Skip to main content

Israeli occupier attacks threaten historic Christian presence in West Bank town

In Taybeh, one of the few Palestinian communities with a Christian majority in the occupied West Bank, fears are growing that Israeli occupier attacks on farmland and property could push more families to emigrate, threatening the town’s demographic character and historic Christian presence. Local officials and clergy warned of the impact of rising violence by Israeli occupiers, which has coincided with worsening living and economic conditions in the town. Taybeh, east of Ramallah, is one of the few Palestinian towns in the West Bank that still has a Christian majority, according to church and local accounts. Residents say the town’s Christian roots go back thousands of years. Residents say the attacks have deepened fears in the town, even as they stress their determination to remain on their land. Also Read: Pakistan raises red flag over illegal settlements in West Bank, calls for Israel accountability In recent years, Israeli occupiers have established several ill...
Post a Comment

Trump postpones EU tariff threat till July 9

US President Donald Trump backed away from his threat to impose 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union next month, restoring a July 9 deadline to allow for talks between Washington and the 27-nation bloc to produce a deal. European assets rallied on Monday. The euro hit its highest level against the dollar since April 30, while European shares surged and were poised to recoup the previous session's losses. Trump had said on Friday said he was recommending a 50% tariff effective from June 1, expressing frustration that trade negotiations with the EU were not moving quickly enough. The threat roiled global financial markets and intensified a trade war that has been punctuated by frequent changes in tariff policies toward US trading partners and allies. The US president's softened stance two days later marked another temporary reprieve in his erratic trade policy, even if the latest whipsawing in decision making reminded policymakers and investors how quickly circumstances could change. READ: EU warns of retaliation on US tariff push Trump, who has repeatedly expressed disdain for the EU and its treatment of the United States on trade, relented after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told him on Sunday that the EU needed more time to come to an agreement. She asked him during a call to delay the tariffs until July, the deadline he had originally set when he announced new tariffs in April. Trump told reporters he had granted the request. "We had a very nice call, and I agreed to move it," Trump said before returning to Washington after a weekend in New Jersey. "She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out." Von der Leyen said in a post on X that she had a "good call" with Trump and that the EU was ready to move quickly. "Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively," she said. "To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9." In early April, Trump set a 90-day window for trade talks between the EU and the United States, which was to end on July 9. But on Friday he upended that time frame and said he wasn't interested in a deal at all. Talks have been stuck, with Washington demanding unilateral concessions from Brussels to open up to US business while the EU seeks an agreement in which both sides could gain, according to people familiar with the talks. The EU already faces 25% US import tariffs on its steel, aluminium and cars and so-called "reciprocal" tariffs of 10% for almost all other goods, a levy that had been due to rise to 20% after Trump's 90-day pause expires in July. The levy could now increase to 50% in a no-deal scenario, which could raise consumer prices on everything from German BMWs, and Porsches to Italian olive oil and hurt demand for French luxury handbags. READ MORE: Trump fires new 50% tariff threat at EU The pan-European STOXX 600 index,  rose 1% by 0710GMT as the US deadline was pushed back. The benchmark had lost 0.9% on Friday after Trump unexpectedly called for higher tariffs on EU goods. The automobiles and parts index, sensitive to tariff-related pressures, rebounded by 1.4%. Luxury stocks, highly exposed to the US market, also gained, as did banks. Oil prices edged up  Major US stock indexes and European shares had dropped on Friday, and the dollar had weakened, after Trump said Washington planned to impose 50% tariffs on the EU from the beginning of June. Trump has sought to upend the world economy with his trade policies, but after his announcement in April of tariffs on multiple countries sparked financial market upheaval, he dialled down his threats in favour of talks. Since then Washington has inked a pact with Britain and has held discussions with China. But progress with the European Union has been more limited, sparking Trump's ire and adding to broader tensions between the two allies over Trump's "America first" agenda and Europe's longtime reliance on Washington for security and defence needs.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/bGmTtXd
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian opposition supporters detained ahead of protest at Modi's home

Police in the Indian capital detained dozens of opposition supporters on Tuesday as they attempted to march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence to protest against last week's arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal, a key opposition leader whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has governed the national capital territory for a decade, was arrested by the financial crime-fighting agency on corruption charges relating to the city's liquor policy, weeks before India begins voting in general elections on April 19. He was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate until March 28, with the lawyer for the agency arguing he was the "kingpin" in the case and needed to be interrogated. Kejriwal's party, all of whose main leaders are now imprisoned in connection with the case, says he has been "falsely arrested" in a "fabricated case". The federal government and Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny political interfere...
Post a Comment
Read more