LIVERPOOL (AP) – Arne Slot said he’s not thinking about Liverpool clinching the Premier League title tomorrow.
The Dutchman would join a small group of coaches to win the title in their first year in charge at a new club. “The honest answer is no, but I’m not sure if you believe me,” Slot said when questioned about securing the crown. “I’m not looking backwards a lot, and I’m not looking forward a lot. That’s the type of person that I am.”
Liverpool is on the verge of sealing its 20th English top-flight title, which would equal Manchester United’s record. It can happen tomorrow if, first, Ipswich beats second-place Arsenal, and then Liverpool defeats Leicester.
“My thoughts are not on that at all,” said Slot, whose team holds a 13-point lead with six games left.
Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp last summer, is set to join elite company. Jose Mourinho (Chelsea, 2004-05), Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea, 2009-10), Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City, 2013-14), Claudio Ranieri (Leicester, 2015-16) and Antonio Conte (Chelsea, 2016-17) all won the Premier League in their first season. Of that group, only Ranieri had previously coached in the division.
It wouldn’t be the first time that a Liverpool manager accomplished the feat. Joe Fagan led the Reds to the top-flight title in 1984, two years before Kenny Dalglish did the same.
ALEXANDER-ARNOLD’S STATUS
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have both signed two-year extensions, but Slot offered no insights on the contract status of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The right back has been strongly linked to a move to Real Madrid this summer.
“We don’t talk about this as long as things are not done yet, and they aren’t, so that’s why we don’t talk in public about this situation,” Slot said.
Alexander-Arnold, whose current contract ends in the summer, could be an option off the bench for the game at Leicester, the manager added. The defender has returned to training after being side-lined with an ankle injury sustained more than five weeks ago.
AFP – Indonesia said yesterday it would boost oil and gas imports from the United States (US) as part of a deal to ease stiff tariffs threatened by Washington, adding that talks would be completed within 60 days.
Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto made the comments after he and other delegates met US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Indonesia will increase the purchase of energy from the US, including LPG, crude oil, and gasoline,” Airlangga told an online news briefing in Washington.
“Indonesia also plans to keep buying agricultural products from the US, such as wheat, soya beans, and soya bean milk.”
He said the team hoped to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week, adding that Indonesia was one of the first countries the US government accepted to negotiate.
He also said that Indonesia promised it would help American companies operating in Indonesia with easier permits and incentives.
The 32 per cent tariffs imposed on Indonesia in Donald Trump’s April 2 ‘Liberation Day’ announcement were among Asia’s highest.
But like most other countries, it was given a 90-days pause to allow time for negotiations.
“Indonesia and the US have agreed to complete the negotiations within 60 days, and the reference framework or framework has been agreed,” Airlangga said.
Data from the US Trade Representative Office shows Washington’s goods trade deficit with Jakarta stood at USD17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 per cent on-year.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said this month that Indonesia would adjust import taxes on some commodities from 2.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent, including mobile phones and laptops.
Other products, including US steel and medical equipment, would be granted lower import duties of zero to five per cent, down from five-10 per cent, she said.
File photo shows a tug boat cruises past Jakarta International Container Terminal at Tanjung Prior Port in Jakarta, Indonesia. PHOTO: AP
AFP – Tokyo led most Asian markets higher yesterday on optimism about a Japan-United States (US) trade deal as investors keep tabs on countries’ tariff talks with the White House.
US President Donald Trump’s remarks that he was reluctant to further hike levies on Beijing also provided a little support amid hope for an easing of tensions between the economic titans.
Governments around the world are lining up to visit the US president’s team in an effort to pare back eye-watering levies Trump imposed for what he calls years of being “ripped off” and to reshore manufacturing.
While several officials have been in touch, Japanese negotiator Ryosei Akazawa’s trip this week was seen as a canary in the mine owing to the countries’ long-running relationship.
Akazawa met Trump, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday without making any immediate progress, though a second round of talks is scheduled for the end of April.
Yesterday, US Ambassador to Japan George Glass said he was “extremely optimistic that a deal will get done”. The day before, Trump hailed “big progress” in the negotiations.
Hopes most of the measures against US trading partners can be rowed back have soothed some market anxiety after the white-knuckle ride at the start of the month, though uncertainty caused by the president’s tendency to flip-flop is keeping investors on edge.
A person at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea. PHOTO: AP
Trump offered a little optimism when he said he was reluctant to keep hiking rates on China as that could halt trade between the two economic superpowers, adding that Beijing had been reaching out to him.
“I have a very good relationship with President Xi Jinping, and I think it’s going to continue,” he said. “And I would say they have reached out a number of times.”
His remarks came after Bloomberg reported that China could be open to dialogue but wanted to see some measures beforehand.
After a mixed lead from Wall Street, Asia mostly rose.
Tokyo led the gains even as data showed Japanese inflation accelerated last month as rice prices more than doubled.
Seoul, Bangkok and Taipei also rose, though Shanghai edged down.
Hong Kong, Sydney, New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Singapore, Mumbai, Jakarta, Wellington and Manila were closed for holidays.
Investors are also eyeing developments at the Federal Reserve (Fed) as Trump hit out at boss Jerome Powell, who warned the sweeping tariffs were “highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation”.
The president slammed Powell for not lowering interest rates, as the European Central Bank has done, and said his “termination cannot come fast enough”.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, he said Powell would “leave if I ask him to”, adding “I’m not happy with him. I let him know it and if I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me”.
Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights pointed out that US inflation was far higher than the Fed’s two per cent target and the tariff policy had created “significant ripples in the US economy, prompting a collapse in consumer confidence in the process”.
“Trump is amping up the pressure on the Fed to cut rates quickly,” he wrote in a note.
“Sadly, for Trump his very policies are the ones causing the Fed to pause, with Powell warning that the sheer size of the tariffs is complicating the central bank’s job.
“The chaos being unleashed by the US administration is also giving business cause for concern.”
In company news, Shenzhen-listed shares in Chinese battery maker CATL dropped 0.2 per cent after US lawmakers asked Wall Street titans JP Morgan and Bank of America not to work on its planned initial public offering in Hong Kong. In letters to the banks’ chief executive officers, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party John Moolenaar said the underwriting of the IPO exposed themselves and investors to “significant regulatory, financial and reputational risks”.
MILAN (AP) – Bayern Munich defender Josip Stanisic has apologised for pushing a ball kid during the Champions League quarter-final loss at Inter Milan.
Stanisic pushed the ball kid off his stool after the boy appeared to throw the ball away to delay Stanisic taking a throw-in during added time.
Bayern was seeking another goal to force extra time and went on to lose 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday.
“Every team in the world tries to run down the clock a little. They did that a bit better than some others,” Stanisic told German media in comments broadcast on Thursday by sports website RAN.
“It was also maybe a bit stupid of me and I’m sorry that I pushed him. In that moment I was just really annoyed that these little games were being played and I found that unnecessary.”
Inter’s coaching staff spotted the incident immediately and appealed to the referee. Stanisic was not booked.
Asked if it would pursue any disciplinary proceedings against Stanisic, UEFA said in a statement: “The official reports from the two matches played last night are currently being reviewed.”
Bayern’s Josip Stanisic challenges for the ball with Inter Milan’s Matteo Darmian during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match. PHOTO: AP
BERNAMA – The ringgit strengthened against the United States (US) dollar at the opening yesterday, as the US Dollar Index (DXY) continued to hover below the 100-point mark amid persistent uncertainty over the US-China trade tensions.
At 8am, the local currency strengthened to 4.3995/4150 against the greenback, from Thursday’s close of 4.4050/4095.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit appreciated by 0.08 per cent to MYR4.4073 against the US dollar on Thursday, in line with the softer DXY. “Given the current weakness in the greenback, the US dollar-ringgit pair is expected to remain around the MYR4.40 level,” he told Bernama.
He said the latest US initial jobless claims data dropped to 215,000 last week, indicating relative resilience in the US labour market despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It was weaker versus the Japanese yen at 3.0893/1019 from 3.0849/0883 on Thursday, depreciated against the British pound to 5.8368/8574 from 5.8331/8391, but rose vis-a-vis the euro to 5.0027/0203 from 5.0102/0154.
The Malaysian note performed better against most ASEAN currencies.
It edged up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.3548/3705 from 3.3562/3601 and strengthened against the Thai baht to 13.1651/2491 from 13.2211/2417.
The ringgit was firm vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah at 261.3/262.4 from 261.6/262.0 and increased against the Philippine peso at 7.76/7.80 compared to 7.77/7.79.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND (AP) – Justin Thomas had a round to match the immaculate weather at Harbour Town with 11 birdies that allowed him to tie the course record with a 10-under 61 to lead the RBC Heritage.
The best shot he hit all day was an 8-iron that dropped near the pin and settled five feet away. He missed that birdie putt, one of the few chances he didn’t convert.
There was little to complain about on a day of hardly any wind, a course in mint condition and warm sunshine that added to the RBC Heritage being the ideal place to decompress from the hectic week at the Masters.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, coming off a tie for fourth at the Masters, had very little stress at Harbour Town in a round of 64 that looked easy – which is not to say it felt that way.
“I will never say that golf is easy, ever. Golf is hard,” Scheffler said with a laugh.
But he was out of position only once off the tee and one other time when he went long of a green and both times he saved par. Otherwise, he putted for birdie or better on the other 16 holes and converted enough chances for a start that only looked good – not great – because of Thomas with the lowest score at Harbour Town in 10 years.
Bay Hill winner Russell Henley also had a 64, while Wyndham Clark was another shot back at 65.
The group at 66 included former Hilton Head winner Matt Fitzpatrick and Gary Woodland, on the road back from brain surgery and building momentum from a runner-up finish in Houston. Fifty players in the 72-man field broke par on a course that yielded an average score of 69.2
Justin Thomas. PHOTO: AP
“I felt like if you compared my four rounds last week to today, today would be a much less stressful round of golf in terms of scrambling for a par,” Scheffler said.
“A lot of the stuff I had to do last week I felt like I didn’t have to do today to shoot a good score. The golf course is obviously a bit different, but I was in position most of the day today.
“Overall, yeah, I would say stress-free day.”
Thomas is winless since capturing his second PGA Championship title in 2022, though his game has been trending enough in the right direction that he is number eight in the world.
The Masters was a disappointment – no round lower than 70, 13 shots behind in a tie for 36th – but he put in some good work at Hilton Head for two days and made it pay off.
Six of his birdie putts were inside 10 feet, and he threw in three birdies from the 35-foot range, one of them on the 17th hole that put him in range of the course record.
He thought he had it with that 8-iron to a front pin on the 18th, which runs along the Calibogue Sound, only to miss the putt. He also missed a 4-foot par putt on the 10th.
“I’ve been playing really well, really solid. Felt good about things,” Thomas said. “I just didn’t play well last week. Put some really good work in the couple days leading into the start today, and I felt prepared. It was just about going out and doing it, and it was nice to do so.”
BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Celtics are days away from beginning their quest to repeat as NBA champions. But guard Jrue Holiday is celebrating a much smaller victory.
It was just over a month ago that Holiday missed four games after being diagnosed with a condition called mallet finger, a unique tendon injury that caused the tip of his right pinky finger to stay bent.
After a painful month of not being able to move the finger while a cast kept it straightened, he was recently fitted with a more flexible brace.
“It feels kind of weird. I haven’t moved it in like six weeks, that knuckle part,” Holiday said this week. “But it seems like it’s all right.”
And that could also be the Celtics in a nutshell entering the playoffs as they try to become the first repeat NBA champions in nearly a decade: stirred but not shaken.
Boston Celtics Jrue Holiday drives to the basket against Washington Wizards AJ Johnson during first half of an NBA basketball game. PHOTO: APRIGHT: Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum. PHOTO: AP
The Celtics are, in fact, experiencing a lot of deja vu as they look to defend the Larry O’Brien Trophy they hoisted last season, and become the first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2018. Even if star Jayson Tatum isn’t willing to call these upcoming playoffs a title defence.
“We’re not defending the championship we won last year. Nobody can take it from us,” Tatum said. “But last year is last season. That’s out the window.” Still, things are trending in the right direction for Boston.
The Celtics posted a second straight 60-win regular season. And like last year, Tatum is coming off another All-Star season with scoring, rebound and assist numbers that mirror those he put up leading into last year’s run.
Though unlike last season there is a young, improved and healthy Cleveland Cavaliers team perched at the top of the Eastern Conference. And this time, reigning conference and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown begins the post-season with health concerns.
He continues to work his way back from a bone bruise in his right knee that hampered him during the final stretch of the regular season. But he’s been a full participant in practices this week and appears on course to be ready when the Celtics’ first-round series against Orlando begins tomorrow.
AFP – The United States (US) unveiled new port fees on Chinese built and operated ships, in a bid to boost the domestic shipbuilding industry and curb China’s dominance in the sector.
The move – which stems from a probe launched under the prior administration – comes as the US and China are locked in a major trade war over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Ships and shipping are vital to American economic security and the free flow of commerce,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement announcing the new fees, most of which will begin in mid-October.
Under the new rule, per tonnage or per container fees will apply to each Chinese-linked ship’s US voyage, and not at each port as some in the industry had worried.
The fee will be assessed only up to five times per year, and can be waived if the owner places an order for a US built vessel.
Dominant after the Second World War, the US shipbuilding industry has gradually declined and now accounts for just 0.1 per cent of global output.
The sector is now dominated by Asia, with China building nearly half of all ships launched, ahead of South Korea and Japan.
File photo shows container ships being unloaded at the Port of Oakland in California, United States. PHOTO: AP
The three Asian countries account for more than 95 per cent of civil shipbuilding, according to United Nations figures.
There will be separate fees for Chinese operated ships and Chinese built ships, and both will gradually increase over subsequent years. For Chinese built ships, the fee starts at USD18 per NT or USD120 per container – meaning a ship with 15,000 containers could see a whopping fee of USD1.8 million.
Beijing warned yesterday the new fees would be “detrimental to all parties”.
“They drive up global shipping costs, disrupt the stability of global production and supply chains, increase inflationary pressure within the US, and harm the interests of American consumers and businesses,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. “Ultimately, they will not succeed in revitalising the US shipbuilding industry,” he said.
US groups representing some thirty industries had voiced their concerns in March about the risks such fees could have on the prices of imported products.
One business surveyed by the groups expressed worry that proposed fees, alongside tariffs on China and other countries, as well as duties on steel and aluminium imports, would put “extraordinary pressure on US retailers”.
All non-US built car carrier vessels will also be hit with a fee beginning in 180 days.
Washington is also introducing new fees for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, though those do not take effect for three years.
A fact sheet accompanying the announcement said fees will not cover “Great Lakes or Caribbean shipping, shipping to and from US territories, or bulk commodity exports on ships that arrive in the US empty”.
In addition to the fees, Greer announced proposed tariffs on some ship-to-shore cranes and on Chinese cargo handling equipment.
“The Trump administration’s actions will begin to reverse Chinese dominance, address threats to the US supply chain, and send a demand signal for US-built ships,” Greer said.
AFP – The new United States (US) ambassador to Japan said yesterday he was “extremely optimistic” that the two countries will agree a trade deal, after Tokyo’s tariffs envoy visited Washington.
Ryosei Akazawa met US President Donald Trump and held talks with senior US officials as Japan looks to pare back stiff levies announced by the White House.
While there was no immediate breakthrough, the next round of negotiations is scheduled before the end of the month.
“I’ve met now with most of the principals who are in the room and doing the negotiating… I’m extremely optimistic that a deal will get done,” Ambassador George Glass told reporters.
“(We) have the best and the brightest from Japan there doing the negotiations. We have the best and brightest from the US,” he said at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
“And when I saw that President Trump then decided he was going to get involved and has now named this his top priority, that’s why I have a lot of confidence that we’ll get something done.”
Japanese companies are the biggest investors into the US and Japan is a vital strategic ally for Washington in the Asia-Pacific region.
But the country is subject to the same 10 per cent baseline tariffs imposed by Trump on most countries as well as painful steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminium.
New United States Ambassador to Japan George Glass during a press conference after his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. PHOTO: AFP
Trump also imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan of 24 per cent, although these have been paused for 90 days along with those on other countries except China.
The talks were closely watched as a barometer of Washington’s negotiations with other countries reeling from US tariffs.
Trump said after meeting Akazawa on his Truth Social platform that there had been “big progress”.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned that the negotiations “won’t be easy”. But he added that Trump “has expressed his desire to give the negotiations with Japan the highest priority”.
Ishiba reiterated to Parliament yesterday that there was still a “gap” between the two countries’ positions.
In addition to taking more US goods, Trump reportedly wants Japan to buy more US defence equipment and strengthen the yen against the dollar.
Akazawa said in Washington that the strength of the Japanese currency was not discussed.
The US president also reportedly wants Japan to pay more for hosting 54,000 US military personnel in Japan, from the current USD1.4 billion a year.
“In a negotiation like this, we can say an agreement has been achieved only when we ultimately complete it as a package,” Akazawa said yesterday.
Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said, “These talks aren’t just bilateral – they’re a global litmus test.
“Everyone from Berlin to Seoul is watching for clues on Trump’s strategy. If Tokyo can cut a deal, it may set a precedent. If not, the message is clear: everyone’s fair game.”
Officials from Indonesia also held talks in Washington this week, while the finance minister of South Korea, a major semiconductor and auto exporter, will meet Bessent next week.
INGLEWOOD (AP) – Kawhi Leonard is fresh in mind and body this year, no longer relegated to watching from the sideline when the Los Angeles Clippers begin the post-season.
After appearing in just two playoff games over the last two years, the 33-year-old two-time Finals MVP is healthy and looking like his old self as the fifth-seeded Clippers take on the fourth-seeded Nuggets in the first round starting today in Denver.
“Just happy that I was able to get here,” he said. “My teammates did a great job down that last stretch.”
The Clippers have been a much different team since Leonard got healthy and found his rhythm. He missed the first 34 games of the season because of lingering issues with his surgically repaired knees.
Los Angeles won 18 of its final 21 games, a stretch in which it had the NBA’s Number 1 offence.
Golden State Warriors Mose Moody and Jimmy Butler III defend against Los Angeles Clippers Kawhi Leonard
in the second-quarter of an NBA game in San Francisco, United States. PHOTO: APLos Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. PHOTO: AP
“It feels good for us and him playing at a high level helps our team out tremendously,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “I’m happy for him for all the hard work he’s put in to get to this point and to be healthy at the end of the season.”
Leonard won two NBA championships – one with San Antonio and another with Toronto – but his health has been a major issue during his five years in Los Angeles.
In 2020-21, he hurt his knee in Game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals against Utah and missed the rest of the series. The Clippers advanced to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history and lost to Phoenix. Leonard sat out the entire 2021-22 season while rehabbing his knee. He came back strong in 2022-23 only to tear his meniscus in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, he hurt his right knee and played in just two games as the Clippers lost in the first round to Dallas.
“I love the game and I have a passion for it still,” he said. “I love to compete out there, so that’s pretty much what drives me back. Everything has its ups and downs and you got to go through those in life. You just keep going.”
Leonard has said the Clippers allowed him to seek outside opinions on his health and then blend that information with the team’s medical staff to get healthy.
“The biggest thing is just trusting,” Lue said, crediting medical staff president Maggie Bryant with showing Leonard different ways he could do things to be healthy at the end of the 82-game regular season.
