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Russia fighting Nato-backed force: Putin

Gulf clashes test fragile ceasefire

CAIRO: The US and Iran appeared no closer yesterday to finding an end to their war after the two sides traded fire in the Gulf amid a tenuous ceasefire. Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack on Friday. Washington has been awaiting Tehran’s response to a US proposal that would formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues. Speaking in Rome on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was expecting a response that day, although an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its response. The UAE said its air defences engaged with two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, with three people sustaining moderate injuries. Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military bases. In what the UAE called a major escalation, Iran stepped up attacks this week in response to Trump’s announcement of “Project Freedom” to escort ships in the strait, which he paused after 48 hours. After meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Rubio questioned why Italy and other allies were not backing Washington’s efforts to reopen the strait, warning of a dangerous precedent if Tehran were allowed to control an international waterway. The US also ratcheted up sanctions to pressure Iran. The US Treasury announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies for aiding efforts by Iran’s military to secure weapons and raw materials used to build Tehran’s Shahed drones. – Reuters US appeals court ruling on tariffs NEW YORK: The Trump administration on Friday appealed a court ruling that found a 10% global tariff imposed in February was not justified under a 1970s trade law. The US Court of International Trade ruled on Thursday in a 2-1 decision that Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act was not meant to address trade deficits that occur when the US imports more goods than it exports. The court, however, only blocked the tariffs for three importers that sued – two small businesses and the state of Washington. While the ruling applies to a set of levies due to expire in about two months, it marks another setback for Trump’s tariff ambitions and comes a week before he is due to discuss trade tensions with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump had no authority to impose the earlier tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, leading Trump to impose replacement tariffs of 10% on all imports using Section 122 of the Trade Act. The new tariffs were a temporary replacement and they were due to expire on July 24 unless extended by Congress. The Trump administration still plans broader tariffs on major trading partners by invoking a third law that has withstood legal challenges, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which covers unfair trade practices. It has three Section 301 tariff investigations underway due for completion in July. – Reuters

‘Our cause is just’

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an “aggressive force” backed by all of Nato and described his war goals as “just”, in a combative address to the annual Victory Day parade on Red Square. Putin has made the memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II a central narrative of his 25-year rule, and authorities typically mark the parade with pomp and grandeur. But a spate of Ukrainian long-range attacks in recent weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize this year’s celebrations. The parade was vastly scaled back compared with previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades and only a handful of foreign dignitaries in attendance. Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire over the event, following a last-minute appeal from US President Donald Trump. Moscow had threatened a “massive” strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the proceedings. In an address to the parade, attended by Russian military units as well as soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the Soviet victory to rally support for his army in Ukraine.

Putin attending a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in central Moscow. – AFPPIC

attack the parade and in a separate statement confirmed his government would adhere to the ceasefire to enable the swap of 1,000 detainees from each warring side. “Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home,” Zelensky said. Both the Ukrainian air force and Russian Defence Ministry reported fewer drone attacks on Friday night. – AFP

“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,” Putin said. “They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire Nato bloc. And despite this, our heroes move forward,” he said. “I firmly believe that our cause is just,” he said later. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree on Friday ordering the Ukrainian military not to

Green Party leader Zack

Polanski (centre) celebrating with the party’s newly elected Mayor of Lewisham, Liam Shrivastava (centre right) and supporters in Lewisham, south London

on Friday. – AFPPIC

Labour takes beating, Starmer vows to stay on LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Friday to stay in office to “deliver change” after his Labour Party suffered heavy losses in English local elections and parliamentary votes in Scotland and Wales, deepening doubts over his ability to govern. likely form the main opposition in Scotland and Wales.

moment of contrition when he said he took full responsibility for the losses and admitted his government had made some “unnecessary mistakes”, including failing to offer hope to Britain when the party took power. But he argued voters were more frustrated with the pace of change than with his government, and vowed to set out “the steps that we will take to deliver the change that they want and that they deserve”. In what seemed to be a nod to the latest government reset, Starmer said he would double down on efforts to address a cost-of-living crisis compounded by conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. – Reuters

Early results underscored the fracturing of Britain’s two-party system, with the Labour and Conservative parties losing votes not only to Reform, but to the left-wing Green Party at the other end of the political spectrum, and to nationalists in Scotland and Wales. Despite the losses, Starmer’s allies signalled their support for a man whose popularity ratings have sunk to among the worst for any British leader. “I am not going to walk away,” Starmer told reporters in Ealing, west London, a rare bright spot where Labour retained control of the council. To Labour activists, he showed a

Just under two years after winning a landslide national election, Starmer saw voters punish his Labour government, with support evaporating even in its traditional strongholds in London, former industrial regions in central and northern England, and in Wales. The main beneficiary was the populist Reform UK party of Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, which gained more than 1,000 council seats in England, and will