Brics leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran. The 11 emerging nations — including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — account for about half the world’s population and 40 per cent of global economic output. The bloc is divided about much, but found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars — even if it avoided naming him directly. Voicing “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff” measures, Brics members said the tariffs risked hurting the global economy, according to a summit joint statement. Trump fired back at the bloc directly on social media on Sunday night. “Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of Brics will be charged an additional 10 per cent Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Earlier, Brics also offered symbolic backing to fellow member Iran, condemn...
JERUSALEM, July 6: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he believed his discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday would help advance talks on a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal that Israeli negotiators resumed in Qatar on Sunday. Israeli negotiators taking part in the ceasefire talks have clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire […]
Congress passed the Big Beautiful Bill, Trump’s budget proposal, which could benefit Bitcoin, analysts say. On July 3, the US Congress passed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. President Donald Trump’s bill offers little to the crypto industry, but it could benefit Bitcoin all the same. Trump’s budget proposal passed in the late hours of July 3 entirely along partisan lines; only two Republicans voted against the controversial bill, which will significantly increase the US government’s borrowing ability. It has drawn significant criticism from Democrats and even from current and former Trump allies like Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Notably absent from the bill were proposed amendments to the cryptocurrency tax code. As the bill worked through the Senate, lawmakers attempted to tack on a number of provisions regarding crypto, but to no avail. Read more
Bitcoin has historically posted double-digit gains in the weeks following the passage of major US debt-expanding bills. Will 2025 follow the same pattern? Key points: Bitcoin gained 38% when US President Trump signed a major spending bill in late 2020. Doing so again would put BTC/USD at $150,000 as Trump prepares to sign his “Big Beautiful Bill” into law. Read more
President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill was in limbo early Thursday as Republican leaders in the US Congress scrambled to win over a group of rebels threatening to torpedo the centrepiece of the president’s domestic agenda. Trump is seeking final approval in the House of Representatives for his Senate-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” — but faces opposition on all sides of his fractious party over provisions set to balloon the national debt while launching a historic assault on the social safety net. As midnight (9am PKT) struck, House Speaker Mike Johnson was still holding open a key procedural vote — the bill’s last hurdle before it can advance to be considered for final approval — more than two hours after it was first called. With no clear sign of the stalemate breaking, his lieutenants huddled in tense meetings behind the scenes with the rebels who had either voted no or had yet to come to the House floor. “We’re going to get there tonight. We’re working on it and very, very positive about...
With the US president’s ties to his family-backed business, World Liberty Financial, and a memecoin launch, Donald Trump has seen his personal wealth increase by millions in 2025. US President Donald Trump, with an estimated net worth of more than $6 billion, has reportedly added at least $620 million to his portfolio in a matter of months, thanks to ventures connected to the cryptocurrency industry. According to a Wednesday Bloomberg report, Trump’s crypto holdings represented “a sizeable portion” of his wealth for the first time, mainly due to windfalls from his family-backed crypto business World Liberty Financial and his personal memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP). Though the bulk of his net worth comprised stakes in his media venture, Trump Media and Technology Group, and real estate, crypto ventures reportedly accounted for roughly 9% of his wealth as of June. Read more
US President Donald Trump urged Hamas on Tuesday to accept a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, saying that Israel had agreed to finalise such a deal, as its forces also stepped up operations in the Palestinian territory. Nearly 21 months of relentless Israeli bombardment have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations. The civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 14 people today. Trump, in a post on social media, said his representatives had met with Israeli officials about the raging conflict, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington next week. “Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60-day ceasefire, during which time we will work with all parties to end the war,” Trump wrote. He said representatives of Qatar and Egypt, mediators in the conflict, would deliver “this final proposal”. “I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this...