DAVOS: Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced cautious optimism on Tuesday on the potential for German-US relations under President Donald Trump, citing good first talks with his administration, and stressed that cooperation was key for peace and prosperity.
“The United States is our closest ally outside Europe. And I will do everything in my power to ensure that it stays that way,” Scholz said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“My first good conversations with President Trump and also the contacts between our advisers point in this direction,” he added.
Speaking on the first full day of Trump’s new term in office, Scholz said cooperation between Europe and the United States was key for peace and security worldwide as well as economic progress.
However, the German chancellor added that Europe must become more self-reliant.
Germany’s ambassador to Washington has warned internally of turbulent relations under Trump while German companies have sounded the alarm over threatened tariffs under the new US administration.
Scholz cautiously optimistic on US-German partnership after first Trump talks
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Scholz cautiously optimistic on US-German partnership after first Trump talks
- “The United States is our closest ally outside Europe,” Scholz said
- Speaking on the first full day of Trump’s new term in office, Scholz said cooperation between Europe and the US was key for peace and security worldwide
Trump outlines potential fighter jet plans in Gulf tour
- President says US studying a twin-engined F-55 and upgraded ‘F-22 Super’
DOHA: The US is examining the development of a twin-engined warplane known as the F-55 and an upgrade to its Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor called the F-22 Super, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
Trump was speaking at a meeting of business leaders, including the heads of Boeing and GE Aerospace in Doha, a day after announcing a string of business deals, including an order from Qatar for 160 Boeing commercial jets.
Trump referred to the F-55 both as an upgrade to the Lockheed F-35 and a new development in comments that appeared to echo talk by the US arms giant of a “best value” alternative, after losing out to Boeing to replace the F-22 superfighter.
He also highlighted the role of the new air dominance platform called the F-47, recently awarded to Boeing, and said the US was simultaneously looking at upgrading the stealth fighter that it is designed to replace, the F-22.
“We’re going to do an F-55 and — I think, if we get the right price, we have to get the right price — that’ll be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35, and then we’re going to do the F-22,” Trump said.
“I think the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22, but we’re going to do an F-22 Super, and it’ll be a very modern version of the F-22 fighter jet,” he said.
“We’re going to be going with it pretty quickly,” he added.
Trump last month awarded Boeing the contract for the F-47 — a replacement for the Lockheed F-22 stealth fighter featuring a crewed aircraft flanked by a cohort of drones and seen as America’s most advanced or sixth-generation fighter.
Lockheed Martin, which lost out to Boeing in that Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, competition and was dropped from a separate contest for a new US Navy stealth jet, has said it is now looking at plans for a “fifth-generation-plus” fighter.
CEO James Taiclet told analysts last month that Lockheed was looking at ways of applying technology developed for its losing bid for the F-47 contract to the F-35, delivering 80 percent of the capability for half the cost.
“We’re basically going to take the chassis and turn it into a Ferrari,” he told analysts.
Lockheed did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump had revealed the name of this project.
Lockheed is separately in the midst of a delayed technology and software upgrade for the existing generation of F-35 strike fighter to boost cockpit displays and processing power.
Analysts said it was not immediately clear how Trump’s list of potential developments fitted into known programs and spending plans, or the timing of existing programs.
Agency Partners aerospace analyst Nick Cunningham said the F-55 may alternatively refer to the F/A-XX program, intended to replace the US Navy’s aging Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet with the service’s sixth-generation stealth fighter.
The Navy and Congress are battling with the administration to keep the plans moving forward, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Man is charged in fires targeting properties linked to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, is due to appear in court on Friday
LONDON: A 21-year-old man was charged Thursday with three counts of arson for fires that targeted two properties and a car linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Metropolitan Police force said Roman Lavrynovych, who was arrested Tuesday, was charged with arson with intent to endanger life.
The charges are linked to three incidents over the past week — a car fire on May 8, a fire Monday at Starmer’s private home that damaged the door of the house, and a fire Sunday outside a north London house converted into apartments connected to the UK leader. No injuries were reported from any of the fires.
Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, is due to appear in court on Friday. After he was arrested, Lavrynovych has remained in custody after warrants of further detention were obtained, the police said in a statement.
Starmer moved with his family to the prime minister’s official Downing Street residence after taking office in July.
The investigation was led by counterterrorism detectives as it involves the prime minister. Authorities are also probing whether there was state involvement as well as looking at other potential motivations.
Earlier this week, Starmer said the recent arson attacks represented “an attack on all of us, on democracy and the values that we stand for.”
The attacks were condemned by leaders across the House of Commons, including by the Conservative Party’s Kemi Badenoch, who described them as “completely unacceptable.”
Starmer’s former house has attracted protesters in the past. Last year, three pro-Palestinian activists were arrested and charged with public order offenses after unfurling a banner covered in red handprints outside the building.
EU foreign policy chief proposes further loosening of Syria sanctions
- Prominent human rights lawyer says lasting peace depends on country building strong judicial system
BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has proposed a further loosening of European sanctions on Syria to allow funding for Syrian ministries in areas including reconstruction and migration, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The move comes after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria.
EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the relationship with Damascus at a meeting in Brussels next week.
The EU has already eased sanctions related to energy, transport, and reconstruction, as well as associated financial transactions, but some member states have pushed for further relief to help smooth Syria’s transition.
French President Emmanuel Macron said this month, after hosting Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, that Paris would push the EU to end its sanctions when they come up for renewal.
The bulk of sanctions imposed since 2013 are renewed annually on June 1.
With the World Bank estimating Syria’s reconstruction costs at more than $250 billion, Syria’s new authorities have been lobbying European countries for relief from the tough Western sanctions imposed on the former government of Bashar Assad.
Under the new proposal, dated May 14, the EU would allow member states to provide funding to Syria’s ministries of defense and interior for cooperation “in the areas of reconstruction, capacity-building, counterterrorism and migration,” the document said.
A special provision would allow EU member states more room for maneuver in dealing with Syrian state-owned entities when it comes to the destruction of chemical weapons.
The new proposal would lift sanctions on the Commercial Bank of Syria, while retaining measures targeting individuals linked to Assad’s former administration.
Officials are also discussing whether to lift sanctions on Syria’s central bank, three diplomats said.
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Austria have circulated a joint document, seen by Reuters, calling for lifting sanctions on Syria’s central bank and financial institutions.
“The objective is to provide additional space for socio-economic recovery,” the four countries wrote.
Prominent Syrian human rights lawyer Mazen Darwish said lasting peace in Syria depends on the country building a strong judicial system, giving justice to the victims of all crimes committed during the Bashar Assad era.
“We believe that the Syrians who paid the heavy cost to reach this moment will not accept changing one dictatorship into another,” Mazen Darwish said in an interview in Stockholm.
He is one of the most high-profile rights advocates for Syria.
Darwish was in Stockholm with his wife Yara Bader to receive an award for their work running the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression.
North Macedonia’s path toward full EU membership stalled by impasse with Bulgaria
- Change constitution to include protections for Bulgarian minority to be able to get full EU membership, North Macedonia told
SKOPJE, North Macedonia: European Council President António Costa on Thursday called on North Macedonia to change its constitution to include protections for its Bulgarian minority as a way for the country to continue its path toward full European Union membership.
The EU started membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia in 2022, as the war in Ukraine forced a rethink of the bloc’s enlargement process.
North Macedonia’s bid was delayed by a dispute with Bulgaria over Balkan history, language and culture. To break the impasse, North Macedonia’s previous center-left government accepted a Bulgarian demand to insert a reference to the Bulgarian ethnic minority in North Macedonia’s constitution. However, that administration lacked the parliamentary majority to implement the change.
Costa said that the small Balkan country should now deliver what was previously agreed upon.
“I know how difficult it is to achieve. Now is the time to conclude the whole thing and open a new page,” Costa told reporters at a news conference in the North Macedonian capital, Skopje, alongside the country’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
Mickoski, for his part, said the bloc’s enlargement must be based on merits, not bilateral issues. His conservative government, which came to power last year, has said it will only amend the constitution if Bulgaria first approves North Macedonia’s EU membership.
“We have a problem, and it should be a two-way street. If only one side delivers, it is not realistic,” he said.
Costa is visiting six Western Balkan countries, which are at different stages on their path to full EU membership. Montenegro and Albania have been at the forefront while Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia are lagging behind.
In Tirana, his last stop of the regional tour, Costa hailed Albania for being “on track to join the European Union.”
“Keeping up the pace and intensifying work on European Union reforms is now key, particularly rule of law and fight against corruption,” said Costa at a news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Rama’s Socialist Party says it can deliver EU membership in five years, an ambitious pledge as he confronts an opposition that argues Albania isn’t ready for EU membership.
In Tirana, Costa will co-host the European Political Community, a forum that gathers 47 European leaders with the aim of boosting security and prosperity across the continent.
Trump says urged Apple to manufacture in US not India
- Apple CEO said in May majority of iPhones in sold in US would have India as country of origin
- India, hit by US tariffs, has threatened to retaliate response to increased duties on steel, aluminum
DOHA: US President Donald Trump said Thursday he urged Apple to manufacture its products in the United States instead of India, where the US tech giant has said it would be shifting production after US tariffs on China.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said, referring to Apple’s CEO, during a multi-day tour of the Gulf. “I said, Tim, we treated you really good. We put up with all the plants that you built in China for years now.”
The president said he told Cook: “We’re not interested in you building in India... we want you to build here and they’re going to be upping their production in the United States.”
On Monday, the US and China announced an agreement to suspend tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, de-escalating a trade war that has spooked financial markets and raised fears of a global economic downturn.
Prior to the agreement between Beijing and Washington, Cook said Apple was “not able to precisely estimate the impact of tariffs.”
When presenting the tech company’s first-quarter profits in early May, Cook said he expected “a majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin.”
He warned of the uncertain impact of the 145 percent US tariffs on products from China — the company’s long-time manufacturing hub — despite a temporary reprieve for high-end tech goods such as smartphones and computers.
Although completed smartphones are exempted from Trump’s tariffs for now, not all components that go into Apple devices are spared.
Apple expects US tariffs to cost $900 million in the current quarter, even though their impact was “limited” at the start of this year, according to Cook.
India, also hit by US tariffs, threatened on Tuesday to take retaliatory measures in response to the increased duties on steel and aluminum.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Thursday trade negotiations between India and the United States are ongoing, and any agreement should be mutually beneficial.
Apple announced in February it would invest more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years and promised to hire 20,000 people in the country.
“Apple’s already in for 500 billion but they’re going to be upping their production, so it’ll be great,” Trump said in Qatar.
