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Biden and Trump face off in first 2024 presidential debate
Deutsche Welle
28 Jun 2024, 08:39
Photo: AFP
The CNN presidential debate will see President Joe Biden, a Democrat, face off against his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. The 81-year-old and 78-year-old are expected to clash on several issues.
US President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump faced off in the first debate of the 2024 presidential election on Thursday night.
Millions of Americans were expected to tune into the 90-minute debate hosted by CNN in Atlanta.
Biden opened the debate by blaming Trump for "an economy that was in free fall" when he took over and a pandemic that "was so badly handled, many people were dying."
Trump hit back by attacking the Biden administration's record.
"He has not done a good job. He's done a poor job. And inflation is killing our country. It is absolutely killing us," Trump said.
Trump relatedly made claims of being the "best" in a number of areas, without providing evidence, while Biden gave an uneven performance, delivering answers with a raspy voice and at times losing his train of thought.
Biden, Trump clash over Gaza and Ukraine
Foreign policy discussion focused largely on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
"This place, the whole world, is blowing up under him," Trump said.
Biden replied: "I never heard so much malarkey in my whole life."
Trump claimed that Washington's support for Ukraine was hurting the economy.
"This is a war that never should have started. If we had a leader in this war... He's given $200 billion now or more to Ukraine, he's given $200 billion. That's a lot of money. I don't think there's ever been anything like it," Trump said.
But Biden hit back that the military aid to Ukraine was delivered in the form of US-made weapons, and that other Western nations have collectively put forward similar amounts of aid.
"This is a guy who wants to pull out of NATO," Biden said, adding that he "got 50 other nations" to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
A close race
Thursday's debate was one of just two between the two major contenders who have been polling closely for months.
"Neither candidate can afford to lose this first debate," DW's Washington correspondent Ines Pohl said.
Uniquely, the debate will be held without a studio audience, and with microphones that producers can switch off to stop the candidates speaking over one another.
The debate is also taking place early, before either party holds their congress where they are all but certain to name Biden as their official presidential candidates.
What are the issues?
The sitting and former presidents clashed on reproductive rights and illegal immigration, with the wars in Gaza and Ukraine also expected to come up.
The 81-year-old Biden came into the debate amid speculation about his mental sharpness, and whether he will be able to guide the country amid multiple world crises.
Meanwhile, 78-year-old Trump has attracted attention over his recent felony conviction, while he aims to convince millions of Americans that he is suitable to be president again.
"In normal election years, the winner is determined by their ability to convincingly sell their political agenda. This year people seem to be more focused on who will make the most mistakes and provide better fodder for internet memes," Pohl said.
Trump enjoys a modest enthusiasm advantage compared to Biden.
According to a new AP-NORC poll, 6 in 10 Republicans are extremely or very satisfied with Trump, compared to about 4 in 10 Democrats who say they're satisfied with Biden.
The latest Quinnipiac University poll also has Trump polling at 49% nationwide, compared to Biden's 45%.
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China state firms targeted by U.S. lawmakers for allegedly helping Iran
Treasury should probe 6 companies that assist Tehran in evading sanctions, letter says.
Republican legislators on the House of Representatives' influential China-focused committee on Friday urged the U.S. to investigate six Chinese state-owned companies for allegedly helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions.
The Department of Treasury should provide an analysis on whether the activities of state-owned military, oil and shipping companies and their subsidiaries should be subject to secondary sanctions for assisting Iran's energy sector and military, the lawmakers said in a letter sent that day.
The six companies targeted by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are China North Industries Group, Aviation Industry Corp. of China, China Ocean Shipping , China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), CRRC, and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec).
The group alleges that subsidiaries of CNOOC have participated in projects with the U.S.-sanctioned entity National Iranian Oil, while Sinopec helped develop an oilfield and may continue to be involved in other parts of the development.
The U.S. lawmakers say that American financial institutions have made billions of dollars of investments in these companies, and dozens others that bolster China's military capabilities and also support egregious human rights abuses in the country.
'Many of these companies even appear to engage in activities that violate existing U.S. sanctions against Iran. As a result, U.S. retirees are likely indirectly funding activities that run counter to U.S. national security and international stability,' read the letter, signed by Chairman John Moolenaar and 11 Republican members.
The bipartisan House committee was formed in January 2023 to tackle security threats from China. It has produced a raft of proposals to combat Beijing's influence and capabilities.
Iran's main revenue comes from oil, but Western sanctions have barred it from shipping or receiving payments for oil. Over the years, Iran has developed means to export its oil, with the latest report from the International Energy Agency putting the country's oil exports at a five-year high of about 1.29 million barrels per day, with the vast majority going to China.
Source: Nikke Asia
China’s top executives suffer first average pay cut in 2 decades as sluggish economy weighs on listed firms
The average annual salary of top executives at Chinese listed companies fell for the first time in two decades last year, according to a study of over 5,000 annual reports, as companies’ profitability was dented by the sluggish economy.
The average last year stood at 1.66 million yuan (US$229,000), representing a 3.27 per cent decrease from 2022, according to the study by Shanghai Rongzheng Enterprise Consulting Service Group released on Tuesday.
The study also showed the average annual pay for chairmen fell by 3.32 per cent from 2022 to 1.32 million yuan last year, while salaries for general managers, board secretaries and chief financial officers declined by 3.46 per cent, 1.12 per cent and 3.82 per cent, respectively.
The consulting firm has been tracking executive pay at Chinese listed companies since 1999. Its findings were drawn from the annual reports of 5,326 listed companies published as of April 30.
The highest-paid executive last year was Li Ge, chairman of biotech firm WuXi AppTec, who earned around 42 million yuan before tax, which was about the same amount he received in 2022.
His salary easily eclipsed the 26.63 million yuan earned by Li Xiting, the chairman of medical equipment manufacturer Mindray Bio-Medical, and the 26.28 million yuan for Li Bin, the vice-president of agricultural and technology firm Tongwei.
Li Bin was the best-paid executive in 2022 with a salary of 86.5 million yuan, but suffered a nearly 70 per cent pay cut last year.
Remuneration for executives at several other firms, including dairy giant Yili Group, pharmaceutical firm BeiGene and electrical appliance manufacturer Midea Group also topped the 10 million yuan threshold.
The overall dip in pay, though, mirrored broader patterns of stagnating or falling wages in China in the last year, as companies navigated the third year of an economic downturn and turbulent market conditions.
Overall, net profits for listed companies last year fell by 1.45 per cent from 2022, Rongzheng’s report said.
A survey released in March by professional services firm KPMG China of around 1,110 business executives and professionals based in mainland China and Hong Kong found that only about 53 per cent received a pay increase last year.
The survey also showed 40 per cent saw no change, while 7 per cent suffered pay cuts.
At the C-suite level, only 19 per cent received a salary increase of 10 per cent or more, compared with 23 per cent in 2022.
The decline has been particularly felt in the financial sector, which has been a primary target of Beijing’s crackdown on corruption and excess, with salaries at China’s 10 biggest brokerages all falling last year.
Pay was also slashed at struggling Chinese property giant Vanke, where eight senior executives voluntarily gave up their annual bonuses for 2023 in light of the company’s net profits having plunged by 46.4 per cent from the year before.
Three of its top executives, including chairman Yu Liang and president Zhu Jiusheng, also said they would voluntarily reduce their salaries this year to 10,000 yuan (US$1,379) per month before tax, according to Vanke’s annual report released in March.
Between 2017, when Yu became the chairman of the state-backed developer, and 2020, he received an annual salary of over 11 million yuan, peaking at 12.53 million yuan in 2018, according to financial data provider Wind.
In 2021, following the coronavirus pandemic and property market downturn, Yu gave up his annual bonus, taking home a salary of around 1.45 million yuan that year, according to Vanke’s annual report.
Overall, the use of equity incentive schemes at A-share firms – companies listed in Shanghai or Shenzhen – fell by around 14 per cent from 2022, encompassing the use of incentives as well as stock options and restricted stocks, according to Rongzheng’s report.
“The data also reflects that domestic market confidence has not been fully restored in 2023,” Rongzheng wrote on its official WeChat account, adding that it nonetheless believed the use of equity incentives would pick up again.
Source: South China Morning Post
Beijing uses Chinese Buddhist group to transform Tibetan Buddhism: report
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), the world's largest Tibet support group based in Washington, released its report on Wednesday that exposed the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) strategy of using a Chinese Buddhist group to transform Tibetan Buddhism in China's image.
The report titled 'Buddhist Association of China Takes A Leading Role In China's Attempts To Control and Forcibly Reshape Tibetan Buddhism' mentioned that, since the takeover of Xi Jinping President of China, the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) has become a key tool in assimilating and transforming Tibetan Buddhism. Especially concerning the search for and recognition of reincarnating lamas. The BAC has a special Tibetan Buddhism Working Committee, which oversees the implementation of CCP directives in Tibetan monasteries.
The report documents a change in the charter of BAC to fit the CCP's political agenda. According to the report, " In 2020, it was amended to include "Sinification of Buddhism in China" as one of its objectives and to "support the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system, study and implement Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and adhere to the direction of the Sinification of Buddhism in China."According to the report, the BAC has adopted an extreme political tone, leaving no stone unturned in pushing forward the CCP's agenda. The BAC is forced to form a party-oriented committee within the BAC, even when the decisions of the BAC are made by local religious leaders. It has been strengthening its institutional foundation in recent years, which includes five-year plans and shaping monastic training to meet political goals, the report says.
The report further elaborates that the CCP has introduced measures, regulations and initiatives to exercise control over the recognition of centuries-old traditions related to the future reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Source: Beijing Bulletin
Floods in southern Germany: 40 hours of disaster
The flooding in southern Germany has caused dams to burst, thousands of evacuations and left communities inundated. Oliver Pieper reports from Augsburg.
Tobias Kunz has been under constant pressure since 6 a.m. on Saturday. The mayor of Nordendorf, a small community of 2,600 inhabitants north of Augsburg, is desperately fighting the floodwaters of the River Schmutter. Together with 300 volunteers, he is trying to save the local primary school itself.
"Yesterday we filled 40,000 sandbags and built a 240-meter-long dike with them," he told DW. "Some of the helpers have been on their feet for 40 hours without sleep. But with the extreme amounts of water today, even that wasn't enough."
The volunteers are hurrying to pack the black sandbags from one corner to the other, while Kunz, coordinating the relief efforts, gets bombarded with questions by the second. The school will definitely be closed this Monday, he explains with a sad laugh. But what particularly depresses him is that the battle against the water around the new sports field has been lost — the dam has broken.
"Our school sports field, which cost around a million to build, was under water in a quarter of an hour. The entire infrastructure is flooded. Our sewage system is also not working, so the students can't even go to the toilet," he said.
Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria particularly hard hit
The same thing is happening in Nordendorf as in many communities in southern Germany: The dams cannot withstand the water, and dozens of villages have had to be evacuated. The initial assessment: In some places, more rain fell in 24 hours than the average for an entire month, and the water reached levels that are usually only reached once in a century. Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria were particularly affected this weekend, with some communities having to issue a state of emergency. One firefighter died and at least one person is missing.
For many, the extent of the flooding came as a complete surprise, which was also the case for the four young men standing a little indecisively a few kilometers further south in Kühlenthal. Their problem: They can no longer reach the house that they had been busy protecting with sandbags yesterday because of the flooding today. The village has now been evacuated.
"It's the house of one of our parents, who are on vacation in Austria," they told DW. "We tried to save what we could yesterday. But the water came from all directions. At least we were able to drive the two cars up the mountain and bring them to safety."
Better prepared after Ahrtal
In Diedorf, a few kilometers west of Augsburg, six car owners were not so lucky. An underground car park was completely flooded, as were the cellars of the surrounding houses. The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief is now on site, using a special device to pump out the brown sludge, at a rate of 10,000 liters per minute.
A dyke and a dam also broke in Diedorf. Although the floodwaters are now slowly receding and the water levels are falling again, no one in the small fire station wants to sound the all-clear. Not even Philipp Niegl, the local fire brigade commander. Like everyone else, Niegl does this job on a voluntary basis — he is also a vocational school teacher. His conclusion: "After the flood of the centuryin the Ahr valley [in 2021], we added to our equipment to be better prepared: we now have a supply truck that can drive through deep water. This time it was able to transport a lot of people."
Evacuation camp set up in record time
Those who had been evacuated and had not been able to find a place to sleep with relatives or friends were able to spend the night in the nearby sports hall in Diedorf. In the city of Augsburg, the central reception center for all those stranded is the huge exhibition hall. A camp with beds for 300 people was set up here in record time.
Augsburg has experience in disaster management, explains press officer Raphael Doderer. At Christmas 2016, the city had to evacuate 54,000 people because of a World War II bomb. "We had 170 people here last night, at noon it was still 130 and now 80," Doderer told DW. "Most of them are elderly people who live in nursing homes, including dementia patients. We had to carry some of the senior citizens out of the house to a boat with a Unimog truck, then back into a Unimog truck and finally into the ambulance."
Some elderly people were still left in the huge reception hall, including Sabine Fischer's parents and two female neighbors. The night ended for the Fischer family at 2 a.m. The Schmutter, which normally meanders quietly through the town of Kühlenthal behind the house, was suddenly four meters wide and water was seeping into the basement.
"We are waiting and waiting here and don't know how much water has penetrated our property," Fischer told DW. "It was simply inconceivable to us that it would be so bad. Our only wish: To go home as soon as possible."
Mannheim knife attack: Authorities suspect Islamist motive
German federal prosecutors have begun investigating a knife attack which left a police officer dead in Mannheim. On Monday, thousands of people gathered in the southwestern German city to pay their respects.
German authorities say they believe there was an Islamist motive behind a knife attack at an anti-Islam rally in the southwestern German city of Mannheim on Friday during which a police officer was killed.
The federal prosecutor, Germany's highest prosecuting authority with responsibility for terrorism, espionage and international criminal law, is taking on the case due to its "particular importance," a spokeswoman said.
She said the suspected attacker, a 25-year-old Afghan national and nine-year German resident who was shot by police and remains in hospital, is suspected to have wanted to prevent critics of Islam from exercising their right to freedom of expression.
The suspect, who reportedly had no criminal record and was not known to German law enforcement, faces possible charges of murder, attempted murder and five counts of serious bodily harm.
'Clear indications of an Islamist motive'
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann of the Free Democrats (FDP), the junior pro-business partner in Germany's current coalition government, wrote on the social network X, formerly Twitter, that there were "clear indications of an Islamist motive."
He added that "Islam belongs to Germany, but Islamism does not" and said that "the danger posed by religious fanaticism and radical Islamism remains large."
Other FDP politicians demanded that Muslim community groups do more to combat extremism.
"Islamic groups and clergy cannot duck away from the fight against Islamism," Konstantin Kuhle, chair of the FDP's parliamentary group, told German media on Tuesday.
Mannheim: Thousands gather to mourn
Meanwhile, around 8,000 people gathered in Mannheim on Monday to pay their respects to the 29-year-old police officer who on Sunday succumbed to injuries sustained from stab wounds.
The event was organized by a broad cross-section of Mannheim society including Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders and local politicians.
"The death of this young person fills us all with grief, tears us apart and robs us of words," said local Catholic deacon Karl Jung, while Mustafa Aydinli, the imam of Mannheim's Muslim Community, called on citizens to stick together because "God wants us to live in peace."
Scholz to address parliament on security
After saying on Sunday that he was "deeply dismayed" by the death of the police officer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to make a statement on national security to the German parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday, according to a Chancellery letter seen by the German DPA news agency.
However, it's unclear whether the subject of Scholz's address will be domestic security in the wake of the attack in Mannheim or foreign policy following his recent decision to allow Ukraine to use German weapons to strike military targets within Russia's internationally-recognized borders.
High alert ahead of European elections and Euro 2024
Domestically, Germany has been on high alert for possible Islamist attacks since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023.
With European Parliamentary elections on June 9 and football's European Championships kicking off in Germany one week later, the country's domestic intelligence chief warned that the risk of such assaults is "real and higher than it has been for a long time."
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) told daily tabloid newspaper Bild that "we must defend ourselves against Islamist terrorism with determination" while Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) urged colleagues not to instrumentalize the attack by demanding tougher migration laws.
"If the aim of extremists, whether far-right or Islamist, is to split a free society, then the answer has to be that we answer together as a society," she said at an event in Düsseldorf organized by the local Rheinische Post newspaper on Monday evening.
"Of course I was deeply affected," she said of the Mannheim attack, but still urged German society and democracy not to allow itself to be "destroyed by hate, violence and murderous intent."
Toyota apologizes as Japanese car testing scandal widens
The head of the Japanese car making giant gave an apologetic press conference after an internal review found Toyota had cheated on certification tests. Japan's government is also investigating.
Toyota Motor Corporation on Monday admitted to cheating on various certification and safety tests for seven models of cars sold in Japan, three of which are still in production.
Chairman Akio Toyoda apologized at a press conference in Tokyo, offering a customary low bow as he did so.
His comments were based on the findings of an internal Toyota review, launched as the Japanese government announced its own investigation at the beginning of the year. That probe is ongoing and affects multiple car manufacturers.
'We are not a perfect company. But if we see anything wrong, we will take a step back and keep trying to correct it,' Toyoda said.
The issue does not affect the non-Japanese market for Toyota. However, it is providing a stern test for Japanese car companies in their lucrative and symbolically important home market.
Only China and the US currently manufacture more cars than Japan, although China makes more than Japan and the US combined these days.
What did Toyota's investigation find, which cars were affected?
Toyota said in a press release that seven models were affected in all.
'The model certification applications in question involve inadequate data in pedestrian and occupant protection tests for three production models,' the Corolla Fielder a station wagon version of the world's most popular sedan, Toyota Corolla, the hybrid Corolla Axio, and the compact SUV called the Yaris Cross.
For four models discontinued in 2014 the Crown, Isis, Sienta and an older version of the luxury Lexus RX there were 'errors in crash tests and other test methods,' the company said.
However, Toyota also asserted that while the cars did not undergo the proper certification and testing procedures, 'we can confirm that there are no performance issues that contravene laws and regulations.' In other words, the company claims the cars would have passed all properly required checks.
'Therefore, there is no need to stop using the affected vehicles,' Toyota said. 'However, considering these findings, we have taken action to temporarily halt shipments and sales of three models currently produced in Japan, effective today.'
The company said it would continue to cooperate with Japanese investigators and 'expedite appropriate measures, including conducting testing in the present of witnesses.'
'Again, we extend our sincere apologies to our customers and stakeholders,' the statement concluded.
Honda, Mazda report similar issues but also say cars still meet regulations
Also on Monday, Mazda Motor Corp reported similar irregular certification testing for two models, the Roadster and Mazda 2. Like Toyota, it temporarily halted production of both. Three other discontinued models were also affected, it said.
Like Toyota, Mazda said none of the violations affected the vehicles' safety or its performance.
Honda also apologized for improper testing on issues like noise levels and torque on a range of older models no longer in production. Again it said all the vehicles conformed with the laws despite not having undergone the proper scrutiny.
First signs of the certification issues started surfacing around two years ago at Toyota, its truck maker Hino Motors, Daihatsu Motor Co specializing in the compact city cars that are particularly popular in Japan and its machinery and car parts subsidiary, Toyota Industries Corporation.
Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder Kichiro Toyoda, suggested some of Japan's certification rules might be overly stringent, noting how tests vary around the world. But he also repeatedly said that did not condone the violations.
He said the company might have been too eager to get the models approved, at a time when Toyota was manufacturing a very broad selection of vehicles as it was winding down one generation of cars and launching the next.
Toyota sells more than 10 million cars around the world each year, more than any individual company. Most of its manufacturing in Japan takes place in the giant city named after the company, near Nagoya to the west of Tokyo.
Several killed in Czech train crash, dozens injured
At least four people were killed when a passenger train collided head on with a freight train in the Czech city of Pardubice, according to rescue services.
Four people died and more than two dozen were injured after a passenger train collided with a freight train late on Wednesday in the Czech city of Pardubice, the regional governor said.
"A head-on collision between a RegioJet train and a freight train claimed several lives and left dozens injured," Martin Netolicky, governor of the Pardubice region,
said on Facebook.
Firefighters, paramedics and doctors, as well as at least one rescue helicopter, have been deployed at the scene of the accident, some 100 kilometers east of Prague.
The country's interior and transport ministers said they were headed to the accident scene, while Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed his "sincere condolences to all the bereaved" in a post on social media platform X.
300 passengers on board, carriage derailed
The fast train, operated by RegioJet, was traveling overnight from Prague to Kosice in eastern Slovakia, the Railway Administration said.
The accident occurred shortly before 23:00 (2100 GMT) near the main train station in Pardubice, Czech TV reported.
As per Fire Rescue Services, over 300 passengers were on board.
Many of the passengers were foreigners, Czech TV said.
Footage on local media showed at least one carriage off the track after the crash.
While passengers were being ushered into buses near the Pardubice main station, Czech TV said.
Transport Minister Martin Kupka said a major track between Prague and the eastern part of the country had to be shut down while authorities investigate the collision.
