Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by ekoh

USN's LCS dock at Butterworth Cointainer Terminal

ekoh — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 13:36:46 +0800

United States Navy's USS Tulsa (LCS-16) & USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32), both Independence-class littoral combat ships docked at North Butterworth Container Terminal, Penang today before continuing their voyage towards the middle east in support of the United States sea warfare operations.

Commissioned in year 2019 & 2023 respectively, the littoral combat ships are designed for operations in near-shore environments and are built for speed and flexibility to conduct missions that include mine countermeasures, surface warfare and maritime security patrols.

March 2026

Linglong outperformed Michelin in testing

ekoh — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:38:23 +0800

Chinese tire 50% cheaper than Michelin and Continental leaves people stunned after outperforming them in testing

Published on Mar 06, 2026 at 4:12 AM (UTC+4)
by Jason Fan

Last updated on Mar 05, 2026 at 4:14 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

A Chinese tire from Linglong has just shocked the industry after beating models from Michelin and Continental in a major braking test.

The unexpected result came from a preliminary round of the Auto Bild 50 tire braking shootout, where dozens of tires compete for a spot in the final evaluation.

Even seasoned testers were surprised to see the budget-friendly tire outperform several premium brands.

But before you head out to change your car’s tires, the full story is a lot more complicated.

There’s a catch with the Linglong tires

The tire in question is the Linglong Sport Master, and its standout performance came during wet braking tests.

According to the preliminary Auto Bild results, it recorded a stopping distance that was nearly two meters shorter than the next best tire in the test.

Even more surprising, the Linglong also managed to outperform the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 by roughly 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in wet braking.

In dry braking, it didn’t dominate quite as dramatically, but it still finished third overall, stopping about half a meter (1.6 feet) sooner than the Michelin tire.

That kind of performance was enough to turn heads, especially considering the price.

The Linglong tire reportedly retails for around €96 ($111), making it dramatically cheaper than many premium alternatives from established brands.

However, another test revealed where the tire’s impressive braking performance might come at a cost.

In the latest summer tire evaluation from Germany’s ADAC automotive association (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club), the Linglong once again delivered excellent braking results.

It tied with a Continental tire for the best wet-braking performance and finished second-best in dry braking.

But outside of straight-line stopping, the tire struggled.

ADAC’s testing found that the Linglong had the worst wear performance in the group.

According to their estimates, the Chinese tire would last about 16,000 miles before reaching the legal tread depth limit of 1.6 millimeters.

By comparison, the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 in the same test was projected to last around 36,000 miles.
A Chinese tire from LingLong has just shocked the industry after beating models from Michelin and Continental in a major braking test.
Goodyear

Chinese tire companies are improving really quickly

That difference has a big impact on long-term value.

Despite its lower purchase price, ADAC calculated that the Linglong tire would cost about €24 (around $28) per 1,000 miles of driving when wear is factored in.

Meanwhile, the more expensive Goodyear tire worked out to roughly €18 ($20.90) per 1,000 miles.

Test drivers also noted that Linglong’s handling characteristics weren’t as refined as its rivals.

As the tire heated up, the steering reportedly became less precise, and the car showed increasing oversteer.

Still, the result is notable for another reason.

Just a few years ago, Chinese tire manufacturers rarely competed with premium brands in independent tests.

Now, they’re beginning to challenge them in key performance categories.

It may not spell the end of premium tires just yet, but it’s certainly a sign that the competition is heating up.

How the world’s most extravagant party

ekoh — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:13:04 +0800

How the world’s most extravagant party set Iran on a path to ruin

Roasted peacocks stuffed with foie gras, an Australian butler and the Shah: Inside the 1971 desert feast that sowed the seeds of revolution.

Tony Wright
March 5, 2026

A gaudy assortment of trophies sat on a cabinet in the house where I met the woman who would become my wife.

There was a silver jewellery case, silver ashtrays, a silver cocktail shaker, a giant scrolled serving platter and a small cameo portraying a very self-satisfied looking fellow.

I was to learn this was the Shah of Iran.

The collection was much prized by my future wife’s stepfather.

He was a loud Welshman who was also butler to two of Australia’s governors-general, Sir Paul Hasluck and Sir John Kerr, before moving to The Lodge to manage the household of the new prime minister of the time, Malcolm Fraser, and later to Kerry Packer’s home.

Many of those so-called treasures sitting on the cabinet, he explained, had come from his attendance at the world’s most extravagant party.

An exaggeration? He had, after all, been trained in his craft at Buckingham Palace, where great banquets were commonplace.

He insisted, however, that nothing could begin to compare with the astonishing party thrown among the ruins of Iran’s ancient city, Persepolis, in 1971.

I recalled this as Israeli and US missiles smashed Iran this week and killed its latest batch of bloodthirsty leaders, the wider Middle East once more endured chaos, and the world – or that part of it that seeks insight beyond yesterday – wondered how did it all come to this?

Nothing, we know, occurs in a vacuum. The recent history of Iran – once the greatest empire in antiquity, called Persia by the Greeks, who were in awe of its power and learning – offers some enlightenment.

Back in 1971, over three days, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, King of Kings, Light of the Aryans and Shadow of the Almighty, hosted the leaders of the world – kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, heads of state and sheiks – to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian (Iranian) Empire.

A city of ultra-luxurious tent-like suites designed by French architects and interior decorators was raised on the desert for the guests.

Each, according to co-organiser Emil Real, had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, and a magnificently furnished salon that could accommodate 12 people. A tapestry – with a picture of the head of state who was staying there woven into it – hung on the wall of each tent.

Australia’s Sir Paul Hasluck and Lady Hasluck were among the guests, and naturally, they were accompanied by their butler, my about-to-be stepfather-in-law, who occupied one of the rooms in the tent set aside for them. Lady Hasluck, after all, like all female guests, was required to wear a new outfit for every one of the numerous events.

A new highway was laid to transport 600 guests in a fleet of brand-new limousines from the airport built for the occasion.

The setting came complete with a brand-new forest stocked with 50,000 songbirds – all of which reportedly died in the desert atmosphere within three days.

Unparalleled feasting and vast military parades continued from October 12 to 14.

Eighteen tonnes of food was flown in from Paris.

Maxim’s, the last word in opulent Parisian dining at the time, closed for two weeks, its staff flown to the tent city to prepare and serve what is still considered the most excessive feast in modern history.

Iranian military planes transported 150 tonnes of kitchen equipment from Paris.

No one went thirsty. Maxim’s’ official journal of the festivities, reported by Martin Beglinger of the Swiss Tages-Anzeiger magazine, listed 2500 bottles of champagne, 1000 bottles of Bordeaux and 1000 bottles of Burgundy, all packed in 410 crates and delivered to a purpose-dug cellar.

The main seven-course feast, in a vast tent, continued for more than five hours.

Fifty peacocks were roasted, stuffed with foie gras and presented in their plumage. Quail eggs were filled with caviar.

The first meat dish – saddle of lamb stuffed with champignons, roasted medium rare and garnished with tips of fresh asparagus – was served with one of the world’s greatest red wines, Château Lafite Rothschild, vintage 1945.

When it was all over, the Iranian hosts simply invited their guests to take home with them what they wished.

Persian carpets were rolled from the floors of the tents and silverware was thrown in, piled into limousines and stacked in the holds of aircraft for flights home across the world, no questions asked.

Which is where Sir Paul Hasluck’s butler’s collection of gaudy treasures came from.

Wildly divergent estimates of the cost of the Shah’s extravaganza veer all the way up to $170 million (in 1971 dollars).

Whatever it cost, such conspicuous consumption was stupendously insensitive in a nation whose ordinary citizens, the majority then struggling in rural areas, were suffering poverty and lack of hope, despite an oil boom.

Among the Shah’s most vociferous critics was a cleric named Ruhollah Khomeini, who had been exiled in 1964 for opposing the Shah’s program of modernising Iran.

From his base in Iraq, Khomeini was outraged at the opulence on display at the three-day party in Persepolis.

“Let them go all the way to Mars or beyond the Milky Way; they will still be deprived of true happiness, moral virtue, and spiritual advancement and be unable to solve their own social problems,” bellowed Khomeini to his supporters.

The Shah responded by demanding to know if he should serve heads of state “bread and radishes?”.

Eight years after the extravaganza, Khomeini and his followers ran the Shah – damned as an American puppet – out of Iran and into exile in the United States, transforming the Persian empire into a paranoid Islamic theocracy subjugating ordinary citizens.

When Khomeini died in 1989, he was replaced as Supreme Leader by the Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei.

He, too, had been an enemy of the Shah and had a long memory.

When the great party in the desert was under way in 1971, Khamenei was confined to a tiny cell in Qasr Jail, undergoing, as he described in his later memoir, Cell No. 14, intensive torture by the thugs of the Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, which the CIA and Israel’s Mossad had trained.

And so the world turns: the man tortured by the Shah’s brutes came to oversee a regime that also used pitiless torture and execution on the people he purported to lead, and sponsored terror across the world until he was assassinated this week.

While we ponder history’s ghastly and restless movements, it is worth considering how the Shah gained his power in the first place.

In 1953, as not much more than a figurehead, he found himself in conflict with the democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh.

Mosaddegh, sick of Iran’s oil wealth being siphoned off by foreign interests, nationalised the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

It was too much in those Cold War days for the British and the Americans.

The Shah, having failed to unseat Mosaddegh, fled overseas while the CIA and the UK’s MI6 intelligence agencies organised an Iranian coup.

Reaching deep into their dirty tricks supplies, the CIA and MI6 agents bribed officials, paid “demonstrators” to protest in the streets (causing 300 deaths) and spread propaganda painting Mosaddegh as a communist.

The Shah returned, Mosaddegh was jailed and American and British interests were once again secure under the Shah’s newly empowered and iron-fisted rule.

Though the Shah gradually modernised his nation, gave a measure of freedom to many citizens and, in his latter years of power, managed to reduce Iran’s poverty rate from 54 per cent to about 30 per cent – though wealth disparity remained acute – it was all too late after his naked arrogance led to the most extravagant party of all time.

Meanwhile, Australia tried to capitalise on Hasluck’s invitation to the party by inviting the Shah and his Empress Farah to visit Australia to talk about increasing Australia’s access to Iranian oil and selling Australia’s uranium to assist Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The Whitlam government signed a trade deal during the Shah’s visit in 1974, but the agreement barely got a head of steam before the Shah’s regime was swept away by Khomeini.

Now, a new US-sponsored regime change awaits, with the Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, offering himself as a candidate for new leader.

Unintended consequences, history teaches, are guaranteed.

And the butler’s collection of the Shah’s silverware? No idea. Consigned to history.

The war crimes case against Trump and Hegseth

ekoh — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 10:53:05 +0800

The war crimes case against Trump and Hegseth

Geoffrey Robertson
Human rights barrister and author

December 15, 2025 — 5.00am

On a day in early September, Pete Hegseth – the US Secretary of State for War (no longer for “Defence”) – ordered the firing of a precision-guided missile at a wooden boat offshore from Venezuela. This strike killed nine of its crew and left two injured and struggling to cling to the wreckage. Whether or not (as The Washington Post alleges) Hegseth said, “Kill them all”, the operational commander, Admiral Frank Bradley, admits to ordering a second strike intended to exterminate the two survivors. This, as all the legal textbooks make clear, is a war crime – the murder of a combatant who is hors de combat – unable to fight back.

Second strikes on shipwrecked mariners are among the most contemptible of war crimes and are universally recognised as such. The most influential precedent came in 1918 with the sinking of a Canadian hospital ship, the HMHS Llandovery Castle, by a German submarine, which then surfaced and machine-gunned the nurses and sailors as they scrambled for the lifeboats. A Leipzig court – although notorious for pro-German bias – nonetheless convicted and condemned the gunners, who must have known the order to fire was unlawful. There were several cases during World War II when Nazi submarine commanders and crew were hanged for killing those who survived their torpedoes.

Although Hegseth has shrugged his shoulders and claimed to be acting “in the fog of war”, that is no longer a good defence – especially when the smoke from the initial bombing had cleared and the two men could clearly be seen struggling to hold on to the helm of the boat. The second strike was intended to kill them, and the law of war was ignored because Hegseth and Bradley believed that, as American commanders, they were entitled to ignore it.

But Australians are not, and must now be wary of co-operation under ANZUS or AUKUS with American commanders who could draw them into complicity in the commission of war crimes. “First strikes” on fishing boats in the Caribbean have cost 87 lives so far and are not themselves lawful – whether guilty of cocaine-couriering (as the Pentagon claims) or merely innocent fishermen, as their bereaved relatives protest, it does not actually matter. In neither case is America fighting, other than in rhetoric, a “war”, no matter what form it takes in Trump’s imagination. He is, in fact, conducting an extraterritorial police action in which he is killing suspected drug traffickers – just as Rodrigo Duterte did when he was mayor of Davao City and had such suspects shot. Duterte is now in prison in The Hague awaiting trial for his crimes against humanity, while Trump is in the White House doing exactly the same thing: executing suspects without trial or even investigation.

This amorality in government conduct is most prominent in the peace deals that Trump thinks he is doing together with his realtor mate, Steve Witkoff. These two appeasers are behaving as if Nuremberg never happened. They turn a blind eye to war crimes, and their peace plan for Ukraine proposes a general amnesty for Russian fighters. This will protect them from prosecution for the barbaric executions of civilians in Bucha and the mass murder – by bombing – of hundreds of women and children in the theatre at Mariupol. Crimes against humanity are to be forgiven and forgotten. As for their peace plan for Gaza, all war crimes are to be overlooked and treated as if they had never taken place: the 70,000 (so far) victims of IDF bombing will fade away as mere “collateral damage”, or incidents justified by that all-purpose excuse, namely “self-defence”.

As for Trump’s and Hegseth’s attitude towards war criminals, one need look no further than Trump’s 2019 pardon of Lieutenant Clint Lorance, who had been convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 20 years for ordering the killing of two Afghans on a passing motorbike – men who posed no threat whatsoever to his platoon. His own soldiers reported him, ashamed to serve under a commander they regarded as a murderer. Yet a few years later, Hegseth – then a Fox News commentator – took it upon himself to recast Lorance not as a war criminal but as a “great warrior”.

Trump swiftly followed suit, hailing him as a “war hero” when overturning the conviction. It was an eerie reprise of Lieutenant William Calley, who was convicted and court-martialled of the murder of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese villagers – mostly elderly men, women, and children – at a village in My Lai half a century earlier, another officer who had done little more, in the eyes of his apologists, than kill people unlikely to fight on America’s side.

Once upon a time, it was Americans who imposed a form of morality on the world. Churchill wanted the Nazi leaders shot on sight, but Truman insisted on “definite findings of guilt, fairly arrived at” because extra-judicial executions “would not sit easily on the American conscience or be remembered by our children with pride”. America is now the enemy of fair trial and good conscience. And Trump is striving to destroy the International Criminal Court, the successor to Nuremberg. He can never be accorded the Nobel Peace Prize for the simple reason that there can be no peace without justice.

Geoffrey Robertson, KC, is the author of World of War Crimes, Eyeless in Gaza and Beyond, published this week.

Chicken Claypot House IPO in Nasdaq

ekoh — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 18:09:21 +0800

CCH Holdings shares open above IPO price in Nasdaq debut

Investing.com -- CCH Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:CCHH), a Malaysia-based specialty hotpot restaurant chain, began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market Friday at $5.32 per share, exceeding its initial public offering price of $4.00 per share.

The company priced its IPO of 1,250,000 ordinary shares at $4.00 per share, generating gross proceeds of $5 million before underwriting discounts and expenses.

CCH Holdings plans to use the proceeds for restaurant network expansion, strategic investments or acquisitions, brand building and marketing, diversification of food ingredient and condiment products, and general corporate purposes.

Founded in 2015 in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, the company operates specialty hotpot restaurants under two brands: Chick Chicken Claypot House for chicken hotpot and Zi Wei Yuan for fish head hotpot. The business model includes both company-owned and franchised restaurant outlets.

The company has granted underwriters a 45-day over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 187,500 shares at the offering price less underwriting fees. Cathay Securities, Inc. is serving as the representative of the underwriters for the offering.

CCH Holdings LTD Rings the Closing Bell

CCH Holdings LTD (Nasdaq: CCHH), one of Malaysia’s leading specialty hotpot restaurant groups known for its signature brands – including the popular Chicken Claypot House and well-loved Zi Wei Yuan fish head hotpot, visits the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York.

In honor of the occasion, Mr Johnny Goh, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, and Mr Steve Goh, Chief Operating Officer & Director, ring the Closing Bell.

https://www.nasdaq.com/events/cch-holdings-...gs-closing-bell

Tejas fighter jet crashes at Dubai Air Show

ekoh — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 19:11:34 +0800

Tejas fighter jet crashes at Dubai Air Show, pilot feared dead

Tejas fighter jet crashed during a demonstration at the Dubai Air Show at on Friday (November 21) afternoon.

Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed that the Indian HAL Tejas, a combat aircraft used by the force, crashed around 2:10 pm, Dubai time, while flying a demonstration flight for a crowd.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the pilot ejected, or if anyone was injured in the incident, news agency The Associated Press (AP) reported.

Black smoke rose over the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central as a crowd of spectators watched, and sirens sounded after the crash.

The city-state’s second airport was hosting the biennial Dubai Air Show, which has seen major aircraft orders by both the long-haul carrier Emirates and its lower-cost sister airline FlyDubai.

The event is hosting more than 1,500 exhibitors and over 148,000 industry professionals from 150 countries, including major aerospace manufacturers such as Bombardier, Dassault Aviation, Embraer, Thales, Airbus, Lockheed Martin and Calidus.

In September, the Ministry of Defence signed a ₹62,370 crore contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to supply 97 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets, including 68 single-seater and 29 twin-seater trainer variants. According to HAL officials, production of the LCA Mk-1A is gaining pace, with the company receiving four GE-404 jet engines from General Electric, with 12 expected by the end of the fiscal year.

This is a breaking story, more to follow.

US vetoes UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire

ekoh — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 14:08:00 +0800

US vetoes UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire demand for sixth time

By Lorraine Mallinder
Published On 18 Sep 202518 Sep 2025

The United States vetoed a crucial United Nations Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, as Israel expanded its scorched-earth offensive on Gaza City.

The resolution, approved by 14 of the 15 members of the council on Thursday, called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties”, the release of all captives held by Hamas and other groups, and a lifting of restrictions on humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Drafted by the council’s 10 elected members, the resolution went further than previous iterations to highlight what diplomats called the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza after nearly two years of war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 65,141 people, according to Palestinian health officials.

As expected, the United States vetoed the effort. “US opposition to this resolution will come as no surprise,” said Morgan Ortagus, US deputy special envoy to the Middle East.

“It fails to condemn Hamas or recognise Israel’s right to defend itself, and it wrongly legitimises the false narratives benefitting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this council.”

Ortagus added that the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s official declaration of famine in the enclave last month had employed “flawed methodology”, hailing the work of the heavily militarised GHF hubs, where so many Palestinians have been killed while seeking food for their families.

After the vote, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said the US veto was “deeply regrettable” and had prevented “the Security Council from playing its rightful role in the face of these atrocities and to protect civilians in the face of genocide”

“Unfortunately, the Council remains silent at a great cost for its credibility and authority,” Mansour added. “This demonstrates that when it comes to atrocity crimes, the use of the veto should simply not be allowed.”

Algerian Ambassador to the UN Amar Bendjama also had strong words. “Palestinian brothers, Palestinian sisters, forgive us,” he said.

“Forgive us, because the world speaks of rights, but denies them to Palestinians. Forgive us because our efforts, our sincere efforts, shattered against this wall of rejection.”

The war in Gaza had, he noted, killed more than 18,000 children and 12,000 women, killed more than 1,400 doctors and nurses, and more than 250 journalists. Israel, he added, was “immune”, not because of international law, but because of the “bias of the international system”.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said that Israel needed “no justification” for its war on Gaza. He thanked Ortagus for exercising the US veto.

Reporting from New York, James Bays, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor, said the vote was a “sombre” moment on the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, with many countries championing “multilateral diplomacy”, while the US insisted on taking an “America-first view of the world”.

“[It is] not a strong advocate … of the United Nations, cutting back much of the humanitarian funding to this organisation,” he said, noting how this had brought the organisation to one of the lowest points in its 80-year history.
‘Lost generation’

With its ground offensive on Gaza City, which started Tuesday, Israel appears to be intent on killing any hopes of a ceasefire.

The Israeli military, which has said multiple times that it wants to definitively crush Hamas, has not given a specific timeline for the offensive, though there are indications that it could take months.

On Tuesday, a team of independent experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, with the intent to “destroy” the Palestinians.

Before Thursday’s vote, Israel’s Danon had posted on X that the resolution would “not free the hostages nor bring security”.

Israel, he said, would “continue to fight Hamas and protect its citizens, even if the Security Council prefers to turn a blind eye to the terror”.

Danish Ambassador to the UN Christina Markus Lassen underlined the gravity of Israel’s man-made famine. “Desperate mothers are forced to boil leaves to feed their children, fathers search the rubble for sustenance,” she said.

“People are killed as they try to get food to survive. A generation risks being lost not only to war, but to hunger and despair.”

TRUMP CAUGHT CHEATING AT GOLF AGAIN

ekoh — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 17:18:33 +0800

Donald Trump caught cheating at golf in Scotland – and not for the first time

Archie Starkey 22 hours ago

Donald Trump’s golf trip to Scotland over the weekend has faced severe backlash, and now footage has emerged of the U.S. President cheating on the golf course.

There has been widespread protest against Trump’s presence in Aberdeenshire and the subsequent cost of the mass-scale security operation.

Now, protesters have something to laugh about, or perhaps be angered by, after viral video footage has spread of the President’s caddy dropping him a new golf ball at Turnberry.

And this isn’t the first indication that Trump has cheated while on the golf course, raising the question – if you’re going to bring such fuss and cost to a small nation, surely you at least play their heralded sport with due integrity?

The likely partially public-funded security entourage has been reported as the most costly in Scotland since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, with 5,000 officers, the military present and dozens of private vehicles for Trump.

The official reason for the President’s ‘unofficial’ visit was to open his new MacLeod Course at Trump International Golf Links, named after his mother and his latest links course in the United Kingdom.
Donald Trump was caught cheating on his Scotland visit

Trump is well known for his love of golf, the Scottish history and heritage of the game. But it’s fair to say the President added fuel to his critics’ fire with clear cheating as his caddy in Scotland tried to secretly drop him a ball after he, presumably, lost his last one.

The viral video footage backs up the recurring suggestion that Trump lacks integrity on the course, with many claiming his Championship wins and a self-proclaimed 2.8 handicap to be completely farcical.

And footage from his weekend round will only cause questions over his stellar golfing record to grow…

While we can’t be certain Trump cheated, the evidence looks rather stark and follows a long trend of videos highlighting the most powerful man in the world bending the traditional rules of golf in ways that he sees fit.

Unfortunately, the video footage of Trump’s lapses of golfing integrity spans further than his trip to Scotland over the weekend, with this incident the latest of a series of similar events.
The President gives his putt a helping hand

We all know that feeling of frustration when leaving a makeable putt agonisingly short of the pin, and in moments like this, you stop, take a breath, knock it in and move swiftly onto the next hole.

Footage emerged a few years ago of Trump appearing to guide a putt in with a single hand and then use his leading hand to guide the ball into the cup.

Messing around on the green can often happen when the scorecard balloons or Mother Golf just has her say, but the cameras are always on the President – maybe this wasn’t his smartest move…

A swing and a miss – and in the pocket

The U.S. President has long been an admirer of the breakaway LIV Golf Tour, with LIV Miami held annually at one of his many golf courses globally – Trump National Doral.

He’s also followed the LIV Tour regularly, travelling to a range of their new events and even trying his hand on the LIV-branded courses and Pro-Ams.

While Trump has celebrated the new LIV venues, another controversial moment occurred at a tee box when the President stepped up for a booming drive and did what most amateur golfers have embarrassingly experienced, a big old swing and a miss.

Except, the President didn’t have the customary chuckle and respectful second attempt, he slyly picked up his tee and golf ball and walked off as if no one had noticed, rather than making amends for his failed tee shot with the world watching.

And the evidence is equally damning…

[YOUTUBE]NqftMCXZ2qU[/YOUTUBE]

Trump accuses Obama committing “treason”

ekoh — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 13:34:41 +0800

Barack Obama rejects Donald Trump's unsubstantiated accusations of treason

Topic:World Politics

3h ago

Barack Obama has dismissed Donald Trump's allegation he has committed treason, following the US president accusing him without evidence of leading an effort undermine his 2016 election campaign.

A spokesperson for the former president took the unusual step of issuing a statement denouncing Mr Trump's claims, saying "these bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction".

Mr Trump's comments rehashed his longstanding grievances over investigations into alleged Russian interference in the election — claims that shadowed much of his first term.

On Tuesday the president lashed out following a new report from his intelligence director that aimed to cast doubt on the Senate intelligence committee's 2020 findings that Russia worked to influence the 2016 election outcome but did not successfully manipulate any votes.

"It's time to go after people," Mr Trump said from the Oval Office.

While Mr Trump has frequently attacked Mr Obama by name, the Republican president has not, since returning to office in January, previously gone this far in pointing the finger at his Democratic predecessor with allegations of criminal action.

During remarks in the Oval Office, Mr Trump leapt on comments from his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, in which she threatened to refer Obama administration officials to the Justice Department for prosecution over an intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

She declassified documents and said the information she was releasing showed top officials' "treasonous conspiracy" to undermine Mr Trump in 2016, claims that Democrats called false and politically motivated.

"It's there, he's guilty. This was treason," Mr Trump said on Tuesday, though he offered no proof of his claims.

"They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody's ever imagined, even in other countries."

An assessment by the US intelligence community published in January 2017 concluded that Russia, using social media disinformation, hacking and Russian bot farms, sought to damage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign and bolster Mr Trump.

The assessment determined that the actual impact was likely limited and showed no evidence that Moscow's efforts actually changed voting outcomes.

A 2020 bipartisan report by the Senate intelligence committee found Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort, the WikiLeaks website and others to try to influence the 2016 election to help Mr Trump's campaign.

"Nothing in the document issued last week [by Gabbard] undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesperson for Mr Obama, said in a statement.
Trump under pressure

Mr Trump, who has a history of promoting false conspiracy theories, has frequently denounced the assessments of Russian interference attempts as a "hoax".

In recent days, Mr Trump reposted on his Truth Social account a fake video showing Mr Obama being arrested in handcuffs in the Oval Office.

Mr Trump has been seeking to divert attention to other issues after coming under pressure from his conservative base to release more information about Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Backers of conspiracy theories about Epstein have urged Mr Trump, who socialised with the disgraced financier during the 1990s and early 2000s, to release investigative files related to the case.

When asked in the Oval Office about Epstein, Mr Trump quickly pivoted into an attack on Mr Obama and Ms Clinton.

"The witch-hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold," Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump suggested action would be taken against Obama and his former officials, calling the Russia investigation a treasonous act and the former president guilty of "trying to lead a coup".

"It's time to start, after what they did to me, and whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people. Obama has been caught directly," he said.

Since returning to office, Mr Trump has castigated his political opponents, who he says weaponised the federal government against him and his allies for the 2021 attack on the US Capitol and his handling of classified materials after his first term.
Attacks on predecessors

Mr Obama has long been a target for Mr Trump. In 2011 he accused the-president of not being born in the United States, prompting Mr Obama to release a copy of his birth certificate.

In recent months, Mr Trump has rarely held back in his rhetorical broadsides against his two Democratic predecessors in a way all but unprecedented in modern times.

He launched an investigation after accusing former president Joe Biden and his staff, without evidence, of a "conspiracy" to use an autopen, an automated device that replicates a person's signature, to sign sensitive documents on the president's behalf. Mr Biden has rejected the claim as false and "ridiculous".

AP/Reuters

Thai woman arrested for ‘seducing’ monks

ekoh — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 20:15:43 +0800

Thai woman arrested for blackmailing monks with thousands of videos after sex

Jiraporn Sricham and Koh Ewe
BBC News

Thai police have arrested a woman who allegedly had sexual relations with monks, and then used photos and videos of the acts to extort money from them.

The woman, who police are calling "Ms Golf", had sex with at least nine monks, police said at a press conference on Tuesday. They believe she received around 385 million baht ($11.9m; £8.8m) over the past three years.

Investigators who searched her house found more than 80,000 photos and videos used to blackmail the monks, the police spokesman said.

This scandal is the latest to rock Thailand's much revered Buddhist institution, which in recent years has been plagued with allegations of monks engaging in sex offences and drug trafficking.

Police said the case first came to their attention in mid-June, when they learned that an abbot in Bangkok had suddenly left the monkhood after being extorted by a woman.

Ms Golf "had a relationship" with the monk in May 2024, police said. She later claimed to have his baby and demanded child support of more than seven million baht, they added.

Authorities then discovered that other monks had similarly transferred money to Ms Golf - which police called her "modus operandi".

Police added they found that nearly all of the money has been withdrawn and some of it had been used for online gambling.

When investigators searched Ms Golf's house earlier this month, they seized her phones and found more than 80,000 photos and videos that she had used to blackmail the monks, police said.

She is facing multiple charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.

The police have also opened a hotline for people to report "misbehaving monks".

The scandal has prompted the Sangha Supreme Council - the governing body for Thai Buddhism - to say it will form a special committee to review monastic regulations.

The government is also pushing for harsher penalties - including fines and jail time - for monks who breach the monastic code.

This week, Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn revoked a royal command he had issued in June conferring higher titles to 81 monks. He cited the recent cases of misconduct, which he said have "caused Buddhists to suffer greatly in their minds".

In Thailand, where more than 90% of the population identify as Buddhist, monks are highly revered. Many Thai men also choose to temporarily ordain as monks to accumulate good karma.

But the Buddhist institution has been plagued by scandals in the recent past.

Wirapol Sukphol, a jet-setting monk known for his lavish lifestyle, made international headlines in 2017 when he was charged with sex offences, fraud and money laundering. And in 2022, a temple in the northern province of Phetchabun was left without any monks after all four of its monks were arrested in a drug raid and were disrobed.

Despite years of criticism about disciplinary and accountability issues within the Thai Sangha, many say there has been little real change in the centuries-old institution. A big part of the problem lies with its strict hierarchy, say experts.

"It is an authoritarian system similar to the Thai bureaucracy where senior monks are like high-ranking officials and junior monks are their subordinates," religious scholar Suraphot Thaweesak told BBC Thai. "When they see something inappropriate, they do not dare to speak up because it is very easy to be kicked out of the temple."

But some see ongoing investigations, both by the police and the Sangha council, as a key step to push ahead with much-needed reform.

"The important thing is to reveal the truth so that the public can ease their doubts about the innocence of the Sangha," said Prakirati Satasut, a sociology scholar at Bangkok's Thammasat University.

"It depends on whether the Supreme Sangha Council will cut off some arms and legs to save the organization."

We can’t afford to repeat the Iraq War lie

ekoh — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:45:00 +0800

Few believe Iran has nuclear weapons. We can’t afford to repeat the Iraq War lie

Amin Saikal
Professor of Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Islamic Studies

June 19, 2025 — 3.41pm

The Middle East is once again in danger of exploding, with massive global geopolitical and economic implications. The leader who bears most responsibility for this is undoubtedly Benjamin Netanyahu.

For years, the Israeli prime minister has doggedly pursued the demise of the Iranian Islamic regime in line with his power interests and his vision of Israel’s security requirements. His stated goal has long been to bring down the “Islamic empire in Iran”, “expand the Abraham Accords with Arabs” and once and for all end the Palestinians’ aspirations for an independent state. As part of this Middle East master plan, he has also zeroed in on Iran’s nuclear program.

But let’s not forget: No concrete evidence exists that Iran has been manufacturing nuclear weapons. In a congressional hearing earlier this year, the United States’ Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed this fact. And earlier this week, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that “on the basis of our evaluation, we came to the conclusion that we could not affirm that there is any systematic effort in Iran to manufacture a nuclear weapon”.

Despite this, Netanyahu continues to insist that Iran is on course to produce nuclear weapons within weeks, and the US is teetering on entering the war in Israel’s support.

Meanwhile, he omits the fact that Israel itself has its own nuclear program.

Though Israel has never formally confirmed or denied its nuclear arsenal, its national Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1952. By 1958, researchers believe the government had established a weapons development site in Dimona, and American intelligence from the 1960s stated that there was a reprocessing plant for plutonium production at the site.
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As the Federation of American Scientists wrote in 2007, “the existence of Israeli nuclear weapons is a ‘public secret’ by now due to the declassification of large numbers of formerly highly classified US government documents which show that the United States by 1975 was convinced that Israel had nuclear weapons”.

According to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Israel today has at least 90 nuclear warheads and enough material to produce hundreds more. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has also found that of the 30 countries capable of developing nuclear weapons, Israel is among nine that possess them (Russia, US, China, France, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea).

It is also one of just five countries that is not a signatory to the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (along with North Korea, India, Pakistan and South Sudan).

Thus, Israel’s war with Iran is more about regime change than it is about limiting Iran’s capacity to produce nuclear weapons.

The Iranian nuclear program began in the early 1970s with Western backing under the Shah’s pro-Western monarchy. Following the 1978-79 revolution, and locked in lasting hostility with the US and Israel, the Islamic regime expanded the program for both peaceful civilian purposes and deterrent purposes.

Though the program initially had a secret military component, that was halted in 2003. At the same time, Iran’s powerful Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared a nuclear bomb as “un-Islamic” with no place in Iran’s defence doctrine.

On this basis, then-US-president Barack Obama and his moderate Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, hammered out the landmark multilateral Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015, which was also signed by Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. In return for lifting US-led sanctions on Iran, the deal limited Iran’s uranium enrichment to 3.7 per cent for civilian use.
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Despite the agreement working well for the better part of a decade and Iran honouring its commitment with signatories, Netanyahu called it “the worst deal of the century” and did not relent in his opposition. In 2016, he found his moment with the election of Donald Trump.

To the chagrin of all other signatories, Trump withdrew the US from the deal in May 2018, rendering the agreement virtually defunct. Tehran retaliated by installing more advanced centrifuges and accelerating uranium enrichment. It was allowed to do so under a snap-back clause of the agreement, and as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Ironically, as a treaty member, Iran has allowed International Atomic Energy Agency inspections (though sometimes with restrictions) – something that Israel has never done.

Since mid-April, talks between Iran and the US had been taking place in a desperate bid to try to strike a new nuclear deal between the two nations. In attacking Iran and igniting a very costly war for both sides, Netanyahu has successfully sabotaged the process, with him and his extremist ministers successfully throwing their weight around and using the nuclear issue as a smokescreen for regime change.

Though Trump has criticised his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, for waging war in Iraq with no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, he now appears to be on board with taking eerily similar steps in Iran.
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If Trump decides to directly involve the US in another Middle East war without any concrete evidence, he would repeat Bush’s mistake. Russia and China – two strategic partners of Iran – have condemned Israel for starting the war and warned the US against involvement.

Once again, the Middle East is on the precipice of a huge disaster, with the balance of peace all hanging on Trump’s decisions. The region has seen too many conflicts since World War II; none have proved fruitful. The way forward is surely diplomacy, rather that a repeat of the fallacy of the Iraq War.

Amin Saikal is emeritus professor at ANU, adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia, Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Fellow at Victoria University, and author of Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic (2021).

Tourist breaks crystal-studded 'Van Gogh' chair

ekoh — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 13:49:40 +0800

‘Idiot’ tourists strike again: The moment a man sits on the Van Gogh chair and breaks it
June 15, 2025 • 4:23am

An Italian art museum has released CCTV footage of the moment a tourist sits on a crystal-studded Van Gogh chair exhibit in an Italian art gallery - before it breaks underneath him.

In an Instagram post, Palazzo Maffei in Verona, Italy, said it was “Every museum's nightmare come true”.

“While waiting for the security guards to leave, some visitors took a ‘spectacular’ photo. The result? An irresponsible gesture caused serious damage to Nicola Bolla's ‘Van Gogh’ chair, a very delicate work, entirely covered in hundreds of Swarovski crystals,” the Museum wrote.

“For days we didn't know if it would be possible to restore it. But we did it. We are sharing this episode not only for the record, but to start a real awareness campaign on the value of art and the respect it deserves. A heartfelt thanks goes to the police, our security department and the restorers, whose precious work allowed the work to be recovered. And a special thanks to all of you who walk through the museum's rooms every day with care, attention and wonder. Because art is not just to be seen. It is to be loved. It is to be protected.”

It was not clear whether the pair were found following the incident.

Tourists behaving badly in Italy

Tourists have a habit of doing silly things in Italy.

Skinny dippers in the Trevi Fountain in Rome were called “idiots” by Italy’s then-minister of the interior, the Daily Mail reports.

A New Zealander was fined $1000 for jumping into the fountain earlier this year. Alcohol was definitely involved, he said.

In 2013, an American man accidentally broke the finger off a 600-year-old statue at a museum in Florence, Italy.

In 2023, a visitor was filmed carving his fiancée’s name into Rome’s Colosseum.

In 2022, two American tourists were fined €400 (NZ$740) each for throwing electric scooters down Rome's Spanish Steps. Just a couple of weeks earlier, a Saudi Arabian visitor drove a Maserati down the steps.

In another incident, two tourists were fined €800 (NZ$1480) after they were caught drinking inside the Colosseum late at night.

Rome has “urban decorum” legislation, which includes bans on things like people eating, drinking or sitting at historic fountains– and tourists who break the rules will be fined.
- Stuff

Trump blocks Harvard’s ability to enroll

ekoh — Fri, 23 May 2025 03:05:02 +0800

Trump administration blocks Harvard’s ability to enroll international students
By Nate Raymond and Ted Hesson
May 23, 2025

BOSTON, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on Thursday, and is forcing existing students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the department to terminate the Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, the department said in a statement. Noem accused the university of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party."

Harvard said the Trump administration move - which affects thousands of students - was illegal and amounted to retaliation.
The clampdown on foreign students marks a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign against the elite Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has emerged as one of Trump's most prominent institutional targets. The move comes after Harvard refused to provide information that Noem had previously demanded about some foreign student visa holders who attend the university, the department said.
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments," Noem said in a statement.

Harvard rejected the allegations and pledged to support foreign students.
“The government’s action is unlawful," the university said in a statement. "This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
The university said it was "fully committed" to educating foreign students and was working on producing guidance for affected students.
Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students in the 2024-2025 school year, amounting to 27% of its total enrollment, according to university statistics.
Trump, a Republican, has undertaken an extraordinary effort to revamp private colleges and schools across the U.S. that he says foster anti-American, Marxist and "radical left" ideologies. He has criticized Harvard in particular for hiring prominent Democrats to teaching or leadership positions.

Walt Disney Company Announces Disneyland Abu Dhabi

ekoh — Thu, 08 May 2025 01:39:56 +0800

The Walt Disney Company Announces Disneyland Abu Dhabi
May 7, 2025

The Walt Disney Company announced that it will be making its seventh theme park and resort destination on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The announcement marked an agreement to create a new Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The new resort will be a waterfront resort and will be located on Yas Island. This is a world-class destination already for entertainment and leisure. This will connect travelers from the Middle East, Africa, India, Asia, Europe, and beyond. This new Disney destination promises to combine Disney’s iconic stories, characters, and attractions with the vibrant culture, stunning shorelines, and breathtaking architecture that is found in Abu Dhabi. Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati.” This is a statement that is similar to what was said when building Shanghai Disney Resort.

Along with the announcement, some concept art was shared for the new park and resort. While it does not show any specifics, it does provide a feel that is beautiful and modern. Take a look at the concept art for the park here:

This feeling is reinforced by another piece of artwork that shows its centerpiece, traditionally a castle, with what appears to be Tinker Bell flying over the top. This is a classic look for Disney castles through the years that dates back to The Wonderful World of Disney. Tinker Bell also flew around and introduced Disneyland during The Disneyland Story, which introduced the park to the world.

“Abu Dhabi is a place where heritage meets innovation, where we preserve our past while designing the future,” His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman at Miral, said. “The collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Disney demonstrates the remarkable results of combining visionary leadership and creative excellence. What we are creating with Disney in Abu Dhabi is a whole new world of imagination — an experience that will inspire generations across the region and the world, creating magical moments and memories that families will treasure forever. Through the development of unique attractions and experiences, Abu Dhabi continues to be a destination of choice for the world.”

The new theme park and resort will be fully developed and built by Miral. Disney and Walt Disney Imagineering will lead the creative design and provide operational oversight to ensure the full Disney experience that guests have come to know and love. MIral, which has developed several family entertainment destinations on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with American and European brands, will operate the resort. This is similar to how Tokyo Disney Resort is owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company in Japan.

“This is a thrilling moment for our company as we announce plans to build an exciting Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose culture is rich with an appreciation of the arts and creativity,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “As our seventh theme park destination, it will rise from this land in spectacular fashion, blending contemporary architecture with cutting edge technology to offer guests deeply immersive entertainment experiences in unique and modern ways. Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati – an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment at this crossroads of the world that will bring to life our timeless characters and stories in many new ways and will become a source of joy and inspiration for the people of this vast region to enjoy for generations to come.”

The UAE is within four hours by flight to a third of the world’s population and is a significant gateway for tourism. It is also the home of the largest global airline hub in the world. 120 million passengers travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.

“This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences. “Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio. The location of our park is incredibly unique – anchored by a beautiful waterfront – which will allow us to tell our stories in completely new ways. This project will reach guests in a whole new part of the world, welcoming more families to experience Disney than ever before. Ultimately, it will be a celebration of what’s possible when creativity and progress come together.”

“Bringing a Disney theme park resort to Yas Island marks a historic milestone in our journey to further advance the island’s position as a global destination for exceptional entertainment and leisure,” said Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, Group CEO, Miral. “Together, we are creating a place of boundless innovation, where the vision of our leadership continues to inspire the world.” The development of unique experiences will support sustained economic growth in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Once the new Disneyland Abu Dhabi is completed, it will offer signature Disney entertainment, themed accommodations, unique dining and retail experiences, and storytelling. This will all be done in a way that celebrates the history and heritage of Disney, along with the futuristic and cultural essence of Abu Dhabi.

The creation of this new park and resort for Disney will provide the possibility for guests to visit a Disney theme park in a region of the world that hasn’t been close to many fans before. It will also expand the company’s footprint for where they can expand their fan base for many generations to come. If Tokyo Disney Resort is any insight as to how this could work, there are plenty of reasons to be excited! Daps Magic will continue to follow this story closely and provide updates as they become available!

Walmart has notified Chinese suppliers

ekoh — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 01:20:21 +0800

Walmart has notified Chinese suppliers to resume shipping goods - report

Apr 27, 2025, 05:51 GMT+8

Last week, major US retailers including Walmart, Target and Home Depot met with the White House. Shortly afterwards, the stock market turned around, leading to an extremely strong week in the S&P 500.

Today, Hong Kong based Ming Pao (a reputable newspaper) reports from the Canton Fair, which is an import/export fair and reported that:

Walmart has already notified Chinese suppliers to resume shipping goods that had been temporarily suspended due to the tariff war
several exporters independently mentioned it
all tariffs are paid by the buyer (Americans)
A ceramics shipper said only seasonal products are being resumed

It's hard to shake the sense that many people were trading last week on inside information, or at least a strong belief that the White House will substantially ease tariffs. If that's the case, we could see some 'sell the fact' action if/when it's announced.

Trump has already lost his trade war against China

ekoh — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:43:11 +0800

Trump has already lost his trade war against China

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
April 18, 2025 — 5.00am

America has misjudged China horribly before. Hyperpower hubris turned the Korean War into a direct conflict between US and Chinese troops.

President Harry Truman thought he had free licence to hurl parts of the US Eighth Army across the 38th parallel in October 1950 and roll back the whole of communist North Korea. Advisers assured him that the infant regime of Mao Zedong was too weak to intervene, and too ill-equipped to make much difference if it dared. It was the worst failure of US strategic analysis in modern times.

US-led forces faced rout, encirclement and total humiliation as 200,000 Chinese troops poured across the Yalu River.

We now know how close Truman came to using atomic weapons. Nine Mark IV nuclear capsules were sent to the Ninth Bomb Group in Okinawa. Truman signed an order to use them against Chinese targets on April 6, 1951, if need arose. General Douglas MacArthur later said he proposed dropping 30 to 50 cobalt H-bombs to create a radioactive belt across the neck of Manchuria, calling his plan a “cinch”.

The Chinese do not call it the Korean War. They call it the “Anti-American War”. It is now best known to young Chinese through the Battle of Triangle Hill – Shangganling – a 1950s film about a unit of the 15th Corps that resisted waves of assault for 42 days, forcing the US to retreat.

That film has been the rallying cry in China over the past week, trumpeted by Uncle Ming’s Remarks, a hugely popular WeChat blog, and relayed widely by China’s netizens – all reared on a rich diet of “patriotic education”.

If a penniless and backward China was willing to face down America at the zenith of its global power in 1950, China is hardly likely to roll over today now that it is the world’s industrial hegemon and financial creditor – with some $US6 trillion ($9.5 trillion) of foreign exchange assets, once you include the opaque holdings of state-owned banks.

“How has it ever been possible in history that the world’s largest creditor would be defeated by the world’s largest debtor?” asks Uncle Ming.

Well, indeed. America’s savings rate has collapsed to 0.6 per cent of GDP. The US Treasury depends on foreign investors to fund a national debt rising higher than ever before, already 122 per cent of GDP with a structural fiscal deficit of 6 per cent to 7 per cent as far as the eye can see.

The Treasury must roll over 33 per cent of its $US36 trillion ($56.7 trillion) federal debt over the next 12 months.

China had nothing to do with last week’s Treasury rout, the defining fiasco of Donald Trump’s mad antics. There were plenty of other reasons: a disorderly unwinding of the “basis trade” by hedge funds caught flat-footed; and above all the capitulation of Republican deficit hawks in Congress, willing to go along with a budget gimmick that lets America slash taxes and spend trillions more that it cannot afford.

But it is easy to see how China could create panic just before Treasury auctions if it wished to do so.

Did Trump have any idea what he was doing when he launched his tariff war against China, jauntily shutting down the anchor trading relationship of the international system?

One might have thought that the political pain threshold of the totalitarian, web-controlling Chinese Communist Party was infinitely higher than the threshold of Walmart-shopping MAGA America or Republican politicians facing midterm elections next year. And equally that Xi Jinping has much to gain from defiantly refusing to “kiss ass”, as Trump delicately puts it.

Exports to the US have fallen from a peak of 6.7 per cent of Chinese GDP in the early 2000s to 2.7 per cent today.

Almost 86 per cent of Chinese exports now go to the rest of the world. The maritime Silk Road is turning much of the Global South into a Chinese economic system.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations alone is a bigger market for China than the US. Most of the Middle East is now listed as pro-China or leaning-China on the geopolitical map of Capital Economics.

I am not among those who think China is automatically destined for economic supremacy. It has overinvested chronically in excess capacity. It faces debt deflation and the onset of Japanification. It is formidable in whole sectors of technology, but it is also brittle, rigid, fear-based, and cursed by the pathologies of party dictatorship.

The liberal democracies have everything to play for. China wins the 21st century only if the West commits suicide, and that is exactly what Trump is urging upon us.

However, much of China’s $US500 billion export trade to the US is expendable. Shipping toys, furniture, shoes, and clothes for bargain sales in US supermarkets is not profitable. Nor is it the market niche that China wants as a rising high-tech power.

“It’s time for all these low-value businesses that sell to Walmart to close,” said Andy Xie, a former Morgan Stanley banker.

As my colleague Szu Ping Chan reports, there is a whole school of economists in China arguing that the “Trump shock” is exactly what China needs to break out of the middle income trap and jump up the value ladder.
Shoppers in Shenzhen outside a flagship Nike store. Almost 86 per cent of Chinese exports now go to the rest of the world.

So who suffers most political stress from a total and violent economic decoupling? Xi’s tightly controlled China, or Trump’s febrile, restless America, where 100 million consumers live on maxed-out credit cards and zero savings, acutely vulnerable to a price spike in day-to-day goods, with no safety margin if they lose their jobs?

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, says China is “playing with a pair of twos”, which is one way to describe its stranglehold over critical minerals and much of the resource base of the 21st century high-tech economy.

“The US civilian economy is totally disorganised and has no coherent plan if China cuts off rare earth supply,” said Jack Lifton, chairman of the Critical Minerals Institute.

China has already restricted exports of gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite over the last two years, and has now widened the list.

This stranglehold is no accident of the free market or geography. China has pursued a strategic policy to knock out rivals via predatory dumping, and compelled its own smelting companies to overbuild refining capacity.

As is by now well known, it has gained 90 per cent control over the rare earth supply chain needed for robots, semiconductors, aviation, magnets, radar, electric vehicles, 5G and 6G wireless, power electronics, you name it.

China’s sway over global sources of lithium, cobalt and nickel is weaker, but Washington has clearly been asleep at the wheel. Trump is right about that.

The rational policy for the US is to build up its own processing industry over the next decade and to contract long-term supply from the likes of Canada and Australia. Instead, Trump has punched allies in the face, and launched his war with China before the US is ready for the consequences. He has the sequencing entirely backwards.

Joe Biden did the exact opposite. He strove to bring America back from industrial death first, calibrating the US showdown with China at manageable levels.

He showered $US280 billion on semiconductor fabs to repatriate America’s chip industry from Asia, and to combat China’s push for supremacy in quantum computing, space, biotech, and materials technology. He teed up what would have been a turbo-blast of $US1 trillion to electrify America and to stop China running away with the booming world market for clean tech.
White House says US tariffs on China will be 145 per cent

The White House has confirmed the total tariffs against China have reached 145 per cent, not the initial 125 per cent.

Trump persists in telling the world that he will not retreat on tariffs and that “nobody is getting off the hook”. But markets are heavily discounting everything he now says.

They can see that he backed down against Canada and Mexico after discovering that US car prices would go through the roof, and that he dared not pull the trigger on full tariffs against Europe, and that he immediately unpicked his own embargo against China after discovering that a US-made iPhone would cost $US3000.

All but a diminishing band of Trumpian fellow travellers around the world can see, in short, that his bluff has been called. China just has to grit its teeth, like the 15th Corps at Triangle Hill, and wait until Trump’s voters can see it too.

The Telegraph, London

Plan to build Australia’s tallest tower falters

ekoh — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:16:50 +0800

$2.7 billion plan to build Australia’s tallest tower falters

By Nasteho Said and Anders Melin
April 17, 2025 — 5.00am

Four weeks before Melbourne entered lockdown in March 2020, a group of city councillors gathered in the Town Hall in Collins Street to back a proposal for the tallest structure that Australia had ever seen, one that would have a spiralling green garden wrapped around a 365-metre skyscraper.

The developers – a young married couple with ties to well-connected Malaysian families – were hailed as nothing short of revolutionary during the meeting. Councillor Nick Reece, who has since been elected as the city’s lord mayor, said the “relative newcomers” to Melbourne were poised to deliver the most ambitious project the council had considered in its more than 170-year history.
Beulah’s vision for STH BNK included sky-high gardens and a Four Seasons hotel.

Five years on, after buyers paid deposits for 80 per cent of its planned apartments, the $2.7 billion project still doesn’t have a builder. The Melbourne-based developer Beulah, co-founded by Adelene Teh and Jiaheng Chan, was caught out by soaring construction costs in the wake of the pandemic, and creditors owed more than $5 million have taken action to recover their debts.

In one of the most prominent examples yet of Australia’s building crunch, the Millennial developers’ ambition went stratospheric, it turns out, at the worst possible time. Beulah has now engaged Jones Lang LaSalle and KPMG to scout for new investors, partners or a potential buyer of the site in Melbourne’s Southbank district, where construction is yet to start.

“Of course, we remain hopeful it will be completed. STH BNK is not only a significant project for Melbourne, but also for Australia,” said Chan, managing director of Beulah, referring to the name of the development. “The campaign via JLL and KPMG is progressing well, and we expect to receive some good interest.”

Their vision was bold: a “mini metropolis” of about 700 apartments alongside a smaller tower topped by a Four Seasons hotel, not to mention the world’s tallest vertical garden, a wellness centre and a cultural hub operated by Paris’ Centre Pompidou. It promised to transform Southbank, an area better known for its relentless traffic, garish apartment towers and touristy restaurants on the edge of Melbourne’s central business district.

The development was partly financed by Malayan Banking Bhd, Malaysia’s largest bank, and fast-tracked by the Victorian government, as Melbourne urgently sought to revive its economy in the early days of a pandemic that would eventually lead to the city enduring six lockdowns.

Beulah’s savvy social-media campaigns, including a global contest to choose the eventual design, whipped up a frenzy of interest in STH BNK. That led to more than 80 per cent of apartments being secured by the end of 2023, including a sub-penthouse that the developer said achieved a Melbourne price record of $38 million. Beulah reassured buyers that year by announcing that Brookfield-backed Multiplex, one of Australia’s largest construction companies, had been appointed as STH BNK’s “builder partner”.

Multiplex, which built London’s Wembley Stadium, confirmed that it was no longer involved with the project — despite still devoting a page on its website to STH BNK saying their partnership “follows years of anticipation of who will be tasked with building an awe-inspiring project that pushes the boundaries”. A Multiplex spokesperson said the firm was appointed in an “early contractor involvement” capacity, and was now bound by confidentiality agreements.

Today, a massive placard that declares “Australia’s Tallest Tower is Coming” remains the most visible sign that something is even planned for the site of an empty BMW dealership that Beulah paid $101 million for in 2017. The only evidence that people have been there is graffiti, litter and some cardboard mattresses. A glitzy showroom diagonally across the road was locked on a weekday afternoon, with a promotional video playing continuously on a wall-attached television.

“We have been diligently working behind the scenes on securing a builder, and have been in discussion with a few international and local groups who can build the project within an acceptable timeframe and budget,” said Chan.

While Beulah declined an interview, it provided written responses to questions from Bloomberg.

Beulah says the buyers of the unbuilt apartments have so far been “incredibly supportive of the project as we navigate these changes”. Most buyers are local to Melbourne, with others from around Australia and overseas, Chan said.

Sydney-based Deric Ly, client service manager at real estate agent Global RE, said he helped secure a number of deposits for STH BNK in the past few years, mainly from local clients who put down 10 per cent of the purchase price.

“Everyone’s just being kept in limbo at the moment,” Ly said. “Every customer that I’ve spoken to in the last two, three months is still optimistic and hopeful that the project will proceed.”
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece.

The development provides a stark example of the cocktail of factors behind Australia’s housing crisis that have accelerated since the pandemic.

Many projects around Australia have been shelved or stalled as firms that locked in fixed-price contracts got caught out as building costs soared, said Denita Wawn, chief executive of industry body Master Builders Australia.

“We’ve had construction costs going up by 40 per cent over the last five years,” said Wawn, speaking generally. “We’ve had productivity decline by 20 per cent over the last 10 years.”
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As Beulah agreed deals with buyers of unbuilt apartments, construction and borrowing costs kept rising, making the project too expensive to even start. That’s despite the collective will of city officials and the weighty ambition of Teh and Chan, who had never built anything on such a grand scale, though they came from a background that promised a path to success.

Teh is the daughter of Teh Kean Ming, who was once CEO of IJM Corp, one of Malaysia’s biggest developers. He is now the managing director of Kuala Lumpur-listed developer JKG Land, and has been described in the Malaysian press as a “formidable property magnate” with four decades of real estate experience.

Chan, 38, is the son of Chan Kong Choy, a former deputy president of the Malaysian Chinese Association political party who once served as transport minister. The elder Chan is now chairman of two Kuala Lumpur-listed firms including Fajarbaru Builder Group, which has worked with Beulah on some projects.

The men, who aren’t named as backers of STH BNK, did not reply to requests for comment sent to their respective employers.
Rising to 319 metres, Australia 108 dominates Melbourne’s skyline.

Teh and Jiaheng Chan both went to the University of Melbourne, where Teh obtained a master’s of architecture degree. Chan studied engineering and initially did not anticipate going into real estate, he said in a 2020 interview. But that changed when his brother-in-law, who was co-developing a glass skyscraper of apartments in Southbank, invited the couple to help raise funds for the venture as part of a Malaysian syndicate.

The building, called Australia 108, is one of the nation’s tallest towers, and is a short walk from the site planned for STH BNK.

But the couple decided that building was their future, and that would be in Melbourne. In 2015, they began developing their debut project as a duo, an upmarket 11-storey apartment building with Australia’s first private dog park. Beulah went on to build a smattering of similar-scaled residential developments around the city.

Maybank funded some of Beulah’s projects, and another backer was Malaysian tycoon Kong Hon Kong. Requests for comment sent to Maybank and KHK Group, Kong’s holding company, went unanswered.

“As we have spent more than half our lives in Melbourne, we are passionate about this city,” said Teh, Beulah’s co-founder. We “are driven to do what we can to continue to contribute to Melbourne as one of the most liveable cities in the world”.

Even as Beulah was making plans for Australia’s tallest building, in 2021 it completed a 48-level apartment tower in Melbourne’s CBD called Paragon. The same year, it bought an adjoining site next to the BMW dealership that allowed it to modify plans for STH BNK, including increasing the space between the twin towers.

In February this year, STH BNK’s financial troubles were publicly laid bare. The project manager vehicle for the towers entered voluntary administration after some creditors issued wind-up orders against it. Beulah then agreed a Deed of Company Arrangement that ended the administration, giving it 18 months to repay creditors by either selling the BMW site or finding an alternative financial solution for the project.

“One scenario is to raise capital for the project, lock in a builder to activate construction financing to keep it progressing; another scenario would be to secure a JV partner,” said Teh. “Another scenario is to sell the site and explore other opportunities. All three avenues are currently being explored.”

And while Beulah hasn’t yet given up on STH BNK, neither has the councillor who so vividly championed the project five years ago.

“I remain hopeful Beulah can overcome its financial challenges and deliver its bold vision for Southbank,” Lord Mayor Nick Reece said in an emailed response to questions. “No one wants empty sites in the city.”

Bloomberg

USA imposed a new tariff on China that goes up to

ekoh — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 13:36:50 +0800

USA imposed a new tariff on China that goes up to 245%
Alif Azizan - Apr 16, 2025

The trade war between China and the United States shows no signs of abating anytime soon. The White House just announced that President Trump has signed a new executive order imposing tariffs of up to 245% on products imported into the United States from China. So, what should you know about it?

For your information, tariffs, much higher than the previous 145%, were imposed on imports of syringes and needles used for medical purposes. The White House had previously announced it would investigate the country's medical supply chain, which it said was overly reliant on Chima.

Additionally, the tariff increase was imposed because China retaliated by suspending exports of rare earth elements and imports of chips produced by US foundries . In addition, tariffs were also imposed because China allegedly failed to control the production of the drug fentanyl which then entered the United States illegally.

Top US officials shared Yemen strike plans

ekoh — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:48:16 +0800

Top US officials shared Yemen strike plans with journalist in group chat

2 hours ago
Kayla Epstein
BBC News

The Trump administration is facing political uproar after the White House confirmed that a journalist was inadvertently added to an unsecure group chat in which US national security officials planned a military strike in Yemen.

The Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg reported that he was included on a Signal message group where Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth were apparently among members.

He said he saw classified military plans for US strikes on Houthi rebels, including weapons packages, targets and timing, two hours before the bombs struck.

The report sparked a firestorm of criticism from Democrats and concerns among several Republicans.

Critics call for investigation over leak

Goldberg said he was added to the message chain, apparently by accident, after receiving a connection request from someone who appeared to be White House National Security Adviser Michael Waltz.

"If they were going to pick an errant phone number, I mean at least it wasn't somebody who supported the Houthis, because they were actually handing out information that I believe could have endangered the lives of American service people who were involved in that operation," he told PBS in an interview.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday afternoon that he was not aware of the Atlantic article.

"The attacks on the Houthis have been highly successful and effective," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

"President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz."

The defence secretary also defended the military operation discussed in the chat, citing its success. When pressed by reporters, Hegseth criticised Goldberg as a "deceitful and highly discredited" journalist and resisted questions about the content of the messages.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said the breach was a mistake, but argued that the chat showed "top level officials doing their job, doing it well".

Democratic lawmakers demanded an investigation, casting the episode as a national security scandal.

"This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence that I have read about in a very, very long time," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, said his panel planned to investigate the matter.

"It's definitely a concern," he added. "It appears that mistakes were made."

Vance disagrees with Trump

On 11 March, Atlantic editor-in-chief Goldberg writes in his article that he received a connection request on the encrypted messaging app Signal from an account that purported to be Waltz's.

He said he initially wondered if the group chat messages might be a hoax until four days later, Saturday 15 March, when he was sitting in a supermarket car park, watching Signal communications about a strike.

When he checked X for updates about Yemen, he wrote, he was stunned to see reports of explosions in the capital city of Sanaa.

A Houthi official posted on X at the time that 53 people had been killed in the US air strikes.

Signal is generally used by journalists and Washington officials because of the secure nature of its communications, the ability to create aliases, and to send disappearing messages.

Two days later, Goldberg said he was added to a Signal chat entitled "Houthi PC small group".

A number of accounts that appeared to belong to cabinet members and national security officials were included in the 18-person chat, Goldberg reported.

Accounts labelled "JD Vance", the name of the vice-president; "Pete Hegseth," the defence secretary; and "John Ratcliffe," director of the Central Intelligence Agency; were among names in the chain.

Top national security officials from various agencies also appeared in it, including Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

At one point during the communications over the strikes, the account labelled "JD Vance" seemed to disagree with Trump, Goldberg reported.

"I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now," the Vance account wrote at approximately 8:15 on 14 March.

"There's a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices.

"I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself.

"But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc."

In a statement to the BBC on Monday, Vance spokesman William Martin said the vice-president "unequivocally supports this administration's foreign policy.

"The president and the vice-president have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement," Martin said.

The National Security Council confirmed much of the Atlantic report.

Spokesman Brian Hughes told the BBC: "At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic. We are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.

"The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy co-ordination between senior officials."

Messages blast 'pathetic' Europe

Goldberg reported that the officials also discussed the potential for Europe to pay for US protection of key shipping lanes.

"Whether it's now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes," the account associated with Waltz wrote on 14 March.

The message continued, saying that at Trump's request, his team was working with the defence department and state department "to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans".

At one point in the thread the Vance account griped that the strikes would benefit the Europeans, because of their reliance on those shipping lanes, adding: "I just hate bailing Europe out again."

The user identified as Hegseth responded three minutes later: "VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It's PATHETIC."

Trump has hurt one of America’s

ekoh — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 14:07:32 +0800

Trump has hurt one of America’s most lucrative industries
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
March 19, 2025 — 11.50am

Donald Trump has inflicted enormous long-term damage on America’s defence export industry, a lucrative earner worth $US320 billion ($500 billion) a year in all its forms. Foreign defence sales are 10 times greater than US exports of liquefied natural gas.

First in line for collective repudiation is Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet. Mark Carney ordered a review of Canada’s order for 72 of these advanced aircraft within hours of becoming prime minister. It will determine whether “other options could better meet Canada’s needs”.
Donald Trump has inflicted enormous long-term damage on America’s $500 billion-a-year defence export industry.

Nuno Melo, Portugal’s conservative defence minister, says the F-35 is no longer considered a safe choice to replace his country’s ageing F-16s. “We have to know that an ally will be on our side whatever the circumstances,” he told Publico.

“The world has changed. This ally of ours, so predictable over the decades, could limit the use, maintenance, components, and everything needed to ensure that the aircraft are operational in all scenarios,” he said. Portugal is looking at a European alternative. Germany may be next.

“Nobody needs to buy an F-35,” said Tom Enders, ex-Airbus chief and now head of the German Council on Foreign Relations. He said Germany’s contract for these fighters was a misguided attempt by Angela Merkel to “appease” Trump during his first term. It should be cancelled forthwith.
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Europe does not strictly need the US Patriot missile defence system either. The upgraded Franco-Italian SAMP/T rival is more or less “equivalent”.

“It is absolutely imperative that we free ourselves of dependence on US systems as far and as quickly as possible. We can’t simply close our eyes to the fact that this American government has become an adversary,” Enders said in an explosive interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

He said Trump was likely to blackmail and coerce Europe in much the same way as he has coerced Ukraine. “No one believes any more that he will stand by Article 5 if Putin invades the Suwałki Gap,” he said.

One should be cautious of reading too much into share price movements. But it is striking that Lockheed Martin’s stock has dropped 23 per cent since late October, while Dassault Aviation has almost doubled in dollar terms on talk of more orders for the Rafale fighter aircraft. French missile maker Thales is up 90 per cent.

The European defence sector has seen an explosive rise over the last month, pushed even higher by Germany’s coalition deal for €1 trillion ($1.7 trillion) of rearmament and infrastructure – to be ratified this week by a constitutional amendment to the debt brake.

Enders, a no-nonsense parachute officer and ex-head of European defence group EADS said the US has access to the operating system of F-35s. “We know the Americans can shut the thing down whenever they want. We are totally dependent,” he said.
Lockheed Martin’s stock has dropped 23 per cent since late October.

Experts disagree over what the Pentagon can or cannot do remotely to paralyse an F-35.

“There is no explicit kill switch. It’s not something that can be turned off on any given day,” said Justin Bronk, an aviation specialist at the Royal United Services Institute.

But the fact that this discussion is even going on in the highest circles of European defence and foreign policy exposes the complete collapse of confidence in the US military alliance. In my view, it is irreversible.
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Enders has just launched Germany’s “Sparta” project, drafted by leading figures calling for immediate and massive German rearmament. It clearly has the backing of incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Rather than trying to catch up with Russia in tanks and aircraft, Germany and Europe should together seek “asymmetric superiority” by building a drone wall on NATO’s eastern flank, according to Enders. This could be done very quickly and at a fraction of the cost. “We need tens of thousands of smart robots on the battlefield,” he said.

A few dozen people can make a thousand combat drones for less than it costs to make a Leopard 2 tank shell. “These drones can knock out enemy systems that cost several million with great precision,” he said.

Europe should also move fast to escape the clutches of Elon Musk’s Starlink. Enders said Eutelsat’s OneWeb could do much of the job if buttressed by the medium-orbit satellites of SES.

The focus should be on the “sharp end” of defence. Some of the weapons should be in the field in six to 12 months, but none beyond five years. “We’re not interested in a new arms system that takes 20 years,” he said.
We can’t simply close our eyes to the fact that this American government has become an adversary.“: Tom Enders, former Airbus chief and now head of the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Sparta includes a dash for “cloud-combat” hypersonic weapons, a European missile shield, as well as a joint nuclear deterrent in coordination with France and the UK that span the escalation ladder from tactical nukes to strategic missiles.

There have always been restrictions on how US weapon exports can be deployed, but the rules were clear. Trump has turned every form of vulnerability into a means of extortion.

He has shown that he will not hesitate to cut rough with military kit to get his way – in Ukraine’s case to force capitulation on Kremlin terms – or “dividing up certain assets” as he put it.

Those terms will probably be close to the Istanbul Protocol: neutrality, a skeleton military like Germany in the 1920s, Russian control over four annexed (but unconquered) oblasts, cultural re-Russification of Ukraine, plus a Vidkun Quisling-like figure to replace Volodymyr Zelensky.

Europe faces serious dangers trying to extricate itself from US dependency.

“If European politicians provoke Trump, we could get into an even more precarious position, setting off a vicious cycle,” said one expert from a NATO state helping the Ukrainian military. But it cannot go on as before either.
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“The US has complete lockdown and ownership of our security architecture. Long-range fires and potentially the Patriot missiles and some intelligence systems could stop working if somebody in Florida or Washington presses ‘no’ on a computer. You couldn’t keep the show on the road,” he said.

The Stockholm Institute says the US cornered 43 per cent of global weapons exports over the last five years. This cannot last. Japan, India, Latin America, and the Middle East will all be wary of locking into complex defence systems that could be used as leverage by the White House at any time and for any purpose.

It is no protection if suppliers are private companies: Trump compels corporate leaders to kiss the ring and execute his agenda. He is proactively imposing his ideology on capitalist America. Even the Washington Post has bowed to pressure, refusing to publish views that flout MAGA nostrums.

Two of the irresistible selling points of US arms exporters have long been that a) the dependency would not be abused and b) countries were implicitly coming under the US security umbrella by aligning their fortunes with America.

Neither has currency in Trump’s Hobbesian world.

Telegraph, London