Washington, July 31: US President Donald Trump once again mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties and said that the two countries can take their “dead economies down together”.

The US president’s fresh criticism of New Delhi and Moscow came hours after announcing 25 per cent tariffs against India, plus a “penalty” for its trade with Russia.

“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” he said.

“We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World,” he added.

Trump on Wednesday announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment.

The surprise announcement came a day after Indian officials said that a US trade team would visit from August 25 to negotiate a trade deal.

The announcement is being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US, which has, in recent days, got favourable trade deals with major partners like Japan, the UK and the European Union.

Trump termed India’s trade policies as “most strenuous and obnoxious”.

“All things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 per cent, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first,” Trump said in a social media post.

The penalty was announced as India has made large purchases of oil and military equipment from Russia. India is the first country to face a penalty for Russian imports.

India’s import of crude oil from Russia has risen from 0.2 per cent of total purchases before the Russia-Ukraine war to 35-40 per cent. New Delhi is the largest buyer of Russian oil after China.

Trump said though India is America’s friend, “we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their (India) tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country”.

He said India has always purchased a significant amount of military equipment and energy products from Russia at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the “killing” in Ukraine.

United Nations, July 31: Canada and Malta announced Wednesday they will recognize the state of Palestine in September, joining France and the United Kingdom in stepping up pressure to end the nearly 80-year Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement after a Cabinet meeting. Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta’s Foreign Ministry, made his country’s announcement earlier at the UN General Assembly’s meeting on a two-state solution to the conflict, which was extended to a third day because of the high number of countries wanting to speak.

Cutajar said Malta has long supported self-determination for the Palestinian people, and “as responsible actors, we have a duty to work to translate the concept of a two-state solution from theory into practice.”

“It is for this reason that the government of Malta has taken the principled decision to formally recognise the state of Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly in September,” he said.

Carney said Canada will also make its announcement at the annual gathering of world leaders, which starts September 23. He said the intention is predicated on the Palestinian Authority “holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarise the Palestinian state.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made those promises in a June 10 letter, and it’s unclear what more Carney is seeking.

Malta says it wants a lasting peace’ in Mideast

Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela earlier announced the decision by his country, a former British colony, to recognise a Palestinian state on Facebook, saying it is part of the nation’s efforts “for a lasting peace in the Middle East.”

The Mediterranean island nation and European Union member will join more than 145 countries, including over a dozen European nations, in recognising the state of Palestine.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced ahead of this week’s meeting that his country will recognise the state of Palestine at the annual gathering of world leaders at the 193-member General Assembly, which starts September 23.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday that Britain would recognise the state of Palestine before September’s meeting, but would refrain if Israel agrees to a ceasefire and long-term peace process in the next eight weeks.

France and Britain are the biggest Western powers and, with Canada, three members of the Group of Seven major industrialised nations have now made such a pledge.

Israel opposes a two-state solution and is boycotting the meeting along with its closest ally, the United States.

Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, on Tuesday sharply criticised about 125 countries participating in the conference and new recognitions of a Palestinian state, saying “there are those in the world who fight terrorists and extremist forces and then there are those who turn a blind eye to them or resort to appeasement.”

“While our hostages are languishing in Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza, these countries choose to engage in hollow statements instead of investing their efforts in their release,” Danon said. “This is hypocrisy and a waste of time that legitimises terrorism and distances any chance of regional progress.”

Malta’s Cutajar countered that “recognition is not merely symbolic – it is a concrete step towards the realisation of a just and lasting peace.”

Quick action is urged

High-level representatives at the UN conference on Tuesday urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state and gave “unwavering support” to a two-state solution, and they urged all countries that haven’t recognised the state of Palestine to do so quickly.

The seven-page “New York Declaration” sets out a phased plan to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza. The plan would culminate with an independent, demilitarised Palestine living side by side peacefully with Israel, and their eventual integration into the wider Mideast region.

A separate one-page statement titled the “New York Call” approved late Tuesday by 15 Western nations says they have recognised, “expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration … to recognise the state of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-state solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call.”

It included six that have recognised the state of Palestine and nine, including Malta and Canada, that had not. The seven that still haven’t are Andorra, Australia, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal and San Marino.

Saudi Arabia’s UN ambassador, Abdulaziz Alwasil, suspended the meeting “until further notice” after the 128th and final speaker, saying an outcome document has been sent to all 193 UN member nations. States have until the beginning of September to endorse the document.

Deir al-Balah, July 31: At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the US Mideast envoy was heading to Israel for talks.

Israel’s military offensive and blockade have led to the “worst-case scenario of famine” in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has seen aid convoys overwhelmed by desperate crowds.

US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration’s efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas’ October 7 attack that sparked the fighting, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza.

Wooden carts ferry the wounded as survivors carry flour

Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing.

Associated Press footage showed wounded people being ferried away from the scene of the shooting in wooden carts, as well as crowds of people carrying bags of flour.

Al-Saraya Field Hospital, where critical cases are stabilised before transfer to main hospitals, said it received more than 100 dead and wounded. Fares Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service, said some bodies were taken to other hospitals, indicating the toll could rise.

Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said. Another seven Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group’s militants operate in densely populated areas.

Israel has eased its blockade but obstacles remain

Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of “widespread death” without immediate action.

COGAT, the Israeli military body that facilitates the entry of aid, said over 220 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. That’s far below the 500-600 trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.

The United Nations is still struggling to deliver the aid that does enter the strip, with most trucks unloaded by crowds in zones controlled by the Israeli military. An alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, has also been marred by violence.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by GHF, according to witnesses, local health officials and the UN human rights office. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate, while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour.

Deaths from malnutrition

A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.

Israel denies there is any starvation in Gaza, rejecting accounts to the contrary from witnesses, UN agencies and aid groups, and says the focus on hunger undermines ceasefire efforts.

Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the rest of the hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.