USA

Trump signs Hong Kong Autonomy Act, ends city’s preferential trade status
USA

Trump signs Hong Kong Autonomy Act, ends city’s preferential trade status

In response to Beijing’s moves against Hong Kong, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the city’s preferential trade treatment, and gave way to a bill that would require sanctions against foreign individuals and banks for contributing to the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy."Today, I signed legislation and an Executive Order to hold China accountable for its oppressive actions against the people of Hong Kong," Trump said while addressing the media.Trump said he signed Hong Kong Autonomy Act which will give powerful new tools to hold China responsible. The Act will allow the Trump administration to levy sanctions against foreign individuals and banks for contributing to the erosion of Hong Kong's autonomyThe signing of the Act comes two weeks after imposition of the Hon...
Patchy demand at stores spells more pain for garment suppliers
USA, World

Patchy demand at stores spells more pain for garment suppliers

MRID/DHAKA: Fashion brands and retailers re-opening around the world to patchy demand, and carrying unsold stock from spring have cut fall orders by as much as two-thirds in moves spelling more pain for Asian suppliers. With shoppers still wary of catching the coronavirus at stores, retailers are leaving buying decisions to the last minute and planning on selling all-season basics such as men's chinos and t-shirts leftover from spring through into fall. "We don't think orders for clothing will pick up anytime soon. Shipments could look up ahead of the Christmas but there is no guarantee," said Siddiqur Rahman, a Bangladeshi garment supplier to H&M and GAP Inc among others. The destructive weight of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to contract the US$2.5 trillion global fashion indu...
US brands China’s claims in South China Sea as ‘completely unlawful’
USA, World

US brands China’s claims in South China Sea as ‘completely unlawful’

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday (Jul 13) that the United States would treat Beijing's pursuit of resources in the dispute-rife South China Sea as illegal, ramping up support for Southeast Asian nations. It was the latest forceful statement by President Donald Trump's administration to challenge China, which he has increasingly cast as an enemy ahead of November elections. "We are making clear: Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them," Pompeo said in a statement. "The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire." The United States has long rejected Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, which is both home ...
China’s use of economic sanctions now fail to serve its geopolitical goals
USA

China’s use of economic sanctions now fail to serve its geopolitical goals

China's practice of imposing economic sanctions on countries to achieve its own geopolitical goals is nothing new and the regular phenomenon of China bullying others has, in fact, helped other countries to keep several options at bay, said the author of "China's Crony Capitalism", Minxin Pei.Recently, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued an official warning against travel to Australia because of "a significant increase in racist acts and violence against Chinese and Asians in Australia". Two months ago, after Australia had demanded an investigation into the coronavirus outbreak, Beijing imposed an 80 per cent "anti-dumping" tariff on Australian barley, costing Australian 500 million Australian dollars a year.Minxin said Australia is only the latest victim of Chinese bullying....
US Treasury agrees on loan terms with American, four other airlines
USA, World

US Treasury agrees on loan terms with American, four other airlines

The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday it has agreed on terms for government loans with five U.S. carriers, including American Airlines Group Inc . WASHINGTON: The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday it has agreed on terms for government loans with five U.S. carriers, including American Airlines Group Inc . The Treasury said it had signed letters of intent with American, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines , SkyWest Airlines , and Spirit Airlines under a US$25 billion emergency loan program created by Congress in March. American said in April it expected to apply for a loan from the U.S. Treasury of approximately US$4.75 billion on top of US$5.8 billion in payroll assistance. Treasury separately awarded airlines US$25 billion in payroll assistance bailouts with most of the aid in the form ...
India says officer, 2 soldiers killed in ‘violent faceoff’ on Chinese border
China, USA, World

India says officer, 2 soldiers killed in ‘violent faceoff’ on Chinese border

NEW DELHI: An Indian officer and two soldiers were killed in a "violent faceoff" with Chinese troops on the contested border, the Indian army said on Tuesday (Jun 16) following weeks of rising tensions and the deployment of thousands of extra troops from both sides. Brawls and face-offs flare on a fairly regular basis between the two nuclear-armed giants over their 3,500km frontier, which has never been properly demarcated, but no one has been killed in decades. The Indian army said that there were "casualties on both sides", but Beijing made no mention of any deaths or injuries as it swiftly laid the blame squarely on India for the incident. "A violent face-off took place yesterday (Monday) night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an office...
Tibet’s only soccer club folds over altitude dispute
China, USA, World

Tibet’s only soccer club folds over altitude dispute

Tibet's first and only professional soccer team has become the latest in a string of Chinese clubs to fold, following a row over hosting matches in one of the highest cities in the world. Lhasa Chengtou played only two games in the Tibetan capital — which sits at an oxygen-sucking altitude of 3,650 meters — and on both occasions the referee had to suspend play every 15 minutes to let the players breathe bottled oxygen, Xinhua news agency said. The demise of the club, just three years after it was founded, is a blow to the ruling Communist Party's hopes of having a team in the professional leagues to make Tibetans feel more integrated into China. Lhasa Chengtou finished last season 26th of 32 teams in China's third division and had been playing its home matches thousands of kilometers aw...
Malaysia palm plantations urge government to let foreign workers return
USA, World

Malaysia palm plantations urge government to let foreign workers return

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm plantations have urged the government to let foreign workers return, warning of severe damage to the palm-oil industry if it is not granted an exemption from a hiring freeze. The Malaysian Estate Owners' Association implored the government in a statement on Friday (Jun 26) to consider the survival and sustainability of the sector and let grower companies that have been unable to recruit locally hire foreign workers immediately. The palm oil industry in Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer and exporter of palm oil, faces a worsening of its chronic labour shortage. It relies on foreigners for 70 per cent of its plantation workforce and almost all its field work, especially people from Indonesia and Bangladesh. Thousands have left the plantations f...
TikTok denies sharing Indian user data with Chinese govt
USA, World

TikTok denies sharing Indian user data with Chinese govt

NEW DELHI: TikTok denied Tuesday (Jun 30) sharing Indian users' data with the Chinese government, after New Delhi banned the wildly popular app in a sharp deterioration of relations with Beijing two weeks after a deadly border clash. "TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government," TikTok India chief Nikhil Gandhi said in a statement. "Further if we are requested to in the future we would not do so. We place the highest importance on user privacy and integrity," he said, adding that it had been invited to a meeting with the Indian government "for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications". TikTok is owned by C...
Possibly millions of jobs could be lost if planes stay grounded, Heathrow boss says
USA, World

Possibly millions of jobs could be lost if planes stay grounded, Heathrow boss says

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. LONDON: Hundreds of thousands of jobs, if not millions, could be lost in Britain if aviation is not able to resume quickly, the chief executive of London's Heathrow Airport said on Monday (Jun 8). Britain introduced a 14-day quarantine period for international arrivals on Monday despite warnings from its biggest airlines that the move will decimate domestic tourism and damage exports. "We cannot go on like this as a country," Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye told Sky News. "We need to start planning to reopen our borders. "If we don't get aviation moving again quickly, in a very safe way, then we are going to lose hundreds of th...