Cardinals don elect a new pope
White smoke don comot from di chimney for di Vatican, wey mean say di Cardinals don elect a new pope.
E dey clear say di voting process don dey concluded and di cardinals don chose Pope Francis successor.
We no know who e be yet but e dey expected to appear on di balcony wey dey face St Peter's Square in di next hour.
We still dey update dis breaking news.
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Reuters
43 minutes ago
- Reuters
Breakingviews - The EU can play it cool with Trump's trade threats
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Other governments have so far taken three main approaches to dealing with Donald Trump's trade threats. China hit back hard at the U.S. president's tariffs and got him to back down partly. Canada also retaliated and avoided some of the pain Trump inflicted on other countries. Meanwhile, Britain cut a quick deal that favoured the United States. None of these is a model for the European Union. The 27-member group is not China. Though its bilateral goods trade, opens new tab with the United States last year was worth 70% more than between the U.S. and the People's Republic, opens new tab, the EU is not an autocracy that can outpunch Trump. If it antagonises the U.S. president, he might up the stakes by pulling the rug from under Ukraine and undermining the EU's defences. American hard power gives it what geopolitical strategists call 'escalation dominance'. The EU is not Canada either. Ottawa was able to hang tough because its people were infuriated that Trump was trying to blackmail Canada into becoming part of the United States. While anti-Trump sentiment is high, opens new tab in the EU, politicians who are sympathetic to him, such as Poland's new president, can still get elected. On the other hand, the EU is not the United Kingdom. Both are at risk from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the EU trades seven times more goods with the United States than Britain, opens new tab does - so Washington has more to lose if economic relations break down. There is another way for the EU to handle Trump's threats: play it cool. That is more or less what the bloc is doing. It involves neither escalating the conflict nor accepting a bad deal. It means being open to a good agreement if the U.S. lowers its demands, but willing to play the long game if it does not. One reason to buy time is to help Kyiv. The longer the EU has to prepare its own support package for Ukraine, which should include getting it a lot of cash, the less the damage if Trump ultimately cuts off all U.S. aid to the country. The president's own vulnerabilities may also increase over time. Just look at the spectacular end of his alliance with Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab boss Elon Musk. The fragile U.S. trade truce with China may break down causing more financial turmoil, making Trump less keen to pick a fight with the EU. If the Supreme Court stops him using emergency powers to impose tariffs, his negotiating position will be weaker. And tariffs could hurt the U.S. more than its supposed victims, by pushing up inflation and crimping growth. Trump has zig-zagged in his trade threats and actions against the EU. The current state of play is that there are 50% tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminium from the bloc, a 25% tariff on cars and 10% so-called reciprocal tariffs on most other goods. The U.S. president has threatened to jack up these reciprocal tariffs to 50% if there is no deal by July 9. He is also looking at more 'sectoral tariffs', including on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. While the EU has complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO), it has delayed its own retaliation. Its negotiators accept that they are unlikely to overturn the reciprocal tariffs, the Financial Times, opens new tab has reported. The bloc still aims to avoid the sectoral ones. Those on cars and any on pharmaceuticals would hurt it the most. It has dangled the possibility of buying more U.S. equipment and natural gas to get a deal. An agreement on those lines could be good for the EU. It needs to beef up its defences and eliminate its purchases of Russian gas. While it would be best to have its own arms and energy supplies, buying more from the U.S. makes sense as an interim measure. An important nuance, though, is that the EU should reserve the right to take action against the reciprocal tariffs after the WTO issues its verdict, says Ignacio Garcia Bercero, opens new tab, a former senior EU trade official. Such a pact would involve quite a climbdown by Trump. True, arms and gas purchases would narrow the U.S. goods deficit with the EU, which was $236 billion, opens new tab last year. But his administration has a host of other complaints including the bloc's value-added tax and food safety standards as well the digital taxes that some of its members impose on tech giants. It is hard to see the bloc agreeing anything in those areas, says Simon Evenett, professor of geopolitics and strategy at IMD. Although the U.S. side described last week's trade talks with the EU as 'very constructive, opens new tab', discussions could easily break down. The question then is how the bloc would react if Trump imposed higher reciprocal tariffs. The EU has so far imposed no countermeasures. Though it has agreed to tax 21 billion euros of U.S. imports in response to the steel and aluminium tariffs, it has delayed these until July 14 to try to get a deal. The European Commission, its executive arm, is also consulting on taxing a further 95 billion euros of U.S. imports in response to the car tariffs and the reciprocal ones. But added together, these tit-for-tat measures would be equivalent to only a third of the 379 billion euros of EU imports subject to Trump's tariffs. Some analysts, opens new tab think the bloc needs to be tougher. One idea is to crack down on American services, where the U.S. had a 109 billion euro, opens new tab surplus with the EU in 2023. Another is to activate its 'anti-coercion instrument, opens new tab', which would allow retaliation against U.S. companies operating in the bloc. Yet another is to threaten to ban exports of critical goods, such as the lithographic equipment necessary to make semiconductors. Extreme events may require extreme responses. But for now, the EU should keep its cool. It should not kid itself that it is stronger or more united than it is. It should remember that Trump may get weaker with time. And it should never forget Ukraine. Follow @Hugodixon, opens new tab on X
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Millions of pensions at risk from savings raid
The pensions of nine million savers are at risk from reforms allowing companies to raid their retirement schemes, the Government's impact assessment has admitted. Proposed changes to final salary pension schemes could mean that more of them run out of money, civil servants warned, leaving them unable to fulfil their financial obligations to members. The comments were seized on by critics of the proposed change, which would allow companies that manage these so-called defined benefit pension schemes to take out 'surplus' money as profit or for reinvestment. But supporters of the move downplayed the risks, saying that pension trustees would typically be given a say on any money handed back. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, and Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, are championing the reforms, which are contained in the Pension Schemes Bill. Any money paid out as profit would be subject to tax for the Treasury as it struggles to balance the books. The impact assessment for the proposed changes, written by civil servants at Department for Work and Pensions, said: 'If schemes choose to modify their rules to enable surplus extraction, this adds an indirect cost to members in terms of the increased likelihood of members not receiving their pension benefits in full. 'A scheme surplus can act as a financial cushion for members, to absorb unexpected costs or investment losses for the scheme. Without this cushion, the scheme may be more likely to struggle to meet its obligations to members, especially in times of financial stress or economic shocks.' Defined benefit pension schemes guarantee members a set portion of their final or career average salary after retirement. They are funded by money paid in while members are working. Schemes are in surplus if they are judged to have more money than they need to meet all promised payments to members. Lower interest rates after the financial crisis plunged many schemes into deficit by wrecking their expected investment returns, forcing the companies that sponsor them to make up the gap by pumping in billions of pounds extra. Now interest rates have risen again, schemes have mostly returned to surplus – and companies are seeking to extract some money that they say funds no longer need. The Bill creates new rules allowing employers to remove this cash. But critics are concerned about the risks if another economic crisis sends rates plunging again. This possibility was acknowledged in the 400-page impact assessment, although it added: 'Overall, it is assumed this increased likelihood of members not receiving their benefits in full to be very low given the important role trustees will play in overseeing any decision. The Pension Security Alliance (PSA), which includes Silver Voices, the independent senior citizens group, and John Ralfe, a pensions consultant, raised concerns about the assessment. The PSA said: 'The Government's own analysis proves that the Government's plans pose a risk to the retirement incomes of millions of members of defined benefit pension schemes. It's shocking to learn that civil servants have told ministers that if these plans go ahead, some pension schemes could struggle to meet their obligations to pay pensions. 'Pension scheme members have worked to earn their pensions and the money in pension schemes is there to provide them with a secure income in retirement. This official assessment, prepared by independent civil servants, shows that the Government's plans put those retirement incomes at risk. 'Pension schemes are not a piggy-bank that politicians can dip into or a cash-cow for employers. Pension schemes exist to benefit members and this is official confirmation that the Government's plans could actually harm members. That can't be right.' Among critics of the change are figures in the pensions insurance industry, which buys defined benefit pension schemes. The proposals do have supporters, including Steve Webb, a partner at pension consultant LCP who was pensions minister in the coalition between the Liberal Democrats and the Tories. Mr Webb said: 'The funding of company pension schemes has been transformed in recent years. The majority of schemes now have surplus funds which can be used in a responsible way to benefit scheme members, through improved benefits, as well as the companies who have paid so much in for so long. 'The plans have plenty of safeguards, including the judgment of trustees who will be seeking to ensure that using surplus funds does not undermine the security of member benefits. This is a positive initiative which should be supported.'
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Farage to pledge to reopen blast furnaces in Port Talbot
Nigel Farage will pledge to reopen Port Talbot's steel blast furnaces if in power in Wales, as his Reform UK party sets its sights on being the government in the Senedd next year. In a speech in Port Talbot later, Mr Farage will outline how next year's Welsh parliament elections will be the primary focus of his party. The MP for Clacton has already ruled out standing at the Senedd elections next year. It is unclear who will lead the Reform party in Wales. Reindustrialising Wales will be at the centre of his speech. Acknowledging the task at hand won't be quick or easy, Mr Farage is also expected to suggest a return to coal mining, if suitable, as part of Reform's "long-term ambition to reopen Port Talbot steel". A Reform source told Sky News: "We have said and say again that we think it's better to use British coal for British steel than imported coal." Port Talbot was the largest steelmaking plant in the UK until the two blast furnaces were switched off in September 2024, which saw the loss of 2,800 jobs as part of the transition to greener production methods. Electric arc furnaces are replacing both blast furnaces and are set to be operational by early 2028. 2:30 Wales is set to head to the polls in May next year and Reform hopes to end the 26-year Labour government reign in Wales. The Reform source said Mr Farage's speech "will tap into the hearts and minds of a deeply patriotic nation that feels betrayed and forgotten about by Labour". Recent polling by Barn Cymru saw the Labour vote share in Wales collapse to 18%, with Reform second in the polls on 25% behind Plaid Cymru on 30%, whereas the Conservatives who are currently the opposition in the Senedd are on 13%. Reform believes the performance of their party in Scotland confirms they can win in Wales next year. The source told Sky News: "We are the main challenger to Labour in Wales. A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for Labour."
