CNA938 Rewind - A weekend of fire: Iran, Israel exchange strikes
CNA938 Rewind
Iran launched over 100 drones at Israel, in retaliation for the latter's strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities. The exchange is yet another flashpoint in an already tense region on the back of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza strip. Andrea Heng and Susan Ng speak with Dr Eyal Mayroz, Senior Lecturer, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney to find out more.
CNA938 Rewind - A weekend of fire: Iran, Israel exchange strikes
Iran launched over 100 drones at Israel, in retaliation for the latter's strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities. The exchange is yet another flashpoint in an already tense region on the back of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza strip. Andrea Heng and Susan Ng speak with Dr Eyal Mayroz, Senior Lecturer, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney to find out more.
19 mins
CNA938 Rewind - Stock Take Today: Markets dampened by tensions in the Middle East, oil surges
On the daily markets analysis on Open For Business, Andrea Heng and Susan Ng speak with Garett Lim, Head of Partnerships, Hubbis.
12 mins
CNA938 Rewind - Grain drain: Japan struggles with a rice crisis
Sky-high prices, rations, emergency reserves. Japan's rice crisis has ballooned, with the essential Japonica grain out of reach from the Japanese consumer – it even led to the resignation of the country's agriculture minister. Andrea Heng and Susan Ng speak with Dr Seijiro Takeshita, Dean and Professor of Graduate School of Management, Informatics and Innovation at the University of Shizuoka on how the problem got this far.
12 mins
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Business Times
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G7 leaders struggle for unity over Trump‘s Russia comments, tariff policy
[KANANASKIS, Alberta] Group of Seven leaders faced early challenges during meetings in Canada on Monday as US President Donald Trump said removing Russia from the former Group of Eight over a decade ago had been a mistake. The once tight-knit group has struggled to find unity over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as Trump overtly expresses support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and has imposed tariffs on many of the allies present. G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US, along with the European Union, are convening in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday. Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said the former Group of Eight had been wrong to kick out Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea. 'This was a big mistake,' Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected. 'Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else ... he's not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn't even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him,' Trump said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Though Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group, his comments raise doubts about how much Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy can achieve when he meets the leaders on Tuesday. 'It was a rough start,' said Josh Lipsky, a former senior IMF official who now chairs the international economics department at the Atlantic Council. 'This is not the way that Canada wanted the summit to start ... But there's time to get things back on track.' European nations say they want to persuade Trump to back tougher sanctions on Moscow. Zelenskiy said he planned to discuss new weapons purchases for Ukraine with Trump. European officials said they hoped to use Tuesday's meeting with Zelenskiy and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and next week's NATO summit to convince Trump to toughen his stance. In another early sign the group of democracies may struggle to reach agreement on key issues, a US official said Trump would not sign a draft statement calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict. A Canadian official, though, said the conflict would come up in bilateral meetings throughout the day and it was too early to speculate on the outcome of those conversations. A senior European diplomat echoed those comments, saying Trump had yet to make a decision. Draft documents Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt a comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of the 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving. Leaders have prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including on migration, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. None of them have been approved by the United States, however, according to sources briefed on the documents. Without Trump, it is unclear if there will be any declarations, a European diplomat said. Talks on Monday centered around the economy, advancing trade deals, and China. Another European diplomat said leaders agreed in early sessions that China is the real competitor and G7 allies should not paralyse themselves with trade conflicts. The leaders discussed expanding the G7 to include other democracies, the diplomat added. Carney invited non-G7 members Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, as well as Ukraine. Tariffs Trump, who traveled to Canada with his top trade negotiators, is expected to discuss trade and tariffs with the leaders of Japan, India and Australia, among others, on the sidelines of the summit. Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday they had finalised a trade deal reached between the two allies last month, making Britain the first country to agree to a deal for lower US tariffs. Sources familiar with the planning said they are not expecting the completion of new trade deals during the G7 summit, however. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped there would be steps towards a solution to a tariff dispute with the United States, even if a solution itself could not be reached at the summit. Carney said in a statement he had agreed with Trump that their two nations should try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days. Trump said a new economic deal with host Canada was possible but stressed tariffs had to play a role, a position the Canadian government strongly opposes. 'Our position is that we should have no tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States,' said Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to Washington. REUTERS
CNA
an hour ago
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US military boosts Middle East 'capabilities' amid Israel-Iran conflict
WASHINGTON: The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was leaving Southeast Asia on Monday (Jun 16) after cancelling a Vietnam visit, as the Pentagon announced it was sending "additional capabilities" to the Middle East amid a ramp-up of the Iran-Israel conflict. At 1.45pm GMT (9.45pm, Singapore time), the carrier was travelling through the Malacca Strait toward the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking site. A Vietnamese government official confirmed to AFP that a planned reception aboard the USS Nimitz on Jun 20, as part of the ship's expected Jun 19 to Jun 23 visit to Danang, had been cancelled. The official shared a letter from the US embassy announcing that the Defense Department was cancelling the event due to "an emergent operational requirement". The movement of one of the world's largest warships came on day four of the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, with no end in sight despite international calls for de-escalation. Hours after the US embassy letter, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the United States was reinforcing its military presence in the Middle East to enhance its "defensive posture." "Over the weekend, I directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the United States Central Command Area of Responsibility," Hegseth posted on X. "Protecting US forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region." Israel's strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities. In retaliation, Iran said it had struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of "effective, targeted and more devastating operations" to come. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday said that Iran's missile barrage had lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv. With tensions high, US President Donald Trump issued an unspecified warning from the G7 summit in Canada where he is scheduled to remain until Tuesday. "As soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something. But I have to leave here," Trump told reporters. Meanwhile open source intelligence analysts have taken to social media to post flight-tracking software grabs of about two dozen US Air Force air tankers taking off since Sunday and heading east over the Atlantic ocean.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Money Talks Podcast: When to get the best exchange rates for foreign currencies
If the US dollar weakens against the Singdollar, should you buy it even if you're not traveling to the US anytime soon? And what happens if the rate drops drastically? In this week's Money Talks episode, Khoon Goh, head of Asia research for ANZ gives a run down the basics of currency exchange. Here is an excerpt from the conversation: Andrea Heng, host: One of our guests in a previous Money Talks episode told us that when he saw the Japanese yen dropping, he immediately went and changed a large sum of money and kept it in his multi-currency app. What are the pros and cons of doing this? Khoon Goh, head of Asia research for ANZ: It makes sense to look at a very favourable rate, particularly if a trip is coming up, and you know you're going to utilise that. So it makes sense to convert ... But the downside is that potentially that rate could get even better. Secondly, in terms of these multi-currency wallets, bear in mind you're not actually earning any interest when you convert into it. If you still retain your Sing dollars in your savings account, at least you're earning something, not much, but at least something. So there is that opportunity cost of lost interest that has to be borne. It's not going to be a large amount obviously, but it's really around the potential for the rates getting better. So if you're converting, say, the whole amount, then you're missing out on any potential better rates. But on the other hand, it could also revert, and therefore in my mind, let's not have any regrets, because whatever rate that you are changing is obviously a rate that you're happy with, and you're going to spend that amount anyway. Andrea: But that's the thing, right? I've always often wondered, when do you know it's a good time to change? Is it when everyone goes: 'Hey, the US dollar has come down. I think better change now.' Or is there something that we can refer to as a gauge? Khoon: There's a lot of things that affect currency movements, but if you're already committed, or you've already made a decision to travel or go on a holiday to a certain destination, then even a two to five per cent currency move is not going to be material.
