disappointed

Switzerland says it will try to negotiate its way out of stiff United States tariffs, hours after US President Donald Trump’s administration shocked the European country by announcing plans to impose a 39-percent tariff rate on Swiss goods.

The Swiss government said on Friday that it was “disappointed” and would decide how to proceed after Trump unveiled the 39-percent rate, more than double the 15 percent being applied for most European Union imports into the US.

The new tariffs, which are set to go into effect on August 7, would prove painful for several key Swiss industries, including manufacturing and watchmaking.

The Swiss government said in a statement on social media that it remains in contact with US authorities and “still hopes to find a negotiated solution”.

“The Federal Council notes with great regret the intention of the US to unilaterally burden Swiss imports with considerable import duties despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerland’s very constructive position,” it added.

The Trump administration unveiled a range of new tariffs on many US trading partners on Thursday, saying the move aimed to address a “continued lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships”.

Nearly 70 countries now face import duties that were due to come into force on Friday. But most will now begin on August 7, giving countries a few days to try to reach an agreement with Washington to stave off or reduce their respective tariff rate.

“Everyone had been focused on August 1 … and now there is a new deadline,” Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett reported from the White House on Friday morning.

“The reason is so that there can be a little bit more time and breathing space to get some more deals done. There were a few that were very close but didn’t quite make the deadline, and so the White House [said] this will allow … for these final agreements to be worked out.”

Trump negotiated trade frameworks over the past few weeks with the EU, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines — allowing the US president to claim victories as other nations sought to limit his threat of charging even higher tariff rates.

He said on Thursday there were agreements with other countries, but he declined to name them.

Asked on Friday if countries were happy with the rates set by Trump, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, “A lot of them are.”

The new tariffs also include a 35-percent duty on many goods from Canada, 50 percent for Brazil, and 20 percent for Taiwan. Taiwan said its rate was “temporary” and it expected to reach a lower figure.

The Trump administration said it decided to impose 39-percent tariffs on Switzerland because of what it called the European country’s refusal to make “meaningful concessions” by dropping trade barriers.

“Switzerland, being one of the wealthiest, highest-income countries on Earth, cannot expect the United States to tolerate a one-sided trade relationship,” a White House official said on Friday.

Swissmem, a group representing the mechanical and electrical engineering industries, said it was “really stunned” by the US move. “It’s a massive shock for the export industry and for the whole country,” said Deputy Director Jean-Philippe Kohl.

“The tariffs are not based on any rational basis and are totally arbitrary … This tariff will hit Swiss industry very hard, especially as our competitors in the European Union, Britain and Japan have much lower tariffs.”

Stock market tumbles

But Trump’s new tariffs have created yet more uncertainty, with many details unclear.

Global stock markets stumbled on Friday, with Europe’s  STOXX 600 down 1.8 percent on the day and 2.5 percent on the week, on track for its biggest weekly drop since Trump announced his first major wave of tariffs on April 2.

Wall Street also opened sharply lower on Friday.

Reporting from the New York Stock Exchange, Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey explained that US markets were “definitely down” following the tariffs announcement, but the drop was not as bad as what was seen after the first round of tariffs in April.

“When the first round of tariffs were enacted, the market did drop substantially, but then clawed back a lot of the losses about a month later as deals were worked out. A lot of economists are saying that this time around, the market has priced in tariffs,” Saloomey said.

Still, she said, “the concern is still that the underlying fundamentals of the economy are under strain and the full weight of the tariffs” has yet to be seen.

LONDON — Before Wimbledon began, Coco Gauff reflected on the significance of her breakthrough performance at the place six years ago — a run to the fourth round at age 15 — and what aspirations she harbored as she prepared to return.

“Even when I see videos of me during that time, it just doesn’t feel like it’s me. It felt like a dream. I’ll always have special memories from that run and, I guess, it definitely fueled the belief that I can be on tour and live out my dream,” she told The Associated Press.

“It’s something that always holds a special place in my heart. Obviously, I would love to win this tournament just for it to be like a full-circle moment,” she continued. “I feel like it would be like the start of the dream, and — I don’t want to say ‘the finish,’ because I obviously have a lot of career left, but — a full-circle type of situation.”

A week after that conversation, the No. 2-ranked Gauff was out of the bracket at the All England Club in the first round with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 loss to unseeded Dayana Yastremska at No. 1 Court on Tuesday night. Gauff was undone by serving troubles, including nine double-faults, and more than two dozen unforced errors in all, not to mention Yastremska’s hard, flat groundstrokes.

It was an abrupt, and mistake-filled, exit for Gauff, who so recently earned her second Grand Slam title — at the French Open via a three-set victory over No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

After Tuesday’s defeat, Gauff said, “I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. The main thing I’m sure my team and everyone is going to tell me (is): ‘You did well at Roland-Garros. Don’t be so upset.’ Things like that.”

But as much as she’ll want to move on and focus on what’s to come, the 21-year-old American acknowledged as she dabbed away the tears welling in her eyes during her news conference that she felt “a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today.”

It’s instructive to remember — setting aside that captivating 2019 debut, which featured a victory over Venus Williams — that Wimbledon’s grass courts actually have produced Gauff’s least successful Grand Slam results.

Yastremska’s take? She said she considers Gauff “much better on clay court and hard court than on grass.”

This was the second time in the past three years that she was sent home in the opening round. She’s never been past the fourth round at the All England Club, whereas at every other major tournament, including the hard-court Australian Open, she’s at least reached the semifinals.

Her first Slam trophy arrived on the hard courts of the U.S. Open in 2023 when she was 19. She already was the 2022 runner-up on the red clay at the French Open before going one step better this time.

Sabalenka’s self-described “unprofessional” comments after last month’s title match in Paris became a real topic of conversation and, perhaps, a distraction. Gauff and Sabalenka sought to put it behind them — and tell fans they should, too — by filming TikTok videos together once they got to Wimbledon.

“I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,” Gauff said, “so I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.”

It’s not easy to manage the tricky transition from the Roland-Garros clay to the Wimbledon grass. There’s a reason it’s been a decade since a woman won both in the same season — and a reason that woman was Serena Williams.

By the end of the night, Gauff was eager to look ahead to the upcoming North American hard-court circuit, culminating with a trip to New York in late August.

“I mean, obviously I’m not going to dwell on this too long, because I want to do well at the U.S. Open. Maybe losing here (in the) first round isn’t the worst thing in the world,” she said, “because I have time to reset.”

Fendrich writes for the Associated Press.

Monty Don was on hand to give viewers at home tips on how to harvest elephant garlic, but some BBC Gardeners’ World fans were left ‘in shock’ at the results

Gardeners’ World fans were in for a treat as the show aired on Thursday, a day ahead of its usual schedule, to make way for the Glastonbury Festival coverage. In the latest episode, Monty Don demonstrated how to harvest elephant garlic, explaining to viewers that despite its name, it’s actually a type of leek and boasts a milder flavour than traditional garlic.

The green-fingered guru, aged 69, approached a bed of the oversized plant, declaring it was ripe for picking. He advised BBC viewers to always use a fork when lifting the garlic to preserve the roots, essential for storage, reports the Express.

Monty shared further advice, noting, “It stores very well, it’s easier to use, and it doesn’t dominate in the way that garlic can do.”

However, the episode took a turn when he discovered some of the regular garlic bulbs had succumbed to rot. He remarked, “That’s no good. Interesting.”

Upon unearthing another spoiled clove, Monty described it as “completely horrible” and added “Look how that’s rotted. The cloves are in there, but I don’t think they would keep.”

Puzzled by the unexpected decay, Monty wondered: “No, no, no. What I am asking myself is why this garlic from a very reputable supplier, for the first time ever since I’ve grown garlic, is no good. It’s rotting. It’s difficult to see if there’s a virus or a fungal problem.

“But the elephant garlic in the same bedding and in the same growing conditions is untouchable.”

Monty revealed his decision to avoid planting in that particular garden bed for the next three years after showing his garlic crops succumbing to rot.

The response from viewers watching at home was swift, with several taking to X to express their reactions to Monty’s gardening mishap.

One viewer sympathised on Twitter, “Oh a garlic fail for @TheMontyDon Disaster! #GardenersWorld.”

Another joined in with a sigh, “Disappointing garlic.”

A third shared their concern, tweeting “That was worrying about @TheMontyDon’s garlic #GardenersWorld.”

A fourth found humour in the situation, jokingly tweeting “Maybe a vampire is buried under that bed. #gardenersworld.”

Gardeners’ World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

THE opening ceremony at Glastonbury has been branded a flop by disappointed festival-goers.

Disgruntled revellers called out a fireworks display and criticized sound issues at the iconic event in Somerset this evening.

6

6

6

One festival goer told The Sun: “The opening ceremony started 10 minutes late, there was a huge choir on stage that no one could hear.

“All we could hear was the sound of a couple of drums.

“It was a massive fireworks display with no music, the whole silence lasted 30 minutes.”

And their comments were echoed by fellow visitors, one fuming reveller penned on X: “Not good from a sound standpoint. I think you have let the performers down here to say the least.”

“Sack the sound guy,” wrote another.

A third agreed: “Is there meant to be no sound at the #Glastonbury2025 opening ceremony? Local regs? Crowds a bit restless at the back.”

“Where’s the sound? Kicked out of Greenpeace for crowds. No sound and lost audience at opening ceremony. Get it together,” posted someone else.

One fuming ticket-holder slammed: “No sound. Can’t hear anything. Underwhelming.”

The Sun contacted Glastonbury for comment.

It comes as thousands arrived to set up camp for the first day of Glastonbury today.

But revellers at the festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, faced a drenching – after the Met Office forecast rain and thunderstorms.

However, temperatures are set to soar by the weekend, with highs of 30C.

Although it could be a messy start to the festival, with its 1,500 acres of farmland turning into a mud bath in previous years.

While the festival is best known for its music, revellers can enjoy the range of stalls, set up their tents and explore the grounds in the meantime before the main performances kick off on Friday.

Opening headliner The 1975 take to the stage at 10pm, while acts such as Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Charli XCX, and Doechii will perform on Saturday.

6

6

6

Sunday is due to see Rod Stewart gracing his fans – with Lewis Capaldi also set to make a sensational return to music.

The singer will be dropping his comeback single at the festival.

The release, Lewis’ first since he put out Strangers and A Cure For Minds Unwell in January last year, coincides with his secret set on the Pyramid Stage at Glasto.

As the gates to Worthy Farm opened to let the first of this year’s revellers through, a source said: “Lewis took a decent chunk of time away and now he’s ready for his fans to hear what he has been working on.

“Tomorrow is a huge day for him. He will be releasing a brand new single and it is his Pyramid Stage performance. He is in a great place and feels ready to come back into the spotlight.”

Lewis’ last performance at Glastonbury on that very stage in 2023 ended in tears, with the Someone You Loved star breaking down before cutting the set short.

However, Amyle and the Sniffers’ upcoming set is still hanging in the balance after illness swept through the band and their team.

The Aussie rockers were forced to cancel their Vienna gig on Monday after two band members and a crew member came down with “a very nasty virus”.

And it comes just days before they’re due to hit the stage at Worthy Farm.

Meanwhile, a huge US popstar has hinted that they’re the secret act ‘Patchwork’ at the festival.

Ever since organisers revealed the full line-up and stage times for Glasto, revellers have been trying to work out who the mysterious act is.

At the beginning of the month, Glastonbury organisers shared the complete schedule.

However, there are still several ‘TBA’ slots that hint at secret sets on the Pyramid Stage and beyond.

Now fans have a brand new theory about who could make a surprise appearance at the legendary festival.

On the 2025 Glastonbury schedule, the Saturday 6.15pm slot has a mysterious act called “Patchwork” pencilled in, and fans have been trying to work out what it means.

Now fans are convinced that Chappell Roan is “Patchwork” after she posted a telling clue on Instagram.

It came after the Pink Pony Club star shared a picture of herself holding a patchwork quilt, and wrote next to it: “Insane vibe.”

Glastonbury 2025 – confirmed acts so far

TICKETS to the 2025 festival sold out in just minutes before some of the acts were even confirmed. Here is who has been confirmed so far.

Confirmed headliners:

• The 1975 will take to the Pyramid Stage on Friday.
• Neil Young will headline the festival for the second time after his last set in 2009 on Saturday after RAYE makes her return.
• Charli xcx will headline the Other Stage on Saturday night.
• On Sunday, Olivia Rodrigo is due to belt out her hits for her first appearance while Rod Stewart will perform in the legends slot.
• More acts to appear on the Other Stage include Loyle Carner and The Prodigy.
• Doechii will make her Glastonbury debut on the West Holts Stage on Saturday night.
• Other names confirmed include Noah Kahan, Alanis Morissette, Gracie Abrams, Busta Rhymes, Lola Young, Brandi Carlile, Myles Smith, En Vogue, Amaarae, Cymande, Shaboozey, Osees and Gary Numan.

One female holidaymaker who was looking to let her hair down on her trip away to a Spanish hotspot admits she was left disappointed when she got there at the lack of nightlife

Many people head off of their holidays to let their hair down. As well as the beach, a lot of tourists like to enjoy a tipple as the sun goes down and head out to some bars.

However, one female holidaymaker who was after just this admits she was left disappointed when she headed to Spanish city Valencia for a trip away. Chelsie, known as @chelsieelf on Instagram, often shares videos about her travels, which she does while working remotely, with her 12,500 followers. And one of her latest reels sees her strolling around Valencia looking startled at the lack of nightlife.

The caption for the video reads: “When you didn’t read the news and go to Valencia expecting amazing nightlife and late-open bars.”

A new headline flashes up half-way throughout the clip which reads: “Spanish seaside city to close bars early and remove terraces in huge tourism crackdown.”

Following up in the caption of her clip, Chelsie shares things she learned about Valencia on her trip.

She wrote: “Because of too much noise from ppl partying in bars and clubs, recently police enforced closing times of 1am, many places closed at 12. I still found a bar that closed at 3 on a weekday though.”

Talking about more Valencia findings, Chelsie also said that the food is “relatively cheaper than other parts of Spain that tourists visit”. She also mentioned that she loved the “interesting architecture” and said that the best beaches are ‘at least an hour South or North’.

Writing in the comments section, one person in the know said: “Tourism was killing the city, this is a way to crack down on it. Most of the locals now go out outside of the city centre, since the city centre is basically now all Airbnbs.”

Many also mentioned the floods that hit Valencia last year, which killed hundreds of people.

One person said: “Yeah there was also a massive flood that killed a lot of people and Valencia is still recovering from it. It never hurts to learn a bit before traveling.”

While another added: “I’m in Valencia, 7 months ago we had a massive flood, lots of people died and others lost their homes and cars and businesses… so yeah maybe partying is on our minds…”

A third chimed also wrote: “There was a huge flood that people are trying to recover from so people are still mourning.”

Another resident of the city also had a plea, writing: “As a Valencian, please keep coming but being respectful of the culture, nature and residents.”

Elon Musk has criticised one of the signature policies of Donald Trump, marking a break from the US president who he helped to win re-election in 2024.

Last week, the US House of Representatives narrowly passed what Trump calls his “big, beautiful” bill, which includes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and a pledge to increase defence spending. It will now head to the Senate.

Tech titan Musk told the BBC’s US partner CBS News he was “disappointed” by the plan, which he felt “undermines” the work he did for the president on reducing spending.

Musk was enlisted as Trump’s cost-cutting tsar – ending funds for US foreign aid among other projects – before announcing he would step back.

“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly,” Musk said in the interview with CBS Sunday Morning, a clip of which was released by the broadcaster before transmission.

He went on to argue that Trump’s plan “increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it”.

It is thought that the legislation could increase the deficit – or the difference between what the US government spends and the revenue that it receives – by about $600bn (£444bn) in the next fiscal year.

Furthermore, the bill “undermines the work that the Doge team is doing”, Musk said, using the acronym of the cost-cutting advisory body the Department of Government Efficiency.

Referring to Trump’s moniker for the legislation, Musk told CBS: “I think a bill can be big or beautiful. I don’t know if it can be both.”

Musk’s intervention highlights the ongoing tension within Trump’s Republican Party over the tax and spend plans, which faced an uneasy passage through the House due to opposition from different wings of the party.

Long a policy priority of Trump’s, the legislation pledges to extend soon-to-expire tax cuts passed during his first administration in 2017, as well as provide an influx of money for defence spending and to fund the president’s mass deportations.

The bill also proposes increasing to $4tn the debt ceiling – meaning the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow to pay its bills.

Musk’s comments on the issue imply a growing distance from Trump, who he helped to propel back to the White House last year with donations of more than $250m.

They come after the billionaire recently pledged to step back from Doge. Musk had stated that he wanted to help the government cut $1tn in spending by cancelling contracts and reducing the government workforce.

As of April, Doge’s website claims around $175bn has already been saved, but a BBC analysis of this figure shows it lacks some evidence.

Musk also said last week that he planned to do “a lot less” political spending in the future, and that he was committed to leading electric car company Tesla for another five years.

Tesla faced protests, boycotts and a drop in sales over Musk’s work as the Doge chief, including his controversial efforts to lay off thousands of federal workers and curb foreign aid.

Musk defended his actions in his comments last week, saying: “I did what needed to be done.” He and Trump previously justified the cuts as a matter of weeding out what they saw as fraud and abuse within federal spending.