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Navarro stuns Sabalenka; Gauff cruises into Indian Wells quarterfinals

EMMA NAVARRO — REUTERS

AMERICAN Emma Navarro stunned world number two Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 3-6 6-2 to record the biggest win of her career and reach the Indian Wells quarterfinals for the first time on Wednesday while Coco Gauff celebrated her birthday by advancing with ease.

Ms. Navarro absorbed Ms. Sabalenka’s powerful serve and converted four of her five break-point opportunities to defeat the reigning two-time Australian Open champion in windy conditions.

Ms. Navarro came out flying to grab the first set before Ms. Sabalenka raised her level in the second to force a decider.

The even-keeled Ms. Navarro kept her cool, fending off a break point and smacking a forehand winner for a crucial service hold and a 4-1 lead.

Ms. Navarro, seeded 23rd, broke the hard-hitting Belarusian for a fourth time on match point to set up a meeting with either ninth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece or Frenchwoman Diane Parry in the quarters.

Ms. Navarro, who is known for keeping her emotions under wraps, did a subdued fist pump after winning the match in front of a supportive crowd at Stadium One.

“It’s a little bit unnatural for me to be in the spotlight and be playing on a court like that with a ton of fans and TVs and eyes on me. It’s not my natural way,” she told reporters.

“But I feel I’m definitely getting more comfortable with it and just feeling like I can be myself even if there’s however many people watching.

“Also I think that was my second or third fist pump ever. If it was a little weird, cut me some slack,” she said with a smile.

With the win Ms. Navarro will break into the top 20 for the first time after the tournament and Ms. Sabalenka, who won her second Grand Slam crown in Melbourne Park in January, praised her opponent.

“Her potential is really great,” Ms. Sabalenka told reporters.

“I think she has the potential to be in the top 10.”

Ms. Gauff dominated Elise Mertens to win 6-0 6-2 on her 20th birthday and book her spot in the quarterfinals.

The dynamic American played her best tennis of the tournament so far, serving well and stepping into the court to overwhelm the Belgian 24th seed.

Ms. Mertens was unable to back up her win over Naomi Osaka in the previous round, hitting just four winners to 21 unforced errors in a match that lasted just over an hour.

Third seeded Ms. Gauff saw her section of the draw open up after Sabalenka’s loss and will face either 11th seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina or unseeded Yuan Yue of China for a spot in the semis. — Reuters

Atletico Madrid knocks out Inter Milan on penalties shootout to reach Champions League quarters

MADRID — Atletico Madrid needed a penalty shootout to edge past Inter Milan and reach the Champions league quarterfinals after a dramatic last-16 clash ended 2-2 on aggregate on Wednesday.

Atletico looked to be on their way out after Inter, who won the first leg 1-0 at home, took the lead at the Metropolitano, but they hit back and found a way to take it to penalties.

Atletico’s Jan Oblak saved from Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaassen and Inter’s Yann Sommer kept out Saul Niguez’s effort, leaving Lautaro Martinez to keep their hopes alive.

The Argentine striker blasted his penalty over the bar to send Atletico through 3-2 in the shootout after the match finished 2-1 to the Spanish side in extra time.

“I always say that penalty shootouts, in the end they are a bit about luck. Because you have to pick the right side,” Mr. Oblak told Movistar+.

“You have to save the ball and I think if the player hits it perfectly, it’s impossible to save. Luckily today I could save them, but what is important is the victory and that we are through to the quarters.”

Inter Milan opened the scoring in the 33rd minute through Federico Dimarco but Atletico hit back two minutes later through Antoine Griezmann and Memphis Depay’s late strike sent the tie to extra time.

Both teams had chances to win it in extra time but it was Diego Simeone’s side who held their nerve and last season’s beaten finalists exited the competition.

Atletico failed to get a single shot on target in the first leg at the San Siro but began fast, backed by a rocking home crowd in Madrid.

It was Inter, though, who opened the scoring. Nicolo Barella received the ball in the area and pulled it back to the waiting Mr. Dimarco who drove his shot straight down the middle past Oblak.

Atletico, now 2-0 down on aggregate, hit back immediately. Koke lifted a pass into the area which two Inter players missed completely and it fell to Mr. Griezmann who spun and made no mistake from close range.

“Tonight, once we found the lead, we should have been more careful in those minutes there and instead we put Atletico and their fans back in the game,” Inter manager Simone Inzaghi told Amazon Prime.

Shortly before the break Mr. Griezmann was almost in again but his shot was deflected away by Benjamin Pavard with Mr. Sommer committed the other way, and the sides went in level at the break. Mr. Martinez set up two great chances for Inter to finish off the tie but Marcus Thuram and Mr. Barella failed to take advantage when through on goal.

They were made to pay as Koke was again the provider. His pass into the box found Mr. Depay who swiveled and powered his shot into the bottom corner.

Atletico could have won it before extra time when Griezmann’s pass set up Rodrigo Riquelme but he sent his first-time shot over the bar to leave Diego Simeone face down on the sidelines in disbelief.

Atletico Madrid made the most of the penalty shootout and the stadium erupted as Simeone was brought to tears after beating his former club and ex-team mate Mr. Inzaghi. — Reuters

CONCACAF Champions Cup: Lionel Messi, Miami top Nashville

EARLY goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi propeled Inter Miami to a 3-1 win over Nashville SC on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, sending the Herons through to the quarterfinals of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Champions Cup.

Miami won the two-leg, total-goal series 5-3. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Nashville last week, with Inter Miami also getting goals from Mr. Messi and Mr. Suarez. With Miami ahead 2-0 in the second leg, Mr. Messi exited in the 50th minute. Mr. Messi sat out the Herons’ 3-2 home loss to CF Montreal on Saturday, with coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino saying that the team would need to find a proper way to rest the 36-year-old star amid a busy schedule. Inter Miami expanded the edge to 3-0 on a 63rd-minute goal from Robert Taylor off a cross from Mr. Suarez. Nashville got a consolation goal from Sam Surridge in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

Miami advances to oppose either Monterrey or FC Cincinnati in the quarterfinals. Monterrey hold a 1-0 lead in their series heading into the second leg on Thursday at Guadalupe, Mexico. — Reuters

West best

Don’t look now, but the Nuggets are once again at the top of the Western Conference. Powered by a strong push that has them sporting a 10-1 slate after the All-Star break, they appear ready to take on all comers anew come the 2024 Playoffs. And while a fifth of the regular season remains, there can be no doubting their capacity to keep on building momentum and ultimately repeat as champions. Headed by reigning Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, they boast of a starting five that even the Celtics, five and a half games ahead of them in National Basketball Association standings, are arguably hard-pressed to match.

The proof of the pudding is, of course, in the eating, and the Nuggets know their efforts will amount to squat if they fail to retain the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Indeed, projections have become so rosy that anything less than the hardware staying in their mantel will be considered a failure. The burden of high expectations is borne of both immediate past success and the continued presence of personnel that carved it. And with Jokic setting the table, they cannot but be deemed the postseason favorites.

Not that the Nuggets are shirking from the responsibility of proving the prognoses true. In fact, they relish it. They’re so confident of their superior standing that they utterly believe they will win no matter who they are up against. It’s also no coincidence that they’re pushing the pedal to the metal down the stretch, and with their regular rotation intact. Having been there and done that, they know well enough to pace themselves for the encounters that truly count — but, at the same time, ensure that they still put in the requisite work.

Whether the Nuggets will be the last ones standing when the battlesmoke clears, only time will tell. That said, the odds are in their favor. Never mind that the West is loaded, with the Celtics likely to await them in the Finals. No one else has Jokic, and their advantage should be more than ample on most nights. Simply put, challengers can only hope to catch them at less than their best — and then, maybe, just maybe, turn the chance into victory. But for four games in a series? Good luck.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Israeli tank strike killed ‘clearly identifiable’ Reuters reporter — United Nations investigation

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

ISTANBUL — An Israeli tank killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah in Lebanon last year by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists” in violation of international law, a United Nations (UN) investigation into the Oct. 13 incident has found.

The investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), summarized in a report seen by Reuters, said its personnel did not record any exchange of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon for more than 40 minutes before the Israeli Merkava tank opened fire.

“The firing at civilians, in this instance clearly identifiable journalists, constitutes a violation of UNSCR 1701 (2006) and international law,” the UNIFIL report said, referring to Security Council resolution 1701.

The seven-page report dated Feb. 27 said further: “It is assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident. The reason for the strikes on the journalists is not known.”

Under resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to bring an end to the war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, UN peacekeepers were deployed to monitor a ceasefire along the 120 km (75 mile) demarcation line, or Blue Line, between Israel and Lebanon. As part of their mission, UN troops record violations of the ceasefire and investigate the most egregious cases.

Besides killing Abdallah, the two tank rounds also wounded six other journalists at the scene.

Asked about the UNIFIL report, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Nir Dinar said Hezbollah had attacked the IDF near the Israeli community of Hanita on Oct. 13. It responded with artillery and tank fire to remove the threat and subsequently received a report that journalists had been injured.

“The IDF deplores any injury to uninvolved parties, and does not deliberately shoot at civilians, including journalists,” Mr. Dinar said. “The IDF considers the freedom of the press to be of utmost importance while clarifying that being in a war zone is dangerous.”

He said the General Staff’s Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism, which is responsible for reviewing exceptional events, will continue to examine the incident.

According to the IDF’s website, the fact finding team submits its reviews to the Israeli military’s legal affairs department, which decides whether a case warrants a criminal investigation.

‘MUST BE PROTECTED’
Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni has called on Israel to explain how the attack that killed Abdallah, 37, could have happened and to hold those responsible to account.

The UNIFIL report was sent to the United Nations in New York on Feb. 28 and has been shared with the Lebanese and Israeli militaries, two people familiar with the matter said.

“(The) IDF should conduct an investigation into the incident and a full review of their procedures at the time to avoid a recurrence,” the report said in its recommendations. “The IDF should share their investigation’s findings with UNIFIL.”

A UN spokesperson confirmed that the UNIFIL report had been shared with the parties.

“We reiterate that all actors should uphold their obligations under international law, and that civilians, including journalists, should never be a target. Journalists and media professionals must be protected,” the spokesperson said.

For its investigation, UNIFIL sent a team to visit the site on Oct. 14, and also received contributions from the Lebanese Armed Forces and from an unnamed witness who was present on the hill when the strikes occurred, the report said.

Details of incidents in UNIFIL’s area of operations are included in regular reports by the UN Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701. UNIFIL’s investigations, however, are not usually made public and Reuters was unable to determine if there would be any UN follow-up.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said he was not in a position to discuss the investigation.

UNIFIL’s findings lend further support to a Reuters investigation published on Dec. 7 that showed that seven journalists from Agence France-Presse, Al Jazeera and Reuters, were hit by two 120 mm rounds fired by a tank 1.34 km away in Israel.

The group of reporters had been filming cross-border shelling from a distance in open area on a hill near the Lebanese village of Alma al-Chaab for nearly an hour before the attack.

The day afterwards, the IDF said it already had visuals of the incident and it was being investigated. The IDF has not published a report of its findings to date.

UNIFIL said in its report that it sent a letter and a questionnaire to the IDF requesting their assistance. The IDF replied with a letter but did not answer the questionnaire.

Reuters has not seen a copy of the IDF letter, the contents of which were summarized in the UNIFIL report. — Reuters

UK will change law to ban foreign states from owning newspapers

A man reads a newspaper next to a newsstand selling The Sun, a British tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch’ News UK, in London, Britain, September 22, 2023. — REUTERS

LONDON — Britain’s government outlined plans on Wednesday to stop foreign states from owning newspapers, potentially giving ministers the power to block Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI’s bid to buy the Telegraph.

The battle over one of Britain’s most famous newspapers has raised questions about the independence of the media and the role of foreign investors acquiring ownership of politically influential assets.

The Telegraph has close connections with Britain’s governing Conservative Party and the political struggle for ownership of the 168-year-old newspaper is as much about power and influence as it is about money.

Stephen Parkinson, the culture minister in the House of Lords, said the government would make changes through an amendment to legislation going through parliament to prevent foreign states from having ownership of British newspapers.

“We will amend the media merger regime explicitly to rule out newspaper and periodical news magazine mergers involving ownership, influence or control by foreign states,” Parkinson told the Lords.

The proposed changes to the law would in effect, block the Telegraph takeover bid by RedBird IMI as currently structured, one government official said.

RedBird IMI — run by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker but which has the majority of its funding from Abu Dhabi — declined to comment.

The deal is already under a separate investigation based on existing laws, but the new plan is more explicitly targeted at preventing foreign state control.

The right-leaning Daily Telegraph is nicknamed the “Torygraph” for its longstanding support for the Conservative – or Tory – Party. Former Conservative prime ministers such as Winston Churchill and Boris Johnson have written for it.

The contest for ownership of the Telegraph is playing out against the backdrop of an unpopular Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, that is set to lose the next election expected later this year, according to polls.

Pressure had been building on the government after Tina Stowell, a former Conservative leader in the Lords, proposed an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill that would give parliament a veto on foreign governments taking over British media organisations.

Her amendment had won the support of more than 100 members of parliament who cited concerns including the possibility of editorial interference and censorship.

Having forced the government to come up with their own plan, Stowell withdrew her amendment.

The new ban on foreign control is expected to be put to a vote in the House of Lords in the next few weeks. It would have to be passed there and in the lower House of Commons before the new rules would come into force.

Parkinson said the new measures would create a new obligation for the government to refer any relevant media merger to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) watchdog.

If the CMA determined that the merger “has resulted, or would result, in foreign state ownership, influence or control over a newspaper enterprise”, then the government would be legally required to order the merger be blocked or unwound. — Reuters

Why did menopause evolve? New study of whales gives some clues

WIKIPEDIA

WASHINGTON — Menopause is a rare trait among Earth’s species, known to exist in only a few. Humans are one. Killer whales and four other toothed whales are the others.

New research examines menopause in these whales, with findings that may help explain why this phenomenon evolved, given that it is known in just six of the 6,000-plus mammal species living today. It might be titled: the tale of the helpful grandma whale.

The scientists compared the lifespans of 32 toothed whale species. They found that in the five menopausal species — killer whales, false killer whales, beluga whales, narwhals and short-finned pilot whales — the females live about four decades longer than the females of non-menopausal species of similar size.

Other toothed whales such as sperm whales, as well as the filter-feeding baleen whales, including the blue whale, have not been found to experience menopause.

“This result gives a unique insight into how menopause has evolved. Menopausal species of whales have a similar reproductive period to non-menopausal species. It is the life after reproduction that differs,” said Sam Ellis, a lecturer in animal behavior at the University of Exeter in England and lead author of the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

“Evolution has selected for a longer female lifespan so that mothers and grandmothers can continue to provide support to their family well after reproduction,” he said of these whale species. “We see just the same patterns in human societies where women have a similar reproductive period to our closest primate relatives but have a much longer total lifespan.”

An extended lifespan increases the opportunities for female whales to help their children and grandchildren without increasing the amount of time they are reproducing at the same time as — and in competition with — their daughters.

“When mothers and daughters in the same group try to reproduce at the same time, there is the potential for conflict over resources because they both want to prioritize resources for their own offspring. This would be exacerbated if females reproduced for a longer time. By stopping reproducing, females minimize this conflict,” said study co-author Darren Croft, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Exeter and executive director of the Center for Whale Research in Washington state.

Studies of killer whales living in the Pacific off the US West Coast show that females stop reproducing at around age 40, but often live into their 60s and even their 80s. Male killer whales typically die before age 40.

These studies have shown that grandma killer whales help their daughters and grandchildren by providing food, protection and, in a manner of speaking, wisdom.

“We have found that offspring with a living post-reproductive grandmother have better survival that those without a living grandmother,” Sam Ellis said. “Other research points at a mechanism. In years when resources are scarce, older females lead their group — suggesting a role of ecological knowledge allowing them to lead their group/family to resources.”

These older females also catch fish and bite them in half to share food with family members, behavior much less common in younger females and almost nonexistent in males, Ellis said.

Menopause evolved independently in humans and whales, the researchers said, with the last common ancestor between them living about 90 million years ago.

“From an evolutionary perspective, life after reproduction is difficult to explain. For the majority of species, evolution favors females to reproduce until the end of their life to maximize the transmission of their genes to future generations,” Mr. Croft said.

“So why then has menopause evolved in humans and toothed whales? This new analysis shows that menopause has evolved by females lengthening their total lifespan while not simultaneously evolving a longer reproductive period,” Mr. Croft added.

Menopause is uncommon in the animal kingdom and requires an unusual set of conditions to arise, Mr. Croft said.

“The key to this is the opportunity to help closely related kin in late life at the cost of late-life reproduction,” Mr. Croft added. — Reuters

The 75th PAL Interclub: Celebrating a Brilliant Legacy

Founded 75 years ago, the Philippine Airlines Interclub — also known as the PAL Interclub — is the country’s longest-running, largest and most prestigious golf team competition. It is widely acknowledged as the national golf clubs championship of the Philippines.

The PAL Interclub is known for its high level of competition and the strong team spirit and fellowship among its players. At its core, the PAL Interclub is all about gathering golf aficionados from across the country and overseas for an annual reunion, where they could renew old friendships and gain new ones. Participants return year after year, not so much as to win the championship, but to enjoy fellowship and tradition.

There are no grand prizes in the PAL Interclub; instead, there is only the honor of playing with some of the best golfers in the land. This, plus the remarkable camaraderie among its players in its 75-year history, has imbued the PAL Interclub with a unique character, making it an enduring institution of Philippine golf. The tournament takes on an added shimmer for its diamond year edition in 2024 with the return of the top golf clubs across the country and the rest of the world.

Adding to PAL’s brilliant legacy in this year’s Interclub is the Del Monte Golf Club, who won the Seniors title. Led by playing captain Yoyong Velez, the team dethroned the defending champions, the Luisita Golf and Country Club.

“We are happy and elated to have won the Seniors Division title this year. We have been part of this tournament for decades, and I can imagine, even from the very beginning,” shared Velez. “We will continue to support [the PAL Interclub,] which has brought a lot of fun and camaraderie among golfers all over the world.” 

Another brilliant finish at the PAL Interclub was Manila Southwoods’ win at the Men’s Regular Invitational. Overcoming a five-point deficit and winning by 13 points over Eastridge, the club worked hard for its ninth PAL Interclub title, as it was the first time that they had to come from behind to finish at the top of the podium.

“This is what makes the victory sweet,” said Southwoods captain Thirdy Escano. “Even when we fell behind by 13 points after the first round, I knew that we could come back.”

Completing the winners’ circle are the Cebu Country Club in the Founders Division, Zamboanga Golf in the Aviator division, West Highlands Butuan in the Sportswriters division, and the Edwin Andrews Air Base in the Friendship division.

These stories of victory and the successful staging of the 75th PAL Interclub will definitely leave a brilliant legacy for Philippine Airlines, setting the tone for the tournament’s bright future in the years to come.

 

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US House passes bill to force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face ban

ALEXANDER SHATOV-UNSPLASH

WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Wednesday that would give TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the US assets of the short-video app, or face a ban, in the greatest threat to the app since the Trump administration.

The bill passed 352-65 in a bipartisan vote, but it faces a more uncertain path in the Senate where some favor a different approach to regulating foreign-owned apps posing security concerns. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate will review the legislation.

The measure is the latest in a series of moves in Washington to respond to US national security concerns about China, from connected vehicles to advanced artificial intelligence chips to cranes at US ports.

“This is a critical national security issue. The Senate must take this up and pass it,” No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise said of TikTok on social media platform X. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added later that the Biden administration also wanted to see “the Senate take swift action.”

The fate of TikTok, used by about 170 million Americans, has become a major issue in Washington where lawmakers have complained their offices have been flooded with calls from TikTok users who oppose the legislation.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who a source briefed on the matter said is visiting Washington this week, said in a video posted after the vote the legislation if signed into law “will lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States… and would take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses.”

He added the company will exercise its legal rights to prevent a ban. The bill gives the company 165 days to file a legal challenge after it is signed by President Joe Biden, who said last week he would do so.

The political climate in Washington, at a time when many politicians do not want to be seen as soft on China during an election year, increasingly favors the bill. Still, there are concerns about the impact of any ban on younger voters.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday asked “Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China? Do we want the data from TikTok – children’s data, adults’ data – to be going, to be staying here in America or going to China?”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has criticized the legislation, arguing “though the US has never found any evidence of TikTok posing a threat to the US’s national security, it has never stopped going after TikTok.”

 

PROMINENT DEMOCRATS QUESTION BILL

A number of prominent Democrats in the House voted against the bill including House Democratic Whip Kathleen Clark, Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as the top Democrats on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Transportation and Intelligence committees.

“There are serious antitrust and privacy questions here, and any national security concerns should be laid out to the public prior to a vote,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell, who will play an important role in the Senate’s next move, said she wants legislation “that could hold up in court,” and is considering a separate bill, but is not sure what her next step is.

The vote came just over a week after the bill was proposed following one public hearing with little debate, and followed action in Congress stalling for more than a year. Last month, Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok, raising hopes among company officials that legislation was unlikely this year.

Several dozen TikTok users rallied outside the Capitol before the vote. The company paid for their travel to Washington and their accommodation, a TikTok spokesperson said.

The group included Mona Swain, 23, who said she had joined TikTok in 2019, during her freshman year at college pursuing musical theater. Now a full-time content creator, she said she was paying her mother’s mortgage and for her brother and sister’s college educations with her earnings from the app.

“It’s gonna put a lot of people out of work, which is the scariest part,” Ms. Swain said of the bill.

 

UNCERTAINTY OVER SALE

It is unclear whether China would approve any sale or if TikTok’s US assets could be divested in six months.

If ByteDance failed to do so, app stores operated by Apple, Alphabet’s Google and others could not legally offer TikTok or provide web hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications.

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump sought to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat but was blocked by the courts. In recent days he had raised concerns about a ban but nearly all House Republicans shrugged those off.

It is unclear if Tencent’s WeChat or other high-profile Chinese-owned apps could face a ban under the legislation.

Beyond the likely legal challenge from TikTok, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups are arguing the bill is unconstitutional on free speech and other grounds.

In November, a US judge blocked a Montana state ban on TikTok use after the company sued. – Reuters

Biden to raise concern over Nippon Steel’s deal for US Steel, source says

REUTERS

WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden plans to express concern over Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion purchase of US Steel, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, pushing the US company’s stock nearly 13% lower on bets the deal could face greater political opposition.

The issue has the potential to overshadow an April 10 summit between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aimed at boosting the long-standing security alliance between their countries in the face of growing Chinese strength.

In December, Nippon Steel clinched a deal to buy the 122-year-old iconic US steelmaker for a hefty premium, betting that US Steel would benefit from the spending and tax incentives in Mr. Biden’s infrastructure bill.

However, several Democratic and Republican US senators have criticized the deal, citing national security concerns or raising questions about why the two companies did not consult US Steel’s main union ahead of the announcement.

Donald Trump, Mr. Biden’s rival in the November US presidential election, has said he would block the acquisition of US Steel if elected. The White House said in December the deal needed to be carefully scrutinized given US Steel’s core role in producing a material that is critical to national security.

The White House declined to comment on Wednesday, but a person familiar with the matter said Biden would issue a statement about the planned acquisition before Kishida arrives for his state visit.

US officials and lawyers have drafted the statement and the White House has privately informed the Japanese government of Mr. Biden’s decision, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news.

Japan’s top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the report. “The Japan-US alliance is stronger than ever, and the two countries will continue to work together … in the field of economic security,” Mr. Hayashi, chief cabinet secretary, told reporters on Thursday, echoing recent remarks by Japanese officials.

Matthew Goodman, a trade and economics expert at Washington’s Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the issue could overshadow the summit and be damaging for Mr. Kishida, who is already struggling politically at home.

“A prime minister of Japan has to demonstrate that he has the US relationship not only under control, but that he’s enhancing it,” Mr. Goodman said. “So to the extent this runs counter to that narrative politically at home, it’s problematic.”

Mr. Goodman said he thought the case of the acquisition being a risk to US national security was “dubious” and questioning investments from a supposedly trusted security partner could be very damaging to the relationship.

“It’s much more to do with politics in an election year when both nominees are appealing to support from steel workers and unions,” he said of Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump.

In a joint statement, Nippon Steel and US Steel said they welcomed the Biden administration’s scrutiny of the transaction, as “an objective and comprehensive review of this transaction will demonstrate that it strengthens US jobs, competition, and economic and national security.”

Mr. Goodman said there have been long-standing concerns in the United States about Japanese labor practices and “non-support for unionization of workers in Japanese-owned factories in the US well beyond steel.”

The companies said they have had “active, dedicated discussions with the United Steelworkers, which are ongoing.”

US Steel, founded in 1901 by some of the biggest US magnates, including Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab, became intertwined with the industrial recovery following the Great Depression and World War Two.

Last year, the Pittsburgh-based company launched a formal review of its strategic options after rebuffing a takeover offer from steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs.

Its shares had come under pressure following several quarters of falling revenue and profit, making it an attractive takeover target for rivals looking to add a maker of steel used by the automobile industry.

US Steel shares closed 12.8% lower at $40.86 on Wednesday, well below Nippon’s offer of $55 per share. – Reuters

Philippines’ Marcos to meet Blinken next week as South China Sea tensions rise

PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD

MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 19 to tackle cooperation and security matters, the office of the Manila leader said in a statement late on Wednesday night.

Their meeting comes on the heels of heightened tensions between the Philippines and China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Marcos also vowed to defend the Philippines’ maritime claims after Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the armed forces to coordinate preparations for military conflicts at sea.

“So, I’m not surprised, but we will have to continue to do what we can to defend our maritime territory in the face of perhaps a more active attempt by the Chinese to annex some of our territory,” Marcos told a news conference during a working visit to Berlin this week.

Japanese newspaper Asahi has also reported leaders from Japan, the United States and the Philippines are in the final stages of planning a summit meeting in Washington, D.C. next month.

A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague found that China’s sweeping claims had no legal basis, but Beijing has rejected the ruling, claiming “indisputable sovereignty” over most of the South China Sea. – Reuters

ICC has no authority to probe Philippines, Marcos tells Germany’s Scholz

PRESIDENT FERDINAND R. MARCOS, JR. — PPA POOL

MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) has no authority to probe his predecessor’s deadly war against drugs.

Mr. Marcos discussed the ICC’s probe during a bilateral meeting with Mr. Scholz on Tuesday in Germany where he was on a working visit, according to a readout from the Philippine presidential office published late on Wednesday.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte officially withdrew from the international tribunal in 2019 after questioning its power to probe his anti-narcotics campaign, which had killed thousands.

Mr. Marcos said Philippine courts continue to function and law enforcers are investigating the killings.

“It is very difficult for the Philippines to accept that an outside court will, shall I say, dictate to our policemen who they will investigate, who they will arrest,” Mr. Marcos said.

The readout did not say how Mr. Scholz responded to Mr. Marcos’ position. Germany is one of the biggest backers and contributors to the ICC.

Mr. Marcos separately told reporters the drug campaign has “completely changed” to prevention and rehabilitation, a claim the Human Rights Watch has questioned, saying the killings have continued.

“He cannot claim progress because the impunity persists,” Human Rights Watch Asia Deputy Director Bryony Lau said in a statement.

The Hague-based tribunal rejected last year an appeal from Manila and allowed the resumption of an investigation into the drug war killings and other suspected rights abuses.

Police say they killed 6,200 suspected dealers who resisted arrest during anti-drug operations. Rights groups say the toll could be much higher.

In November,  Mr. Marcos said he was studying a possible return to the ICC’s fold. Months later, he said the Philippines will not ‘lift a finger’ to help in any ICC probe.  – Reuters

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