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The Hill
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Sunday shows preview: Trump-Epstein saga reaches fever pitch
The case of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein dominated headlines once again this week as President Trump has struggled to manage the fallout over an FBI and Department of Justice memo that pushed back on several conspiracy theories about the convicted sex offender. This is likely to be the focus of much of this week's Sunday shows. Under Trump's direction, the DOJ has asked to unseal grand jury transcripts pertaining to Epstein's 2019 criminal case in New York, which was dropped after Epstein was found dead in his cell awaiting trial. The memo last week concluded that the death was a suicide, consistent with previous findings. Conspiracy theorists and some supporters of the president, however, have entertained the idea that Epstein could have been murdered in order to cover up some vast global scheme involving child sex trafficking. Trump's move has so far gathered mixed reactions. A new Wall Street Journal report claimed Trump wrote Epstein a 'bawdy' 50th birthday card in 2003, apparently including a drawing of a naked woman. Trump has denied the report and sued the Journal for libel. On Capitol Hill, the House muscled through several new cryptocurrency bills, while the Senate agonized over a $9 billion rescissions package for foreign aid and public media before ultimately sending it to Trump for a signature. White House crypto czar David Sacks could take a victory lap on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' following the signing of stablecoin legislation into law. He will be joined by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who was instrumental in pushing recissions through before a hard Friday deadline. Also on Fox, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard could double down on her threats of prosecution of officials from the Obama administration over allegations that they 'manipulated intelligence' regarding conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is making two Sunday show appearances this week, more than a month after anti-ICE protests roiled pockets of the LA region. Trump's aggressive deportation push has sparked fear and prompted a judge last week to block ICE from using indiscriminate immigration stops. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons will appear alongside Bass on CBS's 'Face the Nation.' Trump also escalated pressure against Jerome Powell this week, with reports circulating that he was mulling firing the Federal Reserve chair. The president cannot fire Powell without cause, and a chair has not been ousted in the modern age. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, could take up the topic on CBS. His interview at the Hill Nation Summit will also re-air on NewsNation's 'The Hill Sunday.' Democratic Party electoral politics will also likely crop up on several Sunday shows. Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who is vying in a crowded Senate primary, and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D), who is running for governor, will both appear on NBC's 'The Weekend.' On CNN's 'State of the Union,' Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) could also address the party's split over Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor. Torres endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in the primary and has not yet pledged his support to Mamdani but has increasingly warmed up to the ascendant Democratic socialist in recent weeks. NewsNation's 'The Hill Sunday': Rep. Eric Sorenson (D-Ill.); Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jim Himes (D-Conn.) from the Hill Nation Summit. ABC's 'This Week': Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn); Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. CNN's 'State of the Union': Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.); former Trump campaign adviser Bryan Lanza; political commentator Karen Finney; former Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.). NBC's 'The Weekend': Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas); Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D). CBS' 'Face the Nation': Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass; acting ICE Director Todd Lyons; Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.); Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. 'Fox News Sunday': Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.); Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.)
Globe and Mail
19-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Canada shores up New Zealand trade with dairy concessions in face of U.S. pressure
New Zealand should be able to sell more dairy per year into Canada as Ottawa makes changes to rules about imports in a bid to shore up trade between the two nations as the trade war with the U.S. wages on. The changes, announced Thursday, mean Canadian importers of New Zealand dairy will be able to access tariff rate quota to sell into the Canadian market faster and more efficiently starting next year. The move is expected to result in up to $128-million in extra trade, according to the New Zealand ministry of trade and investment. Dairy imports into Canada are controlled under the country's supply management system. Imported products face steep levies that can surpass 250 per cent unless they have a tariff rate quota. The changes will move up the timeline by which importers need to return unused TRQ, which will then be reallocated to other companies. Canada will also introduce penalties for importers who do not use the TRQ they receive. The dairy industry's outsized political influence, explained in charts The concession addresses New Zealand's long-standing allegations that Canada's TRQ allocation system has prevented the country from penetrating the market to the degree promised in the 2018 Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Last year, New Zealand threatened retaliatory tariffs unless Canada made changes. 'This has been a long time coming and we believe it will make a positive difference,' said Kimberly Crewther, executive director of The Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, in a press release. The deal raises questions about whether the U.S. – which is also demanding Canada make changes to the rules around dairy import licenses – will receive similar concessions. Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump are currently negotiating a trade deal with a deadline of Aug. 1. At the same time, Canada is seeking to stabilize relations with other nations to diversify trade from the U.S. Mr. Carney said this week that a trade deal with the U.S. is unlikely to be tariff-free. 'Canada and New Zealand, like a lot of countries, are trying to put their trade relationships on solid ground in the face of Trump's actions,' said Matthew Kronby, a partner in the international trade and investment practice at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Mr. Kronby has represented the Canadian dairy industry in trade disputes. We must protect supply management from the trade war New Zealand's dairy exports to Canada have consistently fallen short of the volumes set out in the CPTPP. Some of this is a matter of market forces, said Mr. Kronby. A trade deal is not a guarantee of market demand. However, the island nation has also blamed Canada's licensing import rules. In its submissions to the CPTPP panel in a dispute initiated in 2022, New Zealand claimed Canada's TRQ allocation system was designed to direct quota away from those who would use it – retailers – and toward those who would not – processors. The panel found that Canada's allocation system was in breach of its trade commitments. But until this week's announcement, Canada failed to fully comply with the changes required, according to New Zealand. The changes bring an end to the dispute, despite falling short of New Zealand's hopes for an 'on demand' system that would give quota to the importers who want it. 'This outcome shows how Canada and New Zealand, key CPTPP partners, worked together to use the mechanisms established under the trade agreement to resolve differences,' said a statement from Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, and Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The announcement could have implications for the U.S., which has also launched disputes under the USMCA on the topic of import licenses. Like New Zealand, the U.S. says the TRQ allocation mechanism is too restrictive. It wants retailers and food service companies to be able to import American dairy, and blames the TRQ allocation system for why exporters do not meet export volumes. But its demands go further than New Zealand's. 'Canada cheated us from our right to export the USMCA quantities under the quota and we want every single pound to be restored and we want the people who are going to use the product to be the ones importing it, not the processors,' said Jaime Castaneda, executive vice-president for policy and strategy at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The deal with New Zealand is a testament to the benefits of a rules-based trade approach, said Mr. Kronby. However, he added that because the U.S. has shifted away from that system, it is unlikely that Canada will give the country large concessions. 'It is hard for me to imagine Canadian negotiators making fundamental changes to supply management in order to get a temporary – at best – semi or quasi deal with the Trump administration … an administration that's demonstrated that even if you have a formal trade deal, they're not going to abide by it.'
Int'l Business Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
'Big Comrade': Former Defence Chief Takes Reins As Thai PM
Thailand's former defence chief is set to be appointed acting prime minister on Thursday, capping a colourful career for the political heavyweight once nicknamed "Big Comrade". Phumtham Wechayachai earned his moniker over links in his youth to a 1970s student movement that rallied against the architect of a military coup, before their protests were violently crushed. He fled to the jungle where communist guerrillas were plotting uprisings against the nation's military, and recently he has been questioned over his associations. But the 71-year-old has successfully transitioned into the limelight from a business role in the empire of Thaksin Shinawatra, the founding force of a dynasty which has dominated Thai politics for decades. Phumtham has held the defence and commerce portfolios, and had a previous spell as acting prime minister after a crisis engulfed the top office last year. On Thursday he is due to be sworn in as deputy prime minister and interior minister -- making him acting premier again, after Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from her role. Born in the suburbs of Bangkok, Phumtham was nicknamed "Auan", meaning "Chubby", by his parents. He earned a political science degree from a top Thai university and joined the student movement that took to the streets in 1976, opposing the return of military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn. His childhood nickname belied his slim-faced appearance in a black-and-white photo of the protests, showing him brandishing speech papers with a microphone in hand. The uprising ended in a bloody crackdown known as the "Thammasat Massacre" that killed at least 40 students and remains today one of the country's most notorious instances of protest bloodshed. Unofficial estimates suggest the death toll could have been as high as 500, because live ammunition was used to quell the unrest. Students from Thailand's elite universities fled into the jungle to join guerilla movements. When Phumtham became defence minister last year he faced a grilling by the conservative and pro-military establishment who accused him of being a card-carrying communist. "I went to escape the violence," he insisted. "It was not only me, there were other students too." Despite his protestations, his links to the movement earned him a second alias: "Big Comrade". Phumtham's reputation has softened since his firebrand formative years, and he is now known as a composed and diplomatic operator. He will step into the acting prime minister role after the Constitutional Court suspended Paetongtarn pending an ethics probe which could take months. In the brief interim between the court decision and Phumtham being sworn in as part of a cabinet reshuffle, transport minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit has been acting premier. Phumtham's rise has mirrored that of Thaksin, whose dynastic parties have been jousting with the country's pro-monarchy, pro-military establishment since the early 2000s. In the 1990s Phumtham was employed by the Thaksin-founded telecom giant Shin Corp, before entering politics full-time in 2001. He served as deputy secretary-general of the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, founded by Thaksin, and was appointed deputy transport minister in 2005. After Thaksin was ousted in a coup, the party was dissolved and Phumtham was slapped with a five-year ban from politics. But the movement remained a potent force, with Thaksin's sister and brother-in-law both having stints as prime minister. Paetongtarn was appointed in August, with the backing of the family's Pheu Thai party. Phumtham, considered Thaksin's confidant, appeared by Paetongtarn's side as she gave her first press conference as leader. Although he will be stepping into her shoes, he has signalled he remains loyal to the Shinawatra dynasty and told journalists he believes she will "survive the probe". Phumtham Wechayachai takes over as acting prime minister after Paetongtarn Shinawatra (C) was suspended from her role AFP In the 1990s Phumtham Wechayachai was employed by Thaksin-founded telecom giant Shin Corp, before entering politics full-time in 2001 AFP
Scoop
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Aotearoa To New York — New Zealand Film Premieres At Tribeca Festival
Aotearoa short film Womb is set to return home following its world premiere at New York's Tribeca Festival earlier this month. New Zealand audiences will get their first look at one of the year's most anticipated local short films at this year's Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festiva l with Womb having it's national premiere in competition as part of the festival's Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand's Best short film programme. The powerful drama follows a young Māori girl in the care of a conservative Pākehā couple as she savours her mother's weekly visitations, as a custody battle driven by racial bias will ultimately decide their fate. Directed by Ira Hetaraka (Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi), the film had its world premiere in competition at Tribeca Festival in New York City on June 8, with director Ira Hetaraka, producer Amanda Jane Robinson and editor Sophie Coombs in attendance. The film played three screenings as part of the Floating Roots short film programme focused on Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage, co-curated by Tribeca Festival shorts programmers Ben Thompson and Madison Egan as well as Seigo Tono, the executive director of Short Shorts in Japan. Womb was the only film at Tribeca Festival 2025 from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Womb had its Australian premiere at Sydney Film Festival on June 10, in competition for the First Nations Award, the world's largest cash prize in global Indigenous filmmaking. Sydney Film Festival programmers called the film: 'A haunting, unforgettable reminder of the personal cost of systemic harm – masterfully crafted, Womb unearths longing, identity, and the unbreakable pull of familial connection.' Now, the film is set to return home. Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival Programmer Leo Koziol called the film an 'absurd and wildly original fable, starkly reminding us of the past dehumanisation of Indigenous whānau.' Director Ira Hetaraka commented: ' Womb was birthed from experiences that shaped my own childhood; it was a response to the heavy yet incredibly fulfilling years spent reconnecting with my family and culture that had preceded its making.' 'As I read articles of the thousands and thousands of Māori children that were robbed of their identity, whether it be through closed adoptions, state or faith-based care and abuse, or just plain old racism, it became evident to me not only the universal aspect to the story, but the importance of telling it. Womb became equally a story of the sacred love between a mother and daughter as it did a story of colonisation. After playing in New York City and Sydney, I am proud and excited to bring this film home to Aotearoa audiences.' Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival takes place across the motu from July 31 until September 10 2025. Womb was filmed on location in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. The film stars newcomer Pounamu Hetaraka alongside Te Arohanui Korewha (Ahikāroa), Bruce Hopkins (The Lord of the Rings, Housebound, Under the Mountain), Chelsie Preston-Crayford (A Remarkable Place To Die, Dark City: The Cleaner, Nude Tuesdays), Julie Wilson and Jaine Kirtley, with narration by Ngātai Hita (Big Girls Don't Cry).
Scoop
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Aotearoa To New York — New Zealand Film Premieres At Tribeca Festival
Aotearoa short film Womb is set to return home following its world premiere at New York's Tribeca Festival earlier this month. New Zealand audiences will get their first look at one of the year's most anticipated local short films at this year's Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festiva l with Womb having it's national premiere in competition as part of the festival's Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand's Best short film programme. The powerful drama follows a young Māori girl in the care of a conservative Pākehā couple as she savours her mother's weekly visitations, as a custody battle driven by racial bias will ultimately decide their fate. Directed by Ira Hetaraka (Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi), the film had its world premiere in competition at Tribeca Festival in New York City on June 8, with director Ira Hetaraka, producer Amanda Jane Robinson and editor Sophie Coombs in attendance. The film played three screenings as part of the Floating Roots short film programme focused on Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage, co-curated by Tribeca Festival shorts programmers Ben Thompson and Madison Egan as well as Seigo Tono, the executive director of Short Shorts in Japan. Womb was the only film at Tribeca Festival 2025 from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Womb had its Australian premiere at Sydney Film Festival on June 10, in competition for the First Nations Award, the world's largest cash prize in global Indigenous filmmaking. Sydney Film Festival programmers called the film: 'A haunting, unforgettable reminder of the personal cost of systemic harm – masterfully crafted, Womb unearths longing, identity, and the unbreakable pull of familial connection.' Now, the film is set to return home. Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival Programmer Leo Koziol called the film an 'absurd and wildly original fable, starkly reminding us of the past dehumanisation of Indigenous whānau.' Director Ira Hetaraka commented: ' Womb was birthed from experiences that shaped my own childhood; it was a response to the heavy yet incredibly fulfilling years spent reconnecting with my family and culture that had preceded its making.' 'As I read articles of the thousands and thousands of Māori children that were robbed of their identity, whether it be through closed adoptions, state or faith-based care and abuse, or just plain old racism, it became evident to me not only the universal aspect to the story, but the importance of telling it. Womb became equally a story of the sacred love between a mother and daughter as it did a story of colonisation. After playing in New York City and Sydney, I am proud and excited to bring this film home to Aotearoa audiences.' Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival takes place across the motu from July 31 until September 10 2025. Womb was filmed on location in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. The film stars newcomer Pounamu Hetaraka alongside Te Arohanui Korewha (Ahikāroa), Bruce Hopkins (The Lord of the Rings, Housebound, Under the Mountain), Chelsie Preston-Crayford (A Remarkable Place To Die, Dark City: The Cleaner, Nude Tuesdays), Julie Wilson and Jaine Kirtley, with narration by Ngātai Hita (Big Girls Don't Cry).
