More aid distribution sites are being set up in Gaza with US support, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He described “some loss of control” after Palestinians desperately swarmed a new aid hub in Rafah following nearly three months of Israeli blockade.
Published On 27 May 202527 May 2025
EU official says a trade deal ‘must be guided by mutual respect, not threats’ after the US president says talks with the bloc are ‘going nowhere’.
The European Union has said it will defend its interests after United States President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50-percent tariff on all goods from the 27-member bloc.
The EU’s top trade official, Maros Sefcovic, said in a post on X that he spoke on Friday with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the issue.
“The EU is fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both,” he said, adding that the EU Commission remains ready to work in good faith towards an agreement.
“EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defend our interests.”
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he is “recommending” a huge 50 percent duty on the EU starting on June 1 since talks with them “are going nowhere”.
Speaking later in the Oval Office, the Republican president emphasised that he was not seeking a deal with the EU but might delay the tariffs if more European companies made major investments in the US.
“I’m not looking for a deal,” Trump told the reporters. “We’ve set the deal. It’s at 50 percent.”
European leaders warned the tariffs will hurt both sides.
German economy minister Katherina Reiche said everything must be done “to ensure that the European Commission reaches a negotiated solution with the United States” while French foreign minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the bloc prefers de-escalation but is “ready to respond”.
If implemented, the tariffs would mean that the EU will have higher import taxes on its hundreds of billions worth of exported goods compared with China, which had its tariffs cut earlier this month to allow more negotiations between Washington, DC, and Beijing.
In early April, Trump announced a 20 percent tariff on most EU goods but brought it down to 10 percent until July 8 to allow time for more negotiations.
Trump has complained that existing frameworks are “unfair” to US companies as the European bloc sells more goods to its ally than it buys from it.
Trump on Friday also warned that the US tech giant Apple could also be hit with a 25 percent import tax on all iPhones not manufactured but sold in the US.
His announcements online dealt another blow to stock markets both in the US and in the EU, with the S&P 500 down about 0.8 percent and the pan-European STOXX 600 index falling about 1.2 percent.
The group said it would call for analysis on international supply chain resilience.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven (G7) democracies have pledged to address “excessive imbalances” in the global economy and said they could increase sanctions on Russia.
The G7 announced the plan on Thursday as the officials, who met in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, said there was a need for a common understanding of how “non-market policies and practices” undermine international economic security.
The document did not name China, but references by the United States and other G7 economies to non-market policies and practices often are targeted at China’s state subsidies and export-driven economic model.
The final communique called for an analysis of market concentration and international supply chain resilience.
“We agree on the importance of a level playing field and taking a broadly coordinated approach to address the harm caused by those who do not abide by the same rules and lack transparency,” it said.
European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the G7 ministers discussed proposals for further sanctions on Russia to try to end its war in Ukraine. They included lowering the G7-led $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, given that Russian crude is now selling under that level, he said.
The G7 participants condemned what they called Russia’s “continued brutal war” against Ukraine and said that if efforts to achieve a ceasefire failed, they would explore all possible options, including “further ramping up sanctions”.
Russia’s sovereign assets in G7 jurisdictions would remain immobilised until Moscow ended the war and paid for the damage it has caused to Ukraine, the communique said. It did not mention a price cap.
Brent crude currently trades at around $64 per barrel.
A European official said the US is “not convinced” about lowering the Russian oil price cap.
Earlier this week, the US Treasury said Secretary Scott Bessent intended to press G7 allies to focus on rebalancing the global economy to protect workers and companies from China’s “unfair practices”.
The communique also recognised an increase in low-value international “de minimis” package shipments that can overwhelm customs and tax collection systems and be used for smuggling drugs and other illicit goods.
The duty-free de minimis exemption for packages valued below $800 has been exploited by Chinese e-commerce companies including Shein and Temu.
THE distraught father of drugs charge teenager Bella Culley has vowed to stand by his daughter – amid new fears Far East drugs gangs are targeting British backpackers.
Bella, 18, is on remand in a grim jail following her arrest in Georgia’s Tbilisi airport with a suitcase of cannabis after going missing 4,000 miles away in Thailand.
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Bella’s flight took off from the same Bangkok airport within hours of another pretty British trafficking suspect arrested with £1.2 million of a cannabis-related drug in Sri Lanka.
Former air stewardess Charlotte May Lee, 21, was in a gruesome Sri Lankan jail cell last night awaiting a court appearance.
Their arrests have sparked fears that Thai gangs may be hoodwinking vulnerable British backpackers into ferrying their drugs after a crackdown on postal trafficking.
Bella was facing at least nine months on remand in a grim Soviet-era jail alongside hardened criminals.
She had joked online of “Bonnie and Clyde” hijinks while showing off cash wads in the Far East and was pictured smoking a spliff.
Bella’s family from Billingham, County Durham are convinced she was preyed upon after flying to the Far East to party with a mystery man feared to have hooked her up with drugs runners.
Her dad Niel – a Vietnam-based oil rig electrician – flew to Tbilisi last week desperate for answers after tearful Bella told a court that she was pregnant.
But he has yet to meet his daughter within the drab confines of No5 Women’s Penitentiary on the outskirts of the Georgian capital and remains baffled by her plight.
Asked about his plans after arriving in Tbilisi, Mr Culley, 49, told The Sun today: “I can’t say anything but I will be here for as long as it takes.
“I obviously have no experience in dealing with situations like this and it’s very difficult.”
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Appearing shaky as he puffed on a cigarette, the anxious dad at one point appeared ready to make a statement when asked how his daughter was bearing up in prison.
But he broke off to confer with Bella’s aunt Kerrie Culley – who is supporting him in Georgia – and returned shaking his head.
He added: “I’m being advised by the British Embassy and can’t comment at the moment.
“But that may change in the future depending on what happens.”
Fears are growing that a Thai drugs gang is preying on British backpackers this summer as Charlotte became the second Brit flying out of Bangkok to be arrested within days.
She was detained at Colombo airport in Sri Lanka on Monday – the day after Bella’s arrest – where police say she had a huge stash of kush – a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Charlotte from Chipstead, Surrey was last night locked in a cell with 20 other prisoners with barely room to lie down as she awaited a court hearing.
Bella took off first from Bangkok on a 20-hour flight via Sharjah in the UAE to Georgia while Charlotte left later on a three-hour direct flight to Sri Lanka.
Both girls departed from the Thai capital during the Royal Ploughing Ceremony weekend – one of the busiest festivals of the year when airports are crammed with tourists.
It is believed to have provided a prime opportunity for traffickers to operate mules – particularly attractive young Britons who arouse less suspicion.
The two arrests follow a huge crackdown on smugglers sending cannabis to the UK by post.
A joint operation by both countries has seen a 90 per cent in reduction in the drug being mailed to Britain since last year.
It suggests Thai gangs may now be reverting to using drug mules to ship their products instead – and targeting British backpackers.
Thailand decriminalised cannabis in 2022 which sparked a massive rise in the narcotic being posted to Britain.
The law change allowed traffickers to hoodwink trippers into believing transporting it was legal.
Thai checks of mail being shipped stopped 1.5 tonnes in the first quarter of this year – a 90 percent drop in the illicit cargo – in a drive which frustrated the gangs.
Some 800 people including 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempted smuggling since July 2024 with over nine tonnes of cannabis seized.
Retired Georgian police chief General Jemal Janashia voiced concerns that backpackers were being targeted yesterday.
He said: “The fact that two young British women have taken off with large quantities of drugs from the same airport will interest investigators.
“They will be concerned about the possibility of a link and that Thai gangs may be attempting to recruit vulnerable British travellers.
“After the crackdown on postal drug deliveries, the Thai cartel are seeking new routes and Georgia does look like an attractive middle transit point.
“It’s relatively close, and easy to reach Europe and is visa free to European travellers.”
He added: “I feel sorry for this woman because she was clearly used and manipulated. She’s 18, she’s a foreigner, pregnant.
“All of this indicates that she was chosen deliberately, chosen carefully, she was studied.
“Whoever chose her, they knew what they were doing.”
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The BBC can help tackle a “crisis of trust” in UK society, the broadcaster’s director general has said.
Tim Davie has set out measures he says will allow the broadcaster to play a leading role in reversing a breakdown in trust in information and institutions, as well as combating division and disconnection between people.
They include expanding fact-checking service BBC Verify, giving children lessons about disinformation, and doing more to scrutinise local politicians.
“The BBC is ready to play its full part – not simply defending tradition, but shaping the future,” he said in a speech on Wednesday.
“A future where trusted information strengthens democracy, where every child has a fair start, where creativity fuels growth and social capital, and where no-one is left behind in the digital age.”
Mr Davie added: “The future of our civilised, cohesive, democratic society is, for the first time in my life, at risk.”
The speech to civic and community leaders in Salford set out Mr Davie’s vision for the corporation’s future.
The BBC’s current royal charter, which sets out the terms and purposes of its existence, expires in 2027, and negotiations with the government about its renewal are ramping up.
“We believe that we must reform faster and get more support to avoid decline,” he said.
He said he was not asking for the “status quo” in funding, and said he would “keep an open mind” about the future of the licence fee or what could replace it.
“We want modernisation and reform,” he said. But any future method of funding must ensure the BBC remains a universal service, he stressed.
“All the funding models that have been floated in the debate have their merits and drawbacks. But some such as advertising or subscription don’t pass the test of building a universal trusted public service.
“Beyond that, we keep an open mind. And we continue to actively explore all options that can make our funding model fairer, more modern, and more sustainable.”
He also called for “more help” from the government to fund the World Service, calling it a “priceless national asset”, and saying “the government should invest for significant growth, not survival”.
However, there have been recent reports that ministers are drawing up plans for cuts to World Service funding.
Mr Davie argued that the BBC could play a key part in making the UK a “global leader in trusted information”, support democracy, boost education and economic growth, and improve digital access.
The BBC’s future would involve “doubling down on impartiality, championing free, fair reporting alongside landmark investigative journalism, investing in BBC Verify and InDepth as well as increasing transparency and holding our nerve amidst culture wars”, he said.
The BBC can “help turn the tide” and improve trust by “dramatically increasing” the amound of news coverage on platforms like YouTube and Tik Tok have a stronger presence amid the online noise.
It will combine AI agent technology with BBC journalism to create “a new gold standard fact checking tool”, he said, but without relinquishing editorial oversight.
“Our aim is to work globally with other public service broadcasters to ensure a healthy core of fact-based news.”
The BBC will also:
The BBC says it is the most trusted news provider in the UK, with 45% of the population naming it as the source they trusted the most in 2024. That is down from 57% a decade ago.
Mr Davie also called for a national plan to switch off traditional broadcast transmissions in the 2030s, and ensure a “smooth” transition to internet-only delivery of programmes.
The BBC could launch its own device aimed at people who haven’t switched to streaming, based on the existing Freely online service, Mr Davie said.
“We want to double down on Freely as a universal free service to deliver live TV over broadband.
“And we want to consider developing and launching a streaming media device with Freely capabilities built in, with a radically simplified user interface specifically designed to help those yet to benefit from IP services.”