Global airline body expects airfares to fall in 2025 with profits set to soar
By Cannix Yau
The global airline industry is expected to reap net profits of US$36.6 billion in 2025, up 16 per cent from an estimated US$31.5 billion this year, despite ongoing cost and supply chain challenges, an international trade body has said, while predicting more affordable airfares.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the increase would be driven by lower oil prices, maintenance of high load factors and tightly controlled costs, with airlines managing to achieve growth following an “extraordinary” pandemic recovery.
“We’re expecting airlines to deliver a global profit of US$36.6 billion in 2025,” Willie Walsh, director general of airline trade body IATA, said on Tuesday.
“This will be hard-earned as airlines take advantage of lower oil prices while keeping load factors above 83 per cent … and managing the return to more normal growth levels following the extraordinary pandemic recovery.
“All these efforts will help to mitigate several drags on profitability which are outside of airlines’ control, namely persistent supply chain challenges, infrastructure deficiencies, onerous regulation and a rising tax burden.”
The load factor is a measure of how well an airline is filling available seats.
IATA said it expected the industry’s revenues to reach US$1 trillion next year, an increase of 4.4 per cent from 2024, with a profit margin of 3.6 per cent against this year’s 3.3 per cent.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Cannix Yau
The global airline industry is expected to reap net profits of US$36.6 billion in 2025, up 16 per cent from an estimated US$31.5 billion this year, despite ongoing cost and supply chain challenges, an international trade body has said, while predicting more affordable airfares.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the increase would be driven by lower oil prices, maintenance of high load factors and tightly controlled costs, with airlines managing to achieve growth following an “extraordinary” pandemic recovery.
“We’re expecting airlines to deliver a global profit of US$36.6 billion in 2025,” Willie Walsh, director general of airline trade body IATA, said on Tuesday.
“This will be hard-earned as airlines take advantage of lower oil prices while keeping load factors above 83 per cent … and managing the return to more normal growth levels following the extraordinary pandemic recovery.
“All these efforts will help to mitigate several drags on profitability which are outside of airlines’ control, namely persistent supply chain challenges, infrastructure deficiencies, onerous regulation and a rising tax burden.”
The load factor is a measure of how well an airline is filling available seats.
IATA said it expected the industry’s revenues to reach US$1 trillion next year, an increase of 4.4 per cent from 2024, with a profit margin of 3.6 per cent against this year’s 3.3 per cent.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
EU to sanction China entities for role in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine
By Finbarr Bermingham
The European Union reached a provisional agreement on Wednesday to sanction Chinese entities for the first time for their role in supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Six China and Hong Kong-based companies will have their assets frozen while one Chinese citizen will face a visa ban, as part of a broader package of sanctions designed to curb Russia’s military capability.
This is the fifteenth such package the EU has passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As the war has rumbled on, they have increasingly focused on cutting out efforts to circumvent sanctions and trying to choke military supplies to Moscow’s war machine.
Previously, Chinese firms have been added to a blacklist of entities banned from buying goods made in the EU for their alleged role in funnelling to Russia products with dual military and civilian uses.
The latest package will be the first time, however, that they face direct sanctions for playing a role in the invasion that has dragged on for nearly three years. It reflects a growing concern in Europe about China’s support for the conflict, both in providing an economic lifeline for Moscow through direct trade, or through the provisions of weaponry for use on the battlefield.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Finbarr Bermingham
The European Union reached a provisional agreement on Wednesday to sanction Chinese entities for the first time for their role in supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Six China and Hong Kong-based companies will have their assets frozen while one Chinese citizen will face a visa ban, as part of a broader package of sanctions designed to curb Russia’s military capability.
This is the fifteenth such package the EU has passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As the war has rumbled on, they have increasingly focused on cutting out efforts to circumvent sanctions and trying to choke military supplies to Moscow’s war machine.
Previously, Chinese firms have been added to a blacklist of entities banned from buying goods made in the EU for their alleged role in funnelling to Russia products with dual military and civilian uses.
The latest package will be the first time, however, that they face direct sanctions for playing a role in the invasion that has dragged on for nearly three years. It reflects a growing concern in Europe about China’s support for the conflict, both in providing an economic lifeline for Moscow through direct trade, or through the provisions of weaponry for use on the battlefield.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
China’s hypersonic jumbo jet prototype hits Mach 6 in Gobi Desert test flight
By Stephen Chen
Chinese scientists have sent a hypersonic aircraft with a remarkably bulky body soaring through the sky, reaching a speed that could cover the distance from Beijing to New York in two hours.
During a 2021 test flight first widely publicised this week, a scaled-down prototype of the aircraft reached a top speed of Mach 6.56 – or over six times the speed of sound.
The test has provided early validation of a design that, when first unveiled six years ago, was thought to be impossible.
“At the time, everyone thought it was a crazy idea,” said Cui Kai, the project’s leader and a researcher at the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, speaking in Beijing in October.
“We faced almost universal scepticism. Fortunately, we chose to persevere. I always believed that innovation thrives amid doubt.”
The aircraft marks a significant departure from the slender hypersonic vehicles previously seen. It features a fat and round fuselage and cape-shaped wings on its back.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Stephen Chen
Chinese scientists have sent a hypersonic aircraft with a remarkably bulky body soaring through the sky, reaching a speed that could cover the distance from Beijing to New York in two hours.
During a 2021 test flight first widely publicised this week, a scaled-down prototype of the aircraft reached a top speed of Mach 6.56 – or over six times the speed of sound.
The test has provided early validation of a design that, when first unveiled six years ago, was thought to be impossible.
“At the time, everyone thought it was a crazy idea,” said Cui Kai, the project’s leader and a researcher at the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, speaking in Beijing in October.
“We faced almost universal scepticism. Fortunately, we chose to persevere. I always believed that innovation thrives amid doubt.”
The aircraft marks a significant departure from the slender hypersonic vehicles previously seen. It features a fat and round fuselage and cape-shaped wings on its back.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
China’s customs chief and trade warrior Yu Jianhua dies aged 63 after sudden illness
By Phoebe Zhang
China’s customs chief Yu Jianhua, who helped China fight its trade war with the US during Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, has died suddenly aged 63.
Yu was suddenly taken ill on Tuesday and died despite receiving emergency treatment, the customs office said in a statement.
He had made his last public appearance that same day, according to media reports, meeting senior officials from the northeastern province of Jilin in Beijing.
Yu became head of the General Administration of Customs in April 2022, succeeding Ni Yuefeng.
Before that, he worked for the Ministry of Commerce on and off starting in 2001.
In 2013, he was appointed China’s permanent representative to the World Trade Organization, a position he held until February 2017, when he was promoted to commerce vice-minister and deputy representative for international trade negotiations.
In September of that year, Yu met Wilbur Ross, former US commerce secretary, in Washington, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Phoebe Zhang
China’s customs chief Yu Jianhua, who helped China fight its trade war with the US during Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, has died suddenly aged 63.
Yu was suddenly taken ill on Tuesday and died despite receiving emergency treatment, the customs office said in a statement.
He had made his last public appearance that same day, according to media reports, meeting senior officials from the northeastern province of Jilin in Beijing.
Yu became head of the General Administration of Customs in April 2022, succeeding Ni Yuefeng.
Before that, he worked for the Ministry of Commerce on and off starting in 2001.
In 2013, he was appointed China’s permanent representative to the World Trade Organization, a position he held until February 2017, when he was promoted to commerce vice-minister and deputy representative for international trade negotiations.
In September of that year, Yu met Wilbur Ross, former US commerce secretary, in Washington, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Singapore Airlines joins platform to combat severe turbulence amid climate change concerns
By Kimberly Lim
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has joined a global turbulence data-sharing platform to improve in-flight safety, a move aviation analysts describe as significant amid increasing reports of severe mid-air jolts that can pose risks to passengers and crew.
“SIA is quick to adopt new technology, including artificial intelligence, to help mitigate future air turbulence issues,” said Shukor Yusof, founder of advisory firm Endau Analytics. “Airlines using this platform can share invaluable real-time data to avoid danger zones.”
The platform, known as Turbulence Aware, pools anonymised data from participating airlines, enabling pilots and dispatchers to chart smoother flight paths and improve fuel efficiency.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on Tuesday that SIA, along with its budget arm Scoot, South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines and British Airways, had joined the initiative, which now includes more than 25 airlines contributing data from more than 2,600 aircraft.
“This real-time, accurate turbulence reporting enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoiding turbulence and flying at optimum levels to maximise fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 carbon emissions,” the statement read.
In May, one of this year’s most severe incidents of air turbulence occurred on SIA flight SQ321 from London to Singapore, which resulted in one fatality and injuries to dozens of passengers.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Kimberly Lim
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has joined a global turbulence data-sharing platform to improve in-flight safety, a move aviation analysts describe as significant amid increasing reports of severe mid-air jolts that can pose risks to passengers and crew.
“SIA is quick to adopt new technology, including artificial intelligence, to help mitigate future air turbulence issues,” said Shukor Yusof, founder of advisory firm Endau Analytics. “Airlines using this platform can share invaluable real-time data to avoid danger zones.”
The platform, known as Turbulence Aware, pools anonymised data from participating airlines, enabling pilots and dispatchers to chart smoother flight paths and improve fuel efficiency.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on Tuesday that SIA, along with its budget arm Scoot, South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines and British Airways, had joined the initiative, which now includes more than 25 airlines contributing data from more than 2,600 aircraft.
“This real-time, accurate turbulence reporting enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoiding turbulence and flying at optimum levels to maximise fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 carbon emissions,” the statement read.
In May, one of this year’s most severe incidents of air turbulence occurred on SIA flight SQ321 from London to Singapore, which resulted in one fatality and injuries to dozens of passengers.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Trump policies could ‘naturally’ bring US allies closer to China, analysts say
By Bochen Han
A Donald Trump administration could inadvertently push US allies closer to China, as Beijing is poised to capitalise on any weaknesses in Washington’s alliances, analysts said on Tuesday at an event in New York hosted by the Asia Society.
“If it’s an approach that we’re imposing tariffs or other punitive measures on EU trade partners and China, that naturally will bring them closer together,” said Michael Hirson, a fellow on Chinese economy and technology at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Centre for China Analysis.
Trump threatened 10 to 20 per cent universal tariffs on imports on the campaign trail and late last month specified that Canada and Mexico would be subject to 25 per cent tariffs, while China would be subject to “an additional 10 per cent tariff, above any additional tariffs”.
The president-elect has also repeatedly hit out at Nato for not fulfilling its share of defence spending and threatened to withdraw from the alliance if commitments were not met.
But Hirson, who was the US Treasury Department’s chief representative in China from 2014 to 2016, said the closeness of Beijing and EU member countries would depend on how “organised and disciplined” the Trump administration is.
Sungmin Cho, an Asia Society fellow focused on Chinese politics, foreign policy and national security, said he expected enhanced ties between China and South Korea in a second Trump administration.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Bochen Han
A Donald Trump administration could inadvertently push US allies closer to China, as Beijing is poised to capitalise on any weaknesses in Washington’s alliances, analysts said on Tuesday at an event in New York hosted by the Asia Society.
“If it’s an approach that we’re imposing tariffs or other punitive measures on EU trade partners and China, that naturally will bring them closer together,” said Michael Hirson, a fellow on Chinese economy and technology at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Centre for China Analysis.
Trump threatened 10 to 20 per cent universal tariffs on imports on the campaign trail and late last month specified that Canada and Mexico would be subject to 25 per cent tariffs, while China would be subject to “an additional 10 per cent tariff, above any additional tariffs”.
The president-elect has also repeatedly hit out at Nato for not fulfilling its share of defence spending and threatened to withdraw from the alliance if commitments were not met.
But Hirson, who was the US Treasury Department’s chief representative in China from 2014 to 2016, said the closeness of Beijing and EU member countries would depend on how “organised and disciplined” the Trump administration is.
Sungmin Cho, an Asia Society fellow focused on Chinese politics, foreign policy and national security, said he expected enhanced ties between China and South Korea in a second Trump administration.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
China’s semiconductor firms cash in chips as export boom bucks overall trend
By Luna Sun
Despite intensifying restrictions from the US intended to stifle China’s semiconductor trade, Beijing’s shipments of the bedrock technology stood out as a rare bright spot in a recent export data release.
China’s integrated circuit exports hit a record US$144.7 billion in value for the first 11 months of 2024, growing 18.8 per cent year on year according to customs data released on Tuesday.
In addition to rising global demand and the rapid development of AI, the scale of manufacturing for China’s “legacy” chips – semiconductors behind the bleeding edge of innovation but still widely used for less intensive applications – is reshaping the market.
Chip export volume reached 271.6 billion units from January through November, an 11.4 per cent gain over the same period last year.
China’s mastery of 28-nanometre chip production has helped its companies leverage cost advantages and export aggressively, capturing a significant share of the global market, said Xu Tianchen, senior China economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Once the technological bottleneck is resolved, it typically leads to large-scale domestic substitution, a surge in exports and eventual overcapacity in production,” he added.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Luna Sun
Despite intensifying restrictions from the US intended to stifle China’s semiconductor trade, Beijing’s shipments of the bedrock technology stood out as a rare bright spot in a recent export data release.
China’s integrated circuit exports hit a record US$144.7 billion in value for the first 11 months of 2024, growing 18.8 per cent year on year according to customs data released on Tuesday.
In addition to rising global demand and the rapid development of AI, the scale of manufacturing for China’s “legacy” chips – semiconductors behind the bleeding edge of innovation but still widely used for less intensive applications – is reshaping the market.
Chip export volume reached 271.6 billion units from January through November, an 11.4 per cent gain over the same period last year.
China’s mastery of 28-nanometre chip production has helped its companies leverage cost advantages and export aggressively, capturing a significant share of the global market, said Xu Tianchen, senior China economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Once the technological bottleneck is resolved, it typically leads to large-scale domestic substitution, a surge in exports and eventual overcapacity in production,” he added.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Peer pressure may be fuelling hawkish stances on China among US foreign policy elite
By Maple Leung
American foreign policy specialists are being pushed to appear more hawkish towards China than they actually are because of professional and social pressures, a new survey has concluded.
It said there is “a degree of pluralistic ignorance in the foreign policy community, where people overestimate the level of consensus, inflate the level of threat, and believe collective opinion to be more confrontational than it really is”.
The authors, Michael Cerny, a PhD student in the Department of Government at Harvard, along with Rory Truex, an associate professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton, surveyed 495 foreign policy specialists and conducted 55 in-depth interviews.
They found that 21.8 per cent of respondents experienced social pressure to express certain views on US policy towards China and this disproportionately affected women and younger or non-white specialists.
“I think that as a young person and a liberal person and a woman in this field, there’s a pressure to overcompensate by being more hawkish,” one interviewee told them.
Donald Trump’s incoming administration is expected to take a hardline stance and the president-elect has nominated several prominent China hawks for cabinet roles.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Maple Leung
American foreign policy specialists are being pushed to appear more hawkish towards China than they actually are because of professional and social pressures, a new survey has concluded.
It said there is “a degree of pluralistic ignorance in the foreign policy community, where people overestimate the level of consensus, inflate the level of threat, and believe collective opinion to be more confrontational than it really is”.
The authors, Michael Cerny, a PhD student in the Department of Government at Harvard, along with Rory Truex, an associate professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton, surveyed 495 foreign policy specialists and conducted 55 in-depth interviews.
They found that 21.8 per cent of respondents experienced social pressure to express certain views on US policy towards China and this disproportionately affected women and younger or non-white specialists.
“I think that as a young person and a liberal person and a woman in this field, there’s a pressure to overcompensate by being more hawkish,” one interviewee told them.
Donald Trump’s incoming administration is expected to take a hardline stance and the president-elect has nominated several prominent China hawks for cabinet roles.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Assad’s fall in Syria will not weaken ‘strong and powerful’ Iran: Khamenei
By Agence France-Presse
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the weakening of the anti-Israel “resistance” after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Syria would not diminish Tehran’s power.
Some, “unaware of the meaning of resistance, imagine that when the resistance becomes weak, Islamic Iran will also become weak … Iran is strong and powerful and will become even more powerful”, Khamenei said in his first speech after Assad’s fall.
Syrian rebels’ lightning push to Damascus from their strongholds in the northwest ended the decades-long rule of Assad’s family, once an ally of Tehran.
Assad had long played a strategic role in Iran’s anti-Israel “axis of resistance”, particularly in facilitating the supply of weapons to Tehran’s ally Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.
The axis of resistance includes Hezbollah, as well as Hamas in Gaza, Houthi rebels in Yemen and smaller Shia militia groups in Iraq.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Agence France-Presse
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the weakening of the anti-Israel “resistance” after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Syria would not diminish Tehran’s power.
Some, “unaware of the meaning of resistance, imagine that when the resistance becomes weak, Islamic Iran will also become weak … Iran is strong and powerful and will become even more powerful”, Khamenei said in his first speech after Assad’s fall.
Syrian rebels’ lightning push to Damascus from their strongholds in the northwest ended the decades-long rule of Assad’s family, once an ally of Tehran.
Assad had long played a strategic role in Iran’s anti-Israel “axis of resistance”, particularly in facilitating the supply of weapons to Tehran’s ally Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.
The axis of resistance includes Hezbollah, as well as Hamas in Gaza, Houthi rebels in Yemen and smaller Shia militia groups in Iraq.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Hong Kong finds 30 more rocks containing dinosaur fossils on Port Island
By Lo Hoi-ying
About 30 more rocks containing dinosaur fossils have been found on a remote island off the northern portion of Hong Kong, just two months after the first such discovery was made.
Authorities also announced on Wednesday that Port Island, where the fossils were found, would reopen to the public on Thursday. But it warned visitors against exploring the area on their own, citing safety concerns.
A Development Bureau spokesman said experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had excavated about 30 rocks containing dinosaur fossils since late October.
“The actual quantity of dinosaur fossils could only be confirmed after the fossil preparation is completed,” he said.
“After thorough inspections by the IVPP experts and local palaeontologists at the fossil discovery site, it was confirmed that all exposed fossils have been removed.”
The team of experts, alongside the city’s Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, will work on preparing the dinosaur fossils and identifying the species of dinosaur found on Port Island.
They will also explore Hong Kong’s palaeoecology, or past ecosystems.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Lo Hoi-ying
About 30 more rocks containing dinosaur fossils have been found on a remote island off the northern portion of Hong Kong, just two months after the first such discovery was made.
Authorities also announced on Wednesday that Port Island, where the fossils were found, would reopen to the public on Thursday. But it warned visitors against exploring the area on their own, citing safety concerns.
A Development Bureau spokesman said experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had excavated about 30 rocks containing dinosaur fossils since late October.
“The actual quantity of dinosaur fossils could only be confirmed after the fossil preparation is completed,” he said.
“After thorough inspections by the IVPP experts and local palaeontologists at the fossil discovery site, it was confirmed that all exposed fossils have been removed.”
The team of experts, alongside the city’s Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, will work on preparing the dinosaur fossils and identifying the species of dinosaur found on Port Island.
They will also explore Hong Kong’s palaeoecology, or past ecosystems.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
China may bank on balance-sheet expansion, not interest rate cuts, for growth: economist
By Alice Li
China’s central bank may have to greatly expand its balance sheet next year to empower the country’s desired economic growth, according to a prominent economist, as Beijing embraces a “moderately loose” monetary policy for the first time in 14 years.
This means that purchases of government bonds may be poised to jump, in terms of issuance, to fund construction projects in 2025, Lu Ting, chief China economist at Japanese investment bank Nomura, said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
The comments came as market analysts are trying to piece together a picture of Beijing’s policy moves after Monday’s strongly worded statement from the Politburo, the centre of power within the ruling Communist Party, and with the annual central economic work conference reportedly kicking off in Beijing.
The People’s Bank of China may adopt a different approach from what it took in 2009 – when its relaxed credit line and monetary stance led to a frenzy of local government financing vehicles and a mountain of interest-bearing debt.
The central bank has already bought more than 500 billion yuan (US$68.8 billion) worth of government bonds in the secondary market since the tool was redeployed in August, and a coordination mechanism with the Ministry of Finance has been established.
Lu expected that Beijing would try to empower central government financing, as it is in a position to defuse the local debt crisis.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Alice Li
China’s central bank may have to greatly expand its balance sheet next year to empower the country’s desired economic growth, according to a prominent economist, as Beijing embraces a “moderately loose” monetary policy for the first time in 14 years.
This means that purchases of government bonds may be poised to jump, in terms of issuance, to fund construction projects in 2025, Lu Ting, chief China economist at Japanese investment bank Nomura, said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
The comments came as market analysts are trying to piece together a picture of Beijing’s policy moves after Monday’s strongly worded statement from the Politburo, the centre of power within the ruling Communist Party, and with the annual central economic work conference reportedly kicking off in Beijing.
The People’s Bank of China may adopt a different approach from what it took in 2009 – when its relaxed credit line and monetary stance led to a frenzy of local government financing vehicles and a mountain of interest-bearing debt.
The central bank has already bought more than 500 billion yuan (US$68.8 billion) worth of government bonds in the secondary market since the tool was redeployed in August, and a coordination mechanism with the Ministry of Finance has been established.
Lu expected that Beijing would try to empower central government financing, as it is in a position to defuse the local debt crisis.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
What Assad’s downfall in Syria and the rise of HTS mean for the world
By Marco Vicenzino
After more than 50 years of repressive autocratic rule, over 13 years of bloody civil war that displaced more than 12 million people and a 12-day lightning offensive by opposition forces, the Assad family’s dominance of Syria has ended. With elation comes deep uncertainty about what comes next in Syria and its implications for the region and beyond.
A fundamental question prevails: will Syria transition from a secular dictatorship to a stable representative government or hardline Islamist authoritarianism, or something in between?
The politically and diplomatically correct reply is to express cautious optimism that Syria will pursue the path of a brighter future for its people. But most indications point to a greater cause for caution than optimism.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded Bashar al-Assad’s downfall, arguably remains the strongest opposition force in Syria, yet is listed as a terrorist group by the United States, European Union, Turkey and others. The US has a US$10 million bounty on HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a former Islamic State (Isis) fighter, despite attempts to rebrand himself and his group as mainstream Islamists.
So far, HTS has been preaching what most, at home and abroad, want to hear: political moderation and inclusion of minorities. But its iron-fisted governance of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province points to the need for extreme vigilance of the group’s intentions and long-term agenda.
To provide assurances, HTS must genuinely reach out to a wide range of opposition parties within an all-embracing political framework. This is key to an orderly transition that guarantees security and stability at home and the broader region. In the longer term, a new national compact is needed. A zero-sum approach by HTS, or any other opposition group, will backfire.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Marco Vicenzino
After more than 50 years of repressive autocratic rule, over 13 years of bloody civil war that displaced more than 12 million people and a 12-day lightning offensive by opposition forces, the Assad family’s dominance of Syria has ended. With elation comes deep uncertainty about what comes next in Syria and its implications for the region and beyond.
A fundamental question prevails: will Syria transition from a secular dictatorship to a stable representative government or hardline Islamist authoritarianism, or something in between?
The politically and diplomatically correct reply is to express cautious optimism that Syria will pursue the path of a brighter future for its people. But most indications point to a greater cause for caution than optimism.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded Bashar al-Assad’s downfall, arguably remains the strongest opposition force in Syria, yet is listed as a terrorist group by the United States, European Union, Turkey and others. The US has a US$10 million bounty on HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a former Islamic State (Isis) fighter, despite attempts to rebrand himself and his group as mainstream Islamists.
So far, HTS has been preaching what most, at home and abroad, want to hear: political moderation and inclusion of minorities. But its iron-fisted governance of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province points to the need for extreme vigilance of the group’s intentions and long-term agenda.
To provide assurances, HTS must genuinely reach out to a wide range of opposition parties within an all-embracing political framework. This is key to an orderly transition that guarantees security and stability at home and the broader region. In the longer term, a new national compact is needed. A zero-sum approach by HTS, or any other opposition group, will backfire.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Hong Kong yoga ball murder case: ‘lethal gas was to kill shrews lured by ham’
By Fiona Chow
A former university professor brought two yoga balls filled with lethal gas to his Hong Kong home to exterminate shrews that had been attracted by the smell of Spanish ham, a court has heard in the trial over the alleged murder of his wife and daughter.
Anaesthesiologist Khaw Kim Sun, 60, told the High Court on Wednesday that he decided to bring the surplus carbon monoxide from his laboratory back to their three-storey Sai Kung after he had tried various pest control methods in vain.
The Malaysian, representing himself in the retrial, has denied filling an inflatable yoga ball with carbon monoxide and placing it inside the family’s yellow Mini Cooper to kill his wife Wong Siew Fing, 47, and second daughter, Lily Khaw Li Ling, 16.
The pair died in the car on May 22, 2015.
“There is no reason for me to sit here trying to defend myself if I am not innocent,” the former university professor told the jury.
He also said the timeline of his whereabouts on the day of the deaths, and other scientific evidence, would prove him to be not guilty.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Fiona Chow
A former university professor brought two yoga balls filled with lethal gas to his Hong Kong home to exterminate shrews that had been attracted by the smell of Spanish ham, a court has heard in the trial over the alleged murder of his wife and daughter.
Anaesthesiologist Khaw Kim Sun, 60, told the High Court on Wednesday that he decided to bring the surplus carbon monoxide from his laboratory back to their three-storey Sai Kung after he had tried various pest control methods in vain.
The Malaysian, representing himself in the retrial, has denied filling an inflatable yoga ball with carbon monoxide and placing it inside the family’s yellow Mini Cooper to kill his wife Wong Siew Fing, 47, and second daughter, Lily Khaw Li Ling, 16.
The pair died in the car on May 22, 2015.
“There is no reason for me to sit here trying to defend myself if I am not innocent,” the former university professor told the jury.
He also said the timeline of his whereabouts on the day of the deaths, and other scientific evidence, would prove him to be not guilty.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Hong Kong’s John Lee heads to Beijing for duty visit, set to brief Xi Jinping on Friday
By Willa WuEdith Lin
Hong Kong’s leader has travelled to Beijing for his annual duty visit and is expected to brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on the city’s social, political and economic situation on Friday.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu did not meet the press at Hong Kong airport before departing at Wednesday noon for his four-day duty visit.
Upon arrival in the country’s capital, he had “private engagements” at night, the Post has learned.
Sources said Lee would have lunch with Beijing-based Hong Kong business leaders on Thursday, before attending a closed-door meeting with representatives from the capital’s tertiary education institutions.
He was also expected to brief Xi and Premier Li Qiang on Hong Kong’s development on Friday, with the itinerary also including meetings with members of various central government ministries, they added.
Analysts said they believed the high-level meetings between Lee and the state leaders would focus on efforts to stimulate Hong Kong’s stagnant economy and counter geopolitical risks.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Willa WuEdith Lin
Hong Kong’s leader has travelled to Beijing for his annual duty visit and is expected to brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on the city’s social, political and economic situation on Friday.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu did not meet the press at Hong Kong airport before departing at Wednesday noon for his four-day duty visit.
Upon arrival in the country’s capital, he had “private engagements” at night, the Post has learned.
Sources said Lee would have lunch with Beijing-based Hong Kong business leaders on Thursday, before attending a closed-door meeting with representatives from the capital’s tertiary education institutions.
He was also expected to brief Xi and Premier Li Qiang on Hong Kong’s development on Friday, with the itinerary also including meetings with members of various central government ministries, they added.
Analysts said they believed the high-level meetings between Lee and the state leaders would focus on efforts to stimulate Hong Kong’s stagnant economy and counter geopolitical risks.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
