HONG KONG - Hong Kong is being forced to intervene to defend its currency peg and stem capital outflows, becoming the first global casualty of surging dollar Libor rates and US monetary tightening. The enclave’s authorities are preparing to sell "exchange fund bills" to drain liquidity, raising fears of a credit squeeze and a property correction that could quickly turn into a cascade. “The Hong Kong dollar is at its weakest level in 33 years. It suggests an imminent risk of capital flight,” said Francis Chan, a bank analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. The Asian hub is fast emerging as a test case of the global tightening cycle, forced to import the monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve...

USA - Donald Trump’s “economic madness” will push the US into a sharp ­ recession that risks dragging the rest of the world down with it, one of Britain’s most senior economists has warned. Paul Fisher, a former Bank of England policymaker, fears that slashing taxes and raising spending will cause America’s strengthening economy to overheat dramatically. Excessive stimulus will push up ­inflation to painful and potentially ­uncontrollable levels, forcing the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates too quickly, ultimately resulting in a recession, Mr Fisher said. “It is economic madness to think that this is the time to do a fiscal expansion in the US,” he said. “The economy [will] be in a complete mess” in around five years’ time, he predicted.

USA - China has condemned America for a "serious political and military provocation" after a US Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built in disputed waters. The operation in the South China Sea was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. It came amid heightened tensions between the two nations, after Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion (£42 billion) in Chinese goods, moving the world’s two largest economies closer to a trade war. The USS Mustin warship travelled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands and performed manoeuvres, US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency.

GERMANY - EU sanctions against Russia irritate German businesses, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote. A recent survey of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations among more than 110 companies showed that 57% of enterprises are in favor of a step-by-step lifting of sanctions against Moscow, while 37% support an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of economic restrictions.

UK - Drug-resistant superbugs are rising in the UK because of lack of regulation of antibiotics in developing countries, experts have warned. One of the biggest studies of antibiotic use around the world has established that while antibiotic use in Britain has slowed, global consumption jumped by 65 percent, to 34.8 billion daily doses between 2000 and 2015. Resistant infections already kill an estimated 5,000 people in Britain each year. And global deaths are projected to grow to 10 million a year by 2030 - one every three seconds - unless urgent action is taken, say experts.

TURKEY - Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have announced they want to create an “army of Islam” to wage war against Israel, it has been revealed. Less than a month ago the Turkish state’s mouthpiece the daily Yeni Şafak ran an article for Erdogan titled “A call for urgent action” and on the newspaper’s website headlined “What if an army of Islam formed against Israel?”

USA - It’s time to push the panic button. John Bolton’s appointment as national security adviser — a post that requires no Senate confirmation — puts the United States on a path to war. And it’s fair to say President Donald Trump wants us on that path.

USA - The US has threatened to re-evaluate its membership of the UN Human Rights Council, after it adopted five ‘biased’ anti-Israeli resolutions condemning its policies and calling on the world community to halt arms sales to Tel Aviv. Slamming UNHRC's anti-Israeli stance, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley threatened that the US may quit the 47-member UN body. “The United States continues to evaluate our membership in the Human Rights Council. Our patience is not unlimited,” Haley declared on Friday. “Today’s actions make clear that the organization lacks the credibility needed to be a true advocate for human rights.”

EUROPE - Stock markets dived again on Friday as Donald Trump faced a barrage of criticism for launching a $60 billion (£42 billion) package of tariffs on Chinese goods, sparking fears of a global trade war. In a day of condemnations, EU leaders meeting in Brussels accused Mr Trump of “putting a gun” to Europe’s head, while the director general of the WTO in Geneva warned that the US ­administration’s move had “jeopardised” a still-fragile global recovery. “I have the impression that the US leader wants to negotiate with the ­European Union by putting a gun to our head,” Mr Michel said as he arrived at the EU summit. “That’s a strange way to negotiate with an ally.”

USA - This week, the US Congress passed the massive 1.3 trillion-dollar Omnibus spending bill. Then, early Friday morning, the Senate did the same thing. None of these politicians in Washington likely had any time to read it because the 2,200-page legislation was given to them only hours before they voted on it.

CHINA - Just days after the latest close military encounter between the US and China, when the US navy sailed a destroyer to within 12 nautical miles of the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea - a move that China condemned as a "severe provocation" just as the two countries launched an all-out trade war - the Chinese military began its spring combat readiness drills with an air force exercise in the West Pacific and a joint combat patrol mission in the South China Sea. And so with the US and China already engaged in escalating trade war, it appears that Beijing is preparing for the next step.

USA - In Washington DC alone, an estimated 500,000 people packed out Pennsylvania Avenue for the march. They watched speeches from Parkland shooting survivors and heard performances from celebrities. Another 800 events were held in cities around the US and world in a coordinated protest against guns. 

VATICAN - Pope Francis on Palm Sunday urged young people not to be silent and let their voices be heard, even in the face of corrupt or silent elders. The Pope's message yesterday came on the heels of a meeting of young Catholics who told the Vatican they want a more transparent and authentic church, and a day after hundreds of thousands marched in youth-led rallies across the United States to demand greater gun control. He told youths in his homily that "you have it in you to shout," even if "we older people and leaders, very often corrupt, keep quiet."

UK - Medical students say they currently learn almost nothing about the way diet and lifestyle affect health - and they should be taught more. They say what they are taught is not practical or relevant to most of the medical problems they see in GP surgeries, clinics and hospitals. A leading GP estimated that up to 80% of his patients had conditions linked to lifestyle and diet. These included obesity, type 2 diabetes and depression. Why does this lack of training matter? This year the NHS will spend more than £11 billion on diabetes alone - social care costs, time off work etc, will almost double that bill. Type 2 diabetes - the most common kind - is linked to obesity. And right now Britain is the fat man of Europe.

GERMANY - Europe doesn’t need any more lofty speeches. What it needs is a stiff dose of pragmatism. It’s important to remember that in a time of growing mistrust toward the European Union and its institutions, the basic idea of Europe as a Western community of shared values enjoys enduring support.