
US and China hold trade talks in London
©Reuters
Today at 21:30
Top US and Chinese officials met in London yesterday in a bid to defuse a high-stakes trade dispute that has widened from tariffs to restrictions over rare earths, threatening a global supply chain shock and slower economic growth.
Officials from the two superpowers met at the ornate Lancaster House to try to get back on track with a preliminary agreement struck last month in Geneva that had briefly lowered the temperature between Washington and Beijing.

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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
First Drive: MG's new budget electric SUV
Despite attracting European tariffs of up to 45 per cent on their products in Ireland and elsewhere, Chinese electric car companies continue to surprise the market with their pricing of new cars. A case in point is MG's new S5 electric, family SUV, which has just gone on sale here at just under €30,000 - an indication of how it can withstand tariff pressure until it opens its own factories in Europe to counteract that pressure. MG has even managed to become the dominant Chinese EV brand in Europe, mainly thanks to pricing and levels of standard equipment - a tried and tested strategy for new car companies to establish market share around the world. And what it has, it intends to hold. The new S5 has familiar MG family styling cues, but it's a lot smarter looking than anything that has gone before. You couldn't describe it has exciting but it certainly looks modern, with a long wheelbase, short overhangs at the front and rear, and narrow LED headlights running across the bonnet. Inside, it is the spaciousness that strikes one. There's excellent head and legroom, and the interior is bright, with the car being based on the MG 4 underpinnings. MG has introduced its largest ever screen - a 12.8-inch infotainment unit that stands proud of the dashboard, and the driver's display is also a decent 10.25 inches. MG has obviously been listening to customer feedback, and the S5 has physical buttons for controlling functions such as heating and ventilation. And you even have a button to adjust the wing mirrors on the move. Other manufacturers should take note because the level of distraction caused by screen-only controls isn't just annoying, it's dangerously distracting on some cars. The S5 comes with two battery options: a 49 kWh unit and a 64 kWh unit for a longer range. MG claims a range of 340 km for the smaller battery and 480 km for the bigger one, and it claims a charging time of 28 minutes to get from 10 per cent to 80 per cent capacity on a fast charger. The usual caveats on claimed ranges apply until we see how the car performs in real-world conditions. The smaller battery version has a starting price of €29,995, and the longer range version comes in at €33,495. For comparison, a BYD Atto starts at €37,078 and a Skoda Elroq comes in with a starting price of €36,495, underscoring MG's aggressive pricing strategy. All versions come with extras such as a hands-free tailgate, a reversing camera, keyless entry, alloy wheels and Apple and Android compatibility. There are different energy recovery modes to maximise range and a one-pedal driving capability. A thinner-than-usual battery allows for a completely flat floor to add space, and there's a 60/40 rear seat split for loads. The boot space is a generous 453 litres with lots more when the seats are folded down. There's a full range of safety features, and the car has recently been awarded a full five-star rating in the EuroNCAP crash testing programme. There is a seven-year warranty on the car, or for 150,000 kilometres and an eight-year guarantee on the battery. MG has been selling in Ireland for 18 months now, and the company says it has not had a "single battery issue" in that time.


The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is KNIGHTED by King Charles – despite furious critics slamming ‘reward for failure'
CRITICS have slammed the decision to award Sadiq Khan a knighthood as a "reward for failure". The controversial London Mayor, 54, sparked fury after he was knighted by King Charles during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace earlier today. 4 Sir Sadiq, who has been Mayor of the capital since 2016, received the honour for political and public service. Credit: PA 4 He told how he was "immensely proud" to receive the honour Credit: Reuters 4 But critics fumed that the knighthood was a "reward for failure" Credit: PA Sir Sadiq, who has been Mayor of the capital since 2016, received the honour for political and public service. Posting on social media after the ceremony, the former Labour MP for Tooting said: "The London promise. If you work hard, and get a helping hand, you can achieve anything. "Immensely proud to receive a knighthood from His Majesty The King today. "Growing up on a council estate in Tooting, I never could have imagined that I'd one day receive this great honour while serving as the Mayor of London. Read more News "It's a truly humbling moment for myself and my family, and one that I hope inspires others to believe in the incredible opportunities that our great capital offers. 'I'll forever be honoured to serve the city that I love - and will continue to do all I can to build a fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone." But Tories have hit back against the decision, claiming that the former Labour MP for Tooting has not done enough to tackle violent crime in London. Shadow Home Secretary Most read in The Sun 4 Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp claimed that Londoners would be "furious" about the decision. Credit: PA


Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Marines arrive in LA under Trump orders after more restrained protests
Hundreds of US Marines arrived in Los Angeles overnight and more were expected on Tuesday under orders from President Donald Trump, who has also activated 4,000 National Guard troops to quell protests despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local leaders. The city has seen days of public outrage since the Trump administration launched a series of immigration raids on Friday, though local officials said the demonstrations on Monday were largely peaceful. About half of the roughly 700 Marines that Trump ordered to Los Angeles arrived on Monday night, and the remaining troops will enter the city on Tuesday, a US official told Reuters. The US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told KABC that more than 100 people had been arrested on Monday but that the majority of protesters were nonviolent. The Marines will protect federal property and personnel alongside Guard troops, U.S. Northern Command said in a statement announcing the move. There were approximately 1,700 Guard troops in greater Los Angeles as of Monday, with more on the way. Trump has justified his decision to deploy active military troops to Los Angeles by describing the protests as a violent occupation, a characterization that Newsom and Bass have said is grossly exaggerated. Newsom accused Trump of sending troops to deliberately inflame the situation and said the president's actions made it more difficult for local law enforcement to respond to the demonstrations. In a social media post on Tuesday morning, Trump said Los Angeles would be "burning to the ground right now" if he had not deployed troops to the city. Since protests broke out on Friday they have been largely peaceful, although there have been isolated clashes, with some demonstrators throwing rocks and other objects at officers, blocking an interstate highway and setting several cars ablaze. Several businesses were looted, including an Apple store and a CVS pharmacy. Police have responded by firing projectiles such as pepper balls, as well as flash-bang grenades and tear gas. Police said they had arrested 21 people on Sunday on charges including attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail and assaulting an officer, and officials said they expected more arrests after reviewing video. In a statement on Monday, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the department had not been notified that any Marines were traveling to the city and that their arrival "presents a significant logistical and operational challenge." Trump's Marine deployment escalated his confrontation with Newsom, who filed a lawsuit on Monday asserting that Trump's activation of Guard troops without the governor's consent was illegal. The Guard deployment was the first time in decades that a president did so without a request from a sitting governor. The use of active military to respond to civil disturbances is extremely rare. "This isn't about public safety," Newsom wrote on X on Monday. "It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego." The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, said he was "gravely troubled" by Trump's deployment of active-duty Marines. "Since our nation's founding, the American people have been perfectly clear: we do not want the military conducting law enforcement on U.S. soil," he said. U.S. Marines are trained for conflicts around the world - from the Middle East to Africa - and are also used for rapid deployments in case of emergencies, such as threats to US embassies. In addition to combat training, which includes weapons training, some units also learn riot and crowd control techniques. The raids are part of Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown, which Democrats and immigrant advocates have said are indiscriminately breaking up families. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged on Monday to carry out more operations to round up suspected immigration violators. Trump officials have branded the protests as lawless and blamed state and local Democrats for protecting undocumented immigrants in sanctuary cities. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Monday outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where immigrants have been held, chanting "free them all" and waving Mexican and Central American flags. National Guard forces formed a human barricade to keep people out of the building, and late on Monday, police began dispersing the crowd using gas canisters and arrested some protesters. At dusk, officers had running confrontations with protesters who had scattered into the Little Tokyo section of the city. As people watched from apartment patios above street level and as tourists huddled inside hotels, a large contingent of LAPD and officers and sheriff's deputies fired several flash bangs that boomed through side streets along with tear gas. Protests spread to neighboring Orange County on Monday night after immigration raids there, with demonstrators gathering at the Santa Ana Federal Building, according to local officials and news reports. Protests also sprang up in at least nine other U.S. cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, according to local news reports. In Austin, Texas, police fired non-lethal munitions and detained several people as they clashed with a crowd of several hundred protesters.