Author: ALJAZEERA

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…

In both Tehran and Tel Aviv, residents have faced heightened anxiety in recent days as the threat of missile strikes looms over their communities. Alongside the very real concerns for physical safety, there is growing alarm over the role of misinformation, particularly content generated by artificial intelligence, in shaping public perception. GeoConfirmed, an online verification platform, has reported an increase in AI-generated misinformation, including fabricated videos of air strikes that never occurred, both in Iran and Israel. This follows a similar wave of manipulated footage that circulated during recent protests in Los Angeles, which were sparked by a rise in…

Mexican Finance Ministry says it has not received evidence to support claims against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector banks.The United States has imposed sanctions on three Mexican banks, alleging they had been used to launder money for drug cartels. On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury tied the banks – CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa – to the cross-border trafficking of the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl. It accused them of playing “a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to…

The US agency harshly criticised Boeing’s safety culture as well as ineffective oversight by the FAA.Boeing failed to provide adequate training, guidance and oversight to prevent a midair cabin panel blowout of a new 737 MAX 9 flight in January 2024, which spun the planemaker into a major crisis, the United States National Transportation Safety Board has said. The board on Tuesday harshly criticised Boeing’s safety culture and its failure to install four key bolts in a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 during production, as well as the ineffective oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said…

Russia’s economy must not slide into recession, President Vladimir Putin said, after economists warned for months of a slowdown in growth. Putin told attendees, including government ministers and central bankers, at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday that some specialists and experts were “pointing to the risks of stagnation and even a recession”. “This must not be allowed to happen under any circumstances,” he said. “We need to pursue a competent, well-thought-out budgetary, tax and monetary policy,” he added. Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Thursday that the economy was on the verge of slipping into a recession,…

The court declined to fast-track the review of the dispute over Trump having legal power to impose broad tariffs.The United States Supreme Court has declined to speed up its consideration of whether to take up a challenge to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs even before lower courts have ruled in the dispute. The Supreme Court denied on Friday a request by a family-owned toy company, Learning Resources, that filed the legal challenge against Trump’s tariffs to expedite the review of the dispute by the nation’s top judicial body. The company, which makes educational toys, won a court ruling on May 29 that…

With the Friday notices, 85 percent of Voice of America’s workforce had been slashed.Layoff notices have been sent to 639 employees of Voice of America (VOA) and the United States agency that oversees it, effectively shutting down the outlet that has provided news to countries around the world since World War II. The notices sent on Friday included employees at VOA’s Persian-language service who were suddenly called off administrative leave last week to broadcast reports to Iran following Israel’s attack. Three journalists working for the Persian service on Friday, who left their office for a cigarette break, had their badges confiscated…

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez warns the spending hike would undermine EU efforts to build its own security and defence base.Spain has reportedly asked to opt out of NATO’s proposed defence spending target of 5 percent of GDP, risking disruption to a key agreement expected at next week’s alliance summit. In a letter addressed to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Thursday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged the alliance to adopt a more flexible framework, according to media reports. The letter, seen by the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies, called for either the target to remain optional or for Spain to…

The United States Federal Reserve has left its benchmark rate unchanged despite mounting pressure from President Donald Trump to cut rates. On Wednesday, the Fed said it will leave its short-term rate steady at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent. The central bank’s decision was largely in line with expectations, and it has not cut interest rates since December. The decision comes as policymakers weigh signs of a weakening economy. US retail sales numbers fell more than expected in its report from the US Department of Commerce yesterday. Last week’s jobless claims report from the US Department of Labour came in…