Hong Kong airport third runway takes off

Hong Kong started flight operations on its third runway on Thursday, with officials saying it will keep the city’s airport competitive as an aviation hub despite its lagging post-pandemic recovery. Hong Kong International Airport is still among the busiest airports in the world, but flights are not yet back to pre-Covid levels and it has fallen behind regional rivals like Singapore and South Korea in passenger traffic.Speaking at a ceremony near the tarmac, Hong Kong leader John Lee said the airport’s “capacity will be significantly increased” by the new runway.It will enable the airport to handle 120 million passengers and 10 million tonnes of cargo annually by 2035, authorities say.Eight years after construction began on the third runway, guests at the commissioning ceremony watched a plane take off into a clear blue sky.The project that cost HK$142 billion ($18 billion) drew controversy for its environmental impact, as well as attracting headlines for labour disputes and a corruption case involving subcontractors.Observers have questioned whether the boosted capacity can be taken full advantage of, with visitor arrivals still below pre-pandemic levels.Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said this week that it will reach 100 percent of pre-pandemic flights in January. Lee said Thursday that the upgraded airport will help Hong Kong improve ties to surrounding Chinese cities, as part of Beijing’s development blueprint for the region.It will take until the end of 2025 for some of the expanded passenger buildings associated with the third runway to enter service.

Markets mixed after subdued pre-holiday shift on Wall St

Equity markets diverged Thursday as investors brushed off a negative lead from Wall Street while welcoming a drop in Treasury yields and data showing US inflation was holding steady.With the United States heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, business in New York was subdued after a flurry of activity since Donald Trump’s election win at the start of the month.That has allowed Asian traders to take a breather and digest recent developments as the president-elect builds a hawkish cabinet that looks set to renew his hardball approach to world trade, having already flagged tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico.Data out of Washington on Wednesday showed the personal consumption expenditures index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — edged up to 2.3 percent on-year in October.The figure was up from 2.1 percent the previous month and in line with forecasts, while slightly above the Federal Reserve’s long-term two percent target for price rises.While the Fed appears to be getting a handle on inflation and the labour market is softening, investors have started to scale back their bets on how many rate cuts the central bank will make as they try to assess the impact of Trump’s plans to cut taxes and impose tariffs.Futures markets currently place the odds at about two-thirds that officials will lower rates again in December by 25 basis points.Still, all three main Wall Street indexes ended in the red, with the Dow and S&P 500 pulling back from record highs as investors shifted to the sidelines ahead of the festive break.Treasury yields slipped, weighing on the dollar Wednesday, though the greenback strengthened slightly in Asian trade.Equity markets were mixed, with Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore all up, while Seoul also edged up after a second successive interest rate cut by South Korea’s central bank.Wellington, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta took a leg down. London, Paris and Frankfurt opened on the front foot.Hong Kong and Shanghai retreated as Bloomberg reported that Washington was considering ramping up its crackdown on tech supplies to China by putting fresh sanctions on sales of semiconductor equipment and AI chips to the country. Dealers were also eyeing Beijing, amid speculation authorities will announce fresh stimulus measures at a key meeting expected next month.However, analysts pointed out that hopes ahead of previous gatherings have largely been dashed by measures that fell short.”China’s economy remains unbalanced as a solid export base for goods production is offset by the continued weakness of the property market and weak consumer spending,” Steven Cochrane, chief Asia Pacific economist at Moody’s Analytics, said.He added that “consumer confidence remains shattered, particularly regarding expectations for the labour market”.While Beijing has introduced a raft of policies to boost growth — including interest rate cuts and measures to support the property sector — Cochrane said that “most issues weighing on the economy have not yet been resolved”.And he warned: “The risks are rising for China as the incoming Trump administration threatens to impose tariffs.”In the crypto sphere, bitcoin was hovering around $96,500, having bounced back from just below $90,300 earlier in the week following its worst run since Trump’s electoral success.Still, it is widely tipped to top $100,000 on hopes the new president will try to ease restrictions on the digital currency market.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 38,349.06 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 19,366.96 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,295.70 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,290.76Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0535 from $1.0565 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2649 from $1.2678Dollar/yen: UP at 151.82 yen from 151.17 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $68.48 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $72.61 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,722.06 (close)

Namibia extends voting after logistical issuesThu, 28 Nov 2024 07:37:46 GMT

Namibians were still voting early Thursday, hours after polls were scheduled to close in a presidential and legislative election set to test the ruling party’s 34-year grip on power in the southern African nation. Logistical issues left crowds waiting to vote although polls were scheduled to close at 09:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Wednesday. Ballot counting had …

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France’s Macron hosts Nigerian leader in new Africa strategyThu, 28 Nov 2024 06:27:46 GMT

Thursday marks the beginning of a two-day state visit to France by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, with both sides scenting economic rewards as Paris looks to build new ties in Africa after a series of setbacks.The first such formal visit by a Nigerian leader since 2000 comes after military coups and changing attitudes have lessened …

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Retraites: à l’Assemblée, la gauche à l’offensive pour abroger la réforme

La gauche, soutenue par le RN, va tenter jeudi à l’Assemblée nationale d’abroger la très décriée réforme des retraites de 2023, mais la droite et les macronistes ont déposé des centaines d’amendements pour essayer d’empêcher un vote sur ce texte avant minuit, heure limite de la “niche” LFI.Cette proposition de loi présentée par la France insoumise – dans le cadre de la journée parlementaire annuelle réservée à ses textes – prévoit de ramener de 64 à 62 ans l’âge légal de départ à la retraite. “Les gens ont le droit de profiter de la vie après avoir travaillé”, soulignait mardi la cheffe des députés LFI Mathilde Panot, qui rêve d’une victoire sur ce texte pour “acter” la “fin de la macronie”.Le texte, approuvé sans encombre la semaine dernière en commission, revient non seulement sur la réforme de 2023 – qui concernait l’âge de départ en retraite – mais également sur celle menée en 2013 par la ministre PS Marisol Touraine – qui avait augmenté la durée de cotisation.Le groupe socialiste tentera de sauver la réforme Touraine via un amendement de son député Arthur Delaporte, mais approuvera la proposition quoi qu’il arrive pour abroger le recul de l’âge, a prévenu son chef Boris Vallaud.Si le texte était adopté, il pourrait ensuite poursuivre son chemin parlementaire, selon la gauche, qui a prévu de l’inscrire le 23 janvier à l’ordre du jour du Sénat, où il n’a aucune chance d’être adopté par la majorité de droite et du centre, puis le 6 février en deuxième lecture à l’Assemblée.Encore faut-il pour cela passer un premier obstacle au Palais Bourbon, où les débats, qui démarrent à 9H00, s’interrompront quoi qu’il arrive à minuit. – “Méthodes de voyous” -Or, les députés du “socle gouvernemental” ont déposé plus de 950 amendements sur ce texte, ce qui devrait considérablement rallonger les échanges, au risque d’empêcher un vote dans les temps. Certains de ces amendements visent à vider la proposition de son contenu, en totalité ou partiellement, ou à repousser son application à 2055 ou 2080. D’autres sont des ajouts sémantiques, qui qualifient la proposition de loi de “démarche électoraliste et idéologique”, ou de réforme aux “conséquences financières et sociales désastreuses”.Les députés soutenant le gouvernement “veulent empêcher le vote car ils savent qu’ils le perdraient”, a commenté le centriste Charles de Courson du groupe d’opposition Liot, qui s’étonne que le “socle commun” recoure à de telles “techniques de blocage” alors qu’il est menacé de censure. Cette offensive a suscité la colère dans les rangs de la gauche: le porte-parole du groupe écologiste Benjamin Lucas y a vu un “sabotage indigne, aussi grossier que grotesque” et la socialiste Béatrice Bellay des “méthodes de voyous”. Quant à Mathilde Panot, elle a fustigé une “obstruction” franchissant “tous les seuils de l’autoritarisme”, et son parti LFI a diffusé sur les réseaux sociaux les noms des auteurs des amendements “inutiles”. La France insoumise a appelé à un rassemblement aux Invalides jeudi à 19H00. Dans le camp gouvernemental, cependant, on souligne qu’une telle stratégie est “de bonne guerre”, comme le souligne une députée LR.Les protestations du Nouveau Front populaire relèvent d’une “hypocrisie insupportable”, a estimé de son côté mercredi sur France Inter le ministre du Budget Laurent Saint-Martin, observant qu’en 2023, lors de l’examen de la réforme des retraites, la gauche avait “déposé 19.000 amendements et fait durer trois semaines les débats”.Quant au Rassemblement national, qui avait lui-même présenté fin octobre une proposition d’abrogation à laquelle la gauche avait refusé de s’associer, il proclame sa volonté “d’aller jusqu’au vote”. L’obstruction de la droite et du centre est “navrante”, mais “c’est un retour de boomerang pour la gauche qui a tendance à avoir cette pratique”, a commenté le député RN Alexandre Loubet.

Primark boss defends practices as budget fashion brand eyes expansion

Ireland-based budget fashion chain Primark has been criticised for its record on workers’ rights and the effect of its low-cost, high-volume model on the environment.But its chief executive Paul Marchant does not agree. “I don’t buy the story that we can’t be ethical buying from Asia,” he told AFP in an interview in Dublin.In the world of low-cost fashion, Primark — a fixture on the high street in the UK, Ireland and beyond — is a one-off.The brand produces its garments in Asia and sells them cheaply in Europe, but ships them by boat rather than by plane, does not sell online, prepares its collections more than a year in advance and does not build up stock.It has been a lucrative formula, with Marchant boasting recently that the retailer had hit the billion-pound ($1.3 billion) profit figure for the first time. Primark, though, still has to bat back critics including environmental campaigners who argue that the brand’s “throwaway” fashion is a drain on resources.Human rights groups meanwhile accuse it of relying on suppliers in countries where workers are afforded little protection. Primark maintains that it trains Indian farmers in regenerative agriculture and that it conducts regular audits of its suppliers to ensure workers and land are not exploited. Nonetheless, its model relies on policing of regulations in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where its garments are mainly produced.”Providing you have the right partners… and have the right guards and measures and controls in place… I don’t see any reason why you can’t have a very robust ethical supply chain at source,” said Marchant.The company, he added, complies with the International Labour Organization’s code of conduct.- Humble roots -Primark published a report on its supply chain in 2018 but it only covered its own clothing factories, not its partners.It admitted last year that previous partner SMART Myanmar had imposed excessive working time on its staff, and that they were not properly informed of their general leave entitlement.However, it said there was no evidence to back up further claims that staff had limited toilet access and suffered verbal abuse from supervisors. Primark claims to be making efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but acknowledges that 97.5 percent of its overall carbon footprint comes from the activities of its suppliers. Asked about the sheer volume of clothing his company sells, Marchant is insistent.”We’re not flooding the market with unwanted goods,” he said. “We sell everything that we buy.”He also claimed that his products are less sensitive than other brands to the whims of fashion, with half of its collections consisting of everyday clothing. Primark launched in Ireland in 1969 under the name Penneys and has had only two bosses since: founder Arthur Ryan, then Marchant. But the company, the top-selling budget-fashion flagship in both the UK and Ireland, is no longer a small family business. It is now a thriving subsidiary of the agri-food giant Associated British Foods, and sells its clothes in 17 countries, employing 80,000 people.- Expansion plans -On the back of this success, Primark intends to expand in the United States and Europe (France, Spain, Portugal and Italy), Marchant explained. The brand has also signed with “a franchise partner” to open stores in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and “potentially” Bahrain and Qatar within “12 to 18 months”, he added. Primark’s direct competitors include Europe’s H&M and Zara, as well as Asian giants Shein and Temu, which follow a similar model of “low, low margins”, he said. The company also achieves economies of scale by purchasing larger volumes than its competitors and does not sell online. Instead, it hopes to lure customers to stores by expanding partnerships with popular brands such as Netflix, Disney and Hello Kitty. Its 453 stores sell clothes and accessories, but also stock decorations and host cafes, eyebrow bars and hairdressers. The idea is that everyone can find something. For instance, parents are tempted by “competitive” prices on children’s clothing while women with special clothing requirements, such as those who are pregnant, who have suffered from breast cancer or who have disabilities, all have collections catering to them.Â