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Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
India captain Gill says Pant should be fit to play in fourth test
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Second Test - England v India - Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, Britain - July 5, 2025 India's Rishabh Pant walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket, caught out by England's Ben Duckett off the bowling of Shoaib Bashir Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo LONDON - India captain Shubman Gill said the finger injury suffered by Rishabh Pant in the third test against England is not overly serious and the wicketkeeper-batsman should be able to play in the next match in Manchester. Pant injured the index finger of his left hand when trying to collect a delivery from Bumrah during England's first innings at Lord's. Pant completed the over but did not keep wickets afterwards, though he batted in both innings. Dhruv Jurel replaced him behind the stumps for the remainder of the test, which England won by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. "Rishabh went for scans and there is no major injury there," Gill told reporters. "I think he should be fine for the next test match." Pant is the second-highest scorer in the series with his tally of 425 from six innings, which includes two hundreds, second only to Gill's 607. Tempers flared throughout the contest at the home of cricket and India seamer Mohammed Siraj was slapped with a fine and one demerit point for his reaction after taking the wicket of England opener Ben Duckett. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms, 1 lawyer over seized properties Opinion What we can do to fight the insidious threat of 'zombie vapes' Business Weakening US dollar gives boost to S'pore market as investors review their portfolios Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? Singapore Turning tragedy into advocacy: Woman finds new purpose after paralysis Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years Gill said the "heat" had spiced up the series but the teams respected each other. "You're giving everything physically and mentally, so there are going to moments where there's going to be a little bit of heat from both sides," the 25-year-old said. "I think that's what makes it so exciting, that's what makes it more challenging. "But the next time we play each other, there won't be (any bad blood). There's a lot of admiration within for the two teams." The fourth test at Old Trafford begins on July 23. REUTERS
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
McIlroy ready to ride wave of Rory Mania at Portrush
FILE PHOTO: Mar 14, 2025; Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA; Rory Mcllroy hits off of the tenth tee during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images/File Photo PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland - When Rory McIlroy arrived at Royal Portrush six years ago it was meant to be a glorious homecoming for Northern Ireland's most famous sportsman but his British Open hopes lasted only two rounds. "Rory Mania" will reach new heights as golf's oldest major returns to County Antrim's stunning Causeway Coast on Thursday, but this time he insists he is better prepared to ride the wave. Around 275,000 fans will attend the 153rd Open this week -- a figure only topped by St Andrews. A sizeable majority will be roaring for 36-year-old McIlroy as he tries to lift the Claret Jug for a second time, having first got his hands on it at Royal Liverpool in 2014. Former world number one McIlroy completed a long-overdue career slam when he edged out Ryder Cup team mate Justin Rose in a gripping Masters battle this year, ending an 11-year major drought. A post-Augusta dip was perhaps not surprising, but the prospect of a return to the Portrush links where he broke the course record as a 16-year-old, albeit a much re-modelled one, has re-ignited the fire. He was joint second at last week's Scottish Open and the five-times major winner arrives in confident mood. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms, 1 lawyer over seized properties Opinion What we can do to fight the insidious threat of 'zombie vapes' Business Weakening US dollar gives boost to S'pore market as investors review their portfolios Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? Singapore Turning tragedy into advocacy: Woman finds new purpose after paralysis Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years McIlroy went out early for 18 holes on Monday in relative peace, before fans began swarming through the gates. 2019 MEMORIES Asked for his recollections of 2019, McIlroy, who grew up in Hollywood, 60 miles south of Portrush, said the clamour had taken him by surprise. "I remember the ovation I got on the first tee on Thursday and not being prepared for it or not being ready for how I was going to feel," McIlroy told reporters. "Then the golf on Thursday felt like a bit of a blur. I try to forget that part of it." McIlroy hit a quadruple bogey eight at the first in 2019 on his way to a 79 and while he mounted a second-round charge, a 65 could not get him past the cut. "I'm so happy it's back so soon because I want to have another crack at it. I'm a better player, manage my game better. "The fact that I'm here at Portrush with the Green Jacket, having completed that lifelong dream, I want to do my best this week to enjoy the reaction of the fans. But at the same time, I want to win this golf tournament, and I feel like I'm very capable of doing that." McIlroy's friend Shane Lowry marked Portrush's long-awaited return to the Open rota in 2019 by sparking an Irish party with an emotional victory. He is also relishing a return. "I still don't know why it came together that week," he said. "There's no real answer. It just happened. I'm very lucky. But I would love to do it again." There has been no European winner of the Open since Lowry and three of the last four editions have been won by Americans, with Xander Schauffele arriving as defending champion. Schauffele proved at Royal Troon that he has the patience and accuracy to survive the pitfalls of a links course, whatever the weather Gods conjure up, as Brian Harman did in 2023 in monsoon-like rain at Royal Liverpool. World number one Scottie Scheffler cannot yet say the same with seventh place last year his best Open finish but after a stunningly consistent year, including his third major victory at the PGA Championship, he will surely be in the mix. As ever at a British Open, the fickle elements can rip up the best laid plans and after the heat that has gripped large parts of the country, rain and wind are expected to add teeth to a treacherous par-71 layout. Ireland's twice Open champion Padraig Harrington will hit the first ball on Thursday. REUTERS
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Bessent no-show, BRICS tensions set to cast shadow over Durban G20 meeting
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference following a weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo JOHANNESBURG - Another no-show by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Donald Trump's tariff threats and rising tensions between Washington and BRICS countries all look set to overshadow this week's meeting of G20 finance chiefs in Durban, South Africa. Several key officials including Bessent skipped February's Cape Town gathering of finance ministers and central banks in the grouping, already raising questions about its ability to tackle pressing global challenges. "I think it's problematic not to have the world's largest economy represented at the table, at least at a senior political level," said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council. "It raises questions about the G20's long-term viability," said Lipsky, adding that Bessent's absence foreshadowed U.S. plans for a slimmed-down, "back to basics" G20 when it assumes the grouping's rotating presidency next year. Trump has implemented a baseline 10% tariff on all U.S. imports, with punitive rates targeting specific countries and products - including steel and aluminum at 50%, autos at 25%, and threatened levies of up to 200% on pharmaceuticals. Extra tariffs on 25 countries are set to take effect on August 1. His threat to impose further tariffs on BRICS countries adds complexity, given that eight G20 members - including host South Africa - belong to the expanded BRICS grouping. The overlap hints at the emergence of competing forums as Western-led institutions face credibility challenges. "Policy uncertainty is the biggest theme at this point in time," South African Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Fundi Tshazibana told Reuters. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms, 1 lawyer over seized properties Opinion What we can do to fight the insidious threat of 'zombie vapes' Business Weakening US dollar gives boost to S'pore market as investors review their portfolios Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? Singapore Turning tragedy into advocacy: Woman finds new purpose after paralysis Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years The G20 has its origins in past crisis fire-fighting and really took off as countries around the world saw a need to coordinate policies to emerge from the global financial crisis of the late 2000s. "The G20 was built around a presumption that all the world's major economies shared a common interest in a stable, relatively open global economy," said Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations. "But Trump doesn't really care about stability and wants a more closed global economy." 'DIFFICULT SPACE' The Durban gathering of finance chiefs on Thursday and Friday also unfolds against a backdrop of mounting economic pressures, particularly for African economies. Sub-Saharan Africa's external debt has ballooned to $800 billion, or 45% of GDP, according to Goldman Sachs, while traditional funding sources are drying up. Chinese lending has slowed to a trickle after years of expansion, leaving an $80 billion financing gap. "The views that they've expressed are if you negotiate them down before taking the loan, they will go with that," said Trevor Manuel, the former finance minister of South Africa who is leading the Africa Expert Panel of the G20. "But once the loan is made, then they expect a return, and that is embedded in their legislation. So that is one issue that needs a lot of attention," he said. China's Belt and Road Initiative has brought very significant resources to the African continent, "but there are also the offsets," said Manuel. "I think that part of the push going forward is greater transparency, which means that some of the barter arrangements and so on need to be dealt with quite differently." Meanwhile, U.S. and European grants - accounting for 25% of the region's external financing - face cuts as Washington suspends foreign aid and European capitals redirect funds towards defence. "Africa is in a difficult space," said Lumkile Mondi, political commentator at the University of Witwatersrand. "Investment in the continent is going to dwindle because of high levels of indebtedness and low GDP growth, making it less relevant in the current geoeconomics." When it assumed the G20 presidency in December under the motto "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability", Pretoria had hoped to use the platform to pressure rich countries on climate finance and address the distrust between the global North and South. Instead, it finds itself managing the fallout from aid cuts and tariff wars that directly undermine those goals. As the continent's most developed economy, South Africa faces pressure to champion African interests while navigating great power rivalries. The National Treasury said it was "premature to comment" on specific goals for the gathering, however. Director General of Treasury Duncan Pieterse said in a statement on Monday that they hoped to issue the first Communique under the South African G20 presidency at the end of the meetings. On Monday the G20's financial stability watchdog delivered a new plan on how to tackle climate risks but paused policy work amid a U.S. retreat that has tested efforts to advance a united financial policy on climate-related risks. The U.S. has withdrawn from multiple groups dedicated to exploring how flooding and wildfires and big climate-related policy shifts could impact financial stability. REUTERS
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
For Europe, 30% US tariff would hammer trade, force export model rethink
A container ship is seen at the loading terminal \"Altenwerder\" in the port of Hamburg, Germany, February 17, 2025. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BRUSSELS - The 30% tariff on European goods threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump would, if implemented, be a game-changer for Europe, wiping out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce and forcing a rethink of its export-led economic model. European ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday remained convinced they can bring Trump back from the brink before his Aug. 1 deadline and reach a deal that would keep the $1.7 trillion two-way trading relationship broadly intact. But the wild swings in Trump's mood towards the European Union - which he has sometimes labelled as friendly and at other times accused of being set up specifically to destroy the United States - keep the 30% threat very much alive for now. "It will be almost impossible to continue the trading as we are used to in a transatlantic relationship," EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said of the 30% rate before meeting ministers and officials of the 27 EU capitals to give them an update. "Practically it prohibits the trade." EU officials had been hoping they could limit the damage by agreeing a baseline tariff around 10% - the one currently in place - with additional carve-outs for key sectors like autos. Last year the United States accounted for a fifth of all EU exports - its largest partner. Trump's bugbear is the $235 billion U.S. deficit generated by the goods component of that trade, even though the U.S. earns a surplus on services. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms, 1 lawyer over seized properties Opinion What we can do to fight the insidious threat of 'zombie vapes' Asia China's economy grows 5.3% in first half of 2025, momentum slowing amid trade tensions Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? Singapore Turning tragedy into advocacy: Woman finds new purpose after paralysis Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years UPEND POLICY PLANS The impact of making European exports - from pharmaceuticals to autos, machinery or wine - too expensive to be viable for American consumers would be instantly tangible. Economists at Barclays estimate an average tariff rate on EU goods of 35% including both reciprocal and sectoral duties combined with a 10% retaliation from Brussels would shave 0.7 percentage points off euro zone output. This would eat up most of the euro zone's already meagre growth and likely lead the European Central Bank to cut its 2% deposit rate further. "Inflation would likely undershoot the 2% target more deeply, and for longer, prompting a more accommodative monetary policy stance – with the deposit rate potentially reaching 1% by (March 2026)," the Barclays economists said. An earlier estimate by German economic institute IW found tariffs of 20% to 50% would cost Germany's 4.3 trillion euro economy more than 200 billion euros between now and 2028. While arguably small in percentage terms, that lost activity could still upend Chancellor Friedrich Merz's plans to push through tax cuts and spend more on renewing the country's long neglected infrastructure. "We would have to postpone large parts of our economic policy efforts because it would interfere with everything and hit the German export industry to the core," Merz said at the weekend of a 30% rate. NOWHERE TO RUN Further down the line, it raises bigger questions over how Europe recoups the lost activity to generate the tax revenues and jobs needed to fund ambitions ranging from caring for ageing populations to military rearmament. Under its existing policy of trade diversification, the EU has done well in striking preliminary deals with new partners but - as the continued delay over completion of the giant EU-Mercosur trade pact shows - it has struggled to get them fully signed and sealed. "The EU does not have different markets to pull up to and sell into," Varg Folkman, policy analyst at the European Policy Centre think tank said of the long and complex timelines involved in classic free trade deals. Some observers have argued the stand-off with Trump is what the EU needs to complete long-delayed reforms of its single market, boosting domestic demand and rebalancing its economy away from the exports which account for around half of output. The International Monetary Fund has estimated the EU's own internal barriers to the free flow of activity are the equivalent of tariffs of 44% for goods and 110% for services. Mooted reforms such as creating freer cross-border capital markets have made little headway in more than a decade. "It is easier said than done. There isn't an agreement to deepen. The barriers are imposed by the EU members themselves to benefit their own," Folkman said of the web of national regulations. How all this plays into the EU's negotiating strategy in the less than three weeks ahead remains to be seen - but for now, the bloc has stuck to its line of being open to talks while readying retaliatory measures if they break down. One thing that might persuade Trump to reach a deal, some European observers suggest, is that the lingering uncertainty may by itself push back the timing of the Federal Reserve interest rate cut the U.S. president so desires. "The latest developments on the trade war suggest that it will take more time to get a sense of the 'landing zone' on of course raises uncertainty for everyone, including the Fed," AXA chief economist Gilles Moec said. "With this new for cutting quickly get even harder to justify." REUTERS
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Japan PM to meet Bessent on Friday, Yomiuri says
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks next to Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa during a meeting with cabinet ministers to discuss Japan's strategy in dealing with U.S. tariffs, at Ishiba's official residence in Tokyo, Japan July 8, 2025, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS/File Photo Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is arranging to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday, ahead of an August 1 deadline to strike a trade deal with the United States. A separate Yomiuri report said European Union leaders will visit Ishiba later this month to sign an "alliance" advocating global free trade, seeking multilateral ties as U.S. tariffs add to trade risks. Bessent is set to travel to Japan to attend the U.S. national day at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, scheduled for July 19, skipping a concurrent Group of 20 finance officials meeting in South Africa, U.S. Treasury said last week. Bessent would lead the U.S. delegation, which will also include Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to the White House. Japan's top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is also expected to meet with Bessent, Yomiuri added, citing an unnamed government source. Despite seven U.S. visits since April, Akazawa has yet to secure a trade agreement with Washington. Reuters has not independently confirmed these planned meetings during Bessent's Japan trip. This would mark the first high-level meeting between Tokyo and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump last week sent a letter to Japan raising tariffs on Japanese imports to 25% from August 1. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? World Trump arms Ukraine and threatens sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil Singapore Turning tragedy into advocacy: Woman finds new purpose after paralysis Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Sport World Aquatics C'ship women's 10km open water swimming event delayed by a day due to water quality Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Ex-cop charged after he allegedly went on MHA portal, unlawfully shared info with man Separately, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will meet Ishiba in Tokyo around July 23 and launch a "competitiveness alliance" scheme, Yomiuri reported. The EU, facing 30% tariffs, has accused the U.S. of resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures. The new EU-Japan framework will note their commitment to "a stable, predictable, rules-based, free and fair economic order" to counter Trump's tariffs and China's rare earth export restrictions, Yomiuri said, citing draft statements. The statement could also mention EU-Japan tie-ups in areas such as rare earth and battery supply chains, natural gas investments, defense industry dialogues and satellites, the newspaper added. The U.S. and EU officials' Japan visits come at a sensitive time for Ishiba with his ruling coalition seen losing its majority in Sunday's upper house election, according to recent polls. Having already lost the lower house majority in October, a second electoral defeat could significantly undermine Ishiba's political standing while potentially strengthening opposition parties that advocate for tax cuts and looser monetary policy. REUTERS
