Taiwan test fires new US-supplied HIMARS rocket system for first time
Taiwan on Monday test-fired for the first time a new US-supplied rocket system that has been widely used by Ukraine against Russia and could be deployed to hit targets in China if there is a war with Taiwan.
The US is Taiwan's most important arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, including several rounds of war games, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island.
Taiwan has bought 29 of Lockheed Martin's precision weapon High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, with the first batch of 11 received last year and the rest set to arrive by next year.
With a range of about 300km, they could hit coastal targets in China's southern province of Fujian, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, in the event of conflict.
The US-trained Taiwan military team fired the rockets from the Jiupeng test centre on a remote part of the Pacific coast.

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The Citizen
9 hours ago
- The Citizen
Trump says deal with Xi ‘extremely hard' as steel tariffs double
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IOL News
10 hours ago
- IOL News
South African business confidence dips in quarter two, signaling economic slowdown
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The rand's volatility, peaking past R19.90 to the dollar in April before recovering to below R18 to the dollar, added to the unease. While the scrapping of a proposed VAT hike provided some relief, mixed signals about the stability of the Government of National Unity and the Democratic Alliance's role in it further clouded the outlook, RMB said. The second quarter confidence print was driven by declines in four of the five sectors, partially offset by a sharp increase in wholesale trade confidence, leaving overall confidence lower. This almost mirrored the previous quarter outcome, where declines in four of the five sectors were more than fully offset by a sharp increase in new vehicle dealer confidence, resulting in overall confidence rising. Sectoral Performance Wholesale Trade : The only sector to report higher confidence, rising to 50 points. Non-consumer goods traders performed strongly, but consumer goods traders saw a sharp drop in sales, raising concerns about weakening consumer demand despite supportive factors like low inflation, interest rate cuts, and two-pot pension payouts. : The only sector to report higher confidence, rising to 50 points. Non-consumer goods traders performed strongly, but consumer goods traders saw a sharp drop in sales, raising concerns about weakening consumer demand despite supportive factors like low inflation, interest rate cuts, and two-pot pension payouts. Retail and Motor Trade : Both sectors saw confidence decline to 42 points, down 8 and 10 points, respectively. Retail and motor trade respondents remained relatively optimistic about sales volumes, supported by a 25-basis-point interest rate cut post-survey, though higher personal taxes may offset this boost. : Both sectors saw confidence decline to 42 points, down 8 and 10 points, respectively. Retail and motor trade respondents remained relatively optimistic about sales volumes, supported by a 25-basis-point interest rate cut post-survey, though higher personal taxes may offset this boost. Building Contractors : Confidence dropped 10 points to a near three-year low of 35. Residential contractors faced ongoing pressure despite prior rate cuts, while non-residential contractors performed better but could not prevent the overall decline. : Confidence dropped 10 points to a near three-year low of 35. Residential contractors faced ongoing pressure despite prior rate cuts, while non-residential contractors performed better but could not prevent the overall decline. Manufacturing: Confidence held steady at a low 33 points despite worsening conditions, with declines in domestic and export demand driving lower production. Political climate concerns also intensified. RMB said that last quarter's warning lights are "certainly flickering brighter". 'The fact that confidence in four of the five sub-sectors declined and that (for two consecutive quarters) confidence in three of the five sub-sectors declined suggests that momentum in overall economic activity slowed down. During this period, just two sectors–wholesalers and new vehicle dealers–alternated to do the heavy lifting, but it was insufficient to lift confidence this quarter,' it said. RMB said following the meagre 0.1% quarter on quarter GDP growth rate recorded in the first quarter of 2025, 'we cannot risk losing any further momentum." It said the reduction in the repo rate will provide some relief, but more is needed to reignite the spark in the South African economy. "There is arguably more certainty on the local political front, with Budget 3.0 tabled and broad agreement among GNU partners to continue working together for now. The global environment will remain uncertain, but an easing of tension regarding diplomatic relations between the US and South Africa would support sentiment," it said. Kristof Kruger, senior Fixed Income Trader at Prescient Securities, said the overall growth trajectory for 2025 remains subdued. South Africa's economic fundamentals continue to face several headwinds, including: Structural issues like energy shortages and high unemployment, like energy shortages and high unemployment, Global trade uncertainty and slow growth in key trading partners, and slow growth in key trading partners, Domestic policy challenges and a lack of political cohesion within the government. BUSINESS REPORT

IOL News
11 hours ago
- IOL News
High-cost loans, Trump turmoil hurting Africa, says G20 panel chief
Seasoned politician and anti-apartheid activist Trevor Manuel chairs the panel of experts working on proposals to address issues affecting Africa, including high debt, to be presented at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in November. Image: AFP Critically needed economic growth in Africa is being held back by high borrowing costs imposed by international lenders, with unpredictable US policy changes adding to the strain, the head of the G20 panel on the continent said. Seasoned politician and anti-apartheid activist Trevor Manuel chairs the panel of experts working on proposals to address issues affecting Africa, including high debt, to be presented at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in November. African nations are not necessarily more indebted than major economies but they face higher debt servicing costs, Manuel told AFP in an interview. The "unbelievably expensive and prohibitive" cost of capital for African nations has hobbled their development, said Manuel, who served as finance minister in post-apartheid South Africa for more than a decade. "We know that the risk premiums in general on Africa are much higher than they need to be, and that impacts them on the debt service costs," he added. More than half of Africa's 1.3 billion people live in countries with debt interest payments higher than social spending on health, education and infrastructure, according to the South African government. South Africa is the only African nation in the G20 and has made debt sustainability for developing countries one of the priorities of its presidency of the group of 19 countries, the African Union and European Union. African countries will pay close to $89 billion (R1.6 trillion) in external debt service alone this year, with 20 low-income countries at risk of debt distress, it says. Manuel said the panel will seek to persuade the entire G20 to engage with multilateral development banks, in particular the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to address the issue of borrowing costs. 'Unbelievably difficult' Abrupt changes in global order since US President Donald Trump took office in January, such as sweeping aid cuts and trade tariffs, will have long-lasting ramifications for the continent, Manuel said. Trump's "capricious" announcement in April of major trade tariffs effectively did away with the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a major US-African trade deal that had helped to build some African economies, he said. He cited as examples the tiny kingdom of Lesotho, which faces 50% tariffs on exports to the US, including jeans and golf shirts, and Madagascar, which sends vanilla pods and is threatened with 47% tariffs. "It becomes unbelievably difficult for small countries that try and develop export markets, for their products to be struck by these sudden announcements," Manuel said. "There's no time for adjustment." Adding to the pressure is the termination of Usaid programmes and a push for Nato countries to increase defence spending, which restricts what they have available for overseas development assistance. "The impact on the African continent is going to be very severe," said Manuel. "We can't abstract Africa from the rest of the globe." "The realm of policymaking requires a greater degree of predictability and certainty than what we see at the moment," he said. "The fact that there are these occasional outbursts that aren't informed by reality as I see it... makes it even more complex." Intra-Africa Manuel said his panel's work on better understanding the African economy and developing solutions was likely to continue beyond this year's G20, for example, via the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union. This included looking at "intra-African dynamics" such as the role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched in 2019. Conflicts also cost the continent, he said, citing the war in Sudan and unrest that has held back a major gas project in impoverished northern Mozambique. "When countries spend more on war than what they do on the upliftment of people, then we face profound consequences," Manuel said. He said a strong United Nations and African Union were important in "persuading countries to do the right things" in the long term, beyond the sometimes disruptive short electoral cycles that usher in new leadership and policy changes. "If you don't have those kinds of objectives, which frequently will not be completed within a particular electoral cycle, I think we run ourselves into the ground." AFP