Latest news with #mount
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
'Ah long' posing a debtor's mistress harasses family members for payment
PETALING JAYA: Gone are the days of red paint with loan sharks now employing more "obscure" tactics to mentally torment debtors and their families. According to MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong, loan sharks are now masquerading as the debtor's mistress to harass family members for their money. One such victim, a 32-year-old who only wanted to be known as Ng, told a press conference at Wisma MCA that a so-called mistress of her father had started harassing her family since July 2024. She claimed that the woman demanded RM300,000 from the family as payment for a loan allegedly taken by her father. The woman suddenly showed up at her grandmother's home demanding that the family take responsibility. Ng said that this was not the first time loan sharks had approached her family as her father was a habitual borrower with the family already settling RM150,000 of his past debts. "We confronted my father last year demanding to know if he actually had a mistress and he denied it. He has since disappeared for the last six months and this woman continues to harass us over this money," she said. The "mistress" had also posted photos of her father at the complainant's aunt's house to mount pressure on the family to pay up. Chong said that it is highly unlikely that the woman was a mistress. "What mistress would have a loan agreement for this sort of matter? We urge the father to come out to settle this issue," he said.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
JI moves SHC against commercialisation of parks by KMC
KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi has approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) to challenge the alleged commercialization of public parks by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) under the guise of public-private partnerships. The constitutional petition, submitted on Monday, was filed by Saifuddin Advocate, the opposition leader in the city council, along with several JI-affiliated town chairmen. The petition names the KMC and Karachi's mayor as respondents, accusing them of unlawfully handing over public amenity spaces to private parties. Speaking to media outside the SHC, Saifuddin Advocate said that the city's already limited public spaces were shrinking further due to such actions. 'The mayor and KMC are following in the footsteps of the MQM, which introduced the concept of 'china cutting'; a term for illegally converting amenity plots, including parks, into commercial or residential spaces,' he alleged. Saifuddin Advocate added that the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP), now in control of the city government, was continuing the same exploitative approach. 'This regime is trying to make money by handing over parks to private companies, violating the spirit of public amenities,' he said. Citing the Constitution and existing court rulings, he emphasized that amenity plots, including parks, are not to be used for commercial purposes under any circumstances. Despite this, he noted, the PPP-led administration had recently leased a nursing hostel belonging to the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) to a private party for just 250 thousand rupees per month, without even tabling the deal before the city council. He stressed that such decisions are not only unlawful but also deprive citizens of essential public spaces. Saifuddin Advocate vowed that the JI would continue to resist these measures, both in the council and the courts, to protect the rights of Karachi residents. The petition reflects growing political friction over the management of the city's public assets, particularly as accusations mount against the current municipal leadership for lacking transparency and undermining community welfare. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
What time do Bob MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy and Open leaders start on Friday
Key tee-times for favourites on day two at Royal Portrush Battling Bob MacIntyre gets his second day at The Open started alongside Bryson DeChambeau and his Ryder Cup sidekick Justin Rose in the morning. The Scottish star, who opened with a level-par round of 71, has been paired with the big-hitting American and the English hero through the first two rounds at Royal Portrush. Following their late Thursday finish, it's a much sharper conclusion on day two with the trio's Friday tee-time set at 9.47am. Home hero Rory McIlroy has a 10.09am beginning for his second effort as he plays next to Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas. The Northern Irishman was roared around the Dunluce Links through his first-day 70 and he aims to hit the top of the leaderboard. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has the flip times from McIlroy through the opening two days in his grouping with Collin Morikawa and Shane Lowry, the 2019 winner at the venue, going off on Friday at 3.10pm. Defending Open champion Xander Schauffele also has a later start for round two having got underway on Thursday morning. The 2024 Claret Jug winner goes out at 2.59pm with Spanish LIV star Jon Rahm and US Open king JJ Spaun. Other names to note in the second round are the leaders with Christian Bezuidenhout the first of the four-unders to get going at 8.36am. McIlroy feels ready to mount a strong challenge and said: 'I feel the support of an entire country, which is a wonderful position to be in. But, at the same time, you don't want to let them down. So there's that little bit of added pressure. 'I felt like I dealt with it really well, better than I did six years ago. I was just happy to get off to a good start and get myself into the tournament. Having that experience was definitely helpful. 'I didn't feel like I was walking into the unknown this time around, where last time I hadn't experienced that before. I hadn't played an Open at home. I didn't know how I was going to feel. This time I had a better idea of what was going to be coming my way.' MacIntyre is also hopeful after day one and said: 'I thought I managed to keep a lid on it fairly well. There was a couple of swears out there. It's difficult. There's so many cross-winds on this golf course. 'Got off to the perfect start, didn't I? Three-under early doors, playing beautifully. Then just a couple of awkward tee shots, a couple of awkward approach shots for me. 'Yeah, disappointing finish, but to get out with level par, especially with a two-putt on 18, solid enough. 'After the start I had, no, you wouldn't take that, but the way I was scrambling late on with the last kind of four holes, I would have probably have taken that.'
CNBC
15-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Japan bond yields hit multi-decade highs as fiscal fears mount ahead of election
Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield climbed to its highest level since 2008 on Tuesday as concerns about fiscal spending mount ahead of an upper house election. Yields on the 10-year instrument climbed to 1.599%, the highest since 2008, data from LSEG showed. Yields on the 30-year JGB also rose to a record high of 3.21%, while Japan's 20-year government bond yields spiked to their highest level since 1999. "Japan's long yields and super-long yields are currently rising due to expectations of fiscal expansion after the Upper House election coming up next week," said Ken Matsumoto, Japan macro strategist at Credit Agricole CIB. A sizable number of Japanese politicians and parties are actively discussing consumption tax cuts ahead of the upper house election set to take place Sunday. Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has maintained that he will not resort to tax cuts funded by more debt issuance, although opposition parties are calling for tax cuts and more spending, which could lead to more debt. This political uncertainty is creating doubt over whether Japan's government will stick to fiscal discipline, said Vishnu Varathan, Mizuho Securities' head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan. Japan has one of the world's highest levels of public debt relative to the size of its economy. While the government has flagged the need for more fiscal discipline, it relies heavily on issuing new debt to fund its obligations. Tax revenues alone are insufficient to cover the government's expenses. "The most recent trigger is the election. People are concerned about the election because the politicians are talking about consumption tax cuts, and tax cuts of any sort in Japan is suicidal," said Amir Anvarzadeh, Japan equity market strategist at Asymmetric Advisors, who added that tax cuts would be dire given the fiscal situation that Japan is facing. "This is why the bond vigilantes are out. And they're saying: we need more yield to invest in the bond market. So there's a shorting [going on] in the JGB market," he told CNBC. Aside from the upcoming election, there are underlying factors at play that could bring forward the Bank of Japan's next rate hike. While still at elevated levels, Tokyo's inflation eased to 3.1% year on year in June, slower than the 3.6% in May. "This could prompt the BOJ to revise its inflation forecast upward, potentially accelerating the timeline for its next rate hike," said Carlos Casanova, senior economist for Asia at Union Bancaire Privée. On top of that, supply-demand imbalances in the Japanese bond markets could become more pronounced, especially as life insurers have less capacity to absorb additional supply, said Masahiko Loo, senior fixed income strategist at State Street Investment Management. In June, the Bank of Japan said it would slow the pace of its government bond purchase reductions starting April next year, and kept its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.5% as economic risks mount. The BOJ reiterated plans to trim its monthly Japanese government bond purchases by roughly 400 billion yen ($2.76 billion) each quarter to about 3 trillion yen till March 2026, in line with guidance set last year.
Engadget
14-07-2025
- Engadget
Canon R50 V review: An affordable vlogging camera that lags behind its rivals
Canon has released 20 cameras since launching the RF mount in 2018, but it had one gaping hole in a key market: vlogging. Now, the company has patched that with the launch of the $700 R50 V that's aimed at creators on a budget and designed to take on Sony's ZV-E10 II. The R50 V has the same 24-megapixel APS-C sensor as the R50, but adds vlogging-friendly features like 4K 60p video, C-Log3 for extra dynamic range, a livestreaming button and a side tripod socket for vertical video. It's cheaper than the $1,100 ZV-E10 II and even costs a bit less than the older ZV-E10. After some lengthy testing, however, I found that it was missing some key features compared to its Sony rivals, particularly those that make vlogging easier for beginners. Canon's EOS R50 V is a solid budget vlogging camera thanks to the excellent video quality, but it's missing important features compared to its rivals. $699 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $699 at Best Buy Like other vlogging cameras, the R50 V is stripped down both in terms of size and controls. It has a polycarbonate body rather than metal, which reduces toughness and weatherproofing but helps keep it light at just 323 grams. The grip is also smaller than the R50's, so it's not ideal to use with large lenses. One key feature missing from the R50 is an electronic viewfinder. That's also the case with the ZV-E10 II, but the lack of one can make it challenging to shoot in bright sunlight. On top of that, the rear display is low-res and isn't particularly bright. However, it fully articulates and flips around for vloggers. The R50 V is designed to be controlled via the touchscreen, so it has fewer manual controls than other Canon mirrorless models. It does have top, rear and back dials to set primary functions like iris and shutter speed. However, you need to use your thumb to control both of those which makes operation a bit awkward. The front rocker is designed to control zoom on supported Canon lenses like the new 14-30mm f/4-6.4 IS STM PZ, which was released at the same time as this camera. It also has livestream and color buttons dedicated to creators, plus there's a mode dial with six different video settings. Canon's EOS R50 V has decent handling designed for creators but it lacks manual controls for photography (Steve Dent for Engadget) The menu system is typically Canon with color-coded pages for each category (video settings, autofocus and more). However, key settings can also be adjusted from the Quick (Q) menu using the touchscreen when vlogging. Functions in that menu can of course be reprogrammed to your preferences. The R50 V has both microphone and headphone inputs along with microHDMI and USB-C ports. It uses Canon's smaller EP-17 battery that delivers an hour of video shooting or 300 shots to a charge, both far less than the ZV-E10 II (113 minutes and 600 shots). It has just a single SD card slot, but fortunately it's the faster UHS-II type. Finally, there's a very handy feature for content creators: a tripod socket on the side to make it easier for solo vloggers to shoot vertical video. Video and vlogging is the R50 V's primary strength compared to R50. It can shoot both supersampled 4K 30 fps and 4K 60 fps video, with C-Log3 and 10-bit quality. However, the 4K 60 fps setting requires a fat 1.56x crop, which reduces quality as well as bokeh. Sony's ZV-E10 II, by contrast, only requires a 1.1x crop for 4K 60 fps video. The Z50 V also lacks in-body stabilization. That means the R50 V relies strictly on optical lens shake reduction or electronic stabilization. To be fair, that's to be expected in this price range and the ZV-E10 II is also missing in-body stabilization. The electronic system does a good job removing jolts from handheld video and can even smooth out walking if you try to move fluidly, but it can make footage look soft if movements are excessive. The 'Enhanced' electronic mode, which applies a small crop, is designed to make handheld shots look 'locked off' like you're using a tripod. The R50 V offers good image quality and key creator features like a fully articulating screen. (Steve Dent for Engadget) Background blur and product showcase-type buttons are also noticeably missing compared to the ZV E10 II. That's too bad, because creators use those features often to quickly focus on objects or blur the background behind a subject — without them, you're forced to set those things manually. Rolling shutter distortion is fairly noticeable on this camera with a scan rate around 30ms, compared to just 16ms for the ZV-E10 II. This means sudden pans or jolts can result in 'jello effect' video. Meanwhile, video autofocus is rapid and reliable, even if your subject moves around. The AI-powered face and eye detection locks on firmly, and can also reliably track animals and vehicles. Canon took a page from Panasonic and Fujifilm with the addition of a color button on the R50 V. It lets you quickly select shooting modes like standard BT.709, C-Log, HLG and PQ. Another setting offers filmic looks with modes like Portrait, Fine Detail, Faithful and Monochrome. And the last 'color filter' mode allows for tinted video with shades like teal and peach, though the results looked a bit cheesy to me. With a built-in cooling fan, the R50 V is more resistant to overheating than most small cameras. When recording standard 4K at 30 fps, I was able to shoot for 60 straight minutes with no sign of overheating. The issue doesn't, er, crop up at 4K 60p either since that mode uses a reduced portion of the sensor. Canon R50 V review: An affordable vlogging camera that doesn't measure up to its rivals Overall, video quality is a strong point, with sharp detail when using the 4K 30 fps oversampled mode. Colors are rich and accurate, and skin tones pleasing with a hint of warmness that Canon is known for. The 10-bit C-Log3 footage retains extra detail in shadow and highlight areas, providing outstanding dynamic range for such an inexpensive camera. However, 4K 60p video is considerably softer, and the 1080p 120 fps ultra slo-mo setting lacks sharpness even by HD standards. Low-light capability is average for an APS-C camera, with noise clearly visible starting at ISO 3,200 or 6,400. Beyond that, it becomes intrusive and harder to get rid of using noise reduction tools. Though photography isn't this camera's raison d'etre , the R50 V performs decently in that regard. It can shoot fairly quickly for a small camera, with burst speeds of 15 fps with the electronic shutter or 12 fps with mechanical shutter. However, it can't sustain those speeds for very long due to the small buffer that holds just 36 RAW images. Autofocus is again a strong point, tracking subjects with ease and keeping photos sharp. As with video, AI-powered face and eye detection is quick and reliable for people, animals and vehicles. Rolling shutter is an issue with photos as it is with video, but since the R50 V has a mechanical first-curtain shutter, you only need the electronic mode for photos when silence is required. The lack of in-body stabilization means you'll need to have a steady hand to take sharp shots at low shutter speeds, or you'll want to shop for lenses with optical stabilization if that's an issue. Photo quality is identical to the R50 since it shares the same sensor. For normal shooting, I saw color-accurate photos with skin tones leaning on the warm side, as is typical with Canon's color science. JPEGs strike a good balance between sharpening and noise reduction, while RAW files allow a decent amount of room to tweak images. As with video, low-light performance isn't amazing, so I wouldn't go past ISO 6,400 unless it's too dark to film otherwise. With a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, the R50 V squares off against Sony's ZV-E10 II (Steve Dent for Engadget) Canon's R50 V is a pretty good first try for a vlogging camera, hitting the mark in key areas like video quality and usability. However, its rival, Sony's ZV-E10 II, beats it in nearly every area, offering even better video quality, higher photo resolution, faster autofocus, smoother electronic stabilization and neat features missing on the R50 V — like the product showcase. That said, Canon is targeting a more budget-minded buyer as the R50 V costs just $700 (body only) compared to $1,100 for the ZV-E10 II. Vloggers constrained to that budget will still get a great camera that easily beats a smartphone when it comes to the final product. If you do have an extra $400 to spend, though, I'd recommend the ZV-E10 II instead.
