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Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, asked a judge on Tuesday to reject a US Justice Department request to unseal the grand jury transcripts in her criminal case and that of the late notorious sex offender.”Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not,” Maxwell’s lawyers said in a filing with the federal judge in New York who is considering the government request.”Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain,” the attorneys said.Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.President Donald Trump’s supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said last month that the wealthy financier had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a “client list.”In a bid to calm the furor, the Justice Department is seeking the release of the grand jury transcripts from the cases against Epstein and Maxwell.US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, also met recently with Maxwell but has not revealed what was discussed.Trump was asked on Tuesday about the meeting and said it was “not an uncommon thing” and was “totally above board.””I think (Blanche) probably wants to make sure that, you know, people that should not be involved, or aren’t involved, are not hurt by something that would be very, very unfortunate, very unfair to a lot of people,” he said.Trump also told reporters that he was not aware of Maxwell’s recent move from a prison in Florida to a minimum security facility in Texas until after it happened.- ‘Firestorm of false reporting’ -Trump, 79, was once a close friend of Epstein, and The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the president’s name was among hundreds found during a Justice Department review of the so-called “Epstein files,” though there has not been evidence of wrongdoing.Trump filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the newspaper after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.Maxwell is the only former Epstein associate convicted in connection with his activities, which right-wing conspiracy theorists allege included trafficking young girls for VIPs and other elites.In their filing with Judge Paul Engelmayer, Maxwell’s lawyers said she was “convicted in a media firestorm of false reporting” and noted that she has appealed her conviction to the Supreme Court.”The government seeks to unseal the grand jury transcripts, citing ‘historical interest’ without regard for how that release will affect Maxwell’s privacy interests, her pending (Supreme Court) Petition, and any future litigation,” they said.Her lawyers also said Maxwell has not been been allowed to review the transcripts even though the government has not opposed her request to do so.

A luxurious superyacht seized by the US authorities from sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov is headed to the auction block.The 348-foot (106-metre) Amadea has a helipad, pool, jacuzzi, gym, spa, beauty salon and eight staterooms that can accommodate 16 guests, according to amadeaauction.com.The yacht, which has been valued at more than $300 million, was seized from the Russian oligarch in Fiji in April 2022 and is currently berthed in San Diego, California.The auction is being held by National Maritime Services, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, company. Sealed bids are being accepted until September 10 and require a $10 million initial bid deposit.The yacht is headed to the auction block after a US judge in March dismissed a competing claim to ownership of the vessel.Another wealthy Russian, Eduard Khudainatov, the former head of Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft, claimed in a New York court to be the rightful owner of the Amadea but his claim was dismissed by District Judge Dale Ho.According to prosecutors, Khudainatov was a “straw owner” of the Amadea and the true owner was Kerimov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 and again in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Following the invasion, the Justice Department under then-president Joe Biden began seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs close to Putin, an operation known as Task Force KleptoCapture.President Donald Trump disbanded the task force after taking office.The US Congress passed legislation last year that allows for the sale of seized Russian assets, with the proceeds going to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

Switzerland’s president was in Washington on Tuesday in a last-minute push to stop steep new tariffs, but with no appointment to plead her case to US President Donald Trump.Switzerland faces a 39-percent duty, one of the highest among the dozens of economies that will be hit by new tariffs expected to come into force from Thursday.President Karin Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin were visiting Washington “to facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland,” the government said in a statement.”The aim is to present a more attractive offer to the United States in a bid to lower the level of reciprocal tariffs for Swiss exports, taking US concerns into account.”But a White House official told AFP there was “no meeting with the President scheduled at this time.”Trump had originally threatened in April to slap a 31-percent tariff on Switzerland. But he surprised the export-driven country last week when he decided to hike the rate to 39 percent despite numerous discussions between Swiss and US officials aimed at reaching a deal.The Swiss government noted that the country will be hit by much higher tariffs than what other wealthy economies, such as Britain, Japan or the European Union, are facing.The government “reaffirmed that it was keen to pursue talks with the United States on the tariff situation,” and the president and economy minister were visiting Washington “for this reason,” Tuesday’s statement said.US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, however, told CBS television on Sunday that the tariffs on global trading partners, which are coming into force this week, “are pretty much set.”Trump signaled that a separate initially “small” tariff on imports of pharmaceuticals from around the world — a key sector for Switzerland — could come “within the next week.”But the sector-specific tariff could rise to 150 percent in a year and eventually be as high as 250 percent, he added, saying the delay was to allow companies to shift production to the United States.Pharmaceuticals represented 60 percent of Swiss goods exports to the United States last year.- Swiss surplus -Keller-Sutter and Parmelin were accompanied by a small delegation, including the heads of the economy and international finance departments, a Swiss government official said.But the official declined to give details about the potential meetings.The government said it will “issue a statement as soon as there are any relevant developments for the public.”The United States is a key trading partner for Switzerland, taking 18.6 percent of its total exports last year, according to Swiss customs data.Keller-Sutter has said Trump believes that Switzerland “steals” from the United States by enjoying a trade surplus of 40 billion Swiss francs ($50 billion).Swiss companies have urged the government to negotiate a lower tariff.”I am convinced that Donald Trump wants to make a deal and show it to his US voters,” Nik Hayek, the head of watch firm Swatch, told Le Temps newspaper in an interview published late Monday.But, Hayek added, “President Karin Keller-Sutter has to react and find a solution in person there.”

US envoy Steve Witkoff will meet on Wednesday with Russian leadership in Moscow as President Donald Trump’s deadline to impose fresh sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine looms.Trump has given Russia until Friday to halt its offensive in Ukraine or face new penalties.The White House has not outlined specific actions it plans to take on Friday, but Trump has previously threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s remaining trade partners, such as China and India.The move would aim to stifle Russian exports, but would risk significant international disruption.Trump said Tuesday that he would await the outcome of the Moscow talks before moving forward with any economic retaliation. “We’re going to see what happens,” he told reporters. “We’ll make that determination at that time.”An American source did not specify if the meetings will include Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Witkoff has met with several times previously.Despite pressure from Washington, Russia has continued its onslaught against its pro-Western neighbor.Three rounds of peace talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a possible ceasefire, with the two sides appearing as far apart as ever.Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support.Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week urged his allies to push for “regime change” in Moscow.- Nuclear rhetoric -In recent weeks, Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Putin over Moscow’s unrelenting offensive.When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff’s message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday it considered the talks with Witkoff to be “important, substantial and helpful” and valued US efforts to end the conflict.Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half-year offensive were unchanged.Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.Putin also wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO.The visit comes after Trump said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now “in the region.”Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.Russia, in its first comments on the deployment, urged “caution” Monday.”Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric,” the Kremlin’s Peskov said.

US President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors could be unveiled within the coming week, as a cascade of incoming duties promises to reshape global trading ties.Governments around the world are bracing as new waves of US tariffs are due to take effect this week, first on many Brazilian products Wednesday and then on dozens of other economies — including the European Union and Taiwan — beginning Thursday.Trump’s sweeping plans have sparked a flurry of activity as leaders seek to avert the worst of his threats, with Swiss officials heading to Washington on Tuesday in a last-minute push to avoid punitive duties.But the US president appears set to widen his trade wars.Trump told CNBC on Tuesday that upcoming tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could reach 250 percent, while adding that he plans for new duties on foreign semiconductors soon.”We’ll be putting (an) initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one-and-a-half years, maximum, it’s going to go to 150 percent,” Trump said.”And then it’s going to go to 250 percent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.”Trump also said that Washington will be announcing tariffs “within the next week or so.”He added: “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips.”- India threat -Trump has set out varying tariff rates for dozens of economies after imposing a 10-percent levy on almost all trading partners in April.But these broad duties taking effect Thursday exclude products like pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum and lumber, which are being separately targeted by sector.This means that although the 39-percent tariff Swiss leaders seek to avoid come Thursday excludes pharmaceuticals, Trump’s plans for a steep levy on such imports will likely remain a point of contention in any talks.Pharmaceuticals represented 60 percent of Swiss goods exports to the United States last year.Outside of Switzerland, most products from the European Union face a 15 percent tariff starting Thursday, after Washington and Brussels struck a deal to avoid higher levies.But Trump warned Tuesday that the EU could see its tariff level surge again if it did not fulfill obligations under their recent pact.Some imports from Canada are also targeted by tariffs, although Prime Minister Mark Carney stressed Tuesday that more than 85 percent of trade between the North American neighbors remains tariff-free under existing exemptions.Besides probing pharmaceuticals and chips imports, Trump has already imposed steep duties of 50 percent on steel and aluminum, alongside lower levies on autos and parts.In the same CNBC interview Tuesday, Trump said he expects to raise the US tariff on Indian imports “very substantially over the next 24 hours” due to the country’s purchases of Russian oil.This is a key revenue source for Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine.His pressure on India comes after signaling fresh sanctions on Moscow if it did not make progress by Friday towards a peace deal with Kyiv, more than three years since Russia’s invasion.Moscow is anticipating talks this week with the US leader’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and the Kremlin has criticized Trump’s threat of raising tariffs on Indian goods.Weak employment data last week pointed to challenges for the US economy as companies take a cautious approach in hiring and investment while grappling with Trump’s radical — and rapidly changing — trade policy.The tariffs are a demonstration of raw economic power that Trump sees as putting US exporters in a stronger position while encouraging domestic manufacturing by keeping out foreign imports.But the approach has raised fears of inflation and other economic fallout in the world’s biggest economy.

Brazilian congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro is hailed by some as a slayer of tyrants in defense of his coup-accused father.For others, he is a “traitor” responsible for Washington’s punitive tariffs on the largest economy in South America.The 41-year-old lawyer is the son of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, with whom he shares a circle of far-right acquaintances, a hatred of communism, a fondness for weapons and skepticism about climate change.For years, he has been the defender-in-chief of his father, who risks decades in prison if convicted of plotting to wrest back power after losing the 2022 election to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.Citing political persecution, the younger Bolsonaro took an extended leave of absence in March from his post in Brazil’s lower chamber and relocated to the United States, where he has been lobbying President Donald Trump and his entourage to act in defense of his dad.Last week, Trump announced a massive 50 percent tariff on many Brazilian exports to the United States, citing a “witch hunt” against his ally.Washington also slapped financial sanctions on the presiding judge in the coup case, Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court — whom Eduardo Bolsonaro has repeatedly called a “tyrant” and more recently a “psychopath out of control” for ordering his father placed under house arrest.The younger Bolsonaro openly celebrated the sanctions as a “historic” blow against “judicial persecution” in a post on X, of which he is a prolific user.Many in the deeply divided country took to social media to label him a “hero,” while thousands rallied in the streets Sunday thanking Trump for upping the pressure.The tariff announcement prompted Lula to label the younger Bolsonaro “a traitor to the nation,” while Moraes lambasted acts of “cowardice and treachery.”The Folha de S. Paulo daily, in an editorial, meanwhile called him an “enemy of Brazil” who “does everything to defend his own family, without caring about national interests.”The tariffs have also raised alarm among Brazil’s business class and even some politicians on the right of the spectrum, including Sao Paulo governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who has worried about the impact on his state, Brazil’s richest and most populous.For his efforts, Eduardo Bolsonaro finds himself the target of an investigation, ordered by Moraes, into obstruction of justice in his father’s trial.- Political family -With his piercing gaze and athletic stature, Eduardo Bolsonaro entered politics in 2015 aged 30, vowing to emulate his controversial father, who calls him “zero three” for his birth order — the third of five siblings.He has three brothers also in politics: Flavio, a senator, and Carlo and Renan, city councilors.The younger Bolsonaro holds the record for the most votes ever received for a congressman in Brazil, over 1.8 million in 2018.That same year, he publicly expressed his open disdain for Brazilian institutions by declaring it would take just “a soldier and a corporal to shut down the Supreme Court.”A former senior official of his father’s government has described Eduardo as a “provocateur” who “says whatever he pleases, without necessarily mastering the subject.””The important thing for him is to attract attention, to make noise, even if it harms important relationships for Brazil,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. – ‘Ready’ for the presidency – Eduardo Bolsonaro’s X feed features photos of himself with an array of American right-wing figures: Trump’s sons, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, judge Jeanine Pirro, businessman Mike Lindell and actor Jon Voigt.He is also close to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former strategist.Last November, the younger Bolsonaro proudly posted photos of himself at the election night party Trump hosted at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.Eduardo Bolsonaro has declared himself “ready” to seek Brazil’s highest office if given the green light by his father, whose own political future seems uncertain.But it is a hypothesis deemed unlikely by political scientist Leandro Gabiati of consulting firm Dominium, who said Bolsonaro’s US lobbying has earned him widespread “disapproval.”Furthermore, “everything indicates that he will be arrested” if he returns to Brazil now, said Gabiati.

The United States is rushing to put nuclear power reactors on the Moon and Mars, and hopes to launch the first system by the end of the decade.A new NASA directive — first reported by Politico and seen by AFP on Tuesday — calls for the appointment of a nuclear power czar to select two commercial proposals within six months, framing the push as crucial to outpacing a joint Chinese-Russian effort.Signed by acting NASA chief Sean Duffy, who is also US transportation secretary, the July 31 memo is the latest sign of the agency’s shift towards prioritizing human space exploration over scientific research under President Donald Trump’s second term.”Since March 2024, China and Russia have announced on at least three occasions a joint effort to place a reactor on the Moon by the mid-2030s,” it says. “The first country to do so could potentially declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first.”The idea of using nuclear energy off-planet is not new.Since 2000, NASA has invested $200 million towards developing small, lightweight fission power systems, though none have progressed towards flight readiness, according to the directive.The most recent effort came in 2023 with the completion of three $5 million industry study contracts that focused on generating 40 kilowatts of power, enough to continuously run 30 households for ten years.Unlike solar power, fission systems can operate around the clock — invaluable during the weeks-long lunar nights or Martian dust storms.Advances in technology have made such systems increasingly compact and lightweight. NASA formally committed to using nuclear power on Mars in December 2024 — the first of seven key decisions necessary for human exploration of the Red Planet.Based on feedback by industry, surface power needs should be at least 100 kilowatts to support “long-term human operations including in-situ resource utilization,” meaning things like life support, communications, and mining equipment to collect surface ice. It assumes the use of a “heavy class lander” that carries up to 15 metric tons of mass, and targets a “readiness to launch by the first quarter of FY30,”  meaning late 2029.NASA’s Artemis program to return to the Moon and establish a lasting presence near the south pole has faced repeated delays. The timeline for Artemis 3, the first planned crewed landing, has slipped to 2027, a date few see as realistic given the planned lander, SpaceX’s Starship, is far from ready.China meanwhile is targeting 2030 for its first crewed mission and has proven more adept at meeting its deadlines in recent years.

Donald Trump made an unexpected appearance Tuesday on a White House rooftop and joked about installing nuclear missiles at a time of escalating tensions with Russia.The US president, flanked by bodyguards and under the protection of snipers, strolled for 20 minutes on the flat roof above the press room as he looked across to the site of his proposed new ballroom.Asked why he was on the roof, he replied he was just “taking a little walk.”Quizzed about what he intended to build, he joked “nuclear missiles,” before appearing to mimic the launch of a weapon with his arm.The United States and Russia have engaged in heated rhetoric for several days. Trump last week ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines near Russia in response to remarks he deemed provocative by former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev.- $200 million project -With his planned ballroom and other projects, Trump is determined to leave an imprint on the White House, drawing inspiration from the opulent style of his private properties.He has paved the lawn of the famous Rose Garden and adorned the Oval Office with lavish golden ornamentation.The 79-year-old leader recently announced plans for the ballroom, in what is shaping up to be the most significant project at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in over a century.He has vowed that he — with perhaps some help from private donors — would pay for all the work, estimated at $200 million.”It’s just another way to spend my money for the country,” he said Tuesday.A former reality TV host, Trump is known for his public appearances that are half-comical, half-provocative, delighting his supporters and providing television networks with the images they relish.In 2015, he announced his presidential candidacy after slowly descending a golden escalator. And during the last presidential campaign, he staged photo ops in a garbage truck cabin and served fries in a McDonald’s restaurant.

The US trade gap narrowed in June, government data showed Tuesday, as imports pulled back more than exports while businesses grappled with President Donald Trump’s tariffs on allies and competitors alike.The overall trade deficit in the world’s biggest economy narrowed by 16 percent to $60.2 billion, down from a revised $71.7 billion figure in May, the Department of Commerce said.The narrowing was more than analysts expected but largely reflected a drop in goods imports — including consumer goods as Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs added to businesses’ costs of bringing in foreign products.In April, Trump imposed a 10-percent duty on most US trading partners and he has also slapped much steeper tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos.This baseline tariff is set to rise to varying levels for dozens of economies including Japan and the European Union come Thursday.Given that plans have been set out for higher rates to take effect, policy uncertainty has eased somewhat, said Nationwide financial markets economist Oren Klachkin.”But businesses hoping tariffs were just threats must now adjust to the reality they are here to stay,” he added in a note.”We think the negative impact of high tariff rates will outweigh any positives from lower policy uncertainty,” Klachkin said.The June deficit narrowed on the back of a fall in imports, by 3.7 percent to $337.5 billion, while exports also dropped by 0.5 percent to $277.3 billion.The drop in imports came as those of consumer goods decreased $8.4 billion, while those of industrial supplies and materials fell by $2.7 billion. Imports of autos and parts also dropped by $1.3 billion.The retreat in exports, meanwhile, came as goods exports declined by $1.3 billion, with decreases seen in industrial supplies as well.The goods deficit with China dropped by $4.6 billion, to $9.4 billion in June.Washington and Beijing slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products in April, reaching prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling supply lines between the world’s two biggest economies.But in May, the countries reached a temporary agreement to bring these duties to a lower level until August 12.

US lawmakers on Tuesday subpoenaed former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for testimony on Jeffrey Epstein, in a major escalation of the controversy surrounding the investigation into the notorious sex offender.The Clintons were among multiple former Democratic and Republican government officials — as well as the Justice Department — targeted by investigators reviewing the handling of the disgraced financier’s case after he died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.The White House has been facing increasingly intense demands to be more transparent after the Justice Department angered Trump supporters — many of whom believe Epstein was murdered in a cover-up — when it confirmed last month that he had died by suicide in his prison cell and that his case was effectively closed.The department also said Epstein had no secret “client list” — rebuffing conspiracy theories held by Trump’s far-right supporters about supposedly high-level Democratic complicity.Trump has urged his supporters to drop demands for the Epstein files, but Democrats in the Republican-led Congress — with some support from majority lawmakers — have also been seeking a floor vote to force their release.”By your own admission, you flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane four separate times in 2002 and 2003,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote to former president Clinton.”During one of these trips, you were even pictured receiving a ‘massage’ from one of Mr. Epstein’s victims.”The White House has been seeking to redirect public attention from uproar over its handling of the affair with a series of headline-grabbing announcements including baseless claims that former president Barack Obama headed a “treasonous conspiracy” against Trump.Epstein was for years a friend and associate of Trump and numerous high-profile people before he was convicted of sex crimes and then imprisoned pending trial for allegedly trafficking underage girls.His death supercharged a conspiracy theory long promoted by Trump supporters that Epstein had run an international pedophile ring and that elites wanted to make sure he never revealed their secrets.After Trump returned to power in January, his administration promised to release Epstein case files.- Past relationship -When Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on July 7 that she had nothing to release, Republicans were furious — and Trump has attempted to control the scandal ever since.The case got even more complicated for the president after a Wall Street Journal report that he had written a lewd birthday letter to Epstein in 2003. Trump denies this and has sued the Journal.The Journal then dropped a separate story, saying Bondi had informed Trump in May that his name appeared several times in the Epstein files, even if there was no indication of wrongdoing.Other officials targeted by the Oversight Committee include former FBI director James Comey, former special counsel Robert Mueller and ex-attorney generals Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales. Their depositions will take place between mid-August and mid-October.Comer also issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for records related to Epstein — including its communications with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and his officials.Lawmakers have also been seeking testimony from Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for her role in his alleged crimes — although her cooperation is considered unlikely.The latest move from Comer comes after Democrats on the oversight panel forced a vote to issue a subpoena just before the August recess, with three House Republicans backing the effort.”Justice must apply to everyone, no matter how rich, powerful, or well-connected they are,” said Summer Lee, the Democratic congresswoman who introduced the motion.