Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet

Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general . (AP)
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Updated 24 November 2024
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Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet

Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet
  • President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general
  • He also nominated Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration

CHICAGO: President-elect Donald Trump has named two Arab Americans to serve in his Cabinet once he is sworn into office in January.

Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general and Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration.

The appointments were applauded by Dr. Bishara Bahbah, chairman of Arab Americans for Trump, who helped the former president to win nearly half of the Arab American vote in the Nov. 5 election against US Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We are delighted with President Trump’s nomination of the first two Arab Americans to be part of his administration,” Bahbah said in a message to Arab News on Saturday.

“This is a testament to the hard work of Arab Americans for Trump and recognition of President Donald J. Trump of the role Arab Americans played in his election as the 47th president of the United States. AAFT looks forward to additional Arab American appointments in President Trump’s administration, particularly in the political field.”

Dr. Makary is a British American surgeon of Lebanese background. He is a public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University serving as a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a professor, by courtesy, at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

His current research focuses on the underlying causes of disease, public policy, health care costs, and relationship-based medicine. Dr. Makary previously served in leadership at the World Health Organization patient safety program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Clinically, Dr. Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at more than 25 medical schools. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has served on several editorial boards. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, “Unaccountable” and “The Price We Pay.”

Dr. Makary is also an anti-vaxxer who refused vaccination for COVID-19, a view shared by many of President-elect Trump’s conservative and Republican supporters.

Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified medical doctor described on her website as “bringing a refreshingly no-nonsense attitude to the latest medical news, breaking down everything you need to know to keep you — and your family — healthy at all times.” She is also the author of “Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine.”

A graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UAMS, Dr. Nesheiwat has been “shaped by her faith and her upbringing.”

Born in Carmel, New York, she is the daughter of Christian Jordanian immigrants and one of five children raised by her widowed mother, Hayat Nesheiwat. Her siblings are Julia Nesheiwat, Jaclyn Stapp, Dina Nesheiwat and Daniel Nesheiwat.


Trump says reciprocal tariffs will target all countries

Trump says reciprocal tariffs will target all countries
Updated 16 sec ago
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Trump says reciprocal tariffs will target all countries

Trump says reciprocal tariffs will target all countries

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his reciprocal tariffs to be announced this week will include all countries and not a more limited number.


‘Pissed off’ at Putin, Trump threatens tariffs on Russian oil if Moscow blocks Ukraine deal

‘Pissed off’ at Putin, Trump threatens tariffs on Russian oil if Moscow blocks Ukraine deal
Updated 31 March 2025
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‘Pissed off’ at Putin, Trump threatens tariffs on Russian oil if Moscow blocks Ukraine deal

‘Pissed off’ at Putin, Trump threatens tariffs on Russian oil if Moscow blocks Ukraine deal
  • “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault," he said on NBC News
  • Putin on Friday suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections that could push out Zelensky

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was “pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin and will impose secondary tariffs of 25 percent to 50 percent on buyers of Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump told NBC News he was very angry after Putin last week criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership, the television network reported, citing a telephone interview early on Sunday.
Since taking office in January, Trump has adopted a more conciliatory stance toward Russia that has left Western allies wary as he tries to broker an end to Moscow’s three-year-old war in Ukraine.
His sharp comments about Putin on Sunday reflect his growing frustration about the lack of movement on a ceasefire.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault ... I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump said.
“That would be, that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” Trump said. “There will be a 25 percent tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
Trump said he could impose the new trade measures within a month.
There was no immediate reaction from Moscow. Russia has called numerous Western sanctions and restrictions “illegal” and designed for the West to take economic advantage in its rivalry with Russia.
Trump, who spent the weekend at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, told NBC News he planned to speak with Putin this week. The two leaders have had two publicly announced telephone calls in recent months but may have had more contacts, the Kremlin said in video footage last week.
The White House had no immediate comment on when the call would take place, or if Trump would also speak with Zelensky.
Trump has focused heavily on ending what he calls a “ridiculous” war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but has made little progress.
Putin on Friday suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections that could push out Zelensky.
Trump, who himself has called for new elections in Ukraine and denounced Zelensky as a dictator, said Putin knows he is angry with him. But Trump added he had “a very good relationship with him” and “the anger dissipates quickly ... if he does the right thing.”

Growing pressure to end war
Trump’s comments followed a day of meetings and golf with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Saturday, during Stubb’s surprise visit to Florida.
Stubb’s office on Sunday said he told Trump a deadline needs to be set for establishing a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire to make it happen and suggested April 20 since Trump would have been in office then for three months.
US officials have been separately pushing Kyiv to accept a critical minerals agreement, a summary of which suggested the US was demanding all Ukraine’s natural resources income for years. Zelensky has said Kyiv’s lawyers need to review the draft before he can say more about the US offer.
Trump’s latest tariff threats would add to the pain already facing China, India and other countries through trade measures imposed during his first two months in office, including duties on steel, aluminum and cars. More duties on imports from the countries with the largest trade surpluses are slated to be announced on Wednesday.
William Reinsch, a former senior Commerce Department official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the haphazard way Trump was announcing and threatening tariffs leaves many questions unanswered, including how US officials could trace and prove which countries were buying Russian oil.
Trump set the stage for Sunday’s news with a 25 percent secondary tariff imposed last week on US imports from any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela.
His remarks to NBC suggest he could take similar action against US imports from countries that buy oil from Russia, a move that could hit China and India particularly hard.
The US has not imported any Russian barrels of crude oil since April 2022, according to US government data. Before that, US refiners bought inconsistent volumes of Russian oil, with a high of 98.1 million barrels in 2010 and low of 6.6 million in 2014, according to a review of EIA data since 2000.
India has surpassed China to become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which comprised about 35 percent of India’s total crude imports in 2024.
Trump on Sunday also said he could hit buyers of Iranian oil with secondary sanctions if Tehran did not reach an agreement to end their nuclear weapons program.


Russia, US start talks on rare earth metals projects in Russia, RIA agency reports

Russia, US start talks on rare earth metals projects in Russia, RIA agency reports
Updated 31 March 2025
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Russia, US start talks on rare earth metals projects in Russia, RIA agency reports

Russia, US start talks on rare earth metals projects in Russia, RIA agency reports

Moscow and Washington have started talks on joint rare earth metals and other projects in Russia, Russia’s special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation told the Izvestia media outlet in remarks published on Monday.
“Rare earth metals are an important area for cooperation, and, of course, we have begun discussions on various rare earth metals and (other) projects in Russia,” Kirill Dmitriev, who is also the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told Izvestia.
Putin, following negotiations between the US and Ukraine over a draft minerals deal, has offered the US, under a future economic deal, to jointly explore Russia’s rare earth metal deposits.
Dmitriev, who was part of Russia’s negotiating team at talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia in February, said some companies have already shown interest in the projects. He did not name any companies and did not reveal further details.
Izvestia reported the cooperation may be further discussed at the next round of Russia-US talks that may take place in mid-April in Saudi Arabia.
Rare earths and other critical metals, essential for high-tech industries, have gained global attention in recent months as US President Donald Trump spurred efforts to counter China’s dominance in the sector.


Tesla chargers torched in France arson attack

Tesla chargers torched in France arson attack
Updated 31 March 2025
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Tesla chargers torched in France arson attack

Tesla chargers torched in France arson attack
  • There have been a number of anti-Telsa actions in the US and Europe since Elon Musk became Trump’s adviser and backed European far-right parties

SAINT-ÉTIENNE, France: Twelve Tesla electric superchargers were targeted in an arson attack in the carpark of a supermarket in central France, a police source told AFP on Sunday.
The fire broke out overnight Wednesday to Thursday in the town of St-Chamond in the Loire department, the source said, confirming a report in the regional newspaper Le Progres.
Two of the chargers, each worth tens of thousands of euros, were completely destroyed, while the others were damaged.
“Anti-Tesla campaign born to burn” was found painted in white on the car park floor.
The police source said it was “the first act targeting the business of billionaire American Elon Musk” in the Loire.
An investigation for “damage and destruction by fire” has been opened but no arrests had been made, the source added.
There have been a number of anti-Telsa actions in Europe since Musk became US President Donald Trump’s adviser and backed European far-right parties.
Earlier this month, a dozen Teslas were torched in an attack on a dealership near the southern city of Toulouse, leaving eight vehicles burnt out.
Another four cars were badly damaged.
A recent spate of attacks on Tesla property in the United States have been described by Attorney General Pam Bondi as “nothing short of domestic terrorism.”


EU open to ‘compromise’ on US tariffs, says Scholz

EU open to ‘compromise’ on US tariffs, says Scholz
Updated 30 March 2025
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EU open to ‘compromise’ on US tariffs, says Scholz

EU open to ‘compromise’ on US tariffs, says Scholz
  • Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on the United States’ allies and adversaries, including a 25-percent levy on auto imports starting next week

BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday said the EU would respond firmly to tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump but stressed the bloc was also open to compromise.
“It is clear that we, as the European Union... will react clearly and decisively to the United States’ tariff policy,” Scholz said ahead of the opening of a trade fair in Hanover.
But the bloc was “always and at all times firmly prepared to work for compromise and cooperation,” he said.
“I say to the US: Europe’s goal remains cooperation. But if the US leaves us no choice, as with the tariffs on steel and aluminum, we will respond as a united European Union,” Scholz said.
Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on the United States’ allies and adversaries, including a 25-percent levy on auto imports starting next week.
A 25-percent US tariff on steel and aluminum from around the world came into effect in mid-March, with EU countermeasures set to begin in April.
As a major car manufacturer and exporter, Germany could be hit particularly hard by the auto tariffs and they were the subject of a visit to Washington by Finance Minister Joerg Kukies last week.
Germany has vowed a tough response to the tariffs, with a government spokesman insisting that “nothing is off the table.”
However, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struck a more conciliatory tone on Saturday, calling for a “reasoned” approach to the escalating dispute.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen also previously said she “deeply” regretted the US auto tariffs and the EU would “continue to seek negotiated solutions.”
Scholz on Sunday also insisted Canada was an independent country, responding to repeated comments by Trump that it should become the 51st US state.
“Canada is a proud, independent nation, Canada has friends all over the world and especially here in Germany and Europe,” he said at the Hanover trade fair.
Canada is a special guest at the event, which officially opens on Monday.