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Truth trumps fiction, as Donald trumps expectations

Evelyn Waugh was an exceptional English novelist. His best political satires were very good. Truth, though, can still outwit the best fiction, says Richard Cullen A LIVELY SHORT STORY published by Evelyn Waugh in late 1932, entitled “Incident in Azania” discussed events that unfolded on an imaginary, colonial island off the East Coast of Africa. …

February 3, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

News Opinion

The U.S. openly threatens judges around the world: sorry, but you just can’t do that

Threatening judges for simply doing their jobs is an extremely serious crime. Unfortunately, one nation is doing exactly that, and is getting away with it. Top legal mind Grenville Cross reports. THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JUDGES (IAJ) was founded in Salzburg, Austria, in 1953. It is a professional, nonpolitical organization that promotes judicial independence worldwide.…

January 29, 20260Comments ByGrenville Cross

Hong Kong News News Opinion

David Webb and the Quiet Power of an Unbought Voice

WHEN NEWS BROKE that David Webb had passed away, the reaction in Hong Kong’s financial circles was strikingly divided. Some felt genuine loss. Others fell into an uneasy silence. That contrast alone says much about his place in the city’s capital markets. Webb was never a celebrity investor in the conventional sense. He did not…

January 22, 20260Comments ByKen Ip

China news Culture News

China, Brazil, Germany, become Guardians of the High Seas

CHINA, BRAZIL, AND several other countries this week became legal guardians of the creatures of the High Seas. Leave that giant squid alone! But the United States and Russia declined to sign to join them. After 20 years of legal tinkering, the United Nations this weekend launched can international agreement to protect marine life—and the…

January 19, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

News Opinion

Decoding ‘Trump QE’ – a stealth liquidity injection bypassing the Fed

LATE INTO THE NIGHT on January 9, 2026, global financial markets witnessed a seismic moment. U.S. President Trump posted a seemingly routine but ultimately explosive tweet: he ordered the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make use of the balance sheets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to immediately purchase US$200 billion in Mortgage-Backed Securities. This…

January 16, 20260Comments ByAaron Lai

News Opinion

Transcendental banditry

The Cambridge Dictionary explains that to transcend means, “to rise above or be more important” (link). It is a concept commonly associated with positive transcendence. But some find that violently imposing one’s will can also deliver a transcendental experience. Introduction We typically associate transcendence with rising above the daily grind to achieve enhanced, positive inner…

January 14, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

China news

Japan to China: ‘Sell us gear to make weapons to use against you’

“SELL US WEAPONS parts we need to make missiles and drones to use against you.” A bizarre argument is running in East Asia. Japan’s war-thirsty new leader Sanae Takaichi announced her country would remilitarize and threatened to go to war with China. Then came an “oops” moment. Takaichi seemed to have not realized that to…

January 13, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news

China actions likely caused steep fall in US, Canada opioid deaths: scientists

BREAKING NEWS: The number of opioid deaths in the US and Canada fell dramatically as the Chinese government took action to make life difficult for international drug labs, scientists discovered. Deaths were rising to huge numbers before “the trend began to sharply reverse in mid-2023, dropping the annual rate of fentanyl overdose deaths by over…

January 10, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

News Opinion

Six steps the world needs to take right now about the US and Venezuela: Jeffrey Sachs

[speech given to the United Nations security council on 5 January 2026] . Mr. President, distinguished members of the Security Council, the issue before the council today is not the character of the government of Venezuela. The issue is whether any member state by force, coercion, or economic strangulation has the right to determine Venezuela's…

January 6, 20260Comments ByJeffrey Sachs

Features News Opinion

War and peace

The surge in China’s military capacity, especially over the last decade, has been the focus of increasing Western commentary, some of it measured, much of it alarmist. Many alarmists believe it is a truth universally acknowledged that any large nation possessed of a significantly upgraded stockpile of advanced martial equipment will want to use it…

December 31, 20250Comments ByRichard Cullen