AFP - Squid Business

89 killed as Syria sectarian clashes rage

At least 89 people were killed in the southern Syrian province of Sweida as clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters raged for a second day Monday, a monitor said.As the violence escalated, Israel — which had previously warned that it would intervene in Syria to protect the Druze — said it struck “several tanks” in Sweida, without providing further details.The fighting underscores the challenges facing interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose Islamist forces ousted president Bashar al-Assad in December, in a country reeling from 14 years of war.The Syrian military and interior ministries announced troop deployments, safe corridors for civilians and a pledge to end the fighting “quickly and decisively”.The violence began Sunday when Bedouin gunmen abducted a Druze vegetable vendor on the highway to Damascus, prompting retaliatory kidnappings.Though hostages were later released, the fighting carried on Monday outside Sweida city, with mortar fire hitting villages and dozens wounded, said the Suwayda 24 news outlet.The streets of Sweida were deserted, with an AFP photographer reporting gunfire during funerals.”We lived in a state of extreme terror — the shells were falling randomly,” said Abu Taym, a 51-year-old father in Sweida.”Traffic on the streets is paralysed, and most shops are closed.”Suwayda 24 reported the arrival of “dozens of victims” at hospitals as a result of clashes in the province’s western countryside and shelling of villages.The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground, raised its death toll to 89, including 46 Druze, four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters and seven unidentified people in military uniforms.A defence ministry source told Al-Ekhbariya state television six security forces personnel were killed “during disengagement operations in Sweida”.An AFP correspondent on the outskirts of Sweida city saw vehicles carrying fighters, large interior ministry military convoys, civilian vehicles and motorcycles carrying armed men towards the front lines, as well as ambulances transporting the wounded to hospitals in Damascus.While Druze spiritual leaders called for calm and urged Damascus to intervene.Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the three Druze spiritual leaders in Sweida, expressed his “rejection of the entry” of general security forces into the province, demanding “international protection”.- ‘Lack of state institutions’ -In a Sunday post on X, Interior Minister Anas Khattab said: “The lack of state, military and security institutions is a major reason for the ongoing tensions in Sweida,”The only solution is to reactivate these institutions to ensure civil peace,” he added.The latest bloodshed follows deadly violence in April and May, when clashes between Druze fighters and security forces in Druze-populated areas near Damascus and Sweida killed more than 100 people.The Observatory said members of Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni Muslim, had sided with security forces during earlier confrontations.Local leaders and religious figures brokered agreements at the time to de-escalate the tensions, putting Druze fighters in charge of security in Sweida since May, though armed Bedouins remain present in several areas.On Sunday, Sweida governor Mustapha al-Bakur urged his constituents to “exercise self-restraint”, while Druze community leaders urged authorities to step in.In response to the violence, the education ministry announced the postponement of Monday’s scheduled secondary school exams in the province.- Israel and the Druze -Syria’s pre-civil war Druze population numbers around 700,000, many in Sweida province.The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are mainly found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, and violence occasionally erupts between the two sides.A surge in violence in March targeting the Alawite community — with more than 1,700 killed — and the subsequent attacks on Druze areas have undermined confidence in the new Syrian authorities’ ability to protect minorities.In the wake of those incidents, Israel — which has occupied part of Syria’s Golan Heights since 1967 — cited the protection of the Druze to justify several strikes, including one in early May near the presidential palace in Damascus.Israel is home to around 152,000 Druze, according to the latest available data, including 24,000 living in the Israeli-occupied Golan, of whom fewer than five percent hold Israeli citizenship.

Japan’s World Barber Classic tries to bring back business

Hundreds of rowdy spectators, many heavily tattooed, roared Monday at a Tokyo arena usually reserved for boxing — except the contestants were not athletes, but barbers.A dozen Japanese and foreign contestants were taking part in the World Barber Classic, showing off their hairdressing skills surrounded by national flags and the blare of hip-hop tunes.The event is part of a bid by Japan’s struggling barber industry to attract young male clients lost in recent years to hair salons, which are popular for their high-quality services.”In many countries, men getting their hair cut by barbers is an established culture,” whereas in Japan young men favour salons, competition organiser Sho Yokota told AFP.”What we’re trying to achieve is to elevate a men’s cut, or barbering, as a culture for men.”Popular culture in Japan driven by boy-band idols and young male actors steers men towards longer coiffures instead of the shaved, cropped or slicked-back styles usually associated with barbers. A TV trend at the turn of the century which made top hairdressers into fashion icons also increased the popularity of salons over traditional barber shops. There are around 110,000 barber shops currently open in Japan, but twice as many salons.Most Japanese barbers are elderly but a new generation has emerged, armed with social media savvy.Among them is contestant Shoma Sugimura, who made it to the final three on Monday.”Our haircuts are often manly,” the 29-year-old, whose neck and shaved head were covered in tattoos, told AFP. The competing barbers were tested on their self-expression Monday, with each given a minute to woo the audience with a speech. Barbers in Japan are renowned for their skill, organiser Yokota said, but were often viewed as lacking showmanship.”I think hair is more than just hair,” judge Giancarlo Burgos, from Los Angeles, told AFP. “It’s a way of communicating yourself, but also connecting people. It’s a language that anybody can understand.” Another contestant Takumasa Suzuki, 32, told AFP he was trying to emulate American barber culture to bring business back and keep the barber trade alive.”In Japan, people just go for trendy haircuts,” but in the racially diverse United States, “they want their haircuts to encapsulate their own culture and heritage,” he said.”If barbershops in Japan can become a place where we can help customers express who they are, then I don’t think we will vanish.”

Japan’s World Barber Classic tries to bring back business

Des combats entre druzes et bédouins font 89 morts en Syrie, selon une ONG Syrie: des combats dans une province druze font 64 morts les forces

Les forces syriennes ont envoyé des renforts lundi dans la province méridionale de Soueïda pour tenter de mettre fin à des affrontements entre tribus bédouines sunnites et combattants druzes qui ont fait au moins 89 morts en deux jours selon une ONG.Israël, qui est déjà intervenu ces derniers mois en Syrie sous prétexte de protéger les druzes, a annoncé avoir frappé lundi dans cette région plusieurs chars des forces gouvernementales syriennes, dont des membres combattent aux côtés des bédouins selon l’Observatoire syrien des droits de l’homme (OSDH).Ces nouvelles violences intercommunautaires illustrent les défis sécuritaires auxquels fait face le pouvoir intérimaire d’Ahmad al-Chareh depuis qu’il a renversé le président Bachar al-Assad en décembre dans un pays meurtri par près de 14 ans de guerre civile.Lundi, les affrontements se poursuivaient aux abords de la ville à majorité druze de Soueïda, aux mains des combattants druzes, ont indiqué l’OSDH et le site d’information local Suwayda 24.Ils opposent “des tribus bédouines et des membres des forces de sécurité aux combattants druzes”, a affirmé l’ONG basée au Royaume-Uni mais qui dispose d’un vaste réseau de sources en Syrie.- Magasins fermés -Dans la ville, où des explosions et tirs étaient entendus, un petit nombre d’habitants ont participé aux funérailles de combattants tués dans les affrontements qui ont éclaté dimanche, selon un photographe de l’AFP.”Nous avons très peur, les obus nous tombent dessus. La circulation est paralysée dans les rues et les magasins sont fermés”, a affirmé à l’AFP un père de famille de 51 ans, Abou Taym.Les chefs religieux druzes ont appelé au calme et l’un des plus influents, cheikh Hikmat al-Hejri, a réclamé une “protection internationale immédiate” pour sa communauté, affirmant refuser l’entrée des forces gouvernementales dans les zones contrôlées par les druzes.Dans un communiqué, le ministère syrien de la Défense a annoncé le déploiement d'”unités militaires dans les zones touchées”, “l’ouverture de passages sûrs aux civils” ainsi que sa volonté de “mettre fin aux heurts rapidement”.Un correspondant de l’AFP a vu des renforts acheminés par le ministère de la Défense se diriger vers les abords de Soueïda alors que des ambulances évacuaient des victimes vers les hôpitaux de Damas.Les affrontements avaient éclaté dimanche après l’enlèvement d’un commerçant druze par des bédouins qui ont installé des barrages sur la route reliant Soueïda à Damas, selon l’OSDH. Le ministre de l’Intérieur Anas Khattab avait estimé dimanche que l'”absence d’institutions étatiques, militaires et sécuritaires” était “une cause majeure des tensions persistantes à Soueïda”. – Autoroute Soueïda-Damas fermée -L’Observatoire a fait état lundi d’un nouveau bilan de 89 morts, parmi lesquels 50 druzes –46 combattants, deux femmes et deux enfants –, 18 bédouins, 14 membres de forces de sécurité et sept personnes qui n’ont pas été identifiées.Le ministère de la Défense a, pour sa part, annoncé plus de 30 morts et une centaine de blessés.L’autoroute reliant Damas à Soueïda était toujours fermée, selon le correspondant de l’AFP.De fortes tensions couvaient depuis les heurts interconfessionnels en avril entre combattants druzes et forces de sécurité dans les zones druzes proches de Damas et à Soueïda, qui avaient fait plus de 100 morts.Des membres de tribus bédouines sunnites de Soueïda avaient participé aux affrontements au côté des forces de sécurité, selon l’OSDH.A l’époque, des chefs locaux et religieux avaient conclu des accords, en vertu desquels des combattants druzes assurent depuis mai la sécurité dans la province.La province de Soueïda abrite la plus importante communauté druze du pays, une minorité ésotérique issue de l’islam qui compte quelque 700.000 membres en Syrie.Les druzes sont répartis entre la Syrie, le Liban et Israël où quelque 152.000 d’entre eux sont recensés, selon les dernières données disponibles. Ce chiffre inclut les 24.000 druzes habitant la partie occupée du Golan, dont moins de 5% ont la nationalité israélienne.A la suite des affrontements d’avril, Israël avait invoqué la protection des druzes pour justifier plusieurs frappes en Syrie.Lundi, l’armée israélienne a annoncé dans un communiqué avoir “attaqué plusieurs chars (…) dans la zone située entre Soueïda et Samia”. Après la chute de Bachar al-Assad renversé par une coalition de factions rebelles islamistes sunnites, les violences début mars contre la communauté alaouite -plus de 1.700 morts- puis contre les druzes ont ébranlé la confiance dans la capacité du nouveau pouvoir à protéger les minorités.

Trêve à Gaza: les pourparlers Israël-Hamas stagnent, mais Trump reste confiant

Des discussions indirectes difficiles entre Israël et le Hamas sur un cessez-le-feu sont entrées lundi dans leur deuxième semaine, le président américain Donald Trump exprimant l’espoir d’un accord proche sur une trêve à Gaza meurtrie par de nouveaux bombardements israéliens.Selon la Défense civile locale, au moins 22 Palestiniens ont été tués dans le territoire palestinien assiégé et dévasté par plus de 21 mois de guerre, déclenchée par une attaque sans précédent du mouvement islamiste palestinien Hamas en Israël le 7 octobre 2023.Les belligérants s’accusent mutuellement d’enrayer ces négociations lancées le 6 juillet à Doha par l’intermédiaire du Qatar, des Etats-Unis et de l’Egypte, sur la base d’une proposition prévoyant une trêve de 60 jours associée à une libération d’otages israéliens retenus par le Hamas.”Les discussions se poursuivent à Doha et la délégation du Hamas s’y trouve” toujours, a déclaré à l’AFP un responsable palestinien proche des négociations. Les médiateurs “poursuivent leurs efforts pour qu’Israël présente une carte de retrait (de Gaza) révisée et acceptable”, selon lui.”Il n’y a pas de trêve avec eux (Israël). Chaque goutte de sang sera vengée et notre vengeance ne s’éteindra ni avec le temps, ni avec les déplacements ni avec la mort”, a lancé à l’AFP la voix brisée Belal Al-Adlouni, qui a perdu son frère, sa belle-soeur et trois neveux dans une frappe israélienne contre leur tente à Khan Younès (sud).A l’hôpital Nasser, où plusieurs Palestiniens dont des enfants pleurent la mort de membres de leurs familles, Mohammed Al-Adlouni est affligé.Ce garçon a survécu à la frappe qui a tué ses parents et trois frères dans leur tente. Il était allé chercher de l’eau au moment du bombardement, a raconté Belal Al-Adlouni, son oncle. Des journalistes de l’AFP dans le sud d’Israël ont vu d’importantes colonnes de fumée dans le nord de la bande de Gaza limitrophe après des bombardements.- “Nous espérons” -Selon le porte-parole de la Défense civile, Mahmoud Bassal, 10 Palestiniens ont été tués dans les frappes sur Gaza-ville (nord) et 12 à Khan Younès.L’armée israélienne, interrogée par l’AFP, n’a pas commenté dans l’immédiat ces informations, mais a affirmé dans un communiqué avoir détruit “des infrastructures terroristes” utilisées à Gaza-ville par le Hamas et le Jihad islamique.La branche armée du Jihad islamique, qui combat au côté du Hamas, a diffusé des images montrant selon elle ses combattants tirer des roquettes sur un centre de commandement israélien près de Choujaïya (nord).Compte tenu des restrictions imposées aux médias par Israël et des difficultés d’accès sur le terrain, l’AFP n’est pas en mesure de vérifier de manière indépendante les bilans et affirmations des différentes parties.”Sur Gaza, nous discutons et nous espérons que ce sera réglé la semaine prochaine”, a dit M. Trump dimanche soir au sujet d’un accord de trêve, réitérant ses déclarations optimistes du 4 juillet.M. Trump a rencontré la semaine dernière le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu, qui a répété ces derniers jours les objectifs de la guerre: libérer les otages, désarmer le Hamas et le chasser de Gaza, où le mouvement islamiste a pris le pouvoir en 2007.- “Camp de concentration” -L’attaque du 7 octobre 2023 a fait 1.219 morts côté israélien, en majorité des civils, selon un décompte de l’AFP réalisé à partir de données officielles. Sur les 251 personnes enlevées, 49 sont toujours otages à Gaza, dont 27 ont été déclarées mortes par l’armée israélienne.Au moins 58.026 Palestiniens, majoritairement des civils, ont été tués dans la campagne de représailles israélienne à Gaza, selon des données du ministère de la Santé à Gaza, jugées fiables par l’ONU.L’armée israélienne s’est emparée de vastes secteurs de Gaza, en proie à un désastre humanitaire avec ses plus de deux millions d’habitants menacés de famine selon l’ONU.Samedi, une source palestinienne a affirmé que le Hamas rejetait “totalement” un plan d’Israël prévoyant le maintien de ses forces “sur plus de 40% de la superficie de Gaza”.L’objectif d’Israël est “d’entasser des centaines de milliers de déplacés” dans le sud de Gaza, “en préparation d’un déplacement forcé de la population vers l’Egypte ou d’autres pays”, selon elle.En riposte, un responsable israélien a accusé le Hamas de “saboter les négociations”.Le 7 juillet, le ministre de la Défense Israël Katz a présenté un plan prévoyant l’établissement d’une zone fermée dans le sud de Gaza, en cas de trêve. Cette zone accueillerait dans un premier temps quelque 600.000 déplacés et à terme, l’ensemble de la population civile.L’Unrwa, l’agence de l’ONU pour les réfugiés palestiniens, a comparé cette éventuelle installation à un “camp de concentration”.

Trêve à Gaza: les pourparlers Israël-Hamas stagnent, mais Trump reste confiant

Archer strikes as England eye stunning third Test win over India

Jofra Archer struck twice as England closed in on a dramatic win over India on Monday’s final day of the third Test at Lord’s.Fast bowler Archer, in his first Test after more than four years of injury-induced exile, removed dangerman Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar as India slumped to 82-7.Ravindra Jadeja (17 not out) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (13) checked England’s progress.But when Reddy was caught behind off veteran paceman Chris Woakes on the stroke of lunch, India were 112-8 and still needing a further 81 runs to reach a victory target of 193 that would give them a 2-1 lead in this five-match series.Archer had lunch figures of 3-41 in 10 overs after also dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal late Sunday.England captain Ben Stokes, whose career has been been blighted by knee trouble, bowled himself for a lengthy spell of 15.2 overs Monday that yielded the key wicket of opener KL Rahul. India resumed on 58-4 after lively medium-pacer Stokes had bowled nightwatchman Akash Deep with what became the last ball of Sunday’s play. But from 71-4, the match swung England’s way as India lost three wickets for 11 runs in collapsing to 82-7.Pant, two balls after charging down the pitch to drive Archer for four in typically aggressive fashion, was bowled for nine by the express quick with a superb full-length delivery that clipped the top of off stump.India were looking to Rahul to anchor their chase following the opener’s first-innings hundred.But Rahul had added just six runs to his overnight 33 when he was lbw on review to Stokes after getting too far across his stumps.And 81-6 became 82-7 when Archer held a sharp one-handed caught and bowled chance off a checked drive from Sundar to dismiss the all-rounder for a duck — a wicket greeted with raucous cheers by a large last-day crowd at Lord’s.The eight-wicket pair scored steadily before there was another flashpoint in an already heated match when Jadeja collided with bowler Brydon Carse while running between the wickets.Reddy then cover-drove Stokes in stylish fashion for India’s first four in 13 overs before he fell to Woakes.

Zelensky talks air defence in ‘productive’ meeting with US envoy

President Volodymyr Zelensky met Monday with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv and discussed air defence and sanctions on Russia during a “productive” conversation, the Ukrainian leader said.Kellogg’s visit — more than three years into the Kremlin’s invasion — comes as Russian forces killed three civilians in eastern Ukraine and launched dozens of long-range drones at targets across the country. The envoy arrived in Kyiv just one day after US President Donald Trump announced new Patriot air defence systems supplies to Ukraine, in a U-turn that has underscored concerns in Kyiv over the consistency of American support.”We discussed the path to peace and what we can practically do together to bring it closer,” Zelensky wrote on social media.”This includes strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe,” he added. The Ukrainian president also called for fresh sanctions on Russia and countries that aid its war efforts, and urged US leadership on confronting Moscow.”It is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its unreasonable ambitions are curbed through strength,” Zelensky said. Washington said this month it would pause some arms deliveries to Kyiv but Trump has changed tack, criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin for intensifying attacks as US-led peace talks stalled.- ‘Better late than never’ -Trump said this weekend Washington would also supply Kyiv with more Patriot air defence batteries, but added that the United States would not pay for them.One Ukrainian solider deployed in the war-scarred east of the country, who identified himself by his call sign Grizzly, welcomed Trump’s announcement. “Better late than never,” he told AFP.”Because while we are here defending the front line, our families are unprotected. Thanks to the Patriots they are giving us, our families will be safer,” the 29-year-old added.Kellogg’s visit comes as the US president is set to meet with NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington later on Monday.Trump has said he would issue a “major statement” on the war on Monday.Russian forces meanwhile said on Monday they had claimed new territory in eastern Ukraine with the capture of two villages, one in the Donetsk region and another in the Zaporizhzhia region.Moscow claimed to have annexed both almost three years ago despite not having full military control over them. Its forces also killed at least three civilians in the eastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions on Monday, regional Ukrainian officials announced.Moscow has stepped up aerial strikes on Ukraine over recent months, launching hundreds of drones almost on a daily basis.The Ukrainian air force said Monday Russia had launched 136 drones and four missiles at Ukraine.

Deadlocked Gaza truce talks limp on but US hopes for deal

Stuttering Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas entered a second week on Monday, with US President Donald Trump still hopeful of a breakthrough and as more than 20 people were killed on the ground.The indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital, Doha, appeared deadlocked at the weekend after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of hostages.In Gaza, the Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency said at least 22 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes on Monday in and around Gaza City, and Khan Yunis in the south.One strike on a tent in Khan Yunis on Sunday killed the parents and three brothers of a young Gazan boy, who only survived as he was outside getting water, the boy’s uncle told AFP.Belal al-Adlouni called for revenge for “every drop of blood” saying it “will not be forgotten and will not die with the passage of time, nor with displacement or with death”.AFP reporters in southern Israel meanwhile saw large plumes of smoke in northern Gaza, where the military said fighter jets had pounded Hamas targets over the weekend.Trump, who met Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington last week, is keen to secure a truce in the 21-month war, which was sparked by Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.”Gaza — we are talking and hopefully we’re going to get that straightened out over the next week,” he told reporters late on Sunday, echoing similarly optimistic comments he made on July 4.A Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Saturday that Hamas rejected Israeli proposals to keep troops in over 40 percent of Gaza and plans to move Palestinians into an enclave on the border with Egypt.In response, a senior Israeli political official accused Hamas of inflexibility and trying to deliberately scupper the talks by “clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement”.- Pressure -Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and the Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin headed to Brussels on Monday for talks between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours.But the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority denied media reports that any meeting between the two was on the agenda.In Israel, Netanyahu has said he would be ready to enter talks for a more lasting ceasefire when a deal for a temporary truce is agreed and only when Hamas lays down its weapons.But he is under pressure to quickly wrap up the war, with military casualties mounting and with public frustration both at the continued captivity of the hostages and a perceived lack of progress in the conflict.Politically, his fragile governing coalition is holding, for now, but Netanyahu is seen as beholden to a minority of far-right ministers in prolonging an increasingly unpopular conflict.He also faces a backlash over the feasibility and ethics of a plan to build a so-called “humanitarian city” from scratch in southern Gaza to house displaced Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold.The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has described the proposed facility as a “concentration camp” and Israel’s own security establishment is reported to be unhappy at the plan.Israeli media said the costs were discussed at a security cabinet meeting at the prime minister’s office on Sunday night, just hours before his latest court appearance in a long-running corruption trial on Monday.Hamas’s attacks on Israel in 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.A total of 251 hostages were taken that day, of which 49 are still being held, including 27 that the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s military reprisals have killed 58,026 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Stocks diverge after Trump’s latest tariff warning

Major stock markets diverged and the dollar largely steadied Monday after President Donald Trump’s latest trade war salvos that saw him threaten to hit the European Union and Mexico with 30 percent tariffs.Trump’s move followed his warnings last week of potential 50 percent levies on copper and Brazilian goods, 35 percent on Canadian goods, and a possible 200 percent charge on pharmaceuticals.While observers warn the measures could deal a hefty blow to the global economy, investors are largely optimistic that governments will hammer out agreements before the White House’s August 1 deadline.Eurozone stock markets declined in midday trading Monday after leading Asian indices closed mixed. London climbed with Britain no longer part of the European Union, while comments from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey hinting at more cuts to UK interest rates boosted sentiment.”Investors are lurching from hopes that Trump’s (tariff) threats are just a big negotiating tactic, to fears that his impatience will turn more vengeful and big hikes will come into force in August,” noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.Traders were awaiting news following Trump’s meeting due Monday with NATO chief Mark Rutte in Washington after the president teased a “major statement” on Russia’s war in Ukraine, with senior Republicans preparing an arsenal of sanctions against Moscow. The prospect of additional sanctions on Russian crude sent oil prices climbing 1.5 percent.Meanwhile bitcoin struck a record-high above $123,000.- Tariffs reaction -Regarding tariffs, Trump on Saturday cited Mexico’s role in illicit drugs flowing into the United States and a trade imbalance with the European Union.The move threw months of painstaking talks with Brussels into disarray.European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has insisted the bloc still wants to reach an accord — and on Sunday delayed retaliation over separate US duties on steel and aluminium as a sign of goodwill.EU officials threatened in May to impose tariffs on US goods worth around 100 billion euros ($117 billion), including cars and planes, should talks fail.Heading into Brussels talks with EU trade ministers Monday, the bloc’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic said despite Trump’s latest threat he “felt” Washington was ready to continue negotiating — and he planned to speak with his US counterparts later in the day.Analysts pointed out that the levies against Mexico and Canada come even after Trump agreed a trade deal with the two during his first administration.Tensions, meanwhile, have eased between the United States and China.Official data Monday showed Chinese exports jumped more than expected in June after Washington and Beijing agreed a tentative deal to lower swingeing levies on each other.That included a 32.4 percent surge in shipments to the United States, having dropped in May.Traders are also keeping a nervous eye on the Federal Reserve as Trump continues to berate boss Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates soon enough, saying Sunday “I hope he quits”, and adding “He should quit”.Reports also said the president’s allies were targeting the Fed chief over his handling of an expensive renovation at the bank’s headquarters, with some suggesting they were building a case to have him removed over it.However, strategists warned that such a move would bring the independence of the central bank into question and send US Treasury yields soaring and the dollar plunging.- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,977.21 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,793.51 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 24,028.60Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 39,459.62 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 24,203.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,519.65 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 44,371.51 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1692 from $1.1690 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3489 from $1.3497Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.24 yen from 147.38 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.69 pence from 86.59 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 percent at $71.37 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent at $69.47 per barrel