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Ireland-based budget fashion chain Primark has been criticised for its record on workers’ rights and the effect of its low-cost, high-volume model on the environment.But its chief executive Paul Marchant does not agree. “I don’t buy the story that we can’t be ethical buying from Asia,” he told AFP in an interview in Dublin.In the world of low-cost fashion, Primark — a fixture on the high street in the UK, Ireland and beyond — is a one-off.The brand produces its garments in Asia and sells them cheaply in Europe, but ships them by boat rather than by plane, does not sell online, prepares its collections more than a year in advance and does not build up stock.It has been a lucrative formula, with Marchant boasting recently that the retailer had hit the billion-pound ($1.3 billion) profit figure for the first time. Primark, though, still has to bat back critics including environmental campaigners who argue that the brand’s “throwaway” fashion is a drain on resources.Human rights groups meanwhile accuse it of relying on suppliers in countries where workers are afforded little protection. Primark maintains that it trains Indian farmers in regenerative agriculture and that it conducts regular audits of its suppliers to ensure workers and land are not exploited. Nonetheless, its model relies on policing of regulations in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where its garments are mainly produced.”Providing you have the right partners… and have the right guards and measures and controls in place… I don’t see any reason why you can’t have a very robust ethical supply chain at source,” said Marchant.The company, he added, complies with the International Labour Organization’s code of conduct.- Humble roots -Primark published a report on its supply chain in 2018 but it only covered its own clothing factories, not its partners.It admitted last year that previous partner SMART Myanmar had imposed excessive working time on its staff, and that they were not properly informed of their general leave entitlement.However, it said there was no evidence to back up further claims that staff had limited toilet access and suffered verbal abuse from supervisors. Primark claims to be making efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but acknowledges that 97.5 percent of its overall carbon footprint comes from the activities of its suppliers. Asked about the sheer volume of clothing his company sells, Marchant is insistent.”We’re not flooding the market with unwanted goods,” he said. “We sell everything that we buy.”He also claimed that his products are less sensitive than other brands to the whims of fashion, with half of its collections consisting of everyday clothing. Primark launched in Ireland in 1969 under the name Penneys and has had only two bosses since: founder Arthur Ryan, then Marchant. But the company, the top-selling budget-fashion flagship in both the UK and Ireland, is no longer a small family business. It is now a thriving subsidiary of the agri-food giant Associated British Foods, and sells its clothes in 17 countries, employing 80,000 people.- Expansion plans -On the back of this success, Primark intends to expand in the United States and Europe (France, Spain, Portugal and Italy), Marchant explained. The brand has also signed with “a franchise partner” to open stores in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and “potentially” Bahrain and Qatar within “12 to 18 months”, he added. Primark’s direct competitors include Europe’s H&M and Zara, as well as Asian giants Shein and Temu, which follow a similar model of “low, low margins”, he said. The company also achieves economies of scale by purchasing larger volumes than its competitors and does not sell online. Instead, it hopes to lure customers to stores by expanding partnerships with popular brands such as Netflix, Disney and Hello Kitty. Its 453 stores sell clothes and accessories, but also stock decorations and host cafes, eyebrow bars and hairdressers. The idea is that everyone can find something. For instance, parents are tempted by “competitive” prices on children’s clothing while women with special clothing requirements, such as those who are pregnant, who have suffered from breast cancer or who have disabilities, all have collections catering to them. 

Asian markets diverged Thursday as investors brushed off a negative lead from Wall Street while welcoming a drop in Treasury yields and data showing US inflation was holding steady.With the United States heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, business in New York was subdued after a flurry of activity since Donald Trump’s election at the start of the month.That has allowed Asian traders to take a breather and digest recent developments as the president-elect builds a hawkish cabinet that looks set to renew his hardball approach to world trade, having already flagged tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico.Data out of Washington on Wednesday showed the personal consumption expenditures index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — edged up to 2.3 percent on-year in OctoberThe figure was up from 2.1 percent the previous month and in line with forecasts, while slightly above the Federal Reserve’s long-term two percent target for price rises.While the Fed appears to be getting a handle on inflation and the labour market is softening, investors have started to scale back their bets on how many rate cuts the central bank will make as they try to assess the impact of Trump’s plans to cut taxes and impose tariffs.Futures markets currently place the odds at about two-thirds that officials will lower rates again in December by 25 basis points.Still, all three main Wall Street indexes ended in the red, with the Dow and S&P 500 pulling back from record highs as investors shifted to the sidelines ahead of the festive break.Treasury yields slipped, weighing on the dollar Wednesday, though the greenback edged back slightly in Asian trade.Equity markets were mixed in early exchanges, with Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore all rising and Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta taking a leg down. Seoul was flat as investors shrugged at a second successive interest rate cut by South Korea’s central bank.Hong Kong and Shanghai edged down as dealers turned an eye to Beijing amid speculation authorities will announce fresh stimulus measures at a key meeting expected next month.However, analysts pointed out that hopes ahead of previous gatherings have largely been dashed by measures that fell short.”China’s economy remains unbalanced as a solid export base for goods production is offset by the continued weakness of the property market and weak consumer spending,” Steven Cochrane, chief Asia Pacific economist at Moody’s Analytics, said.He added that “consumer confidence remains shattered, particularly regarding expectations for the labour market”.While Beijing has introduced a raft of policies to boost growth — including interest rate cuts and measures to support the property sector — Cochrane said that “most issues weighing on the economy have not yet been resolved”.And he warned: “The risks are rising for China as the incoming Trump administration threatens to impose tariffs.”In the crypto sphere, bitcoin was hovering around $96,500, having bounced back from just below $90,300 earlier in the week following its worst run since Trump’s electoral success.Still, it is widely tipped to top $100,000 on hopes the new president will try to ease restrictions on the digital currency market.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 38,295.13 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 19,390.65Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,308.21Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0549 from $1.0565 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2666 from $1.2678Dollar/yen: UP at 151.71 yen from 151.17 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 penceWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $68.72 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $72.83 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,722.06 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,274.75 (close)

Donald Trump’s tariff threats have rattled foreign businesses and governments, with many fearing it could signal the opening salvo of an all-out trade war when he returns to the White House next year.The president-elect on Monday placed both allies and rivals on notice, vowing to quickly slap an across-the-board tariff of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, and add a 10 percent tariff on China.Following through on that threat — or his campaign promise of a 10 percent levy on all US imports — will spark retaliation and have ripple effects across the global economy, analysts say.”Our assumption is that all these other countries, all these other advanced economies, especially in Asia, they will retaliate in kind,” economist Bernard Yaros of Oxford Economics told AFP.US tariffs and retaliation including from Europe and Asia would “depress growth” and trade flows, he said, estimating a cut to global growth of 0.1 to 0.9 percentage points in 2026.Even before tariffs take effect, threats weigh on sentiment and could delay investments and hiring, ING economists Ruben Dewitte and Inga Fechner warned in a note.Trump has long viewed tariffs as a negotiating tool — or an “all-purpose bludgeon” as a recent Wall Street Journal editorial put it.On Monday, Trump said that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada would only be removed when illegal immigration and drug trafficking to the United States are stopped.While seeking to build US leverage, he also risks longer term impacts, with some suggesting he would push countries toward China, Columbia Law School professor Petros Mavroidis said.”What he definitely does is alienate all his allies,” he told AFP.Erin Murphy, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in Trump’s threats “there is no differentiation” regarding countries’ economic development status or affinity with Washington.- Europe pushback -Europe could be particularly impacted, Dewitte and Fechner said, warning that “a looming new trade war could push the eurozone economy from sluggish growth into recession.”EU tariffs on car imports were a particular target of Trump during his campaign.But US reliance on the bloc for strategically important products, mainly in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, could give the EU some leverage in talks, ING said.”European countries will be less likely to strike any kind of bargain with Trump than Canada or Mexico,” said Peterson Institute for International Economics nonresident senior fellow Gary Hufbauer.He expects the EU could offer to reduce auto tariffs and buy more US agricultural products like soybeans, but it may not be enough for an administration seeking greater market access or rules exemptions.Should the US impose tariffs, the EU will probably retaliate on iconic US goods like iPhones or whiskey, he said.European countries could turn to the World Trade Organization (WTO), though even favorable rulings from the international body may not significantly change US practices.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said she will work towards “constructive cooperation” with US authorities.Jovita Neliupsiene, the EU ambassador to the United States, meanwhile said the bloc is ready to respond to new trade frictions.- Avoiding escalation -In Asia, economies like Japan and South Korea could be targeted over metals and auto exports, while Vietnam may also draw US scrutiny over solar panels, Yaros said.The US trade deficit with Vietnam has widened in recent years on a surge in goods imports.Yaros said that countries targeted by Trump’s tariffs, in seeking to avoid escalation, will “retaliate in a way that’s commensurate to the action done by the US, but no greater.”China, based on precedent, might eschew equal retaliation for tools like export controls, he added.Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute said both Tokyo and Seoul are very focused on preparing for potential tariffs.He expects partners like South Korea could seek exemptions from blanket US tariffs, for example, by citing its high-tech investments in America.

US and European stock markets wobbled Wednesday as key US inflation data showed an uptick, with traders also weighing US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats and a political standoff in France.Wall Street saw red with both the Dow and S&P 500 retreating from records on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Nasdaq also declined.European stock markets were also mindful of rising concerns Europe could be the next tariffs target for Trump.The Paris stock market ended off 0.7 percent as a French political standoff over a belt-tightening draft budget for 2025 threatens to topple the government.Frankfurt also dipped, while London just finished in the green.In the United States, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.3 percent in the 12 months to October, up from 2.1 percent in September, which was broadly in line with forecasts.The figure was also close to the US Federal Reserve’s long-term target of two percent, keeping the central bank’s inflation fight largely on track.Futures markets currently place the odds at about two-thirds that the Fed will cut interest rates again in December by a quarter of a percentage point.Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said the figure “is a little hot” but “it is not outside the most recent range for monthly increases.””US traders can pack up for the Thanksgiving holiday with little to fear at this stage,” she said in a research note.Trump, who has named a tough-negotiating hawk to be his trade envoy when he takes office in January, has announced plans to hit China, Canada and Mexico with hefty tariffs right away.”Investors are growing increasingly concerned that Donald Trump’s next tariff target is continental Europe,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.For Europe, this would create “another potential headwind on top of the existing one in the form of lackluster economic activity,” he said.While Trump’s victory has been broadly welcomed by the financial markets, there is concern that his widely pledged rise in tariffs could be inflationary.The Republican has announced Jamieson Greer as his trade envoy, saying that Greer — who served as chief of staff to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during Trump’s previous administration — had played a “key role” in imposing tariffs on China at that time.Bitcoin moved back past $95,000, having hit a record Friday and come within a whisker of the $100,000 mark on hopes that Trump will move to ease restrictions on the crypto market.After another record-breaking lead from earlier, Chinese markets rallied as data showed that China’s industrial sector narrowed losses in October.Meanwhile, the price of Arabica coffee hit the highest level since 1977 on concerns of limited supplies caused by drought in Brazil this year.- Key figures around 2145 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,722.06 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,998.74 (close)New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,060.48London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,274.75 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,143.03 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,261.70 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 38,134.97 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.3 percent at 19,603.13 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,309.78 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0565 from $1.0489 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2678 from $1.2569Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.17 yen from 153.08 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.33 pence from 83.44 penceBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $72.83 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $68.72 per barrel

Mexico said Wednesday the United States will be shooting itself in the foot if President-elect Donald Trump implements his threats to impose 25-percent tariffs on Mexican imports.Trump on Monday fired the warning shot in a looming trade war with the top three US trading partners by threatening to impose huge tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China if they failed to stop illegal migration and drug smuggling into the United States.He said he would charge 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10 percent on Chinese goods “above any additional tariffs” on the world’s second-biggest economy.Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard warned that the cost to US companies of the tariffs on Mexico would be “huge.””Around 400,000 jobs will be lost” in the United States, he said, citing a study based on figures from US carmakers that manufacture in Mexico.He added the tariffs would also hit US consumers hard.Ebrard cited the US market for pickup trucks, most of which are manufactured in Mexico, as an example, claiming the tariffs would add $3,000 to the cost of a new vehicle.”The impact of this measure will chiefly be felt by consumers in the United States… That is why we say that it would be a shot in the foot,” he said, speaking alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum during her regular morning conference.Mexico and China have been particularly vociferous in their opposition to Trump’s threats of a trade war from day one of his second presidential term, which begins on January 20.Sheinbaum has declared the threats “unacceptable” and pointed out that Mexico’s drug cartels exist mainly to serve drug use in the United States.She has written to Trump to propose a meeting, which she says would happen “ideally” before he takes office.China has warned that “no one will win a trade war.”During his first term as president, Trump launched full-blown trade hostilities with Beijing, imposing significant tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods. China responded with retaliatory tariffs on American products, particularly affecting US farmers.The United States, Mexico and Canada are tied to a three-decade-old largely duty-free trade agreement, called the USMCA, that was renegotiated under Trump after he complained that US businesses, especially automakers, were losing out.

France does not get to decide whether a free trade deal between the EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc goes ahead — only Brussels does, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday.Lula added firmly: “I intend to sign this agreement this year.”Brazil’s position, stressed by Lula in a speech on Brazilian industry, crosses swords with that of France, which is determined to block the trade pact.The blockbuster deal between the 27-country European Union and Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — has been 25 years in the making and would create the world’s biggest free trade zone.The contours of the agreement with the Mercosur bloc — which Brazil dominates — were agreed in 2019, but progress on completing the pact has stalled since. On Tuesday, France’s parliament overwhelmingly backed President Emmanuel Macron in rejecting the EU-Mercosur deal, which has prompted protests by French farmers fearing it would bring unfair competition.Trade policy for the whole European Union, however, is determined by the European Commission, run by Ursula von der Leyen, on the basis of what most EU member states agree.”If the French don’t want the agreement, they don’t get to blow the final whistle — the European Commission will blow that whistle,” Lula said.”Ursula von der Leyen has the power to make the agreement happen,” he said.France needs three other EU countries to join it to form a blocking minority against the deal. So far Poland has publicly rallied to its side. But Germany and Spain have both said they want the trade deal completed swiftly.At a G20 summit in Rio last week, Macron reiterated his opposition to the Mercosur deal and said France was working with Poland, Austria, Italy and other EU countries “that have the same concerns.”Von der Leyen, who also participated in the G20 summit, admitted on arrival that her commission had a “big task” in getting EU member countries behind the trade deal, adding: “The devil is always in the details.”The EU’s outgoing foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, this week backed the deal being done by the end of the year.”This is about much more than just trade; it is above all a geopolitical issue,” he said in his online blog.That reflects European concerns that China is making trade inroads into Latin America — and that the world could be heading into a period of trade wars triggered under Donald Trump’s protectionist “America First” policies.

European stock markets mostly retreated Wednesday on concerns Europe could be the next tariffs target for US president-elect Donald Trump, who has announced a tough-negotiating hawk as his trade envoy.Trump plans to hit China, Canada and Mexico with hefty tariffs from January.”Investors are growing increasingly concerned that Donald Trump’s next tariff target is continental Europe,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.For Europe, this would create “another potential headwind on top of the existing one in the form of lacklustre economic activity”, he added.While there were losses for Paris and Frankfurt stock markets approaching the half-way stage Wednesday, London managed to nudge higher.After another record-breaking lead from Wall Street on Tuesday, Chinese markets rallied as data showed that China’s industrial sector narrowed losses in October.Trump has announced Jamieson Greer as his trade envoy, saying he played a “key role” in imposing tariffs on China during his previous term in office.The dollar dropped against main rivals awaiting the release Wednesday of the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, as well as figures on jobless claims and economic growth.The Fed has indicated support for a gradual approach to future interest-rate cuts as the jobs market remains solid, according to minutes from their November policy meeting.Elsewhere, oil prices edged up having slid on news that Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon had agreed a ceasefire. Crude won support from the prospect that key OPEC+ nations will delay a pick-up in production, which was due to begin in January, when they meet Sunday.Bitcoin sat around $93,500, having hit a record Friday and come within a whisker of the $100,000 mark on hopes that Trump will move to ease restrictions on the crypto market.London stocks bucked the downward trend across most European stock markets, rising 0.1 percent. Shares in EasyJet rose one percent in late morning deals after the UK airline posted a 40-percent rise in annual profits on strong demand for its package holidays.The Paris stock market slid more than one percent as a French political standoff over a belt-tightening draft budget for 2025 threatens to topple the government. Tokyo fell with Hello Kitty owner Sanrio tumbling more than 14 percent after major shareholders said they would reduce their stake in the firm.- Key figures around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,267.52Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 7,106.02Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,186.60Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 38,134.97 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.3 percent at 19,603.13 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,309.78 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 44,860.31 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0529 from $1.0482 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2615 from $1.2567Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.39 yen from 153.06 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.47 pence from 83.41 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $72.52 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $68.96 per barrel

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China’s Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.The firm will sell its factory in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi as well as a test track in Turpan to a Chinese company, a spokesperson said, citing “economic reasons” for the decision.VW has lost ground in China — its most important market, where it makes around a third of its sales — with business in the country in 2023 growing modestly but at a slower rate than the previous year.The German manufacturer has fallen behind domestic competitors in China, losing its title as the best-selling auto brand to BYD.The move also comes as Volkswagen is seeking to push through a major cost-cutting drive, and is weighing up closing factories in Germany for the first time.Rights campaigners have for years accused Beijing of a crackdown against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labour and detention camps.Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.The northwestern region is home to several factories that supply multinational companies, including big-name Western brands.VW has long come under scrutiny over its factory in the city of Urumqi, which opened in 2013 and in which it has a stake via its partner SAIC.This year, Germany’s Handelsblatt financial daily reported that forced labour may have been used to build VW’s test track in Turpan in 2019.VW said previously it had seen no evidence of human rights violations in connection with the project but vowed to investigate any new information that came to light.Its operations will be sold to Chinese firm Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (SMVIC), the car giant said Wednesday.- ‘Difficult decision’ -Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center Automotive Research institute in Germany, said that VW had “bowed to public sentiment” in deciding to end its operations in Xinjiang.”It was a difficult decision for VW, because China and its image in China are very important for the company,” the auto industry expert told AFP. Some in China would be unhappy with the move and at a time “German carmakers are already losing market share, this is of course tricky”, he added. In a commentary, top-selling German tabloid Bild noted that VW had faced pressure from the government in Berlin and the capital markets to pull out of Xinjiang. “For too long, the company turned a blind eye to the human rights situation,” it said. Beijing stands accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across Xinjiang.Campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have said an array of abuses take place inside the facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilisation and political indoctrination.A UN report in 2022 detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence — as well as forced labour — in the region.But it stopped short of labelling Beijing’s actions a “genocide”, as the United States and some Western lawmakers have done.Calls had grown louder for VW to reconsider its business activities in Xinjiang after German chemicals giant BASF announced this year that it would accelerate its exit from two joint ventures there.An external audit commissioned by VW last year found no evidence of forced labour among the plant’s 197 employees.But the consultancy that wrote the report acknowledged “the challenges in collecting data” for audits in China. The Turpan test track was not part of the audit.In response to the VW forced labour report, China urged companies not to be “blinded by lies” about its rights record in Xinjiang.

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China’s Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.The firm will sell its factory in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi as well as a test track in Turpan to a Chinese company, a spokesperson said in a press release.”For economic reasons, the site has been sold by the joint venture as part of its strategic realignment,” the spokesperson said.VW has lost ground in China, its most important market, with sales in the country in 2023 growing modestly but at a slower rate than the previous year.It has fallen behind domestic competitors in China, losing its title as the best-selling auto brand to BYD.And rights campaigners have for years accused Beijing of a crackdown against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labour and detention camps.The northwestern region is home to several factories that supply multinational companies, including big-name Western brands.VW has long come under scrutiny over its factory in the city of Urumqi, which opened in 2013 and in which it has a stake via its partner SAIC.And this year, Germany’s Handelsblatt financial daily reported that forced labour may have been used to build VW’s test track in Turpan in 2019.VW said it had seen no evidence of human rights violations in connection with the project but vowed to investigate any new information that came to light.Its operations will be sold to Chinese firm Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (SMVIC), the car giant said Wednesday.- Forced labour allegations -Beijing stands accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across Xinjiang.Campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have said an array of abuses take place inside the facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilisation and political indoctrination.A UN report in 2022 detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence — as well as forced labour — in the region.But it stopped short of labelling Beijing’s actions a “genocide”, as the United States and some Western lawmakers have done.Calls had grown louder for VW to reconsider its business activities in Xinjiang after German chemicals giant BASF announced this year that it would accelerate its exit from two joint ventures there.An external audit commissioned by VW last year found no evidence of forced labour among the plant’s 197 employees.But the consultancy that wrote the report acknowledged “the challenges in collecting data” for audits in China. The Turpan test track was not part of the audit.In response to the VW forced labour report, China urged companies not to be “blinded by lies” about its rights record in Xinjiang.Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.

A Malaysian court on Wednesday allowed corruption charges in one of several cases linked to the scandal-wracked 1MDB sovereign wealth fund against jailed ex-prime minister Najib Razak to be dropped, his lawyer said.Najib is currently in jail after being convicted in one of five cases related to 1MDB from which billions of dollars had been allegedly pilfered. He will face another trial from December 2.Charges dropped Wednesday relates to payments of 6.6 billion ringgit ($1.48 billion) allegedly made to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company.”The court correctly exercised its jurisdiction to discharge our client of the charges,” his lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee told AFP.”The decision today was based on the non-disclosure of critical documents, six years from the initial charges being read, that are relevant to our client’s preparation of his defence,” Farhan said.Similarly, Farhan said the Kuala Lumpur High Court also dropped charges against  Najib’s ally and former treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah.However, prosecutors can seek renewed charges if they were to disclose the crucial documents that had been withheld from Najib’s defence, as the court’s decision on Wednesday did not amount to a full acquittal.Najib, in October, issued an apology that the 1MDB scandal happened during his tenure, but maintained he had no knowledge of illegal transfers from the now-defunct state fund.Allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from investment vehicle 1MDB and used to buy everything from a super-yacht to artwork played a major role in prompting voters to oust Najib and the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation party in 2018 elections.The 1MDB scandal sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, where the funds were allegedly laundered.– Litany of cases -Najib began serving a 12-year jail term in August 2022 for offences linked to the misuse of public money from former 1MDB unit SRC International. The sentence was later halved by Malaysia’s pardons board.  His 1MDB audit tampering trial ended with an acquittal at the High Court in 2023.In October, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that 71-year-old will have to defend himself against four counts of abuse of power linked to 2.27 billion ringgit in alleged bribes and 21 counts of money laundering, involving Tanore Finance Corp. The trial is slated to get underway on December 2.  Another money laundering trial over 27 million ringgit in funds is set to commence in April 2025.The US Justice Department has said more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by high-level officials at the fund and their associates.    Najib, the UK-educated son of one of Malaysia’s founding fathers, had been groomed for the prime minister’s post from a young age.He set up 1MDB after coming to power in 2009 to bolster economic development, but the fund amassed billions of dollars in debt.But Najib’s reputation has been battered not just by 1MDB but other graft controversies.Najib was linked to allegations of huge kickbacks in a 2002 purchase of French submarines while defence minister, a case later connected to the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman — Altantuya Shaariibuu — involved in the deal.He steadfastly denied wrongdoing.