French far right has big lead over Macron ally ahead of EU vote: poll

French far right has big lead over Macron ally ahead of EU vote: poll
While the standing of the main candidates was broadly unchanged from a similar poll a week ago, left-wing parties France Unbowed, the Greens and Communists made slight gains. (AFP
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Updated 02 June 2024
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French far right has big lead over Macron ally ahead of EU vote: poll

French far right has big lead over Macron ally ahead of EU vote: poll

PARIS: France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party holds a commanding lead in voting intentions for upcoming European Parliament elections, according to an opinion poll published on Sunday.
Voting intentions remained “very volatile,” however, said the Elabe institute, which conducted the polls for broadcaster BFMTV and weekly La Tribune Dimanche.
“One in three voters could still change their minds before the election, especially on the left.”
The poll was conducted among 1,803 people between May 29 and 31.
The extreme-right RN’s top candidate, Jordan Bardella, is credited with 32.5 percent of voting intentions in the poll,
Valerie Hayer, an ally of center-right President Emmanuel Macron, came second with 16 percent, followed by center-left Socialist candidate Raphael Glucksmann with 13.
While the standing of the main candidates was broadly unchanged from a similar poll a week ago, left-wing parties France Unbowed, the Greens and Communists made slight gains.
The right-wing opposition Les Republicains and the extreme-right Reconquete were, meanwhile, below the five percent threshold needed for representation in the European Parliament.
In France, the European Parliament elections are primarily seen as a key gauge of national politicians’ popularity.
Bardella was later on Sunday to hold a final election rally in Paris.
Around 5,500 supporters and RN party heavyweight Marine Le Pen were expected to attend.
Opinion polls show far-right parties making gains in several European Union countries in the elections on June 6-9.


India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official

India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official
Updated 20 sec ago
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India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official

India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official
  • Invitation reportedly came hours after a US military plane departed to return deported migrants to India
  • New Delhi keen to avoid tariffs that Trump has threatened in the past, citing India’s high tariffs on US goods

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House next week, a White House official said, hours after a US military plane departed to return deported migrants to the country.

Trump spoke with Modi on Jan. 27, when he discussed immigration and stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trading ties.

India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the US and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas.

It is also keen to avoid tariffs that Trump has threatened in the past, citing India’s high tariffs on US products.

The United States is India’s largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion. 


Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea

Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea
Updated 5 min 42 sec ago
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Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea

Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea
  • The one-day exercise was being carried out in the West Philippine Sea
  • Two of the Philippines’ FA-50 fighter aircrafts participating, along with two US B1-B bombers

MANILA: The air forces of the Philippines and the United States were holding joint patrols over the South China Sea on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Philippine Air Force said.
The one-day exercise was being carried out in the West Philippine Sea, Philippine air force spokesperson Maria Consuelo Castillo said, using Manila’s term for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone.
Castillo said the two of the Philippines’ FA-50 fighter aircrafts were participating, along with two US B1-B bombers.


How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs

How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs
Updated 36 min 40 sec ago
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How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs

How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs
  • Exports of Chinese goods to the US in 2024 exceeded $400 billion, as against US exports to China at $130 billion
  • Trump has ordered an in-depth review of Chinese trade practices, the results of which are due by April 1

BEIJING: From retaliatory tariffs on US goods like car parts and soy beans to controls on raw minerals essential for American manufacturing — analysts say China has plenty of options if it wants to reply to fresh US levies.
US President Donald Trump over the weekend announced 10 percent tariffs on Chinese products, upping the stakes in a trade confrontation between the global superpowers that started eight years ago in his first term.
Beijing in response warned there were “no winners” in a trade war and vowed as yet unspecified countermeasures.
News that Canada and Mexico had agreed a deal with Trump to delay 25 percent tariffs on their goods was followed by his announcement that he would be holding talks with China “probably in the next 24 hours” to try for an agreement.
But, as the threat of new measures continues to hang over Beijing, eyes are on what officials there have lined up as a response.
With its economy still struggling with sluggish consumption and slow growth, observers expect China to keep its powder dry for now — at least until another round of tariffs that could do greater damage.
“We expect China not to jump to immediate retaliation following the 10 percent tariff hike, but will keep the doors of negotiation and cooperation open,” UBS bank analysts wrote in a note.
“We do not expect China to follow the same strategy as in the first round of tariff hikes in 2018-19.”
Bilateral trade totalled more than $530 billion in 2024, according to US data, with exports of Chinese goods to the United States exceeding $400 billion. That was second only to Mexico.
But that yawning trade imbalance — $270.4 billion in January-November last year — has long raised hackles in Washington.

Key US demands in the first trade war were greater access to China’s markets, broad reform of a business playing field that heavily favors Chinese firms, and a loosening of heavy state controls.
This time around Washington has also called for China to crack down on exports to Mexico of chemical components used to make the synthetic opioid fentanyl, responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths a year.
After long, fraught negotiations during Trump’s first term the two agreed what became known as the “phase one” deal — a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old trade war.
Beijing was quick to retaliate throughout that standoff — imposing tariffs of its own on everything from cars to soybeans, designed to inflict harm on Trump’s voting base in rural America.
It also floated restrictions on exports of rare earth metals, of which China dominates global supplies and on which the United States remains heavily dependent.
And should a new trade war escalate, “measures could include tariffs, export controls on critical minerals essential for US manufacturing, restricted market access to US firms operating in China, or the depreciation of the yuan,” Harry Murphy Cruise, head of China and Australia economics at Moody’s Analytics, told AFP.
But he added Beijing may have learned its lesson from the first standoff.
“The tit-for-tat trade war in Trump’s first term benefited no one; it made trade more costly and hindered growth in both countries,” Murphy Cruise said.

For now, analysts believe the latest measures won’t bite too hard.
“The 10 percent tariff is not a big shock to China’s economy,” Zhang Zhiwei at Pinpoint Asset Management said in a note.
“It’s unlikely to change the market expectation on China’s macro outlook this year, which already factored in higher tariffs from the US,” he added.
And that could allow China to keep its powder dry in the event Trump’s first wave of tariffs are the prelude to a bigger showdown.
The US president has ordered an in-depth review of Chinese trade practices, the results of which are due by April 1.
That could serve as a “catalyst for more tariffs,” said Murphy Cruise, pushing Beijing to shift tactics.
“This strategy of no retaliation may change if the US imposes additional significant tariffs later on,” UBS economists said.
“In such a case, we think China may retaliate on a targeted basis and in a restrained manner, imposing tariffs on selected agricultural products, auto parts, energy,” they said.
Experts added that China could also let the value of its currency devalue, increasing the competitiveness of its exports.
Trump’s flagged talks with Beijing offer the two sides a chance to step back from the brink of a trade war that could hit hundreds of billions’ worth of goods.
“China is looking to diffuse tensions,” Murphy Cruise said.
“China’s economy is in a much weaker position this time around; it will be substantially harder to withstand a barrage of tariffs.”
 


Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis

Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis
Updated 11 min 29 sec ago
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Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis

Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis
  • Boat sank off southwestern coastal town of Pylos on June 14, 2023 with about 750 people on board
  • Trawler had left Libya for Italy and was monitored by Greek coast guard for nearly 12 hours before capsizing

ATHENS: A Greek Ombudsman has recommended disciplinary action against eight coast guard officers for alleged dereliction of duty in one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks off Greece in which hundreds died in 2023.

The inquiry is the first to conclude on the circumstances surrounding the shipwreck off the southwestern coastal town of Pylos on June 14, 2023, which sank in plain sight of Greek coast guard authorities with about 750 people on board.

The trawler, named Adriana, had left Libya for Italy and was monitored by the Greek coast guard for nearly 12 hours before capsizing and sinking in international waters. Only 104 people are known to have survived.

In a report released Monday, Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis said there were “clear indications” that eight senior coast guard officers had a case to answer for dereliction of search and rescue duties, and which resulted in endangering lives of those aboard the Ariana.

The Greek coast guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Coast Guard authorities have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over the handling of the case that raised questions about the European Union’s tactics on migration.

The inquiry was launched by the Ombudsman in June 2023 after the Greek coast guard rejected his calls to launch an internal investigation into the incident.

About 10 officers were called to testify as suspects, including the Commandant.

Pottakis’s findings have been forwarded to Greece’s Shipping Minister for further action, the Ombudsman’s office said.

“The transparency of administrative action and the attribution of responsibilities, where applicable, for the deadly shipwreck of Pylos is an elementary legal demand, inextricably linked to respect of rule of law, as is the thorough investigation of any other incident related to violation of the right to life, health and physical integrity,” a statement from Pottakis’s office said.

A local naval court, which opened a criminal investigation last year, has concluded a preliminary investigation and referred the case to a chief prosecutor, lawyers representing the survivors and victims said last month, after reviewing the legal files of the case.

They said a preliminary investigation failed to shed light on the incident and more evidence had to be examined by the court.


Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs

Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs
Updated 32 min 12 sec ago
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Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs

Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will actively build trade relations with other countries, such as China, Russia and Brazil, instead of waiting for the impact of potential US trade tariffs, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday.
Anwar told parliament waiting for United States’ tariffs would have a negative impact on Malaysia, adding there was uncertainty following US President Donald Trump’s 30-day pause on tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
US tariffs on China are still due to take effect.
Anwar said Malaysia could not act hastily in countering tariffs as there remained many geopolitical uncertainties.
“On our part, we must take proactive steps... to aggressively open a wider network of trading partners,” Anwar said.