Showing 1 - 10 of 19
Asean must grab its rare-earth shot
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 22/11/2025
» US President Donald Trump's return to Southeast Asia last month felt like a rerun -- tariffs, tough talk, and televised deals. But this time, he left behind more than headlines. From Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi, Mr Trump inked trade pacts promising tariff relief on US exports in exchange for joint ventures in mining and refining the rare-earth minerals that power the world's clean-tech boom.
Global coral collapse a neglected crisis
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 16/08/2025
» Before the crack of dawn on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand, Somsak Chaisri paddles his wooden boat over waters that used to shimmer with life. A once-vibrant coral garden below the water surface now consists of dead skeleton-like structures. According to this fisherman, the bleached coral skeletons are the only things he pulls from the water after his father showed him how to fish in living coral reefs. "Now, I drag up ghosts," he murmured. His lament echoes across the tropics. From the Maldives to Mozambique, the once-thriving reefs of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans are being scoured of life.
More missiles, memes, and the new resistance
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 19/07/2025
» There was a time, not so long ago, when Walter Cronkite's sombre baritone could turn battlefield dispatches into moments of collective reckoning. Even the first "television war" of 1991, piped in grainy bursts from Baghdad, felt slow enough for shock to sink in. These days, the missiles that streak above Natanz or Esfahan arrive on TikTok between latte art tutorials and kittens sliding off sofas. The effect is less shock-and-awe, more scroll-and-shrug.
US-China trade truce didn't solve rare earths riddle
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 27/06/2025
» Amid the swirl of headlines about a US-China trade breakthrough in London on June 11, it is reported that US President Donald Trump said the US and China had made a "great deal" -- with China agreeing to supply US companies with magnets and rare earth metals, while the US would walk back its threats to revoke visas of Chinese students.
Unsafe label a wake-up call
Oped, Editorial, Published on 26/07/2024
» The latest report on Bangkok being named the 30th most dangerous city in the world for tourists should be a wake-up call for policymakers to put more effort and resources into improving the safety and conditions in the capital -- instead of just running promotional campaigns and events.
A spark of hope for India-Pakistan ties
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 12/06/2024
» Despite the long-standing tensions between India and Pakistan, India's recent general election, which saw a narrow victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has seen some analysts become more optimistic about better bilateral relations between the nations.
Balancing sustainability in BRI
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 19/10/2023
» Ever since 2013 when China launched its magnanimous Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Western capitals have been viewing this monumental developmental project with scepticism; their response is tainted by an unwarranted wave of negativity and misinformation.
Time runs short in India's climate crisis
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 09/08/2023
» 'I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan. As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt. This is a global crisis, it demands a global response," wrote UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in his tweet at the end of his two-day solidarity trip to Pakistan in September last year.
The simmering movement towards de-dollarisation
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 25/04/2023
» In the hopes of pressuring Russia to capitulate, the United States implemented a series of punitive sanctions last year, freezing a whopping $300 billion of Russia's foreign currency reserves and booting major Russian banks from the interbank messaging service used for international payments, SWIFT.
Imran Khan is treading the path of typical populism
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 07/04/2023
» Imran Khan is treading on the path of typical populism.