
How Apple's China celebration became a conundrum: podcast
Factories and consumers in the People's Republic helped turn the iPhone maker into a $3 trln giant. Now geopolitical tensions are straining the relationship. In this episode of The Big View podcast, 'Apple in China' author Patrick McGee explains why there's no easy way out.
Follow @petertl.bsky.social
(The host is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
Further Reading
Apple's China detox is painful and overdue
China has spicy menu of US trade war reprisals
Shifting world order suits 'inbetweener' economies
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Scottish Sun
4 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Bounty of $5m placed on warlord ‘Barbecue' who rules world's most dangerous city with super-gang who burn people alive
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MULTI-million dollar bounty has been placed on the head of a warlord who rules over one of the world's most dangerous cities. American prosecutors are offering $5 million for information leading to the arrest of a Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier - better known as "Barbecue". Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Former police officer Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier Credit: Reuters 7 Armed gang members question locals in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince 7 Violence in Port-au-Prince has reached unprecedented levels and hundreds of thousands of civilians have been caught in the crossfires 7 The entire capital has been burning amid the civil crisis 7 Thousands of civilians are believed to have been caught in the brutal crossfire Credit: AP The vicious warlord has overseen bloody chaos in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, which now often resembles a battlefield. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been caught in the brutal crossfire. There have even been reports of rotting bodies littering the streets of the city as lawlessness runs amok. Cherizier, a former Haitian cop, now leads a gang alliance called Viv Ansanm. read more in world news PEACE PLOT Trump & Putin 'plan West Bank-style occupation of Ukraine' to secure truce This group stands accused of numerous atrocities including murders and kidnappings across the lawless capital. The US if offering a $5 million (£3.7 million) reward for information that leads to Cherizier's arrest. "There's a good reason that there's a $5 million reward for information leading to Cherizier's arrest," US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said. "He's a gang leader responsible for heinous human rights abuses, including violence against American citizens in Haiti." The indictment alleges that he and US citizen Bazile Richardson solicited funds from the Haitian diaspora in the United States. This money was then allegedly used to pay gang members and buy weapons in defiance of US sanctions. Irish woman among nine people kidnapped in horror planned armed gang attack on orphanage in Haiti Richardson was arrested in Texas last month. The pair helped "bankroll Cherizier's violent criminal enterprise, which is driving a security crisis in Haiti", according to Assistant US Attorney General John Eisenberg. He further said US authorities would "continue to pursue those who enable Haiti's violence and instability". Cherizier's nickname Barbecue is rumoured refer to him setting his victims on fire. Under rampant gang brutality, Port-au-Prince is now considered one of the most dangerous cities on the planet. Fighting between gangs, cops and citizen groups has ripped through the city, leaving its infrastructure in tatters. Health services are crumbling and food insecurity has grown increasingly acute throughout Port-au-Prince. A recent attempt by a UN backed Kenyan led security force failed to restore control from the gangs. Haiti was thrown into crisis when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in 2021. Who is Barbecue? HAITI'S Port-au-Prince currently lies in the hands of the feared Jimmy "Barbecue Barbecue - who is rumoured to have earned his nickname for setting his victims on fire - envisions himself as a "revolutionary", a self-professed "man of the people". His methods involve the killing, maiming and extorting of anyone unlucky enough to fall within his turf - turning every day into a constant battle for survival for residents. The fired cop turned warlord has been taking to the streets with a renewed vengeance and a plan to overthrow the government. He is currently sanctioned by the UK and its allies for "engaging in acts threatening the peace, security and stability of Haiti". And his influence is fast increasing as the country spirals into further turmoil sparked by the 2021 assassination of the country's Prime Minister Jovenal Moïse. Ever since, a security vacuum opened up and Barbecue has been greedily exploiting it, taking over territory and expanding his coalition with other gangs to wage further war. G9 has also been responsible for repeatedly cutting Haiti off from its much-needed fuel supply by taking its main oil terminal hostage. In a savage display of strength, Barbecue paralysed the country several times by preventing the distribution of food, water and vital medicines, plunging it into a deeper humanitarian crisis. Barbecue's criminal career dates back to his time as a police officer, InSight Crime reports. He participated in an anti-gang operation in 2017, leading to the extrajudicial killing of nine civilians. In 2018, he led a group of seven gangs in a massacre in La Saline, Haiti's worst massacre in over a decade. Barbecue was then fired from the police force and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In 2019, he participated in a four-day attack across Port-au-Prince's Bel-Air neighborhood, killing at least 24 people. 7 A man searches through burning trash in Port-au-Prince


Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Reuters
Dollar extends weakness as anticipation mounts of Fed interest rate cut
NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The dollar fell for a second straight session on Wednesday, a day after a U.S. inflation reading increased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month, and renewed pressure from President Donald Trump for lower rates added to the sell-off. The dollar index , measuring the currency against a basket of peers, fell 0.2% to 97.81, its lowest since July 28, extending its 0.5% drop on Tuesday. U.S. consumer prices increased marginally in July, data showed on Tuesday, in line with forecasts and as the pass-through from Trump's sweeping tariffs to goods prices has so far been limited. Investors priced in a 98% chance the central bank would ease rates next month, according to LSEG data. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a "series of rate cuts," and said the Fed could kick off the policy rate easing with a 50 basis point cut. The day before, U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticised Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not easing rates sooner, had added to the pressure on the Fed. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the president was considering a lawsuit against Powell in relation to his management of renovations at the central bank's Washington headquarters. "I think there is quite significant pressure on the Fed from the political side of Washington to get moving on interest rates," Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank, said. Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank, said these political developments carried echoes of autocratic countries, where heads of statistics agencies or central banks are replaced and critical data series often discontinued or manipulated. "I'm not saying that this will necessarily happen here. But the developments of the last few days and weeks do not exactly fill me with optimism about the future, or the U.S. dollar," Pfister said. Trump also hit out at Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab CEO David Solomon, saying the bank had been wrong to predict U.S. tariffs would hurt the economy. Trump questioned whether Solomon should lead the Wall Street institution. The dollar's weakness supported the euro and sterling . The single currency was last up 0.3% to $1.1705, briefly hitting its highest since July 28. Similarly, the British currency rose 0.5% to $1.3572, briefly hitting its highest since July 24. Britain's jobs market weakened again, though wage growth stayed strong, according to data on Tuesday, underscoring why the Bank of England is so cautious about cutting interest rates. The Australian dollar was up 0.3% to $0.6550, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.5% to $0.5982. The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday cut interest rates as expected, and signalled further policy easing might be needed to meet its inflation and employment goals as the economy lost some momentum. In cryptocurrencies, ether scaled a nearly four-year high of $4,734.47. "Ethereum's quiet breakout is being fuelled by real-world adoption and capital confidence," said Gracie Lin, Singapore CEO of crypto exchange OKX. "On our platform, ETH has now overtaken BTC as the most traded asset over the past month."


Reuters
23 minutes ago
- Reuters
Kenyan lender KCB Group reports 7% rise in first-half pretax profit
NAIROBI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Kenyan lender KCB Group's ( opens new tab first-half pretax profit rose 7%, helped by higher interest income, the bank said on Wednesday. The group, which also operates in Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Burundi, said first-half pretax profit jumped to 40.83 billion shillings ($317 million) from 38.11 billion shillings in the same period of 2024. Net interest income rose to 69.1 billion shillings from 61.3 billion shillings. KCB also said the sale of its Kenyan business, National Bank, to Nigeria's Access Group ( opens new tab closed in May. ($1 = 129.0000 Kenyan shillings)