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This week in Asian Football
Discussion points on Asian football this week: RONALDO DOES THE DOUBLE TO KEEP AL-NASSR PERFECT DURING SAUDI PRO LEAGUE Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty in 14th minute stoppage time ensured Al-Nassr’s perfect start of the Saudi Pro League Season as Jorge Jesus’ side won 2-1 over Al-Fayha to stay three points ahead after seven matches. Ronaldo equalized with eight minutes remaining in the first-half. The Portuguese striker then sealed the points in the added time of the second period. Al-Taawoun defeated Al-Qadsiah by a score of 2-0, staying second. Al-Hilal climbed to third place after a 1-0 win over Al-Shabab in spite of Kalidou Koulibaly’s red card in the 78th-minute. HIROSHIMA CELEBRATE HI.LEAGUE CUP WIN Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the J.League Cup on Saturday by beating Kashiwa Reysol, 3-1, at the National Stadium of Tokyo. Hayato Araki, from Hiroshima, scored the first goal in the 25th minutes after latching onto Shuto Nakano’s long throw in the six-yard area. Shunki Higashi then doubled the lead with a perfect kick from over 25 yards. Ryo Germain added his third goal to Kashiwa's score after a second long throw from Nakano. Mao Hosoya scored a consolation nine minutes before the end of the first half. SHANGHAI PORT DOWNZHEJIANG TO MOVE CLOSE TO CHINESE TITLE Shanghai Port, led by Kevin Muscat and his team, will have a two-point advantage going into the last day of the Chinese Super League after they defeated Zhejiang FC 3-0 on Friday. This victory puts them closer to winning a second consecutive title. Port's 19th victory of the season was secured by an own goal from Liu Haofan, Wang Shenchao, and Mateus Vital. Shanghai Shenhua, who are cross-city rivals, moved up to second place with a 1-0 victory over Shenzhen Peng City. Chengdu Rongcheng fell to third after their 2-1 loss against Henan FC. AUCKLAND GOES TOP OF A LEAGUE AFTER WIN OVER ADELAIDE UNITED Auckland FC, the hosts of Saturday's A-League matchup against Adelaide United, won 2-1. Louis Verstraete scored with 11 minutes left to give Steve Corica's team seven points after their first three matches, one point ahead of Sydney FC. Al Hassan Toure scored three goals for Sydney during their 4-1 victory over Newcastle Jets. Patrick Wood added the fourth. (Reporting and editing by Michael Church)
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Aquilius raises $1 billion for Asia's biggest real estate secondary fund
Aquilius Investment Partners, a Singapore-based company, announced on Monday that it had raised $1.1 billion to fund its second Asia Pacific Real Estate Secondaries Fund, making it the largest in the region. According to Preqin, secondaries, where investors purchase existing stakes in funds, are the fastest-growing alternative strategy globally. Data provider predicts that global alternative assets will reach $29.2 trillion in 2029. Secondaries are projected to grow at the fastest rate of 13.1% per year through 2029. This is due to slow exits and increasing private wealth demand. Aquilius announced in a press release that the fundraising included over $750 millions for AIP Secondary Fund II and related vehicles. This is more than its original target of $700 million. This compares to the more than $400,000,000 raised in 2023 for its first fund. Aquilius reported that about half of the capital had already been spent on eight transactions. Aquilius, founded in 2021 by ex-executives of Partners Group and Blackstone, operates, it claims, Asia's largest secondaries real estate platform with 30 professionals working on the ground. Christian Keiber is the founding partner of Aquilius. He said: "A third of global private markets AUM is located in Asia. Yet less than 10% secondaries capital are dedicated to Asia." AUM is assets under management. "Combine this with an environment of slow-exits, increased uncertainty, and regulatory driving forces, and you've got a generational purchasing opportunity." Bastian Wolff is also the founding partner of Aquilius. He said that Aquilius clients are predominantly sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and governments in Asia and Middle East. Wolff stated that "their understanding and proximity to the market were key drivers for confidence in our strategy and platform." Wolff stated that the remaining capital would target diversified exposure in Japan, Korea and India, with a focus on new economy segments such as data centres, logistics and living. (Reporting and editing by Tomaszjanowski)
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US probes near-miss between Southwest Airlines jet, helicopter
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board announced on Sunday that it will send a team to Ohio to investigate a close call between an Southwest Airlines jet and medical helicopter on October 29, near Cleveland International Airport. The NTSB stated that the two aircraft lost separation - which means they were closer than the minimum distance required - as Southwest Flight 1333 made its final approach to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Southwest's pilot aborted the landing. Southwest reported that the Boeing 737 landed successfully a few minutes later. NTSB or Southwest have not disclosed the number of passengers on board the aircraft. According to the way the helicopter identified itself, it appears that the helicopter was transporting a passenger at the moment of the accident. Southwest Airlines said in a Sunday statement that it "appreciates our crew's professionalism in dealing with the situation." We will cooperate with the National Transportation Safety Board in the investigation. A representative of the medical transport company didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. The mid-air collision on January 29, between an American Airlines regional plane and a U.S. Army chopper outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the U.S. Capital, killed 67 people and raised alarm over close calls between commercial aircraft and helicopters. Flightradar24, an aviation tracking website, said that air traffic control audio and tracking flight showed that in the Cleveland incident the Southwest plane had to divert from its original course in order to avoid the Eurocopter that was passing directly in front of it. The site reported that both aircraft were at a height of 2,075 feet (632 metres) at one time and were only 0.56 miles away (0.9 km) from each other. According to Flightradar24, an air traffic controller requested that the medical helicopter go behind other flights in the area of the airport. The helicopter pilot replied "it would be better if it could go above and in front if it can" and the controller agreed. According to two people who were briefed about the issue, the Southwest captain stated in a report sent to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the incident was "extremely near" and needed immediate action to prevent a collision. Last month, the FAA announced that it would modify helicopter routes near BWI International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport in order to create buffer zones following the January crash. This also applies at Reagan. U.S. lawmakers, as well as NTSB investigators, have criticized the FAA for not acting on reports of near miss incidents prior to the collision that occurred on January 29, 2009. At the time of crash, the Army Black Hawk helicopter had exceeded the maximum permissible altitude. Both the helicopter as well as the airliner crashed in the Potomac River. The FAA banned the Army in May from flying helicopters close to the Pentagon following a near-miss on May 1, which forced two civilian planes into aborted landings. In March, the NTSB reported that between 2021 and now there have been 15,200 incidents of loss of separation air near Reagan between helicopters and commercial aircraft. This includes 85 close calls.
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US probes near-miss between Southwest Airlines jet, helicopter
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board announced on Sunday that it will send a team to Ohio's Cleveland International Airport near Cleveland International Airport, Ohio, to investigate a close call between Southwest Airlines jets and helicopters on October 29, 2009. NTSB stated that the two aircraft lost separation - which means they were closer than the minimum distance required - as Southwest Flight 1333 made its final approach to Baltimore. Southwest's pilot aborted the landing because of this. Southwest reported that the Boeing 737 landed successfully a few minutes later. The mid-air collision on January 29, between an American Airlines regional plane and a U.S. Army chopper outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the U.S. Capital, killed 67 people and raised alarm over close calls between commercial aircraft and helicopters.
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Ukraine: Thousands of people are without power after Russia strikes the frontline region
Ukraine's authorities reported that two people died in Odesa's southern region, and nearly 60,000 were left without power after the overnight Russian airstrike on Ukraine's frontline Zaporizhzhia region. As winter approaches, Russia has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's electricity grid. This has caused outages, and forced Kyiv emergency crews into a race to fix damage and manage rolling power blackouts. Ivan Federov said that the attack in Zaporizhzhia resulted in two injuries and the destruction of buildings, he told Telegram. Fedorov posted photos of nighttime images of buildings that had their facades and windows ripped off. Zaporizhzhia is subjected to daily Russian artillery, drone and missile strikes, which have caused destruction of homes, crippled utility services and killed a number of people. Moscow also pressures Ukraine’s defences, and disrupts the links between the south and the rest. Fedorov confirmed that the attack overnight injured two people. He said that Russia's 800 attacks on 18 settlements across the region over 24 hours and into Sunday morning killed one person, injured three others. Ukraine's emergency service reported on Telegram that two people were killed in the overnight Russian drone attack on Odesa, on Ukraine's Black Sea Coast. Separately the death toll of a Russian air strike that ignited a shop in Dnipropetrovsk on Saturday is now four, including two boys aged 11-14. Russia has not yet commented on the attack. Both sides deny that they are targeting civilians, but the majority of the victims in this conflict have been Ukrainians. Reporting by Lidia Kelley in Melbourne, Editing by Clarence Fernandez & Jamie Freed
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Ukraine: Thousands of people are without power after Russia strikes the frontline region
The regional governor reported that nearly 60,000 people had no power after the overnight Russian air strike on Ukraine's frontline Zaporizhzhia region, which left two dead and a number of buildings in ruins. As winter approaches, Russia has intensified missile and drone attacks on generation and distribution infrastructure to cause blackouts that have Kyiv emergency crews scrambling to fix damage and manage rolling power outages. Ivan Fedorov said that crews would restore power "as soon as security conditions allow" on Telegram, where he had posted photos of nighttime images of buildings with their facades and windows ripped off. Zaporizhzhia is subjected to daily Russian artillery and missile strikes, which have caused destruction of homes and utilities, and resulted in the deaths of many people. Moscow also pressures Ukraine’s defences, and disrupts the links between the south and the rest. Fedorov confirmed that the attack overnight injured two people. He said that Russia's 800 attacks on 18 settlements across the region over 24 hours and into Sunday morning killed one person, injured three others. (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez in Melbourne, Lidia Kelly from Melbourne)
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What did Trump and Xi agree on regarding tariffs, export control, and fentanyl
On Saturday, the White House released details of an agreement between U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that was reached this week to de-escalate both countries' trade conflict. This included U.S. Tariff reductions and a pause on Beijing's restrictions on rare earth mineral and magnets. The agreement, which includes the resumption by China of its purchases of American soybeans and averts Trump’s threatened 100% tariff against Chinese goods, extends for approximately a year a fragile trade truce between two of the largest economies in the world. Here are some key elements of the Trump - Xi agreement reached in Busan on Thursday. TARIFF REDUTION ON CHINESE GOODS RELATED TO FENTANYL The U.S. is halving the 20% tariff placed on Chinese goods relating to the supplies of fentanyl precursor chemicals that come from China. According to U.S. officials, the reduction in tariffs from February to 10% will reduce the U.S. overall tariff rate for Chinese imports by about 57% to 47%. This total includes tariffs of approximately 25% on Chinese imports imposed during Trump's initial term as President, a 10% "reciprocal tariff" imposed in April along with previous "Most Favoured Nation" rates. CHINA ABANDONS RARE-EARTH CONTROL OF EXPORTS China has agreed to a pause of one year on the export controls that it announced this month. Rare earth minerals and magnets play vital roles in cars and planes as well as weapons. They are Beijing's strongest source of leverage during its trade war against Washington. These controls would have required export licensing for products that contained even trace amounts of an expanded list of elements, and were intended to prevent their use in weapons. White House: China will issue general export licenses for rare earths and other materials such as gallium, germanium and antimony to the U.S. and its suppliers. White House stated that this amounted "to the de facto removal" of controls China had imposed between April 2025, and October 2022. The White House announced that China has also agreed to cease all retaliatory duties it has imposed since March 4. These include duties on U.S. poultry, wheat, corn and cotton, soybeans, pork and beef, as well as aquatic products, fruits, vegetable, and dairy products. Beijing said it would also suspend all non-tariff countermeasures that had been taken by the Chinese government against the U.S., such as the listing of certain American companies in the Chinese government’s lists of end users and unreliable entities. Export controls by the Trump Administration have been paused The U.S. agreed on a one-year suspension of an expanded Commerce Department Blacklist of companies that are prohibited from purchasing U.S. Technology Goods, including semiconductor manufacturing machinery. This was to avoid the use of subsidiaries or other firms in order to circumvent export controls. The expanded blacklist automatically included companies that were more than half owned by the companies already listed. This would have been the most significant impact on Chinese firms, as it would have banned U.S. Exports to thousands of Chinese firms. CHINA COMMITS PURCHASE OF SOYBEAN The White House announced that China had agreed to purchase at least 12,000,000 metric tons (or 25,000,000 metric pounds) of U.S. soya beans in 2025's last two months, and at least 25,000,000 metric pounds of U.S. soya beans in each of three subsequent years. The White House also announced that China had agreed to resume its purchases of U.S. hardwood logs and sorghum. China has stopped purchasing U.S. beans in large quantities this fall, and purchased none in September. It now sources its beans from Brazil or Argentina. Washington demanded more purchases due to the loud complaints of U.S. Farmers, who are a major Trump constituency. Analysts have noted that China's soybean purchases will not exceed their previous levels. The U.S. exported almost 27 million tons to China in 2024. China had promised to increase soybean purchases as part of the "Phase One", a Trump-negotiated trade agreement that stopped a trade conflict in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from meeting their targets. China will also take steps to resume trade with chipmaker Nexperia's facilities The White House stated in its fact sheet that the production of legacy chips is now allowed to be exported to other countries. The White House announced that Beijing would also extend its market-based exclusion process of imports from America, and the exclusions will remain in effect until December 31, 2026. The White House announced that China would end its antitrust, antimonopoly, and antidumping investigations against U.S. semiconductor firms. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PUTS OFF NEW PORT FEE The White House announced that Beijing had agreed to lift the sanctions imposed against various shipping companies and remove the measures taken in retaliation to Washington's Section 301 inquiry into China's dominance in the global maritime, logistic and shipbuilding sectors. The Trump administration has agreed to suspend for one year the new port fees that are imposed on Chinese built, owned and flagged ships. The fees were intended to revive U.S. shipbuilding and could have added thousands of dollars per voyage to U.S. port. On October 14, the port fees and 100% tariffs were implemented, along with ship-to shore cranes built in China. The fees disrupted the cargo flow and caused container prices to rise as shippers tried to avoid China-linked ships. China has set its own fees for U.S. linked ships, which includes those owned by global shippers who have 25% U.S. equity. White House announced that it would continue to talk with South Korea and Japan about revitalizing American shipbuilding while negotiating with China on the issue. COOPERATION AGAINST FENTANYL TRACKERS The White House announced that China had agreed to "significant measures" in order to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. This included a halt to the shipment of certain chemical precursors to North America, and a strict control of exports of chemicals around the world. U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent said on Fox Business Network that in the next few weeks, working groups of both countries will "set very objective measurements" to reduce flows and measure the success of curbing the deadly drug blamed for tens thousands of U.S. deaths from overdoses every year. The tariffs were put in place by the Trump administration because they were worried about China's promises to help. They said that the tariffs would be in place until Beijing took concrete steps. Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Paul Simao, David Gregorio, and Doina Chiacu.
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The pilots' union gives Lufthansa more time to settle pensions dispute and avoid a possible strike
According to a letter sent to members by the German pilots' union VC on Saturday, Lufthansa has been given more time to settle a pensions dispute. This will prevent a strike for the moment. In the letter of Friday, it was stated that the employer would be asked to make an offer again, and with a deadline. The talks have been going on since May. It said that it would "grant management enough time" to do this so, for the moment, no industrial action should be expected. However, it did not specify how much time management would receive. Lufthansa avoided a strike after VC members voted for it in a ballot held at the end September. The union wants higher employer contributions for the 4,800 employees in the cockpit of Lufthansa's core brand and its cargo subsidiary, LufthansaCargo. (Reporting and writing by Ilona wissenback in Frankfurt, Sarah Marsh in Berlin, Rod Nickel).
What we understand about the sinking of Mike Lynch's superyacht off Sicily
The sinking of a high-end private yacht on Aug. 19 off the northern coast of Sicily left 7 individuals dead, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his child Hannah and Morgan Stanley's Jonathan Bloomer.
Here is what we know about the accident.
STORM
The Bayesian, a British flagged 56-metre (184-feet). superyacht, sank in the pre-dawn dark off the port of. Porticello, near Palermo, after an extremely severe and abrupt weather. event.
District attorney Raffaele Cammarano said on Saturday the event was. probably a downburst, an extremely strong down wind that is. an extreme however relatively regular occasion at sea, rather than a. waterspout which includes turning winds like a whirlwind or. tornado.
Twenty-two individuals were on board, and 15 endured, consisting of. nine out of 10 team members along with Lynch's wife, whose. business owned the Bayesian. They were discovered on a life raft. Six. out of the 12 travelers died.
Prosecutors, who have actually put the private yacht's captain James Cutfield. under examination for murder and shipwreck, said the. ship would have to be pulled out of the water before the. examination could be concluded.
STERN FIRST WENT DOWN
The Bayesian sent its last signal before sinking through the. tracking Automatic Identification System (AIS) at 0206 GMT,. according to the MarineTraffic website.
Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio stated a red flare notifying. emergency situation services about the emergency situation was fired into the sky at. 0238 GMT, more than 30 minutes after the boat had gone down.
The head of Palermo's Fire Brigade, Girolamo Bentivoglio. Fiandra, said the boat sank from the stern and is resting on its. starboard side at a depth of around 50 metres (164 feet).
In the private yacht, the bodies of the dead were discovered in the. cabins on the left-hand side of the boat, where the passengers. may have tried to look for staying bubbles of air, he added.
District attorney Cammarano said the guests were all most likely. asleep at the time of the storm which was why they stopped working to. escape.
THE OTHER BOAT
The close-by yacht, the 42-metre Sir Robert Baden Powell,. remained anchored and weathered the storm after its captain. switched on the engine to keep control and avoid a collision with. the Bayesian.
The captain, Karsten Borner, said he did not understand if the. team of the Bayesian had managed to turn on its engines.
I only understand that they went flat with the mast on the water. and that they sank in two minutes, he said.
' INCOMPREHENSIBLE'
Andrea Ratti, a nautical style professor at Milan. Polytechnic university, stated a boat the size of the Bayesian. might only sink so quickly by taking in a huge quantity of water.
He suggested that one or more portholes, windows or other. openings might have been left open, damaged or smashed by the. storm, letting in water.
However, an industry professional in Britain stated it must have. taken hours for the Bayesian to fill with sufficient water to. sink it, making its swift demise incomprehensible.
The Bayesian had a retractable keel - a fin-like stabilising. structure under the hull which can be partially lifted to lower. the depth of the boat when entering shallow waters or harbours.
A number of experts have questioned if the private yacht had actually been moored. with its keel up, potentially jeopardizing its stability in a. violent storm.
UNSINKABLE
The Bayesian was built in 2008 by Perini Navi, an Italian. high-end yacht maker. It featured the world's highest aluminium. mast, measuring 72 metres, but early reports that the mast broke. in the storm have up until now shown unfounded.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which. owns Perini, stated the luxury yacht was among the best boats in the. world and essentially unsinkable.
He alleged that the sinking was due to a chain of human. mistakes given that the storm was expected. He made his assertions. partially based upon data from the Automatic Identification System. The captain and other crew members have not spoken publicly. about the catastrophe and efforts to reach them have. been not successful.
Costantino stated that had the team shut all doors and. hatches, switched on the engine, raised the anchor, lowered the. keel and turned the private yacht to deal with the wind, it would have. suffered no damage.
He added that information revealed it took 16 minutes from when the. wind started buffeting the luxury yacht, and it began handling water,. for it to sink.
Reuters has not been able to validate his assertions.
(source: Reuters)