Author: EchoAsiaNews

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump gave $45,000 cash gifts last year to three senior White House aides, including executive assistant Natalie Harp, while another close aide received $20,000, according to financial disclosures released by the White House, raising questions over federal ethics rules governing payments to government employees. Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris each received $45,000, with the payments listed as “Cash Gift for Holidays.” Walt Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations, received a $20,000 cash gift, according to the disclosures. The payments were separate from the aides’ government salaries. Harp,…

VIENNA: The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member Board of Governors has voted to refer Iran’s nuclear non-compliance to the UN Security Council, marking the first such referral in 20 years and escalating an already tense dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme and international inspections. The resolution, backed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, was adopted with 23 votes in favour, three against and eight abstentions, diplomats said. Russia, China and Niger voted against the measure. The referral follows an IAEA finding in June 2025 that Iran was in “non-compliance” with its nuclear obligations after Tehran failed to provide adequate…

UNITED STATES: President Donald Trump has pledged to pay every American adult a $5,000 “Trump dividend” if Republicans retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections, making the extraordinary proposal a central feature of his campaign message as his party faces growing voter concerns over inflation, the cost of living and the war with Iran. Trump announced the proposal Wednesday at the Republican Party’s first midterm convention in Dallas, urging voters to support Republican candidates in the November 3 elections. With roughly 270 million adults in the United States, the proposed payments could cost about $1.35 trillion, although Trump…

Saudi Arabia: faced a fresh wave of Houthi missile and drone attacks on Wednesday, with the Iran-aligned group targeting areas around Abha, Khamis Mushait and Jazan for a second consecutive day, raising fears that the long-running Yemen conflict could spiral into a wider regional confrontation. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles and drones toward the southern Saudi cities, accusing the group of targeting national assets and critical energy infrastructure. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said Saudi Arabia would respond to the attacks in what he described as a responsible manner, stressing that the coalition would…

NEW YORK (Reuters): GE Aerospace said on Tuesday it would acquire aerospace castings supplier Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) for $11.75 billion, seeking to bring a key part of its engine supply chain in-house and expand production capacity. The acquisition is GE Aerospace’s largest since the company became an independent business in 2024. The deal comes as aerospace manufacturers face supply-chain constraints that have limited their ability to keep pace with strong demand for new engines, spare parts and repairs. GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp said investment in casting capacity was needed to support demand across commercial engines, aftermarket services and…

BAGHDAD, September 9 (Reuters) — Iraq is seeking a higher oil production quota as OPEC and its allies review members’ production capacity to determine output targets for next year, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Iraq wants OPEC+ to calculate its production target from a baseline capacity of 6 million barrels per day, according to the report. Why is Iraq seeking a higher production quota? The move comes as OPEC+ reviews the production capacity of its members ahead of setting new output targets for next year. A higher baseline could allow Iraq to secure a…

WELLINGTON(Reuters) — New Zealand opposition Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said his party was focused on easing cost-of-living pressures and rebuilding the urban economy ahead of the November 7 general election. Hipkins, a former prime minister, acknowledged that Labour had been too slow to respond to rising household pressures after the COVID-19 pandemic as voters shifted their attention toward inflation and economic growth. “COVID had been all-consuming,” Hipkins told Reuters in an interview. “We were too slow to revert back to non-COVID-related good governing.” What is Labour proposing to ease cost-of-living pressures? Labour has proposed measures aimed at reducing household…

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has engaged CITIC Securities to prepare for a potential initial public offering on Shanghai’s technology-focused STAR Market, two people familiar with the matter said. The Hangzhou-based company is aiming to begin the IPO process this year, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private. DeepSeek’s appointment of CITIC Securities, which has not previously been reported, suggests the company is advancing preparations for a mainland China listing. Companies seeking to list domestically typically appoint securities firms to conduct pre-listing guidance before submitting an application. What are the…

DHAKA: Bangladesh is facing its worst measles outbreak on record, with 999 suspected and confirmed measles-related deaths reported since March as hospitals struggle with overcrowding, shortages and a continuing influx of sick children. More than 166,000 suspected measles cases, including 19,835 laboratory-confirmed infections, have been reported since the outbreak began, according to Health Ministry data. More than 146,000 suspected patients have been hospitalised. Why has the measles outbreak spread despite an emergency vaccination campaign? Health officials and experts have linked the outbreak to gaps in routine immunisation and disruptions to vaccine supplies during political turmoil in 2024 and 2025. Bangladesh…

LONDON: Flight disruptions continued across the United Kingdom on Wednesday after a technical problem affecting the country’s air traffic control system led to more than 1,300 cancellations a day earlier. Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 reported that 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday had been cancelled, with most of the latest cancellations affecting London Heathrow Airport. The National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which manages the UK’s air traffic control, said it had resolved the technical problem but warned that clearing the resulting backlog would take time. Heathrow said departures had resumed but warned passengers that disruption was expected to continue and advised…