3 d. ago Global order fracturing, status quo unlikely to return, EU warns in new report

After months of being pummelled with trade tariffs and security threats from the United States and years of pushing back against a rising China, the European Union on Tuesday sounded a death knell for the global rules-based order. In its “Strategic Foresight Report 2025”, designed to steel the bloc for a risk-laden future that looks darker by the day, the European Commission said “we are witnessing the erosion of the rules-based international order and fracturing of the global...

Events

2 w. ago No separate inquiry needed to probe Hong Kong water scandal, treasury chief says

Hong Kong’s treasury chief has dismissed calls to set up a separate commission of inquiry to investigate officials’ roles in a bottled water procurement scandal, arguing that the government’s auditors will be able to identify lapses in a “professional and independent” manner. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, the head of a newly formed task force that is reviewing the case, on Sunday defended the adequacy of having the Audit Commission conduct its...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Very disappointed’: John Lee speaks for first time on Hong Kong’s water scandal

Hong Kong’s leader has expressed deep disappointment over the Government Logistics Department’s failure to detect fraudulent documents before awarding a HK$52.9 million (US$6.78 million) contract to a bottled water supplier, urging authorities to plug loopholes in the procurement process as soon as possible. Commenting on the water supply scandal for the first time, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said the treasury minister’s response to the incident had been timely and appropriate. Lee...

Politics

3 w. ago Hong Kong logistics official admits system failed to detect water fraud

Hong Kong’s procurement system has failed to detect document fraud and authorities are taking immediate steps to strengthen it, the head of the logistics department has said, apologising to the public for the first time amid a growing water scandal. Treasury chief Hui Ching-yu, meanwhile, said on Thursday that his task force reviewing the system would provide a mid-term investigation report with suggested measures instead of waiting for the investigation to be completed in three months. After...

Politics

3 w. ago Watch Bessent Says China Tariff Status Quo 'Working Pretty Well'

Watch Bessent Says China Tariff Status Quo 'Working Pretty Well'  Bloomberg.com

Economics

3 w. ago Bessent Says Tariff Status Quo With China ‘Working Pretty Well’

Bessent Says Tariff Status Quo With China ‘Working Pretty Well’  Bloomberg.com

Economics

3 w. ago US treasury chief says status quo with China 'working pretty well'

US treasury chief says status quo with China 'working pretty well'  Reuters

Politics

3 w. ago How Beijing and other South China Sea claimants can see eye to eye

Few disputes in Asia are as enduring – and as polarising – as those over the South China Sea. For more than a decade, two sharply opposed narratives have dominated. In one, Beijing is seen as using force, or the threat of force, to change the status quo, undermining peace and stability. In the other, China is portrayed as exercising restraint, acting within its rights and working to safeguard regional stability. These perspectives are not merely different; they are mutually exclusive. One side’s...

Politics