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New Statesman
11-06-2025
- Business
- New Statesman
Has any Chancellor faced a challenge this daunting?
Photo by Aaron Favila - Pool/Getty Images Only one thing matters. Is this the moment of turnaround; the return to growth after so long? If not, and Rachel Reeves has miscalculated, we are plunging towards a very dark economic near future and darker period in our politics. In trying to look clearly ahead, the vast slew of numbers we got from the Chancellor today are almost no help at all. Borrowed multiple billions, to be spent over different periods running up to 2028 and not assessed by the Office of Budget Responsibility, are numb and obscure statistics for even experts to assess. What matters is how they are felt by ordinary voters, where, and when. Commonsense is with the Chancellor. If capital investment in more secure energy sources, better transport links, more apprenticeships, and cutting edge tech technologies cannot bring the economic growth that has been so fugitive – well then, nothing can. If day-to-day spending increases are not focussed mainly on health, in a country far too many of whose workers are off sick, and on education, in our country still undereducated, where else could growth come from? There Is No Alternative said an Iron Lady once. Of course, they're always is. But the neo-liberal alternative, which is to cut back investment and public spending in order to slash taxes, hoping that the market springs up so exuberantly that we cut through to riotous success, while trickle-down keeps the poor just about content enough, has been tried for so long, and failed for so long, it feels more like a discarded pagan religion than modern economics. Rachel Reeves is right. But that doesn't mean she will be successful or survive. This spending statement is about geography and timing as well as economics. Listening to her statement purely for place names was instructive – the relentless references to Scotland and Wales, and in England to… well, I noticed Derby, Sheffield, Cumbria, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Humberside, Blackpool, Sheffield, and Swindon… made it sound as if the Treasury team had spent the past months on a blurred, relentless criss-crossing coach tour of non-Metropolitan Britain. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe As, in a sense, it had. Andy Haldane, the former chief economist at the Bank of England, and one time author of the levelling up policy, told me with great passion this week that Reeves had no chance whatever of getting economic growth without utter concentration on the north of England and the Midlands. And indeed, the big transport investment announcements, for Merseyside, Birmingham, Tyne and Wear, Northern Powerhouse rail and (the sole Southern equivalent) the east-West rail boost around Milton Keynes to link Oxford and Cambridge, all come from the same thinking. as the Chancellor put it today, 'where are things are made and who makes them, matters.' This wa a strange fusion of her securoeconomics, and raw electoral calculation about where reform threatens Labour most. Adding the investments in AI, nuclear power and steel, and you begin to see the return of 'make it here' industrial policy. But her timing problem may be harder to resolve than the geographical one. The big capital investments will take many years to be completed, noticed and to turn the political mood. The British public is not feeling noticeably patient. For many voters, relatively small scale promises such as the extension of the £3 bus cap outside London, the work on school uniform costs, improvements to dilapidated piers and seafronts, and the expanded warms home plan, will be more noticeable than multi- billion-pound announcements. The promise to empty hotels of asylum seekers may have a bigger political impact, succeed or fail, than Sizewell C or the AI strategy. In this race for attention between short-term vulnerabilities and long-term strategy, conducted via a media so hostile, pessimistic and unforgiving, we cannot assume that the long-term will win. Those of us who believe that investment in infrastructure, essential services and training is the way forward, are still vulnerable to the short term shocks and insurgent politics of a demoralised country. Mel Stride, the Shadow Chancellor, replied with a speech of exuberant pessimism, accusing Reeves of completely losing control of the economy and being certain to return in the autumn with higher taxis after a 'cruel summer of speculation'. There is lots in the Tory analysis to take issue with – Labour have not invested in higher pay to buy off their 'trade union paymasters' but to bring essential help to public sector workers who have been ignored for far too long; it wasn't the 'Labour left' to blame for speculation about removing the two child cap, so much as the huge numbers of children thrown into destitution by the Tory austerity years. But Stride was right about one thing, for sure: Britain remains incredibly vulnerable to even the smallest changes of sentiment in the bond market and the Chancellor has left herself almost no spare capacity to respond to the next political or economic shock without raising taxes. And, as the Growth Commission's Ewen Stewart pointed out in his response to the review, 'the UK economy remains one of the G20 laggards on almost any time horizon, be it one, three, five, ten or twenty years.' The challenge facing this government is immense. It is no small part of the job of a modern British Chancellor to remain outwardly confident even in the toughest times. Reeves is turning out to be one of the toughest of tough cookies. It is in all our interests that she turns out to be shrewd as well. [See also: Laughing at the Populist Right is not a strategy] Related
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
US to open World Cup qualifying this fall against Dominican Republic and Nicaragua; 3rd team TBA
FILE - Germany celebrates with the trophy after winning the championship game of the Basketball World Cup against Serbia in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, file) The U.S. will open qualifying for the 2027 Basketball World Cup in November against the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and a third nation that will be determined later this summer by the results of a pre-qualifier tournament. The groups — and 68 of the 80 nations that are in the mix for the 31 open World Cup berths — were announced at Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday. Qatar is the only nation to have a World Cup spot assured; it has one because it will host the tournament in the summer of 2027. Advertisement The other 12 nations — eight from Europe, four from the Americas — that will play in qualifying will be determined this summer. 'The qualifiers are a special part of this journey," FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said. "The World Cup is not a three-week event. The World Cup is in reality more than two years, as you can see. ... This is the key moment on the way to Doha.' Germany is the defending champion, having topped Serbia for the gold medal at Manila in 2023. Canada beat the U.S. in that tournament for the bronze. 'When I started playing for the German national team in the late '90s, we would have never thought this was possible — that Germany will be World Cup champions," said German great Dirk Nowitzki, the longtime Dallas Mavericks star who brought the World Cup trophy onto the stage for the draw on Tuesday night. "I think that shows the growth of basketball in Germany and the rest of the world, in Europe, all over the place. It's been fun watching basketball grow the last two decades and more. And really, anything is possible in the world now in basketball.' Advertisement The Americans have won the tournament five times, but not since 2014 — after finishing a record-worst seventh at China in 2019 and missing the medal stand again at Manila in 2023. It has been a challenge for the U.S. to field its best possible team for the World Cups, given that most stars tend to prefer playing in the Olympics and many can't commit to a plan where they would be playing in a World Cup one summer and the Olympics the following year. 'I'm excited," USA Basketball great and 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinee Carmelo Anthony said. 'I think the world is excited. I think players are excited. I just think that intensity level, from what I've experienced in the previous World Cups, has shot up 10 times more than what it was before. I think the energy, I think that intentionality of the game, you see the passion of winning, not just from certain teams, you see it from all teams that are playing.' A breakdown of the qualifying by region: Americas Advertisement Teams: 16 for 7 World Cup spots. First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026. Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, November 2026, February 2027. Format: Four groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round. Group A: United States, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, TBD. Group B: Canada, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, TBD. Group C: Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, TBD. Group D: Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, TBD. (There are four teams still yet to qualify, and those teams will be determined at a pair of pre-qualifying tournaments in August.) Advertisement Europe Teams: 32 for 12 World Cup spots. First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026. Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, November 2026, February 2027. Format: Eight groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round. Group A: Spain, Georgia, TBD, TBD. Group B: Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, TBD. Group C: Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, TBD. Group D: Britain, Italy, Iceland, Lithuania. Group E: Germany, Israel, Cyprus, TBD. Group F: Latvia, Poland, TBD, TBD. Group G: France, Belgium, Finland, TBD. Advertisement Group H: Slovenia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Estonia. (There are eight teams still yet to qualify, and those teams will be determined at pre-qualifying tournaments this summer.) Asia Teams: 16 for 7 World Cup spots. (Qatar already qualified as host nation, and will be the eighth World Cup team from Asia.) First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026. Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, November 2026, February 2027. Format: Four groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round. Group A: Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Guam. Advertisement Group B: Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan. Group C: Iran, Jordan, Syria, Iraq. Group D: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar. Africa Teams: 16 for 5 World Cup spots First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026. Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, February 2027. Format: Four groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round. Group A: Cameroon, South Sudan, Libya, Cape Verde. Group B: Senegal, Congo, Madagascar, Ivory Coast. Group C: Nigeria, Rwanda, Guinea, Tunisia. Group D: Mali, Angola, Uganda, Egypt. ___ AP sports:
Japan Today
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
U.S. forces deploy anti-ship missiles in Philippines and stage live-fire drills near China hotspots
A U.S. Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, fires at a drone during a live-fire joint Philippines-U.S. military exercise at the Philippine Navy training camp in San Antonio, Zambales province, northern Philippines Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) By JIM GOMEZ AND JOEAL CALUPITAN The U.S. military has deployed an anti-ship missile launcher for the first time on Batan Island in the Philippines, as Marines unloaded the high-precision weapon on the northern tip of the archipelago, just a sea border away from Taiwan. U.S. and Philippine forces separately unleashed a barrage of missile and artillery fire that shot down several drones acting as hostile aircraft in live-fire drills on Sunday in Zambales province facing the disputed South China Sea. The mock battle scenarios over the weekend in the annual Balikatan exercises between the U.S. and its oldest treaty ally in Asia, the Philippines, not only simulated real-life war. They were also staged near major geopolitical hotspots, which have become delicate frontlines in the regional rivalry between China and the U.S. under former President Joe Biden and now Donald Trump. About 9,000 American and 5,000 Filipino military personnel took part in the combat maneuvers. At least 260 Australian personnel also joined, with smaller observer delegations from Japan and other countries. China has fiercely opposed the combat drills as provocative. Its aircraft carrier group sailed by a few days earlier near Batanes, where the U.S. military had deployed the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System on Saturday on Batan near the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan, a critical trade and military route that the U.S. and Chinese militaries have tried to gain strategic control of. "The introduction of NMESIS into the first island chain for sea denial, sea control is another step in our force design journey,' U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm told a small group of journalists, including from The Associated Press, who were invited to witness the transport of the missile system aboard a C-130 Air Force aircraft to Batanes. 'We're not here practicing a war plan,' said Cederholm. 'We're practicing for the defense of the Philippines.' The U.S. and the Philippines have denied the annual combat maneuvers — which both said would focus on a 'full-scale battle scenario' this year — were aimed at China or any adversary. The lines between what's mock and real, however, have been at times murky. Asked if U.S. forces would pull out the anti-ship missile system from Batanes after the combat drills, Cederholm did not reply clearly. 'We don't broadcast when we're going in, when we're coming out and how long things are going to stay,' Cederholm said. 'All I'll say is we're here at the invitation and with the support of the Philippine government.' "But I'm glad it's here,' he said. Additionally, China had repeatedly expressed its strong opposition to the U.S. Army deployment last year of a mid-range missile system in the Philippines for joint exercises. The U.S. Army launcher with at least 16 Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles was repositioned in January from an international airport in northern Laoag city to a northwestern coastal area facing the Scarborough Shoal, where China's forces have used water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers against Philippine coast guard and fishery ships and fired flares near Manila's patrol planes, a Philippine official then told The AP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authority to discuss the delicate issue publicly. Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), which places China within their target range. During the combat exercises from April 21 to May 9, American and Filipino forces will also practice jointly defending Philippine islands by repelling hostile forces attempting to assault from the sea in the western Philippine province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, and in northern Cagayan province near Batanes. Philippine Brig. Gen. Michael Logico said the combat exercises were crucial to strengthening deterrence against aggression in the Bashi Channel. "A peaceful region can only be maintained through a proper balance of strength between opposing forces until such time that … both countries decide that it's not going to be worth it to fight over this area,' Logico said. Early this month, the Chinese military staged largescale drills in the waters around Taiwan and renewed a warning to the self-ruled democracy not to seek independence. Chinese navy, air, ground and rocket forces staged the drills. The Philippines used to host two of the largest U.S. Navy and Air Force bases outside the American mainland. The bases were shut down in the early 1990s after the Philippine Senate rejected an extension, but American forces returned for large-scale combat exercises with Filipino troops under a 1999 agreement. Cederholm cited the tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel, along with Filipino scouts, buried in the vast American cemetery in Manila as proof of Washington's commitment to help defend the Philippines beyond the U.S. bases era in the Philippines. "We take our treaty obligations very seriously,' Cederholm said. Associated Press journalist Aaron Favila contributed to this report. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Forbes
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Perfect Game To Host Inaugural Pacific Baseball Championship Tourney
In this Sept. 21, 2019 photo, Sapporo Dome where the baseball matches will be held in Sapporo, ... More Japan. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Perfect Game had long considered holding an international tournament for baseball players 15 and under. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. That caused Perfect Game, the world's largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, to put those plans on hold. However, the Perfect Game Pacific Baseball Championship will finally come to fruition this summer. The eight-nation tournament will be held from Aug. 8-11 in Hokkaido, Japan. The United States will be part of a field that includes Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and one team to be announced. Pool play will be held at Chitose Baseball Stadium then the Sapporo Dome will be the venue for the semifinals and championship game. The Sapporo Dome is the home of the Nippon Ham Fights of Nippon Professional Baseball, the team that Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani played for before coming to the major leagues in 2018. The tournament 'represents and exciting new chapter for youth baseball, providing young athletes from diverse countries with a platform to compete at the highest level while gaining invaluable international experience,' Perfect Game chief executive officer Rob Ponger said. 'We look forward to witnessing the talent and passion of these rising stars.' Dustin Shindo, Perfect Game's liaison in the Pacific Rim, hopes the event will become the equivalent of the Little League World Series for players 15 and under. The LLWS involves players 12 and under and has been held since 1947 in South Williamsport, Pa. 'Obviously Little League has done a great job building up that entire event over many years,' Shindo said. 'We see that we can do something pretty similar and in doing so, the kids get a very unique experience. The same type of global experience where we get to meet players from other countries, we learn about their culture, we exchange baseball ideas, but at 15 years, which is a little older and more developed. So, I think it's going to deliver a pretty special experience.' The games will be televised nationally in Japan. They will also be broadcast in the United States on PerfectGame TV and the PGTV app. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have professional baseball leagues that include former major-league players. However, the Pacific Baseball Tournament will also include countries where the game is just beginning to gain popularity -- Indonesia and the Philippines. 'I think that is a reflection of the increase international baseball is having right now,' Shindo said. 'Outside of the Latin American countries, baseball really wasn't as big or developed. Certainly, Japan and South Korea are starting to catch up, but I think it's also spreading to other countries. 'I was actually surprised that we had Indonesia actually coming and am pretty excited about that. I think in the future we'll be able to hopefully add some other countries that you might not even expect as the event grows.
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Eid al-Fitr 2025 around the world
Volunteers prepare food in 183 large pots to make over 90,000 meals Photograph: Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images Worshippers after prayers on Sidi Bishr Street Photograph: Ayman Aref/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock People take part in a sack race at a park during celebrations Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP Girls pass a lime to each other during the celebration games Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP A boy's face is covered with powder during the celebration games Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP People gather for prayers outside of the Masjid at-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn Photograph: Stephanie Keith/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock Men hug after attending prayers at the Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek mosque Photograph: Arif Kartono/AFP/Getty Images An elder ties a young girl's hijab before prayers at Masjid Jamek Cina Muslim mosque in Klang Photograph:A child watches from above as prayers are held in the square Photograph: Jalal Morchidi/EPA People take selfies inside the Blue Mosque Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters Muslims gather at the Yaoundé Central mosque Photograph: Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu/Getty Images Chinese Muslims eat from a communal table following prayers at Nanxiapo mosque Photograph:Kashmiri children enjoy amusement rides Photograph:Devotees offer prayers at a mosque in Gujarat Photograph: Saurabh Sirohiya/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock A young boy buys firecrackers Photograph: Adil Abass/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock Prayers at Jama Masjid in the old quarter Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images A young girl attends a prayer service Photograph: Nadeem Khawer/EPA A child attends mass prayers at Baiturrahman mosque Photograph: Riska Munawarah/Reuters Muslims attending Eid al-Fitr prayers with a separation between men, on the right, and women, on the left, at Gumuk Pasir beach Photograph: Devi Rahman/AFP/Getty Images A man takes a picture next to a sign that reads: 'Welcome Eid' Photograph: Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters Children pose for a picture after the morning prayers Photograph: Abdullah Doma/AFP/Getty Images An aerial picture taken with a drone shows the Eid al-Fitr prayer, at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior Photograph: Mohammed Al Rifai/EPA Musicians play during an Eid al-Fitr rally Photograph: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters Adorned horses take part in the Eid Joy procession at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Photograph: Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Spectators gather to watch a firework display Photograph: Mohamed Afrah/AFP/Getty Images Women take a selfie after prayers at the Galle Face seafront Photograph: Chamila Karunarathne/EPA Prayers at the Imam Ali Shrine Photograph: Karar Essa/Anadolu/Getty Images A boy smiles for the camera after early morning prayers Photograph: Hussein Faleh/AFP/Getty Images Sunni Muslim worshippers exchange greetings after Eid al-Fitr prayers at the shrine of cleric Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Gailani Photograph: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters A Sunni Muslim child plays in the rain as she arrives for prayers at the shrine of cleric Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Gailani Photograph: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters People visit the tombs of relatives at the Wadi-al-Salam cemetery as is customary on the first day of Eid al-Fitr Photograph: Qassem Al-Kaabi/AFP/Getty Images Families talk to entertainers as they visit the heritage market at the Katara Cultural Village during celebrations Photograph: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images Morning prayers take place on a road near destroyed mosques after the earthquake Photograph: Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty Images Muslims attend the Eid al-Fitr prayer Photograph: Jehad Shelbak/Reuters Children play as they enjoy the festive atmosphere Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock
