Food delivery firms and UK Home Office combine against migrants working illegally in gig economy
The British government department has struck a new agreement with Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats, under which officials share details about hotels in high-risk areas to enable the
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Otago Daily Times
10 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Trump plans $340m White House ballroom
After paving over the Rose Garden and adding gold leaf in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump will embark on his most dramatic addition to the White House yet: a new, multimillion-dollar ballroom to be built adjacent to the mansion's East Wing. Trump, a former real estate developer with a penchant for decorating, has long complained the White House lacked a large-scale ballroom for entertaining. The White House on Thursday announced plans to break ground in September on the project, which could prove to be the most extensive one since Harry Truman completed an entire renovation in 1952. The White House was originally finished in 1800 and partially rebuilt after being burned by the British during the War of 1812. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that work on the 8360 sq m facility will be completed "long before" Trump's four-year term ends in January 2029. The $US200 million ($NZ340 million) cost of the ballroom, which will be able to seat 650 people, will be donated by Trump and other donors, she said. Presidents have used the intimate State Dining Room for events, as well as the larger East Room for bigger VIP lists, and sometimes will have a tent temporarily constructed on the South Lawn to host big dinners. "When it rains, it's a disaster," Trump said of the tents when asked about the new ballroom on Thursday. Trump's home at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, has a grand ballroom and a smaller one, both with glittering chandeliers and white walls decorated with gold flourishes. The Republican president has been determined to put his stamp on the executive mansion. He installed gold-filigreed decorations in the Oval Office and erected giant flagpoles on the north and south lawns. The Rose Garden is currently a construction site with the grass uprooted and replaced by a concrete patio of the type Trump enjoys at Mar-a-Lago. Trump first offered to build a $US100 million ballroom at the White House back in 2010, an offer to then-President Barack Obama that went unanswered. The East Wing of the White House will be "modernised" as part of the project. Offices there, including the one used by First Lady Melania Trump, will be temporarily relocated, Leavitt said. As if to reassure traditionalists, the White House said the theme and architectural heritage will be "almost identical" to the rest of the house. It said Trump in recent weeks held meetings with members of the White House staff, the National Park Service, the White House Military Office and the US Secret Service to discuss design features and planning. "It'll be a great legacy project," Trump said on Thursday.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
How a Chinese brand reshaped Hong Kong's food delivery scene
With China's domestic economy slowing and its consumers more frugal, Chinese brands are seeking new business overseas. And some, like Meituan, are using Hong Kong as a trial market to test the waters. A former British colony that has long been a gateway between China and the world, Hong Kong has in recent years become increasingly aligned with China politically and economically. But the city, formally a special zone of China, retains much of its international culture and customs, making it an attractive test bed for Chinese companies. 'Hong Kong is part of the global market with global investors and internationally compliant regulations,' said Jin Lu, a strategic communications consultant at PRConnect (HK) who has worked with many brands in China, including PepsiCo and McKinsey. In June, iFlytek, a Chinese information technology company, entered Hong Kong. Its chair, Liu Qingfeng, said iFlytek saw the city as a 'bridgehead' to going overseas, citing its international business services and multilingual population. Another brand testing the waters is Shoo Loong Kan Hot Pot, one of China's largest hot pot franchises, which has opened a branch in Hong Kong. Its manager described the city as 'the best window for a company's brand exposure' in the world. For Meituan, Hong Kong was the 'first step in international exploration', the company's founder, Wang Xing, said in 2023. It initially offered its services to restaurants in what it considered pilot zones: the commercial hub of Mong Kok and the residential area of Tai Kok Tsui. A year later, Keeta tried its model in Saudi Arabia, choosing the central city of Al Kharj for its launch. It later entered Riyadh, the capital, where there is fierce competition in food delivery. Within four months, Keeta became a top-three platform in Saudi Arabia. 'We approach global expansion with a measured pace,' Wang said last year. 'We will stay patient and continue exploring while maintaining financial discipline.' Meituan said in May that it would spend US$1 billion to set up operations in Brazil. But to its critics, Keeta has been anything but patient in Hong Kong. In only two years, it has reshaped the city's food delivery business, driving out Deliveroo, once the main player in Hong Kong, with aggressive tactics like slashing delivery costs. Delivery workers say they were lured to work for Keeta with financial incentives, only to see their pay reduced. Workers for Keeta, a food delivery app, in Hong Kong. With China's consumers being more frugal, brands from the mainland are seeking new business overseas. Photo / Billy H.C. Kwok, the New York Times For example, Wong said she had started out earning as much as US$4.20 for each order, including a small bonus for deliveries she made on time. Now, she said, she makes an average of US$2.60 an order and is expected to work faster or risk her bonus. 'The competition became so intense all of a sudden that it completely disrupted the market,' said Lu, the consultant at PRConnect (HK). In China, the fierce competition is the norm, especially among delivery businesses. Consumers expect an on-demand, low-cost service. When Keeta arrived in Hong Kong in 2023, it offered new users nearly US$40 in discounts and fee waivers, followed by sustained promotions like free delivery during certain times of day or half-price meals. The subsidies worked. Keeta had a little over a quarter of the overall food delivery market share in early 2024. By the end of the year, it had climbed to nearly half, according to Measurable AI, a consumer data company. Over the same period, the market share of Keeta's competitors Foodpanda, a Singaporean company, and Deliveroo dropped. Deliveroo, a British multinational, quit Hong Kong in April. It had operated in the city for nine years and once held a 60% market share. In May, hundreds of Keeta delivery workers went on strike seeking better pay and conditions. The bonuses and other financial incentives Keeta initially offered workers shrank while the speed demands and other pressures intensified, according to Justine Lam, a specialist at the Delivery Workers' Rights Concern Group. Keeta narrowed the windows in which it expected workers to make deliveries. Some took risks and ran red lights, according to Lam. Protesting workers have demanded a minimum base pay of US$6.50 per order and formal employment contracts. Keeta said that income was 'multifaceted' and that base pay didn't reflect actual earnings, emphasising its commitment to 'flexible work opportunities'. A Keeta spokesperson said the company 'always prioritises the safety of its couriers, striving to optimise their delivery experience and safeguard their income'. For their part, some restaurant owners complained about the commissions they paid to Keeta. But they also said they got large volumes of orders by using Keeta. Dee ChaimongAran, 36, said Keeta helped bring as much as one-third of the business to his Thai takeaway eatery, Friends Restaurant. However, its 28% commission squeezed his profits. 'It brought in many orders, so it's hard for us to dislike Keeta,' he said. Mandy Hu, director of the Centre for Consumer Insights at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Keeta's success could lead to a 'winner takes all' situation that hurts restaurants, consumers, and workers. With Deliveroo out, Hong Kong's food delivery market is now shared about equally by Keeta and Foodpanda. Hu said the Hong Kong government should supervise and regulate the sector more methodically. Keeta's sudden growth has also tapped the resentment that many Hong Kongers feel toward China, whose leaders have taken a heavier hand in the city's governance. The day that Deliveroo announced it would exit the market, people lit up local social media platforms with their anger at what they saw as another example of China's growing influence. Still, for some workers, such as Xie Long, a master's student from the southwestern Chinese city Chongqing, Keeta is a good way to make a living. Xie, 26, said Keeta offered him flexible part-time work that helped cover Hong Kong's high living costs. He said he earned about US$250 a month, which covered about half his expenses. 'The income is not very stable,' said Xie, who is studying engineering and struggling to find internships. But he added: 'I'm not afraid of hard work. As long as I can earn money, I'm okay with it.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Zixu Wang Photographs by: Billy H.C. Kwok ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Villagers in Wales win race to save a UK pub, as thousands of others close
For locals in the picturesque south Wales village of New Radnor, population 438, the demise of their only remaining hostelry was devastating. Over the years, there were around six or more pubs or ale houses in the village. By 2012, all except the Radnor Arms had shut down. 'It was the heart of the village,' said David Pyle, a 57-year-old retired psychiatrist who has lived next door to the pub for the past 18 years. 'Sometimes you could hear a bit of hubbub, sometimes you'd hear a roar go up when Wales scored, or a male voice choir singing in the back bar,' he told AFP. 'It was just lovely,' he said. 'And then it closed.' British tradition Pubs in the United Kingdom, a quintessential cornerstone of community life, are increasingly under threat. Faced with changing drinking habits and spiralling bills, more than a quarter of the 60,800 in existence in 2000 have closed their doors in the past 25 years. Of the 45,000 still operating at the end of last year, 378 - at least one a day - are expected to close this year, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. The loss of Radnor Arms in 2016 left the village without a focal point, hitting everyone from hobby groups to local hill farmers who would meet there after work for a pint of beer and a chat. 'It was the heart of the community. It was a place where anybody could come in,' said Sue Norton, one of a team of locals who banded together to save it. 'We celebrated births, deaths, and marriages here. So for us, it was very emotional when it closed,' she said. Vowing to rescue it, Norton and other villagers applied to a government scheme aimed at giving people the financial firepower to take ownership of pubs or shops at risk of being lost. A major fundraising effort last year drummed up £200,000 ($447,235), which was matched by the community ownership fund and boosted by an additional £40,000 government grant. With £440,000 in the kitty, the villagers were able to buy, refurbish and re-open the pub, relying on a roster of volunteers to work behind the bar rather than paid staff. Ukrainian refugee Eugene Marchenko, a 44-year-old lawyer who is one of the volunteers, says the pub helped him meet practically everyone within days of arriving. Marchenko, from the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, is being hosted by a villager along with his wife and teenage son. He said he quickly came to understand the importance of having a place in the village for 'drinking and having fun together'. 'I read in books that the pub was a famous British tradition, but I can feel it myself... It's not just about the drinking alcohol, it's about the sharing and everybody knows each other,' he said. Lifeline axed The previous Conservative government launched the community ownership fund in 2021. Under the scheme locals have successfully saved around 55 pubs, according to the community ownership charity Plunkett UK. The pubs are run democratically on a one-member, one-vote basis by those who contributed to the fundraiser. The new Labour government, which took power a year ago, dropped the scheme in December as it sought to meet competing funding demands. Villagers in New Radnor are relieved to have got their application in under the wire but saddened that other communities will not benefit. For now they are planning to make the most of their new community hub. There are plans to host a range of activities -- from mother-and-baby mornings to a dementia group that aims to trigger memories through familiar sights and sounds. Sufferers and their carers could come and have a 'drink or a bag of crisps - or a pickled onion, if people like those,' Norton said. -Agence France-Presse
