Good morning.
Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports from dozens of trade partners, in his latest attempt to reshape the global economy.
However, in a minor reprieve that opens the door to further negotiations, the White House said these measures would take effect in a week, not Friday, the deadline previously set by Trump.
The new rates, which Trump sees as benefiting US exporters, unleash a fresh round of uncertainty for dozens of countries, including longtime US allies. It has also raised fears of inflation in the US.
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Which countries have higher rates? Rates were set at 25% for India’s US-bound exports, 20% for Taiwan and 30% for South Africa. Switzerland faces a rate of 39%. The deadline for a tariff deal with Mexico was extended by another 90 days.
The mathematics of starvation: how Israel caused a famine in Gaza
The mathematics of famine are simple in Gaza. Palestinians cannot leave, war has ended farming and Israel has banned fishing, so practically every calorie its population eats must be brought in from outside.
Israel knows how much food is needed. It has been calibrating hunger in Gaza for decades, initially calculating shipments to exert pressure while avoiding starvation.
“The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger,” a senior adviser to the then prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said in 2006. An Israeli court ordered the release of documents showing the details of those macabre sums two years later.
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What has Israel said? As Gaza has slid into famine this summer, Israeli officials have variously denied the existence of mass starvation, claimed without evidence that Hamas steals and hoards aid, or blamed hunger on UN distribution failures, sharing pictures of aid pallets awaiting collection inside the border.
Virginia Giuffre wanted Epstein documents made public, siblings say
The siblings of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers, who died this year, said their sister had wanted the so-called Epstein files to be released, and urged Trump not to pardon Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
In an interview with NBC News on ThursdayGiuffre’s family said she would have wanted the documents – a trove of materials related to the investigation into the late sex offender – made public.
“She had a little bit of hope in her because it was said that the files were going to be released,” Amanda Roberts, Giuffre’s sister-in-law, told the network in an interview, saying Giuffre would have wanted “transparency and justice” for his victims.
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What did they say about Trump’s comments this week that Epstein ‘stole’ Giuffre and others from Mar-a-Lago? “She’s not an object, she’s a person,” Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, said through tears. “She’s a mom. She’s a sister. And she was recruited by Maxwell. She wasn’t stolen.”
In other news …
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Joe Biden toid the US was facing an “existential” fight and marginalized groups were “dramatically under attack”. The former president said some politicians watched deportations of legal immigrants with “glee”, in a speech to the National Bar Association gala.
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Justin Timberlake has said he is suffering from Lyme disease, a serious illness usually contracted after being bitten by a tick. There has been an upsurge in prevalence of the disease across a swathe of the US in recent years.
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The historian Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, has cancelled plans to teach this fall, in response to the school’s recent agreement with the Trump administration.
Stat of the day: Trump to build ‘beautiful’ $200m ballroom at White House
The White House will soon begin construction of a new $200m ballroom to be ready before Donald Trump’s term ends in early 2029. The press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the building would be 90,000 sq ft (8,300 sq metres) and would hold up to 650 seats. It will be the latest change introduced to what’s known as “the People’s House” since the Republican president returned to office in January.
Don’t miss this: The enduring brilliance of Peter Sellers – ‘There’s never been a better comic actor’
The actor was born 100 years ago – and his performances still induce hysteria today. Fans and collaborators such as Michael Palin, Woody Allen and Lesley-Anne Down explain why. “Spike was the imaginative genius who wrote The Goon Show but it was Sellers who brought me to tears with his gallery of unforgettable characters: Major Bloodnok, Bluebottle, Henry Crun, Hercules Grytpype-Thynne,” Palin says.
Climate check: Monarch butterflies’ mass die-off in 2024 caused by pesticide exposure, says study
A 2024 mass monarch butterfly die-off in southern California was probably caused by pesticide exposure, new peer-reviewed research finds. Researchers discovered hundreds of butterflies that had died or were dying in January 2024. Testing of 10 of the insects revealed an average of seven pesticides in each, and at levels that researchers suspect were lethal.
Last Thing: Labubu for life – how did a viral doll became a ‘social currency’? Just ask these diehard fans
Since hitting the market in 2019, Labubus have become a global phenomenon. Their popularity has been fueled by social media posts of live unboxings that showcase rare collections. Launches of new editions sell out on Pop Mart within minutes, sending the company’s profits soaring over the past year. Avid collectors say that acquiring the dolls has become almost like a “social currency”, according to one meet-up attender.
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