US Issues Notice On Additional 25% Tariffs On India

By Deepak Arora

WASHINGTON: The Donald Trump administration has officially issued a notice regarding the imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, with the punitive duties set to kick in at 12:01 am (EST) on August 27. The notice, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, stated the new levies were in response to "threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation," and India was being targeted as part of that policy....more

India must take Trump's point over Russian oil seriously; Find solution with White House: Nikki Haley

By Deepak Arora

NEW YORK: Donald Trump's Indian-American Republican colleague, Nikki Haley, on Sunday warned India over its Russian oil imports and asked to work on a solution with the White House "sooner the better". According to her, "decades of friendship" would provide a basis to "move past the turbulence" - referring to the ongoing tariff tensions....more

'It Will Last A Couple Of Days': Trump On Gaza Deal Talks

WASHINGTON, Oct 5: President Donald Trump on Sunday said talks on implementing a truce for Gaza will take days, while his foreign policy chief Marco Rubio warned that Israel needs to stop bombing for a hostage release to happen.

"They're in negotiations right now as we speak. They've started the negotiations. It'll last a couple of days," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"We'll see how it turns out. But I'm hearing it's going very well," he added.

In a text exchange with CNN released Sunday, Trump said "yes" when asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on board with ending the military campaign in Gaza.

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas were set to hold talks in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, with Netanyahu expressing hope that hostages held in Gaza could be released within days.

But Rubio called for a halt to Israeli bombing on Gaza.

"I think the Israelis and everyone acknowledge you can't release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop," the secretary of state told CBS News talk show "Face the Nation."

"There can't be a war going on in the middle of it."

The diplomatic push follows the positive response by Hamas to Trump's roadmap for an end to the fighting and the release of captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Rubio told NBC's "Meet the Press" that there were "logistical challenges" to address to pave the way for the hostage release.

He also predicted that the longer-term goals would be "even harder" to attain, in terms of how the war-ravaged territory would be governed and disarming militants.

"You can't set up a government structure in Gaza that's not Hamas in three days. I mean, it takes some time," Rubio told NBC.

Trump told CNN he expected clarity "soon" on whether the Palestinian militant group -- which carried out the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the conflict -- was committed to peace.

The US president added that if Hamas were to refuse to cede power, they would face "Complete Obliteration!"

Move quickly or else...: Trump's fresh warning to Hamas to accept Gaza peace plan

WASHINGTON, Oct 4: US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Palestinian terror group Hamas to "move quickly" to accept his peace plan for war-torn Gaza and thanked Israel for "temporarily stopping the bombing" that killed 10 people in Gaza City.

Asserting that he wouldn't tolerate "any delay", he warned Hamas to cease fighting and lay down its arms or else "all bets will be off". He also assured again that Israel and Hamas will be kept on board with the fragile agreement.

"I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the hostage release and peace deal a chance to be completed. Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let's get this done, fast. Everyone will be treated fairly!" he wrote on Truth Social.

On Friday, Trump asked Hamas to reach a peace deal with Israel by 6 pm on Sunday, warning that "otherwise all hell will break out". Trump also said that Hamas was being given one last chance to accept his peace plan, release the Israeli hostages and call it a day of hostilities, saying "there will be peace one way or the other".

Trump's warning to Hamas came hours after 10 people were killed in a fresh Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, according to Palestinian media. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) did not comment on the air assault.

Quoting The Times of Israel, military sources said the IDF was still conducting defensive operations even though it paused its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah said that Israeli strikes had "significantly subsided". His statement assumed significance as Gaza City had been placed under evacuation orders for weeks amid Israel's ground offensive against Hamas in the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will issue a statement shortly on the progress to a deal to end the war and release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

WHAT IS THE GAZA PEACE PLAN?

The 20-point peace plan calls for an immediate end to fighting in Gaza if both Israel and Hamas accept its terms. Israeli forces would begin pulling back as hostages are released, with Hamas required to free all captives within 72 hours of Israel's acceptance.

In exchange, Israel would release Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including women and children held since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and the Jewish nation's subsequent military operation in Gaza.

Trump, who has been pushing both Israel and Hamas to agree on a peace deal to end the two-year-long Gaza war, outlined the proposal, which lays out a framework for the Palestinian enclave's postwar governance. The White House released the plan, describing it as a roadmap for both ending the conflict and shaping the territory's future administration.

According to the plan, a temporary governing board would be established, chaired by Trump and joined by figures, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The framework makes clear that no one in Gaza would be forced to leave, and stipulates that the fighting would cease immediately if both Israel and Hamas accept the terms.

Hamas had drawn a welcoming response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point peace proposal, including ending the war, Israel's withdrawal and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives.

Another possible boost to peace hopes came with a supportive statement from the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which is smaller than Hamas but seen as more hardline.

The group, which also holds hostages, on Saturday endorsed Hamas's response - a move that could help pave the way for the release of Israelis still held by both parties.

Hamas's response to the plan drew a chorus of optimistic statements by world leaders, who urged an end to the deadliest conflict involving Israel since its creation in 1948 and called for the release of Israelis still held in the enclave.

In Washington, a White House official said on Saturday that Trump was sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Egypt to finalise the technical details of the hostage release and discuss a lasting peace deal.

Netanyahu's office said Israel was preparing for "immediate implementation" of the first stage of Trump's Gaza plan for the release of Israeli hostages following Hamas's response.

Trump Sets Sunday Deadline For Hamas or Face 'All Hell'

WASHINGTON, Oct 3: US President Donald Trump on Friday issued an ultimatum to Hamas to accept his Gaza peace plan by Sunday 6 pm Washington DC time or face "all hell".

"An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER."

Earlier this week, Trump had unveiled the plan along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His peace deal for the Israel and Gaza comes after nearly two years of conflict and has still not been accepted by the Palestinian group.

On Tuesday, Hamas had said they would study the proposal and Trump told reporters that Hamas would have "three or four days" to respond.

He threatened Hamas and said most of them "are surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, 'GO,' for their lives to be quickly extinguished. As for the rest, we know where and who you are, and you will be hunted down, and killed".

The deal calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, the disarmament of Hamas and Israel's gradual withdrawal from Gaza. This would be followed by Trump heading the post-war authority

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the "plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon".

Hamas had maintained that they would only release the remaining hostages for a ceasefire that lasts and Israel's withdrawal. Meanwhile Netanyahu had rejected their terms, saying Hamas should disarm and surrender.

US Government Shuts Down, 1st Since 2018

WASHINGTON, Oct 1: The US government has officially shut down after Democrats blocked a Republican stopgap funding package that didn't address their demands. As part of the measure, the government funding expired as the clock struck midnight, and no one inside the Capitol knows what will happen next.

This is the first government shutdown in over six years, when in 2018-2019 funding for the government lapsed for five weeks, including over New Year's Day, during Trump's first term.

A shutdown would see nonessential operations grind to a halt, leaving hundreds of thousands of civil servants temporarily without pay, and payment of many social safety net benefits potentially disrupted.

Essential workers, including military personnel, will have to work without pay, while non-essential federal employees will be sent on furlough. Per nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates, as many as 750,000 federal workers could be temporarily furloughed, even if Trump doesn't proceed with permanent dismissals.

The president raised the stakes in the fight, telling reporters Tuesday his administration may permanently fire "a lot" of federal workers in the event of a shutdown. The federal government typically temporarily furloughs non-essential workers during a funding lapse and later gives them back pay when the shutdown ends.

When a lapse in funding occurs, the law requires federal agencies to cease activity and furlough their "non-excepted" employees. "Excepted employees" include those who perform work to protect life and property. They stay on the job but don't get paid until after the shutdown has ended.

Therefore, in-hospital medical care, border protection, law enforcement and air-traffic control are likely to continue during the stoppage. Social security and Medicare cheques will also be sent out, but benefit verification and card issuance could stop.

Government functions, like NASA's space missions, President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and certain public health work at the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture, would also continue during a shutdown.

But there could be travel delays if the congressional standoff drags on and unpaid workers stop showing up.

Generally, during shutdowns, essential workers continue their work normally, some even without regular pay cheques – but federal employees deemed non-essential are sent on temporary unpaid leave. In the past, these workers have then been paid retrospectively.

That means that services like the federally funded food assistance programme, food inspections, government pre-schools, the issuing of student loans, immigration hearings, and operations at national parks may be curtailed or closed.

While the larger economy may not feel the impacts right away, a prolonged closure could slow economic growth, disrupt markets, and erode public confidence.

According to a report, this shutdown is likely to be bigger than the one in late 2018 during Trump's first term as president, when Congress had passed some funding bills.

Analysts have estimated this shutdown could shave around 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points off economic growth for each week that it lasts.

US budget stand-offs have become routine as the nation's politics have grown more dysfunctional. This time around, Democrats have insisted that any spending bill must include additional healthcare subsidies, while Republicans have insisted that the two issues should be dealt with separately.

Trump has added fuel to the fire. Ahead of Tuesday's vote, he threatened to cancel programs favoured by Democrats and fire more federal workers if the government shuts down.

"We'll be laying off a lot of people," he told reporters. "They're going to be Democrats."

Such layoffs would lead to further brain drain for the government. More than 150,000 workers are due to leave federal payrolls this week after taking a buyout, the biggest exodus in 80 years. Tens of thousands more have already been fired this year. Trump has also refused to spend billions of dollars approved by Congress, prompting some Democrats to question why they should vote for any spending bills at all.

With no sign of compromise on Capitol Hill, it was unclear how long a shutdown would play out. Congress has shut down the government 15 times since 1981, with most lasting a day or two. The most recent, during Trump's first term, was also the longest.

This time, health care is the sticking point. Democrats say any spending bill must also make permanent Affordable Care Act subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year. Without a fix, healthcare costs for 24 million Americans will rise sharply, with a disproportionate impact in Republican-controlled states like Florida and Texas that have refused to enact other aspects of the law that provide coverage to low-income people. Democrats have also sought to ensure that Trump will not be able to undo those changes if they are signed into law.

Republicans say they are open to a fix but accuse Democrats of holding the budget hostage to satisfy the demands of their base voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake.

Trump Gives Hamas 3-4 Days To Reply To Peace Plan, Warns Of 'Sad End'

WASHINGTON, Sept 30: US President Donald Trump has said that Hamas has three to four days to respond to his 20-point peace proposal. The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and Israel's gradual withdrawal from Gaza. It also proposes a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

Trump, while answering questions at the White House, said that he will give Hamas about 3-4 days to respond to his peace plan. He said that the rest of the parties involved are all signed up, and they are just waiting for Hamas.

Trump issued a harsh warning, "All of the Arab countries are signed up. The Muslim countries are all signed up. Israel is all signed up. We're just waiting for Hamas, and Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it's not, it's going to be a very sad end."

The Republican leader's comments come a day after he unveiled the 20-point peace plan.

"Hamas has begun a series of consultations within its political and military leaderships, both inside Palestine and abroad," said a Palestinian source. "The discussions could take several days due to the complexities."

On Monday, Trump described the announcement of the plan as a "beautiful day -- potentially one of the greatest days ever in civilisation".

While holding a press conference with Trump, Netanyahu warned, "I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims," adding, "If Hamas rejects your plan, President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself."

The war in Gaza was triggered by an attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The attack killed 1,219 people in Israel.

The offensive by Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed 66,055 Palestinians, according to figures by the health ministry.