Source: Intermodal “In response, China’s newbuilding capacity has been scaled up through the reopening of dormant shipyards and the expansion of existing facilities. In addition to Jiangsu Rongsheng, one of the largest private Chinese yards, founded in 2006, other shipyards such as Hengli Heavy Industry, Yangzhou Guoyu Shipbuilding, and Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore have restarted operations. Meanwhile, New Times Shipbuilding, Wuhu Shipyard, and Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding among others have expanded their production potential. This growth of shipbuilding capacity is expected to absorb a part of the excess demand, reducing vessel delivery times”, Intermodal’s Research Analyst, Mr. Nikos Tagoulis said. According to Mr. Tagoulis, “to gain more insight on market fundamentals, it’s useful to have a look at the evolution of shipbuilding orders of the three major industry players, China, Japan and South Korea, and their portions to the global orderbook of three major shipbuilding players in terms of m dwt. since China’s entry to WTO in 2000. Through government support and public investments to its national shipbuilding ecosystem, China emerged as a market leader, commanding currently nearly 65% of global shipbuilding orders, an impressive rise considering the less than 10% share in 2000. Meanwhile, the combined orderbook share of Japan and South Korea has declined from 78% to 31% over the same period. As of November 2024, the Chinese shipbuilding orderbook for counts 3,256 vessels of 224m dwt total carrying capacity, marking a 37% increase from 2023 and a 72% rise from 2022, with the global orderbook increasing by 21% since 2023”. Source: Intermodal “In the realm of new contracts, Chinese shipyards remain dominant, securing 1,338 vessels totaling 103.9 million dwt, which represents 70% of all new contracts. Notably, Chinese yards have captured 89% of containership orders, 81% of bulk carrier orders, and 74% of tanker contracts. The rise of China as a dominant force in global shipbuilding can be attributed to several factors, including substantial government support, investments in new technologies, low labour cost and large-scale production capabilities. Additionally, China has successfully leveraged partnerships with international firms, facilitating the transfer of valuable expertise, enabling to advance in the construction of more sophisticated vessels, such as chemical tankers or gas carriers. Domestic demand for both new ship construction and repair services is also a key driver, with the Chinese fleet accounting for approximately 13% of global tonnage”, Tagoulis added. Intermodal’s analyst concluded that “the above constitute the main advantages of the Chinese shipbuilding sector, together with a well-integrated supply chain that ensures timely delivery of the materials required for vessel construction and environmentally sustainable practices. In the current global shipbuilding market, the robust demand for new vessels, evidenced by a steadily growing order book in the post-COVID era and rising new building prices, are expected to drive further expansion of the Chinese shipbuilding sector and maintain its leading position”. Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News WorldwideIn addition to these key players, As's lineup includes a blend of experienced veterans and promising young talents, each poised to make their mark on the European stage. The likes of Ramos, Modric, and Benzema bring their wealth of experience and leadership qualities, guiding the team through the challenges of elite competition. At the same time, the emergence of young talents such as Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo adds a dynamic and unpredictable element to Real Madrid's attacking options, keeping their opponents guessing and creating opportunities for breakthrough performances.

PA lawmaker announces new law criminalizing AI-generated deepfake child pornographyLooking ahead, the future looks promising for Taobao Global as it continues to expand its international footprint and strengthen its position in the global e-commerce market. With a focus on enhancing user experience, fostering partnerships, and driving innovation, Taobao Global is poised to further accelerate its growth and solidify its status as a leading global e-commerce platform.

And as the last echoes of the recruits' oath faded into the distance, the parents stood tall and proud, knowing that they had witnessed their children's "rite of passage" into the military - a moment that would forever be etched in their hearts and minds as a symbol of strength, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication to duty.WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Attorneys for Meta shareholders asked a Delaware judge Monday to sanction the company's former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and fellow Facebook board member and current White House chief of staff Jeff Zients for deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal , despite being told to preserve such records. The plaintiff attorneys contend that Sandberg and Zients used personal email accounts to communicate about key issues relating to their 2018 shareholder lawsuit that alleged Facebook officers and directors violated both the law and their fiduciary duties in failing for years to protect the privacy of user data. “Although Sandberg and Zients received a litigation hold requiring them to preserve documents from these accounts, they both knowingly and permanently destroyed electronically stored information from such sources,” attorneys said in a court filing. The plaintiffs say the former board members were either “reckless or intentional” in destroying documents, noting that Sandberg deleted communications to and from her Gmail account after only 30 days, even after being notified of the “litigation hold” to preserve documents. Zients never disabled an auto-delete function on his email account, even though he, too, received a litigation hold and consulted with lawyers, they said. The plaintiffs argue that Sandberg and Zients should be prohibited from testifying about information they sent or received using their personal email accounts. They also say the burden of proof for any affirmative defense they present should be raised to a standard of “clear and convincing evidence,” instead of the lower standard of a “preponderance” of the evidence. Sandberg was deposed last week. Plaintiff attorney Max Huffman said Zients is “busy” and will be deposed in February “after there’s an effective transition in Washington.” Defense attorney Berton Ashman described the email deletions as “unfortunate” but argued that the plaintiffs have not shown that they were prejudiced in any way. “There’s no intent here to destroy relevant or responsive information,” Ashman told Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, adding that there no “trove of missing emails.” “There’s no grand scheme or suggestion of bad behavior,” he added. Ashman said the vast majority of emails that Sandberg and Zients sent or received using their personal accounts were also received by other individuals at Facebook. He suggested that any emails that may have been deleted have been made available to the plaintiffs from other sources at Facebook. Huffman, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said Sandberg does not deserve the benefit of the doubt. “She unilaterally controlled what was kept and what was destroyed,” he told the judge. Laster, who is scheduled to preside over a non-jury trial in April, said he wanted to see a transcript of Sandberg’s deposition before ruling on the motion for sanctions. Last year, the judge rejected a defense motion arguing that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the plaintiffs did not first demand that Facebook’s board take legal action before filing litigation themselves. He agreed with the plaintiffs that such a demand would have been futile because of doubts that a majority of the relevant Facebook board members, many with close personal and business ties to Mark Zuckerberg, would be willing to confront the CEO and founder of the company over its privacy failures. Laster noted that, in deciding on a motion to dismiss, he was required to accept the allegations in the complaint as true. The complaint alleges that Facebook officials repeatedly and continually violated a 2012 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission under which Facebook agreed to stop collecting and sharing personal data on platform users and friends without their consent. Facebook later sold user data to commercial partners in direct violation of the consent order and removed disclosures from privacy settings that were required under consent order, the lawsuit alleges. The company’s conduct resulted in significant fines from regulators in Europe and culminated in the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. That case involved a British political consulting firm hired by Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign that paid a Facebook app developer for the personal information of tens of millions Facebook users. The fallout led to Facebook agreeing to pay unprecedented $5 billion penalty to settle FTC charges that the company violated the 2012 consent order by deceiving users about their ability to protect their personal information.(Bloomberg) — BMW’s Mexico chief expects anemic sales in the country’s auto market next year, hurt by expected peso weakness against the dollar and subdued economic growth as US President-elect Donald Trump ratchets up trade tensions. Overall Mexican new car sales will likely remain little changed in 2025 after double-digit gains this year, BMW Group Mexico Chief Executive Officer Diego Camargo said in a phone interview. The luxury vehicle market is seen “maintaining its volume” after posting likely growth of 0.5% to 1.5% in 2024, he said. Threats from Trump to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports is adding to underlying uncertainty about the outlook for Mexico’s economy and currency, he said. The potential for a wider trade war, including protectionist measures by Mexico, could also impact demand, Camargo noted. Previous tariffs imposed by Mexico on steel and aluminum imports from countries with which it didn’t have trade agreements had an inflationary effect that rippled throughout the automotive supply chain, he said. BMW’s cross-border trade may get caught in that crossfire. About 30% of BMW’s sales in Mexico are SUVs imported from a factory in South Carolina, according to a company spokesperson. The carmaker also exports an unspecified number of vehicles made in Mexico to over 80 different destinations, including the US. Analysts in Mexico have been quick to revise down their economic growth predictions for next year following mounting trade tensions. The country already is expected to see a fourth straight year of diminishing economic growth and potentially steep levies from the US could impact nearly 11% of its gross domestic product, according to an estimate by Bloomberg Economics. BMW Group’s sales in Mexico, including its BMW and Mini branded-cars grew 1.1% in the first 10 months of the year, to reach 13,893 units, according to data from the Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors. Last year, the German brand sold 17,703 vehicles in the country, compared with the record 362,244 vehicles it delivered in the US. BMW produces three models locally from its San Luis Potosi vehicle assembly plant — the BMW 3 Series, 2 Series Coupe and the M2. But its current manufacturing capacity is limited to 175,000 vehicles a year. While Trump’s tariff threats loom large over the auto industry, Camargo said BMW has benefited from Mexico’s extensive global network of free trade agreements that go beyond those with the US and Canada. He also noted that BMW is one of the few companies selling electric vehicles in Mexico’s nascent but growing EV market for all-electric cars. Last year, EVs accounted for 22% of the brand’s total sales in the country. The German automaker’s commitment to electrification includes an 800 million euro ($844 million) investment in a new battery facility near its San Luis Potosi factory, which will enable local production of a next-generation EV known as the Neue Klasse by 2027. In August, BMW announced a partnership with Mexico’s Vemo, a startup offering electric vehicle taxis through Uber Technologies Inc.’s local app. BMW customers have access to Vemo’s network of more than 500 charging stations and BMW is installing 144 new charging points in 20 locations through the country. “We have 42 points of sale and all of them sell electric vehicles, they all have chargers and qualified personnel to diagnose, receive, and repair these cars if needed,” said Camargo. “So we are ready for deployment.” —With assistance from Wilfried Eckl-Dorna.