Month: October 2023

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in China on Saturday leading a bipartisan congressional delegation and starting a series of meetings in the world’s second-largest economy amid rising tension between Washington and Beijing.

The goal of the trip to Asia, which includes stops in South Korea and Japan, is to advance U.S. economic and national security interests, and in China, the group hopes to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. officials said.

After passing a sweeping bill last year to boost competition with China in semiconductors and other technology, Schumer and Democratic committee leaders said in May they would write legislation to limit the flow of technology to China, deter it from initiating a conflict with Taiwan and tighten rules to block U.S. capital from going to Chinese companies.

Schumer “will focus on the need for reciprocity in China for U.S. businesses that will level the playing field for American workers, as well as on maintaining U.S. leadership in advanced technologies for national security”, his office said.

The trip follows visits by a series of high-level Biden administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in August.

The group of six senators, co-led by Republican Mike Crapo, will meet government and business leaders in the three countries they are visiting, and from U.S. companies operating in the region.

Other senators on the trip include Republicans Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy and Democrats Maggie Hassan and Jon Ossoff. The group landed at Shanghai’s Pudong airport at 2 p.m. (0600 GMT).

China welcomes Schumer’s visit and hopes it will deepen the U.S. Senate’s “objective” understanding of China and facilitate dialogue between the nations’ legislative agencies, China’s foreign ministry said this week.

The Biden administration has placed curbs on chip exports to China, saying they aim to deny it access to advanced technology that could further military advancements or rights abuses. China hit back with accusations of economic coercion.

Raimondo said in August that U.S. companies had complained to her that China has become “uninvestable”, pointing to fines, raids and other actions that made it risky to do business there. “For U.S. business in many cases, patience is running thin, and it’s time for action,” she said.

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Spanish company PLD Space launched its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday from a site in southwestern Spain, carrying out Europe’s first fully private rocket launch and offering hope for the continent’s stalled space ambitions.

The startup’s test nighttime launch from Huelva came after two previous attempts were scrubbed. The Miura-1 rocket, named after a breed of fighting bulls, is as tall as a three-story building and has a 100-kilogram cargo capacity. The launch carries a payload for test purposes, but this will not be released, the company said.

Mission control video showed engineers cheering as the rocket gained altitude against the dark nighttime sky, shouting for joy and congratulating one another.

A first attempt to launch the Miura-1 rocket in May was abandoned due to strong high-altitude winds. A second attempt in June failed when umbilical cables in the avionics bay did not all release in time, halting the lift off as smoke and flames spewed out from the rocket.

Airspace, areas of the sea and roads were closed around the high-security launch site ahead of the launch.

Europe’s efforts to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space are in focus after a failed orbital rocket launch by Virgin Orbit from Britain in January. That system involved releasing the launcher from a converted Boeing 747. Competitors lining up to join the race to launch small payloads include companies in Scotland, Sweden and Germany.

Saturday’s mission on the Miura-1 demonstrator was the first of two scheduled suborbital missions. However, analysts say the most critical test of its ambitions will be the development of orbital services on the larger Miura-5, planned for 2025.

In July, the last launch of Europe’s largest rocket, the premier Ariane 5 space launcher, took place at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Europe has until recently depended on Ariane 5 and its 11-tonne-plus capacity for heavy missions, as well as Russia’s Soyuz launcher for medium payloads and Italy’s Vega, which is also launched from Kourou, for small ones.

The end of Ariane 5 has left Europe with virtually no autonomous access to space until its successor, Ariane 6, is launched. Russia halted access to Soyuz in response to European sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the upgraded Vega-C has been grounded for technical reasons and Ariane 6 is delayed until next year.

The European Space Agency said last week that Vega-C would not return to service until the fourth quarter of 2024, following a failed mission last December.

All About America explores American culture, politics, trends, history, ideals and places of interest.

As Americans shed pounds on weight loss drugs like Ozempic, snack food companies could be in for some shrinkage, as well.

“The food, beverage and restaurant industries could see softer demand, particularly for unhealthier foods and high-fat, sweet and salty options,” Morgan Stanley food analyst Pamela Kaufman says in a company report.

A survey of 300 people currently taking semaglutide weight loss drugs such as Ozempic showed the medicine can reduce calorie intake by 20% to 30% a day.

The people surveyed said they cut back the most on foods that are high in sugar and fat, reducing their consumption of sweets, sugary drinks and baked goods by up to two-thirds. The survey found 77% of people on weight loss drugs went to fast food restaurants less often, while 74% reduced their visits to pizza shops.

Approximated 1 in 5 American adults is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s all of these food companies [and] beverage companies that have created the obesity,” says Angelica Gianchandani, professor of marketing at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. “At one time, it was innovation — creating all these different products and being able to put foods in bags and ziplocks [plastic bags] and easy to carry and transport — that was innovation. But all of this food creation in packaged goods, there’s a lot of processed foods, and the impact, if you’re not eating in moderation, has created this obesity.”

Morgan Stanley analysts estimate that 24 million people, roughly 7% of the U.S. population, will be taking this new class of obesity drugs by 2035. They project that overall consumption of soft drinks, baked goods and salty snacks could fall up to 3% by 2035.

But James Schrager, professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at the University of Chicago, says the snack industry continues to grow, and he doesn’t expect the increased use of semaglutides to have a major long-term impact.

“The growth comes from younger users, and younger users may not be the primary target for the drug,” he says. “Younger people — who don’t become obese usually, or at least in many cases — and who aren’t going to be taking the drug.”

Schrager says he’s worked as a consultant with some of the largest processed food companies in the world, and they are already concerned about providing healthier options.

“Way before this drug, [they worried] that the market will go away,” Schrager says. “They very much know that some of these are not good for some people’s health. …They would often say, ‘In a health-conscious world, we realize we may be out of business. How do we fix that?’”

The rise in semaglutide use also could cut into other obesity-related industries. The proportion of people paying for weight loss programs fell from 29% to 20% once they started taking the drug, according to the data. Gianchandani says weight loss businesses will pivot to health and wellness to stay afloat.

“And it will require people to have coaches, people to have nutritionists, to help give them a regimented diet to help them monitor,” she says. “These weight loss companies will encompass all of that, everything from food programs to coaching and support groups to help them maintain their weight and stay healthy.”

The report finds that patients taking the obesity drugs say they’re cutting back on sugary carbonated drinks (65%) and alcohol (62%). Almost one-fourth completely gave up alcohol. But Gianchandani says alcohol producers could benefit from the semaglutide craze.

“It’s going to capture a whole new market share. For them, it’s good,” she says, pointing out that alcohol producers are increasingly developing lower-calorie beverages. “They’re going to have a new product line to target a whole new demographic, and it will be millions of dollars of a market for them to benefit from.”

Maldives President-elect Mohamed Muizzu’s election victory has put South Asian countries’ attempted balancing act between China and India into the global spotlight.

Muizzu is known as a pro-China politician, and analysts predict he will try to institute some pro-China policies. At the same time, they think India’s active presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago will force Muizzu to strike a delicate balance between Beijing and New Delhi.

“Muizzu tapped into the anti-India sentiment [during the campaign] and he certainly will try to distance his government from India to some extent, but I don’t think this means he is going to jump onto the China bandwagon,” David Brewster, a senior Australian National University research fellow, told VOA by phone.

“India’s interests are much broader and deeper across the Maldives. In the security sphere, India is building a new coast guard base near Maldives’ capital, Malé, and they also have various projects around the Maldives,” he added.

While it remains to be seen what actions Muizzu will take to fulfill his campaign promises under the “India Out” slogan, Brewster said he thinks India’s deep involvement in Maldives will make Muizzu feel “restrained and act cautiously.”

Muizzu, backed by a coalition that calls for closer ties with China, won Maldives’ presidential runoff September 30, beating incumbent president Ibrahim Solih by winning 54% of the vote.

The election was viewed as a virtual referendum on China’s and India’s influence on Maldives. Muizzu vowed to reduce India’s presence in Maldives by removing the 75 Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago.

At an event celebrating his electoral victory on Monday, Muizzu said he would stick to his campaign promise. “We will send back foreign soldiers in the Maldives,” he told a group of supporters.

Traditionally, India views Maldives as part of its sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean, and under outgoing President Solih, who adopted an “India First” foreign policy since coming to power in 2018, New Delhi has kept a small group of soldiers in the country for “humanitarian purposes.”

In addition to the regular military presence, India has provided Maldives with defense-related facilities and equipment in recent decades, including a military hospital, a coastal surveillance radar system, and the Greater Malé Connectivity Project, a $500 million infrastructure project connecting Malé with several nearby islands.

However, Muizzu’s party has voiced concerns about the two countries’ elevated security ties.

“The argument that Muizzu’s party put forward was that India was infringing on Maldives’ territorial integrity by stationing 75 Indian military personnel on one of the islands,” said Yogesh Joshi, an expert on South Asian affairs at the National University of Singapore, by phone.

Despite growing skepticism toward India in Maldives, some experts say they think Muizzu will have to consider other factors, such as infrastructure projects supported by India, when he decides how to manage Maldives’ relationship with New Delhi.

“There are more things that Muizzu has to consider, and this process will have a sobering effect on him when he takes over the office soon,” Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of China studies at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told VOA by phone.

As for India’s government, Brewster said he thinks it will continue projects it initiated under the previous government, including the connectivity project and the new coast guard base, while working out a new approach to engage with Muizzu’s administration.

In a brief statement on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Muizzu on his election victory and vowed to keep strengthening bilateral ties with the Maldives.

While India has enhanced cooperation with Maldives over the last five years, China has been expanding its presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago since 2010.

Beijing funded a number of infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road Initiative, causing Maldives to owe $935 million in sovereign guarantees to Chinese companies and another $600 million to the Chinese government, according to figures shared by Maldives Foreign Ministry in 2019.

Since Muizzu will likely focus on reviving economic ties with China, Brewster said he thinks his government should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of such an attempt.

“I’m not sure to what extent Muizzu will reopen the floodgate to major Chinese infrastructure projects, but [since] Maldives is still highly indebted, any additional amount of debt that the country takes on will be a real problem for them,” he told VOA.

As for Beijing, Joshi said he thinks it will try to reduce India’s involvement and present Maldives as a shining example of the Belt and Road Initiative.

“China would like to capitalize on the domestic political change in Maldives,” he told VOA. “They will try to not only recover its lost space but also consolidate its security and economic presence in the country.”

Following Muizzu’s victory, Chinese leader Xi Jinping congratulated him Tuesday, saying that he attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations between Maldives and China and stands ready to work with Muizzu to carry forward the friendship.

Despite his seemingly pro-China and India-skeptical stance, Brewster said he thinks Muizzu will try to play a balancing act between India and China rather than tilting too much toward Beijing.

“He will maintain the primacy of India in foreign policy and security while also reopening economic links with China,” he told VOA, adding that such a balancing act has been a common approach adopted by other South Asian countries, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

While Muizzu’s victory may suggest a recalibration of Maldives’ foreign policy approach to some extent, Brewster said he thinks it will not significantly affect the competition between China and India in South Asia.

“I don’t think this election adds anything different,” he told VOA. “In each South Asian country, there is a pendulum that seems to swing back and forth between tilting towards India or tilting towards China, and that exact dynamic has been playing out throughout the region. This is just another swing of the pendulum in Maldives,” he said. 

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese voted on Saturday in a referendum to recognise the country’s Indigenous people in the constitution, a week from a national polling day on the measure that is trailing in opinion surveys.

Albanese’s centre-left Labor government backs the change, while the opposition Liberal-National conservatives urge a vote of “No”. Opponents lead the yes camp by 53% to 38%, according to an opinion poll this week.

If the “Voice to Parliament” referendum is approved on Oct. 14, it would enshrine Indigenous people in the constitution and set up an advisory body to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people input on policies that affect them.

Most Indigenous people favour the referendum, but some say it is a distraction from achieving practical and positive outcomes and would not fully resolve the issues affecting them.

The political opposition says the measure would not provide practical outcomes for Indigenous people and that regional and local committees in their communities could be more effective than a national body.

Taking advantage of early voting, Albanese posted a photo to Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showing him casting his vote with his son Nathan Albanese.

“I cast my vote today for Yes and I did so proudly in the knowledge that this is the request of Indigenous Australians,” Albanese told reporters, according to a transcript.

A spokesperson said the prime minister voted in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, in Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, where 4.2% of people identify as Indigenous, slightly higher than the nationwide 3.8%, according to the latest census figures.

Last month, thousands rallied in state capitals across Australia in an effort to buoy the yes campaign, which sees the measure as a way to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Marginalised by British colonial rulers and not mentioned in Australia’s 122-year-old constitution, Indigenous Australians face disadvantages including discrimination, poor health and education outcomes and high incarceration rates. Their life expectancy is about eight years lower than non-Indigenous people.

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Six men suspected of involvement in the murder in August of Ecuador’s anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio were killed in prison on Friday, the prisons agency said, barely a week before a crucial run-off election.

The killings took place in a penitentiary in Guayaquil, the South American country’s largest city, the attorney general’s office announced earlier on Friday.

Ecuador’s government swiftly condemned the killings.

Outgoing President Guillermo Lasso pledged “neither complicity nor cover-up” in getting to the bottom of the killings, in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Here the truth will be known,” he said.

The SNAI prisons agency said in a statement the six men were all Colombian nationals. It gave no more details of the killings.

The government has said authorities are determined to identify those behind Villavicencio’s murder.

Villavicencio, a prominent journalist, was gunned down less than two weeks before a first round general election as he left a campaign event in the capital, Quito.

Police arrested the six Colombians on the day of Villavicencio’s assassination. A seventh suspect, also Colombian, was shot and killed by police, while other suspects were later arrested.

The second round run-off vote is scheduled for Oct. 15, the culmination of an election cycle marred by numerous incidents of violence.

Business heir Daniel Noboa, who holds a narrow lead in some polls ahead of the run-off, said in a social media post that the government must provide details of what occurred at the prison and that peace must be restored in the country.

His main rival for the presidency is Luisa Gonzalez, a protege of leftist former President Rafael Correa. She has said that surging crime is unprecedented and that voters should not allow “terror” to stop them from voting for change.

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Six people killed on Friday in a prison in Ecuador were suspects in the murder of anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the prisons agency said in a statement.

The killings took place in Litoral Penitenciary in Guayaquil, the South American country’s largest city, the attorney general’s office said earlier on Friday.

Ecuador’s government condemned the killings.

President Guillermo Lasso pledged “neither complicity nor cover-up” in getting to the bottom of the crime, in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Here the truth will be known,” he said.

The SNAI prisons agency said in a statement the six men were all Colombian nationals. It gave no more details of the killings.

The government has said authorities are determined to identify those behind Villavicencio’s murder.

Villavicencio, a prominent journalist, was gunned down less than two weeks before a first round general election.

The six people killed on Friday in a prison in Ecuador’s Guayas province were all accused as suspects in the murder case of anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the prisons agency said in a statement.

The Colorado man accused of murdering 10 people in a shooting rampage at a Boulder supermarket in 2021, then diagnosed as schizophrenic and declared mentally unfit for prosecution months later, is now competent to stand trial, a judge ruled on Friday.

Boulder County District Judge Ingrid Bakke agreed with state psychiatric experts and prosecutors that Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa has made enough progress through treatment to render him capable of understanding the charges against him and meaningfully assisting in his own defense.

Still, the judge asked that Alissa remain in the custody of the state hospital where he has been confined for the past two years. Bakke agreed with prosecutors that Alissa, 24, stands a better chance of avoiding regression if he stays hospitalized than if he were returned to jail to await trial.

Alissa’s lawyer, Kathryn Herold, argued during his competency review hearing last week that her client’s mental illness remains profound, so much so that he “engaged in an unprovoked” assault during the past month, apparently fueled by a psychotic episode.

She recounted that four psychologists had deemed Alissa to be mentally incompetent and suffering from schizophrenia, from October of 2021 through April of this year.

Psychiatric experts testifying at last Wednesday’s hearing said Alissa had suffered from hallucinations and had never been treated for severe mental illness before he arrived at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital following his arrest.

One forensic psychologist, Loandra Torres, who evaluated Alissa for competency, said he told behavioral health professionals at the hospital he had bought guns because he wanted to carry out a mass shooting and “commit suicide by cop.”

That testimony marked the first indication of a motive for the shooting offered in the case in open court.

The Colorado Department of Human Services issued a re-evaluation report concluding in August that Alissa had been “restored to competency” through court-ordered psychiatric treatment, including involuntarily administered drug therapy.

The legal definition for competency differs from the question of whether someone can plead not guilty by reason of insanity, a separate standard requiring prosecutors to show the defendant knew right from wrong at the time of committing an offense.

Alissa, bearded and bespectacled, appeared fidgety as he sat beside his attorney in court on Wednesday, dressed in striped jail garb.

He is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and dozens of attempted-murder charges and related offenses stemming from the March 2021 massacre at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, about 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Denver.

Alissa surrendered to law enforcement officials at the shooting scene after he was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police, according to authorities.

Ten people, including a police officer, were killed in the rampage, which came less than a week after an unrelated series of attacks by a gunman who killed eight people at three Atlanta-area day spas.

Authorities said the murder weapon in the Boulder attack, a Ruger AR-556 pistol that resembles a semi-automatic rifle, was purchased by Alissa six days before the grocery store shooting spree.

The sheriff’s office said Alissa had a second weapon, a 9mm handgun, in his possession at the time but that gun was not fired during the rampage.

Alissa pleaded guilty to a third-degree assault in 2018 for punching a high school classmate without warning the previous year, court records show.