• OPINION

  Trump's words seen raising risk of war in Europe

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 21/02/2024

  » As German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new munitions factory early last week, he warned that Europe must move to mass-producing weapons "because the painful reality is that we do not live in times of peace".

• OPINION

  'Mid-Covid world': horror, division, global shifts

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 01/05/2021

  » As Israel recorded zero daily Covid-19 deaths for the first time in 10 months last week, grave-diggers in next-door Gaza reported rising workloads and hospitals said they were near to collapse.

• OPINION

  US faces test on Taiwan, Ukraine

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 19/04/2021

  » With warship moves, equipment sales and diplomatic rhetoric, the United States has rarely been more emphatic that it stands with its allies in Ukraine and Taiwan.

• OPINION

  Xi's favourite general trips up over Taiwan

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 10/06/2019

  » As the head of Beijing's strategic nuclear forces and its fastest rising general, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe had a reputation for "doing more and saying less". It was a methodical, determined approach that made him a clear favourite of President Xi Jinping, placing him at the heart of China's remarkable military revolution and its efforts to dominate the region.

• OPINION

  Who has the lead in the AI race?

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 17/01/2019

  » In October, 31 Chinese teenagers reported to the Beijing Institute of Technology, one of the country's premier military research establishments. Selected from more than 5,000 applicants, Chinese authorities hope they will design a new generation of artificial intelligent weapons systems that could range from microscopic robots to computer worms, submarines, drones and tanks.

• OPINION

  China's plans to reshape the world

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 10/08/2018

  » Ten years ago on Wednesday, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics showcased a fast-growing, economically powerful China with unmistakable ambitions to be a major global player. Just a few days ago, the Chinese authorities demolished the studio of artist Ai Weiwei, designer of the Games' iconic "bird's nest" stadium and now an exiled dissident in Germany.

• OPINION

  A reality check on Korea nuke talks

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 24/05/2018

  » When US President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in first agreed to meet in Washington on Tuesday, they seemed to genuinely believe they might be on the brink of a major rapprochement with the North. Now, there are concerns over whether the much-touted summit between Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un scheduled for Singapore on June 12 will happen at all.

• OPINION

  What a nuke deal with Kim Jong-un might look like

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 26/04/2018

  » For much of the last few decades, powerful speakers on the South Korean border have blasted propaganda to nearby North Koreans, everything from Korean pop songs to news about the number of cars in the affluent South. On Monday, they stopped -- the latest step in a high-stakes diplomatic dance.

• OPINION

  Muslim minority faces modern Orwellian nightmare

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 17/05/2018

  » In China's northwest Xinjiang province, the predominantly Muslim Uighur minority have nowhere to hide. Facial recognition software reportedly alerts authorities if targeted individuals stray more than 300 metres from their homes and workplaces. Residents face arrest if they fail to download smartphone software that allows them to be tracked, according to social media users. Simply wishing to travel outside China can be cause for arrest, with Beijing detaining family members and using its political clout to force extradition of those abroad.

• OPINION

  China mimics Orwellian dystopia

  News, Peter Apps, Published on 18/10/2017

  » As tens of thousands of Chinese drinkers walked into a beer festival in the eastern port city of Qingdao in August, a software programme scanned their pictures. Those identified as being on a police list of wanted persons were pinpointed in less than a second. By the end of the three-week event, authorities had made 25 arrests, including one of someone on the run for a decade. According to police, the programme had correctly matched faces in 98% of cases.

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