WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Chinese government may decline to participate in proposed trade talks with the United States later this month if the Trump administration moves forward with additional tariffs on imported Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing Chinese officials. The US had proposed the talks, but at the same time…
Hong Kong is used to fierce storms, but when Typhoon Mangkhut struck the city on Sunday, it soon became clear that this one was different. Wind gusts as strong as 120 miles an hour swept through the city, rocking tall buildings and fueling storm swells that threatened the coastline with waves as high as 40…
IReinventing liberalism for the 21st century IN SEPTEMBER 1843 James Wilson, a hatmaker from Scotland, founded this newspaper. His purpose was simple: to champion free trade, free markets and limited government. They were the central principles of a new political philosophy to which Wilson adhered and to which The Economist has been committed ever since.…
HONG KONG/MANILA (Reuters) - A super typhoon swirled towards Hong Kong and the Chinese coast on Sunday, gaining in strength over the South China Sea after hurtling through the Philippines, where it wreaked havoc that killed at least 25. A damaged building is seen as Typhoon Mangkhut hits Philippines, in Laoag, Philippines September 15, 2018…
DEBT stalks Africa once again. Over the past six years sub-Saharan governments have issued $81bn in dollar bonds to investors hungry for yield. Piled on top of this are murkier syndicated loans and bilateral debts, many to China and tied to big construction projects. Public debt has climbed above 50% of GDP in half the…
Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Earlier this week, Donald Trump declared his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria an “incredible, unsung success.” This took aback many reporters and pundits. After all, that storm’s official death toll sits at nearly 3,000. And the the federal government’s relief effort was riddled with demonstrable failures: Despite receiving advance warning of…
RUSSIA has long feared a Chinese invasion of its sprawling far east. Large Russian armies regularly drill in southern Siberia. This year the exercises are the largest since the cold war. But what is striking is not just the scale of “Vostok-2018” (see article), but the fact that thousands of Chinese soldiers will take part…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Tuesday expressed deep concern over China’s “worsening crackdown” on minority Muslims in the Xinjiang region, as the Trump administration considered sanctions against Chinese senior officials and companies linked to allegations of human rights abuses. Discussions have gained momentum within the U.S. government over possible economic penalties in…
A shifting attack strategy In Iraq and Syria, even with its territory greatly diminished, the Islamic State has persisted. Months after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared “final victory” over the group in 2017, three Iraqi provinces have witnessed an uptick in violence. Still, the violence there is less devastating than it once was. The group…
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration threatened the International Criminal Court with sanctions if it pursued an investigation of American troops in Afghanistan, opening a harsh new attack on an old nemesis of many on the political right. “The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from…
