SEOUL North Korea detained a U.S. citizen on Friday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, bringing the total number of Americans held by the isolated country to three. The man, a Korean-American in his fifties identified only by his surname Kim, had been in North Korea for a month to discuss relief activities, Yonhap said on Sunday. He was arrested at Pyongyang International Airport on his way […]
When North Korean traders give Li Jian long lists of the goods they want to buy, he checks the items against a 236-page Chinese translation of the UN sanctions imposed after Kim Jong Un’s regime conducted a sixth nuclear weapons test in September. “If it’s on the sanctions list, we can’t provide it,” Mr Li said from his office in downtown Dandong, the Chinese border city through which […]
The open call for the exit of United States from the Paris climate deal by none other than the head of the Environmental Protection Agency has shocked environmentalists. This is the first time a high-ranking Trump administration official such as EPA Chief Scott Pruitt has gone public with a call to scrap the historic agreement, which has been endorsed by more than 200 countries. Paris deal aims to […]
Finance ministers and central bankers from around the world have dropped a pledge to resist protectionism, in a further sign that the new US administration’s stance on trade is shifting the global debate. The group from International Monetary Fund member countries issued a statement on Saturday saying they would “promote a level playing field in international trade” but did not reiterate a previous commitment to “resist all […]
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned overseas organisations selling to Australia that noncompliance with the proposed GST Low Value Goods legislation amendment may result in their websites being blocked. The comments were made in response to a question posed by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on Friday, which is looking into the Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Value Goods) Bill 2017 that will see goods under […]
The weekly EIA report showed a surprise rise in gasoline inventories and a further rise in oil production, which rattled oil bulls. Image: Shutterstock 22 April 2017 Big commodity swings have been witnessed during the past month, not least in the farm sector where bloated global stocks and the prospect of another bumper year — weather permitting — have led to heavy selling by hedge funds […]
NEW YORK United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N) said on Friday Chief Executive Oscar Munoz will not become chairman in 2018, under an amendment to his employment agreement approved after an uproar over the treatment of a passenger. In a reversal of his earlier employment agreement, Munoz has opted to leave “future determinations related to the Chairman position to the discretion of the Board,” United said in a […]
By Francesco Canepa and Gernot Heller | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Global economic leaders on Friday continued downplaying possible friction with the Trump administration over currencies, trade and other potentially contentious issues, even while acknowledging that much about the U.S. president’s plans remains unclear. On a day when Donald Trump himself seemed focused on domestic matters – promising a new U.S. tax plan next week and announcing reviews of […]
By Roberta Rampton and Colin Packham | SYDNEY SYDNEY Denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula can still be achieved peacefully because of Washington’s new engagement with China, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday, despite growing fears North Korea could soon conduct a new nuclear test. South Korea is on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in the reclusive North that could be the trigger for […]
SYDNEY U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday the United States would honour a controversial refugee deal with Australia, under which the United States would resettle 1,250 asylum seekers, a deal President Donald Trump had described as “dumb”. Pence told a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney that the deal would be subject to vetting, and that honouring it “doesn’t mean […]
Two pillars — Trump and China — have supported a bounteous few months for global portfolio investors. But the hope invested in both is starting to fade, casting a bearish tinge over what nevertheless remains a largely optimistic picture. In the case of Donald Trump, expectations that the US president would act swiftly to push though tax reforms, deregulation and bold infrastructure investments are starting to ebb […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for April 22, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Al Ain Concert Get tickets […]
After a surly first conversation between the two leaders in January that rattled the United States and Australia’s long-standing alliance, Pence will take a more amiable approach and try to focus on cooperation on trade, defence and more. Trump reportedly exploded and cut short the call when he was told about a deal to move some refugees from Australia to America. That left some in Australia questioning […]
MOSCOW Russia’s Federal Security Service said on Friday that a gunman had burst into one of its regional offices in the far east of the country and opened fire, killing one of its employees and a visitor. The region where the incident happened is close to China. The FSB, the successor organisation to the Soviet KGB, said the attacker had been killed and that another person had […]
Honeywell International Inc (HON.N) said on Friday its commercial aviation after-sales business was benefiting from robust air travel, while its energy division was getting a lift from stable oil prices, sending shares to a record high. The diversified U.S. manufacturer’s shares rose as much as 3.6 percent to $128.30 in afternoon trading. Honeywell, which made an unsuccessful bid for rival United Technologies Inc (UTX.N) last year, also […]
Tens of millions of iPhone owners are ready to upgrade to 2017 iPhones, fueling the so-called iPhone “supercycle,” market research firm comScore reports. Apple has always enjoyed a loyal fan base and each new product iteration attracts many existing customers looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest. A new report from comScore now reveals that tens of millions of legacy iPhone owners are looking to upgrade […]
BEIJING/SHANGHAI China must work more closely with journalists and non-government bodies to expose incidents of water pollution, an official said on Friday, after activists this week discovered two untreated cesspits filled with hazardous industrial waste. The call for a greater role for non-government organisations (NGOs) in holding polluters to account comes just when China has sought to put such groups under tighter scrutiny, amid a broader push […]
SYDNEY U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is expected to discuss trade and regional security when he meets Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday, Australian officials said. Pence arrives in Australia late on Friday for the last stop on his 10-day tour of U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region that has included a series of roundtables with leading business executives in South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. His […]
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday sent an offering to a controversial shrine to Japan’s war dead seen in China and the two Koreas as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism, a move likely to spark protest, Kyodo news agency reported. The offering at the Yasukuni Shrine spring festival came as Japan seeks greater cooperation with China and South Korea in the face of rising […]
The narrative of shiny Silicon Valley topping decrepit Detroit in the race to develop self-driving cars has become a recurring theme in recent years. Just as tech companies have reinvented (dare we say, disrupted?) everything from telephones to how we consume music, the thinking goes, so too will they leave traditional automakers in the dust when it comes to autonomous cars. While it’s true that […]
WASHINGTON The United States is aware of a higher-than-usual level of activity by Chinese bomber planes, signalling a possible heightened state of readiness, U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, but downplayed concerns and left open a range of possible reasons. None of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggested alarm or signalled that they knew the precise reason for such Chinese activity. Those possibilities include […]
By David Lawder | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON World financial leaders gathered in Washington on Thursday with pledges to work with U.S. President Donald Trump to fix lingering trade problems while vowing to keep their commitments to free trade and global integration. Worries over Trump’s approach to trade, taxes, financial regulation and climate change clouded the start of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, even amid […]
The US has set the stage for a global showdown over steel, launching a national security investigation that could lead to sweeping tariffs on steel imports in what would be the first significant act of economic protectionism by President Donald Trump. The decision to use a 1962 law allowing the US government to limit imports that threaten its security readiness is intended to deliver on Mr Trump’s […]
The biggest risk, critics say, is that Mr. Trump will talk himself into a war. Only slightly less dangerously, he could weaken the nation’s standing by backing off from a threat to use force. Continue reading the main story “In Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, they are recalibrating their strategies — you can’t deny it — because they don’t have any idea of how Trump will respond,” said Senator […]
