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European automakers will save around 500-600 million euros ($585-700 million) a month dating back to Aug. 1 after the Trump administration implemented the U.S. end of its trade deal with the European Union, the EU’s top trade negotiator said Thursday. Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that the deal establishing a 15% tariff on most EU goods took effect with publication in the U.S. Federal Register instructing customs officials what to charge. That would reduce the tariff from a painfully high 27.5% rate set earlier by Trump. The reduction eases a major burden on EU automakers and is a chief selling point for the deal as presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The deal is retroactive to Aug. 1 so “what we expect now is that the tariffs will be returned to the automakers as of the first of August, which is something like 500, 600 million euros per month,” Sefcovic said ahead of a meeting with Southeast Asian trade ministers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 15% tariff is still much higher than tariffs from before Trump took office, which averaged in the single digits, and the trade deal has been criticized by business associations and some members of the European Parliament. Sefcovic said most member states supported the deal and that after detailed exchanges and presentations on the details he expected lawmakers would support it as well. He said it was “the best deal available” after difficult talks with Trump administration officials. “Any other alternative would be much worse,” he said. Trump threatened even higher rates during the talks. Associated Press
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The Barclays Center is taking its dressing rooms for touring artists to the next level, and they looked to local inspiration to decorate them. The Brooklyn venue, which hosts concerts and is home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and WNBA’s New York Liberty, has upgraded six dressing rooms that now resemble Brooklyn brownstone apartments, complete with moody tones, soft-glow lighting, and high-end fixtures and finishes. [Photo: Barclays Center/BSE] The makeover is part of Barclays Center parent company BSE Global’s $100 million, five-year upgrade of the venue that’s still set to include improvements like a new fan zone and a new premium membership club. Laurie Jacoby, BSE Global’s chief entertainment officer, tells Fast Company the plan for the renovations is “to elevate the guest experience at every level, whether you’re a fan attending a concert or game, or an artist bringing your talent to our stage.” It’s especially important for artists, she says. [Photo: Barclays Center/BSE] “For touring artists, a dressing room is often their only connection to the city they’re performing in,” Jacoby says. “That’s why we designed our dressing rooms to capture the essence of a Brooklyn brownstone, featuring paneled walls, herringbone floors, warm lighting, and elegant finishes that create a cozy, residential atmospherea true home away from home right inside the arena.” [Photo: Barclays Center/BSE] BSE Global designed the dressing rooms in partnership with the Brooklyn Home Company, a real estate development and design firm that typically works on condos, townhomes, and vacation homes. [Photo: Barclays Center/BSE] The team designed each room to pay homage different Brooklyn neighborhoods around the stadium. Park Slope was inspired by diners and wine bars, Brooklyn Heights by red brick, Prospect by the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and Boerum Hill by the oxidization of copper. There’s also a classic brownstone-inspired room for Clinton Hill, and a green room with plants to represent Fort Greene. Construction began following the end of the 202425 NBA season, and the dressing rooms can seat up to 56 people. [Photo: Barclays Center/BSE] BSE Global wants the new Barclays Center to do more than impress rock bands, rappers, DJs, and pop stars. The team also hopes the elevated space will lead to elevated performances. [Photo: Barclays Center/BSE] “ur hope is that these new spaces provide comfort and hospitality for artists spending long hours on the road,” Jacoby says. “We know that when performers feel at home and relaxed, they deliver their best performanceswhich is ultimately a benefit to both fans and the overall experience.” Among the first artists who’ll use the new dressing rooms are Reneé Rapp, who’s bringing her Bite Me Tour to Brooklyn next month, and Tame Impala, who’s playing four nights there.
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The crash of a small plane in southwestern Brazil killed four people including Chinese landscape architect and urban planner Yu Kongjian, Brazilian authorities said Wednesday.The accident happened late Tuesday during a landing attempt at a large farm about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the municipality of Aquidauana in Mato Grosso do Sul state, firefighters said.Yu, who was known for promoting ecologically sound development, was traveling with two Brazilian documentary makers, Luiz Fernando Feres da Cunha Ferraz and Rubens Crispim Jr., who were making a film about the Pantanal wetlands. All three were killed along with pilot Marcelo Pereira de Barros, authorities said.Yu was know for developing the concept of “sponge cities,” with infrastructure that can absorb rainwater to mitigate flood risks and improve the urban climate.“In times of climate change,” Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote on social media, “Yu became a global reference with his sponge cities, which unite quality of life and environmental protection.”Yu argued that by creating large spaces to hold water in city centers, such as parks and ponds, extreme rainfall can be absorbed, helping prevent floods. The idea is widely cited in Chinese urban planning, and in recent years Yu worked on projects in other countries including Saudi Arabia and Thailand.He was known for his “notable contributions to sustainable urbanism, the preservation of biodiversity, and the protection of the planet,” Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on X, adding that Yu’s legacy will continue to inspire those dedicated to ecological cause.Yu founded the College of Architecture and Landscape at Peking University, one of China’s most prestigious universities. The university did not respond a request for comment.The military fire department in Aquidauana was called at around 8:10 p.m. local time on Tuesday to respond to a plane crash, firefighters said. A search and rescue operation lasted approximately nine hours.Yu and the filmmakers were part of a team producing a documentary about the world’s largest tropical wetlands. The Pantanal, fed by tributaries of the Paraguay River and mostly located in Brazil, is a biodiversity hotspot and a popular destination for tourists to see jaguars, macaws, caimans, capybaras and migratory birds in the wild.In an interview with The Associated Press in 2022, Yu criticized much of Asia’s modern infrastructure for being built on ideas imported from Europe, which he said are ill-fitted to the monsoon climate that prevails over much of the continent. Fu Ting contributed to this report from Washington D.C. and Mauricio Savarese from Sao Paulo. Eléonore Hughes, Associated Press
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