22 August on nwsTrail: Israel under pressure, Trump continues building, flooding in Asia

Surprising news also came from the United States, although in Trump’s second term the word surprise is itself starting to wear thin. The Supreme Court temporarily allowed construction of the 400 million dollar White House ballroom to continue while it considers a case seeking to halt the project. A federal appeals court had earlier found that Trump is a temporary tenant of the White House and cannot make such changes without approval from Congress. Trump thanked the Supreme Court and called the new complex vital for national security, while government lawyers said the project includes an underground security facility and measures to protect the White House complex against drones, ballistic missiles, biological threats and other risks. What began as a ballroom for 650 people has grown in later plans into a project for roughly 1,000 people, with the entire East Wing to be demolished.

At the same time, the Trump administration tried to bring down the price of ground beef before the midterms and was hit from its own side. Trump announced a deal allowing up to 300,000 tonnes of ground beef to be imported over the next 90 days without the out-of-quota tariff, with the imported product sold 25 percent below market price. Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie called it a slap in the face to American cattle ranchers and consumers, and worse than socialism. Marjorie Taylor Greene also said the administration was making life harder for American cattle producers. So Trump’s price cut becomes another small test: what matters more, the consumer’s wallet or the producer whom politics so passionately claims to defend?

The United States and Canada, meanwhile, moved into tariff-war mode. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended trade talks after 50 percent US tariffs on many Canadian goods took effect at midnight. The tariffs cover about 20 billion dollars in US imports from Canada, including hockey sticks, building materials, alcoholic drinks and some clothing. The talks had reportedly been very close to an agreement, but being close does not pay bills or stop tariffs. Canadian provincial premiers were pressuring Ottawa, and one point of friction was even whether provinces should lift bans on the sale of American alcohol.

In the eastern part of Indian Assam state, floods caused by heavy July rains killed more than 100 people, destroyed 2,700 villages and forced 700,000 people from their homes. According to the state government, 1.2 million people were affected in total. Around Sivasagar, the Dikhow River swept away homes, rice fields, tree trunks and lives. One man saw his wife say on a video call that they were going to die; moments later the floodwater cut the call and carried away his wife and four-year-old daughter. Locals described 30- to 40-metre trees coming down from the hills and villages where not a single home was left. Now the argument is whether mining and forest loss turned a natural disaster into an even harsher human disaster.

India’s name was also attached to a very different story, this time through an alleged fraud scheme targeting elderly people in the United States. Jay Sunilbharthi Goswami, a 21-year-old from Gujarat, was arrested in Canada in connection with an alleged multimillion-dollar scam aimed at victims aged 59 to 87. Nine victims lost about 7.5 million dollars in total. According to the complaint, elderly people were told that their bank accounts, money or personal information had been compromised and were persuaded to convert assets into cash, gold or gift cards. Goswami had been released on conditions in the United States, crossed into Canada the next day and was detained at Toronto’s airport after booking a flight to Doha. If the allegations hold, it is another example of how ruthlessly scammers choose those easiest to frighten.

From Japan came a rarer kind of environmental story: a hopeful one. Researchers at Kobe University found bacterial strains in PFAS-contaminated sediment from the Samondo River in Osaka prefecture that can reduce concentrations of PFOS and PFOA. One strain also significantly reduced PFAS levels in leachate from an industrial waste landfill, meaning the finding was not confined to a laboratory flask. PFAS are persistent chemicals used in products including fabrics and firefighting foam, and they accumulate in water, soil and wildlife.

In China, carmakers had to relearn an old lesson: a door must open even when everything else is very smart. Tesla and eight other automakers are recalling about 4.3 million vehicles because electronic hidden door handles may be hard to open in an emergency after a power failure or crash. The flush handles popularised by Tesla look clean and reduce air resistance, but if the manual release is poorly marked or hidden in a door pocket or under a panel, design becomes a safety risk. Tesla, Xiaomi, Leapmotor, Xpeng and Geely announced software updates or recalls.

In Russia, technology company VK sued Apple in Moscow, demanding that its apps be restored to the App Store and user notifications re-enabled. Apple had removed several VK-owned apps, citing sanctions. VK wants fines of 58 million roubles, or about 696,000 dollars, per day imposed on Apple’s Russian, US and Irish entities if the decision is not obeyed. The European Union had sanctioned VK and its subsidiary, which develops Russia’s state-backed messaging service Max, linking the companies to activities enabling citizen surveillance, censorship and the identification of people opposing Russian government policy.