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Showstopper
Concert patrons are back with a vengeance in another sign that the Covid-19 pandemic is over and life is back to normal. Pop superstar Taylor Swift, with her ongoing 146-stop Eras Tour, leads the live band entertainment must-watch list, but other groups too are getting a share of the crowds, albeit in controversial fashion. The British band “The 1975” headlined the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 21 July. It would be its last performance in the Southeast Asian country as it was banned by local authorities after frontman Matt Healy gave a profanity strewn speech on stage. Healy criticized the Malaysian government for the country’s anti-gay law that punishes homosexuality with 20 years imprisonment. Healy then kissed the band’s bassist Ross McDonald in front of the audience. The same-sex kiss breached performance guidelines, prompting the concert organizers to stop the show. The government also ordered the organizers to cancel the 3-day gig. The festival’s organizers are now demanding that “The 1975” pay $2.72 million in damages or face legal action. In China, Shijiazhuang city hosted the Rock Home Town music festival featuring Violent Champagne on 22 July. After the band’s set, its frontman Ding was detained by police for “damaging social morality” and the show organizer was fined $28,000 and suspended from hosting concerts, CNN reported. Ding had pulled down his pants during the performance, prompting his arrest and the punishment of the festival organizers. The audience egged Ding to also drop his briefs, but he kept it on. In a statement after the incident, the Shijiazhuang culture bureau reminded performers and staff to consciously abide by laws and regulations, strengthen morality, and provide healthy and positive entertainment for audiences, according to CNN. WJG @tribunephl_wjg The post Showstopper appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
G7 to squeeze Russia, weigh risk of China’s ‘economic coercion’
G7 leaders arrived in Hiroshima, Japan, on Thursday to weigh tighter sanctions on Russia and protections against China's "economic coercion", surrounded by reminders about the harrowing cost of war. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is hosting leaders from six other wealthy democracies in his hometown -- a city synonymous with nuclear destruction and now peppered with peace monuments. Leaders including US President Joe Biden will try over three days to forge a united front on Russia and China, where the allies' interests do not always neatly align. Biden's delicate diplomatic offensive in Asia hit a bump even before Air Force One left US soil: A domestic budget row forced him to cancel stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia. He arrived in Hiroshima Thursday, becoming just the second US president after Barack Obama to visit a city levelled by his country's "Little Boy" atomic bomb. Russia's 15-month-old invasion of Ukraine will top the agenda when the G7 summit gets underway Friday, after a new spate of aerial attacks on Kyiv and a long winter of grinding warfare in Bakhmut and other frontline towns. "We stand up for the shared values including supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign territory and holding Russia accountable for its brutal aggression," Biden said as he met Kishida Thursday. The United States and its allies have poured weaponry into Ukraine to stall the Russian advance, but a long-anticipated spring counteroffensive by Kyiv's forces has yet to materialize. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address the group by video link. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said leaders would discuss battlefield developments and tightening a sanctions regime that, according to official statistics, caused Russia's economy to contract a further 1.9 percent last quarter. G7 nations have already adopted sanctions on Russian banks and military firms, and placed price caps on Russian crude. Discussions are expected on tighter enforcement, and new measures on a range of goods, including Moscow's roughly $5 billion annual trade in diamonds. Nuclear shadow Putin's repeated threats to turn the Ukraine conflict nuclear have been roundly condemned by G7 leaders and dismissed by some commentators as little more than an attempt to shake European and American resolve. But a leaders' visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Friday is likely to pull those threats into sharper focus. The bombing on 6 August 1945 obliterated Hiroshima, claimed an estimated 140,000 lives and forever changed the world. Kishida wants to use the summit to press his guests -- nuclear powers Britain, France and the United States -- to commit to transparency on stockpiles and arsenal reductions. But expectations for a breakthrough are low. 'Economic coercion' Summit discussions on China are expected to focus on efforts to insulate G7 economies from potential economic blackmail, by diversifying supply chains and markets. In disputes with countries from Australia to Canada, President Xi Jinping's administration has shown a willingness to block, tax or hamper trade with little warning or explanation. White House official Sullivan said leaders were expected to decry this "economic coercion" and work to bridge transatlantic differences about how to engage with China. Washington has taken an aggressive approach, blocking China's access to the most advanced semiconductors and the equipment to make them, and has pressed Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit. But European policymakers -- most notably those in Berlin and Paris -- are keen to make sure that "de-risking" does not mean shattering ties with China, one of the world's largest markets. "This G7 is not an anti-Chinese G7," an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron told journalists before the summit. "We have a positive message for China, which is that we are ready to cooperate on condition that we negotiate together," the adviser added. Host Japan is also keen to talk to developing nations that have been wooed by Chinese investment, with leaders from India, Brazil and Indonesia among those invited by Kishida to Hiroshima. Evidence of Beijing's growing economic and diplomatic clout was on display Thursday in the former imperial capital Xi'an. There, Xi is hosting the leaders of five Central Asian countries that were once seen as firmly in Moscow's orbit but are increasingly drawn to Beijing. The post G7 to squeeze Russia, weigh risk of China’s ‘economic coercion’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Top US, China officials meet in Vienna for ‘candid’ talks
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met in Vienna this week, Washington and Beijing announced Thursday, as the two powers seek to maintain communication amid soaring tensions, especially over Taiwan. The two held eight hours of talks stretching over Wednesday and Thursday in the Austrian capital, ending an unofficial pause in high-level contacts since the United States shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that had traveled across the country in January and February. Both sides described the previously unannounced meeting as "candid, substantive and constructive," covering topics including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Taiwan, according to the White House -- two of the most sensitive subjects in the frosty relationship between the world's top two economies. Washington has repeatedly warned China against offering any military assistance to Russia and is closely watching its moves over Taiwan -- which Beijing claims as its own territory. The self-ruled island lives under the constant fear of a Chinese invasion, and Beijing has stepped up its rhetoric and military activity around it in recent years. Wang "comprehensively expounded upon China's solemn position" on Taiwan, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said, adding the two diplomats "agreed to continue to make good use of this strategic channel for communication." Getting past balloon incident The balloon incident, which China labeled an accident but which Washington viewed as an act of espionage, caused Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a long-planned trip to meet his counterpart in Beijing. Just after the incident, Blinken met with Wang on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, during which he warned China not to repeat such an "irresponsible act." Wang in turn said that their countries' relations had been damaged by how Washington reacted. But the apparent diplomatic thaw in Vienna is likely to reignite speculation about a rescheduling of Blinken's trip or potential meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The pair last spoke on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November 2022. Asked about the issue Wednesday, Biden said there had been progress. US seeks cooperation on drugs In a background briefing for reporters, a senior US administration official stressed that just having the Sullivan-Wang meeting was a step forward. The idea was to "try to find a few issues where there are some overlapping interests," the official said. "We've made no secret that we see maintaining channels of communication as particularly important in times of tension, that it's important to manage competition," the official said, adding that both sides agreed on that. Sullivan and Wang discussed Indo-Pacific regional security issues, and the top Biden aide pressed Wang for better cooperation in fighting drug trafficking, the official said. Washington says Chinese firms supply the chemicals that Mexican drug cartels use to make fentanyl, responsible for a massive spike in drug overdose deaths in the United States. "We raised our concern about the lack of communication on this issue and pressed for constructive engagement," the official said. On Taiwan, the official said the United States stressed that the two sides had managed the issue "for over 40 years without conflict" and that Washington did not want to see any unilateral change to the "status quo" in the situation. It takes two Chinese diplomats have kept up a steady drumbeat of criticism against America, and Xi made a rare direct rebuke of Washington in March, accusing "Western countries led by the United States" of trying to undermine his country. Biden has said he will not do China any favors in the competition between the two superpowers but has vowed he would do everything possible to keep the rivalry from descending into conflict. Sullivan, in a major speech on 27 April, outlined the US strategy to build a "fairer, more durable global economic order" -- and singled China out for mention. "We're looking to manage competition responsibly and seeking to work together with China where we can," he said. The post Top US, China officials meet in Vienna for ‘candid’ talks appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
HSBC’s largest shareholder outlines bank break-up strategy
HSBC's largest shareholder ramped up pressure on the bank to break up its business on Tuesday, saying it was underperforming and has failed to "address key business model challenges". In a rare public statement, Chinese insurer Ping An said HSBC was lagging behind international peers and a recent improvement in performance was tied to rising interest rates, which have now peaked. Ping An outlined revised proposals for restructuring that highlight HSBC's precarious position as US-China tensions rise, with some observers doubting whether Europe's largest lender can continue to straddle East and West. "It is necessary for HSBC to push for structural reform to fundamentally address HSBC's underlying market competitiveness issues," Michael Huang, chairman and CEO of Ping An Asset Management, said in a statement. Ping An last year suggested a series of ideas for HSBC to separate its business but Huang said the bank's management had "exaggerated many of the costs and risks" associated with a split. The previous proposals involved spinning off the bank's Asia business into a separate entity listed and headquartered in Hong Kong, and a consolidation of the bank's interests in the region, Huang said. "HSBC Group has drained HSBC Asia of dividends and growth capital to support its relatively low return non-Asia businesses," he added. "In effect, HSBC Asia has been subsidizing the group's relatively low return non-Asia businesses." The revised proposals called for London-listed HSBC to engage in a "strategic restructuring" that would see it create a separately listed bank headquartered in Hong Kong. Huang said the proposal would allow HSBC to retain control over a separate Asia business. "Secondly, each structural solution would deliver material benefits to the group's shareholders including valuation unlock, capital relief, long-term efficiency gains, geopolitical risk mitigation and competitive repositioning," he added. However, HSBC said the proposed restructuring alternatives would not "deliver increased value for shareholders. Rather they would have a material negative impact on value." "We remain clear that our current strategy is the fastest way to deliver returns," the bank said in a statement. HSBC was among a number of major banks to cancel dividends early in the Covid-19 pandemic after a de facto order from the Bank of England -- a move that riled some Hong Kong investors. Some retail investors have cited the cancellation of the dividend as a reason to back Ping An's spin-off proposal. The post HSBC’s largest shareholder outlines bank break-up strategy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
White House rejects Beijing claims of US balloons over China
China’s accusation widens a dispute with the United States that began last weekend after the US military shot down what it says was a Chinese spy balloon, prompting top US diplomat Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing.....»»
ONE Championship set to return to live events in July
After around four months of not being able to hold major live events, Asian martial arts promotion ONE Championship will once again be putting their brand of action on display. ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced Friday evening that ONE will be returning to Thailand for ONE: NO SURRENDER, scheduled for Friday, July 31st. This comes off the heels of ONE's official return to action last weekend wherein they taped ONE Hero Series 13 and 14 in Shanghai, China. "After a successful ONE Hero Series 13 and 14 in China last weekend, ONE Championship will now kick off our flagship event schedule with ONE: No Surrender on July 31 in Thailand!" Sityodtong wrote. This will be ONE's first live major event since their KING OF THE JUNGLE card last February 28th in Singapore, which was their first event to feature a closed-door, audience-free format as a way to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. ONE initially planned on putting on shows in Singapore throughout March and April, but eventually had to cancel the events due to Singapore's 'Circuit Breaker' lockdown as well as other restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. NO SURRENDER will feature the same closed-door, audience-free format, said Sityodtong. "ONE: No Surrender will be a closed-door, audience-free stadium event for live global broadcast." Apart from the event itself, Sityodtong added that there will be 12 extra bouts to signal the launch of the new ONE Dark Series, a taped card for global broadcast partners. "We will also be holding 12 extra fights on that day for the newly-launched ONE Dark Series, a taped first-air product for our broadcast partners around the world," Sityodtong shared. .....»»
US reaffirms support for Philippines sovereignty amid its tensions with China
Washington, DC [US], March 28 (ANI): US Secretary of Defence Llyod Austin has reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila in defending its sovereignty while criticising China's "dangerous" water cannon attack at the Philippine supply mission vessel on Saturday. In a telephonic conversation between Austin and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro, the US Secretary reiterated the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty.....»»
Philippines announces decisive measures amid tensions with China
Manila [Philippines], March 28 (ANI): Amid the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr has announced decisive measures to protect his country's sovereignty and maritime rights while ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Marcos, known as Bongbong, said that the measures, aimed at addressing what he said is the "open, unabating, and illegal" actions by China's Coast.....»»
China urges ROK to stay prudent on South China Sea issue: Chinese FM
BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- China urges the Republic of Korea (ROK) to stay prudent when it comes to the South China Sea issue, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday. Lin made the remarks at a regular press briefing when responding to a media query about ROK Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's biased and unfactual comments on the South China Sea issue over the past few days. "China.....»»
Chinese Diplomat Liu Jianchao Meets With Singapore s Leaders
singapore - Liu Jianchao, the senior diplomat widely expected to become China's next foreign minister, said "the world needs connectivity, not decoupling," during a four-day visit to Singapore.Liu, who heads the international department of the Communist Party, was in the city-state to meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the country's incoming leader, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.During a s.....»»
Philippines’s Marcos pledges action in response to China’s ‘dangerous attacks’
President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines has issued a strong statement in response to recent confrontations in the South China Sea, stating that the country.....»»
Akbayan to Sara: You don’t have to be president to speak vs China
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Akbayan said on Thursday that Vice President Sara Duterte does not have to be a president of the country for her to call out China’s intrusive actions over the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Empathy and a moral backbone is just what it takes to stand up with fisherfolk and frontline.....»»
China: PH is ‘straying down a dangerous path’
MANILA, Philippines — China continued to blame the Philippines and its ally, the United States, for the continued tensions in the disputed West Philippine Sea. In a statement on Thursday, Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian warned that the Philippines is going down a dangerous path. READ: No letup in Chinese water cannon attacks.....»»
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS.....»»
Marcos: Philippines won’t be ‘cowed into silence, submission’ by China
“We seek no conflict with any nation, more so nations that purport and claim to be our friends but we will not be cowed into silence, submission, or subservience. Filipinos do not yield,” Marcos said. .....»»
Belmonte, Binay call for climate action funding from development banks
The C40 coalition of cities, a network of nearly 100 mayors, asked MDBs to increase urban climate investment, integrate urban climate action into their strategies, and implement tailored programs to support city projects. .....»»
Pentagon chief reaffirms support after latest China aggression in WPS
Austin emphasized US support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in a phone call with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Wednesday. .....»»
Infrastructure projects get better loan terms from Japan
The Philippines has secured better financing terms for two big-ticket infrastructure projects funded by the Japanese government aimed at improving public transport and road connectivity......»»
Dela Rosa considers war with China but admits: ‘Hindi naman natin kaya’
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is already fed up with China’s persistent harassments in the West Philippine Sea, prompting thoughts of engaging in war with Beijing. But he knows, war is not an option. “Naubos na ang sasabihin ko dapat dyan. Short of declaring war na tayo dyan against sa kanila e,.....»»
Marian Rivera takes on projects that her children can watch
With her upcoming primetime show, “My Guardian Alien,” Marian Rivera has added sci-fi to the growing array of genres — from drama, fantasy, romance, and action to historical and comedy — that the Kapuso actress has successfully ventured into thus far......»»