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Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.
Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Globalisation in its current form “may have now run its course”, according to HSBC chair Sir Mark Tucker, who said trade and geopolitical tensions would lead to stronger economic ties between regional groups and trade blocs.
In a speech at the bank’s Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Tucker said trade tensions created uncertainty that posed a “serious potential risk to global growth”.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has slapped tariffs on key trading partners, including China, Canada and Mexico, and is expected to impose more on April 2, when his administration unveils “reciprocal tariffs” on countries around the world.
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The world is experiencing a “period of deep and profound change” in trade, economic policy and international security arrangements, said Tucker.
“As we consider present developments . . . we believe that globalisation as we knew it may have now run its course,” he said.
“Economic considerations guiding optimally efficient supply chains led to one of the world’s greatest periods of wealth creation we have ever seen. The balance of economic power changed as a result, and what used to be sustainable no longer is,” he added.
Tucker said this did not mean the world would “regress or geo-fragment and de-globalise” but that there would be new opportunities and stronger economic ties between different “political groupings and trade blocs”, including the “Brics-plus group of countries”, which would increasingly trade with each other.
HSBC is a key participant in global trade finance. Its trade business has been ranked first by revenue for the past seven years, according to its most recent annual report, which cites figures from Coalition Greenwich Competitor Analytics.
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It has in recent months overhauled its operations, including separating its business along geographical lines into two units, one focusing on Asia and the Middle East and the other on Europe and the Americas.
Tucker said economic connectivity between Asia and the Middle East, a key focus for the bank, was likely to “soar” in the coming years.
The Brics group, made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded to include Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
“The rising trade and financial linkages of these economies with the rest of the emerging world suggests there could be notable growth spillovers,” Tucker said.
He said the Brics group was building institutions that would have implications for energy, trade, finance, supply chains and technology, adding that “amid geopolitical tension it is likely that more emerging markets will join Brics to foster closer ties and have a stronger voice on the world stage”.
Look, we have all been there. Now and then, you get added to the wrong group on a messaging app (usually some spam), check your suspicions, leave it, and forget it.
It’s not quite the same, however, if you get added to a top-secret operational group by the US national security adviser alongside some of the most senior US administration officials, up to the level of the actual US vice-president, where they discuss strikes on another country on a commercial chat app.
Europe wakes up with astonishment to reports in the Atlantic – and the authenticity of the group confirmed by the White House – that “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans” on strikes against the Huthis in Yemen.
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There is a lot to be said about the foreign policy, intelligence implications of this highly-sensitive security leak, and we have key US reactions for you here.
However, one other thing that stands out in the texts revealed by the Atlantic is genuine and visceral resentment against Europe among top US officials.
JD Vance, of the Munich speech fame, says how much he hates “bailing Europe again,” arguing that the strike and the unblocking of routes would benefit Europe most.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth joins in along similar lines: “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.”
Other officials discuss how they could claim the costs of the strike back from Europe, with “further economic gain extracted in return.”
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The leak raises major questions about the safety of sharing intelligence with the US, how it’s handled, and who has access to sensitive information.
Allies will also no doubt take note of the fact that the group appears to have been created just as US envoy Steve Witkoff may have been, erm, literally at the Kremlin holding talks with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. This prompts further concerns. I’m sure the Kremlin wifi has strong privacy protections, right?
The breach comes at a particularly sensitive time as Europe waits to learn what has come out of US talks with Russia in Riyadh, so we are unlikely to hear many public reactions to these comments from seething Europeans. (But, by all means, add me to your secret groups and let me know what you think, European diplomats!).
But first reactions from some of former leaders and diplomats give you an idea of what they may think.
Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt noted that “in the amazing story of the Signal group coordinating Yemen air strikes, Vice President JD Vance once again comes out as driven by deep anti-European resentment.”
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Former Polish ambassador to the US Marek Magierowski described the report simply as “chilling.” On Witkoff, he added: “Le Carré, Forsyth and Clancy together would not have come up with such an absurd scenario.”
It’s a long day ahead for us as we await update on US-Russia talks, and with the first sitting of the new German parliament, so let’s get going.
It’s Tuesday, 25 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
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Key events
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Further US-led talks in Riyadh taking place today
A handout still image taken from handout video provided by the Russian Foreign ministry press-service shows Russian delegation, adviser to the head of FSB Sergey Beseda (L) and senator and former diplomat Grigory Karasin (C), leave the Ritz-Carlton hotel, after talks between Russia and the US in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photograph: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service Handout/EPA
If you are wondering where we are with US-led “shuttle diplomacy” on Ukraine, the latest update this morning said that Ukrainian and US officials were holding another round of talks this morning.
“We are still working with the Americans,” a member of the Ukrainian delegation told a small group of media including AFP.
This comes, as AFP noted, a day after 12 hours of talks between the US and Russian delegations on a partial ceasefire in Ukraine.
Russian media reported that a draft joint US-Russian statement had been sent to Moscow and Washington for approval, with the parties aiming to release it on Tuesday.
Stunning Signal leak reveals depths of Trump administration’s loathing of Europe – analysis
Andrew Roth
If Europe wasn’t already on notice, the extraordinary leak of deliberations by JD Vance and other top-level Trump administration officials over a strike against the Houthis in Yemen was another sign that it has a target on its back.
On the face of it, the strike against the Houthis had far more to do with the administration’s policies on protecting maritime trade and containing Iran than its concerns about Europe freeloading on US defense spending and military prowess.
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But Vance appears determined to push that angle as a reason to postpone the strike.
Vance was contending that once again the United States is doing what Europe should be. It is consistent with his past arguments that the US is overpaying for European security and the derision he displayed toward European allies (almost certainly the UK and France) when he described them as “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. (Both fought in Afghanistan and the UK fought alongside the US in Iraq).
Then Vance went a step further. He tacitly admitted a difference between his foreign policy and Trump’s saying that the strike would undermine the president’s Europe policy – one that has been led by Vance in his divisive speech at the Munich Security Conference where he accused European leaders of running from their own electorates and of his Eurosceptic comments on Fox News.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance wrote. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
At heart, the disagreement indicated that Vance’s views of foreign policy are not quite aligned with Trump. Trump broadly sees the world as transactional and optimists in Europe have claimed he could force a positive outcome by forcing those nations to spend more on defense budgets. But Vance appears far more confrontational and principled in his antipathy toward the transatlantic alliance, and has attacked European leaders for backing values that he says are not aligned with the US.
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That makes Vance even more of a concern for Europe. Kaja Kallas, the European foreign policy chief, accused Vance of “trying to pick a fight” with European allies. Another European diplomat said: “He is very dangerous for Europe … maybe the most [dangerous] in the administration.” Another said he was “obsessed” with driving a wedge between Europe and the US.
Broadly, the administration’s policies on Europe are coming into focus. And there are few stepping up to voice backing for Nato or for Europe writ large. On a podcast interview this weekend, the senior Trump envoy Steve Witkoff mused about the potential for the Gulf economies to replace those of Europe. “It could be much bigger than Europe. Europe is dysfunctional today,” he said.
Tucker Carlson, the host and another Trump confidant, agreed. “It would be good for the world because Europe is dying,” he said.
Morning opening: New group, who this?
Jakub Krupa
Look, we have all been there. Now and then, you get added to the wrong group on a messaging app (usually some spam), check your suspicions, leave it, and forget it.
It’s not quite the same, however, if you get added to a top-secret operational group by the US national security adviser alongside some of the most senior US administration officials, up to the level of the actual US vice-president, where they discuss strikes on another country on a commercial chat app.
Europe wakes up with astonishment to reports in the Atlantic – and the authenticity of the group confirmed by the White House – that “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans” on strikes against the Huthis in Yemen.
Advertisement
There is a lot to be said about the foreign policy, intelligence implications of this highly-sensitive security leak, and we have key US reactions for you here.
However, one other thing that stands out in the texts revealed by the Atlantic is genuine and visceral resentment against Europe among top US officials.
JD Vance, of the Munich speech fame, says how much he hates “bailing Europe again,” arguing that the strike and the unblocking of routes would benefit Europe most.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth joins in along similar lines: “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.”
Other officials discuss how they could claim the costs of the strike back from Europe, with “further economic gain extracted in return.”
Advertisement
The leak raises major questions about the safety of sharing intelligence with the US, how it’s handled, and who has access to sensitive information.
Allies will also no doubt take note of the fact that the group appears to have been created just as US envoy Steve Witkoff may have been, erm, literally at the Kremlin holding talks with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. This prompts further concerns. I’m sure the Kremlin wifi has strong privacy protections, right?
The breach comes at a particularly sensitive time as Europe waits to learn what has come out of US talks with Russia in Riyadh, so we are unlikely to hear many public reactions to these comments from seething Europeans. (But, by all means, add me to your secret groups and let me know what you think, European diplomats!).
But first reactions from some of former leaders and diplomats give you an idea of what they may think.
Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt noted that “in the amazing story of the Signal group coordinating Yemen air strikes, Vice President JD Vance once again comes out as driven by deep anti-European resentment.”
Advertisement
Former Polish ambassador to the US Marek Magierowski described the report simply as “chilling.” On Witkoff, he added: “Le Carré, Forsyth and Clancy together would not have come up with such an absurd scenario.”
It’s a long day ahead for us as we await update on US-Russia talks, and with the first sitting of the new German parliament, so let’s get going.
It’s Tuesday, 25 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
An Alaska teenager who was riding a snowmobile was killed on Saturday when he set off an avalanche and was buried, becoming the fourth person in the state to lose their life in a mountain slide this month, the authorities said.
The number is high for Alaska, which forecasters say in recent years has been averaging three avalanche deaths annually.
The 16-year-old, whose body was recovered on Sunday, was identified by the Alaska State Troopers as Tucker Challan of Soldotna, Alaska. He was buried under about 10 feet of snow while riding in Turnagain Pass in the Kenai Mountains, about 60 miles south of Anchorage.
The avalanche occurred on the backside of Seattle Ridge, in a popular recreation area known as Warmup Bowl, the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center said.
At the time, the center reported, there was a weak layer of frost about two to three feet beneath the snow surface, which experts say can easily collapse and cause an avalanche. The layers form when the weather is clear and present a hidden danger with each new winter storm.
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“It’s like a layer cake,” Wendy Wagner, the center’s director, said in a phone interview on Monday. “It has been causing many avalanches.”
According to the center, a group of people who were riding snow machines — often referred to as snowmobiles outside Alaska — dug Tucker out of the snow in about an hour, but he had died from his injuries.
On the afternoon of his death, the center held an avalanche awareness program in a parking lot on the other side of the ridge, which it said was a coincidence. It is continuing to warn that people should avoid traveling on or below steep terrain.
Noting that avalanches can reach speeds over 60 miles per hour, Ms. Wagner said that snowmobile riders and skiers should not assume that the snowpack is stable because other people have crossed it.
“There can be a sense that if you trigger something that you can outrun it,” she said. “Just because there have been tracks on a slope doesn’t mean that slope is safe.”
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On March 4, three people who were part of a helicopter skiing excursion were killed when they were swept away in an avalanche near Girdwood, Alaska, about 20 miles from where Saturday’s slide happened.
The authorities identified the three men as David Linder, 39, of Florida; Charles Eppard, 39, of Montana; and Jeremy Leif, 38, of Minnesota.
Despite deploying their avalanche airbags, according to the helicopter skiing company that the skiers had hired, they were buried beneath 40 to 100 feet of snow and could not be reached.
Ms. Wagner said this year had been particularly treacherous in Alaska.
“It’s been an unusual year,” she said, “tragically.”
