France says it cannot save contraceptives US plans to destroy


By AFP
August 1, 2025


A Belgian warehouse where US-funded contraceptives have been stored -- and which the US intends to destroy - Copyright AFP/File Kate GILLAM
Marine Pennetier and Daniel Lawler

France said Friday it could not seize women’s contraception products estimated to be worth $9.7 million that the United States plans to destroy, after media reports suggested the stockpile would be incinerated in the country.

The contraceptives — intended for some of the world’s poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa — were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden.

But France’s health ministry told AFP Friday there was no legal way for it to intervene.

The administration of Biden’s successor Donald Trump, which has slashed USAID and pursued anti-abortion policies, confirmed last month it planned to destroy the contraceptives, which have been stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel.

According to several media reports, the unexpired products were to be incinerated in France at the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste.

France’s government has come under pressure to save the contraceptives, with women’s rights groups calling the US decision “insane”.

The health ministry told AFP that the government had “examined the courses of action available to us, but unfortunately there is no legal basis for intervention by a European health authority, let alone the French national drug safety authority, to recover these medical products.

“Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks,” it added.

The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed.

– Leaving Belgian warehouse –

Sarah Durocher, head of the French women’s rights group Family Planning, told AFP that some contraceptives had already left the Belgian warehouse.

“We were informed 36 hours ago that the removal of these boxes of contraceptives had begun,” Durocher said Thursday.

“We do not know where these trucks are now — or whether they have arrived in France,” she added.

“We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision.”

French company Veolia confirmed to AFP that it had a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID’s logistics provider.

But Veolia emphasised that the contract concerned “only the management of expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile” in Belgium.

The products, mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring.

– Outrage over decision –

The US decision has provoked an outcry in France, where rights groups and left-wing politicians have called on their government to stop the plan.

“France cannot become the scene of such operations — a moratorium is essential,” an opinion piece in the French daily Le Monde said Friday. Signed by five NGOs, it condemned the “absurdity” of the US decision.

Among them was MSI Reproductive Choices, one of several organisations that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the US government.

 All offers have been rejected.

Last week, New Hampshire’s Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration’s stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan “is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse”.

A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the destruction of the products would cost $167,000 and “no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed”.

The spokesperson pointed to a policy that prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that perform or promote abortions.

The Mexico City Policy, which critics call the “global gag rule”, was first introduced by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It has been reinstated under every Republican president since.

Last month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits that had been meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive.

Landslide-prone Nepal tests AI-powered warning system

By AFP
July 31, 2025


Nepal is especially vulnerable due to unstable geology, shifting rainfall patterns and poorly planned development - Copyright AFP Prakash MATHEMA
Anup OJHA

Every morning, Nepali primary school teacher Bina Tamang steps outside her home and checks the rain gauge, part of an early warning system in one of the world’s most landslide-prone regions.

Tamang contributes to an AI-powered early warning system that uses rainfall and ground movement data, local observations and satellite imagery to predict landslides up to weeks in advance, according to its developers at the University of Melbourne.

From her home in Kimtang village in the hills of northwest Nepal, 29-year-old Tamang sends photos of the water level to experts in the capital Kathmandu, a five-hour drive to the south.

“Our village is located in difficult terrain, and landslides are frequent here, like many villages in Nepal,” Tamang told AFP.

Every year during the monsoon season, floods and landslides wreak havoc across South Asia, killing hundreds of people.

Nepal is especially vulnerable due to unstable geology, shifting rainfall patterns and poorly planned development.

As a mountainous country, it is already “highly prone” to landslides, said Rajendra Sharma, an early warning expert at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

“And climate change is fuelling them further. Shifting rainfall patterns, rain instead of snowfall in high altitudes and even increase in wildfires are triggering soil erosion,” Sharma told AFP.

– Saving lives –

Landslides killed more than 300 people last year and were responsible for 70 percent of monsoon-linked deaths, government data shows.

Tamang knows the risks first hand.

When she was just five years old, her family and dozens of others relocated after soil erosion threatened their village homes.

They moved about a kilometre (0.6 miles) uphill, but a strong 2015 earthquake left the area even more unstable, prompting many families to flee again.

“The villagers here have lived in fear,” Tamang said.

“But I am hopeful that this new early warning system will help save lives.”

The landslide forecasting platform was developed by Australian professor Antoinette Tordesillas with partners in Nepal, Britain and Italy.

Its name, SAFE-RISCCS, is an acronym of a complex title — Spatiotemporal Analytics, Forecasting and Estimation of Risks from Climate Change Systems.

“This is a low-cost but high-impact solution, one that’s both scientifically informed and locally owned,” Tordesillas told AFP.

Professor Basanta Adhikari from Nepal’s Tribhuvan University, who is involved in the project, said that similar systems were already in use in several other countries, including the United States and China.

“We are monitoring landslide-prone areas using the same principles that have been applied abroad, adapted to Nepal’s terrain,” he told AFP.

“If the system performs well during this monsoon season, we can be confident that it will work in Nepal as well, despite the country’s complex Himalayan terrain.”

In Nepal, it is being piloted in two high-risk areas: Kimtang in Nuwakot district and Jyotinagar in Dhading district.

– Early warnings –

Tamang’s data is handled by technical advisers like Sanjaya Devkota, who compares it against a threshold that might indicate a landslide.

“We are still in a preliminary stage, but once we have a long dataset, the AI component will automatically generate a graphical view and alert us based on the rainfall forecast,” Devkota said.

“Then we report to the community, that’s our plan.”

The experts have been collecting data for two months, but will need a data set spanning a year or two for proper forecasting, he added.

Eventually, the system will deliver a continuously updated landslide risk map, helping decision makers and residents take preventive actions and make evacuation plans.

The system “need not be difficult or resource-intensive, especially when it builds on the community’s deep local knowledge and active involvement”, Tordesillas said.

Asia suffered more climate and weather-related hazards than any other region in 2023, according to UN data, with floods and storms the most deadly and costly.

And while two-thirds of the region have early warning systems for disasters in place, many other vulnerable countries have little coverage.

In the last decade, Nepal has made progress on flood preparedness, installing 200 sirens along major rivers and actively involving communities in warning efforts.

The system has helped reduce flooding deaths, said Binod Parajuli, a flood expert with the government’s hydrology department.

“However, we have not been able to do the same for landslides because predicting them is much more complicated,” he said.

“Such technologies are absolutely necessary if Nepal wants to reduce its monsoon toll.”

Indonesia volcano belches six-mile ash tower

A DAY AFTER 8.8 RUSSIAN EARTHQUAKE 


By AFP
August 1, 2025


Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewed a column of molten ash topped with volcanic lighnting into the Flores' night sky - Copyright Indonesia's Geological Agency/AFP -

An Indonesian volcano spewed a 10-kilometre (6.2-miles) molten plume of ash topped by lightning into the Friday night sky, weeks after another huge eruption triggered dozens of flight cancellations in Bali.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,584-metre-high volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted at 20:48 pm (1248 GMT), the volcanology agency said in a statement.

“The height of the eruption column was observed to be approximately 10,000 metres above the summit,” the agency said.

There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.

The eruption was triggered by a gas buildup in recent weeks, geological agency head Muhammad Wafid said in a statement.

He also warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods — a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials — if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities near rivers.

Tourists and residents were told to avoid a six-kilometre radius around the crater.

Pictures shared by the country’s geological agency showed volcanic lightning near the top of the ash plume.

Last month, the volcano spewed a colossal 18-kilometre tower of ash, scrapping 24 flights at Bali’s international airport.

There were no immediate reports of cancelled flights after Friday’s eruption.

Laki-Laki, which means man in Indonesian, is twinned with the calmer but taller 1,703-metre (5,587-foot) volcano named Perempuan, after the Indonesian word for woman.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Search intensifies for five trapped in giant Chile copper mine

By AFP
August 1, 2025


Relatives wait for news after the partial collapse of a copper mine in Rancagua, Chile - Copyright AFP Raul BRAVO
Franco FAFASULI

Rescue teams in Chile searched Friday for five miners trapped after a partial collapse triggered by a tremor killed one colleague and halted operations at the world’s largest underground copper mine.

At least 100 people were involved in the perilous search effort nearly 12 hours after the event was registered, said Andres Music, general manager of El Teniente mine in Rancagua, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Santiago.

“So far, we have not been able to communicate with them. The tunnels are closed, they are collapsed,” he told reporters on Friday.

The miners had been working at a depth of more than 900 meters when the collapse happened. Their exact location has been pinpointed with specialized equipment.

Michael Miranda, brother of missing miner Jean Miranda, 31, told AFP the men’s families were desperate for news.

“They haven’t explained anything to us. No one has approached us to talk to us, to tell us if my brother is okay or not,” he said outside the offices of state mining giant Codelco in Rancagua.

Jean’s wife was pregnant, he added, “and no one from the company has approached her to talk. No psychological support, nothing.”

Mining minister Aurora Williams earlier announced the temporary cessation of activity at the mine, which began operating in the early 1900s and boasts more than 4,500 kilometers (some 2,800 miles) of underground tunnels.

Last year, El Teniente produced 356,000 metric tonnes (over 392,000 tons) of copper — nearly seven percent of the total for Chile.

– ‘Many irregularities’ –

The cave-in happened after a “seismic event” Thursday afternoon of which the origin — natural or caused by drilling — is not yet known, according to authorities.

The tremor registered a magnitude of 4.2.

“It is one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, that the El Teniente deposit has experienced in decades,” said Music.

Jose Maldonado, a union leader at El Teniente, said workers were demanding a “thorough investigation” and told AFP they had reported “many irregularities.”

The search team included several of the rescuers who participated in successfully surfacing 33 miners trapped in a mine for more than two months in the Atacama Desert in 2010, attracting a whirlwind of global media attention.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, responsible for nearly a quarter of global supply with about 5.3 million metric tonnes (5.8 million tons) in 2024.

Its mining industry is one of the safest on the planet, with a fatality rate of 0.02 percent last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile.

The metal is critical for wiring, motors and renewable energy generation.

Brazilians burn Trump effigies as tariffs spark anger


By AFP
August 1, 2025


Dummies depicting US President Donald Trump (R) and Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro are burnt during a pro-national sovereignty protest following the US imposition of trade taxes and sanctions - Copyright AFP Nelson ALMEIDA

Brazilians set fire to effigies of Donald Trump in protests across several cities Friday, denouncing the US president’s politically motivated trade tariffs.

Anti-Trump protests were held in Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, a sign of souring ties between two of the Americas’ largest economies.

The demonstrations were modestly attended, but reflected broad anger at Trump’s decision to put a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian exports and to sanction a top judge.

The mercurial US president has openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.

The far-right Brazilian firebrand is currently on trial for plotting a coup after failing to win reelection in 2022.

Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s congress in January 2023, ransacking the chambers and attacking police, in scenes reminiscent of Trump supporters’ attack on the US Capitol two years before.

A Brazilian general has given evidence that the alleged plotters also wanted to assassinate leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and several other public officials.

Trump has called the trial a “witch hunt” and his Treasury Department has sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in response.

Trump also signed an executive order slapping 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports, citing Bolsonaro’s “politically motivated persecution.”

The tariff is due to enter into force on August 6.

Moraes, in a rare public address, said Friday he pledged to “continue working” despite a US travel ban and assets freeze.

“This Court, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Federal Police will not bow to these threats,” he said during a court session.

And he vowed the court would remain “absolutely uncompromising in defending national sovereignty and its commitment to democracy.”

Moraes has repeatedly taken aim at the Brazilian far-right and its figurehead Bolsonaro, as well as tech titan Elon Musk, over online disinformation.

He is also the presiding judge in the coup trial of Bolsonaro, who risks a 40-year prison sentence.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Moraes of “serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression.”

Moraes recently ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle bracelet pending the conclusion of his trial, and barred him from leaving his home at night or using social media pending an investigation into potential obstruction of justice.

‘We Will Not Accept Foreign Interference’: Brazilian Lawmakers Hit Back Over Trump Economic Warfare

Even right-wing Brazilian politicians are condemning Trump's actions as "an unacceptable attempt at foreign interference."


Protesters wearing masks depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro take part in downtown São Paulo, Brazil, on July 18, 2025.
(Photo by Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images)

Brad Reed
Jul 31, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

U.S. President Donald Trump is facing international condemnation for his decision to level sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in a bid to punish him for overseeing the criminal trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a longtime Trump ally.

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that Brazilian political leaders are not backing down in the face of Trump's economic warfare, which includes not only sanctions against Moraes but also 50% tariffs on several key Brazilian exports to the United States, including coffee and beef.

Chamber of Deputies member José Guimarães, a member of the left-wing Partido dos Trabalhadores, described Trump's actions as "a direct attack on Brazilian democracy and sovereignty" and vowed that "we will not accept foreign interference in... our justice system."

Left-wing politicians weren't the only ones to criticize the sanctions and tariffs, as right-wing Partido Novo founder João Amoêdo condemned them as "an unacceptable attempt at foreign interference in the Brazilian justice system." Eduardo Leite, the conservative governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, said he refused to accept "another country trying to interfere in our institutions" as Trump has done.

In justifying the sanctions and tariffs, the Trump White House said they were a measure to combat what it described as "the government of Brazil's politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters."

Bolsonaro is currently on trial for undertaking an alleged coup plot to prevent the country's current president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, from taking power after his victory in Brazil's 2022 presidential election.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of the former president, openly celebrated Trump's punitive measures against Brazil this week, which earned him a stiff rebuke from the editorial board of Folha de São Paulo, one of Brazil's largest daily newspapers. In their piece, the Folha editors labeled Eduardo Bolsonaro an "enemy of Brazil" and said he was behaving like "a buffoon at the feet of a foreign throne" with his open lobbying of the Trump administration to punish his own country.

Elsewhere in the world, the U.K.-based magazine The Economist leveled Trump for his Brazil sanctions, which it described as an "unprecedented" assault on the country's sovereignty. The magazine also outlined the considerable evidence that the former Brazilian president took part in a coup plot, including a plan written out by Bolsonaro deputy chief of staff Mario Fernandes to assassinate or kidnap Lula and Moraes before the end of Bolsonaro's lone presidential term.

U.S. government reform advocacy group Public Citizen was also quick to condemn Trump's actions, which it described as a "shameless power grab."

"Trump's order sets a horrifying precedent that literally any domestic judicial action or democratically enacted policy set by another country could somehow justify a U.S. national emergency and bestow the president with powers far beyond what the Constitution provides," said Melinda St. Louis, global trade watch director at Public Citizen.

St. Louis also predicted that the tariffs on Brazil would soon be tossed out by courts given their capricious justifications, although she said the reputation of the U.S. would suffer "lasting damage."

Thai-Cambodian cyberwarriors battle on despite truce


By AFP
August 1, 2025


Thailand and Cambodia's five-day border conflict killed more than 40 people and displaced over 300,000 - Copyright AFP Chanakarn Laosarakham
Nattakorn Ploddee with Suy Se in Phnom Penh

Thailand and Cambodia may have reached a ceasefire to halt their bloody border clashes, but cyber warriors are still battling online, daubing official websites with obscenities, deluging opponents with spam and taking pages down.

The five-day conflict left more than 40 people dead and drove more than 300,000 from their homes.

It also kicked off a disinformation blitz as Thai and Cambodian partisans alike sought to boost the narrative that the other was to blame.

Thai officials recorded more than 500 million instances of online attacks in recent days, government spokesperson Jirayu Huangsab said on Wednesday.

These included spamming reports to online platforms and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks — halting access to a website by overloading its servers with traffic.

“It’s a psychological war,” Cambodian government spokesman Pen Bona told AFP.

“There’s a lot of fake news and it wouldn’t be strange if it came from social media users, but even official Thai media outlets themselves publish a lot of fake news.”



– Disinformation –



Freshly created “avatar” accounts have targeted popular users or media accounts in Thailand.

On July 24, a Facebook post by suspended Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra condemning Cambodia’s use of force was bombarded with 16,000 comments, many of them repeating the same message in English: “Queen of drama in Thailand”.

Another, similar post by Paetongtarn on July 26 was hit with 31,800 comments, many reading: “Best drama queen of 2025”, with snake and crocodile emojis.

Government spokesman Jirayu said the attacks were aimed at “sowing division among Thais” as well as outright deception.

Similarly, Cambodian government Spokesman Pen Bona said fake news from Thailand aimed to divide Cambodia.

Apparent bot accounts have also published and shared disinformation, adding to the confusion.

Videos and images from a deadly Cambodian rocket attack on a petrol station in Thailand were shared with captions saying they showed an attack on Cambodian soil.

Other posts, including one shared by the verified page of Cambodian Secretary of State Vengsrun Kuoch, claimed Thai forces had used chemical weapons.

The photo in the post in fact shows an aircraft dropping fire retardants during the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.

AFP contacted Vengsrun Kuoch for comment but did not receive a reply.



– Obscenities –



Hackers from both sides have broken into state-run websites to deface pages with mocking or offensive messages.

One of the targets was NBT World, an English-language news site run by the Thai government’s public relations department.

Headlines and captions on articles about acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai were replaced with obscenities.

Thai hackers meanwhile, changed the login page of Sachak Asia Development Institute, a Cambodian education facility, to show an image of influential ex-leader Hun Sen edited to have a ludicrously exaggerated hairstyle.

The image was a reference to a video — much mocked in Thailand — of Cambodian youths sporting the same hairstyle visiting one of the ancient temples that were the focus of the fighting.

Online attacks — whether disinformation messaging or full-blown cyber strikes to disrupt an adversary’s infrastructure or services — are a standard feature of modern warfare.

In the Ukraine conflict, Kyiv and its allies have long accused Russia of state-backed cyberwarfare, disrupting government and private IT systems around the world.

And earlier this week, Ukrainian and Belarusian hacker groups claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Russia’s national airline that grounded dozens of flights.

Jessada Salathong, a mass communications professor at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, said the border clashes had invoked the full spectrum of information disorder, carried out by both sides.

“In an era when anyone can call themselves media, information warfare simply pulls in everyone,” he told AFP.

Sensible and steely: how Mexico’s Sheinbaum has dealt with Trump


ByAFP
August 2, 2025


Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum says the country will not take any action before seeing details of US President Donald Trump's promised trade tariffs - Copyright AFP Sergio Morales

A combination of tact and tenacity is credited for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s successful dealings with US counterpart Donald Trump, most recently convincing him to delay a sky-high import tariff meant to come into effect Friday.

The pair are known to get along despite sitting on opposite sides of the political aisle, earning Mexico’s first woman president the epithet of “Trump whisperer.”

At least three times now, the US president has granted Mexico tariff relief and Trump has described Sheinbaum as a “wonderful woman” to the envy of a host of other world leaders who have found exchanges with Trump can be tetchy.

On Thursday, Trump agreed to delay by 90 days a 30 percent general tariff on imported Mexican goods, just hours before it was to take effect.

It was the outcome of the ninth phone conversation between the two leaders since Trump returned to power in January with a strong rhetoric against undocumented migrants and fentanyl flowing from America’s southern neighbor.

How did she do it? “With a cool head,” the president herself told reporters Friday.

The 63-year-old physicist and dedicated leftist added that she avoids “confronting” the magnate, all the while insisting on Mexico’s sovereign rights in dealing with a man known to respect strong leaders.

Sheinbaum has said that Mexicans should “never bow our heads” and Trump has acknowledged her mettle, remarking: “You’re tough” in one phone call, according to The New York Times.

“Mexico represents a lot to the United States… they are aware of that,” Sheinbaum explained.

– ‘Ability to convince’ –

Thanks to the USMCA free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, nearly 85 percent of Mexican exports have been tariff-free.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has been dubbed the ‘Trump whisperer’ – Copyright AFP Christopher Furlong, Alfredo ESTRELLA

And while a 30 percent general tariff has been delayed, for now, Mexico’s vital automotive sector is the target of a 25 percent levy, albeit with discounts for parts manufactured in the United States.

Its steel and aluminum sectors, like those of other countries, are subject to a 50 percent tariff.

Mexico’s government nevertheless claims the latest delay as a victory.

“Without being sycophantic, I can tell you that the way our president handles her conversations, her approach, the firmness with which she defends Mexico’s interests, her ability to convince President Trump, is very significant,” Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard, who leads trade negotiations, told reporters Thursday.

– Give and take –

Sheinbaum seems also to have adopted a give and take approach, deploying thousands of border troops to assuage Trump’s concerns about migration and drug flows.

The president insists she has “not yielded anything” in negotiations with Trump, and talks are ongoing between the neighbors for a security agreement to tackle the problem of fentanyl and drug trafficking.

Sheinbaum has also raised the possibility of importing more US products to reset the trade balance.

Some fear the Mexican leader is merely buying time.

The latest tariff delay “does not solve the issue of uncertainty; we return to the starting point,” Diego Marroquin, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told AFP.

Swiss to try to negotiate way out of stiff US tariffs

39% TARIFF


By AFP
August 1, 2025


Pharmaceuticals accounted for more than half of Swiss goods imported into the United States last year and now face a stiff 39 percent tariff rate - Copyright AFP Jim WATSON

The Swiss government said Friday it would negotiate with the United States to try to avoid the 39 percent punitive US tariff rate that would ravage its key pharmaceutical industry.

As part of a slew of new tariffs unveiled late Thursday on nearly 70 countries, Washington said it planned to charge a 39 percent tariff rate on Swiss goods, higher than the 31 percent rate that it had been threatening to implement.

The new rate is set to go into effect on August 7, and would also prove painful for Switzerland’s manufacturing and watchmaking industries.

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

“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.

Senior Swiss officials had held numerous discussions with their US counterparts in an attempt to reach a deal with the administration of US President Donald Trump, like Britain and the European Union have.

President Karin Keller-Sutter, who is also finance minister, spoke with Trump on Thursday.

“The trade deficit remains the centre” of Trump’s preoccupation and they could not reach an agreement on a framework trade deal, she said on X.

The United States is a key trading partner for Switzerland, taking 18.6 percent of its total exports last year, according to Swiss customs data.

Pharmaceuticals dominated at 60 percent of Swiss goods exports to the United States, followed by machinery and metalworking at 20 percent and watches at eight percent.

The trade balance was heavily in Switzerland’s favour at 40 billion Swiss francs ($49 billion) last year.

Trump has paid particular attention to trade deficits, considering them a sign that the United States is being taken advantage of by its trading partners.

Switzerland is however the sixth country in terms of foreign direct investment into the United States, particularly in research and development.

Swiss pharmaceutical giants Roche and Novartis have both announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in the United States in the coming five years as they try head off threats by Trump to impose separate tariffs of up to 200 percent on medicines if foreign drugmakers don’t move more production into the United States.

The trade association representing the small and medium-sized firms in Switzerland’s machine and metal-working industry urged the government to take advantage of the negotiating window before the entry into force of the new tariffs which it warned would have serious long-term consequences.

Brewed awakening: German beer sales lowest on record

By AFP
August 1, 2025


Revellers at Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, in Munich - Copyright AFP/File KARIM JAAFAR

It is news that will leave brewers feeling flat — German beer sales hit their lowest level in the first half of the year since records began over three decades ago.

From January to June, sales of alcoholic beer fell 6.3 percent compared to the same time last year to 3.9 billion litres, federal statistics agency Destatis said Friday.

That was the lowest since figures on beer sales were first collected in 1993, it said, with demand declining both at home and abroad.

Domestic sales slumped 6.1 percent year-on-year to 3.2 billion litres, similar to the size of the drop seen at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Exports meanwhile tumbled 7.1 percent. Like many other industries, German beer exporters have in recent months faced tariffs in the major US market imposed by President Donald Trump.

Beer consumption has fallen over recent decades in Germany as a result of an ageing population as well as changing tastes — non-alcoholic beers have been growing in popularity, although they are not counted in the figures.

Holger Eichele, head of the German Brewers’ Federation, said 2025 was set to be “an extremely demanding year for us”.

“Geopolitical risks have greatly intensified and uncertainty is increasing for exporters,” he said.

He also pointed to “consumers not wanting to spend.”

This is particularly true in Germany, where the economy is struggling to pull itself out of a long downturn.

SPACE/COSMOS

International crew bound for space station


By AFP
August 1, 2025


Crew-11 mission astronauts pause outside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building en route to launch complex LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 1, 2025 - Copyright AFP Gregg Newton

NASA and SpaceX launched a four-member crew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday for the latest research expedition to the orbiting laboratory.

American astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov lifted off at 11:43 am aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The capsule, named Endeavour, has previously flown four NASA missions as well as a private mission.

The Crew-11 mission marks the 11th crew rotation mission to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry.

As part of their six-month stay, the Crew-11 astronauts will simulate Moon landing scenarios that could be encountered near the lunar South Pole under the United States-led Artemis program.

Using handheld controllers and multiple display screens, they will test how shifts in gravity affect astronauts’ ability to pilot spacecraft, including future lunar landers.

Continuously inhabited since 2000, the ISS functions as a vital testbed for research that supports deeper space exploration — including eventual missions to Mars.

Among Crew-11’s more colorful cargo items are Armenian pomegranate seeds, which will be compared to a control batch kept on Earth to study how microgravity influences crop growth.

The ISS is set to be de-commissioned after 2030, with its orbit gradually lowered until it breaks up in the atmosphere over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, a spacecraft graveyard.

Dmitry Bakanov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has been holding talks with NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy this week about the station’s future.

When US-Russia relations nosedived at the start of the Ukraine war, Russia threatened to pull out of ISS cooperation early. But on Thursday, Bakanov confirmed Russia remained committed to de-orbiting in 2030.