International

Trump’s sweeping new tariffs take effect against dozens of countries

Published

1 year ago

August 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Trump Weighs Entry Restrictions for Pregnant Foreign Visitors After Supreme Court Ruling

U.S President Donald Trump

Trump’s sweeping new tariffs take effect against dozens of countries

US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on more than 90 countries around the world have come into effect.

“IT’S MIDNIGHT!!! BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!,” Trump said on social media minutes before the deadline in Washington, DC.

Earlier, the president hit India with a 50% tariff, which will take effect on 27 August unless it stops buying Russian oil.

Trump also threatened a 100% tariff on foreign-made computer chips as he pushes tech firms to invest in the US. It came as Apple announced a new $100bn (£75bn) US investment after coming under pressure from the White House to move more production to America.

Last week, the Trump administration announced a revised list of import taxes on dozens of trading partners and extended a deadline for countries to reach agreements with the US to 7 August.

Countries have been racing to strike deals with Washington to lower – or scrap – what Trump calls “reciprocal tariffs”.

His trade policies are aimed at reshaping the global trading system, which he sees as treating the US unfairly.

Export-dependent economies in South East Asia were among the hardest-hit by the new tariffs.

Manufacturing-focused Laos and Myanmar faced some of the highest levies at 40%. Some experts said Trump appears to have targeted countries with close trade ties with China.

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Stock markets in Asia seemed to take the news in their stride on Thursday.

Major share indexes in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and mainland China were a little higher, while markets in India and Australia were lower.

The latest set of tariffs will offer countries some stability after months of chaos, said economist Bert Hofman from the National University of Singapore.

“This is supposed to be it. Now you can start to analyse the impact of the tariffs.”

Some major economies – including the UK, Japan and South Korea – have already reached agreements to get lower tariffs than Trump threatened in April.

The European Union has also struck a framework deal with Washington, in which Brussels has accepted a 15% tariff on goods from the trading bloc.

Taiwan, a key Washington ally in Asia, was handed a 20% tariff. Its president Lai Ching-te said the rate is “temporary” and that talks with the US are still underway.

Last week, Trump boosted the tariff rate on Canada from 25% to 35%, saying the country had “failed to cooperate” in curbing the flow of fentanyl and other drugs across the US border. The Canadian government says it is cracking down on drug gangs.

But most Canadian exports to the US will dodge the import tax due to an existing trade treaty, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Higher tariffs on Mexico were paused for another 90 days as negotiations continue to strike a trade deal.

On Wednesday, Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made semiconductors.

Major chipmakers that have made significant investments in the US appear to have dodged the new tariff. Government officials in Taiwan and South Korea have said in separate statements that TSMC, SK Hynix, and Samsung would be exempt from the new levy.

The White House did not immediately respond to a BBC request for clarification.

The BBC has also contacted SK Hynix and Samsung. TSMC declined to comment.

Also on Wednesday, Trump raised the total tariff on India to 50% as he pushes the world’s third largest importer of energy to stop buying oil from Russia.

New Delhi has called the move “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” and vowed to protect its national interests.

The move marks a “sharp change” in Trump’s approach to Moscow that could spark concerns among other countries in talks with the US, said market analyst Farhan Badami from financial services firm eToro.

“There is the possibility here that India is only the first target that Trump intends to punish for maintaining trade relations with Russia.”

Brazil’s exports to the US also face a 50% tariff. Trump imposed the levy after accusing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of unfairly attacking US technology firms and calling the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly attempting a coup a “witch hunt”.

The US and China have held a series of talks as they tried to agree an extension to a 90-day tariffs pause that is due to expire on 12 August.

Trump’s sweeping new tariffs take effect against dozens of countries

BBC

International

Iran Had Detailed Intel on Trump’s Location Before Secret Turkey Escape

Published

8 hours ago

August 13, 2026

Trends Admin

Iran Had Detailed Intel on Trump’s Location Before Secret Turkey Escape

United States President Donald Trump was secretly moved from the aircraft publicly believed to be carrying him out of Turkey after American intelligence agencies detected a credible threat against him, according to reports.

The dramatic security operation reportedly followed intelligence suggesting that Iranian operatives had obtained detailed information about Trump’s whereabouts in Ankara, including the floor of the hotel where he was staying.

The development came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran and concerns over possible Iranian retaliation against Trump following US military action against Iran.

According to reports, the threat was considered serious enough for the United States Secret Service to activate an elaborate deception operation during Trump’s departure from Ankara.

Rather than allowing the President to leave on the aircraft normally identified as Air Force One, security officials reportedly moved him secretly to a smaller Boeing C-32A military aircraft.

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Trump was said to have been transferred from the presidential aircraft using an airport catering vehicle, while the larger aircraft subsequently departed as a decoy.

The operation was reportedly designed to make it difficult for anyone monitoring the President’s movements to determine which aircraft was actually carrying him.

The C-32A carrying Trump reportedly flew to Britain, while the larger aircraft, carrying members of the travelling press corps and senior officials, followed shortly afterwards.

The secrecy surrounding the operation was so extensive that some people aboard the decoy aircraft were reportedly unaware that Trump was no longer on board.

The Associated Press reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was aware of the security operation and remained aboard the decoy aircraft. It was unclear whether Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had been fully informed of the change in plans.

Reports said the security concern was linked to intelligence indicating a possible missile threat. A person near the NATO summit was also reportedly observed with what appeared to be a shoulder-fired missile.

However, officials reportedly found no evidence of a fully developed attack plan against Trump.

The reported intelligence about Iran’s knowledge of Trump’s location has nevertheless raised serious questions about the extent to which Iranian intelligence was able to monitor the movements of the US President while he was in Turkey.

The precise source of the intelligence remains classified, and there has been no public release of the underlying US intelligence assessment.

Trump has reportedly defended the decision to change his travel arrangements, saying he followed instructions from his security detail.

The incident highlights the increasingly complex security challenges surrounding the movement of the US President, particularly amid escalating tensions with countries regarded by Washington as potential threats.

The use of a decoy presidential aircraft, combined with the secret transfer of Trump to a less conspicuous military jet, represents an unusually elaborate presidential security operation.

While officials have not publicly established that Iran was preparing an attack against Trump, the reported intelligence about his location was considered sufficiently concerning to prompt one of the most extraordinary presidential travel security measures in recent times.

Iran Had Detailed Intel on Trump’s Location Before Secret Turkey Escape

International

Pentagon Confirms 153 Civilians Killed in US Military Operations in 2025

Published

1 day ago

August 12, 2026

Trends Admin

Pentagon Confirms 153 Civilians Killed in US Military Operations in 2025

A Pentagon assessment submitted to Congress has formally acknowledged that US military operations killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 others in 2025, a sharp increase from the previous year. All documented casualties were linked to three strikes in Yemen during Operation Rough Rider, the US campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The Pentagon has formally acknowledged that US military operations in 2025 killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 others, according to a report submitted to Congress on August 10, 2026. The figures represent a dramatic increase from 2024, when the Pentagon assessed that two civilians were killed and two were injured by US military operations. The report was submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee as required by Section 1057 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

The report found that all civilian deaths and injuries recorded in 2025 resulted from three US strikes in Yemen in April 2025. The US Central Command assessed that the three strikes “more likely than not” resulted in civilian harm. The strikes were part of Operation Rough Rider, the US military campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia group, aimed at preventing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

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According to the Pentagon assessment, the three deadly strikes occurred at specific locations across Yemen in April 2025. On April 6, a US strike hit a residence near the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, killing five civilians and injuring 25. The April 17 attack targeted Ras Isa Port, where the Pentagon assessed that 80 civilians were killed and 171 injured. Human Rights Watch had separately reported a comparable death toll and raised concerns about the attack’s potential violation of international humanitarian law, noting that port workers were among those killed. A third strike near Saada on April 28 killed between 47 and 68 civilians and injured 68, according to the assessment. Amnesty International’s investigation into the migrant detention centre said the attack killed and injured “dozens” of African migrants and should be probed as a war crime.

The military relied on US intelligence, imagery, and public reporting rather than conducting site visits or interviews to make the assessment. As of February 2026, the US Central Command was still assessing 15 other incidents in Yemen following reports received through non-governmental organisations.

The Pentagon assessment stands in contrast to significantly higher estimates from independent monitoring groups. Airwars, an organisation tracking civilian harm in conflicts, reported that at least 258 civilians may have been killed in Operation Rough Rider. The Yemen Data Project documented at least 238 civilian deaths, including 24 children, and 467 injuries across 339 strikes during the campaign. Officials who spoke to The Intercept on condition of anonymity described the 153 figure as “lowball numbers,” with one calling the report “a fucking joke” and a “total whitewash”.

The report notably does not include casualties from US strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, which the Trump administration has carried out against what it describes as “narco-terrorists”. As of February 1, 2026, the US Southern Command assessed that “there were no incidents in which civilian casualties more likely than not resulted from US military operations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility in 2025”. However, independent tallies indicate US military strikes on such vessels have killed more than 200 people since September 2025. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International consider such strikes unlawful extrajudicial killings, and the American Civil Liberties Union has cast the administration’s assertions against those targeted as “unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims”.

The disclosure comes as the Pentagon prosecutes a broader military operation against Iran that began in February 2026, and follows significant cuts to civilian harm mitigation programmes. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly overruled top military officials, including then-Central Command chief Erik Kurilla and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown, who pushed against slashing the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence and similar initiatives. Hegseth instead reduced personnel working on civilian harm issues from approximately 200 to fewer than 40, with Central Command’s civilian harm team slashed from 10 personnel to just one. The administration’s 2026 budget proposed the “disestablishment” of the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, reducing personnel funding by over $2 million and mission support funding by more than $9.5 million, amounting to roughly a 90 per cent reduction in personnel since March 2025. Congress has since launched investigations into the cuts, with lawmakers accusing the Pentagon of gutting a congressionally mandated effort to reduce civilian harm despite a legal requirement to maintain it. A May 2026 Inspector General report found that the Department of Defense may have violated federal law by defunding and blocking civilian protection efforts.

Pentagon Confirms 153 Civilians Killed in US Military Operations in 2025

International

US, Iran Nearing Peace Agreement, Pakistan Defence Minister

Published

2 days ago

August 11, 2026

Trends Admin

Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi and US President Donald Trump

US, Iran Nearing Peace Agreement, Pakistan Defence Minister

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has stated that the United States and Iran are close to reaching “some sort of an arrangement,” pointing to renewed diplomatic momentum as Islamabad continues its mediating role between the two longstanding adversaries. Asif made the comments in an interview with Bloomberg News in Islamabad on Tuesday, saying recent signals indicated that Washington and Tehran were moving closer to a deal that could ease tensions in the Middle East. “Things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal,” Asif said, adding that “the signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement.” His remarks come as Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is currently meeting Iranian leadership in Tehran as part of Islamabad’s renewed push for resolution of the standoff, particularly concerning the strategic Strait of Hormuz. A Pakistani government source told Anadolu Agency that Naqvi would share “some new proposals” with the Iranian leadership to resolve the impasse, though details of the proposals were not disclosed. Asif emphasised that a long-term peace agreement between the United States and Iran would be beneficial not only to both countries but to the broader Middle East region. He said the emerging signals were favourable to peace, but cautioned that further negotiations would be required before any agreement could be considered final. His remarks did not amount to an announcement of a completed deal, and there has been no official confirmation from Washington or Tehran that a final agreement has been signed.

The latest indications follow months of conflict and repeated diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a durable settlement. Pakistan has positioned itself as a potential bridge between Washington and Tehran, using its relations with both countries to support negotiations. In June 2026, Pakistan facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signing as mediator. The MoU entered into force with immediate effect, with Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States committing to lift its naval blockade as a first step. However, subsequent talks stalled over disagreements on security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war. Pakistan’s National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in June recognising the country’s efforts in facilitating the peace agreement, describing Pakistan as a “trusted and neutral mediator on the global stage.” The resolution appreciated the role played by PM Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in the negotiations. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif previously told parliament that Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir had played “the most crucial role” in securing the peace agreement and had worked tirelessly over several months. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly telephoned Sharif to thank Pakistan and specifically acknowledged Munir’s role.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on August 8 that Iran would continue pursuing a “path of peace” with the United States under the MoU, but stressed that Tehran’s participation in negotiations would depend on Washington creating an atmosphere of trust. “We are determined to use the MoU as the basis provided that the United States lets go of the atmosphere of distrust it has created, and an atmosphere of trust is formed,” Pezeshkian said at a press conference. US Vice President JD Vance also acknowledged “some progress” in talks with Iran, telling Fox News that Washington is focused on maximizing the amount of oil and gas coming out of the Strait of Hormuz. Vance noted that Iranians and Gulf countries, particularly Oman, have been discussing how to ensure the safe flow of traffic through the waterway. A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday that talks between Iran and Oman about reopening the Strait of Hormuz to some maritime shipping have reached an “advanced stage.” However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that reopening the strait would depend on other conditions, including “compensation” from the United States for “violating” the MoU.

Despite the diplomatic progress, Israel has explicitly rejected Pakistan’s involvement in regional peace efforts, citing deep-seated distrust. Israeli Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, told ANI: “We don’t trust the Pakistanis. I think that their behaviour has been reprehensible, their approach towards Israel, the anti-Semitic remarks of their defence minister, etc.” The comments came after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif made controversial remarks on social media in April 2026, labelling Israel as “evil” and a “curse for humanity,” and referring to the country as a “cancerous state.” Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also declared that Israel is not bound by the US-brokered agreement, stating: “Trump’s agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation!”

The reported progress comes amid continuing regional tensions, with the US and Iran having exchanged military strikes in July 2026. A successful agreement could ease those tensions and create the basis for a longer-term diplomatic settlement between Washington and Tehran, though several significant obstacles remain. These include Israel’s opposition to Pakistan’s involvement and to the broader agreement, unresolved issues over Iran’s nuclear program, disagreements on security guarantees and freedom of navigation, and a lack of trust between the parties, with Iran demanding compensation from the US.

Asif said the emerging signals were favourable to peace, but further negotiations would be required before any agreement could be considered final. For now, however, there has been no indication from the United States or Iran that a final agreement has been signed, leaving the reported progress subject to further negotiations. Pakistan’s involvement has given Islamabad a prominent diplomatic role in the efforts, with Pakistani officials repeatedly expressing support for a negotiated settlement. The reported progress comes amid continuing regional tensions and wider concerns over the impact of the US-Iran confrontation on security and stability across the Middle East.