Trump scraps threat of 20% fee on Hormuz cargo

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0:30how to invest and manage money. Learn more at schwab.com. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Charlotte Gallagher and in the early hours of Wednesday the 15th of July, these are our main stories. President Trump scraps the threat of 20 % tolls on ships using the Strait of Hormuz. US immigration enforcement agents have been told to halt vehicle stops after two fatal shootings at their hands in the past week and a record-breaking heatwave in the US. Also in this podcast, Spain beats France in their World Cup semi-final.

1:19On Monday, President Trump declared the US was the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz and announced plans to charge ships millions of dollars to pass through the waterway. But after pressure from Gulf nations, Donald Trump has now gone back on that threat. Instead, the president says he'll sign massive trade and investment deals with those nations. So when I put that out yesterday, we've been doing that for many, many years. It was never fair to me that we would be guarding the straight when we basically don't take anything. We don't need the oil at all. And it wasn't important for us, but it was important for allies.

1:57It was important for people that we get along with very well, including the major Gulf state countries. So I put it out yesterday. I thought it was good. I was called by different people, different countries, kings and emirs and all of the people that we all know and we all love. And they've been, frankly, they've been very strong partners. And they said we'd love to do it a different way. We'd love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars. All this as last month's memorandum of understanding seems to survive only on paper. The US has resumed bombing Iran and blockading its ports.

2:38Iran, which says it controls the strait, has resumed targeting oil tankers and US military facilities. And traffic through the waterway has once again ground virtually to a halt. Our Washington correspondent, David Willis, told me more about the latest strikes on Iran. Well, President Trump has said, Charlotte, that the US will expand its strikes against Iran next week. This was in a telephone interview with Fox News, and he said that the strikes were going to get, as he put it, really bad, and that among the targets would be bridges and power plants. And indeed, the head of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, has issued a statement of his own accusing Iran of intentionally targeting civilians across the region by attacking seven commercial ships, resulting, he said, in nearly a dozen civilian crew members being either killed or injured.

3:37And that statement goes on to say that Iranian forces have also launched dozens of missiles and drones towards neighboring countries in the Gulf and that U.S. forces are, as Brad Cooper put it, holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives. Now, Iran's deputy foreign minister has said that Iran will exercise full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, no matter the cost. So what we have now is a fourth day of an exchange of fire in the Strait of Hormuz between the United States and Iran. And tell us about President Trump's plan to charge tariffs, because this lasted only for 24 hours and then he rode back on it.

4:23He did. He backtracked on that earlier today, that plan to collect a 20 percent toll from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, he said Gulf states would make major investments in the United States. Mr. Trump told reporters that he'd received calls from, as he put it, kings and emirs asking him not to impose tolls on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. And that total announcement had already been deemed illegal, of course, by the United Nations Maritime Agency, as well as shocking many U.S. allies in the Gulf. It also, of course, validated an Iranian demand to collect service fees in the Strait of Hormuz, something that Donald Trump had himself rejected previously.

5:16And the president added today, I don't think anybody should charge a fee for the strait or any other strait in the world. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had already committed to investing more than$2 trillion in the United States over the next several years, even before the war with Iran. And Donald Trump has said in his post that new investments on top of that would make the number even larger, Charlotte. David Willis. America's war with Iran is putting strain on industries and businesses around the world. But not everyone seems to be affected. US banks are still doing well.

6:00The latest reported profits are extraordinary. Figures for the American investment giant Goldman Sachs shot up 84 % in a year and its rival, JPMorgan Chase, posted the highest ever quarterly profits for a US bank. So what's driving this? Michelle Fleury is our North America business correspondent and has been speaking to my colleague, Alex Ritson. Let's just start with this. New York is continuing its dream summer from the Knicks winter hosting the World Cup final And now Wall Street also getting in on the celebrations with this blockbuster set of earnings. And you've got JPMorgan Chase, one of America's biggest banks, and it reported$21 billion for the quarter, the highest in the bank's history.

6:46Goldman Sachs, another standout net revenue of$20 billion, a 39 % year over year jump. These are stellar performances. To quote Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, as he put it, you know, this is pretty much the best perfect conditions, as good as it gets, he said, for the banks. What's driving these huge profits and is there any sense of risk here? So if you look at the volatility we've seen in the markets, whether it's concerns or excitement over AI, or whether it's the situation in the Middle East and what that is doing to the price of oil and to other commodities and to the global economy, that volatility has proved something of a boost for Wall Street in terms of trading profits.

7:29The other thing that's really been driving things is deal making. We have talked a lot in the past about SpaceX's share listing. That was a huge money earner for many of the banks on Wall Street that earned fees from that. So all of this environment, these uncertainties are sort of helping these banks right now. That was Michelle Fleury speaking to my colleague Alex Ritson. The Trump administration has told immigration enforcement agents to halt vehicle stops after two fatal shootings in the past week. The order will reportedly apply to all cases except those involving people accused of serious crimes.

8:10The latest killing was a young man shot in his car by agents in Maine. Locals have been protesting outside an ICE detention centre. We do understand that his last words were something like, I was trying to stop, and his wife, after the fact, was screaming out for her husband. The Department for Homeland Security said the agent acted out of fear for public safety after the driver attempted to flee. Lilia Luciano from CBS News has been telling us more. The situation has grown incredibly tense here. I have spoken with business owners who are concerned for those members of their community who don't feel safe coming out after what happened here, after what happened in Houston, after what we have seen over and over today.

8:58There was an ICE pursuit that ended up in, because of the pursuit that ended up in an immigrant getting into an accident where it's in St. Augustine, Florida, where this person also died. So now we're talking about three deaths involving these car pursuits or these car stops by ICE agents. Many of them are done where the cars are unmarked, where the agents are not wearing body cameras. So here what I'm hearing from protesters is how can you and from members of the community, how can you get accountability if you don't have body cameras? How can you trust the agencies when oftentimes they're investigating themselves and keeping the other agencies, whether local or state agencies, outside of those investigations?

9:43We have seen a bilateral group of members of Congress coming out today and saying that there needs to be here in Maine a proper investigation of this and that it makes sense to suspend even temporarily these car stops, these vehicle stops, because of all the questions that have been raised after this incident. What we have learned about the incident is really based on some of the witnesses, people who heard the gunshots, piecing together some of those surveillance videos, not from the ICE officers who conducted the chase, the arrest and the shooting, but from local businesses that were so upset about what happened, that have so many questions and are demanding that accountability, that they chose to share and make public the videos from their ring cameras, from their security cameras within, outside their houses and businesses.

10:35less than a week ago another man a mexican national who'd been living in the u.s for decades was shot and killed by an ice officer in texas dick durbin is a democratic senator from illinois and a member of the senate judiciary committee he says ice needs a total overhaul these outrages are happening because there are quotas at ice how many people have to be deported on a regular basis Stephen Miller, sitting at the right hand of the president in the White House, is engineering this. And he's doing it at the expense of innocent people who are taking their kids to school and going to work. These men, primarily men and women, who are involved in ICE, are not following the basic rules and principles when it comes to good policing.

11:19It's no surprise that innocent victims like the one in Maine have been reported. I'm afraid more will follow unless we stop this. Saying that they're just going to adjust things is not enough. Next, a record-breaking heat wave is moving from the west to east coast of the United States, with more than 100 million people waking up to extreme heat alerts. And in other areas, there's a threat of dangerous levels of air pollution too. Stephanie Prentice is following the story and has been telling me more. So Charlotte, an air quality alert is in place for huge swathes of the US because of wildfires we've been seeing in Canada.

11:59Now, they're causing heavy smoke to move south. The fires aren't currently under control. There's more than 800 of them. And authorities are saying the air quality in those huge areas, the north and midwest, will be classified as hazardous. And that will be made much worse by the extreme heat seen in the US this week. Now, we can get on to that. But while we know the dangers of heat to the human body, authorities are stressing the dangers of fine particle pollution that you get from wildfires. Short term, it's things like shortness of breath, coughing and dizziness. Medium term, it can really aggravate other health issues.

12:39So experts are advising the common sense stuff like staying inside if possible, avoiding outdoor activities. But in this instance, they're also saying wear a specialist mask if you have to go out, try to purify air inside the home and at the very least keep windows shut. And what are they saying about the temperatures? So something called a heat dome has been spreading across the states. It's already broken records in the West. One city in Montana recorded 44 degrees. But as this week unfolds, the heat is set to be dangerous everywhere from LA to Boston. And Wednesday, we'll see New York City and Washington DC getting some of the worst of those high temperatures.

13:19and they're high temperatures that are really becoming the new normal. Scientists have long been warning that global warming will make heat waves more frequent, more intense, longer lasting and increase the frequency of related issues like fires and storms. I guess the slight good news for Americans in the short term is that this heat wave won't be as long as that one they had over July the 4th weekend. That was almost a week in some places. but this one will likely feel more extreme in terms of the strength of the heat. Stephanie Prentice. Still to come in this podcast. There was a river when the dinosaurs were here so we find bits and pieces of dinosaurs and we've managed to find a really good ankylosaur skull on that channel and we're getting a good bit of a T-Rex out of that channel also.

14:08It's turning into a pretty crazy sight for us and a fun one. We hear from a dino hunter as a T-Rex skeleton breaks records at auction.

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17:29Mike and his guests offer their perspective on how policy changes could affect what you do with your portfolio. Download the latest episode and follow at schwab.com slash Washington Wise or wherever you listen. This is the Global News Podcast. It was billed as the battle of the favourites, Spain versus France in the World Cup semi-final. Both sides have been highly rated going into the tournament and put in some seriously impressive performances. In the end, though, it was a one-sided match at the Dallas Stadium, with Spain winning 2-0.

18:13Those were fans watching in Madrid and Sports World's John Bennett was also watching. It was an incredible performance by Spain. You could say that the best individuals were beaten by the best team. What a collective effort by the Spanish side. They completely controlled the 90 minutes. You're talking about a France side who have Kylian Mbappe and some people were saying one of the best attacking lineups that's ever been seen at a World Cup. And Spain didn't give them any opportunities. I think they had three shots on target. In fact, I know that France only had three shots on target during the whole game.

18:52So for Spain to completely control things, to be clinical when they had their chances, a very impressive performance. And I think whoever Spain face in the final on Sunday, they will now be the big favourites. I mean, Spain were absolutely amazing today. But I think there's a sense, isn't there, from both England and Argentina fans that they're glad that France are out of the way now. I think in a way, yes, because Kylian Mbappe, who for me, before this semi-final, was the player of the tournament, he now won't be in the final against either England or Argentina. Michael Alise won't be in that final.

19:27He's been sensational so far during this tournament. But Spain have proved themselves to be a class above anyone that has played so far at this World Cup. It really was a performance that I think will strike fear into whoever Spain face in that final on Sunday. Looking ahead to England, Argentina, what are you predicting? What are you expecting, John? Well, it's interesting that both of these teams have left a lot to be desired when it's come to some of their performances. Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, he mentioned after their win against Norway that he was unhappy with their performance.

20:01You think about Argentina nearly being knocked out by Kate Verde, nearly being knocked out by Egypt. Switzerland came close to beating them as well. Argentina have found a way in this tournament but sometimes their performances haven't lived up to expectations, apart from the performances of Lionel Messi, who despite being in his late 30s has been absolutely incredible. And it's similar when you look at the England team. Individuals have got them out of trouble at times. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who both have six goals each at this World Cup. So I'm expecting a much closer game than the first semi-final and it's about which individual will step up.

20:39Will it be Lionel Messi yet again owning this World Cup? Or will it be Jude Bellingham who will steal the show on the Knights? But I think it will be a lot closer than the France against Spain game that we saw. That was John Bennett. To China now, where the country's leader, Xi Jinping, continues with his anti-corruption drive. The latest person involved is Mashing Ray, one of the Chinese Communist Party's most senior bureaucrats. He's now been removed from public office. But who is he and what's he accused of doing? Alex Ritson asked the BBC's China specialist, Kerry Allen. He was a very senior official in China.

21:17He was the former Communist Party chief of Xinjiang and he was also a former aerospace engineer. And there's lots of media reports today saying that there's been an anti-corruption probe into him since April and he's been found to have violated political, organisational and integrity discipline. They've said that he engaged in power for sex and money for sex transactions. And he also allowed family members to use his influence to seek benefits. Yeah, you say it's in Chinese media. What are people saying about his fall from grace? Well, not a lot, actually, because in China, social media commentary is tightly controlled on anything related to the Communist Party.

21:56So if you go on a social network like Sina Weibo, which is China's equivalent of a platform like Facebook, you won't see much. You'll see that hundreds of people have left comments but only a handful are available to few and a lot of these are produced by click farms or accounts that are paid to post pro-government messaging and they're very much just saying that they agree with this probe. That's what they would say wouldn't they but I mean is there any evidence that he really is guilty because the sceptics will say this is a very convenient way of getting rid of anyone, any official who becomes inconvenient to the leadership for whatever reason.

22:35Oh, absolutely, they would. And this is a campaign that's been going on since Xi Jinping came to power back in 2013. He's been saying since then that he wants to crack down on what he calls tigers and flies, which are metaphors for big and small officials who are corrupt. And, I mean, in my regular monitoring, I see almost daily reports. There are investigations into different people over corruption. It's something that's just, you know, I almost see it daily. But I think why this one's so significant is that Mao was in China's Politburo, which is a body made up of just over 20 people within China's top leadership.

23:12So he was very, very close to President Xi. When it comes to figures that are being investigated for being corrupt, I almost expect to see the word deputy or vice in front of their name. There's often the kind of assumption that they often take the fall when it comes to corruption in China's ongoing probes. But this is actually the third person in as many months within Xi Jinping's inner circle who has been investigated. It gets officials to very much pay attention to Xi Jinping's messaging and make sure that they're towing the party line. Kerry Allen, there's been a record-breaking auction in New York for a very, very old skeleton.

23:52At$43 million, you're all through online, you're all through in the room. At$43 million, fair warning then, at$43 million, sold$43 million. That was the moment that Gus, the T-Rex, sold at Sotheby's, beating the previous record set by Apex, the Stegosaurus. An expensive end for a dinosaur whose bones were found on a ranch in South Dakota in 2021. But some have asked whether dinosaur fossils should be sold off like this. Clayton Phipps is a fossil hunter in Montana and featured on the TV show Dino Hunters. It's definitely a wonderful time and a wonderful thing, I think, for paleontology, in my opinion.

24:37It's bringing attention to dinosaurs like never before. And I think that just brings attention to the field and good things will come from that. I do have a bit of the Hellcrick formation running through my property. And we have a river channel there where there was a river when the dinosaurs were here. So we find bits and pieces of dinosaurs. And we've managed to find a really good ankylosaur skull in that channel. And we're getting a good bit of a T-Rex out of that channel also. So it's turning into a pretty crazy sight for us and a fun one. We have dinosaurs that we've found in museums around the world.

25:07There's one in Holland, actually, in Europe. The first T-Rex that ever went to Europe, I believe, for children to see is in the Naturalis Museum in Leiden, Holland. And also we just placed one in another T-Rex that my team and I discovered and excavated in the new Abu Dhabi Natural History Museum. And I think those that say that they shouldn't be bought and sold on the open market, those folks are going to go extinct if they keep it up. I just think you can't say that dinosaurs are not valuable after a record sale like this. And, you know, just like when the Stegosaur sold for$44 million, I think, after fees, you know, Apex that you spoke about, it is on loan, I believe, to an American museum and can be studied.

25:51So most of these, you know, and, you know, I think philanthropists love to be able to put their name on something of this magnitude, and it's a win for all. I would say that fossil laws around the world have literally caused more harm than good in most places. A fossil not collected is a fossil gone forever because of erosion. That was Clayton Phipps. Finally, Mount Sinai in Egypt is for Jews, Christians and Muslims a place of reverence. The site, according to religious scriptures, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It's also the location of one of the world's oldest monasteries, the 1500-year-old St Catherine's Monastery run by the Greek Orthodox Church.

26:38That was the sound of the simantron, the wood instrument used to summon Greek Orthodox monks. The Egyptian authorities want to develop the area into a tourism mega project. There are now reports of a new deal that's been offered by the government to try alleviate concerns. Lindsay Rodriguez is from the US-based group Coptic Solidarity. What the Egyptian government did, starting under Mohamed Morsi about 10 years ago, was to start litigation against the monastery to take over that land. And President el-Sisi, it's continued under him for all of these years. So this is actually not like a new issue.

27:17It's something that the Egyptian government has been pursuing. They've done that through state authority, through judicial maneuverings. But essentially, they're trying to say that when they did in a court ruling in last May, that now the Egyptian state is the owner of the property and that the monks can just live there and that they can lease the surrounding lands. Sorry, just explain to us why it is that it's the Greek Orthodox Church because some of our listeners, and certainly me when I came to this story first of all you know, might be a bit confused about the fact that this is the Greek Orthodox Church when you're talking about somewhere slap bang in the middle of Egypt A lot of the early church fathers were Greek of course and it was Greeks who first established this monastery although of course there are many Coptic Orthodox monasteries throughout Egypt So that puts it in a unique position that it is under Greek authority.