Latest news for 2 December 2025

HONG KONG

Blaze arrests.

Authorities have now arrested 13 on manslaughter grounds over last week’s devastating inferno that torched seven apartment towers and left 150+ dead. The detainees include the directors of a construction company involved in extensive renovations, amid outrage that the firm ignored safety warnings. (The Guardian)

Comment: It’s a perfect storm not just for Hong Kong but its Beijing rulers: state outlets initially blamed Hong Kong’s traditional bamboo scaffolding, but the evidence points to flammable safety netting made and “certified” on the mainland, while two of the 13 detainees seem to be random citizens asking too many questions.

SUDAN

Russia, want a base?

Sudan has reportedly offered Russia its first naval base on the African continent, according to exclusive reporting by the WSJ. (WSJ $)

Comment: If the deal goes through, it’ll give Russia’s navy a prime spot on the Red Sea, one of the world’s most important trade bottlenecks. The article suggests the Russians will in turn help arm Sudan’s military — we’re guessing the Sudanese will also want the Russians to *stop* backing the notorious rival RSF paramilitary.

CHINA

Manufacturing slump.

Beijing’s official figures suggest its export rebound has failed to halt a manufacturing slump, with a key purchasing managers index (PMI) lagging below the crucial 50 mark (contraction territory) for an eighth consecutive month in November. Unusually, a more-upbeat private PMI (tracking different firms and locations) also dipped below 50 in November. (Bloomberg $)

Comment: It all highlights the dilemma for China’s leader: while the US trade truce has given exports a bump, it’s also exposed them as an increasingly lonely growth driver, while foreign markets keep erecting new barriers to protect their own firms.

SWITZERLAND

Treat the rich.

Voters have overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to tax $60M+ inheritances at 50% to fund climate initiatives, plus another that would’ve introduced mandatory national-civic service for young people. The government and parliament opposed both proposals on economic and cost grounds. (France24)

BANGLADESH

No extradition.

A Bangladeshi court has handed British MP Tulip Siddiq a two-year sentence in-absentia over claims she influenced her aunt (ousted strongwoman Sheikh Hasina) in a land deal. Siddiq denies any wrongdoing. (Independent).

Comment: The UK doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, so we don’t see this saga going any further assuming Siddiq avoids future family visits.

CANADA

Let us in.

Ottawa has secured a deal to sell arms into one of the EU’s joint defence procurement schemes, becoming the $154B program’s first non-European member. The UK’s own entry bid collapsed on Friday amid reports the EU wanted to charge a multi-billion dollar fee. (Politico)

Comment: Everyone’s hustling for that elusive balance between re-arming asap, while maximising the benefit for their own defence firms.

MOZAMBIQUE

Brits pull the ripcord.

The UK and Dutch governments have now pulled their billion-dollar support for France’s big LNG project in Mozambique, citing heightened risks. The project has been on hold since an ISIS offshoot massacred ~1,300 townspeople in 2021, before local security forces then massacred another ~100. (Le Monde $)