Latest news with #Miga
NZ Herald
07-08-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Trump's tariff moves suggest Indian and US co-operation over China can no-longer be counted on
Until that point, his Administration had been angling to reduce India's trade barriers but said nothing about its two years of buying Russian oil at a wartime discount. Before the shock of Trump's announcement in April of sweeping global tariffs, the world's two largest democracies seemed to be enjoying the friendship that its leaders had forged. At a meeting with Trump at the White House in February, India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, described India's intention to become one of the world's most advanced economies, with the US as a partner. 'In the language of America, it's 'Make India Great Again' — Miga,' he said. 'When America and India work together, this Maga plus Miga becomes a 'mega partnership for prosperity.'' Trump smiled. Left unmentioned but lingering just out of sight was China, the only country with a population to rival India's and an economy to stand in its way. China is also far and away America's most important economic competitor. Together, the US and India were seen as ready to use each other to try to restrain China's might. Total trade between the US and India was roughly US$130 billion last year. India's top exports to America include pharmaceuticals, auto parts, electrical goods, and gemstones. Modi's confidence in enlisting the US in its economic rise was well grounded. US administrations have been courting India as a geopolitical ally for more than a quarter of a century, since India announced its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent, it said, to China. And American dollars have poured into India as China's economy has matured and become more assertive. The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine were the catalysts for a surge in investment. Multinational companies grew excited about doing business in India, to reduce the risk of exposure to China as it girds for a trade war with the US and possibly a real war with Taiwan. Manufacturing and professional services led the way. Wall Street followed, banking on the future growth of India, with its relatively young population and enviable political stability. But over the past week, Trump's escalating attacks on India have suddenly undermined this joint venture and sent reverberations throughout the business worlds of both countries. Today, an executive order by Trump said that India would face an extra 25% tariff starting on August 27 if it continued to buy oil from Russia. That levy on Indian goods imported into the US would come on top of a 25% tariff Trump announced last week, which is set to take effect tomorrow and on its own ranks as one of the highest rates in Asia. India's Foreign Ministry responded to Trump's executive order, reiterating that the country's motives for importing oil from Russia were tied to the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people. It was 'extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,' the ministry's statement said. Indian officials had signalled over the weekend that they did not intend to stop buying Russian oil. With his tariff threats, Trump has thrown months of trade talks between both countries into question. Just a couple of weeks ago, negotiators and business leaders sounded upbeat. Even with some difficult details to be settled, the expectation was that India and the US mean too much to each other to let a global trade war tear them apart. US President Donald Trump with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on February 13. With threats of tariffs up to 50%, Trump seems to be scrapping America's plan to turn India into a counterweight to China, declaring instead that it was a 'dead economy'. Photo / Eric Lee, The New York Times Modi was one of the first world leaders to visit Trump in Washington after he returned to the White House in January. The two men had long shared what was by all appearances a close relationship. As political leaders, both are regarded as strongmen. The US was earlier wary of Modi, who had been denied a visa to the US on the grounds that he played a role in the deadly anti-Muslim riots in 2002. But he was embraced when he became Prime Minister in 2014. Part of the calculation was based on security and the possible future of military alliances across Asia. Yet, India's attractive qualities as a partner in defence always hinged on the promise of its economy. Companies such as Apple have poured billions into India, which in 2023 eclipsed China in population, with eyes on India's domestic market and its capacity to export manufactured goods to the US and elsewhere. Those investments were supposed to be better than profitable; they were supposed to reduce or eliminate everyone's dependence on China to be the factory of the world. The 25% tariff alone, already much higher than those imposed on Asian competitors including Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, would reduce the viability of such a trade. A 50% tariff would kill it. Yesterday, Trump took aim at two other industries that were explicitly being developed in India as an alternative to China. Pharmaceuticals, where India has world-beating advantages and sells more than US$10b a year to the US, is to face a special tariff that could eventually reach 250%, Trump said, to be announced 'within a week or so'. Eli Lilly, as one of many American corporations that have invested in India, for example, recently invested US$3b in an Indian factory. India makes nearly 40% of the generic drugs bought in the US. Trump's plan is to bring back manufacturing to the US, which is also the reason he has given for imposing another special tariff on semiconductors. Unfortunately for Indian and American companies, and some in East Asia too, everyone has been spending to make India competitive in this sector. Micron, based in Idaho, has taken advantage of Indian government subsidies to put US$2.5b into building chipmaking facilities in Modi's home state of Gujarat. High finance has also followed brick-and-mortar businesses. The Indian stock market has been on a bull run, finding enthusiastic new buyers among middle-class Indians. That made foreign investors eager for private deals. Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone, a New York investment firm, said this year that it was putting US$11b into Indian data centres to fuel the global artificial intelligence boom. A Mumbai-based investment professional, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said there was much more at stake in these investments than their dollar value. Bets like Blackstone's are about the future of business between India, China, and the US, he said, and bring expertise from one economy to another. India was benefitting from that. But now it looks like a vulnerability. The rupture of the relationship has generated huge uncertainty. Who wants to be responsible for making the next big bet? Some parts of the US-Indian equation look relatively secure. The trade in goods between the two countries has never been as important to their economic relationship as their trade in services and other people-to-people exchanges. Indians are just as present in American boardrooms as American-trained Indians are in Mumbai's corner offices. One aspect of this exchange, the proliferation of globally integrated, high-end offices in India — first in information technology and then across the professions — has remained a bright spot. Worth US$65b last year, it is more valuable than the total trade deficit in goods. China does not hold a candle to India's ability as a hub for office work other countries send its way. As frightening as the new tariffs are for many Indian factories, most American investors who have built stakes in India are not yet fleeing. They do, however, remember what happened in 2020, when India and China traded blows at their border and 24 soldiers were killed. Almost overnight, Chinese companies were forced to ditch their Indian investments at a loss. A war of words and tariffs is different, of course. However, Indian and American co-operation around China is no longer something that anyone can count on. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Alex Travelli Photographs by: Saumya Khandelwal, Eric Lee ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
Irish Examiner
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Cork publican says staff threatened after claims nationalist rally protesters were asked to leave pub
A prominent Cork publican has spoken of disgust after some of his staff and his business were threatened online following claims from a far-right politician attendees at a nationalist rally in the city were asked to leave one of his pubs. Benny McCabe, who runs a brewery and over a dozen pubs in the city centre, said he was absolutely shocked by some of the threats made in response to the post on a social media account of former Irish Freedom Party and now independent South Dublin county councillor, Glen Moore. 'In all my years as a publican, indeed as a citizen of Ireland, I've never seen such carry-on,' Mr McCabe said. 'If this is where politics is going and if elected representatives feel this is OK, then this is really the canary in the coal mine for all moderate people.' A post on Mr Moore's X account claimed four people, including one of his family members, who had attended the nationalist rally in Cork on Saturday, were asked to leave Mr McCabe's Sin É pub on Coburg St afterwards. He claimed the group, one of whom was wearing a Make Ireland Great Again (Miga) hat, were called racist. He claimed the bar had 'discriminated against Irish people for their political beliefs', and that puts the venue at risk of a civil lawsuit. The post, which has been viewed some 418,000 times, prompted hundreds of comments, including threats and calls for a boycott, but also comments pledging support for the venue and promising to call in for a pint. Mr McCabe said he issued clear instructions to staff ahead of Saturday's march that everyone was welcome in his bars, that no one would be refused for carrying the Irish flag but that if anyone misbehaved, they would be asked to leave. He said he had been criticised before by people on the far left and by the gay community for calling out bad behaviour, but he said he had never seen a reaction like that in response to Mr Moore's post. Sin É does not care who you are 'once you behave and wear shoes', he said. But he said comments from public representatives on the far left or from the gay community had never led to threats on social media to burn a person's business out or to intimidate staff. He said some of his staff had previously been subjected to "vile racist abuse" by people wearing Maga or Miga hats. Dozens of uniformed gardaí, backed up by dozens of members of the Garda Public Order Unit, and members of the Garda Mounted Unit were on duty on the Grand Parade in Cork during the rally. Thousands gathered in one area for a Munster-wide pro-Palestine march, and nearby for what was billed as a "national protest for Ireland", organised by anti-immigration campaigners. Several prominent far-right agitators were involved in that event, including former Ireland First leader Derek Blighe. Mr McCabe said he watched Saturday's march and said he sensed 'low to moderate intimidation' in the city, that he saw some people make Nazi salutes, heard chants of 'fuck Palestine', and heard abuse being hurled at foreigners, and some of those who had marched were recording people on their phones to prompt a reaction. Many who attended with tricolours were disgusted with what they saw, he said. 'They have honestly held beliefs about housing and uncontrolled migration, but they were disgusted by some of the behaviour,' he said. 'We all want the same things — law and order, housing, and an end to unregulated migration. 'The 'patriots' seem to think they have a righteous monopoly on this but all we saw was a minority spewing hate and elected officials behaving without decorum. 'I was raised a republican both in the Irish and European context. I do not believe in narrow interest groups. I'm very sad to see this. 'I grew up in that pub and was lucky to be able to buy it many years ago, It's been run in the same way my parents taught me — all are equal. 'Sin É will remain a haven for tolerance. The weak will be defended and the intolerant will be called out.'
Time Out
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The best restaurant in London in 2025 has been crowned by Time Out
Over the past 12 months, Time Out's legion of expert food critics have eaten their way through the capital – trying gastropub roasts, sinking into sustainable menus, checking out exciting newcomers and discovering the best of its Vietnamese, Mexican, Italian and Chinese cuisine. Now, all of that hard work has culminated in the creation of Time Out's list of the 50 best restaurants in London for 2025. As Time Out's food and drink editor Leonie Cooper puts it, this is 'your indispensable guide to where you'll find the best food right at this moment in one of the world's most exciting places to eat'. And after countless dishes and a lot of deliberation, one restaurant rose above the rest to be named the best of the best. Our new number one London restaurant for 2025 is Hackney 's modern Korean joint, Miga. The restaurant moved to east London from New Malden in 2024 and has since become one of the city's most in demand spots. Leonie said: 'Miga is all about exhilarating dishes that smash your tastebuds with integrity and panache.' She added: 'Their landmark dish is yughwe, a ballsy beef tartare accessorised with skinny, crisp batons of Asian pear and a near-neon egg yolk. The soy braised short ribs and slices of pan-fried pork belly delivered in a glowing apple-and-mustard sauce are also must-orders.' For obvious reasons, securing a table at Miga is no easy feat. If you don't have a booking, your best bet is to turn up for lunch when walk-ins are more likely. Or, in the meantime you can check out one Time Out's other top 50 eateries. Our second best restaurant in the city for 2025 was Greek(ish) spot Oma in Borough Market and in third place was the UK's first ever Michelin-star vegan restaurant, Plates.
South China Morning Post
25-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Brics countries eye multilateral mechanism to help global economy: Brazilian official
Brics member countries have begun exploratory discussions on creating a multilateral investment guarantee mechanism, a senior Brazilian official told the Post, a move aimed at deepening the bloc's role in helping to stabilise the global economy. Advertisement Brazil's secretary for international affairs in its finance ministry, Tatiana Rosito, said the talks took place after a Brics meeting on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. The proposed mechanism would be modelled on the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, or Miga, which helps developing countries lure foreign direct investment by offering political risk insurance and credit guarantees. Miga covers risks such as expropriation, currency inconvertibility, contract breaches and conflict-related disruptions. Established in 1988, the agency has helped de-risk infrastructure and energy projects in some of the world's most volatile environments. Tatiana Rosito, Brazil's secretary for international affairs in its finance ministry, attends an International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Handout If created, a Brics version of Miga could be added to the group's financial toolkit alongside its Contingent Reserve Arrangement, signed in 2014 and in operation since 2016.
Fox News
16-02-2025
- Fox News
Chocolate paired with tea has health benefits that outweigh wine
Both tea and chocolate have a rich, unique history spanning thousands of years. Tea made its debut in 2737 B.C., when legend has it that Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sipping boiled water beneath a tree when some leaves accidentally blew into it, according to multiple sources. Tea sommelier Piotr Miga, based in greater Boston, explained to Fox News Digital how recent evidence suggests that the people of Ecuador were using cocoa 5,300 years ago – but noted that it did not reach Europe until the early 16th century, when Spanish explorers brought it over. Soon, word spread about the health properties of these two delicacies. "By the 17th century, both tea and chocolate were considered high-scale, fashionable and medicinal in nature," Miga stated. Tea and chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, he explained, are high in antioxidant polyphenols, which target free radicals and can reduce the risk of cancer and have other health benefits. Healthline reports that the antioxidants and flavanols in cocoa and dark chocolate can reduce inflammation and help keep the endothelial cells that line your arteries healthy. The medical journal also details how popular teas like green tea, ginger and rosehip can also fight inflammation and prevent oxidative damage. Tea and chocolate are customarily served at the end of a meal with dessert, especially on special occasions like Valentine's Day. Miga explained that tea is more appreciated in British and Eastern nations, whereas in France and Italy, people are more inclined to drink wine. Miga believes that dark chocolate complements black, pu'er or herbal teas with flavors of berries, rose or citrus. He described how milk chocolate or a chocolate dessert would "pair nicely with black tea picked in the early spring, what we call first flush tea or oolong tea." Amy Sherman, San Francisco-based tea enthusiast and editor-in-chief of The Chocolate Professor, told Fox News Digital that the same rules apply to pairing chocolate with tea as chocolate with wine. "You can either contrast or you can complement," she said. "There are a lot of different styles of chocolate and tea, so it lends itself to a lot of experimentation." Sherman concurred with Miga's suggestion of pairing dark chocolate with black tea. She also mentioned that she loves Earl Grey tea, a black tea with a citrusy bergamot flavor, paired with chocolate – because "citrus and chocolate [are] a beautiful combination." When it comes to choosing the right tea to sip with a chocolate mint, Sherman commented, "It depends." "If you're trying to enhance the mint flavor, then I would have a mint tea," she said. "If you want something to cut the mint flavor, then I would go with a black tea (like) English Breakfast or Orange pekoe." Since chocolate caramel is extremely sweet, Sherman thought it would be paired best with "something that has a stronger character to it," like Lapsang Souchong, a smoky black tea. To cut the strong sweetness of milk chocolate, Sherman suggested pairing it with green tea, which has an earthy, milder taste. She surmised that red tea (rooibos), which has a honey flavor to it, would go well with bittersweet chocolate, chocolate covered nuts or toffee, or even strawberries or cherries that have been dipped in chocolate. "With some of the fruity chocolates, I would go with either a rooibos or hibiscus that has its own flavor that's really strong, or I would go with a black tea, which would be a contrast," Sherman said. Chocolate with sea salt or chocolate covered popcorn would go best with matcha tea, which is made from green tea leaves and has a frothy bitterness, she explained. Sherman described how the sweetness of white chocolate confections, like bonbons or truffles, complements the delicate floral essence of herbal tea, or the mild flavor of chamomile. Since white chocolate is made from cocoa butter, rather than cocoa solids, it also has a milder flavor. Another popular trend, she said, is tea-flavored chocolate bars. William Mullan, brand director of Raaka Chocolate in Brooklyn, New York, told Fox News Digital that his company has been manufacturing chocolate tea bars in-house since 2014, with the debut of their Earl Grey unroasted dark chocolate bar. Just like some teas can bring out the sweetness of darker chocolate bars, the health properties of each can also work together as mood enhancers, Mullen said. "Theobromine and caffeine are both stimulants, and they can help with focus and mood," he said. "If you want to get something done and be peppy and focused, a little chocolate and a little tea, chemically, can be a very advantageous thing in the right dose."
