While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 13, 2025
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US President Donald Trump has threatened a 30 per cent tariff on European goods starting Aug 1, unless the US and EU agree a trade deal.
PHOTO: AFP
EU says it still wants US trade deal, will defend interests
The European Union said on July 12 it was ready to retaliate to defend its interests if the United States pressed ahead with imposing a 30 per cent tariff on European goods from Aug 1.
US President Donald Trump latest salvo surprised the bloc, the United States’ largest trading partner, which had hoped to avoid an escalating trade war after intense negotiations and increasingly warm words from the White House.
Dr Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU executive which handles trade policy for the 27 member states, said the bloc was ready to keep working towards an agreement before Aug 1, but was willing to stand firm.
EU ambassadors will discuss next steps on July 13, before trade ministers meet in Brussels on July 14 for an extraordinary meeting.
Gaza truce talks in the balance as sides trade blame
PHOTO: AFP
Gaza ceasefire talks hung in the balance as Hamas and Israel on July 12 accused the other of blocking attempts to strike a deal, nearly a week into an attempt to halt 21 months of bitter fighting in the Palestinian territory.
A Palestinian source with knowledge of the indirect talks in Qatar told AFP that Israel’s proposals to keep its troops in the war-torn territory were holding up a deal for a 60-day pause.
But on the Israeli side, a senior political official, also speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivities of the talks, accused the militants of inflexibility and deliberately trying to scuttle an accord.
Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship
US President Donald Trump on July 12 said he might revoke talk show host Rosie O’Donnell’s US citizenship after she criticised his administration’s handling of weather forecasting agencies in the wake of the deadly Texas floods, the latest salvo in a years-long feud the two have waged over social media.
“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, invoking a deportation rationale the administration has used in attempts to remove foreign-born protesters from the country.
“She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he added.
Japan’s Hokkaido issues highest-level bear warning
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
Hokkaido on July 12 issued a strong warning of brown bears in one of its towns after a fatal attack on a newspaper deliveryman there, making it the first time that the highest level of alert has been sent out in the northern prefecture.
The warning, affecting the town of Fukushima in south-western Hokkaido, is expected to be effective for a month through Aug 11.
The highest level of a three-stage alert is issued when a bear attacks a human in an urban area or its vicinity.
Iga Swiatek revels in special Wimbledon triumph
PHOTO: AFP
Iga Swiatek bulldozed her way to a maiden Wimbledon title on July 12 to take her Grand Slam tally to six and although the Pole preferred not to rank her wins, she said her latest one felt a little more special than the others.
The 24-year-old has won four Suzanne Lenglen Cups in the last six editions of the French Open to establish herself as the “Queen of Clay” and conquered the hardcourts of the US Open in 2022, but the grasscourts of Wimbledon have always proved slippery.
Having crossed the quarter-final hurdle for the first time this year, she brutally dismantled Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in the final to confirm herself as a versatile virtuoso of the women’s game.
