissions," including accountability for rights violations.
In Goma, an economic hub near the Rwandan boarder, resident Adeline Furaha said the accord gave "a glimmer of hope for long-awaited peace."
"I hope my brothers and sisters who fled Goma can now return," Furah said. "The two countries accusing each other in this war understand that we have truly suffered."
But for Roland Mumbere, a civil society activist in Goma, the agreement risks doing little to help the area.
"I'm not satisfied with this agreement because it does not directly ease our suffering," he said.
"We will still have to wait a long time to see the end of this crisis."
sct/abh/rsc/srg/js

conflict

Rwanda, DR Congo sign peace deal in US after rebel sweep

BY SHAUN TANDON

  • Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States will be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo."
  • Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement Friday in Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerrillas -- and President Donald Trump boasting of securing mineral wealth.
  • Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States will be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo."
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement Friday in Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerrillas -- and President Donald Trump boasting of securing mineral wealth.
"Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity," Trump said as he welcomed the foreign ministers to the White House. "This is a wonderful day."
The agreement comes after the M23, an ethnic Tutsi rebel force linked to Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma.
The deal -- negotiated through Qatar since before Trump took office -- does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war but calls for Rwanda to end "defensive measures" it has taken.
Rwanda has denied directly supporting the M23 but has demanded an end to another armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
The agreement calls for the "neutralization" of the FDLR, with Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe saying the "irreversible and verifiable end to state support" to the Hutu militants should be the "first order of business."
The process would be "accompanied by a lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures," Nduhungirehe said at a signing ceremony at the State Department.
But he added: "We must acknowledge that there is a great deal of uncertainty in our region, and beyond, because many previous agreements have not been implemented."
His Congolese counterpart, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, highlighted the agreement's call for respecting state sovereignty.
"It offers a rare chance to turn the page, not just with words but with real change on the ground. Some wounds will heal, but they will never fully disappear," she said.
The agreement also sets up a joint security coordination body to monitor progress and calls vaguely for a "regional economic integration framework" within three months.

Trump takes credit

Trump has trumpeted the diplomacy that led to the deal, and started his White House event by bringing up a journalist who said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States will be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo."
The DRC has enormous mineral reserves that include lithium and cobalt, vital in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies, with US rival China now a key player in securing the resources.
Trump, in an uncharacteristic expression of modesty, said he had been unfamiliar with the conflict as he appeared to allude to the horrors of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Tutsis, were killed in just 100 days.
"I'm a little out of my league on that one because I didn't know too much about it. I knew one thing -- they were going at it for many years with machetes," Trump said.
The agreement drew wide but not universal praise.
Bintou Keita, a senior UN official in the DRC, said it "marks a decisive step toward peace and stability," while Germany hailed the "excellent news" and called for implementation.
French President Emmanuel Macron also praised the "historic step forward," adding that "peace must hold."
But Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the DRC's epidemic of sexual violence in war, voiced alarm about the agreement, saying it effectively benefited Rwanda and the United States.
The deal "would amount to granting a reward for aggression, legitimizing the plundering of Congolese natural resources, and forcing the victim to alienate their national heritage by sacrificing justice in order to ensure a precarious and fragile peace," he said in a statement ahead of the signing.
Physicians for Human Rights, which has worked in the DRC, welcomed the de-escalation but said the agreement had "major omissions," including accountability for rights violations.
sct/jgc/acb/tjx/dhc

California

California governor files $787 mn defamation suit against Fox News

  • "Rather than leave the matter alone, or simply provide the facts, Fox News chose to defame Governor Newsom, branding him a liar," the lawsuit said.
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit Friday against broadcaster Fox News, claiming defamation after alleged purposeful misrepresentation of details of a phone call with US President Donald Trump earlier this month.
  • "Rather than leave the matter alone, or simply provide the facts, Fox News chose to defame Governor Newsom, branding him a liar," the lawsuit said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit Friday against broadcaster Fox News, claiming defamation after alleged purposeful misrepresentation of details of a phone call with US President Donald Trump earlier this month.
The suit seeks $787 million in damages and was filed in a Delaware court, where Fox News is registered as a corporation.
Trump and Newsom spoke on the phone in the early hours of June 7 Washington time, but the pair did not address protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids occurring throughout Los Angeles, according to the lawsuit.
Later that day, Republican Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops to deploy to the city in response to the protests, against the wishes of the Democratic governor.
Trump said during a June 10 White House press conference that he talked with Newsom "a day ago" -- a claim the California politician quickly refuted on social media.
"There was no call. Not even a voicemail," Newsom wrote on X.
In response, Fox News host Jesse Watters claimed Newsom was lying about the call.
Another Fox News reporter, John Roberts, said Trump sent him a call log to prove Newsom was lying, but the screenshot he provided showed the call happened on June 7.
"Rather than leave the matter alone, or simply provide the facts, Fox News chose to defame Governor Newsom, branding him a liar," the lawsuit said.
Newsom told broadcaster MeidasTouch he was used to criticism from Fox News, "but this crossed the line -- journalistic lines, ethical lines, defamation, malice."
The lawsuit said Fox News deliberately mislead viewers about the call to harm Newsom's career, saying those who watched Watters's report would be less likely to support his future campaigns.
Fox News called the lawsuit a "publicity stunt."
It said in a statement to AFP that the legal action "is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him."
Newsom in a statement compared his case to a 2023 lawsuit against Fox News filed by election technology company Dominion Voting Systems, which said the broadcaster knowingly spread lies that its voting machines swayed the 2020 presidential election against Trump.
The amount Newsom's lawsuit seeks in damages, $787 million, is nearly the same as the amount Fox News paid in a settlement to Dominion.
pr/db/jgc/acb

conflict

Trump hopeful for Gaza ceasefire, possibly 'next week'

BY SHAUN TANDON WITH ALICE CHANCELLOR IN JERUSALEM

  • Israel has since allowed a resumption of food through the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which involves US security contractors with Israeli troops at the periphery.
  • US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza, as criticism grew over mounting civilian deaths at Israeli-backed food distribution centers in the territory. 
  • Israel has since allowed a resumption of food through the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which involves US security contractors with Israeli troops at the periphery.
US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza, as criticism grew over mounting civilian deaths at Israeli-backed food distribution centers in the territory. 
Asked by reporters how close a ceasefire was between Israel and Hamas, Trump said: "We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire."
The United States brokered a ceasefire in the devastating conflict in the waning days of former president Joe Biden's administration, with support from Trump's incoming team.
Israel broke the ceasefire in March, launching new devastating attacks on Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel also stopped all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for more than two months, drawing warnings of famine.
Israel has since allowed a resumption of food through the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which involves US security contractors with Israeli troops at the periphery.
United Nations officials on Friday said the GHF system was leading to mass killings of people seeking aid, drawing accusations from Israel that the UN was "aligning itself with Hamas."
Eyewitnesses and local officials have reported repeated killings of Palestinians at distribution centers over recent weeks in the war-stricken territory, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas militants. 
The Israeli military has denied targeting people and GHF has denied any deadly incidents were linked to its sites.
But following weeks of reports, UN officials and other aid providers on Friday denounced what they said was a wave of killings of hungry people seeking aid.
"The new aid distribution system has become a killing field," with people "shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian affairs (UNWRA).
"This abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries from the UN including @UNRWA," he wrote on X.
The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centers while seeking scarce supplies.
The country's civil defense agency has also repeatedly reported people being killed while seeking aid.
"People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"The search for food must never be a death sentence."
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) branded the GHF relief effort "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid."

Israel denies targeting civilians 

That drew an angry response from Israel, which said GHF had provided 46 million meals in Gaza.
"The UN is doing everything it can to oppose this effort. In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations," the foreign ministry said.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a report in left-leaning daily Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at crowds near aid distribution sites to disperse them even when they posed no threat.
Haaretz said the military advocate general, the army's top legal authority, had instructed the military to investigate "suspected war crimes" at aid sites.
The Israeli military declined to comment to AFP on the claim.
Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz that their country "absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels" and "malicious falsehoods" in the Haaretz article.

Civil defense says 80 killed 

Gaza's civil defense agency told AFP 80 Palestinians had been killed on Friday by Israeli strikes or fire across the Palestinian territory, including 10 who were waiting for aid.
The Israeli military told AFP it was looking into the incidents, and denied its troops fired in one of the locations in central Gaza where rescuers said one aid seeker was killed.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP six people were killed in southern Gaza near one of the distribution sites operated by GHF, and one more in a separate incident in the center of the territory, where the army denied shooting "at all."
Another three people were killed by a strike while waiting for aid southwest of Gaza City, Bassal said.
Elsewhere, eight people were killed "after an Israeli air strike hit Osama Bin Zaid School, which was housing displaced persons" in northern Gaza.

Militants attack Israeli forces

Meanwhile, Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said they shelled an Israeli vehicle east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Friday.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas-ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they attacked Israeli soldiers in at least two other locations near Khan Yunis in coordination with the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,331 people, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.
str-lba-rlp/dcp/jhb/gv/acb

China

Trump ends trade talks with Canada over tax hitting US tech firms

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • "We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump on the day.
  • President Donald Trump said Friday he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting US tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their new tariff rate within a week.
  • "We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump on the day.
President Donald Trump said Friday he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting US tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their new tariff rate within a week.
Trump was referring to Canada's digital services tax, which was enacted last year and forecast to bring in Can$5.9 billion (US$4.2 billion) over five years.
While the measure is not new, US service providers will be "on the hook for a multi-billion dollar payment in Canada" come June 30, noted the Computer & Communications Industry Association recently.
The three percent tax applies to large or multinational companies such as Alphabet, Amazon and Meta that provide digital services to Canadians, and Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the matter.
"Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Friday.
Canada may have been spared some of Trump's sweeping duties, but it faces a separate tariff regime.
Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminum and autos.
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25 percent counter tariffs on US steel and aluminum -- in response to a doubling of US levies on the metals to 50 percent -- if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days.
"We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump on the day.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington had hoped Carney's government would halt the tax "as a sign of goodwill."
He now expects US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to start a probe to determine the harm stemming from Canada's digital tax.

China progress

Trump's salvo targeting Canada came shortly after Washington and Beijing confirmed finalizing a framework to move forward on trade.
A priority for Washington in talks with Beijing had been ensuring the supply of the rare earths essential for products including electric vehicles, hard drives and national defense equipment.
China, which dominates global production of the elements, began requiring export licenses in early April, a move widely viewed as a response to Trump's blistering tariffs.
Both sides agreed after talks in Geneva in May to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat duties on each other's products.
China also committed to easing some non-tariff countermeasures but US officials later accused Beijing of violating the pact and slow-walking export license approvals for rare earths.
They eventually agreed on a framework to move forward with their Geneva consensus, following talks in London this month.
A White House official told AFP on Thursday that the Trump administration and China had "agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement."
This clarification came after the US president told an event that Washington had inked a deal relating to trade with China, without providing details.
Under the deal, China "will review and approve applications for the export control items that meet the requirements in accordance with the law," China's commerce ministry said.
"The US side will correspondingly cancel a series of restrictive measures against China," it added.

Upcoming deals?

Dozens of economies, although not China, face a July 9 deadline for steeper duties to kick in -- rising from a current 10 percent.
It remains to be seen if countries will successfully reach agreements to avoid them before the deadline.
On talks with the European Union, for example, Trump told an event at the White House on Friday: "We have the cards. We have the cards far more than they do."
But Bessent said Washington could wrap up its agenda for trade deals by September, indicating more agreements could be concluded, although talks were likely to extend past July.
Bessent told Fox Business there are 18 key partners Washington is focused on pacts with.
"If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said, referring to the US holiday on September 1.
Wall Street's major indexes finished at fresh records as markets cheered progress in US-China trade while shrugging off concerns about Canada. 
bur-bys/jgc