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With “Monster Hunter Wilds” pitting intrepid players against a menagerie of rampaging beasts on PC and consoles from Friday, the game’s creators tell AFP they hope the 20-year-old franchise can still find new audiences.It has been seven years since the last major instalment saw fans draw oversized swords and bows together, in a series whose success is built on cooperative play to take down dragons and other spectacularly-rendered creatures.Co-op is “really the heart of the series and at the core of its DNA,” said the game’s director Yuya Tokuda.Long queues to test the new instalment at conventions and mass participation in an online open test weekend in October have underscored the anticipation in recent months.”Rather than feeling pressure… it’s actually more of a useful chance for us to see the players’ reactions and also get data about what it is we should be working on,” Ryozo Tsujimoto, the series’ 50-something longtime producer said during a trip to Europe weeks ahead of the release.”Wilds” is the first “Monster Hunter” instalment built for latest-generation consoles.Tsujimoto says this will allow for “even more seamless” play, highlighting that there will be no loading screens between players’ base camp and the monster-haunted open world beyond.Such changes “make you feel like you really are part of the ecosystem from start to finish every time you play the game,” he said.But even on more powerful machines, it was “really quite difficult” to populate the environment with the huge numbers of monsters and other creatures that the developers wanted, Tsujimoto added.There were “lots of programming challenges and also hardware challenges,” he said.- Stoking the hype -The “Monster Hunter” series has shipped more than 108 million units since the first release on Playstation 2, making it a second tentpole franchise for Japanese publisher Capcom alongside the “Resident Evil” zombie saga.It took time and several instalments for “Monster Hunter” to win popularity outside Japan itself.Back then, “we didn’t really have a development schedule… set up for simultaneous localised release around the world,” Tsujimoto remembers.That meant delays of up to a year for different language versions to be adapted, undermining the hype around new releases beyond the home market.”All the news about what was going to be in the game, which monsters and features, had already come out globally, players felt like they’d seen it all from looking online,” Tsujimoto said.These days releases are synchronised around the world to strike while the anticipation is at its peak.- Broadening reach -“Monster Hunter” has also benefited from vastly more players able to join in online with high-quality connections.”Breaking down each of those barriers… is what finally brought us out of niche status in the West and into a global blockbuster,” Tsujimoto said.Nevertheless, “there are still people out there who don’t know about ‘Monster Hunter’,” he added.It was up to the studio to “try and find new ways to make sure that the ‘Monster Hunter’ name spreads among as large an audience around the world as possible”.A first film set in the universe of the games, released in 2020, was a relative flop.That hasn’t put off Tsujimoto, who says “image licensing” is “something we’re aways considering as being on the table”.Although naming no plans for the immediate future, the producer is “always thinking of ways to expand the series around the world”, including to “people who don’t play games”, he said.Tsujimoto and Tokuda did not comment on whether “Wilds” would be available for Nintendo’s hotly-anticipated Switch 2 console, set for release later this year.But looking to the future, “we do still have plenty of monster ideas up our sleeves,” Tokuda said.

Frankfurt equities and the euro rose Monday after conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany’s national election, with investors hoping that Europe’s largest economy can emerge from recession.Elsewhere, London and Paris slipped tracking losses in Asia, while Wall Street rebounded from heavy selling at the end of last week.Frankfurt’s DAX index gained 0.6 percent in afternoon deals after Merz urged a speedy formation of a new coalition government. He warned that as US President Donald Trump is driving rapid and disruptive changes, “the world isn’t waiting for us”.”The hope that the conservatives’ win might help pull Germany out of economic stupor and help bolster collective defence, has lifted investor spirits,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.European defence stocks gained, with Germany’s Rheinmetall up 4.5 percent and Britain’s BAE Systems up 3.8 percent.The gains came “off the back of Merz’s call for Europe to seek independence from the US — with the obvious inference that the continent needs to take more responsibility for its own security”, said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. With more than 28 percent of the vote, Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc handily defeated Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens, as the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany celebrated a record of over 20 percent.”Investors welcomed the outcome of Germany’s election, which saw centrist parties positioned to form a coalition,” said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.”However, while the initial reaction was upbeat, it remains to be seen whether the enthusiasm will be maintained deeper into the week, or even the session once US investors come to the fray,” he added.Elsewhere Monday, shares in Amsterdam-listed Just Eat Takeaway soared more than 53 percent after it received a 4.1-billion-euro ($4.3-billion) takeover offer from investment giant Prosus.Asian equity markets mostly fell following a dour end to last week for Wall Street fuelled by disappointing economic data, with a report on Friday showing that activity in the US key services sector hit a 25-month low in February.The drop in was “attributed to political uncertainty, with tariff threats and Federal spending cuts dampening services,” said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.Meanwhile separate data indicated that consumer sentiment dived almost 10 percent from January.The readings follow a recent run of figures pointing to a softening of the labour market and prices continuing to rise faster than the Federal Reserve’s target rate.Investors have increasingly feared the inflationary impact of Trump’s plans to impose import tariffs and slash taxes, immigration and regulation.That has led investors to scale back expectations for how many interest rate cuts the Fed will make this year.Shanghai fell and Hong Kong retreated from Friday’s blockbuster rally fuelled by tech firms, in particular e-commerce titan Alibaba.Oil prices edged up after dropping as much as three percent on Friday as the weak US data sparked demand fears, while there are also growing expectations Trump will ease the sanctions that have limited Russian oil exports.- Key figures around 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 43,579.31 pointsNew York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 6,030.99New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 19,590.85Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 22,421.31 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,103.74London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,649.14Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,341.61 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,373.03 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.0468 from $1.0462 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2638 from $1.2628Dollar/yen: UP at 149.63 from 149.32 yenEuro/pound: UP at 82.82 pence from 82.81 pence Brent North Sea Crude: UP less than 0.1 percent at $74.12 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP less than 0.1 percent at $70.44 per barrelburs-rl/js

Asian markets mostly fell Monday following a dour end to last week for Wall Street fuelled by disappointing economic data, but Frankfurt and the euro rose after conservatives won Germany’s closely watched election.After a healthy performance on Friday, Asian investors struggled to maintain momentum after big losses in New York, where the Nasdaq lost more than two percent.The selling came after a report showed activity in the key services sector hit a 25-month low in February, while separate data indicated consumer sentiment dived almost 10 percent from January.Meanwhile, another study revealed that expectations for inflation hit a three-decade high.The readings follow a recent run of figures pointing to a softening of the labour market and prices continuing to rise faster than the Federal Reserve’s target rate.There have been increasing fears since Donald Trump regained the US presidency that his plans to impose import tariffs, and slash taxes, immigration and regulations would reignite inflation.That has led investors to scale back their expectations for how many interest rate cuts the Fed will make this year.Hong Kong retreated after Friday’s blockbuster rally fuelled by tech firms, particularly an eye-watering rise of more than 14 percent in ecommerce titan Alibaba.Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok and Wellington were also in the red.Sydney and Singapore also edged up but the rest of the region struggled.London edged up at the open but Paris slipped.Frankfurt’s DAX index and the euro were boosted by news that conservatives won a closely watched election in Germany, with leader Friedrich Merz urging the speedy formation of a new coalition government.Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance won more than 28 percent, according to projections, crushing the Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which came third.But there was some nervousness after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second, almost doubling its score to more than 20 percent.Merz said he wanted to quickly form a government, warning that as Trump is driving rapid and disruptive changes, “the world isn’t waiting for us”.”Markets will like that, presuming it is achieved,” said National Australia Bank’s senior forex analyst Rodrigo Catril.But SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes said: “With these results, the next government’s first priority won’t be fixing Germany’s stagnating economy — it’ll be damage control.”Expect a hard pivot toward stricter immigration policies, not because of economic necessity but because mainstream parties are now in full-blown panic mode over the AfD’s rise.”Oil prices extended losses after dropping as much as three percent on Friday as the weak US data sparked demand fears, while there are also growing expectations Trump will ease the sanctions that have limited Russian oil exports.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,341.61 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,373.03 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,665.27Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.0500 from $1.0462 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2643 from $1.2628Dollar/yen: UP at 149.45 from 149.32 yenEuro/pound: UP at 82.96 pence from 82.81 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $70.16 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $73.88 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 1.7 percent at 43,428.02 (close)

Indonesia on Monday launched a new sovereign wealth fund that will aim to manage state assets worth more than $900 billion as President Prabowo Subianto looks to turbo-charge growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.The recently inaugurated leader has pledged to take the archipelago’s annual growth from five to eight percent, ordering billions of dollars worth of cuts across government that last week sparked the first protests of his rule.Prabowo signed a document at the presidential palace in Jakarta initiating the new fund known as Daya Anagata Nusantara, or Danantara, which is modelled on Singapore’s investment arm Temasek and received approval this month in a parliament dominated by the president’s ruling coalition. “I, as the president of the Republic of Indonesia, sign… the government decree… about the organisation and governance of the Investment Management Body, Daya Anagata Nusantara,” he said at the palace.”It is not just an investment body, it is an instrument for national development that will optimise the way we manage our wealth. We are committed to being a developed nation.”Danantara will take control of government holdings in state companies, with an initial budget of $20 billion, according to state news agency Antara.Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani has been picked as the chief executive of the fund, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto told reporters after the signing.The government has not specified which state-owned companies will fall under control of the fund but Prabowo has said he wants it to manage more than $900 billion in assets.As of 2023, government data showed state-owned enterprise assets were worth $637.5 billion, much lower than Prabowo’s target.He will use the fund as an investment vehicle and said it would “be invested in 20 or more high-impact national projects” this year.Prabowo said the initial funding would be used for projects in nickel, bauxite, copper, food production, renewable energy and building an AI centre, oil refinery and petrochemical factory.- ‘New era’ -Danantara will be Indonesia’s second sovereign wealth fund, after the Indonesia Investment Authority which was launched in 2021 and holds $10.5 billion in assets.”This event marks a new era in the transformation of strategic investment management in the country,” presidential secretariat spokesman Yusuf Permana said in a statement Sunday.”It is also part of the government’s commitment to realising… a grand vision aimed at elevating Indonesia’s economy to a higher level through sustainable and inclusive investments.”Prabowo’s cuts to fund Danantara and an ambitious multi-billion-dollar free lunch programme have stoked student-led protests by thousands across Indonesia’s cities, including the eastern city of Makassar where police fired tear gas.Austerity measures announced by Prabowo in late January sparked the rallies last week, underpinned by a social media movement known as “Dark Indonesia”.The fund will also report directly to Prabowo and some experts have cautioned that it will need proper monitoring and management, otherwise it could raise governance concerns.Danantara’s launch was also met with some opposition on social media by Indonesians angry at the government’s handling of finances in a country long known for red tape and corruption.”The state can’t even manage life insurance properly. How can it manage a Danantara-style Sovereign Wealth Fund?” asked one user on X.

Asian markets mostly fell Monday following a dour end to last week for Wall Street, where a disappointing round of data added to concerns about the world’s number one economy.The euro started on the front foot after conservatives won a closely watched election in Germany, with leader Friedrich Merz urging the speedy formation of a new coalition government.After a healthy performance on Friday, Asian investors struggled to maintain momentum after big losses in New York, where the Nasdaq lost more than two percentThe selling came after a report showed activity in the key services sector hit a 25-month low in February, while separate data indicated consumer sentiment dived almost 10 percent from January.Meanwhile, another study revealed that expectations for inflation hit a three-decade high.The readings follow a recent run of figures pointing to a softening of the labour market and prices continuing to rise faster than the Federal Reserve’s target rate.There have been increasing fears since Donald Trump regained the US presidency that his plans to impose import tariffs, and slash taxes, immigration and regulations would reignite inflation.That has led investors to scale back their expectations for how many interest rate cuts the Fed will make this year.Hong Kong advanced in early Asian trade, building on Friday’s blockbuster rally fuelled by tech firms, particularly an eye-watering rise of more than 14 percent in ecommerce titan Alibaba.The Chinese firm piled on more than one percent, while JD.com was up 0.9 percent.However, while Singapore also edged up the rest of the region struggled.Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington were all in the red.The euro got a lift from news that Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance won more than 28 percent, according to projections, crushing the Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which came third.The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second, almost doubling its score to over 20 percent.Merz said he wanted to quickly form a government, warning that as Trump is driving rapid and disruptive changes, “the world isn’t waiting for us”.”Markets will like that, presuming it is achieved,” said National Australia Bank’s senior forex analyst Rodrigo Catril.Oil prices extended losses after dropping as much as three percent on Friday as the weak US data sparked demand fears, while there are also growing expectations Trump will ease the sanctions that have limited Russian oil exports.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 23,494.24Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,370.56Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.0521 from $1.0462 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2682 from $1.2628Dollar/yen: UP at 149.45 from 149.32 yenEuro/pound: UP at 82.96 pence from 82.81 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $70.27 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $73.97 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 1.7 percent at 43,428.02 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,659.37 (close)

Hong Kong and Singapore are the front-runners in a push by Asian governments to become cryptocurrency hubs as they look to capitalise on the global resurgence of the sector thanks to the support of US President Donald Trump.Bitcoin recently hit a record of close to $110,000 while others have also rallied on the back of Trump’s pro-crypto promises. With forecasts that they could rise further, governments are keen to get a piece of the action.Hong Kong regulators said Wednesday that the city needed to tap “global liquidity” and laid out plans including the possibility of offering riskier crypto products such as derivative trading and margin financing. “The one word that we need to think about always is liquidity,” Eric Yip, an executive director at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), said at an industry conference in the financial hub.”How do you bring liquidity to this market, hence commercial value, hence ecosystem?”The collapse of exchange FTX in 2022 took along with it around $8 billion from customers who used it to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies.The funds were later recovered, but regulators around the world are anxious to avoid a repeat, and the sector has since moved away from its freewheeling, anti-establishment origins to embrace regulation.Officials stress the need for investor protection while still hoping their rules will be business-friendly.”There was a lot more scrutiny two or three years (ago), right after FTX… (Regulators) want to make sure that they do the proper due diligence,” said Hong Fang, president of another exchange, OKX.- Crypto capital -Officials in Malaysia and Thailand are mulling crypto-related policy shifts, while Japan, South Korea and Cambodia have made incremental moves, according to Bloomberg News.But Hong Kong and Singapore, along with Middle East standout Dubai, cemented their front-runner status during a period when US regulators under Joe Biden’s administration were sceptical toward crypto.In an executive order last month, Trump — who has pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” — said he will instead provide “regulatory clarity and certainty” to support blockchain and digital asset innovation.Animoca Brands group president Evan Auyang said the anticipation surrounding a new US playbook is a game changer and will influence regulators worldwide.Singapore’s Monetary Authority has issued “Major Payment Institution” licences in relation to digital payment tokens to 30 companies, including OKX, which it added last year.The city-state has had a head start in regulating digital assets, including with efforts such as the 2022 Project Guardian that brought regulators together with major global banks to explore asset tokenisation.That project showed Singapore “engaged early on central banks, regulatory bodies, international standards setting bodies”, Leong Sing Chiong from the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in November.Hong Kong, which uses a different approach, has granted “Virtual Asset Trading Platform” licences to 10 companies.The Chinese finance hub is “number two… behind Singapore” when it comes to crypto regulation, said Animoca’s Auyang.While Hong Kong has fewer exchanges, they saw a spike last year in terms of value received, according to blockchain research platform Chainalysis.In the first half of 2024, Hong Kong’s centralised exchanges collectively received $26.6 billion, almost triple the year before and almost double Singapore’s $13.5 billion.- Spurred into action -Hong Kong overhauled its legal framework for crypto exchanges in mid-2023, with the SFC put in charge of vetting and licensing.China has banned crypto since 2021 and exchanges in the semi-autonomous enclave cannot serve mainland Chinese clients.But Yat Siu, executive chairperson of Animoca Brands, said pro-crypto policies have Beijing’s “blessing” and that Hong Kong benefits from being China’s financial gateway.Aside from exchanges, the SFC on Wednesday said it will explore a range of regulations, including for custody services, staking and over-the-counter trading.”Hong Kong isn’t sitting back and saying, ‘Look at the US, we’re just going to sort of kick back’,” Siu said. “It actually spurs it more into action.”However, the city’s regulators have learned that the devil is in the details.Hong Kong regulatory lawyer Jonathan Crompton said: “Anybody who engages in (exchange licensing) is going to have to commit to a very serious governance regime… It’s not for the faint-hearted.”Over the past two years, some companies have reportedly found it challenging to hire specialised compliance personnel. The SFC vetting team, too, is understaffed.The regulator’s website lists eight pending candidates, while 13 have withdrawn their applications.”The SFC has been stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Crompton told AFP. “People have complained that, on one hand, it’s not quick enough to introduce a regulatory regime, and on the other hand, they have not provided enough protection.”

Hong Kong is facing its toughest fiscal test in three decades following a painful run of mammoth deficits, with experts urging the government to make careful cuts as the economy wobbles.The Chinese finance hub last saw a string of deficits after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s — but their scale was a fraction of the HK$252 billion ($32.4 billion) shortfall in the 2020-21 fiscal year.Hong Kong has recorded annual deficits exceeding $20 billion in three of the past four years, according to official figures.The city’s finance chief Paul Chan said Sunday that the deficits were caused by “multiple internal and external challenges” and that a new budget unveiled on Wednesday will tightly control public spending.While Chan earlier predicted a return to surplus in “three or so years”, a former government minister told AFP that the situation is “not just due to economic cycles” spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.”If you look at Hong Kong versus other economies in the region, for example Singapore, those other economies have done much better,” said Anthony Cheung, who oversaw transport and housing policies.Adding to the headache is the exodus of companies and high-paid workers as the city’s international reputation took a hit after Beijing quelled pro-democracy protests and imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020.Singapore and Hong Kong suffered towering deficits in 2020 because of the pandemic, but the former has been able to keep spending relative to income in check as firms shift there from the Chinese city, helping it outperform its fiscal targets.The challenge for Hong Kong is not just to balance its books, but to find fiscal sustainability amid US-China tensions and a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, Cheung said.”In the past, we assumed that Hong Kong was geopolitically well-positioned… Now we have to be more careful about such presumptions.”- Plunging land sales -Hong Kong is required by its mini-constitution to “strive to achieve a fiscal balance” — a holdover from British colonial rule that kept the market mostly free from government intervention.After returning to China in 1997, it kept taxes low and refilled its coffers with the help of land-related revenue, selling land to developers with deep pockets. But last year Hong Kong collected just $2.5 billion that way, from a peak of $21.2 billion in 2018. “(Land-related revenue) by itself has contributed to the majority of the income decline,” said Yang Liu, a financial economist at the University of Hong Kong.”We have a very inactive land market and declining housing prices. That’s one reason that people (don’t) trade, so there’s no tax (income),” Liu told AFP.Hong Kong still has healthy cash reserves and low government debt compared with most economies around the world. But the prospect of three straight years in the red has fuelled public debate on how to spend less.”All the new initiatives will be under much stronger scrutiny, so (the government) will be a lot more disciplined, a lot more careful,” Liu said.In his upcoming budget speech, the finance chief is set to put the latest deficit at “under HK$100 billion”, adjusting for money raised from bond sales.There are calls to roll back a transport subsidy for those aged 60 to 64, which can grow into a major burden on the government as Hong Kong’s population ages.Lawmaker Edmund Wong cautioned against pay cuts for civil servants, which he said may cause private-sector employers to follow suit, but urged the government to slim down.”In the long term, we can greatly reduce the manpower which the government is employing now,” he told AFP. – ‘Welcoming’ image -The deficits could prompt Hong Kong to rethink how it makes money, though past discussions on expanding the tax base — such as a goods and services tax — went nowhere.The city’s low ratio of debt to GDP — which the government last year put at no more than 13 percent — means it can afford to issue bonds to fund huge undertakings, experts say.Officials have signalled they will push ahead with a massive infrastructure project in northern Hong Kong, while backing away from a separate plan to create artificial islands.As tensions flare between the United States and China, Hong Kong is seeking untapped growth potential in the Middle East and Southeast Asia that can translate to government revenue down the line.The city’s economic fortunes are ultimately tied to how investors view the city as a regional and global hub, said Cheung, the former minister. “We have to continue to showcase Hong Kong as a city that welcomes all kinds of views, all kinds of people, so long as they stay within the parameters of the national security legislation,” Cheung said.

One of China’s leading electric vehicle makers XPeng plans to double the number of countries in which the company operates by the end of this year, its CEO said Saturday.Founded in 2014, XPeng is one of the Chinese firms in the sector with the strongest international ambitions, focusing in particular on cutting-edge technologies and design.”We are going to accelerate from the 30 countries and regions where we were present in 2024,” XPeng founder and chief executive officer He Xiaopeng told a news conference in the southern Guangzhou city, overseeing a shipment of XPeng cars to Thailand. “This year, we will increase to 60 and will have established more than 300 after-sales service points worldwide,” he said.XPeng which designs high-end cars, already has stores in several European countries, including France, Germany, Sweden and Norway.”Over the 10-year period from 2024 to 2033, we expect half of XPeng’s sales to come from outside China,” he said.The ambitious plan comes despite the obstacles posed by the European Union, which has imposed extra import tariffs on China-made electric vehicles of up to 35.3 percent after concluding Beijing’s state support was unfairly undercutting European automakers.XPeng is banking that its bespoke features — such as driving assistance, rapid recharging and modular interiors — would help it stand out from the crowd in the fiercely competitive Chinese market.On Saturday, He forecast the possible demise of certain Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers when faced with intense rivalry over price, service and technological advances. “This year marks the start of the elimination phase in China. I think it’s going to be extremely intense in 2025, 2026 and 2027,” He said.A record 10.9 million hybrid and electric vehicles were sold in the country last year, up more than 40 percent from 2023, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The Chinese electric vehicle market has witnessed explosive growth in recent years, driven in part by generous subsidies from Beijing.China’s government has supported the development and production of less polluting battery-powered vehicles, a field where Chinese manufacturers such as BYD and XPeng are leading the way.

The Cook Islands said Saturday it has struck a five-year agreement with China to cooperate in exploring and researching the Pacific nation’s seabed mineral riches.A copy of the deal — signed during a state visit to China that has been criticised by former colonial ruler New Zealand — showed it covers working together in the “exploration and research of seabed mineral resources”.A joint committee would oversee the partnership, which also includes seabed minerals-related training and technology transfer, logistics support, and deep-sea ecosystems research.The Cook Islands government said the memorandum of understanding, signed with China on February 14, did not involve any agreement to give an exploration or mining licence.Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown had already released details of a broader partnership agreement signed during his state visit to China this month.On Saturday, his office also published three others: the seabed minerals deal; a maritime industries agreement; and a Chinese development aid grant of 20 million yuan (US$2.7 million).The self-governing Cook Islands, a country of 17,000 people, has a “free association” relationship with New Zealand, which provides budgetary assistance as well as helping on foreign affairs and defence.Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship.Brown said the seabed minerals deal supported the partnership pact he signed in China for the two countries to cooperate in trade, investment and the seabed minerals sector.”Our seabed minerals section remains under strict regulatory oversight, ensuring that all decisions are made transparently and in the best interest of the Cook Islands and its people,” he said in a statement.- New Zealand unnerved -New Zealand has already accused the Cook Islands government of a lack of consultation and transparency over the wider partnership agreement with China.It has demanded to see all the agreements signed during Brown’s China trip.”We note the release today of further agreements signed by the Governments of the Cook Islands and China,” said a spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters. “We will now analyse the contents of these agreements — focusing on the implications they have for New Zealand, the Cook Islands people and the Realm of New Zealand.”New Zealand and its allies including Australia and the United States have been unnerved by China’s growing diplomatic, economic and military influence in the strategically important Pacific.But Brown has insisted his country’s relations with New Zealand and other partners are not affected by the partnership accord he signed with China.The Cook Islands has licensed three companies to explore the seabed for nodules rich in metals such as nickel and cobalt, which are used in electric car batteries.Despite issuing the five-year exploration licences in 2022, the Cook Islands government says it will not decide whether to harvest the potato-sized nodules until it has assessed environmental and other impacts.The Pacific country’s prime minister has nevertheless touted the benefits of the potentially multi-billion-dollar industry, saying previously that the Cook Islands needs to protect itself against climate change “through whatever revenues that we can get”.

In a dark stable under a heaving highway in Indonesia’s capital, trucks rumble past emaciated carriage horses tied to pillars in ramshackle wooden stalls, their ribs protruding.The steeds are used to pull traditional wooden carriages known as delman, once a staple of colonial-era transportation, but fading from view in Jakarta in an era dominated by ride-hailing apps.Now limited to just a few areas of the city, only several hundred delman horses remain to ferry tourists on weekends or public holidays. Animal rights activists say the conditions under which the horses are kept are so harsh the practice must end.”Thank God, in here, at least the horses are protected from the sun’s heat and rain,” 52-year-old carriage driver Sutomo told AFP under the highway. On central Jakarta’s bustling streets, the horse-drawn carriage bells can be heard clinking in rhythm with clopping hooves that compete with the blare of car engines and horns.But Sutomo says a 4.5-kilometre (2.8-mile) jaunt around Indonesia’s national monument, or Monas, can fetch just 50,000 rupiah ($3.10) — a trip he only makes two or three times a day.”When income is low, my son, who works at a company, shares some of his salary. Thank God at least that can cover food for my family. But for the horse, we have to reduce its food,” he said.Rights groups say such limited income has forced owners and some who rent the horses to ignore proper horse care, leading to malnutrition and poor living conditions.There are about 200 carthorses still in service at around 20 stables, according to estimates, including one squalid encampment holding 15 horses seen by AFP. It was surrounded by garbage and plastic debris next to a smelly, polluted river.”The conditions are really, really bad,” said Karin Franken, co-founder of Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), an NGO that has been advocating for delman horses since 2014.”They are not treating the horses very well (but) very aggressively, very rough.”- ‘Extreme abuse, neglect’ -To a tourist’s eye, the delman can appear as a colourful addition to the city, adorned by decorations and small bells that jingle when the horse moves.But some owners still rely on harmful traditional medications, including puncturing the horse’s muscles with bamboo sticks to pass a rope through to “cleanse” its blood. During the Covid-19 pandemic some horses also died of starvation, said Franken, calling for the delman to be gradually phased out. “The life as a delman horse, especially in Jakarta, is really terrible,” said Franken.While there is a national law on animal protection, there is little monitoring of violations according to JAAN.The local government said it remained committed to animal welfare but needed more help.”We need support from other parties… to be able to provide services such as free medical check-ups,” Suharini Eliawati, head of the Jakarta Food Security, Maritime and Agriculture Agency, told AFP.”The owners must obey the rules in animal welfare protection.”Franken said JAAN also tries to educate the delman workers on how to provide better treatment for the horses, in exchange for free medical care for the animals.But many people do not comply on grounds of tradition or financial issues.”They can barely take care of themselves and their families, let alone horses. It’s very sad for both,” Franken said.”There still are, unfortunately, cases of extreme abuse or neglect.”Young delman drivers are open to moving to other jobs like ride-hailing motor-taxi driver, but older ones are more stubborn “because they say it’s the only thing they can do”, said Franken.Some are likely to keep trying to make a penny, despite pushing their equine breadwinners to the brink.”I like animals, I also like this job,” said delman owner Novan Yuge Prihatmoko, as he guided his horse through West Jakarta, adding that he can earn 150,000 rupiah ($9.20) a day.”I feel comfortable, so why not? I just keep doing this for a living.”