Latest news with #RFA
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Marco Rossi and Minnesota Wild locked in major contract disagreement
Photo Via Getty Images The Minnesota Wild and restricted free agent Marco Rossi appear to be at a standstill in contract negotiations. According to NHL insider Michael Russo, the two sides haven't spoken in weeks and remain far apart on contract value. With Rossi turning down a significant long-term offer earlier in the season, both parties are now locked in a high-stakes standoff that may not end soon. Minnesota Wild and Marco Rossi far apart on contract value and NHL RFA negotiations The heart of the dispute centers around a major difference in how Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild view his worth. Rossi reportedly rejected a five-year contract offer at a $5 million average annual value (AAV) during the 2024–25 season. His camp is citing recent comparable deals, such as Matt Coronato's seven-year, $6.5 million AAV with the Calgary Flames and Gabe Vilardi's six-year, $7.5 million AAV as justification for a higher payout. However, the Wild are not willing to exceed the $7 million AAV they currently pay Matt Boldy, their young offensive cornerstone. Russo suggests that general manager Bill Guerin may be trying to apply pressure on Rossi by waiting out the situation and daring another team to extend an offer sheet. So far, no such offer has materialized. Bridge deal not ideal for Marco Rossi amid NHL contract talks and Minnesota Wild lineup concerns A short-term bridge deal doesn't appear to be a viable option for Rossi either. Without any trade protection, he risks being moved to a team he may not want to play for. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cat Keeps Hugging Friend Before Going To The Vet – The Vet Paled When He Saw Them Tips and Tricks Undo Additionally, his reduced playoff role, averaging just 11 minutes per night despite scoring twice in six games, raises questions about whether he can continue building value under current usage. Rossi had a strong 2024–25 regular season, recording 24 goals and 60 points in 18:15 average ice time. Yet his postseason deployment has left him unsure about his long-term role in Minnesota, making negotiations even more complex. With both sides holding firm, the contract impasse between Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild shows no sign of easing. Unless a third team intervenes with an offer sheet or one side softens its stance, it may be weeks before talks resume and longer before a resolution is reached. FAQs: 1. How old is Marco Rossi? Marco Rossi is 23 years old (born September 23, 2001). 2. Where is Marco Rossi from? Marco Rossi is from Feldkirch, Austria. Also Read: Nazem Kadri trade talks stall as Toronto Maple Leafs struggle to meet Calgary Flames' demands Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Radio Free Asia
2 days ago
- Business
- Radio Free Asia
China begins building mega-dam in Tibet
China has started to build a massive dam on Tibet's longest river, a move approved by the central government in December despite concerns by India, Bangladesh and Tibetan rights groups about its impacts on residents and the environment. The structure is expected to cost more than 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion). Once completed, it would be the world's largest hydropower dam, generating 300 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually, about three times the power of China's Three Gorges Dam, Xinhua, a state-run news agency, reported last year. Operations are expected to begin sometime in the 2030s. Premier Li Qiang attended a commencement ceremony with other officials in Nyingchi in southeastern Tibet over the weekend. Xinhua reported that the electricity generated 'will be primarily transmitted to other regions for consumption, while also meeting local power needs in Tibet.' The river is known as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, Brahmaputra in India, and Jamuna in Bangladesh. It flows through all three areas from its origin in the glaciers of western Tibet. Climate activist and researcher Manshi Asher told RFA in December that there is 'substantial evidence' of negative impacts from hydropower projects in the Himalayas. 'This project will undoubtedly alter the environmental flows of the river,' Asher said. 'The larger the dam, the greater the impact on the river flows.' Neeraj Singh Manhas, a special adviser on South Asia at Parley Policy Initiative in South Korea, said in December that the dam could affect agriculture, hydropower generation and drinking water availability in India. 'Seasonal changes in water discharge could exacerbate floods or intensify droughts downstream, undermining livelihoods and ecosystems,' Manhas said. Over the weekend, the Chinese premier said that special emphasis 'must be placed on ecological conservation to prevent environmental damage,' according to Xinhua. China has built an estimated 22,000 large dams to help fuel decades of rapid industrialization and economic growth — about 40% of the world's total.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Wild reason China is throwing female writers in jail
China is jailing authors of steamy online sexual fantasy. It turns out they're mostly young women. 'Indecent and obscene content' is just one brick in Beijing's Great Firewall of internet censorship. But Chairman Xi Jinping 's push to impose 'traditional Chinese values' on his Marxist Communist society has some of his censors in overdrive. The online erotica clampdown has so far this year netted 300 writers in the city of Lanzhou, Gansu Province, alone. Most are educated, middle-class women in their 20s. They've been charged with generating pornography for profit. Punishment includes jail terms and hefty fines, scaled according to the severity of the offence. Minor authors can expect a prison sentence of up to three years. Particularly popular writers can be jailed for life. At the heart of the latest obscene content crusade is the Taiwan-hosted Haitang Literature City website. It hosts erotic fiction from registered authors. These receive a commission based on the number of times their stories are viewed by paying subscribers. 'Haitang Literature City is a simplified Chinese erotica platform featuring aesthetic Boys' Love (BL) fiction as its primary focus,' a report by the human rights organisation Global Voices states. 'Unlike gay erotica, BL works, either manga or fiction, are created by female writers for a female audience, who are not necessarily homosexual.' The popular erotic genre, dubbed danmei, is receiving special attention among Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censors. Analysts report access to international sources of mainly male-dominated pornography remain mostly open. 'The mass arrest of Haitang writers is one more example of the clampdown on feminist values and LGBTQ+ identities in recent years, as China has faced a sharp decline in its birthrate,' Global Voices regional editor Oiwan Lam adds. 'Corrupted villains' 'What the nationalists described as 'corrupted villains' are actually educated young women coming from relatively poor families with few resources to defend their rights,' Lam states. Radio Free Asia (RFA) relates the story of a 20-year-old woman caught up in the censor's net. She was reportedly detained shortly after being notified of acceptance to a local university. That university immediately revoked her admission. 'I wrote just to save money to see the snow-capped mountains in western Sichuan, but I didn't expect the result to be a notice of expulsion,' the unnamed woman told RFA. Another author said she was removed from her home while still in her pyjamas: 'Every word I wrote in the past has now become a chain that handcuffs me.' Beijing's drive against pornography was a core component of Chairman Xi's 2013 promise to impose 'cultural security' on what he saw as Chinese values. Some 13,000 China-based pornographic websites and 10 million erotic social media accounts were shut down between 2015 and 2017 alone. A second campaign, between 2019 and 2021, extended the ban to soft-core erotica. Even implied sex acts were outlawed. This prohibition simply drove fans underground. Haitang Literature City emerged in Taiwan as a means to circumvent the mainland's censors. 'Writers and audiences, primarily young women, must use a VPN to access the site,' Global Voices states. 'Subscribers must register an account and purchase a virtual currency called 'Haitang coin' to access VIP content.' But Chinese censors began tracking down the site's users last year. Anhui Province authorities arrested more than 50 writers, with charges mainly reflecting the income the authors had earned. However, Gansu Province has chosen to adhere more closely to 'Xi Thought'. 'Lanzhou police regarded those who wrote for free as criminals and measured the severity of their crimes by calculating the number of views,' Lam writes. 'An offender could receive a sentence of more than 10 years in prison if their work has reached 250,000 views.' A crime of 'cultural harm' Article 363 of China's Criminal Law Code states that producing and selling obscene material for profit is a crime. But RFA reports Gansu Province has decided to define even 'free publication' and 'micro-rewards' (including tokens limited to a specific website) as profit. And it is eagerly pursuing offenders in distant provinces to impose particularly hefty fines. Lanzhou media analyst Liu Yang told RFA that popular culture has always been a focus of CCP regulation, 'especially works involving homosexuality'. But he says the sudden crackdown against danmei (BL) erotica hasn't been explained. 'I really don't understand them. Are they emphasising political correctness, or are they crazy about money?' Liu said. 'The Public Security Bureau is now short of money, and arresting people has become a way to make money.' But Chairman Xi's quest for cultural purity provides both a motivation and an excuse. ' Ideological slogans have returned, often vague and high-sounding, but rarely translated into practical policy,' China analyst Ma Junjie writes in T he Diplomat. 'Political power has become more centralised, with term limits and collective checks removed … Academic and people-to-people exchanges have declined. Information walls are growing higher.' The consequence, he explains, is that nobody knows what is being encouraged and what is punished. 'The state demands discipline, unity, and ideological conformity – while also asking for innovation, entrepreneurship, and social resilience. But creativity doesn't thrive in fear. Trust doesn't grow in ambiguity. And people – whether bureaucrats, academics, or business owners – cannot function productively if the rules keep changing, or worse, if no one really knows the rules anymore.' But discipline and productivity are taking on new meaning. Especially for women. 'Feminists … pointed out that BL is a subversive genre for women to explore their sexuality beyond gender stereotypes, as BL relationships eschew expressions of dominance and reproductive function,' Lam writes. And that, in the context of a dramatically falling birthrate, is interpreted by Beijing as a threat to Chinese 'cultural security'.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Connor Zary's Next Deal a Priority for Flames
Signing Connor Zary should be near the top of Flames' GM Craig Conroy's to-do list. The 23-year-old forward is a Restricted Free Agent (RFA), and while his numbers don't scream 'super star' just yet— 13 goals, 14 assists, 27 points in 53 games last season—there's no mistaking the upside. Zary showed flashes of top-six potential before two fluke injuries derailed his year: first, a knee-on-knee collision in Anaheim and then an awkward fall after being hauled down against Dallas. Still, when he's healthy, Zary drives play and creates dynamic offence. A full season could see him push 25 goals and 50 points. His scoring touch showed in 2022–23 with the AHL's Wranglers, where he played all 72 games and racked up 21 goals and 58 points. He also has the potential to slide from wing to centre, which would give the Flames much needed stability down the middle. Zary can be streaky at times, but his game is still maturing. If he finds another level of consistency, he becomes a key piece in Calgary's forward group. Drafted 24th overall in 2020, Zary is coming off a three-year entry-level deal with a modest $863,334 cap hit. The Flames are in a great spot to sign him at value. The production may not match the ceiling just yet—but it's coming. Zary isn't just part of the future—he's shown he can make an impact now. © Tim Fuller-Imagn Images © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Radio Free Asia
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Radio Free Asia
Analysis: Why Vietnam's To Lam moved so quickly to restructure the government
In less than a year as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam has made moves likened to the drastic cuts that U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have implemented to U.S. federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). To Lam has merged ministries and central government agencies, reduced the number of provinces and cities by half, and dismantled district-level administrative units. Why did To Lam move so fast with reforms, and what are the political, social, and economic impacts? Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University, or Radio Free Asia. Below is a transcript of an interview with Zach Abuza by Truong Son from the RFA Vietnamese service: RFA: What are your thoughts on the administrative reform in Vietnam that Secretary General To Lam just carried out? How significant is the government reshuffle in terms of its social, economic, and political impact, because we know that this is a massive change in Vietnam? Zach Abuza: The changes in the government are really significant and they shouldn't be underestimated. And we have to understand that they're happening at multiple levels. There was the reform of central government ministries. Five were folded in, and some hundred thousand civil servants were either fired or retired. At the provincial level, they went from 63 provinces or provincial-level cities down to 34. So that's almost a 50% reduction — a huge consolidation there. And then they eliminated an entire level of governance at the district level. So it used to go province, district, and then down to the commune level. And they got rid of that mid-level. So they're hoping for more efficiency. Now, all three of those reforms at each level of government have important economic, social, and political implications. Let's start with the government. Those reforms were done in part because the government is notoriously bureaucratic. It's slow. And I think the general secretary really feels that Vietnam has to just be much more responsive, much more accountable, to respond to a rapidly changing international environment, in order to grow the economy, to attract foreign investment. Just had to get rid of red tape. Some of the ministries that were eliminated really were legacy issues. They reflected much more of the government structure at the time of Doi Moi, not all these years into it. You know, the Vietnamese economy is fundamentally different than it was before. And that's why I think you really start to see some of the consolidation, especially in the economic ministries. I think now there are really three key ministries to pay attention to. The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Finance. These are kind of the three heavy hitters. At the provincial level, it's important to understand that this consolidation will have economic effects. And I think one thing that maybe we need to think about is, with the exception of the provinces in the northwest which is landlocked, you know, bordering Lao and the Chinese frontier, almost every other province now has a piece of coastline. And this is important because it was always the coastal provinces that were more advanced because they had access to ports, harbors and it was easier to get products to international markets. And so the reorganization at that level, certainly makes it easier. No province now, other than those northwestern landlocked ones, has an excuse that they cannot get goods to market anymore. Now, I think the provincial reforms have very significant political implications. And let me explain this at several levels. The first is the Central Committee of the Communist Party in the era of Doi Moi has basically had about one third of their members coming from, you know, the provinces. So provincial party chiefs, all of a sudden that is going to change. And we might see at the next Party Congress expected in January 2026 that we see a smaller central committee overall. And that's one thing that I am looking for. There are other political implications. And that is, you now have almost a 50% reduction in the number of governors in the number of party chiefs. And so the general secretary, through this consolidation actually got to choose winners and losers, right? Going into the next Party Congress, To Lam clearly has the support of those who have kept their jobs. They owe him, right? They could have lost everything. But, more importantly, the year before a party congress, normally nothing happens. And I mean, nothing happens. People are afraid to make decisions. People are afraid to make investments. Often, provinces or cities have funding allocated to them, but they're afraid to use it because they just don't know what's going to happen at the Party Congress. They don't know who's going to emerge on top. They're afraid of implementing policies that then get reversed. So there's traditionally a lot of caution. To Lam has completely thrown that off. He has pushed through the most radical reforms I can think of. And he did it right ahead of a Party Congress. So that to me, says he is very confident that he has the full backing of the Central Committee and that he is very confident that he will be reelected to a full term at the 14th Party Congress. Let me just make one quick point about eliminating the district level of administration. I think this is going to have an interesting impact down the line. I don't see it having a short term political impact, but for Communist Party cadres — they might have been in the cities working their way up, but, you know, all of a sudden you've eliminated a very important pathway to be selected and to be noticed, by the higher echelons of the party. And I think that there is going to be a lot of unhappiness that this real, important level, maybe not administratively, maybe it's not the most important for the functioning of government and efficiency, but for people looking for their career pathway to senior party membership. That is an important stepping stone that has been eliminated. RFA: You just said that Secretary General To Lam is certainly very confident politically. That's why he's carried out this unprecedented reform, I must say, the year before the party Congress, and as you said, which traditionally has been a very quiet year. And not just that he did this in the year prior to the Congress, but also, if we look into the manner in which he carried out this reform, which was really quick. The finish line was achieved within a few months. So, if we look at the scale of the project and the pace it was done this begs the question: Why did he do it in such a manner? Why do you think he has to achieve this reform within such a short period of time? Zach Abuza: The Vietnamese government and Communist Party are not known for quick decision making. They tend to be very slow, deliberative, and cautious. But these reforms happened at lightning speed. And I think that pace took everyone by surprise. Part of the answer is it took everyone by surprise. He made the announcement. And for the government ministries, for example, they had less than three months to implement these major restructuring, government reshuffle, 100,000 civil servants, either being retired or found redundant. Part of the reason he moved quickly is before there could be real resistance to it. He wanted to make sure that no one had time to kind of dig in their heels and resist these reforms, because people, these reforms, create winners and losers, and that was clearly a concern of his. I think that To Lam — and while I certainly find the way he came to power, as the minister of Public Security who completely weaponized the anti-corruption campaign, eliminated all of his rivals on the Politburo in just absolute Machiavellian fashion — I actually think that he is maybe the right man for the job right now. I think he really does understand that Vietnam has this very narrow window of opportunity to push through major economic restructuring and reforms. Vietnam's demographics have peaked. The country will start to see its population decline and fairly rapidly, especially with the rapid urbanization, the increased number of women in the workforce, higher education levels. All those three factors always lead to sharp declines in demographics. So Vietnam has the challenge of soon it's going to start getting old before it gets rich. You know, it's one thing for Japan to get old because it's already rich. Thailand has had a little harder time, and I think Vietnamese policymakers do look to Thailand as a country that has gotten old before it got rich. The second thing is that To Lam is very fearful of being caught in the middle income trap, where Vietnam simply assembles. It does not produce; it doesn't have those ecosystems there. In the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Americans always pointed to the fact that Vietnam's trade deficit with China was very close to its trade surplus with the United States. Now, the United States' thinking was that Vietnam was simply being used as a transshipment point for Chinese goods. To a degree, yes, but that doesn't explain all of it. What explains it is the fact that things that are produced in Vietnam, whether it's Samsung, mobile phones or VinFast cars, are made with components imported from China. So Vietnam hasn't developed that ecosystem. To Lam is very interested in getting the higher value added foreign investment. We hear a lot about semiconductors and other high-end manufacturing. He needs a much more efficient government structure to attract foreign investment. One of the reasons we know foreign investors — there's often a delta between pledged investment and actual shovel in the ground building something is because of bureaucratic red tape. I think To Lam is really concerned that foreign investors are going to get frustrated and move on to the next place because Vietnam's labor costs are going up. It has shortages of electricity. You know, it's been a darling of foreign investors, but that is not a given. That foreign investors can be very fickle. We have watched them leave Vietnam in the past. And let me just make one last point about why he did it so fast. I think this is To Lam really asserting himself politically. He has done what many of us probably would have said, 'Impossible.' No way is he going to get through such momentous restructuring in a quick period of time. There will be too much, you know, resistance to it. He really showed that he has full control over the Central Committee. Now, he still has his former deputy minister, now the Minister of Public Security. He's got another former deputy minister of Public Security in charge of the Central Inspection Commission. He has many levers of power that he can wield against people who are opposed to him. He can still investigate corruption and destroy careers, but I think he really has won over this Central Committee with his vision. One last point we should probably make about these reforms. There is going to be a major shift in power to the South. You have created a huge megacity now. Ho Chi Minh City, all the way out to Vũng Tàu around Bien Hoa. This is now a massive place. Under the former General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng there was a real attempt to crush any southern autonomy. I think we understand that the South is the driver of the economy. To Lam knows that he has to empower the South. He knows that legitimacy is coming from economic development. RFA: I guess he got what he wanted. He restructured the entire governance system not just at the central level, but also the local level as well. So the entire country now is basically governed under a new system that looks very different from when he took power in August 2024. But I'm curious because we understand that this kind of project has massive implications and consequences. And usually people do it with great caution because they need to study. They need to experiment to find the best model. But the way To Lam carried it out was that it was just too quick, too rapid. There was no opportunity for experimentation, for research at all. He just said, 'This is what we are going to do,' and he achieved that within a few months. So what do you think would be the consequences and the challenges that he has to face, given that he has done this too quickly and gave no room for deliberation, for experiment, for research, for debate. Zach Abuza: No doubt there will be growing pains. And a lot of this was rushed. And I imagine in many cases, you are not going to only see some resistance to this and kind of pushback. But just complications and everything from accounting and getting bank accounts and tax collection and all these things are going to be very different. Now, from the central government's position, this is hopefully easier. There are now almost 50% fewer provinces to basically negotiate with. And should make some coordination a little bit easier. But without a doubt this was pretty rushed. Now, I would go back to a point I made earlier, and that is the party chiefs that are in power today after the restructuring owe To Lam — they owe him their jobs and I imagine they will be very responsive, because they're all interested in climbing up the ladder and those who do not perform well and have problems are going to find their political careers might not last much longer than January. So I think he's using the clock very effectively, you know, like a good football coach uses the clock in a game. I think he is doing that. But yeah, there will be problems, and we just haven't seen them yet. There are going to be issues with spending and infrastructure development. You now have these party chiefs that are going to think about which part of the province, these larger provinces to invest in. You know, there are going to be rural communes that are going to feel they're being left behind because the emphasis will be on more development to the coast and where industry is. And so, yeah, without a doubt, we will see how this plays out.
