Tibetan Monk missing months after arrest, family demands fair trial
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
China's planned Turkish EV factories have yet to power up
WHEN BYD, China's biggest electric carmaker, offered a $1bn investment in the summer of 2024, Turkey rolled out the red carpet. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country's president, attended the signing ceremony. Officials in Manisa, where the company plans to open a new factory, mused about a future 'Chinatown' to house BYD workers. Yet a year down the line, despite reports the company would accelerate work on the plant at the expense of one in Hungary, things have not progressed much. The factory is supposed to open next year, but there are no signs of construction save for a few containers and the occasional dump truck. Turkey's location and relatively low labour costs make it a big draw for Chinese EV makers. So does its customs-union agreement with the European Union, which allows cars built in Turkey to be exported to the bloc tariff-free. Last year the EU slapped tariffs of up to 35%, on top of an existing 10% duty, on Chinese EVs. Other Chinese auto makers looking to Turkey as a way to avoid the tariffs include Chery, said to be eyeing a $1bn investment. China is also keen to grab a slice of Turkey's booming domestic EV market. High fuel prices and an extortionate consumption tax of up to 220% for conventional vehicles have driven up demand for EVs. Over 100,000 fully electric cars were sold in Turkey in the seven months to July, an increase of 147% on the same period in 2024. Desperate for foreign investment but hoping to stem the tide of cheap Chinese EVs—which threaten its own electric carmaker, TOGG—Turkey has sought to solve both problems in one go. Last year the country raised tariffs on Chinese cars to 50%. But it made BYD and other carmakers who pledge to invest in Turkey exempt. Sales of BYD cars have surged. On paper TOGG, one of Mr Erdogan's flagship projects, has fared well. Since its launch in 2023, it has outsold every other EV brand at home, partly thanks to government support. But competition from foreign EVs and the prospect of 150,000 BYD cars per year from the plant in Manisa could spell trouble. 'They may not survive in such a market,' says Cagdas Ungor of Marmara University. Chinese investments in Turkey amount to only some $5bn, lower than in Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Iraq. Politics is no longer the main obstacle. Turkey has toned down its criticism of China's treatment of its Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group. The biggest brake is instead Turkey's rule-of-law record. Mr Erdogan and his inner circle enjoy nearly unchecked power. 'Regulations and tariff decisions are made overnight without any consultations with the key actors,' says Ceren Ergenc of the Centre for European Policy Studies, a Brussels think-tank. 'China perceives that as a high risk.' China's EV operations in Turkey have not escaped scrutiny by EU bureaucrats. Earlier this year the European Commission warned that it would go after countries and companies that engage in tariff circumvention. EU anti-dumping rules mean that cars made in Turkey could face punitive tariffs if imported parts account for 60% or more of their value, unless assembly adds over 25% to manufacturing costs. To have unfettered access to the EU market, companies like BYD will need to source at least some parts from Turkey. Fear of pushback from the EU may explain why work in Manisa has slowed. Firms like BYD are hedging their bets, says Ms Ergenc, and waiting for the EU and China to settle their EV tariff dispute. Local officials and other analysts say BYD will finish the factory, though perhaps not on time. Turkey may be a convenient backdoor to the EU, but the Chinese have not yet prised it open. To stay on top of the biggest European stories, sign up to Café Europa, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Trump's Tariffs Push India and China Closer Together
Trump's Tariffs Push India and China Closer Together | Vantage with Palki Sharma Donald Trump's escalating trade war has had an unintended consequence — it's nudging India and China toward closer engagement. Reports suggest Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi may soon visit India, his first in three years, as signs of normalisation emerge. Direct flights between the two nations could resume, and Prime Minister Modi is expected to attend the SCO Summit in Tianjin, potentially meeting President Xi Jinping. China has eased restrictions on urea exports to India and reopened the Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar pilgrimage routes. Both countries still face deep mistrust over past conflicts, but Trump's tariffs have given them a common cause — resisting U.S. economic pressure, protecting growth, and securing affordable energy. This tactical realignment may be limited, but it signals how shared interests can bridge old divides. See More
Scroll.in
an hour ago
- Scroll.in
BJP ‘ready to stoop to any level of immorality to stay in power': Kharge alleges on Independence Day
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party is 'now ready to stoop to any level of immorality to stay in power'. He referred to the revision of voter rolls in Bihar, claiming that the exercise was used to 'openly remove' Opposition voters, and added that living persons were being declared dead during the process. He further said that the impartiality of the Election Commission could be gauged by its unwillingness to disclose who had been removed from the voter lists and on what basis. However, Kharge added that he was grateful to the Supreme Court, which on Thursday directed the poll body to publish a district-wise list of around 65 lakh voters whose names were deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls. Earlier in the day, the Congress chief hoisted the national flag at the Congress' new headquarters in New Delhi, and spoke about the party's campaign against alleged electoral malpractices, calling it a struggle to ' save democracy ', The Hindu reported. 'This is not a fight to win elections but to save India's democracy and protect the Constitution,' Kharge said to his party colleagues on Friday. He urged Congress workers to take an active role in verifying the voter rolls at the booth level. 1. आप सभी को 79th Independence Day की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ और बधाई। 2. कांग्रेस पार्टी के लिए आज का दिन ऐतिहासिक है, क्योंकि हम अपने नए स्थायी मुख्यालय में स्वतंत्रता दिवस मना रहे है। 3. 15 अगस्त 1947 को जो स्वतंत्रता हमने हासिल की, उसमें हमारी पार्टी की भूमिका को सारा विश्व… — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 15, 2025 India not truly free under BJP: Mamata Banerjee West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that India is not genuinely free under the current BJP-led Union Government, PTI reported. Banerjee claimed that the BJP is curbing citizens' fundamental rights, including voting rights and freedom of speech, the news agency reported. 'Despite India having achieved Independence 78 years ago, the people are not truly independent under the rule of the fascist BJP,' she said. In a post on X Banerjee said that 'Bengal and Bengalis are the victims of hatred in different parts of the country.'. She added that the people of Bengal, who had already suffered during the partition, were once again facing attacks on various pretexts, and efforts were being made to strip them of their constitutional rights under the guise of amending the voter list. The Trinamool Congress has repeatedly raised concerns about several Bengali-speaking migrant workers being detained in parts of the country on the suspicion of being Bangladeshis. Since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the police in several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asking them to prove that they are Indian citizens. Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they allegedly could not prove their Indian citizenship. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.
