Sky-High Hedge Costs Push Big Japan Insurers to Riskier Avenues
Japan’s biggest life insurers have ramped up their use of longer-dated currency hedges to a record to escape
2023-05-31 14:59
Wrestlers' protest: IOC says police action against Indian athletes very disturbing
International Olympic Committee demands criminal investigation into sexual harassment allegations.
2023-05-31 14:58
India Seeks More Disclosures from Foreign Funds After Adani Saga
India’s capital markets regulator proposes to seek more disclosures from foreign funds with large holdings in local stocks
2023-05-31 14:53
Uyghur student not missing in Hong Kong - Amnesty
The rights group has corrected a report alleging the student went missing after flying to Hong Kong.
2023-05-31 14:21
Baidu Creates $140 Million Fund to Back ChatGPT-Like Startups
Baidu Inc. has set aside 1 billion yuan ($140 million) to fund Chinese startups that explore generative AI,
2023-05-31 14:15
Elon Musk: Tesla boss on first China trip in over three years
The multi-billionaire has not yet publicly commented on the visit, which comes amid US-China tensions.
2023-05-31 13:50
North Korea's space launch programme and long-range missile projects
SEOUL North Korea made a failed attempt at launching its first spy satellite on Wednesday, with the booster
2023-05-31 13:49
China rejects US proposal for defense chiefs to meet in Singapore this week
China has rejected a United States proposal for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Forum in Singapore this week, according to a Pentagon statement.
2023-05-31 13:49
Trump news – live: ‘Snitch’ fears grow in Mar-a-Lago papers probe as Biden laughs off possible Trump pardon
As the probe into whether former President Donald Trump or his advisers broke the law in their retention of documents including some potentially classified material from the White House nears its end, Mr Trump’s legal team is said to be fearing disloyalty. The Daily Beast reported on Tuesday that the former president’s attorneys supposedly worry that some among them may decide to start talking to the Department of Justice, becoming witnesses in the case, as the attention of the agency turns to the actions of the legal team themselves. The probe into Mr Trump’s handling of presidential records, including classified documents, exploded into the public eye last year when FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump’s home and resort in Florida. In addition, one of Mr Trump’s attorneys said he was “waved off” from searching the former president’s office for classified documents in the weeks before the FBI court-authorised search. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was asked on Monday whether he would ever consider a pardon for the former president — as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would having announced his 2024 campaign for the presidency. Mr Biden laughed off the notion. Read More Donald Trump’s legal team and Manhattan prosecutors spar over where he will stand trial Trump White House official Peter Navarro to go on trial in September in Jan 6 contempt case Trump still dominates in first 2024 GOP poll since DeSantis announcement
2023-05-31 13:49
Hollywood beach shooting – live: Photos show suspects on the run after nine shot on Florida boardwalk
Police in Hollywood, Florida are searching for suspects wanted in connection to a mass shooting that left nine victims – including four children – injured on a beach boardwalk in Hollywood, 20 miles north of Miami. The shooting unfolded at about 6.15pm local time near the beach boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida, on Monday as families and friends gathered to enjoy the Memorial Day holiday. Police said a fight is believed to have broken out between two groups on the seafront, which then escalated into gunfire. Chilling video from the incident shows terrified crowds fleeing the busy boardwalk. At least nine people were injured in the mass shooting, including a one-year-old baby and a 17-year-old. Hollywood Police Department spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said one victim was in surgery late on Monday while the others were stable. Several persons of interest were detained following the incident with two arrested for firearm charges. Now, police are searching for three people in connection to the shooting. Authorities released images of the three suspects and are asking the public for help identifying them. Read More Tourists flee Florida beach in terror as gunshots ring out in harrowing video of Hollywood shooting A sunny Memorial Day at the beach upended by gunfire: What we know about the shooting in Hollywood, Florida Ron DeSantis called out for ‘ignoring’ Hollywood beach shooting: ‘He doesn’t care’
2023-05-31 13:22
Ahead of House debt ceiling vote, Biden shores up Democrats and McCarthy scrambles for GOP support
Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent. Biden is sending top White House officials to meet early Wednesday at the Capitol to shore up support ahead of voting. McCarthy is working furiously to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default. Despite deep disappointment from right-flank Republicans that the compromise falls short of the spending cuts they demanded, McCarthy insisted he would have the votes needed to ensure approval. “We’re going to pass the bill,” McCarthy said as he exited a lengthy late Tuesday night meeting at the Capitol. Quick approval by the House and later in the week the Senate would ensure government checks will continue to go out to Social Security recipients, veterans and others, and prevent financial upheaval at home and abroad. Next Monday is when Treasury has said the U.S. would run short of money to pay its debts, risking an economically dangerous default. The package leaves few lawmakers fully satisfied, but Biden and McCarthy are counting on pulling majority support from the political center, a rarity in divided Washington, testing the leadership of the president and the Republican speaker. Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years, suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 and changes policies, including new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting a controversial Appalachian natural gas line that many Democrats oppose. For more than two hours late Tuesday as aides wheeled in pizza at the Capitol, McCarthy walked Republicans through the details, fielded questions and encouraged them not to lose sight of the bill’s budget savings. The speaker faced a sometimes tough crowd. Leaders of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus spent the day lambasting the compromise as falling well short of the spending cuts they demand, and they vowed to try to halt passage by Congress. “This deal fails, fails completely," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said earlier in the day, flanked by others outside the Capitol. “We will do everything in our power to stop it.” A much larger conservative faction, the Republican Study Committee, declined to take a position. Even rank-and-file centrist conservatives were not sure, leaving McCarthy desperately hunting for votes. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said after the “healthy debate” late into the night she was still a no. Ominously, the conservatives warned of potentially trying to oust McCarthy over the compromise. “There’s going to be a reckoning,” said Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. Biden was speaking directly to lawmakers, making more than 100 one-on-one calls, the White House said. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the spending restrictions in the package would reduce deficits by $1.5 trillion over the decade, a top goal for the Republicans trying to curb the debt load. McCarthy told lawmakers that number was higher if the two-year spending caps were extended, which is no guarantee. But in a surprise that could further erode Republican support, the GOP's drive to impose work requirements on older Americans receiving food stamps ends up boosting spending by $2.1 billion over the time period. That's because the final deal exempted veterans and homeless people, expanding the food stamp rolls by some 78,000 people monthly, the CBO said. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it was up to McCarthy to turn out votes from some two-thirds of the Republican majority, a high bar the speaker may not be able to reach. Some 218 votes are needed for passage in the 435-member House. Still, Jeffries said the Democrats would do their part to avoid failure. “It is my expectation that House Republicans would keep their promise and deliver at least 150 votes as it relates to an agreement that they themselves negotiated,” Jeffries said. “Democrats will make sure that the country does not default.” Liberal Democrats decried the new work requirements for older Americans, those 50-54, in the food aid program. And some Democratic lawmakers were leading an effort to remove the surprise provision for the Mountain Valley Pipeline natural gas project. The energy development is important to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., but many others oppose it as unhelpful in fighting climate change. The top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, said including the pipeline provision was “disturbing and profoundly disappointing.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, had this warning for McCarthy: “He got us here, and it’s on him to deliver the votes." Wall Street was taking a wait-and-see approach. Stock prices were mixed in Tuesday's trading. U.S. markets had been closed when the deal was struck over the weekend. The House aims to vote Wednesday and send the bill to the Senate, where Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader McConnell are working for passage by week's end. Schumer called the bill a “sensible compromise.” McConnell said McCarthy “deserves our thanks.” Senators, who have remained largely on the sidelines during much of the negotiations between the president and the House speaker, began inserting themselves more forcefully into the debate. Some senators are insisting on amendments to reshape the package from both the left and right flanks. But making any changes to the package at this stage seemed unlikely with so little time to spare before Monday's deadline. ___ Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Changes to food aid in debt bill would cost money, far from savings GOP envisioned GOP chairman moves to hold FBI director Wray in contempt over Biden doc Debt limit agreement clears first hurdle. Here’s what happens next
2023-05-31 13:00
Operation to empty Yemen Safer oil tanker set to begin, UN says
DUBAI Operations to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen's coast will
2023-05-31 12:56