India’s Modi flies to UK to sign trade deal with Starmer

Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomes his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to Britain on Thursday where the pair will sign a recently announced UK-India trade deal.Modi will also meet King Charles III during his brief stay in Britain, his fourth visit since becoming India’s leader in 2014.Starmer and Modi are also likely to discuss last month’s Air India disaster in which 241 people died when a London-bound flight crashed after taking off from Ahmedabad in western India.The British leader is also facing calls to raise the case of a Scottish Sikh activist jailed in India seven years ago on terror charges.Starmer and Modi announced in May they had struck a free trade agreement that the British government says will eventually add £4.8 billion ($6.5 billion) a year to the UK economy.”Our landmark trade deal with India is a major win for Britain,” Starmer said in a statement late Wednesday.Starmer’s year-old government is struggling to fire up an economy weakened by years of stagnant growth and high inflation.The UK and India hope the accord will boost trade between the two countries by £25.5 billion, as well as bolstering the British economy and wages.Britain and India are the sixth and fifth largest global economies respectively, with a trade relationship worth around £41 billion and investment supporting more than 600,000 jobs across both countries.As he left India on Wednesday, Modi said the partnership had “achieved significant momentum in the last few years”.”We will have the opportunity to further enhance our economic partnership, aimed at fostering prosperity, growth and jobs creation in both countries,” he added.The accord will slash tariffs on imports of UK goods into India, including whisky, cosmetics and medical devices.In return, the UK will cut tariffs on clothes, footwear and food products including frozen prawns from India.- Air India crash -On June 12, some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed in the Air India crash, one of the deadliest plane disasters in terms of the number of British fatalities.A lawyer for 20 British families expects Starmer to raise claims that some of the remains of victims were wrongly identified.James Healy-Pratt told the Press Association that relatives of one victim found that the coffin contained “co-mingled” remains.A different family were told a coffin contained the body of someone else entirely, not their loved one, the agency reported on Wednesday.Another tricky topic of discussion could be that of blogger Jagtar Singh Johal, imprisoned in India since 2017 on accusations of being part of a terror plot against right-wing Hindu leaders.He has not been convicted of a crime and in March was cleared of one of the nine charges against him.His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal said in a statement the case “should be high on the agenda” when the two leaders meet.Starmer and Modi have met twice recently, at the G7 summit in Canada last month and at the G20 meeting in Brazil last year.

Scotland awaits famous son as Trump visits mother’s homeland

Donald Trump will fly into Scotland on Friday for a private visit to the land where his mother was born and spent her childhood on the remote Isle of Lewis.”It’s great to be home, this was the home of my mother,” he said when he arrived on his last visit in 2023.Born Mary Anne MacLeod, Trump’s mum emigrated to the United States when she was 18. She then met and married Fred Trump, kickstarting the family’s meteoric rise that has led their son, Donald, all the way to the White House.During his visit the current US president, who is six months into his second term, plans to officially open his latest golf course in northeastern Aberdeen — making him the owner of three such links in Scotland.Although Donald Trump has talked openly about his father Fred — a self-made millionaire and property developer whose own father emigrated from Germany — he remains more discreet about his mother, who died in 2000 at the age of 88.She was born in 1912 on Lewis, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides in northwest Scotland, and grew up in the small town of Tong. Trump visited the humble family home in 2008, pausing for a photo in front of the two-storey house. He has cousins who still live in the house, which has been modernised since Mary Anne MacLeod’s time but remains modest, standing just around 200 metres (650 feet) from the sea.Its slate roof and grey walls are a world away from Trump’s luxury Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, or his gold-adorned apartment in Trump Tower, New York. According to the British press, which based its reports on local documents, Trump’s grandfather was a fisherman. MacLeod was the 10th and last child of the family, and her first language was Gaelic before she learnt English at school.Life was tough on Lewis after World War I, which claimed the lives of many of the island’s young men. Following in the footsteps of her older sister, and so many other Scots over the decades, she decided to emigrate to the United States.MacLeod boarded the SS Transylvania from Glasgow in 1930, bound for New York.- Pink Rolls-Royce -On her immigration papers she wrote she was a “domestic” when asked about her profession. One of Trump’s sisters recalled that MacLeod had worked as a nanny in a wealthy family.But a few years later her life turned around when she reportedly met Fred Trump at an evening dance. They were married in 1936 in Manhattan’s wealthy Upper East Side, and MacLeod became a US citizen in 1942.As Fred Trump built and expanded his property empire in the city by constructing middle-class homes in districts such as Queens and Brooklyn, Mary Anne devoted herself to charitable works.”Even in old age, rich and respected and with her hair arranged in a dynamic orange swirl, she would drive a rose-coloured Rolls-Royce to collect coins from laundry machines in apartment blocks that belonged to the Trumps,” the Times wrote this month.Photos of her hobnobbing with New York high society show her with her blonde hair swept up in a bun, reminiscent of her son’s distinctive side-swept coiffure.She was “a great beauty”, Donald Trump has gushed in one of his rare comments about his mother, adding she was also “one of the most honest and charitable people I have ever known”.And on X he has pointed to “great advice from my mother: ‘Trust in God and be true to yourself'”.In 2018 then-British prime minister Theresa May presented Trump with his family tree tracing his Scottish ancestors.Less than 20,000 people live on Lewis, and MacLeod is a common surname.Residents tell how Mary Anne MacLeod regularly returned to her roots until her death, while one of the president’s sisters won over the locals by making a large donation to a retirement home.But Donald Trump has not impressed everyone in Scotland, and protests against his visit are planned on Saturday in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.Earlier this year in April a banner fluttered from a shop in the port of Stornoway, the island’s largest town. “Shame on you Donald John,” it proclaimed.Local authorities have asked for the banner to be taken down, but it is due to tour the island this summer with residents invited to sign it.

Le chef d’une île du Vanuatu se dit “très impressionné” par l’avis de la CIJ

Le chef d’une île du Vanuatu, une nation insulaire du Pacifique, s’est dit jeudi “très impressionné” par l’avis rendu par la Cour internationale de justice (CIJ) sur la responsabilité des Etats à respecter leurs obligations climatiques.Les Etats qui violent leurs obligations climatiques pourraient se voir réclamer des réparations par les pays les plus affectés, a conclu mercredi la plus haute juridiction de l’ONU dans un avis consultatif, initialement demandé par des étudiants sur l’archipel du Vanuatu.”Je suis très impressionné”, a déclaré jeudi à l’AFP le chef de l’île d’Ambrym, George Bumseng, qui s’exprimait depuis la capitale de l’archipel Port Vila.”Nous attendions cette décision depuis longtemps dans la mesure où nous sommes des victimes du changement climatique depuis une vingtaine d’années”, a-t-il expliqué.L’île qu’il gouverne a été balayée par trois cyclones tropicaux en 2023: les cyclones Judy et Kévin en mars de cette année-là, suivis par Lola en octobre.Ces tempêtes à répétition ont dévasté “une grande partie de nos cultures, de nos forêts et de nos médecines traditionnelles”, relate M. Bumseng.Le réchauffement de la planète “ne cesse de modifier notre environnement”, a-t-il ajouté. “Nous n’avons plus de figuiers. L’érosion côtière est continue. Notre marée change également”.”Nous sommes très heureux que la Cour internationale de justice ait statué en faveur de cette question”, a-t-il conclu.

Columbia University to pay $200 mn in clash with Trump

Columbia University said Wednesday it will pay $200 million to the US government after President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding over what he said was its unwillingness to protect Jewish students.In a sweeping deal that will restore the prestigious New York institution’s federal monies, Columbia has pledged to obey rules that bar it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring, among other concessions.”Columbia University has reached an agreement with the United States government to resolve multiple federal agency investigations into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws,” a statement said, adding that the $200 million would be paid over three years.The university will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it said.”Under today’s agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 will be reinstated and Columbia’s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored,” the statement said.The promise of the federal funding spigot reopening offers relief for the university, which was under growing financial pressure, despite a comfortable endowment and a reputation it can bank on.The agreement also represents a victory for Trump, who has repeatedly claimed elite universities brainwash students against his nationalist ideas with left-wing bias.Thanking Columbia for “agreeing to do what is right,” Trump warned in a social media post that “numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust… are upcoming.”The centuries-old Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also in a fight with the administration over Trump’s threats to rip away federal funding, and Wednesday’s carefully worded agreement — in which Columbia admitted no wrongdoing — could offer a framework for future deals.”This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,” Columbia’s acting president Claire Shipman said.”The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track. “Importantly, it safeguards our independence, a critical condition for academic excellence and scholarly exploration, work that is vital to the public interest.”- Disciplinary actions -Under the settlement, Columbia will maintain a security force to prevent demonstrations in academic spaces, such as those that rocked the campus last year when pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with law enforcement and occupied university buildings. The school also agreed to “promptly provide” federal authorities with any requested information on “disciplinary actions involving student visa-holders resulting in expulsions or suspensions, and arrest records that Columbia is aware of for criminal activity, including trespass or other violation of law.”Columbia found itself at the center of a firestorm last year over claims of anti-Semitism triggered by campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.Some Jewish students claimed they were intimidated and that authorities did not act to protect them.The school announced a wave of various student punishments on Tuesday, including expulsions and degree revocations, against nearly 80 students involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement that has called on the university to divest from Israel.”Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community,” Columbia said in a statement about student protests on its campus. “Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.” While the university appears to be acquiescing to the Trump administration’s demands to quash student protest, one of the most prominent leaders of the US pro-Palestinian campus protests is still raising his voice.Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate active in campus demonstrations, has sued the Trump administration for $20 million over his arrest and detention by immigration agents.Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States who is married to a US citizen, missed the birth of his son while being held in a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana. He called the lawsuit a “first step towards accountability.”

Asian markets extend gains on US trade deal hopes

Asian markets extended the week’s gains Thursday on optimism other countries will follow up Japan’s US trade deal with ones of their own, with speculation building that the European Union is on course.Investors have been on a roll in recent weeks on bets that governments will eventually hammer out pacts with Donald Trump ahead of the US president’s August 1 deadline.The mood has been upbeat since news that Japan had reached a deal to lower sweeping tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent, including those on the country’s crucial car sector.The breakthrough fanned hopes that others were in the pipeline.However, there is talk that the European Union is edging towards an agreement. Reports say Brussels could get something similar to Japan, with tariffs cut to 15 percent — from the threatened 30 percent.The Financial Times said the two would waive tariffs on some products, including aircraft, spirits and medical devices.That came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said negotiations were making progress, with talks planned later in the day between the bloc’s top trade negotiator and his American counterpart.Analysts said a deal with Washington’s biggest trading entity would provide a massive boost to equitiesHowever, failure to reach a deal, triggering Trump’s 30 percent levies on August 1, could cause havoc on markets, analysts warned.France has been loudest in insisting Brussels must show it is willing to deploy its trade weapon, known as the anti-coercion instrument — allowing officials to take measures such as import and export restrictions on goods and services.Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets warned that would end up “effectively killing trade between the two… the nuclear option is on the table it seems, but for the moment expectation seems to be veering towards a deal”.After another record day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wall Street, Asia picked up the baton and ran.Tokyo piled on two percent, having jumped more than three percent Wednesday on the trade deal, while Hong Kong continued its standout year with another advance.Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Manila also rose.Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in Tokyo after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied discussing his resignation with party elders on Wednesday, as speculation about his future intensified following a weekend election debacle.Despite the saga, the yen extended its gains, briefly hitting 145.86 per dollar as the trade deal allows investors to turn their attention to the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting next week hoping for guidance on its next interest rate hike.The unit had been sitting around 147.90 before the deal.Bank officials have held off rocking the boat on the issue amid tariff uncertainty, but observers say the agreement can allow them to reconsider lifting in October.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.0 percent at 41,983.50 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 25,606.58Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,588.11Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.06 yen from 146.47 yen on WednesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1772 from $1.1777Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3582 from $1.3579Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.66 pence from 86.68 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $65.47 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $68.71 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 45,010.29 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 9,061.49 (close)

La BCE vers une pause estivale sur les taux, à l’affut des surtaxes américaines

La Banque centrale européenne (BCE) devrait maintenir ses taux d’intérêt inchangés jeudi et prendre le temps d’évaluer les développements de l’imprévisible offensive commerciale de Donald Trump qui menace les exportations européennes de surtaxes massives.Un statu quo monétaire mettrait fin à une série de baisses de taux, depuis septembre dernier, lorsque la BCE avait décidé de diminuer progressivement le coût du crédit pour accompagner le recul de l’inflation.Le rythme de la hausse des prix à la consommation s’est stabilisé autour de l’objectif de 2% fixé par la banque centrale, après avoir atteint des niveaux record dans le sillage de la pandémie de Covid-19 et de l’invasion à grande échelle de l’Ukraine par la Russie.Mais ces conditions monétaires plus favorables semblent fragiles, alors que Donald Trump menace d’assommer les exportations européennes vers les États-Unis de droits de douane punitifs de 30% à partir du 1er août.Comme Washington et la Commission européenne, qui négocie au nom des Vingt-Sept, sont toujours en pourparlers sur un éventuel accord commercial, les responsables de la BCE souhaitent “plus de clarté… avant d’envisager tout nouvel ajustement de la politique monétaire”, selon les analystes d’UniCredit.- Cartouches en réserve -Une pause permettrait aux décideurs politiques de voir pendant l’été si Trump met sa menace à exécution.Le renforcement des barrières commerciales risque de porter un nouveau coup à l’économie de la zone euro et d’inciter la BCE à envisager de nouvelles baisses de taux.Après sept baisses consécutives et huit au total depuis juin dernier, la BCE a ramené son taux de dépôt, qui fait référence à 2%, contre un pic de 4% atteint en pleine vague inflationniste.”Ni les données économiques ni les dernières données sur la dynamique des prix n’exigent une réaction immédiate” de l’institution de Francfort, selon Dirk Schumacher, économiste en chef de la banque publique allemande KfW.L’inflation dans la zone euro s’est établie à exactement 2% en juin et les indicateurs économiques, notamment la hausse de la production industrielle, ont donné un regain d’optimisme quant à la santé de l’économie.La BCE souhaiterait également “garder des cartouches en réserve en cas d’urgence” si Donald Trump venait à appliquer des droits de douane massifs, commente Felix Schmidt, analyste chez Berenberg.L’influent directeur de la banque centrale allemande, Joachim Nagel, a clairement plaidé pour le statu quo en vue de “réévaluer” la situation lors de la réunion de septembre.- Euro fort -Outre une nouvelle escalade du conflit commercial, le renforcement de l’euro par rapport au dollar pourrait également inciter les gardiens de l’euro à reprendre après l’été l’assouplissement de la politique monétaireLa monnaie commune s’est sensiblement appréciée entre avril, lorsque Donald Trump a lancé la guerre commerciale, et fin juin, passant de 1,08 à 1,18 dollar pour un euro.Pour les exportations, un euro fort rend les produits européens plus chers à l’étranger, donc moins compétitifs à la vente.A l’inverse, cela fait baisser le coût des importations, notamment d’énergie, freinant encore davantage l’inflation. La BCE prévoit déjà que l’indicateur baissera à 1,6% en 2026 avant de revenir à son objectif en 2027.Les marchés seront attentifs aux éventuels commentaires de la présidente de la BCE, Christine Lagarde, à Francfort à 14H45 (12H45 GMT), sur le cap de la politique monétaire.Mme Lagarde avait prévenu en juin que la BCE était arrivée “à la fin d’un cycle de politique monétaire “, après avoir dû contrer les chocs successifs du Covid-19, de la guerre en Ukraine et de la crise énergétique, qui avaient alimenté la forte poussée inflationniste.

Power company says to pay compensation over LA fire

The power company whose lines are suspected of starting one of the deadly fires that ravaged Los Angeles this year said Wednesday it would compensate victims even without any formal finding it was at fault.Southern California Edison — which faces multiple costly lawsuits over the huge blazes — said it would establish a fund that would offer payouts to those who lost their homes or whose health was affected.It gave no figure for the size of the fund, and no precise timeline, but such a system could allow the company to avoid some of the bumper legal battles it is expected to face.Two enormous fires that erupted in January killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes and buildings around Los Angeles. Investigations are still ongoing to determine the causes of two separate blazes that ravaged the affluent neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and parts of Malibu, and the city of Altadena, a more modest suburb located in the mountains to the northeast.For several months, the finger of blame has been pointing at a Southern California Edison (SCE) powerline as the root of the Eaton Fire that consumed Altadena. Several videos and witness accounts suggest that the equipment produced sparks that could have caused the fast-moving conflagration.Victims “shouldn’t have to wait for the final conclusions in the Eaton Fire investigation to get the financial support they need to begin rebuilding,” said Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, SCE’s parent company. “Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly.”This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.”The fund will cover homeowners and tenants whose homes were damaged or destroyed, as well as business owners whose property was damaged or whose business was interrupted, a statement said.It will also pay out for personal injuries and offer compensation to family members of those who died in the fire.California’s changing climate — a result of humanity’s unchecked use of fossil fuels over the last 150 years — is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme events, including wildfires.But SCE’s powerlines have frequently been pinpointed as the source of ignition in large blazes.That has included the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which killed three people and ravaged the mountains behind Malibu.Last May, the utility also agreed to pay $82.5 million to settle lawsuits related to the Bobcat Fire, a blaze that burned nearly 116,000 acres (47,000 hectares) in the San Gabriel Mountains in 2020.