Latest news with #SoutheastAsian
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Ishiba, Cambodian Leader Affirm Economic Cooperation
Jiji Press Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, right, shakes hands with his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet, in Tokyo on Friday. Tokyo (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet, met in Tokyo on Friday and issued a joint statement announcing an economic cooperation package. The package outlines items for cooperation, including holding business seminars and setting up investment consultation desks. The two leaders agreed that relevant government bodies of their respective countries will promote cooperation on each item. At a joint press conference, Ishiba said that Japan will 'support Cambodia's democratic development through various efforts.' Regarding special fraud groups based in Cambodia, Ishiba noted that his government 'will strengthen cooperation to maintain public security.' Hun Manet responded that Cambodia will continue to cooperate with Japan on the matter by sharing information on international crimes. The two leaders confirmed that Japan will consider providing free defense equipment to the Southeast Asian country under the official security assistance framework. They also discussed multilateral trade in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Business
- Time of India
Assessing Donald Trump's send-off for Elon Musk
President Donald Trump celebrated Elon Musk on Friday as the billionaire's tenure as the White House's chief cost-cutter was ending. The gathering, styled as a news conference in the Oval Office, signalled an end to a remarkable period of upheaval across the federal bureaucracy, supervised by Musk and the initiative he led, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). "Elon has worked tirelessly, helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations," Trump said, omitting that Musk fell far short of an oft-stated goal of achieving $1 trillion in savings. Here's a fact-check of some of their claims. What was said Live Events "We'll remember you as we announce billions of dollars of extra waste, fraud and abuse." -- Trump Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories This is exaggerated. In listing a litany of contracts and grants cancelled by the cost-cutting initiative, Trump misrepresented several of them and omitted context about others. He repeated the misleading claim that DOGE eliminated a payment of "$59 million to a hotel in New York City" to house migrants in the country illegally. The figure is the amount for a federal grant awarded to the city in the 2024 fiscal year, not the amount paid to one hotel. He cited $45 million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma, using the former name for Myanmar. That was a 2024 initiative the US Agency for International Development started after the 2021 military coup in the Southeast Asian country. The scholarships funded Burmese students studying at universities in the Philippines and online at the University of Arizona. Although the total award was $45 million over five years, about $17 million had been obligated when DOGE cancelled the program. Trump also mentioned "$42 million for social and behavioural change in Uganda," likely referring to a $38 million contract awarded to Johns Hopkins University in 2020 to improve health outcomes in the country. Behaviors listed in the award included the correct use of mosquito nets and medicines to treat HIV infections. When DOGE canceLled the contract in March, most of the money, about $36 million, had already been spent. The "$40 million for social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants" Trump noted referred to a contract to help Venezuelans who migrated to Colombia. He again overstated the link between a $1.9 billion environmental grant and Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic candidate for governor in Georgia. A coalition of five groups received the grant, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, to decarbonize houses in low-income neighbourhoods. Abrams served for one year as a senior adviser to one of the groups and did not lead the organization. Trump also again cited "$20 million for Arab Sesame Street in the Middle East," adding wrongly that "nobody knows what that's all about." The award to Sesame Workshop was not to create a program, but to tailor an existing children's show called "Ahlan Simsim" for local audiences, as well as to establish educational material for training and use in child care centres. Thousands of Iraqi children viewed the programming and participated in the training. And he again described a body of research grants as "$8 million for making mice transgender." In March, the White House published a list of about $8.3 million in research grants that aimed to study the efficacy of different medications on transgender people through experiments with mice receiving different hormones. None of the studies specifically sought to "make mice transgender." What was said "So, I think the judge just ruled against New York Times for their lies about the Russiagate hoax, and that they might have to give back that Pulitzer Prize." -- Musk False. Musk dismissed new reporting by the Times on his drug use and tumultuous personal life by incorrectly describing a legal proceeding and the circumstances of a lawsuit. The court in question did not, as Musk suggested, rule that the Times "lied" in its reporting about Russia. The Times is not a litigant in the lawsuit. In 2021, Trump demanded that the board that awards the Pulitzer Prizes revoke its awards to the Times and The Washington Post for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. When the board refused, Trump sued it for defamation. In 2024, a state judge in Florida rejected the board's move to dismiss the lawsuit. The board later tried to pause proceedings, arguing that because Trump was the president, the lawsuit could prompt a constitutional conflict. But a state court ruled this week that the lawsuit could proceed. What was said "It's an unbelievable bill. It cuts your deficits." -- Trump False. The Congressional Budget Office and a number of independent analysts have estimated that the Republican domestic policy bill, passed by the House this month, would balloon federal deficits by more than $1 trillion, even when economic growth is factored in. The CBO estimated an increase in the deficit of $3.8 trillion; the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated $3.1 trillion, including interest; the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated $2.8 trillion; and the Tax Foundation estimated $1.7 trillion when factoring in economic growth. "Quite the opposite, this would be an incredibly large deficit increaser, adding $3 trillion to our nation's borrowing and $5 trillion if the expiring policies are extended," said Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Make sure the door remains closed': Trump gives marital advice to Macron after viral video of wife shoving him
US President Trump when asked about the incident during a press conference in the Oval Office (Image credits: AP) US President Donald Trump offered marital advice to French President Emmanuel Macron after a video of him, apparently, being shoved by his wife Brigitte went viral earlier this week. "Make sure the door remains closed. That is not good," Trump said on Friday during a press conference in the Oval Office. Asked about the incident, Trump brushed it off, saying, 'He's fine too. They're fine,' adding, 'They're two really good people. I know them very well.' Responding to the media attention, President Macron said the incident was being overblown and described the moment as a joke between him and his wife. 'We were squabbling and, rather, joking,' he explained, adding that it was being exaggerated into 'a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.' The incident took place Sunday evening as Macron arrived in Vietnam to begin his Southeast Asian tour. In a video shot by the Associated Press in Hanoi, Macron was seen emerging from his plane as he landed. His wife Birgitte's arm then emerged from the left of the door. She placed both her hands on her husband's face and gave it a shove. Macron and Brigitte, who met at the high school where she taught and he was a student, have been married since 2007.
eNCA
10 hours ago
- eNCA
Rockfall at Indonesian limestone quarry kills eight
JAKARTA - At least eight people were killed and a dozen injured Friday in a rockfall at a limestone quarry on Indonesia's Java island, police said. The company overseeing the mine was operating legally but safety standards were lacking, according to West Java governor Dedi Mulyadi, who said he has ordered its closure following the accident. Workers and heavy equipment were buried when rocks suddenly crumbled at the mining site in the city of Cirebon in West Java province at around 09:30 am local time (0230 GMT). "We are now focusing on evacuating victims. Until now, eight people have been found dead, and 12 others were injured and have been taken to hospitals," local police chief, Sumarni, who like many Indonesians has one name told AFP. Rescuers were still scouring the site to find more victims who might be trapped under the debris, deploying excavators for the search effort. Friday's incident was the second time the quarry collapsed. Parts of the mine collapsed in February but there were no casualties reported. "I decided to shut down the pit permanently, not just this pit but also other pits nearby," Dedi told Metro TV. Mining accidents are common across the mineral-rich Southeast Asian archipelago, especially in unlicensed sites where safety protocols are often ignored. In 2023, eight workers died after being trapped in an illegal gold mine in Central Java. In July last year at least 23 people died and 35 others were missing when a landslide hit a remote village near an illegal gold mine on the central island of Sulawesi.
Epoch Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Hegseth Greets ASEAN Counterparts at Defense Summit as China Opts Out
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived in Singapore on May 30, greeting his counterparts from Southeast Asian nations ahead of a defense summit for which China has opted not to send its defense minister this year. Hegseth is attending the Shangri-la Dialogue, where he
