Plunder of Ghana's Gold by Chinese Criminals Continues, Authorities Say
They say the illegal miners appear to be taking advantage of the record-high gold price, which hit $3,500 in April, with much of the illicit metal being smuggled back to China.
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The Sun
2 minutes ago
- The Sun
Satire of China's TikTok Trojan Horse
THIS apparent conversation was recorded in a Republican leader's handphone with an erased TikTok account. The phone is alleged to have Chinese component chips and parts, including from Taiwan, capable of being activated by hackers. Both the phone and recording are currently being scrutinised by the FBI. Participants in the hacked conversation include Republican senior senator Mitch McConnell, Republican former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Republican senator chairing the Senate Intelligence Committee Tom Cotton and Democrat senior senator Mark Warner. McConnell: This is getting too much. According to Howard*, TikTok is on 100 million American phones and Beijing is still adamant not to let us own the tech and control the algorithm. And the Don is giving Byte Dance a third reprieve till September to divest. Cotton: Yup. The Boss says that he has lined up the buyers and that all it needs for us to take over is for Xi (China President Xi Jinping) to sign off. He is very confident his buddy will agree. McConnell: You know I warned them, in the hallowed halls of the Senate, that this was not merely litigation but a stay of execution sought by a hardened criminal. We are not arguing with a legal team, gentlemen; we are negotiating with a serpent that has burrowed into our youth's iPhones. Pompeo: Hey, don't forget I was pushing for it to be banned five years ago. Cotton: Why are our guys still not getting the job done? This is a Chinese Trojan horse sitting in the lawns and dinner tables of the White House and Pentagon. Warner: Hell, not only in Washington. As Mitch says, it is also in my kids' phones and they are on it several times a day at least. Man, it's so bad I have to run to the bathroom every time they are on TikTok and my phone rings. Pompeo: Same here too. Although I'm retired, don't forget I was the director of the CIA and Beijing continues to pay close attention to me. My CIA staff tell me it is not a hundred million. Double that! McConnell: Hahaha Pomp. Everyone knows that you are a closet China lover, especially of China's state oil field equipment. Pompeo: S**t. You can say the same for yourself. That story was from a long time ago. Five years ago while many of you were still arguing over earmarks, I was pushing to ban this app. I saw the Chinese Communist Party's fingerprints on every single viral dance. And here we are now, after two hundred million 'Renegade' dances have infiltrated our nation's very soul. Warner: Look. All of us have some kind of skeleton in the cupboard on China, okay. Let's get serious. I don't know about (Donald) Trump's cronies but I have the legit money all lined up to take control of the Trojan horse. Cotton: Trojan horse? Gentlemen, it is worse. It is a Trojan Horse on wheels, a self-propelled, algorithm-driven Manchurian Candidate that is brainwashing our children with coordinated dance moves. It is not just on the lawns of the White House but also in the homes of our military families, poisoning the minds of future servicemen and women! And now, it is influencing our celebrities and kids to buy Labubu China dolls! Warner: Guys, guys, let's not get bogged down in metaphors. The horse is out of the stable. I have already lined up the capital. We don't need to kill it; we just need to acquire it. The only way to win in this new digital economy is to out-innovate them. Cotton: Yup. It is a prime asset ripe for a leveraged buyout. Warner: I'm talking about an American version, 'FreedomTok', with a user agreement that is five times as long and a much more efficient data-mining operation. We just need to take control of the horse and put a new saddle on it. I – and all Democrats – do not want it to go dark, okay. McConnell: Our problem is Trump. He has turned out to be pro-China. How can we put pressure on him? He is the greatest obstacle to our national security, not Beijing. It is the president. He is behaving like a man who has just discovered that correcting trade deficits is good for his hotels. Now, how do we apply the necessary pressure to realign his priorities? Cotton: I am his friend. I have been one of his staunchest allies. We have broken bread together. I have told him repeatedly about the national security implications of not taking a hard line on TikTok. It is like he thinks the data is going to a friend, not a foe. TikTok is a Chinese digital anthrax, a cybernetic IED (improvised explosive device), guys! Warner: Gentlemen, he is not listening because you are talking about national security. He is talking about a brand. He is looking at another term and he is not going to want to duke with China. He wants to 'deal'. The question is, what are we willing to put on the table that China isn't? Pompeo: For me, the most important outcome is to make it into a social media bible congregation. The true path to victory is not through litigation or acquisition. We must transform the Trojan horse into a Christian horse – a vessel of faith. We will flood the platform with TikToks that are not about dances. It will play Christian rock and have Bible sing-alongs and verses. We will call them 'The Gospel Grinds' and 'The Sermon Swirls'. We can start with a hundred million of our youths, scrolling for joy and finding the word of the Lord. Warner: Whoa. 'Christian horse?' So, the business plan is a hostile religious takeover? We will export digital sermons and prayer groups to a nation that, from all my insider accounts, takes good care, even better care of religious minorities by leaving them alone. This is a far more aggressive strategy than I was thinking. Cotton: Wonderful. A reverse Trojan horse. We do not just infiltrate their country, we send them salvation. A strategic and spiritual offensive all at once. We will call it 'Operation: Holy Hashtag' or 'Buddha Tok?' I will make sure Gordon** hears this so it can appear on Fox. Warner: I don't trust Chang. We hear he is planning a book on 'The Coming US Collapse'. McConnell: You know, perhaps we have been too hasty on the president. I am confident that with a little time, he will bring Xi to agree on this in return for bringing down the tariff rates further. In the meantime, Mark, a more pressing matter. I have several inquiries... friends... acquaintances really... who are keen to understand the financial instruments involved. They have been asking how one gets a 'piece of the pie' when the public offering for our new 'American' TikTok hits the market. Warner: (A dry, knowing chuckle) Well, Mitch, I am glad to see our national security has a clear profit margin. The good news is, a lot of your friends' PACs*** have invested in the venture capital firms that are circling the deal. They are already on the inside. But if they are asking for the real inside track... tell them to get their checkbooks ready for the regulatory committee hearings. That is where the real 'pie' gets baked. Pompeo: Don't forget to count me in. My church can do better work if we can also get on the inside track. Everything I do is for my church! McConnell: Amen. I will see that the Don gets to hear this soon. Warner: You all know Don's just fulla himself... all sound, fury and horses, gentlemen. Before you go, make sure you leave my name out, please. *Commerce Secretary Howard Ludnick ** Gordon Chang, Fox News American Chinese commentator and author of 'The Coming Collapse of China' (2005). Well known for his hawkish rhetoric and continuing predictions on the imminent collapse of China. *** PAC – an abbreviation for 'political action committee': a committee formed by a special-interest group to raise money for their favourite political candidates. Lim Teck Ghee's Another Take is aimed at demystifying social orthodoxy. Comments: letters@
Straits Times
2 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Asian container liners set for profit drop as tariff truce ends
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A sharp drop in shipping rates could be on the cards later in 2025 as US tariffs kick in. Hong Kong - Asian container liners' profits might have just peaked. A sharp drop in shipping rates could be on the cards later in 2025 after tariff-driven demand in the second quarter pulled forward volumes from the traditional third-quarter peak season. Transpacific trade picked up during the US-China tariff truce with freight prices up sharply in June. As capacity recovered, smaller players like China United Lines even started resumed transpacific services after a period of absence. 'Container volume data seems to suggest that Chinese liners saw the greatest increase in demand during the tariff truce, compared to peers in Japan and South Korea, which suggests the former could potentially see a more robust quarter,' said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kenneth Loh. The rest of the year could be dampened by weaker trade growth as sentiment remains soft, while volumes brought forward could trigger deeper rate corrections, said Philip Damas, managing director and head of Supply Chain Advisors at Drewry Group. Earnings from Japanese liners are showing the peak might be over, with Mitsui OSK Lines failing to impress investors as US tariff threats impacted its container shipping business, and Nippon Yusen KK cutting full-year guidance on currency fluctuations and tariff turmoil. Chinese peers, meanwhile, might get one last cheer before a harsher reality sets in, as front-loading and strong exports in the first half could boost the likes of Cosco Shipping Holdings. But signs of slowing trade in China after record-breaking volumes signal the front-loading boost could start to peter out. A tariff reprieve merely postpones demand headwinds, HSBC analysts including Parash Jain wrote in a mid-July note. 'Even worse, the accelerated vessel delivery schedule will collide with potentially weakening demand, exacerbating overcapacity.' From the third quarter on, transpacific container traffic is set to decline with only a slight seasonal uptick seen in the second quarter of 2026, said Mr Damas. 'The container shipping market is fundamentally in a cyclical downturn, with temporary rate spikes driven only by disruptive shocks rather than demand-side strength.' Beyond mainland China and Japan, Taiwan's Evergreen Marine and Yang Ming Marine Transport could see full-year earnings fall by more than half as trade uncertainties weigh. In Europe, AP Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are also expected to see a continued slowdown. US-China trade talks are progressing with US President Donald Trump set to make the final call on maintaining a tariff truce with China. But even tariffs considered favourable could still weigh on rates and volumes, said Mr Damas, noting the revised 15 per cent tariff on Japan is still higher than a year ago and is likely to reduce Japanese containerised exports to the United States overall. 'For China, it is too early to say how adverse the impact of revised tariffs will be on container lines' according to Mr Damas. 'There are signs that China exports to regions other than the US are growing fast.' China's trade surplus reached record levels in the first six months of the year, as the country sought to diversity exports away from the US and tapped South-east Asia. Somewhat shielded from tariff rumblings, more high-growth markets such as intra-Asia trade lanes are displacing the transpacific in terms of global importance amid such uncertainties, according to BI's Mr Loh. Since this March, China-Asean export volumes are now double that of China-US, traditionally the most important route in container shipping. Drewry's Mr Damas is also seeing container lines shift China-built ships from US-connected routes to non-US routes, likely to avoid levies due to be imposed by the US administration from October. 'We expect that container lines will cancel many more sailings, increase demolitions of ships and take other measures to manage over-supply in the second half of this year,' he said. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
2 minutes ago
- Business Times
AMD's China concerns overshadow upbeat sales forecast for AI
[SAN FRANCISCO] Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the second-largest maker of artificial intelligence (AI) processors, said that the chipmaker's return to the crucial China market is difficult to predict, overshadowing a generally upbeat forecast for its AI business. As part of its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday (Aug 5), AMD declined to predict Chinese sales of the Instinct MI308, an AI processor that the company designed for the Asian country. The uncertainty weighed on the shares, sending them down about 5 per cent in extended trading. The Trump administration had barred shipments of such chips to China in April, though it reversed course last month, raising hopes that AMD and rival Nvidia could soon resume sales. China is the largest market for semiconductors, and the restrictions have threatened to erase billions of US dollars in total revenue from both companies. 'As our licenses are still under review, we are not including any MI308 revenue in our third-quarter guidance,' chief executive officer Lisa Su said on a conference call with analysts. Su was optimistic about the overall market for AI computing. 'Looking ahead, we see a clear path to scaling our AI business to tens of billions of US dollars in annual revenue,' she said during the call. The company is also ramping up its new MI350 lineup, she said. The shares had gained 44 per cent in 2025 through the close, making AMD the best-performing stock in the semiconductor industry. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Three months ago, AMD said that it was taking US$800 million in writedowns related to the Chinese export restrictions and warned that the curbs would cost it US$1.5 billion in revenue this year. Wall Street has been waiting for guidance on how that has changed, given the US policy shift. On the conference call, analysts repeatedly asked for a specific outlook on how much China AI revenue the company will get and when. They also tried to get Su to commit to long-term predictions for overall AI chip revenue. But Su and chief financial officer Jean Hu stuck to their message: While the executives are confident about the AI market, the specifics remain difficult to forecast. Earlier writedowns of Chinese inventory cannot be converted into revenue because they involved incomplete chips that will require further manufacturing work, they said. Despite the uncertainties, AMD's third-quarter revenue forecast easily cleared analysts' estimates. The sales will be about US$8.7 billion, the company said, compared with an average projection of US$8.37 billion. Second-quarter sales rose 32 per cent to US$7.7 billion, compared with a US$7.43 billion average estimate. Profit was 48 US cents a share, minus certain items. Analysts projected 49 US cents. Data centre sales gained 14 per cent to US$3.2 billion in the period. On average, analysts had predicted US$3.25 billion. Personal computer (PC)-related sales climbed 67 per cent to US$2.5 billion. The average prediction was US$2.56 billion. In the decade since Su took the top job at AMD, the company has become a key provider of technology across the computing industry. The ability to deliver competitive products, at a time when longtime nemesis Intel has stumbled, has brought a reversal of fortunes. AMD's market capitalisation is now roughly US$200 billion higher than Intel's. Still, neither company has matched the runaway success of Nvidia, whose dominance of AI accelerators has made it the world's most valuable business. AMD is the second-biggest provider of graphics chips, which form the basis for the AI accelerators that run in data centres. Its microprocessors, meanwhile, go head to head with Intel products in the markets for PCs and servers. BLOOMBERG
