Latest news with #assurances
Miami Herald
14 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
US-China trade talks start in London aiming to ease export curbs
Talks between the U.S. and China kicked off in London, with the U.S. signaling a willingness to remove restrictions on exports in exchange for assurances that China is easing limits on rare earth shipments. The meeting, set to start Monday just after 1 p.m. local time, is expected to extend into the U.K. evening and might spill into Tuesday. The Trump administration expects that "after the handshake" in London, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased and rare earths will be released by China, Kevin Hassett, head of the at the White House's National Economic Council, told CNBC. It was the clearest signal yet that the U.S. is willing to offer such a concession. The first round of negotiations since the teams met a month ago is aimed at restoring confidence that both are living up to commitments made in Geneva. During those discussions, Washington and Beijing agreed to lower crippling tariffs for 90 days to allow time to hammer out ways to address a trade imbalance that the Trump administration blames on an unfair playing field. The confusion after the Geneva meeting about China's rare earth export-permitting process, combined with U.S. limits on tech shipments and Washington's recent crackdown on Chinese student visas, underscore the complexity of deal-making between China and the U.S. "They left too many things open to interpretation," said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council. The U.S. and China "just want to get back to where they were in Switzerland with a few more agreements down on paper to actually understand what is gonna be licensed, what gets permitted, what doesn't," he added. A phone call last week between President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping appeared to give fresh momentum to reviving talks and reaching a deal. Delegates arrive On Monday at London's Lancaster House - where former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi delivered his "whatever it takes" speech in 2012 - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. The addition of Lutnick, who's in charge of curbs on the sale of advanced technology, signals Trump may be willing to consider reversing some of the restrictions that threaten to hobble China's long-term growth ambitions, ranging from tech supplies to jet engine parts. U.S.-China trade tensions escalated this year as Trump hiked duties on Chinese goods, prompting retaliation from Beijing. That's led to pain in both economies, including distortions in data and uncertainties for businesses trying to navigate sudden changes in trade policy. Earlier on Monday, Chinese government figures showed exports rose less than expected last month as the worst drop in shipments to the U.S. in more than five years counteracted strong demand from other markets. In the U.S., job growth moderated in May and the prior months were revised lower, indicating employers are cautious about growth prospects. Trump's tariffs are causing uncertainty and delays for U.S. manufacturers, particularly in the Midwest, which is affecting their investment and production plans. --------- -With assistance from Annmarie Hordern, Kasia Klimasinska and Hadriana Lowenkron. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- New Straits Times
Retiree falls for fake sperm donor offer, loses life savings
KUALA LUMPUR: A 57-year-old retiree lost his life savings of RM161,000 after falling victim to an online scam involving a fake offer to become a sperm donor for a woman supposedly from Hong Kong. The victim, identified only as Tan, said he is now penniless and unable even to afford a bus ticket home. Tan recounted that in early February, he came across a Facebook advertisement offering HKD2 million (about RM1 million) in exchange for helping a housewife, who was allegedly desperate to have a child. "Soon after, I was contacted by a man claiming to be her lawyer. He informed me that I had been selected to be with Lee Na to help her conceive. "I was shocked and asked why I was chosen. He said it was because I had a handsome face," Tan said during a press conference at Wisma MCA today. The 'lawyer' then asked him to make several payments including RM10,000, RM30,000 and RM1,000 supposedly for registration fees, travel expenses, and other costs. Tan said he proceeded with the payments in March, lured by the promise of receiving RM390,000 after all formalities were completed. However, following the transactions, he was contacted by his bank and warned that he could be a victim of a scam. Tan said he confronted the 'lawyer', who continued to reassure him of the payout but requested an additional RM120,000, allegedly to cover the fees of two medical specialists from the United States. "I made three more transfers for that. Then I asked to meet the woman, as I had only been dealing with the lawyer. I even requested a video call, but he refused." The lawyer continued to make excuses, giving repeated assurances that the promised RM1 million would be paid. It was only then that Tan realised he had been scammed. He lodged a police report and sought help from the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department. Its head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said the victim admitted that his decision was foolish, but still came forward in hopes of preventing others from falling into similar traps. "This is the second case of its kind we've received in recent times. Last year, we handled a similar complaint. "I urge the authorities to step up monitoring of Facebook advertisements, especially those involving potential scams like this," he said.
Irish Examiner
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
No Ryder Cup guarantee for Rahm as Donald passes the buck
There was a lot of deflecting going on regarding the Ryder Cup and the status of Team Europe's second most prominent player. Jon Rahm deflected to captain Luke Donald. Donald deflected to DP World CEO Guy Kinnings. Had Kinnings been brought to the podium at Quail Hollow, he surely would have kicked the can to someone with more authority – perhaps God or Rory McIlroy. Has Rahm been told not to worry, that he'll be on the team despite currently sitting 29th in points? 'That's a question for Luke. It's his team. Hopefully I can qualify, and we don't have to question it.' Has Donald been told not to worry, that Rahm (and Tyrrell Hatton) will be eligible to play? 'That's a question for Guy Kinnings. I do not get involved with the politics of that. So my concentration is to get the best 12 players to New York, and hopefully everyone is eligible.' What was clearly not being said was that there will almost certainly be no scrutiny of the appeal of LIV golfers before October at the earliest and that Spain's Rahm – as well as his LIV Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton – will be among the 12 best players fitted for blue and yellow uniforms to wear in September at Bethpage Black. 'Well, I haven't given anyone the nod,' Donald said Wednesday ahead of the PGA Championship. 'I certainly think it's a little too early to be giving anyone, like, firm assurances right now. We have three majors, elevated events, plenty of other events, Rolex Series events to play. I want them to go out and feel like they go and earn it. Let's go in and play well. 'But again, we do have a lot of stats. In terms of Jon, he's one of the best players in the world, and I would expect him to be on that team, but I certainly haven't given him those assurances. He still needs to keep going and playing just like everyone else." Donald kept a straight face through all of that. Hatton, who currently ranks fourth on the European points list, and Rahm will be – barring injury – on Donald's team at Bethpage. They may not be as close to locks at McIlroy and Shane Lowry – currently 1-2 in points – but they're going to be the only two LIV guys playing for Europe (sorry Sergio). While things could change with three majors still left to play, Donald has a lot of talent and experience he can count on to try to win on the road for the first time since 2012 in the Miracle at Medinah. Eight Europeans are currently ranked among the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and every one was a member of Donald's winning team in Rome. Rasmus Højgaard (third in points) is a good bet to replace, if not join, his twin brother, Nicolai. Veterans from Rome with work to do are Bob MacIntyre, Nicolai Højgaard and Matthew Fitzpatrick, while a handful of Danes (Niklas Norgaard, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Thorbjørn Olesen), Englishmen (Matt Wallace and Laurie Canter) and a Belgian (Thomas Detry) jockey for the captain's attention on potentially two available spots. Donald is dealing from a position of strength with Europeans dominating this season on the big stages, winning eight times on the PGA Tour already including three signature events, the Players and the Masters. 'When you have two or three guys up there – like at the Masters we had obviously Rory, Justin (Rose), Ludvig (Åberg), last week Shane and Sepp (Straka) – there's always going to be one loser, as well, which is the tough part because I'm texting the guys 'hard luck,'' Donald said. 'But inside I'm thinking, this is great, because I've got a few potential guys all playing really well. 'It's a great problem to have. I love the momentum that we have so far. The players always seem to elevate their games in Ryder Cup years, and it's good to see.' Ultimately when it comes to parsing out his six captain's picks, experience will be a decisive factor. The New York crowds are likely to be more hostile and belligerent than usual. Donald will need to trust his players can handle a cauldron. 'I think I will certainly give a little bit more importance to experience, people who have been able to handle those big moments under the most scrutiny, those major championships, people who can step up, have had chances to win or have won major championships,' Donald said. 'I think it's something I will definitely consider, and it will be something that could give someone an edge if they're on a very similar playing field in terms of statistics. 'I wouldn't say it's one over the other. I think statistics and data is really important, but gut instinct and personality matchups is equally as important.' That makes this week at Quail Hollow as well as the US Open at Oakmont and the Open Championship at Royal Portrush de facto qualifying events – especially any promising rookies wanting to catch Donald's eye. 'Then obviously the majors are important,' Donald said. 'I think that's the time when everyone gets together on good golf courses and you have stacked fields. Just to see how they're playing in those is another point that we take into consideration quite a lot.' Meanwhile, Donald's American counterpart Keegan Bradley is trying to draw together what might be a very different looking US. team. He put together a dinner for prospective players in suburban Philadelphia before last week's Truist Championship won by another European, Straka. Among the invitees were LIV stars Bryson DeChambeau (who attended via Zoom) and Brooks Koepka, who Bradley said 'were in there on points and they played on previous teams.' Conspicuously not among those invitees was erstwhile 'Captain America' Patrick Reed, who just happens to sit 66 spots higher in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings (25th) than Koepka (91st) and more than 300 spots higher in the Official Golf World Ranking (Reed at 52 and Koepka 354). 'This Ryder Cup and what comes with this, no one cares about what's going on in this side PGA Tour-LIV. We're trying to put the best team together,' Bradley said. 'It could mean there's one LIV guy, two LIV guys, it doesn't matter. We'll see how this year shakes out.'
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
'Insulted' Dunedin survivor files UN complaint
A former Dunedin survivor of historical sexual abuse says he was so "insulted" by the government's compensation scheme he is taking it up with the United Nations. A total investment of $774 million was announced by the government last week to improve the current redress system for survivors as part of this year's Budget. These improvements included increasing the average redress payments for new claims from $19,180 to $30,000 and topping up previously settled claims by 50%, among others. The $774m would also be invested in the wider care system over the next four years. But funding the setup of a new and independent redress entity was not included, despite earlier assurances from the prime minister the government would have one up and running this year. Erica Stanford, the minister in charge of the government's response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care's findings, said last week they had made the "difficult choice" of prioritising improvement to the current system as quickly as possible. Historical sexual abuse survivor and former Dunedin resident Darryl Smith, KSM, who now lives in Christchurch, said he was "totally shocked" and "insulted" by the announcement. "I just couldn't believe it. "I felt let down, I was depressed." He had sent emails to the United Nations to file a "human rights complaint" against the government, and had made complaints to the NZ Human Rights and International Human Rights Commissions. Mr Smith called the amount of money being offered to survivors a "low-life measure to save money" and said the $774m was going into a system which had already failed them. In 2021, the Royal Commission made 95 recommendations for the establishment of an independent redress scheme, which was reiterated in its final report as an "immediate priority". When Prime Minister Christopher Luxon delivered a national apology to survivors in Parliament in November last year, he announced the government would invest an additional $32m to increase the capacity in the current redress system while it worked on the new one. "But I want to assure you it is our intention to have a new single redress system operating next year." Mr Smith said he had spoken to Ms Stanford nearly two weeks before the Budget announcement during a special survivors-only New Year's Honours event at Government House, in April. "She told me we're in for a good surprise. That was not a good surprise. "I found it appalling how she was mingling with us and that she knew this was going to come out." In a letter addressed to Mr Smith, dated March 20, Ms Stanford said the government remained committed to "carefully considering the Royal Commission's full set of recommendations, including those relating to redress". She reiterated Mr Luxon had signalled the government's intention to progress work on a redress system this year. "Until options have been developed and final decisions made, I cannot confirm when the improved redress system will be available to survivors." Mr Smith said he thought he had misread the letter and it must be wrong, because Ms Stanford had told him in person in November the government would implement a new redress scheme. Neither Ms Stanford nor Mr Luxon responded to a request for comment by deadline yesterday. During an urgent debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Stanford said the $774m announcement was the "single largest investment into redress in this country's history". She had received advice that creating a new and complex system "would have taken an extraordinarily long period of time and would have been very expensive", she said.
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Luke Donald keeps Ryder Cup in mind ahead of PGA Championship
May 14 - CHARLOTTE -- Luke Donald likes what he sees from European golfers entering this week's PGA Championship. He'll be the captain of the European team at the Ryder Cup in September. "It's always nice when potential guys on your team are up there each and every week playing against the strongest fields in golf and doing extremely well," Donald said Wednesday, the day before the beginning of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. Donald said he knows the construction of his Ryder Cup team will come from various factors, some stemming from statistics. But he said there's also figuring out potential pairings for matches and how certain golfers might fare at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. With several months before the Ryder Cup, Donald said he doesn't want to jump to conclusions in terms of the roster. "It's a little too early yet," he said. "We still have three majors, a bunch of elevated events." There's also evaluating golfers on the LIV Tour because they won't naturally rank high in the points systems used. Donald said there's so much data available that it's relatively simple to determine how certain golfers are playing. But with the majors, such as the PGA Championship, there's a chance for another level of assessment. "Obviously the majors are important," Donald said. "I think that's the time when everyone gets together on good golf courses and you have stacked fields. Just to see how they're playing in those is another point that we take into consideration quite a lot." The European captain also said with this year's Ryder Cup taking place on U.S. soil, that experience rates as a higher priority. "People who have been able to handle those big moments under the most scrutiny, those major championships," he said. "It will be something that could give someone an edge if they're on a very similar playing field in terms of statistics." For instance, Donald said that he would expect that Spain's Jon Rahm -- a member of the LIV circuit -- would be on the team, but there have been no assurances expressed about such a decision. "He still needs to keep going and playing just like everyone else," Donald said. Rahm said there's respect for the position that Donald is in. Rahm would like to become an automatic qualifier, so it's not left up to a decision. "It's his team," Rahm said of Donald. "Hopefully I can qualify, and we don't have to question it." Meanwhile, the 47-year-old Donald doesn't want to totally dismiss his role as an entrant in this week's event. "I like to work on my game, keep working at it and playing majors is always fun," he said. "The atmosphere, playing on world-class golf courses against world-class field, testing your game. It's going to be a test for me this week." --Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
