Le Journal

While there may be hopes in Beijing that Washington’s attempt to acquire Greenland has strained transatlantic ties and might draw European countries closer to China, a veteran US diplomat said such a fundamental realignment was unlikely. The core task of the European Union’s foreign policy will remain navigating intensifying US-China rivalry while seeking a workable balance between the two, according to William Klein, a former charge d’affaires at the US embassy in China. Addressing a seminar at...

Hong Kong authorities will hold three officers from the logistics department accountable over their roles in a bottled water procurement scandal, with its former director, set to have his Silver Bauhinia Star revoked, cleared of direct oversight. Civil service chief Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said a probe into the scandal involving the HK$166 million bottled water procurement contract last year found that two staff members from the Government Logistics Department would face a disciplinary...

Shares of Chinese toymaker Pop Mart rallied nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday morning after the company announced its first share buy-back in nearly two years, following a decline from last year’s peak. Pop Mart’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose to HK$198.70 at the open as investors welcomed the move. Shares were up 8.5 per cent at HK$196.10 at the noon break. The stock remains below last year’s closing level of HK$200.20, and about 42 per cent off its August peak, suggesting softer momentum amid...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Temperatures in Hong Kong are expected to drop to 11 degrees Celsius (51.8 Fahrenheit) overnight into Wednesday morning under the influence of an intense winter monsoon, but the weather will feel colder than recorded levels due to rising humidity across the city. The Hong Kong Observatory...

Taiwan’s military held a closed-door briefing on Monday to break an opposition blockade of a controversial NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.5 billion) special defence budget that has prompted accusations of “black box” decision-making from rival parties. Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung delivered a classified briefing to the legislature’s foreign affairs and defence committee, seeking to persuade lawmakers to allow the long-stalled bill to be referred for committee review. The package...