Latest news with #Meng
Business Recorder
18 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Hong Kong stocks set for biggest weekly loss since April on trade, Mideast jitters
SHANGHAI: Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Friday after three sessions of losses but remained on track for their biggest weekly loss since April, as Sino-US trade talks and Middle East tensions weighed on investor sentiment. Mainland China shares edged higher. China's blue-chip CSI300 Index climbed 0.2% by the lunch break while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was up 1.2%. China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged, after rolling out sweeping monetary easing measures last month to support the economy. Amid uncertainties related to China-US trade friction, onshore share valuations may be range-bound at low levels near term, said UBS strategist Lei Meng in a note. 'We expect limited downside, and potential upside catalysts mainly from stronger policy easing, the continual entry of medium or long-term funds and structural reforms,' Meng said. The CSI Liquor Index rose 2.6%, leading gains onshore. Shares of 'Blind Box' toymaker Pop Mart dropped more than 5% after state media outlet People's Daily called for stricter regulation of the blind box industry, citing expert views. The stock has fallen 13% so far this week, but soared 162% this year. Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week and fears of a potential US attack on Iran hung over markets in Asia, impacting overall risk sentiment. The Hang Seng Index was down 1.6% this week, on track for the largest decline since April 7, if losses hold. The CSI300 Index was down 0.3%.
Al Etihad
20 hours ago
- Business
- Al Etihad
Hong Kong stocks set for biggest weekly loss since April on trade, Mideast jitters
20 June 2025 09:22 SHANGHAI (REUTERS)Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Friday after three sessions of losses but remained on track for their biggest weekly loss since April, as Sino-US trade talks and Middle East tensions weighed on investor sentiment. Mainland China shares edged blue-chip CSI300 Index climbed 0.2% by the lunch break while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was up 1.2%.China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged, after rolling out sweeping monetary easing measures last month to support the uncertainties related to China-US trade friction, onshore share valuations may be range-bound at low levels near term, said UBS strategist Lei Meng in a note."We expect limited downside, and potential upside catalysts mainly from stronger policy easing, the continual entry of medium or long-term funds and structural reforms," Meng and Iran's conflict entered a second week and fears of a potential US attack on Iran hung over markets in Asia, impacting overall risk sentiment. The Hang Seng Index was down 1.6% this week, on track for the largest decline since April 7, if losses hold. The CSI300 Index was down 0.3%. Stock Markets Continue full coverage
New York Post
09-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
AOC, Grace Meng tapped to do more as open-air prostitution, rampant criminality returns to NYC's ‘Market of Sweethearts'
QUEENS, N.Y. – The red lights are back flashing along a notorious prostitution strip in New York City represented by progressive Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Grace Meng. Along the crammed, grimy sidewalks of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, sex workers are once again openly soliciting clients while vendors grill meats and hawk suspected stolen or counterfeit goods – despite police waging a months-long crackdown to stop the chaos. Advertisement It's become a way of life – and a years-long blight – for residents in the migrant-dense neighborhood who say they have grown tired of calling on Ocasio-Cortez and Meng to act and liken conditions to a 'Red Light district' or a third-world flea market. Others have nicknamed the strip the 'Avenue of the Sweethearts,' given its reputation for women purportedly turning tricks 8 Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Zohran Mamdani take part in the annual Puerto Rican day parade on Sunday afternoon. LP Media 'All the criminal activity has reverted to the way it was last year,' Ramses Frias, a local activist and Republican City Council candidate, told Fox News Digital. 'Our residents feel like prisoners in their own homes while criminals walk freely, preying on helpless victims.' Advertisement He said gangs like the 18th Street gang and Tren de Aragua are suspected of operating in the area since various spots are graffiti – tagged with their insignia. Fox News Digital visited Roosevelt Avenue after Ocasio-Cortez's town hall last month and witnessed as many as 30 women on one block appearing to offer sex for money to Friday night revelers while parents and children walked by. 8 New York Post cover from July 30th, 2023. Advertisement The women were jostling men and enticing them for sex despite a visible police presence nearby. Most women operate on Meng's side of the strip; the majority of vendors are on Ocasio-Cortez's side, with their district border running through the center of the street. Hours before the town hall, other sidewalks were jammed with vendors flogging counterfeit Apple headphones and watches and tools. Food vendors sizzled meats at vendor stalls and kept juices in massive, unlabeled canisters under the gritty subway underpass – devoid of any labels or apparent sanitation or health and safety standards. Fruit and ice-cream stalls also permeated the busy strip. Fox News Digital returned to the neighborhood on Friday and witnessed much of the same rampant prostitution and illegal vending. Additionally, several women were threading eyebrows along a sidewalk on a commercial street just off Roosevelt Avenue, while men were selling sneakers from cars and other food vendors were seen dumping wastewater down drains. 8 Women believed to be sex workers or prostitutes, standing in front of storefronts on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, NY. For the New York Post Advertisement Residents have warned for months that Operation Restore Roosevelt – a 90-day enhanced police crime crackdown on the area which started in October – needed to be made permanent and that the warming weather would likely see more scantily-clad women appear on the streets. NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry told Fox News Digital that the boots-on-the-ground operation, which consisted of more than 200 additional police officers, reduced crime by 29% in the area so far this year and significantly reduced criminal activity. 'There has been a notable difference,' Daughtry said. 'Robberies are down 23%, felony assaults are down 33%, burglaries are down 47%, and grand larceny is down 30%.' 8 15 brothels out of 30 court filings have been raided. For the New York Post Daughtry said he wants the work to have 'a real, lasting difference,' while saying that a lot still needs to be done. He said 15 brothels were raided out of 30 court filings made by the police. For instance, days after Ocasio-Cortez's town hall, authorities shut down a notorious brothel, dubbed the 'bodega brothel' by locals, which was operating above a corner store near two schools in Ocasio-Cortez's district. Video from inside the cat house obtained by Fox News Digital shows squalid conditions, with five cramped, makeshift rooms sectioned off by wooden panels and shower curtains with just enough room to fit a bed in every one of them. On Tuesday, two brothels were raided by police on Meng's side of Roosevelt Avenue, the same block where Fox News Digital observed 30 alleged prostitutes. Frias said a large crowd gathered to watch the sweep, some heckling the alleged johns as they were cuffed and taken into custody while suspected prostitutes were led out with their heads covered in shower curtains to shield their identities. 8 Meng described the situation as 'concerning' and claims to be working with local law enforcement. Getty Images Advertisement Frias said the crowd reaction proved the neighborhood is fully aware of the illicit activity and is fed up, but that three to four other brothels are operating on that same block. Frias added that residents are terrified to walk the streets and would rather stay home than step outside. 'Our laws need to become stricter, and it's time to elect representatives who have the best interests of the community and its safety as a priority,' said Frias, who's looking to oust City Council member Shekar Krishnan in District 25. He blasted Ocasio-Cortez in particular, saying she has never used her massive social media presence to address the dire situation. Daughtry, too, called on Ocasio-Cortez and Meng to do more. He and the mayor's office said the pair did not collaborate with them in the police crackdown. 'Never seen her,' Daughtry said about Ocasio-Cortez. 'She's never reached out to us. We would really love her assistance to help us, but at the end of the day, we have to do what's right and restore some law and order back to Roosevelt. I would like AOC to partner with us… use her platform to help us get funding or connect women to services.' Advertisement 8 Activist Ramses Frias called Ocasio-Cortez out for not using her massive social media presence to address this issue. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post Daughtry said issues like prostitution have permeated the area for decades, and he remembers it being a hot spot for prostitution in the '90s. He said the migrant crisis exacerbated the situation as many migrants were drawn to the area, given that it already has a large Latin American population. Mayor Eric Adams spearheaded Operation Restore Roosevelt in collaboration with the NYPD and City Council member Francisco Moya, a moderate Democrat who has often been at odds with his party's progressive wing. Daughtry said Moya was a 'huge partner' who physically walked Roosevelt Avenue with him and participated in raids, as did Adams. Adams' office said the operation underscored the administration's commitment to 'making sure these crime and quality-of-life issues continue to improve.' Advertisement 8 Operation Restore Roosevelt has continues to try and restore the community. For the New York Post Meng, meanwhile, told Fox News Digital she is working with local law enforcement and Moya on the matter and described the situation as 'concerning.' Ocasio-Cortez's office told Fox News Digital that she has engaged with local stakeholders in the area and helped fix lights in the neighborhood. The situation on Roosevelt Avenue was not raised by Ocasio-Cortez at her town hall, nor by constituents who spoke in a question-and-answer portion. Advertisement Residents Andrew Sokolof Diaz and John Szewczuk told Fox News Digital outside the event that the Roosevelt Avenue problem is a long-standing issue and that local lawmakers must do more to address it. 8 The situation on Roosevelt Avenue was not raised by Ocasio-Cortez at her town hall, nor by constituents who spoke in a question-and-answer portion. For the New York Post Resident Mark LaVergne pinned much of the blame on Ocasio-Cortez for not doing more and said he felt many of the women were likely trafficked into that murky underground world. 'I feel very sad… There's a Dunkin' Donuts I frequent on Roosevelt and 82nd Street and I noticed that above that there is some sort of thing going on, and I see the look in the eyes of these sex workers,' LaVergne said. 'I really feel sorry for them. Some of them are here, probably under difficult situations. Maybe they were forced here, maybe they're forced to do this kind of work. You've got to take care of the people that'll get you elected. I mean, that just seems like the most just thing. That's justice. Taking care of the people who got you elected.'
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AOC, progressives ripped for ignoring 'Red Light' district as prostitution, filthy streets return
The red lights are back flashing along a notorious prostitution strip in New York City represented by progressive Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Grace Meng. Along the crammed, grimy sidewalks of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, sex workers are once again openly soliciting clients while vendors grill meats and hawk suspected stolen or counterfeit goods – despite police waging a months-long crackdown to stop the chaos. It's become a way of life – and a years-long blight – for residents in the migrant-dense neighborhood who say they have grown tired of calling on Ocasio-Cortez and Meng to act and liken conditions to a "Red Light district" or a third-world flea market. Others have nicknamed the strip the "Avenue of the Sweethearts," given its reputation for women purportedly turning tricks. Leaders In Aoc's 'Red Light' District Call On Kash Patel To Crush 'Worsening' Gang Crime And Prostitution "All the criminal activity has reverted to the way it was last year," Ramses Frias, a local activist and Republican City Council candidate, told Fox News Digital. "Our residents feel like prisoners in their own homes while criminals walk freely, preying on helpless victims." He said gangs like the 18th Street gang and Tren de Aragua are suspected of operating in the area since various spots are graffiti-tagged with their insignia. Read On The Fox News App Fox News Digital visited Roosevelt Avenue after Ocasio-Cortez's town hall last month and witnessed as many as 30 women on one block appearing to offer sex for money to Friday night revelers while parents and children walked by. The women were jostling men and enticing them for sex despite a visible police presence nearby. Most women operate on Meng's side of the strip; the majority of vendors are on Ocasio-Cortez's side, with their district border running through the center of the street. PHOTOS: Swipe to see more images Hours before the town hall, other sidewalks were jammed with vendors flogging counterfeit Apple headphones and watches and tools. Food vendors sizzled meats at vendor stalls and kept juices in massive, unlabeled canisters under the gritty subway underpass – devoid of any labels or apparent sanitation or health and safety standards. Fruit and ice-cream stalls also permeated the busy strip. Fox News Digital returned to the neighborhood on Friday and witnessed much of the same rampant prostitution and illegal vending. Additionally, several women were threading eyebrows along a sidewalk on a commercial street just off Roosevelt Avenue, while men were selling sneakers from cars and other food vendors were seen dumping wastewater down drains. Residents have warned for months that Operation Restore Roosevelt – a 90-day enhanced police crime crackdown on the area which started in October – needed to be made permanent and that the warming weather would likely see more scantily-clad women appear on the streets. NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry told Fox News Digital that the boots-on-the-ground operation, which consisted of more than 200 additional police officers, reduced crime by 29% in the area so far this year and significantly reduced criminal activity. "There has been a notable difference," Daughtry said. "Robberies are down 23%, felony assaults are down 33%, burglaries are down 47%, and grand larceny is down 30%." Daughtry said he wants the work to have "a real, lasting difference," while saying that a lot still needs to be done. He said 15 brothels were raided out of 30 court filings made by the police. Aoc's 'Red Light' District Overrun With Prostitutes As Locals Call Out Mia 'Squad' Member For instance, days after Ocasio-Cortez's town hall, authorities shut down a notorious brothel, dubbed the "bodega brothel" by locals, which was operating above a corner store near two schools in Ocasio-Cortez's district. Video from inside the cat house obtained by Fox News Digital shows squalid conditions, with five cramped, makeshift rooms sectioned off by wooden panels and shower curtains with just enough room to fit a bed in every one of them. On Tuesday, two brothels were raided by police on Meng's side of Roosevelt Avenue, the same block where Fox News Digital observed 30 alleged prostitutes. Frias said a large crowd gathered to watch the sweep, some heckling the alleged johns as they were cuffed and taken into custody while suspected prostitutes were led out with their heads covered in shower curtains to shield their identities. Frias said the crowd reaction proved the neighborhood is fully aware of the illicit activity and is fed up, but that three to four other brothels are operating on that same block. Frias added that residents are terrified to walk the streets and would rather stay home than step outside. "Our laws need to become stricter, and it's time to elect representatives who have the best interests of the community and its safety as a priority," said Frias, who's looking to oust City Council member Shekar Krishnan in District 25. He blasted Ocasio-Cortez in particular, saying she has never used her massive social media presence to address the dire situation. Daughtry, too, called on Ocasio-Cortez and Meng to do more. He and the mayor's office said the pair did not collaborate with them in the police crackdown. "Never seen her," Daughtry said about Ocasio-Cortez. "She's never reached out to us. We would really love her assistance to help us, but at the end of the day, we have to do what's right and restore some law and order back to Roosevelt. I would like AOC to partner with us... use her platform to help us get funding or connect women to services." Aoc's 'Red Light District' Plagued By Crime As Democrat Who Helped Her Rise To Power Says She 'Disappeared' Daughtry said issues like prostitution have permeated the area for decades, and he remembers it being a hot spot for prostitution in the '90s. He said the migrant crisis exacerbated the situation as many migrants were drawn to the area, given that it already has a large Latin American population. Mayor Eric Adams spearheaded Operation Restore Roosevelt in collaboration with the NYPD and City Council member Francisco Moya, a moderate Democrat who has often been at odds with his party's progressive wing. Daughtry said Moya was a "huge partner" who physically walked Roosevelt Avenue with him and participated in raids, as did Adams. Adams' office said the operation underscored the administration's commitment to "making sure these crime and quality-of-life issues continue to improve." Meng, meanwhile, told Fox News Digital she is working with local law enforcement and Moya on the matter and described the situation as "concerning." Ocasio-Cortez's office told Fox News Digital that she has engaged with local stakeholders in the area and helped fix lights in the neighborhood. The situation on Roosevelt Avenue was not raised by Ocasio-Cortez at her town hall, nor by constituents who spoke in a question-and-answer portion. Residents Andrew Sokolof Diaz and John Szewczuk told Fox News Digital outside the event that the Roosevelt Avenue problem is a long-standing issue and that local lawmakers must do more to address it. Resident Mark LaVergne pinned much of the blame on Ocasio-Cortez for not doing more and said he felt many of the women were likely trafficked into that murky underground world. "I feel very sad… There's a Dunkin' Donuts I frequent on Roosevelt and 82nd Street and I noticed that above that there is some sort of thing going on, and I see the look in the eyes of these sex workers," LaVergne said. "I really feel sorry for them. Some of them are here, probably under difficult situations. Maybe they were forced here, maybe they're forced to do this kind of work. You've got to take care of the people that'll get you elected. I mean, that just seems like the most just thing. That's justice. Taking care of the people who got you elected."Original article source: AOC, progressives ripped for ignoring 'Red Light' district as prostitution, filthy streets return
Borneo Post
06-06-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
SW China mountainous county brews global matcha success
Photo of a tea farm in Jiangkou County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. – Xinhua photo GUIYANG (June 7): In Jiangkou County, nestled in southwest China's mountainous Guizhou Province, a centuries-old tea tradition is fueling a modern global boom. In 2024, the county's matcha sales exceeded 1,200 tonnes with an output value surpassing 300 million yuan (about US$41.7 million), while its products have been exported to overseas markets including Japan, the United States and France. As a major matcha-producing country, China is poised to produce over 5,000 tonnes of matcha in 2025. Notably, Guizhou, leveraging its high-altitude tea farms, low latitude and misty climate, accounts for one quarter of China's national output and exports to more than 40 countries and regions. Jiangkou County, located at the foot of Guizhou's Unesco-listed Fanjing Mountain, was once a poverty-stricken region but is now a pioneer in the field of matcha production. This turnaround began in 2017, when cutting-edge matcha industrial technology was introduced to this area. Led by industry leaders in partnership with allied enterprises and local farmers, this initiative has established a province-wide matcha industrial network in Guizhou – spanning 22 counties and empowering nearly 100,000 tea growers via increased incomes. The county's tea fields currently cover 160,000 mu (about 10,667 hectares), with 20 per cent dedicated to matcha production. 'We control every step from farming to processing – to ensure premium quality,' said Meng Zude, chairman of Gui Tea Group, a leading tea company that manages the industrial cluster in Jiangkou. Meng explained that farmers focus on cultivation while allied partners process leaves. Gui Tea Group then refines leaves into premium matcha. From field to factory, free technical support ensures EU-standard compliance across the supply chain, Meng added. Jiangkou County has adapted Japanese matcha techniques to local conditions through both collaborations with experts and in-house research and development. Farmers now implement fertilisation protocols, eco-friendly pest control and precision pruning – critical steps that ensure high-quality tencha leaves. Four tonnes of matcha have already been exported to Japan in 2025, while another six tonnes are scheduled for shipment to this traditional matcha hub this year, according to Chen Xiaoming, deputy director of Gui Tea's foreign trade business. 'Domestic clients now approach us directly, while Japanese buyers seek raw material supplies,' Chen said, adding that inquiries have grown significantly. 'Matcha isn't just a drink,' said Chen. 'It's a lifestyle China now leads.' – Xinhua
