Aston Villa and Tottenham win; Manchester United draws in race for Champions League spots

March 31, 2024 | 7:09 pm

ASTON VILLA and Tottenham Hotspur won to boost their Champions League qualifying hopes while Manchester United had to settle for a point and Nottingham Forest drew to edge back out of the relegation zone in the Premier League on Saturday.

There was a scoring spree of 29 goals in dramatic action on Saturday which topped any Premier League matchday this season.

Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa netted in Villa’s 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers to keep their side in fourth place with 59 points from 30 matches, three points ahead of Spurs.

Tottenham came from behind to beat visitors Luton Town 2-1 and remain in fifth place, which could be enough for Champions League football next season, with a game in hand over Ashton Villa.

Sixth-placed Manchester United were fortunate to escape from struggling Brentford with a point after a wild finish in a 1-1 draw.

Villa’s win against their Midlands rivals was no classic, but the first victory for manager Unai Emery over Wolves at the seventh attempt ended a two-game winless run in the league.

“We wanted to focus on our game and that is what we did. We got the three points and I got a goal myself, so happy days,” Mr. Konsa said. “It’s a massive win, with Tottenham’s result earlier, we knew we had to win.”

Son Heung-min’s 86^th minute strike earned Spurs all three points against Luton to keep the pressure on Villa.

Luton dropped back below Forest into the relegation zone as they were stung by South Korean Son’s late winner.

Tahith Chong gave the visitors a surprise early lead at Spurs but Issa Kabore’s own goal in the 51^st leveled it up.

Tottenham captain Mr. Son then started and finished a flowing late move to bag his 160^th goal for the club.

United substitute Mason Mount thought he had given the visitors an undeserved victory at Brentford when he slotted home his first goal for the Old Trafford team in the 96^th minute.

But Kristoffer Ajer’s 99^th-minute equalizer salvaged a point for the Bees to dent United’s Champions League qualifying hopes. The Old Trafford side are now 11 points adrift of Villa, albeit with a game in hand, and eight points behind Spurs.

“Even when we don’t play well we have to win the game and we almost did. That is what disappoints me the most,” said United boss Erik ten Hag. “We should all stand up and all take responsibility for this. We’ll keep fighting.”

The title race resumes on Sunday with leaders Arsenal at Manchester City and Liverpool hosting Brighton & Hove Albion.

FOREST RALLY
At the bottom, battling Forest, whose four-point penalty during the international break had dropped them to 18^th in the table, fell behind at home to Crystal Palace.

But Chris Wood rescued a point which lifted Forest to 17^th place, level on 22 points with Luton after 30 games but with a superior goal difference.

Newcastle’s win over West Ham United was more dramatic as they trailed 3-1 with 77 minutes on the clock but two goals from Harvey Barnes gave them a 4-3 victory.

Newcastle are eighth but now only a point behind seventh-placed West Ham with a game in hand.

Alexander Isak’s penalty gave Newcastle the lead but West Ham hit back through Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. Mr. Isak’s second spot kick gave Newcastle hope and livewire Barnes equalized before lashing in a 90^th-minute winner.

Everton defender Seamus Coleman’s stoppage-time own goal condemned his side to a 2-1 loss at Bournemouth. The Toffees are 16^th, three points above the drop zone. Bournemouth are 13^th.

Chelsea’s struggles continued as they were held to a 2-2 home draw against relegation-threatened 10-man Burnley.

The visitors, despite being a player down, did not wilt after Lorenz Assignon got a second yellow for a foul which resulted in Cole Palmer netting a 44^th-minute penalty.

Clarets’ captain Josh Cullen stunned Stamford Bridge by scoring two minutes into the second half and, though Palmer restored Chelsea’s lead, Dara O’Shea’s header squared it up.

Chelsea remain in 11th place, while Burnley are 19^th, four points behind Forest.

Bottom club Sheffield United led 3-1 at home to Fulham but goals by Bobby Decordova-Reid and Rodrigo Muniz denied them a victory.

The home crowd was stunned in stoppage time when in-form Brazilian Mr. Muniz met Adama Traore’s cross with a spectacular overhead volley. — Reuters

Bayern Munich’s title hopes in tatters after 2-0 loss to Dortmund

March 31, 2024 | 7:09 pm

MUNICH, Germany — Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title hopes all but evaporated after a 2-0 home loss to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday left them 13 points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen with seven games remaining.

Bayern, winners of the previous 11 league crowns, were inefficient in attack and their first shot on goal came late in the second half, with usually deadly striker Harry Kane having earlier missed their best chances.

For Dortmund, it was their first league win in Munich in 10 years and the Ruhr valley club tightened their hold on fourth place that leads to next season’s Champions League group stage.

Asked whether the title race was now essentially over, Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, who will leave at the end of the season, said: “Obviously, yes.”

Dortmund scored with their first chance in the 10^th minute after a mistake by Thomas Mueller and a superb through ball for Karim Adeyemi from Julian Brandt.

Mr. Adeyemi, battling for a spot in hosts Germany’s Euro 2024 squad, completed the quick break with a fine finish to beat goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.

The Bayern keeper, stepping in for the injured Manuel Neuer, repeatedly came to the rescue in the second half but was beaten again in the 83^rd by Julian Ryerson’s powerful low drive. — Reuters

US NCAA

March 31, 2024 | 7:08 pm

Kim Mulkey was seething heading into LSU’s Sweet Sixteen match against UCLA yesterday, and the focus of her anger had nothing to do with the NCAA tournament itself. Two articles caught her ire, because she felt the timing of their release and the content they carried were malicious in nature. She marked one by the Washington Post as a “hit piece,” and the other by the Los Angeles Times as sexist and racist. Never mind that her success, and the way she went about carving it, automatically invited attention and, yes, criticism.

As things turned out, Mulkey managed to steer the Tigers past the favored Bruins all the same. Not without irony, she breathed life into the controversy and then went about proving that it wasn’t a distraction. At all. The match stayed close until the final minute, after which the defending champions relied on their trademark confidence to pull away. And while other head coaches in her position may have used the requisite post-game presser to expound on the hard-earned victory, she instead ranted against the media.

To be sure, Mulkey will be prepared for the highly anticipated rematch with the Hawkeyes, whom the Tigers trounced for the championship last year. Lisa Bluder and her charges will be ready as well, with Caitlin Clarke hoping to bring home the hardware before jumping to the pros. As far as extraneous variables go, the presumptive Player of the Year arguably has even more to deal with than the polarizing bench tactician. In any case, their Elite Eight encounter figures to be a ratings blockbuster.

Oddsmakers have Iowa prevailing by a slim margin, but LSU was even more of an underdog last year and still won pulling away. Which is to say Mulkey couldn’t care less about conventional wisdom. In fact, it’s safe to argue that she believes the purple and gold will prevail, just as she does every single time they trek to the hardwood. Whether she’s right remains to be seen, especially with Clark bent on making history after history, but it has always been her way — or the highway.

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.

Russian-hit power firm warns repairs could take 18 months

March 31, 2024 | 5:39 pm

KYIV — The head of Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, DTEK, said on Saturday that five of its six plants had been damaged or destroyed with 80% of its generating capacity lost after two weeks of Russian attacks and that repairs could take up to 18 months.

Russian missile and drone attacks hit thermal and hydro power plants in central and western Ukraine overnight on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly video address on Saturday, said Russia was carrying out “vile strikes” designed to cause the “bleeding” of Ukrainian energy.

“America, Europe, our other partners, everyone knows what we need,” he said. “Everyone knows how important it is right now to help us protect ourselves from these strikes.”

DTEK, which meets about a quarter of the country’s needs, has seen its thermal power stations and other facilities repeatedly hit by Russian missiles, drones and artillery in more than two years of war.

DTEK Executive Director Dmytro Sakharuk said in remarks shown on national television that waves of attacks on March 22 and March 29 had hit thermal and hydro production “in almost all regions” and that distribution facilities were destroyed.

“To be specific, five out of six of our stations were severely damaged, some units were destroyed, some were damaged by 50% or more,” he said.

“This applies to both the western regions and the central regions, and both the equipment necessary for the production of electricity and for transmission from the station to the grid were damaged,” he said.

His company suffered losses amounting to $300 million for equipment alone, he said, while labor costs would require as much as half as much again. “We have determined that 80% of the available generating capacity is not working now,” he added.

A senior official at the Centrenergo generating company said the 10-unit Zmiivska thermal plant in northeastern Kharkiv region had been destroyed in the March 22 attacks.

DTEK spent $110 million restoring 10 blocks hit by Russian attacks last year, Mr. Sakharuk said, with two-thirds of those now destroyed again.

It will require months of repairs, he said, and in some cases as long as a year and half.

“It takes time to manufacture a turbine or a generator or a transformer, so you need be prepared for the fact that the power will return gradually,” he said. — Reuters

Canada to train troops from Caribbean nations for Haiti mission

March 31, 2024 | 5:39 pm

Canada flag — STOCK PHOTO | Image by chris robert from Unsplash

OTTAWA — Canada has sent around 70 soldiers to Jamaica to train troops from Caribbean nations who are due to take part in a United Nations-authorized mission to Haiti, the Canadian defense ministry said on Saturday.

Kenya announced last year it would lead the force, which is designed to help national police fight powerful gangs in Haiti where spiraling violence has fueled a humanitarian disaster.

The initiative has been tied up in Kenyan court challenges ever since, effectively putting the mission on hold.

The Canadian troops, from the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec, will provide training on core peace-keeping skills and combat first aid, the defense ministry said in a statement. French is one of Haiti’s two official languages.

The troops are due to stay in Jamaica for an initial period of a month and will train around 330 troops from Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas.

Canada said last month it would give C$80.5 million to support the deployment of the Kenyan-led mission. — Reuters

Erdogan battles key rival in Turkey’s local elections

March 31, 2024 | 5:38 pm

ISTANBUL — Turks began voting on Sunday in municipal elections focused on President Tayyip Erdogan’s bid to reclaim control of Istanbul from rival Ekrem Imamoglu, who aims to reassert the opposition as a political force after bitter election defeats last year.

Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu dealt Mr. Erdogan and his AK Party the biggest electoral blow of two decades in power with his win in the 2019 vote. The president struck back in 2023 by securing re-election and a parliament majority with his nationalist allies.

Sunday’s results could now reinforce Mr. Erdogan’s control of NATO-member Turkey, or signal change in the major emerging economy’s divided political landscape. An Imamoglu win is seen fueling expectations of him becoming a future national leader.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) in eastern Turkey and elsewhere at 8 a.m., with more than 61 million people registered to vote. Voting ends at 5 p.m. and initial results are expected by 10 p.m. (1900 GMT).

“The AK Party has completed very important projects for the development of this country,” said 28-year-old Faruk Baran after voting in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. “(It) needs to be strong at the local level in order to continue its services.”

In Istanbul, a city of 16 million people that drives Turkey’s economy, polls suggest a tight race as Mr. Imamoglu faces a challenge from AKP candidate Murat Kurum, a former minister.

The results are likely to be shaped in part by economic woes driven by rampant inflation near 70%, and by Kurdish and Islamist voters weighing up the government’s performance and their hopes for political change.

While the main prize for Erdogan is Istanbul, he also seeks to win back the capital Ankara. Both cities were won by the opposition in 2019 after being under the rule of his AKP and Islamist predecessors for the previous 25 years.

Mr. Erdogan’s prospects have been helped by the collapse of the opposition alliance that he defeated last year, though Imamoglu still appeals to voters beyond his main opposition Republican People’s Party.

Voters of the main pro-Kurdish party were crucial to Mr. Imamoglu’s 2019 success. Their DEM party this time is fielding its own candidate in Istanbul, but many Kurds are expected to put aside party loyalty and vote for him again.

In the mainly Kurdish southeast, DEM is looking to reaffirm its strength after the state replaced pro-Kurdish party mayors with state-appointed ‘trustees’ following previous elections over alleged ties to militants.

“I wish for an end to the trustee system. This election is important for Turkey’s future and for listening to us: Kurds are always decisive,” said civil servant Elif Durgun, 32.

One factor working against Erdogan is a rise in support for the Islamist New Welfare Party due to its hardline stance against Israel over the Gaza conflict and dissatisfaction with the Islamist-rooted AKP’s handling of the economy. — Reuters

Salvage crews work to lift first piece of collapsed Baltimore bridge

March 31, 2024 | 5:37 pm

SALVAGE CREWS worked to lift the first piece of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the water on Saturday to allow barges and tugboats to access the disaster site, Maryland and US officials said, the first step in a complex effort to reopen the city’s blocked port.

The steel truss bridge collapsed early on Tuesday morning, killing six road workers, when a massive container ship lost power and crashed into a support pylon. Much of the span crashed into the Patapsco River, blocking the Port of Baltimore’s shipping channel.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore told a news conference that a section of the bridge’s steel superstructure north of the crash site would be cut into a piece that could be lifted by crane onto a barge and brought to the nearby Tradepoint Atlantic site at Sparrows Point.

“This will eventually allow us to open up a temporary restricted channel that will help us to get more vessels in the water around the site of the collapse,” Mr. Moore said.

He declined to provide a timeline for this portion of the clearance work. “It’s not going to take hours,” he said. “It’s not going to take days, but once we complete this phase of the work, we can move more tugs and more barges and more boats into the area to accelerate our recovery.”

Workers will not yet attempt to remove a crumpled part of the bridge’s superstructure that is resting on the bow of the Dali, the 984-foot Singapore-flagged container ship that brought down the bridge. Mr. Moore said it was unclear when the ship could be moved, but said that its hull, while damaged, is “intact.”

“This is a remarkably complex operation,” Mr. Moore said of the effort to clear bridge debris and open the Port of Baltimore to shipping traffic.

The bodies of two workers who were repairing the bridge deck at the time of the disaster have been recovered, but Mr. Moore said efforts to recover four others presumed dead remain suspended because conditions are too dangerous for divers to work amid too much debris.

Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath told reporters that teams from the Coast Guard, the US Navy’s salvage arm and the US Army Corps of Engineers said the debris from the Patapsco River’s deep-draft shipping channel would have to be removed before the Dali could be moved.

Saturday’s operation involves cutting a piece just north of that channel and lifting it with a 160-ton marine crane onto a barge. A larger, 1,000-ton crane also is at the bridge site.

The piece will be brought to Tradepoint Atlantic, the site of the former Bethlehem Steel Mill which is being developed into a distribution center for companies including Amazon.com, Home Depot and Volkswagen. The facility’s port, which sits on the Chesapeake Bay side of the collapsed bridge, is fully operational.

Tradepoint Atlantic did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the company’s role in the salvage operation.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefield said that Tradepoint officials had agreed to allow other ships to unload vehicles at the facility’s deepwater dock to be prepared for shipment to dealers.

In Oklahoma, authorities said on Saturday they shut down a portion of US highway 59 near Sallisaw after a barge struck a bridge over the Arkansas River. There were no immediate reports of injuries, according to media reports, and officials would be conducting inspections of the bridge.

Five days after the tragedy in Maryland, the jobs of some 15,000 people whose work revolves around daily port operation are on hold. While logistics experts say that other East Coast ports should be able to handle container traffic, Baltimore is the largest US port for “roll-on, roll-off” vehicle imports and exports of farm and construction equipment.

US Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said the Small Business Administration has approved the state’s request for a disaster declaration that allows small firms affected by the disaster to apply for emergency low-interest loans of up to $2 million through the end of 2024.

The federal government on Thursday awarded Maryland an initial $60 million in emergency funds to clear debris and begin rebuilding the Key Bridge, an extraordinarily fast disbursement. President Joseph R. Biden has pledged that the federal government would cover all costs of removing the debris and rebuilding the bridge. — Reuters

US to impose new visa curbs on Hong Kong officials over rights crackdown

March 31, 2024 | 1:28 pm

WASHINGTON – The United States said on Friday it will impose new visa restrictions on a number of Hong Kong officials over the crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Chinese-ruled territory.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that in the past year China continued to take actions against Hong Kong’s promised high degree of autonomy, democratic institutions, and rights and freedoms, including with the recent enactment of a new national security law known as Article 23.

“In response, the Department of State is announcing that it is taking steps to impose new visa restrictions on multiple Hong Kong officials responsible for the intensifying crackdown on rights and freedoms,” Mr. Blinken said in a statement.

The statement did not identify the officials who would be targeted.

In November, Hong Kong condemned a US bill calling for sanctions against 49 Hong Kong officials, judges and prosecutors involved in national security cases, saying US legislators were grandstanding and trying to intimidate the city.

Officials named in that Hong Kong Sanctions Act included Secretary for Justice Paul Lam, Police chief Raymond Siu and judges Andrew Cheung, Andrew Chan, Johnny Chan, Alex Lee, Esther Toh and Amanda Woodcock.

The United States has imposed visa restrictions and other sanctions in the past on Hong Kong officials blamed for undermining freedoms and announced an end to the special economic treatment the territory long enjoyed under U.S. law.

It has also warned that foreign financial institutions that conduct business with them would be subject to sanctions.

The US Hong Kong Policy Act requires the State Department to report each year to Congress on conditions in Hong Kong.

“This year, I have again certified that Hong Kong does not warrant treatment under US laws in the same manner as the laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1, 1997,” Blinken said, referring to when Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain.

“This year’s report catalogs the intensifying repression and ongoing crackdown by PRC and Hong Kong authorities on civil society, media, and dissenting voices, including through the issuance of bounties and arrest warrants for more than a dozen pro-democracy activists living outside Hong Kong,” Mr. Blinken said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said the report and statements issued by Blinken “confused right and wrong” and “stigmatized” Hong Kong’s national security law and the city’s electoral system.

The threat to sanction Hong Kong officials “grossly interferes” in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, a spokesperson said in a statement issued on Saturday.

“Instead of acting as the world’s policeman and issuing an annual ‘Hong Kong Policy Act report’, the United States should take time to examine itself.”

China’s embassy in Washington said it strongly deplored and firmly opposed US threats to “impose unwarranted unilateral sanctions” on Hong Kong.

“The US side disregards facts, makes irresponsible remarks about Hong Kong affairs, and levels groundless accusations” at the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, the embassy posted on its website.

“The US should immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and other internal affairs of China,” it said.

US-funded Radio Free Asia said on Friday it had closed its Hong Kong bureau, citing concerns over staff safety after the enactment of the new national security law.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule with the guarantee that its high degree of autonomy and freedoms would be protected under a “one country, two systems” formula.

In recent years, many pro-democracy politicians and activists have been jailed or gone into exile, and liberal media outlets and civil society groups have been shut down.

This month, in a joint statement, 145 community and advocacy groups condemned the security law and called for sanctions on officials involved in its passage, and a review of the status of Hong Kong’s Economic & Trade Offices worldwide. – Reuters

Second shipment with more than 300 tons of food for Gaza leaves Cyprus port

March 31, 2024 | 1:25 pm

Palestinians-Gaza — PALESTINIANS wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Jan. 16, 2024. — REUTERS

LARNACA, Cyprus – Ships carrying 332 tons of food for Gaza left Cyprus’s Larnaca port on Saturday in a convoy which will reach the besieged enclave early next week, authorities said.

It is the second shipment this month after Israel eased a 17-year naval blockade on the Gaza Strip to allow aid in from Cyprus, sourced by U.S. charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) for starving Palestinians.

The aid will be taken to Gaza on a cargo ship and a barge towed by a salvage vessel, along with a tugboat carrying a support team in a journey which will take about 60 hours, a Cypriot official told Reuters.

Cypriot authorities have established, in cooperation with Israel, a maritime corridor to facilitate pre-screened cargoes arriving directly in Gaza.

WCK, which has been active in Gaza for months, arranged the mission with Spain’s Open Arms charity, with financing mainly from the UAE and support from Cypriot authorities.

On its first mission earlier in March, it built a makeshift jetty from rubble to offload almost 200 tons of food in the enclave, which does not have any port facilities. Saturday’s convoy includes two forklifts and a crane to assist with future marine deliveries, as well as a team to operate the crane.

Separately, the United States plans to construct a floating pier off Gaza to receive aid. The target for completion is May 1, but it could be ready by around April 15, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said late on Friday, citing briefings with U.S. officials earlier in the week.

The United Nations has warned that famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip, where 300,000 people are trapped by fighting. More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million could face famine by July.

Aid agencies say food delivered by sea to Gaza, though welcome, cannot meet people’s needs and they have urged Israel to allow more aid to arrive by land.

U.N. officials have accused Israel of blocking humanitarian supplies to Gaza. Israeli officials reject those accusations and say the delivery of aid once inside the territory is the responsibility of U.N. and humanitarian agencies. – Reuters

Pope soldiers through Easter Vigil after missing procession

March 31, 2024 | 1:23 pm

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Saturday soldiered through a more than 2-hour Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, one of the longest services in Catholic liturgy, amid renewed concerns about the 87-year-old’s frail condition.

His voice at times sounded raspy and out of breath, but he read out all of his prepared texts, including a more than one-page long homily, and he smiled and waved at the congregation as he left in a wheelchair.

In other occasions, Pope Francis has delegated longer readings to aides.

On Friday, the pope skipped at the last minute the night-time Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome’s Colosseum in what the Vatican said was a bid to “preserve his health” ahead of other Holy Week events.

The surprise move came after weeks in which Francis repeatedly limited his public speaking and cancelled engagements while struggling with what has been described as colds, bronchitis and the flu.

The pope is also restricted in his mobility due to a knee ailment, and regularly uses a wheelchair or a cane.

Pope Francis looked in better shape on Thursday as he performed a foot-washing ceremony in a women’s prison, recalling Jesus’ gesture of humility to his apostles at the Last Supper, and at a Good Friday service in St Peter’s.

Holy Week consists of several solemn ceremonies leading to Easter on Sunday, the most important festivity in the Christian calendar, celebrating the day in which the faithful believe Jesus rose from the dead.

Saturday’s evening service, held in Christendom’s largest church, started in near total darkness before lights were turned on, signifying the passage from darkness to light when the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead.

It was attended by about 6,000 people, the Vatican said.

In his homily, recalling that the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb was rolled back as he was resurrected, Pope Francis urged Christians to keep their faith even when weighed down by sorrow, fear or other adversities.

He mentioned, among other things, “the rubber walls of selfishness and indifference that hold us back in the effort to build more just and humane cities and societies,” as well as “all our aspirations for peace that are shattered by cruel hatred and the brutality of war.”

Pope Francis is set to conclude Easter celebrations on Sunday with Mass in St. Peter’s Square and his twice-annual “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. – Reuters

China’s March factory activity expands for first time in six months

March 31, 2024 | 1:21 pm

SHENZHEN, China – China’s manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in six months in March, an official factory survey showed on Sunday, offering relief to policymakers even as a crisis in the property sector remains a drag on the economy and confidence.

The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 50.8 in March from 49.1 in February, above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and topping a median forecast of 49.9 in a Reuters poll.

Though the pace of growth was modest, it was also the highest PMI reading since March of last year, when momentum from the lifting of tough COVID-19 restrictions began to stall.

“From the indicators, domestic supply and demand has improved, while homeowner and business confidence is recovering, while willingness to consume and invest are increasing,” said Zhou Maohua, an analyst with China Everbright Bank.

New export orders rose into positive territory, breaking a 11-month slump, but employment continued to shrink, albeit at a slower rate, the PMI data showed.

Recent upbeat indicators suggest the world’s second-largest economy is slowly getting back on better footing, leading analysts to start upgrading their growth forecasts for the year.

Policymakers have wrestled with persistent economic sluggishness since the abandonment of COVID curbs in late 2022, amid a deepening housing crisis, mounting local government debts and weakening global demand.

“March data show the economy is poised for a strong end to Q1,” China Beige Book, an advisory firm, said in a note last week. “Hiring recorded its longest stretch of improvement since late 2020. Manufacturing picked up, as did retail.”

However, a deep slump in the Asian giant’s property sector remains a major drag on growth, testing the health of heavily indebted local governments and state-owned banks’ balance sheets.

The official non-manufacturing PMI, which includes services and construction, rose to 53 from 51.4 in February, marking the highest reading since September.

Premier Li Qiang announced an ambitious 2024 economic growth target of around 5% earlier this month at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament.

But analysts say policymakers will need to roll out more stimulus to hit that target as they will not be able to count on the low statistical base of 2022 which flattered 2023 growth data.

Citi on Thursday raised its economic growth forecast for China for this year to 5.0% from 4.6%, citing “recent positive data and policy delivery”.

China’s cabinet on March 1 approved a plan aimed at promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and sales of consumer goods. The head of the country’s state planner told a news conference earlier this month the plan could generate market demand of over 5 trillion yuan ($691.63 billion) annually.

Many analysts worry that China may begin flirting with Japan-style stagnation later this decade unless policymakers take steps to reorient the economy towards household consumption and market-allocation of resources, and away from the heavy reliance on infrastructure investments seen in the past. – Reuters

Philippines’ Marcos boosts maritime security as China tension rises

March 31, 2024 | 1:18 pm

PBBM Marcos — PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT FERDINAND R. MARCOS, JR. — PPA POOL

MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has ordered his government to strengthen its coordination on maritime security to confront “a range of serious challenges” to territorial integrity and peace, as a dispute with China escalates.

The order, signed on Monday and made public on Sunday, does not mention China but follows a series of bilateral maritime confrontations and mutual accusations over a disputed area of the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce. China’s claims overlap those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis.

The latest flare-up occurred last weekend, when China used water cannon to disrupt a Philippine resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal for soldiers guarding a warship intentionally grounded on a reef 25 years ago.

“Despite efforts to promote stability and security in our maritime domain, the Philippines continues to confront a range of serious challenges that threaten territorial integrity, but also the peaceful existence of Filipinos,” Mr. Marcos said in the order.

The president vowed on Thursday to implement countermeasures against “illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks” by China’s coastguard.

His order expands and reorganizes the government’s maritime council, adding the national security adviser, solicitor general, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency chief and the South China Sea task force.

The order appears to expand the role of the military by naming the Armed Forces of the Philippines, not just the navy, among the agencies supporting the council.

The renamed National Maritime Council will be the central body to formulate strategies to ensure a “unified, coordinated and effective” framework for the Philippines’ maritime security and domain awareness.

Mr. Marcos increased the number of agencies supporting the council to 13 from nine, including the space agency and the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and the Law of the Sea. – Reuters