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Hamas leader’s killing won’t end or ease Gaza war

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/hamas-leaders-killing-wont-end-or-ease-gaza-war/

Published: October 18, 2024 06:21

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds behind the group’s horrific October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, is no doubt a consequential moment in Israel’s year-long war against Hamas. But is it a turning point? Israeli Prime…

Why Apple’s not decoupling from China

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/why-apples-not-decoupling-from-china/

Published: October 18, 2024 05:35

Apple has opened a new research and development (R&D) center in Shenzhen, the iPhone maker’s latest bid to counter a resurgent Huawei and bolster its position in the world’s largest smartphone market. It is Apple’s fifth product R&D facility in China. The…

China vows to catch up with Elon Musk’s Starlink

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/china-vows-to-catch-up-with-elon-musks-starlink/

Published: October 17, 2024 22:22

After tech mogul Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully caught its returning Super Heavy booster with a giant pair of mechanical “chopsticks” on October 13, Chinese state media have launched a campaign to promote China’s achievements in building its own…

Trump’s attack on overseas voters is erroneous and dangerous

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/trumps-attack-on-overseas-voters-is-erroneous-and-dangerous/

Published: October 17, 2024 21:16

I do research on racist and xenophobic speech. I am also an American citizen, and have voted from overseas since 1996 (first in the UK, and now in Canada). This makes me especially well-placed to explain why Donald Trump’s Truth Social post about overseas…

At 70, Godzilla’s warning to humanity is still urgent

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/at-70-godzillas-warning-to-humanity-is-still-urgent/

Published: October 17, 2024 20:52

The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations. Many of these witnesses have spent their lives warning of the dangers of nuclear war – but initially, much of the world didn’t…

Lessons South Korea can learn from the Iran-Israel conflict

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/lessons-south-korea-can-learn-from-the-iran-israel-conflict/

Published: October 17, 2024 18:18

South Korea, much like Israel, has long depended on American defense technology, particularly the technology used in air defense systems, as the cornerstone of its defense strategy. US technological prowess, especially in the form of advanced fighter jets,…

Nobel economics prize awards notion of Western supremacy

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/nobel-economics-prize-awards-notion-of-western-supremacy/

Published: October 17, 2024 10:22

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson have been awarded the 2024 Nobel memorial prize in economics for their influential work on how institutions shape economic development. Some would say the decision to award these scholars the Nobel was long…

Now’s not the time to short the yuan

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/nows-not-the-time-to-short-the-yuan/

Published: October 17, 2024 09:57

As the “Trump trade” returns to make fear of geopolitical upheaval great again, global hedge funds are racing to short China’s yuan currency. They are betting that Trump’s planned mix of tax and trade policies will send the dollar higher if he’s elected…

US doubles down on Patriot to hold China, Russia at bay

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/us-punts-on-patriot-to-hold-china-russia-at-bay/

Published: October 17, 2024 09:16

The US Army has halted plans to replace its Patriot missile system, opting to enhance the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptor instead. The PAC-3 MSE has proven effective in Ukraine against Russian hypersonic…

Trump or Harris, US-India relations can’t afford to drift

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/trump-or-harris-us-india-relations-cant-afford-to-drift/

Published: October 17, 2024 03:37

This article first appeared on Pacific Forum and is republished with permission. Read the original here. The US is just a few weeks away from electing its 47th president in one of the tightest races to the White House in recent history. Every four years,…

Israel-Iran on a nine-stage path to war of annihilation

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/israel-iran-on-a-nine-stage-path-to-war-of-annihilation/

Published: October 17, 2024 03:03

Tensions are running high in the Middle East. The murderous attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 kicked off a spiral of violence in the region. That has culminated, a year later, in Israel mounting a ground invasion of Lebanon. The invasion, which…

Vietnam chemical warfare’s secret toxic legacies: Agent Blue

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/vietnam-chemical-warfares-secret-toxic-legacies-agent-blue/

Published: October 16, 2024 21:14

For over 50 years US news about chemical warfare during the American Vietnam War has been dominated by the story of Agent Orange and its devastating impacts. During the Vietnam War period, however, another diabolical concoction called Agent Blue was also…

Australia donates 49 Abrams tanks to Ukraine

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/australia-donates-49-abrams-tanks-to-ukraine/

Published: October 16, 2024 17:25

Australia’s Albanese government is giving 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, despite apparently having played down the prospect of the donation earlier this year. The latest Australian package is worth A$245 million (US$163 million). It brings the total…

Diplomats’ expulsions a serious blow to Canada-India ties

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/diplomats-expulsions-a-serious-blow-to-canada-india-ties/

Published: October 16, 2024 16:27

Canada-India relations have suffered a major setback after Canadian law enforcement authorities accused Indian agents of involvement in “homicides, extortion, and violent acts” on Canadian soil. In response, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including…

Black Myth: Wukong – a gaming coup fuels China’s tech power

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/black-myth-wukong-a-gaming-coup-fuels-chinas-tech-power/

Published: October 16, 2024 14:50

It may sound far-fetched, but the future of global technology supremacy could hinge on a video game. Black Myth: Wukong, China’s latest blockbuster, isn’t just breaking gaming records – it could be driving a critical shift in the global balance of…

UR6000: China’s tiltrotor drone built for taking Taiwan

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/ur6000-chinas-tiltrotor-drone-built-for-taking-taiwan/

Published: October 16, 2024 11:35

China has unveiled its first known tiltrotor drone, the UR6000, a platform pitched for civilian missions but clearly designed to enhance military logistics and surveillance operations in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. The prototype, made by the…

Farms to fame: China’s rural influencers redefining country life

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/farms-to-fame-chinas-rural-influencers-redefining-country-life/

Published: October 16, 2024 09:10

In the quiet backwaters of Yunnan, Dong Meihua—though her followers know her by the public alias Dianxi Xiaoge—has done something remarkable: She’s made the pastoral simplicity of rural China irresistible to millions. In her hands, a village kitchen…

Indonesia’s Widodo leaves behind a hollowed-out democracy

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/indonesias-widodo-leaves-behind-a-hollowed-out-democracy/

Published: October 16, 2024 08:38

As Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo (Jokowi) prepares to leave office, Indonesia is still routinely lauded as one of Asia’s most important democracies. Jokowi was first elected, in 2014, on the promise of breaking with the old Jakarta elite and making…

Intel forsaking its past and losing its future

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/intel-forsaking-its-past-and-losing-its-future/

Published: October 16, 2024 07:11

Intel, once among the world’s leading technology companies, is struggling. Founded as a start-up in 1968, the US chipmaker grew to success over the years through savvy business and technology decisions combined with timely product investments. Led by a…

Will China’s epic spend be enough?

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/will-chinas-epic-spend-be-enough/

Published: October 16, 2024 04:59

China’s relentless economic growth used to be the marvel of the world. Oh, what a memory. The past couple of years have seen China contend with an economic slowdown amid colliding crises, many of which make it internationally unique. Consumer prices have…

China now wants limits on its ‘no limits’ Russia relations

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/china-now-wants-limits-on-its-no-limits-russia-relations/

Published: October 16, 2024 03:37

Just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China announced to much fanfare a “no-limits friendship” with Russia, suggesting a future of close collaboration in trade, energy and, perhaps most importantly, security. Now, more than two years into the war, the…

Market unsatisfied with Beijing’s 6 trillion yuan stimulus

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/market-unsatisfied-with-beijings-6-trillion-yuan-stimulus/

Published: October 15, 2024 21:47

The Chinese Ministry of Finance is expected to issue 6 trillion yuan (US$843 billion) of ultra-long special treasury bonds in the coming three years to ease the local government debt crisis and stimulate the economy. The issuance of ultra-long special…

Zelensky Ukraine victory speech: Listen for the quiet parts

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/zelensky-ukraine-victory-speech-listen-for-the-quiet-parts/

Published: October 15, 2024 18:37

Zelensky is going to give his “victory” speech on October 16 to Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, but much of the speech will be secret. The secret part is about giving up territory to Russia. Some parts will be open to the parliament and the…

Nobel economics prize: prosperity needs strong institutions

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/nobel-economics-prize-prosperity-needs-strong-institutions/

Published: October 15, 2024 14:50

This year’s Nobel memorial prize in economics has gone to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and James Robinson of the University of Chicago for their work on why there are such vast differences in prosperity…

Palau election through a China vs Taiwan lens

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/palau-election-through-a-china-vs-taiwan-lens/

Published: October 15, 2024 10:38

The United States isn’t the only country with a big election on November 5. Palau, a tourism-dependent microstate in the north Pacific, will also vote for a new president, Senate and House of Delegates that day. Why does this election matter? Palau is one…

India’s failing war on drugs

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/indias-failing-war-on-drugs/

Published: October 15, 2024 10:05

Over the past decade, India has witnessed an alarming surge in drug trafficking as authorities struggle to curb the flow of illegal narcotics and the international syndicates that move them. Beyond the headlines about record-breaking seizures and…

Why Australia-China trade war truce may not last

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/why-australia-china-trade-war-truce-may-not-last/

Published: October 15, 2024 07:56

Finally, Australia’s rock lobster industry will be able to export to China again, following a deal struck on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos last week. It will take some weeks to finalize the paperwork but Chinese diners can expect to eat our…

Battlefield and diplomatic odds stacking against Ukraine

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/battlefield-and-diplomatic-odds-stacking-against-ukraine/

Published: October 15, 2024 06:12

In May 2023, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, embarked on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals to shore up support from his Western partners in the run-up to Ukraine’s summer offensive that year. His tour was a relative success – the subsequent…

China, Russia subs surface in unison while keeping a distance

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/china-russia-subs-surface-in-unison-while-keeping-a-distance/

Published: October 15, 2024 05:39

While territorial disputes roil the South China Sea and a possible Taiwan war beckons, China and Russia are flaunting their respective submarine prowess in the Pacific. This month, Naval News reported that a new image of China’s Type 09IIIB nuclear-powered…

Smart money’s looking beyond China stimulus debate

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/smart-moneys-looking-beyond-china-stimulus-debate/

Published: October 15, 2024 04:21

As Chinese stocks get their groove back, markets are grappling anew with tension between President Xi Jinping’s long-term policy priorities and investors’ hunger for short-run stimulus. The conflict between the long and short views is nothing new. For…

Latest Taiwan drills show off PLA deterrence

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/latest-taiwan-drills-show-how-pla-intends-to-deter-us/

Published: October 14, 2024 20:39

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched and completed the Joint Sword-2024B Exercise near Taiwan on Monday with a strong focus on deterring the United States from intervening in any possible battles in the Taiwan Strait.  The Eastern Theater…

How best to avoid the coming China shock: alone or together?

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/how-best-to-avoid-the-coming-china-shock-alone-or-together/

Published: October 14, 2024 16:36

This is the second of two parts. Read part one, ‘US needs a solution to China’s problem.’ China, the world’s manufacturing superpower, is piling on still more manufacturing capacity. Other countries fear being stripped of their manufacturing base in what…

Nepal’s revamped truth commissions must go beyond ritualism

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/nepals-revamped-truth-commissions-must-go-beyond-ritualism/

Published: October 14, 2024 14:34

Nepal’s attempt to deliver justice and accountability following the country’s decade-long civil war froze more than two years ago with little progress – but a recent development has raised hopes that it could soon be revived and revamped. In August 2024,…

Israel right or wrong in banning UN secretary-general?

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/israel-right-or-wrong-in-banning-un-secretary-general/

Published: October 14, 2024 10:08

In early October, Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, announced on X he had declared the United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, persona non grata. In other words, he had banned Guterres from setting foot in Israel. Katz said Guterres’…

US hypersonic missile program in crisis or transition?

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/us-hypersonic-missile-program-in-crisis-or-transition/

Published: October 14, 2024 08:47

The AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) project, the US military’s counter to China and Russia’s rival, more advanced hypersonic missile programs, has received new funding despite earlier signs of cancellation due to poor test results. This…

Mighty Dragon: China’s J-20 fleet surges past US in Pacific

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/mighty-dragon-chinas-j-20-fleet-surges-past-us-in-pacific/

Published: October 14, 2024 04:26

China’s growing J-20 stealth fighter fleet, bolstered by new cutting-edge technology and domestic engines, is gaining fast on the US as it grapples with rising costs, modernization delays and internal debates over the future of air dominance. This month,…

What hardliners behind Netanyahu want from the war

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/what-hardliners-behind-netanyahu-want-from-the-war/

Published: October 12, 2024 04:41

Much recent media focus has rightly been on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, where Hamas assailants murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and abducted a further 251. Coverage has also centered on Israel’s expanding ground operation…

N Korea escalates from arms to boots on the ground in Ukraine

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/n-korea-escalates-from-arms-to-boots-on-the-ground-in-ukraine/

Published: October 12, 2024 04:10

North Korea is deepening its involvement in the Ukraine war, with military engineers now aiding Russia in targeting Ukraine with ballistic missiles, according to senior officials in Ukraine and South Korea quoted in a The War Zone report. North Korean…

Ratan Tata, a giant of global industry, has died at 86

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/ratan-tata-a-giant-of-global-industry-has-died-at-86/

Published: October 11, 2024 21:24

Ratan Tata, who has died at the age of 86, was a giant of global industry whose interests included cars, steel, hotels, travel and tea. But he was also hailed as a visionary whose work went far beyond the business world, through his company’s commitment to…

The Nippon Steel deal: taking another look

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/the-nippon-steel-deal-taking-another-look/

Published: October 11, 2024 20:26

“Countries have no friends – just interests,” or so goes the paraphrased version of Lord Palmerston’s statement. That was so cynical – so 19th Century British Empire. But 170 years later, try buying another nation’s steel company and you might think Lord…

Vote restores hope to Kashmir but Modi’s still in charge

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/election-returns-hope-to-kashmir-but-modis-still-in-charge/

Published: October 11, 2024 18:39

This year’s local elections in India’s northernmost territory of Jammu and Kashmir were the first since the national government controversially stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status in 2019. They were also the first local elections in…

Nobel goes to anti-nukes Japan A-bomb bomb survivors’ group

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/nobel-goes-to-anti-nukes-japan-a-bomb-bomb-survivors-group/

Published: October 11, 2024 18:00

The 2024 Nobel peace prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots organization created by survivors of the two US atomic bombs that were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The Norwegian Nobel committee…

The normalization and legitimation of political assassinations

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/the-normalization-and-legitimation-of-political-assassinations/

Published: October 11, 2024 10:20

When the Israel Defense Forces assassinated Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an underground bunker in Beirut on September 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly claimed responsibility for the killing. “Nasrallah was not a…

Ways to break China’s legacy chip hold

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/ways-to-break-chinas-legacy-chip-hold/

Published: October 11, 2024 09:38

Back in June, the Federation of American Scientists teamed up with Noahpinion, ChinaTalk, and Chris Miller to hold a crowdsourced policy competition. We asked for ideas on how to deal with the problem of China potentially controlling the supply of…

Israel pressure pushing Iran over the nuclear edge

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/israel-pressure-pushing-iran-over-the-nuclear-edge/

Published: October 11, 2024 06:08

As Israel continues its assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran appears increasingly backed into a corner. Israel’s efforts to weaken Iran’s proxy network have focused on a number of objectives: eliminating key Hezbollah leaders, destroying their weapons and…

Trump’s China tariffs won’t make America great again

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/trumps-china-tariffs-wont-make-america-great-again/

Published: October 11, 2024 05:28

As part of his “Make America Great Again” election campaign, Donald Trump is calling for the imposition of 60% tariffs on goods made in China and a 20% tariff on imports from other nations. His rationale seems simple: tariffs will boost American jobs,…

Don’t expect too much from Japan’s Ishiba

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/dont-expect-too-much-from-japans-ishiba/

Published: October 11, 2024 04:04

This article was originally published by Pacific Forum. It is republished with permission. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) got a facelift last month. The election of Shigeru Ishiba, a five-time candidate, as party president gives the party a…

China lacks will and way to lead the world

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/china-lacks-will-and-way-to-lead-the-world/

Published: October 11, 2024 03:46

The “China Dream,” President Xi Jinping’s vision to restore China’s great power status, was the underlying theme of Xi’s 75th National Day speech. Many influential individuals and policymakers in Washington agree as a matter of fact that the one of the…

Han Kang, South Korean fiction writer and poet, wins Nobel

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/han-kang-south-korean-fiction-writer-and-poet-wins-nobel/

Published: October 10, 2024 19:46

It’s often the case that when poets write novels, they deliver arrestingly vivid and nimble prose. Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (2007) is a case in point, and it is no doubt the work that was most influential in the Swedish Academy’s decision to award her the…

The US-Japan security alliance Is growing more integrated

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/the-us-japan-security-alliance-is-growing-more-integrated/

Published: October 10, 2024 19:25

Last week, Shigeru Ishiba was elected by the Japanese parliament as the country’s next head of government. The new prime minister is particularly known for his vast expertise in national security, and this might be one of the areas where changes can be…