Miss Pacific Islands hit by fraud row after Samoa beauty queen wins title
By Reuters
The organisers of the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant on Thursday called for unity after judges were stopped from leaving the Solomon Islands amid claims of fraudulent activities after Miss Samoa won the contest for the second year in a row.
Solomon Islands, which hosted the pageant, said it had lifted an exit ban on judges leaving the country on Wednesday afternoon, although a police investigation continued into what it said was “alleged fraudulent activities during the crowning of the Miss Pacific on Saturday 8th February”.
Samoa’s government said in a statement that the Samoan head judge, Leiataualesa Jerry Brunt, was stopped at the airport in the capital Honiara on Tuesday when trying to return home.
The Solomon Islands said in a statement that the minister for home affairs had told border officials to stop all pageant judges, as well as scrutineers, from leaving the country after receiving complaints of fraud in how Miss Samoa was crowned as the new Miss Pacific.
“The ‘Stop Notice’ only restricts the judges or relevant persons from departing Solomon Islands, but were not detained and are given the freedom to move around Honiara city,” it said.
Two of the five judges, from Papua New Guinea and Tonga, had already departed before the stop notice was issued, it added.
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By Reuters
The organisers of the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant on Thursday called for unity after judges were stopped from leaving the Solomon Islands amid claims of fraudulent activities after Miss Samoa won the contest for the second year in a row.
Solomon Islands, which hosted the pageant, said it had lifted an exit ban on judges leaving the country on Wednesday afternoon, although a police investigation continued into what it said was “alleged fraudulent activities during the crowning of the Miss Pacific on Saturday 8th February”.
Samoa’s government said in a statement that the Samoan head judge, Leiataualesa Jerry Brunt, was stopped at the airport in the capital Honiara on Tuesday when trying to return home.
The Solomon Islands said in a statement that the minister for home affairs had told border officials to stop all pageant judges, as well as scrutineers, from leaving the country after receiving complaints of fraud in how Miss Samoa was crowned as the new Miss Pacific.
“The ‘Stop Notice’ only restricts the judges or relevant persons from departing Solomon Islands, but were not detained and are given the freedom to move around Honiara city,” it said.
Two of the five judges, from Papua New Guinea and Tonga, had already departed before the stop notice was issued, it added.
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Wang Yi travels to Dublin as China shores up its relationship with Ireland
By Finbarr Bermingham
For a small island of just over 5 million people on Europe’s western edge, Ireland is playing an outsize role in the travel plans of China’s top leadership.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is to land in Dublin on Sunday to meet his Irish counterpart Simon Harris and the Irish prime minister Micheal Martin on Monday, off the back of a visit to Britain on Thursday and a frenzied weekend of diplomacy in Munich.
At the Munich Security Conference, Wang is expected to meet top diplomats from the United States, the European Union, Germany, Ukraine and others. In such heavyweight company, Ireland – a geopolitical minnow – stands out.
In isolation, though, the trip is easy to understand. Over a decade as foreign minister and in more than 70 trips to Europe (including Russia and the Caucuses), Wang has never been to Ireland, according to a database kept by Sense Hofstede, an an independent researcher on China.
In trade terms, Ireland also punches above its weight. It is one of the only European countries to have a trade surplus with China – almost US$13 billion last year, calculations based on Chinese customs statistics.
Furthermore, with a new Irish government installed in December, Wang will surely be keen to press the case for maintaining ties with Beijing at an increasingly fraught geopolitical moment.
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By Finbarr Bermingham
For a small island of just over 5 million people on Europe’s western edge, Ireland is playing an outsize role in the travel plans of China’s top leadership.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is to land in Dublin on Sunday to meet his Irish counterpart Simon Harris and the Irish prime minister Micheal Martin on Monday, off the back of a visit to Britain on Thursday and a frenzied weekend of diplomacy in Munich.
At the Munich Security Conference, Wang is expected to meet top diplomats from the United States, the European Union, Germany, Ukraine and others. In such heavyweight company, Ireland – a geopolitical minnow – stands out.
In isolation, though, the trip is easy to understand. Over a decade as foreign minister and in more than 70 trips to Europe (including Russia and the Caucuses), Wang has never been to Ireland, according to a database kept by Sense Hofstede, an an independent researcher on China.
In trade terms, Ireland also punches above its weight. It is one of the only European countries to have a trade surplus with China – almost US$13 billion last year, calculations based on Chinese customs statistics.
Furthermore, with a new Irish government installed in December, Wang will surely be keen to press the case for maintaining ties with Beijing at an increasingly fraught geopolitical moment.
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Seoul angered over North Korea’s demolition of venue for separated families
By Reuters
North Korea was dismantling a facility at its Mount Kumgang resort used for hosting meetings between families separated after the Korean war, South Korea said on Thursday, in the latest sign of strained tensions between the two Koreas.
Seoul’s unification ministry, which handles affairs between the two Koreas, urged in a statement North Korea to immediately stop the action at the site near the border.
The demolition of the facility was an “anti-humanitarian act that tramples on the wishes of separated families”, the ministry said, adding that it would consider legal measures over the action and a joint response with the international community.
North Korea has been escalating its rhetoric against its southern neighbour in recent years, designating South Korea as a “hostile state”.
Pyongyang also blew up sections of inter-Korean roads and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border last year, which prompted South Korea’s military to fire warning shots at the time.
In 2023, Pyongyang scrapped a 2018 military accord designed to curb the risk of inadvertent clashes between two countries that remain technically at war, prompting the South to take a similar step.
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By Reuters
North Korea was dismantling a facility at its Mount Kumgang resort used for hosting meetings between families separated after the Korean war, South Korea said on Thursday, in the latest sign of strained tensions between the two Koreas.
Seoul’s unification ministry, which handles affairs between the two Koreas, urged in a statement North Korea to immediately stop the action at the site near the border.
The demolition of the facility was an “anti-humanitarian act that tramples on the wishes of separated families”, the ministry said, adding that it would consider legal measures over the action and a joint response with the international community.
North Korea has been escalating its rhetoric against its southern neighbour in recent years, designating South Korea as a “hostile state”.
Pyongyang also blew up sections of inter-Korean roads and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border last year, which prompted South Korea’s military to fire warning shots at the time.
In 2023, Pyongyang scrapped a 2018 military accord designed to curb the risk of inadvertent clashes between two countries that remain technically at war, prompting the South to take a similar step.
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CATL, China’s top EV battery maker, eyes global dominance with US$5 billion IPO cash reload
By Daniel Ren
Contemporary Amperex Technology, mainland China’s biggest producer of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, has been shrewd in seizing the opportunity presented by the stock market upswing to tap foreign investors for fresh capital, according to industry executives and analysts.
CATL, as the company is known, is eager to replenish its coffers through a first-time Hong Kong stock offering to bolster its business outside the mainland, as it jostles with competitors like LG Energy Solution to supply to the world’s biggest EV makers.
“Most of the company’s money is in Chinese yuan,” said Ding Haifeng, a consultant at Shanghai-based financial advisory firm Integrity. “A fundraising in Hong Kong will effectively reinforce its ambitions of becoming the undisputed champion of the world’s EV battery market.”
The Shenzhen-listed company had US$6.7 billion and €3.9 billion (US$4.04 billion) of cash in foreign currencies as of June 30 last year, according to its latest accounts.
CATL, which filed its initial public offering (IPO) plan to the Hong Kong bourse on Tuesday, is said to be seeking at least US$5 billion from its deal, potentially the largest share sale in the city since Kuaishou Technology raised US$6.2 billion in January 2021. Proceeds will be for building factories overseas, where growth has slowed.
CATL’s successful secondary listing would see the company join the likes of Alibaba Group Holding, Nio, Baidu and many others from the mainland. Alibaba, which owns the Post, raised US$13 billion in 2019 from its secondary share sale in the city.
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By Daniel Ren
Contemporary Amperex Technology, mainland China’s biggest producer of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, has been shrewd in seizing the opportunity presented by the stock market upswing to tap foreign investors for fresh capital, according to industry executives and analysts.
CATL, as the company is known, is eager to replenish its coffers through a first-time Hong Kong stock offering to bolster its business outside the mainland, as it jostles with competitors like LG Energy Solution to supply to the world’s biggest EV makers.
“Most of the company’s money is in Chinese yuan,” said Ding Haifeng, a consultant at Shanghai-based financial advisory firm Integrity. “A fundraising in Hong Kong will effectively reinforce its ambitions of becoming the undisputed champion of the world’s EV battery market.”
The Shenzhen-listed company had US$6.7 billion and €3.9 billion (US$4.04 billion) of cash in foreign currencies as of June 30 last year, according to its latest accounts.
CATL, which filed its initial public offering (IPO) plan to the Hong Kong bourse on Tuesday, is said to be seeking at least US$5 billion from its deal, potentially the largest share sale in the city since Kuaishou Technology raised US$6.2 billion in January 2021. Proceeds will be for building factories overseas, where growth has slowed.
CATL’s successful secondary listing would see the company join the likes of Alibaba Group Holding, Nio, Baidu and many others from the mainland. Alibaba, which owns the Post, raised US$13 billion in 2019 from its secondary share sale in the city.
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Hong Kong educators took out HK$8.7 billion in pension funds in past academic year
By William Yiu
Hong Kong public school teachers and principals took out HK$8.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) from two retirement fund schemes in the past academic year, a drop from the peak two years ago when a wave of emigration was cresting.
In the 2023-24 academic year, 2,603 teachers from subsidised and grant-receiving primary and secondary schools left the profession as a result of retirement, resignation or other reasons, down from 3,551 in 2021-22 and 3,334 in 2022-23.
The data was reported in the Subsidised Schools Provident Fund and Grant Schools Provident Fund annual reports that the Education Bureau released this week and last month respectively.
Teachers cashed out HK$8.7 billion in the previous academic year, down from HK$10.1 billion in 2022-23 and the peak of HK$10.7 billion in 2021-22.
Each teacher took out about HK$3.36 million on average last year, according to the Post’s calculations.
Before the emigration wave, about 2,000 teachers quit and cashed out about HK$5.2 billion from the two provident funds each year.
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By William Yiu
Hong Kong public school teachers and principals took out HK$8.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) from two retirement fund schemes in the past academic year, a drop from the peak two years ago when a wave of emigration was cresting.
In the 2023-24 academic year, 2,603 teachers from subsidised and grant-receiving primary and secondary schools left the profession as a result of retirement, resignation or other reasons, down from 3,551 in 2021-22 and 3,334 in 2022-23.
The data was reported in the Subsidised Schools Provident Fund and Grant Schools Provident Fund annual reports that the Education Bureau released this week and last month respectively.
Teachers cashed out HK$8.7 billion in the previous academic year, down from HK$10.1 billion in 2022-23 and the peak of HK$10.7 billion in 2021-22.
Each teacher took out about HK$3.36 million on average last year, according to the Post’s calculations.
Before the emigration wave, about 2,000 teachers quit and cashed out about HK$5.2 billion from the two provident funds each year.
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Hong Kong’s tourist attractions are all around us
By Vijay Verghese
Retail therapy was such a reliable driver of Hong Kong tourism that few in the business contemplated the need for diversity. Why fix a wheel that wasn’t broken? Luxury brands gobbled up prime space, muscling out local designers and innovation. Now, that well-oiled wheel is grinding to a halt and klaxons are sounding. Yet it is not too late for the city to end its haute couture strut.
A strong Hong Kong dollar and the dwindling allure of monoculture shopping has seen retail drop from 51 per cent of overnight tourism receipts in 2018 to 41 per cent in the first six months of 2024.
Flogging this dead horse will yield diminishing returns. To bring in international travellers, Hong Kong must go local. It is time for this richly endowed enclave to tap its enormous array of natural beauty and local food and culture.
According to the Tourism Board, most of the city’s top 10 places most visited by overnight visitors have been unchanged over the past decade. The government has responded with a tourism blueprint for growth, betting on events, pandas and new recreation zones. Tellingly, Xia Baolong, who oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs for Beijing, put his finger on it when he said simply, “Tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong”.
Hong Kong does not need a host of new attractions. The place, its people and food are the attraction. But it needs revitalising and smart marketing.
The New Territories, stretching beautiful and wild across the north, encapsulate the essence of Hong Kong. Much of this is an untamed wilderness brimming with adventure. In a city built on stirring tales of piracy and plunder, this vast district offers a romantic swathe of windswept hills, beaches, temples, historic villages, wetlands, organic farms and dai pai dong. Its guileless charm offers a window into a fast fading way of life.
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By Vijay Verghese
Retail therapy was such a reliable driver of Hong Kong tourism that few in the business contemplated the need for diversity. Why fix a wheel that wasn’t broken? Luxury brands gobbled up prime space, muscling out local designers and innovation. Now, that well-oiled wheel is grinding to a halt and klaxons are sounding. Yet it is not too late for the city to end its haute couture strut.
A strong Hong Kong dollar and the dwindling allure of monoculture shopping has seen retail drop from 51 per cent of overnight tourism receipts in 2018 to 41 per cent in the first six months of 2024.
Flogging this dead horse will yield diminishing returns. To bring in international travellers, Hong Kong must go local. It is time for this richly endowed enclave to tap its enormous array of natural beauty and local food and culture.
According to the Tourism Board, most of the city’s top 10 places most visited by overnight visitors have been unchanged over the past decade. The government has responded with a tourism blueprint for growth, betting on events, pandas and new recreation zones. Tellingly, Xia Baolong, who oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs for Beijing, put his finger on it when he said simply, “Tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong”.
Hong Kong does not need a host of new attractions. The place, its people and food are the attraction. But it needs revitalising and smart marketing.
The New Territories, stretching beautiful and wild across the north, encapsulate the essence of Hong Kong. Much of this is an untamed wilderness brimming with adventure. In a city built on stirring tales of piracy and plunder, this vast district offers a romantic swathe of windswept hills, beaches, temples, historic villages, wetlands, organic farms and dai pai dong. Its guileless charm offers a window into a fast fading way of life.
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Japan zoo bans solo male visitors to prevent flirtation, citing family and couple discomfort
By Zoey Zhang
A zoo in Japan has implemented an entrance ban for solo men following repeated instances of harassment directed towards its female owner and women guests, attracting significant attention online.
Situated in Tochigi Prefecture in eastern Japan, Healing Pavilion is an interactive zoo that allows visitors to feed, cuddle, and forge bonds with animals such as pigs, cats, dogs, and sheep.
Since its opening last March, the zoo has aimed to provide therapeutic companionship through engaging animal interactions.
The facility also features a dog park where visitors are welcome to bring their pets.
On January 26, the zoo’s director, known online as Misa Mama, took to her social media to announce the restriction, leaving netizens in shock.
She stated: “Effective immediately, male visitors are prohibited from entering the zoo alone.”
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By Zoey Zhang
A zoo in Japan has implemented an entrance ban for solo men following repeated instances of harassment directed towards its female owner and women guests, attracting significant attention online.
Situated in Tochigi Prefecture in eastern Japan, Healing Pavilion is an interactive zoo that allows visitors to feed, cuddle, and forge bonds with animals such as pigs, cats, dogs, and sheep.
Since its opening last March, the zoo has aimed to provide therapeutic companionship through engaging animal interactions.
The facility also features a dog park where visitors are welcome to bring their pets.
On January 26, the zoo’s director, known online as Misa Mama, took to her social media to announce the restriction, leaving netizens in shock.
She stated: “Effective immediately, male visitors are prohibited from entering the zoo alone.”
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HSBC cuts rates on fixed mortgages in Hong Kong amid slumping sales
By Cheryl Arcibal
Hong Kong’s largest banks are likely to offer new mortgages to ease the burden on homebuyers amid elevated interest rates, but experts doubt that the trend would overcome the factors weighing down the struggling property market.
HSBC, one of the city’s three currency-issuing lenders, unveiled on Wednesday new mortgage plans offering a fixed rate of 3.18 per cent for the first three years, or 3.03 per cent for the first five years. In both cases, the rate for subsequent years is the prime interest rate minus 1.75 per cent.
The bank had offered fixed-rate plans at 3.25 per cent for three years or 3.15 per cent for five years starting in September.
With the likes of New World Development (NWD) selling new flats at its State Pavilia project in North Point and Kerry Properties offering units in Hava in Yuen Long this month, the latest mortgages mean more options for homebuyers.
“Large banks may follow HSBC,” said Eric Tso Tak-ming, chief vice-president of mortgage broker mReferral. In September, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered launched similar plans after HSBC, he said.
Since then, however, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut base rates by a cumulative half a percentage point in November and December, in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve.
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By Cheryl Arcibal
Hong Kong’s largest banks are likely to offer new mortgages to ease the burden on homebuyers amid elevated interest rates, but experts doubt that the trend would overcome the factors weighing down the struggling property market.
HSBC, one of the city’s three currency-issuing lenders, unveiled on Wednesday new mortgage plans offering a fixed rate of 3.18 per cent for the first three years, or 3.03 per cent for the first five years. In both cases, the rate for subsequent years is the prime interest rate minus 1.75 per cent.
The bank had offered fixed-rate plans at 3.25 per cent for three years or 3.15 per cent for five years starting in September.
With the likes of New World Development (NWD) selling new flats at its State Pavilia project in North Point and Kerry Properties offering units in Hava in Yuen Long this month, the latest mortgages mean more options for homebuyers.
“Large banks may follow HSBC,” said Eric Tso Tak-ming, chief vice-president of mortgage broker mReferral. In September, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered launched similar plans after HSBC, he said.
Since then, however, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut base rates by a cumulative half a percentage point in November and December, in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve.
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Why are Hong Kong government buildings slated for demolition filling up again?
By Kahon Chan
Two Hong Kong government buildings in Wan Chai heading for demolition have begun filling up again with temporary occupants, prompting calls for better long-term planning by authorities.
While a lawmaker said it made sense to use the available premises before the 2027 deadline for all occupants to move out, a land use concern group’s founder questioned whether the administration was pessimistic over future demand for top-grade office buildings.
Immigration Tower and Revenue Tower were earmarked together with Wanchai Tower for redevelopment into a complex connected to the Convention and Exhibition Centre. All three had to be vacated by 2027.
But while the original occupants moved out of the first two, other government offices were allowed to move in for up to three years. Ongoing renovations at some premises were only expected to be completed next year.
Legislator Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said it was inconceivable and a waste of money to move government agencies into buildings due to be demolished.
“It seems they were not attentive enough in their long-term coordination of the overall planning,” she said.
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By Kahon Chan
Two Hong Kong government buildings in Wan Chai heading for demolition have begun filling up again with temporary occupants, prompting calls for better long-term planning by authorities.
While a lawmaker said it made sense to use the available premises before the 2027 deadline for all occupants to move out, a land use concern group’s founder questioned whether the administration was pessimistic over future demand for top-grade office buildings.
Immigration Tower and Revenue Tower were earmarked together with Wanchai Tower for redevelopment into a complex connected to the Convention and Exhibition Centre. All three had to be vacated by 2027.
But while the original occupants moved out of the first two, other government offices were allowed to move in for up to three years. Ongoing renovations at some premises were only expected to be completed next year.
Legislator Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said it was inconceivable and a waste of money to move government agencies into buildings due to be demolished.
“It seems they were not attentive enough in their long-term coordination of the overall planning,” she said.
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Did Japan’s Ishiba cozy up to Trump or was he an effective negotiator at the summit?
By Julian Ryall
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has received mixed reactions back home over his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump, with critics saying he was submissive in Washington and others defending his effective diplomacy.
During a TV interview on Monday, Ishiba outlined his strategy that he was using in his talks with Trump, who made it clear in his first few weeks in the White House that the US intended to dominate its allies as well as rivals.
Ishiba told Nippon Television Network that the negotiation tactics he deployed in Washington were simple and effective.
“If I said ‘no’ to him, then everything would be disrupted,” he said. “It is said that he hates being disagreed with, so I didn’t.”
Ishiba avoided pointing out “the rule of law” to Trump so the president did not feel he was being “lectured”, he added.
His comments have lent credence to Japanese media reports that he underwent intensive training with the help of bureaucrats in Tokyo ahead of his departure for the US on how to deal with Trump.
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By Julian Ryall
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has received mixed reactions back home over his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump, with critics saying he was submissive in Washington and others defending his effective diplomacy.
During a TV interview on Monday, Ishiba outlined his strategy that he was using in his talks with Trump, who made it clear in his first few weeks in the White House that the US intended to dominate its allies as well as rivals.
Ishiba told Nippon Television Network that the negotiation tactics he deployed in Washington were simple and effective.
“If I said ‘no’ to him, then everything would be disrupted,” he said. “It is said that he hates being disagreed with, so I didn’t.”
Ishiba avoided pointing out “the rule of law” to Trump so the president did not feel he was being “lectured”, he added.
His comments have lent credence to Japanese media reports that he underwent intensive training with the help of bureaucrats in Tokyo ahead of his departure for the US on how to deal with Trump.
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Trump blames Biden for surprise rise in US inflation
By Agence France-Presse
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for last month’s unexpected acceleration in consumer inflation, as he looked to deflect a moment of potential political peril early in his second term.
The consumer price index (CPI) edged up to 3.0 per cent in January from a year ago, the US Labour Department said in a statement – slightly above economists’ estimates.
Stripping away volatile food and energy costs, so-called core inflation rose by 3.3 per cent over the past 12 months, which was also slightly above expectations.
“BIDEN INFLATION UP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the data was published, seeking to blame Biden for the CPI figures, which included 12 days in which was Trump was in office.
“It’s far worse than I think anybody anticipated, because unfortunately, the previous administration was not transparent in where the economy truly was,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington later on Wednesday.
Inflation increased by 0.5 per cent in January from a month earlier, while core inflation rose by 0.4 per cent.
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By Agence France-Presse
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for last month’s unexpected acceleration in consumer inflation, as he looked to deflect a moment of potential political peril early in his second term.
The consumer price index (CPI) edged up to 3.0 per cent in January from a year ago, the US Labour Department said in a statement – slightly above economists’ estimates.
Stripping away volatile food and energy costs, so-called core inflation rose by 3.3 per cent over the past 12 months, which was also slightly above expectations.
“BIDEN INFLATION UP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the data was published, seeking to blame Biden for the CPI figures, which included 12 days in which was Trump was in office.
“It’s far worse than I think anybody anticipated, because unfortunately, the previous administration was not transparent in where the economy truly was,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington later on Wednesday.
Inflation increased by 0.5 per cent in January from a month earlier, while core inflation rose by 0.4 per cent.
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Canada’s new fentanyl tsar says goal is to totally stop drug from entering US
By Associated Press
The man appointed by the Canadian government to help stop fentanyl from entering the United States said his goal is to totally eliminate the drug crossing the border.
“Getting the number to zero is a goal and should be our goal,” Kevin Brosseau, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a former national security and intelligence adviser, said on Wednesday.
“If it’s one pound, 10 pounds, we all know the amount of deaths that possibly could represent. We should be focused on eliminating the scourge that is fentanyl in this country and in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian government announced Brosseau’s appointment as its fentanyl tsar on Tuesday.
The move was partly in response to President Donald Trump saying the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US was a reason for threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods – with an exception of 10 per cent on energy.
Trump has paused the implementation of those tariffs until at least March 4.
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By Associated Press
The man appointed by the Canadian government to help stop fentanyl from entering the United States said his goal is to totally eliminate the drug crossing the border.
“Getting the number to zero is a goal and should be our goal,” Kevin Brosseau, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a former national security and intelligence adviser, said on Wednesday.
“If it’s one pound, 10 pounds, we all know the amount of deaths that possibly could represent. We should be focused on eliminating the scourge that is fentanyl in this country and in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian government announced Brosseau’s appointment as its fentanyl tsar on Tuesday.
The move was partly in response to President Donald Trump saying the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US was a reason for threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods – with an exception of 10 per cent on energy.
Trump has paused the implementation of those tariffs until at least March 4.
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Beijing approves construction of first South China Sea deepwater ‘space station’
By Stephen Chen
After years of debate and technical reviews, China has given the green light to a deep-sea research facility that could redefine marine exploration, while amplifying Beijing’s geopolitical leverage in one of the world’s most resource-rich areas.
The “cold seep” ecosystem research facility will be anchored 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) below the surface of the strategically significant South China Sea, which is also subject to a number of competing territorial claims.
The facility – one of the deepest and most technologically complex underwater installations ever attempted – is scheduled to be operational by around 2030, with room for six scientists on missions that will last as long as a month.
The planned facility – which is known among the research community as a deep-sea space station – will be used to study cold seep ecosystems – the methane-rich hydrothermal vents that teem with unique lifeforms and contain vast deposits of methane hydrates, also known as flammable ice.
Details of the station’s design were revealed this month by researcher Yin Jianping, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, and his colleagues, writing in the journal Manufacturing and Upgrading Today.
Pioneering features include the long-term life support system that will be needed if scientists are to build and operate a permanent monitoring network to track methane fluxes, as well as ecological shifts and tectonic activity.
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By Stephen Chen
After years of debate and technical reviews, China has given the green light to a deep-sea research facility that could redefine marine exploration, while amplifying Beijing’s geopolitical leverage in one of the world’s most resource-rich areas.
The “cold seep” ecosystem research facility will be anchored 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) below the surface of the strategically significant South China Sea, which is also subject to a number of competing territorial claims.
The facility – one of the deepest and most technologically complex underwater installations ever attempted – is scheduled to be operational by around 2030, with room for six scientists on missions that will last as long as a month.
The planned facility – which is known among the research community as a deep-sea space station – will be used to study cold seep ecosystems – the methane-rich hydrothermal vents that teem with unique lifeforms and contain vast deposits of methane hydrates, also known as flammable ice.
Details of the station’s design were revealed this month by researcher Yin Jianping, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, and his colleagues, writing in the journal Manufacturing and Upgrading Today.
Pioneering features include the long-term life support system that will be needed if scientists are to build and operate a permanent monitoring network to track methane fluxes, as well as ecological shifts and tectonic activity.
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