LONDON: Formula E has postponed races scheduled for next year in Mexico and China for health and safety reasons after a pandemic-hit season, organisers of the all-electric championship said on Wednesday. Mexico City had been due to host the second round of season seven on Feb. 13 while the Chinese resort of Sanya was scheduled for March 13. This year's Chinese Formula E round was the first major motorsport event to be cancelled due to the pandemic. The 2019-20 Formula E season ended in August with six races in Berlin after a spate of cancellations. "In all decision-making we prioritise the health and safety of our staff and the entire Formula E community... as well as the citizens and residents of the cities in which we race," Formula E said in a statement. It said the Chilean capital Santiago would host two season-opening races on Jan. 16 and 17 but without spectators. Diriyah, in Saudi Arabia, will then host a double-header of races on Feb. 26-27, with planning for … [Read more...] about Formula E postpones next year’s Mexican and Chinese races
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‘We’re not a colony’: Mexican president stands firm on not recognising Biden win
MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday (Nov 11) dug in his heels as one of the few leaders of major countries yet to congratulate Joe Biden on his presidential election win, saying it was too early and that his country was "not a colony". Lopez Obrador, who accused rivals of electoral fraud in his presidential defeats in 2006 and 2012, says he has no side in the US election, and will wait until legal challenges launched by the Trump administration over the vote have played out. "We can't make any kind of recognition of a government that is not yet legally and legitimately constituted," he told a news conference. "It's not up to us, that's interventionism." Lopez Obrador showed no such hesitation in congratulating the victors of Bolivia's divisive 2019 presidential election, which was later annulled over irregularities. Critics charge his position on Biden does not look neutral. US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to hurt … [Read more...] about ‘We’re not a colony’: Mexican president stands firm on not recognising Biden win
Whoever triumphs, investors see China, green and easy money bets as election winners
LONDON: The close and inconclusive US election has scuppered some short-term trades premised on a clear Joe Biden sweep, but money managers say they are sticking to bets on plentiful stimulus, a Chinese rebound and a green boom, regardless of who triumphs. President Donald Trump's battle against Biden, the Democratic challenger, is going down to the wire, with millions of votes still to be counted as more states report results. From trade to taxation to climate, the two men have vastly different policy platforms. Biden's pledge to tie the US economic recovery to tackling climate change is set against Trump's desire to remove regulatory hurdles to oil, gas and coal. Lulled by Biden's opinion poll lead, some investors had positioned for higher US bond yields and renewables shares. Some of those trades took a hit - shares in US solar firms and European wind farms fell, while US Treasuries gained and European shares initially underperformed. Traders were also quick to dump … [Read more...] about Whoever triumphs, investors see China, green and easy money bets as election winners
Former Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy charged with illicit lobbying on 1MDB, China
WASHINGTON: A former leading fundraiser for President Donald Trump has been indicted on a charge that he illegally lobbied the US government to drop its probe into the Malaysia 1MDB corruption scandal and to deport an exiled Chinese billionaire. Elliott Broidy was charged in Washington federal court with one count of conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent after allegedly agreeing to take millions of dollars to lobby the Trump administration. The indictment, made public on Thursday (Oct 8), said Broidy was recruited in 2017 by an unnamed foreign national, understood to be Malaysian Low Taek Jho, to pressure US officials to end their investigation of a scandal engulfing former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. READ: Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak sentenced to 12 years in jail following guilty verdict in 1MDB trial The scandal involved the theft of more than US$4.5 billion from state investment fund 1MDB, and Low was central to moving and hiding some of the … [Read more...] about Former Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy charged with illicit lobbying on 1MDB, China
Biden to pick Katherine Tai as top trade envoy: Sources
WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden is set to nominate Katherine Tai to be the top United States trade envoy, according to two people familiar with his plans. Tai, who is chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, will be tapped as the US trade representative, according to the two people, who spoke on Wednesday (Dec 9) on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly about it. The role is a Cabinet position, and the Senate will vote on whether to confirm Tai's nomination. Biden's selection of Tai, who is Asian American, reflects his promise to choose a diverse Cabinet that reflects the makeup of the country. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Tai earlier oversaw China trade enforcement for the Office of the US Trade Representative, setting US strategy in trade disputes with China. Biden’s trade representative will inherit a trade war with China, put on pause by an interim trade pact in January that left many of the hardest issues … [Read more...] about Biden to pick Katherine Tai as top trade envoy: Sources