Echelon sues US firms over alleged hijacking of multi-billion dollar plans for South Carolina data centre
Echelon, one of Ireland's largest data-centre developers, has accused two US businesses of hijacking its multi-billion-dollar plans to build facilities in South Carolina.
Last week, Nimol, Echelon's parent company, and three US-based subsidiaries filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of South Carolina against two American firms: power provider MPD Electric Cooperative and commercial real-estate developer Marlboro Development Team (MDT).
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
British Wimbledon champ handed biggest fine of 2025 BEFORE tournament started as full list of punishments revealed
A BRITISH tennis ace has been fined more than £9,000 for "verbally abusing staff" in an explosive training row at Wimbledon. Doubles sensation Henry Patten, 29, was handed the highest penalty of the Championships so far for allegedly kicking off when his practice session was cut short BEFORE the tournament began. Advertisement 3 Henry Patten, right, won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2024 but he was handed a big fine before this year's Championships Credit: Getty The left-hander - who He said he is 'disappointed' in the All England Club for disclosing the fines but not his denial. He said: 'I do not believe that there has been a full or proper investigation, nor has Wimbledon acted reasonably or fairly with due process. "I am disappointed that as the defending male's doubles champion that I am having to address this matter at this point rather than concentrating on playing tennis.' Advertisement READ MORE ON WIMBLEDON The He is one of 12 players slapped with a total of £37,000 worth of fines in SW19 so far this year. French star Theo Arribage, 24, has been ordered to pay over £5,500 for 'unsportsmanlike conduct' in his second-round doubles clash. World No123 Adrian Mannarino, 37, Advertisement Most read in Tennis CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Belgium player Zizou Bergs, 26, and American Hailey Baptiste, 23, will both have to cough up £2,900 after being punished for 'audible obscenities', while French ace Varvara Gracheva, 24, was handed the same fine for 'abuse of racquets or equipment'. The biggest Wimbledon penalty on record was in 2019 when Brits' opponent forced to retire from Wimbledon after suffering freak injury when he tried to catch the ball 3 Advertisement Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19 The dismal match - the shortest at SW19 in 15 years - was slammed as 'embarrassing'. And ex-doubles star Jeff Tarango was famously given an £11,000 fine after a fiery spat in 1995 which saw him accuse the umpire of being corrupt and tell the crowd to "shut up" when they jeered him. His wife then stormed a press conference to reveal she'd slapped the match official in the face. Following an investigation, the Grand Slam Committee fined the ace an additional £21,000 and banned him from two tournaments. Advertisement The AELTC has been approached for comment. 3 Bernard Tomic was fined his entire prize money in 2019 after losing in just 58 minutes Credit: Getty Images - Getty
RTÉ News
7 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'10% tariffs is not a good answer'
There are just two days to go before the end of a 90 day pause on US President Donald Trump's April 2 Liberation Day tariffs. President Trump said the US is close to finalising several trade pacts in the coming days. In a posting on his Truth Social website, he said the US would start delivering tariff letters later today. An EU-US deal is yet to be agreed, Irish businesses are still in the dark about what tariffs will be imposed, or what reciprocal tariffs might be implemented. Speaking on the This Week programme yesterday, the Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said the "best case" scenario in the EU-US trade talks is that a political framework can be delivered on Tuesday evening. While last week the Tanaiste Simon Harris said US tariffs of 10% will be the "new normal". A 10% baseline that could be structured around a framework deal would not be unprecedented. The US has already agreed on a framework for trade discussions with both the UK and China. This type of mechanism could bring the US and EU to the table and create a little bit of certainty for businesses going forward. However, for businesses more broadly, PwC Global Trade and Customs Partner John O'Loughlin highlights that "10% is not a good answer." "A framework deal where we have 10% really puts certainty around that 10%, where I think businesses have been hoping that 10% may have been somewhat of a stopgap ultimately going down to 0%, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen," said Mr O'Loughlin. "And even if we see carve outs, they can kind of go one of two ways; carve outs can be something that looks towards 0% like we've had with pharma semiconductors since Liberation Day, but I would be fearful that we could have carve outs that have put a rate of duty somewhat higher than 10%. "So the carve outs here don't necessarily move towards 0%, a carve out for certain sectors could potentially mean a rate higher than 10%." Irish businesses that do not trade directly with the US are also likely to be impacted by the wider supply chain impact. While the main focus may be on Irish exporters and importers buying and selling to and from the US, many Irish companies trade globally. Big sectors and private businesses will be managing supply chains. "The Liberation Day tariffs didn't focus on the EU, they focused on every country globally," said Mr O'Loughlin. "We'll be watching over the next couple of days to see what the rates are, obviously for the European Union, but what the impact is for the wider global supply chain, particularly companies that are managing supply chains from Ireland, where products never physically come here or come to the European Union," he said. "This is a global issue and certainly companies need to be looking at that issue through that lens over the next couple of days," he added.
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Sunday World
Woman who bought €3,000 ring from Dublin jeweller discovers it's a fake
Independent goldsmith inspected ring bought from Shuwan Li's Empress Fine Jewels off Dublin's Grafton Street A customer of a Dublin-based jeweller who has filed for bankruptcy is 'disappointed but not surprised' to learn that a €3,000 emerald and diamond ring she purchased contains fake gemstones. Shuwan Li, who ran Empress Fine Jewels on Johnson's Court off Grafton Street, was being pursued for debts of €1.5m when she went bankrupt in March. The Sunday World recently revealed that another customer took legal action against Empress Fine Jewels, which was ordered to pay her nearly €35,000, after diamond rings she entrusted to the store were reported stolen while being taken by a pensioner on a bus to another location to be cleaned. In the aftermath of publicity surrounding this case, another woman decided to have her triple diamond emerald cluster ring — which she bought from the jewellery shop in December 2023 — tested. An independent valuer examined the ring using specialist technology and has in recent days confirmed the woman's suspicions that the stones are fake. This customer, who does not wish to be identified, said she visited a number of jewellers in search of an emerald ring before attending Empress Fine Jewels in mid-December 2023. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is 'The initial price I was quoted was €4,200 but I got the price down to €3,000. That was the red flag I didn't see. As they saying goes, 'if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is,'' she said. The woman said she did not expect to be sold fake emeralds from the jewellery shop on Johnson's Court, near more established jewellers in the Grafton Street area. She said she was provided with a valuation report from Empress Fine Jewels upon purchase, which stated that the '18ct gold triple diamond emerald cluster ring' had a 'market value' of €4,200. This document, as well as the woman's €3,000 invoice, have been seen by this newspaper. However, in recent weeks, the woman decided to have her emerald and diamond ring tested by a Dublin valuer to establish the authenticity of the gemstones. The independent goldsmith has now confirmed that the gemstones are not emeralds and the diamonds are also fake. Shuwan Li Sources familiar with the case say it is likely that the ring is in fact only worth a couple of hundred euro. The customer has not made a complaint to An Garda Síochána. She feels it 'might not be worthwhile' as it would be highly unlikely she would get her money back given that Ms Li has filed for bankruptcy. When she bought the piece of jewellery, the ring needed to be resized, so it took a few weeks for her to receive it. 'When I did get it, I always felt it wasn't the same ring I had chosen in the shop. It was too shiny. I always had concerns about it and now it is confirmed that it is fake. It was a wicked thing to happen but at the same time, there are far worse things going on in the world,' she said. 'You live and learn. I was duped. I had decided to treat myself and I wanted an emerald ring. Of course, I wish it didn't happen. I will probably still wear it on the odd occasion. I've accepted that it is fake and decided to just move on, because there's nothing that can be done now. 'I just hope it hasn't happened to too many other people and I would like people to be aware,' she added. An independent valuer confirmed the ring's emeralds and diamonds were not real Efforts were made to contact Ms Li for comment. Court filings show Ms Li had just €100 in cash and €21.88 in her bank account when she sought to have her €1.5m debts wiped out. Her only personal assets were a €3,000 engagement ring and a €900 wedding ring. The Sunday World reported in recent weeks that another Dublin woman obtained a judgment of almost €35,000 against Empress Fine Jewels and Ms Li earlier this year after four rings she left in for cleaning were reportedly stolen. She took a civil case against the business and a Circuit Court judgment seen by this newspaper ordered that Shuwan Li, trading as Empress Fine Jewels and Empress Fine Jewels Ltd, reimburse her €34,180. However, court documents also reveal that Ms Li filed for bankruptcy on March 3 this year, so the woman who sued her is unlikely to be compensated. Shuwan Li Mooney ran a jewellery shop in Dublin city centre On May 8, 2024, the woman left four rings worth around €35,000 into the store to be cleaned. They included her wedding and engagement rings, and two other pieces with rare stones. She received a call the next day from the jeweller, telling her the rings had been stolen from a person travelling on a Dublin Bus. She was told a pensioner had been entrusted to take the jewellery to another premises to be cleaned by a specialist and used a bus to get there. Gardaí were told the alleged robbery took place on the pensioner's return journey. This is not the first time Empress Fine Jewels has been before the courts The customer said she had no idea that her rings were to leave the premises for cleaning. She said she was 'flabbergasted' that the items would be taken elsewhere, and also that they would be transported on a bus by a pensioner, who appeared frail, given his use of a walking aid. Gardaí have obtained CCTV of the man on the bus and later took a preliminary statement from him. The customer has also given gardaí a formal statement. The investigation remains open, but there have been no arrests and no significant developments in terms of recovering the missing rings. This is not the first time Empress Fine Jewels has been before the courts. Last year, an agreement was reached to resolve a High Court row between the business and an Italian jewellery distributor over €500,000 worth of jewels. World Diamond Group (WDG) sued Shuwan Li and Empress Fine Jewels. Among the claims were that Shuwan Li made an alleged threat to 'put people in the river' in the midst of the fallout between the diamond sellers.
