Author: ALJAZEERA

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has weighed in publicly for the first time since the passage of President Donald Trump’s signature piece of budget legislation, commonly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill“. On Friday, Musk took to his social media platform X to once again float the possibility of a third party to rival the two major ones — the Democrats and the Republicans — in United States politics. “Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?” Musk asked his followers, attaching…

Trade Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks come before the deadline set by the White House for July 9 for nations to make their individual deals with the US.India is ready to make trade deals in the national interest, but not just to meet deadlines, Piyush Goyal, minister of trade and industry, has said. When asked if a deal could be reached by the July 9 deadline set by United States President Donald Trump for all countries to negotiate trade agreements, Goyal said on Friday that “National interest will always be supreme. Keeping that in mind, if a good deal can be…

United States President Donald Trump’s signature piece of budget legislation, the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, will likely raise healthcare costs, experts have said. While the Medicaid cuts will directly impact those who depend on the programme, the consequences will extend to others as well. The 869-page bill, which includes roughly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade, passed in the House along party lines, with only two Republicans – Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania – breaking ranks. It will be signed into law by Trump on Friday. In addition to patients, Medicaid…

Washington imposes financial penalties on an Iraqi businessman who it says helped smuggle Iranian oil.Washington, DC – The United States has issued a new wave of sanctions against Iranian oil exports, the first penalties against Tehran’s energy sector since a Washington-backed ceasefire between Israel and Iran came into effect last month. Among those targeted by the sanctions announced on Thursday are Iraqi businessman Salim Ahmed Said and his United Arab Emirates-based company, which the US accused of smuggling Iranian oil by blending it with Iraqi oil. “Iran’s behavior has left it decimated. While it has had every opportunity to choose…

The US president has repeatedly called on the top central banker to step down amid disagreement over interest rates.United States President Donald Trump has repeated his call for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to step down, the latest in a series of attacks that have raised concern about the independence of the US central bank. Trump made the call for Powell to “resign immediately” on Wednesday after his administration’s top housing regulator urged the US Congress to launch an investigation into the central banker. Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in a post on X…

New Delhi, India – Getting into one of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) schools was supposed to be the end of the financial woes for Paras* and his family. Instead, things have only worsened due to the federal government’s long delays in dispensing Paras’s monthly fellowship allowance of 37,000 rupees ($435). At the IIT, Paras is a research fellow, looking into solutions to a global public health crisis created by the spread of infectious diseases. His fellowship comes from the INSPIRE scheme, funded by India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST). But delays in the scheme’s payment have meant…

The United States has reached an agreement with China on accelerating shipments of rare earth minerals to the US, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US had signed a deal with China the previous day, without providing more details, adding that he expects to soon have a trade deal with India as well. Thursday’s announcement follows talks in Geneva in May, which led the US and China to reduce mutual tariffs. In June, talks in London set a framework for negotiations. Thursday’s announcement appeared to…

Nike has said it will cut its reliance on production in China for the United States market to mitigate the impact from US tariffs on imports, and forecast a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter revenue. The sportswear giant’s shares zoomed 15 percent at the opening bell on Friday morning after it announced the change in conjunction with its earnings report released on Thursday. US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports from key trading partners could add about $1bn to Nike’s costs, company executives said on a post-earnings call after the sportswear giant topped estimates for fourth-quarter results. China, subject to…

Canada had approved a 3 percent digital tax last year in June, and the first set of payments is due on Monday.United States President Donald Trump has announced that the US is immediately ending trade talks with Canada in response to the country’s digital services tax on technology companies, marking a clear escalation of pressure tactics. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, called the Canadian tax a “direct and blatant attack on our country” and said, “Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately.” He added,…

California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a $787m defamation lawsuit against Fox News, accusing the network of misrepresenting a phone call between him and US President Donald Trump earlier this month amid immigration arrests and the subsequent protests in Los Angeles. The complaint was filed on Friday in Delaware Superior Court, the state in which Fox Corp is incorporated. Newsom spoke by phone with Trump late on June 6 – early June 7 on the East Coast, soon after protests broke out in Los Angeles following federal immigration raids. Less than 24 hours later, the president sent National Guard troops…