Latest news with #Amro
Business Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Amro cuts Hong Kong's 2025 growth outlook on trade uncertainty
[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's growth outlook was cut by a regional organisation, which urged the city to diversify its economy and trading partners to counter growing protectionism. The Asian financial hub is set to expand by 1.9 per cent in 2025 from the prior year, according to the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro), a step down from the group's 2.4 per cent forecast just last month. While first-quarter activity proved better than expected, it was largely driven by a frontloading of exports – as companies tried to beat a 90-day tariff pause window – and a boost in tourism. The trade picture is growing uncertain for the rest of the year, though, AMRO analysts said. They also encouraged the city to seek deeper partnerships and trade with other nations to offset US protectionism against China, while also saying deeper integration with China was important. 'It is crucial for Hong Kong to further calibrate its macroeconomic policy stance, bolster growth, secure new growth drivers, and tackle structural challenges,' while remaining a financial centre, economists wrote in a press release on Monday (Jun 2). BLOOMBERG
Business Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Hong Kong's 2025 growth outlook cut by Amro on trade uncertainty
[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's growth outlook was cut by a regional organisation, which urged the city to diversify its economy and trading partners to counter growing protectionism. The Asian financial hub is set to expand by 1.9 per cent in 2025 from the prior year, according to the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro), a step down from the group's 2.4 per cent forecast just last month. While first-quarter activity proved better than expected, it was largely driven by a frontloading of exports – as companies tried to beat a 90-day tariff pause window – and a boost in tourism. The trade picture is growing uncertain for the rest of the year, though, AMRO analysts said. They also encouraged the city to seek deeper partnerships and trade with other nations to offset US protectionism against China, while also saying deeper integration with China was important. 'It is crucial for Hong Kong to further calibrate its macroeconomic policy stance, bolster growth, secure new growth drivers, and tackle structural challenges,' while remaining a financial centre, economists wrote in a press release on Monday (Jun 2). BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Activist in Louis Theroux Settlers documentary ‘targeted in revenge raid'
An activist who featured in Louis Theroux's BBC documentary about the West Bank has allegedly had his home raided in 'revenge' for his participation in the film. Issa Amro was one of the Palestinians featured in Theroux's controversial documentary, The Settlers, which sought to shine a light on radical members of the Jewish settler community and violence perpetrated towards nearby Palestinians. The film, which aired in late April, follows the scandal of another BBC documentary 'Gaza, how to survive a warzone', which was revealed to have used the son of a Hamas minister as a narrator. Mr Amro said that his home was raided by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) over the weekend and that his son had been harassed by members of the settler community. He said that Israeli soldiers appeared at his Hebron home, in the southern West Bank, without a warrant and attacked him, a friend, and damaged his property. A spokesman for the IDF said soldiers had acted to 'disperse a confrontation between Palestinian residents and Israeli civilians'. Oscar winner arrested Since the beginning of the war which followed the October 7 massacre in 2023, IDF personnel in the West Bank are more likely to come from settler communities. In March, Hamdan Ballal, who won the Oscar for Best Documentary for his portrayal of settler violence in the West Bank, was allegedly beaten by local settlers before being arrested and humiliated by the IDF – although the army said they had arrested local Palestinians for acts of violence. He claimed he heard soldiers mention the Oscar during the alleged ordeal. Mr Amro said: 'It's very dangerous to speak out about the things I talk about. My friends warn me all the time, 'Issa, you're going to get yourself killed'. 'But I am afraid about the future. It's getting more dangerous here. I felt it was really important to be a part of this.' Teenage son harassed The new BBC film is a follow-up to Theroux's 2011 documentary The Ultra-Zionists. In it, he interviewed Daniella Weiss, known as the 'godmother' of the settler movement, which seeks to develop Jewish communities in areas outside the internationally recognised boundary of Israel. Some in Israel and the international Jewish community have said it gives a one-sided impression of the settler movement and the violence in the West Bank. Since the broadcast of the documentary, Mr. Amro has reported experiencing 'harassment,' which included being needlessly forced to go through police metal detectors multiple times at security checkpoints. He also claimed that, last Friday, settlers approached his 13-year-old son near the family home and attempted to forcibly take him towards a settlement. Israeli Police said: 'In general, any incident brought to our attention is reviewed according to police procedures and the law. 'The Israel Police remains committed to maintaining public order and ensuring the safety and rights of all individuals.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Palestinian activist's home ‘raided' by Israeli soldiers for appearing in Louis Theroux documentary
A Palestinian activist who appeared in a Louis Theroux documentary about settlers in the West Bank has reportedly had his home raided by Israeli soldiers. Issa Amro, co-founder of the non-violent activist group Youth Against Settlements, shared videos on social media of confrontations with Israeli military at his home, and another of a group of Israeli settlers forcing entry to the property. Posting on X, Amro said: 'The soldiers raided my house today, they wanted revenge from me for participating in the BBC documentary 'the settlers', after the army left the settlers raided my house, they injured one activist and cut the tree, they stole tools and the garbage containers.' Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law. The UN Security Council have said that the settlements have 'no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law.' Amro lives in Hebron, the capital of the West Bank's largest governorate. In Louis Theroux's documentary, The Settlers, Amro shows Theroux around the Israeli-occupied area of the city, home to about 35,000 Palestinians and 700 settlers protected by the Israeli military. The documentary, which aired in April on BBC Two, shows Amro and Theroux being confronted and intimidated by military as they walk around the area. When the pair are sworn at by a passing driver, Amro explains to Theroux: 'You deserve a middle finger if you report about Palestinians.' 'By international law, the settlements are illegal,' Amro said in the documentary. 'They don't see us as equal human beings who deserve the same rights they do.' In one of the videos posted on X, Amro challenges a group of balaclava-covered soldiers at his house, asking why they have their faces covered. One soldier replies: 'You know exactly why.' A Nobel peace prize nominee and one of the West Bank's most prominent activists, Amro is best known for his work for Youth Against Settlements, which aims to end the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Theroux, posting on X, said: '@Issaamro who featured in The Settlers has posted videos of his latest harassment by settlers and soldiers. Our team has been in regular contact with him since the documentary and over the last 24 hours. We are continuing to monitor the situation.' The Israel Defence Forces were approached for comment.
Time of India
04-05-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Shepherd, livestock washed away in Chamba flash flood
1 2 A shepherd, along with around 150 sheep and goats , was washed away near Cheli village of Bhattiyat tehsil in Chamba district on the night intervening Saturday and Sunday. According to district officials, a flash flood in the Dondra Nala, probably triggered by a cloudburst, swept away the goats and the shepherd, who had built a temporary shelter on the banks of the rivulet. Amro (70) was a resident of Cheli and his body was recovered by a search team after the flood subsided. The family of the deceased was provided with immediate relief of Rs 25,000 by the local administration. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in a statement, expressed grief over the death and extended condolences to the bereaved family. The CM said the govt stands with the affected family and would extend all possible assistance.
