United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting major US tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their tariff rate within a week. “Based on this egregious tax, we are hereby terminating all discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. He added that Canada will soon find out the levy it needs to pay to do business in the United States, calling his country’s northern neighbour “very difficult” to trade with. Washington has previously taken issue with Canada’s digital services tax, requesting dispute settlement talks last year over the matter. While Canada’s digital services tax is not new — it was enacted last year — US service providers are “on the hook for a multi-billion dollar payment in Canada” by June 30, noted the Computer and Communications Industry Association. While Canada has been spared from some of Trump’s most sweeping duties, such as a 1...
At least 11 people died and six others were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat and Malakand districts on Friday amid flash floods triggered by heavy rains, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). Earlier today, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Faizi said that nine bodies were recovered among 16 people who went missing in the Swat River this morning, with three people being rescued. A search operation to find the four remaining people was underway, he added. The PDMA data showed that 10 people were killed in Swat while one person was killed in Malakand. It also revealed that 56 houses had been damaged in Swat due to the flooding. The report also said that a total of 120 people were trapped, with 107 of them being rescued by Swat Rescue 1122. “All concerned Departments, Rescue 1122 are actively deployed in the field, conducting roundtheclock operations to ensure maximum safety and relief,” it added. Screengrab from a report by KP PDMA, June 27. Separately, KP Chief Secretary Shahab A...
Robinhood continues to expand its crypto services offering with micro futures contracts on leading assets. Digital brokerage Robinhood has launched micro futures contracts for Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP), giving crypto traders the ability to trade derivatives with significantly lower capital requirements. The new offering was officially unveiled in the United States on Friday, expanding on Robinhood’s existing crypto futures products for Bitcoin and Ether (ETH). Micro futures contracts are smaller versions of standard futures contracts, allowing traders to speculate on an asset’s price movements with a much lower upfront investment. Read more