Showing 1 - 10 of 1,351
What TikTok got wrong about America
Oped, Published on 09/05/2024
» TikTok is now one of the biggest stories in business and geopolitics. US President Joe Biden has just signed a law that will ban the massively popular app in nine months if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell it to a non-Chinese entity.
Fertilisers will not fix food crisis
Oped, Published on 08/05/2024
» The world is confronting an unprecedented food crisis, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's war against Ukraine, and worsening climate conditions. But the problem is most acute in Africa, where 61% of the population faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022. And at a moment when effective solutions are urgently needed, policymakers are once again coalescing around the misguided belief that increased use of mineral and synthetic fertiliser is the key to boosting agricultural productivity and ending hunger on the continent.
Kyiv faces 'difficult' May as arms supply faces delays
News, Peter Apps, Published on 08/05/2024
» Shortly after the US House of Representatives signed off its $61 billion (2.2 trillion baht) deal of military support for Ukraine last month, social media feeds run by the government in Kyiv showed US-supplied HIMARS batteries firing 16 rockets in quick succession into nearby territory held by Russia.
The rise of AI in political warfare
News, Published on 07/05/2024
» This year promises to be a whopper for elective government, with billions of people -- or more than 40% of the world's population -- able to vote in an election. But nearly five months into 2024, some government officials are quietly wondering why the looming risk of AI hasn't, apparently, played out. Even as voters in Indonesia and Pakistan have gone to the polls, they are seeing little evidence of viral deepfakes skewing an electoral outcome, according to a recent article in Politico, which cited "national security officials, tech company executives and outside watchdog groups". AI, they said, wasn't having the "mass impact" that they expected. That is a painfully shortsighted view. The reason? AI may be disrupting elections right now, and we just don't know it.
Blinken's diplomatic dance in China
Oped, Published on 01/05/2024
» US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China for whirlwind discussions with the People's Republic political grandees in Shanghai and Beijing with the hope of "stabilising the relationship" between both countries. So into the Beijing/Washington political turbulence, Mr Blinken flew to smooth the Sino-American political rivalry, especially over China's military assertiveness towards the South China Sea, Taiwan, the Ukraine war, and naturally two-way trade.
Is China stockpiling resources in case of future war?
News, Published on 29/04/2024
» In the eastern Chinese port of Dongying, the start of 2024 has often seen several tankers docked simultaneously discharging Russian crude oil into a new 31.5-million-barrel storage facility completed late last year.
Understanding 'Animal Farm' in Zimbabwe
Oped, Published on 27/04/2024
» I began to notice Animal Farm references start to proliferate in Zimbabwe in 2008.
US readiness for war -- watch its Navy missile policy
News, Peter Apps, Published on 19/04/2024
» In October 2022 a US destroyer and supply ship pulled alongside each other in San Diego harbour to attempt something the Pentagon had never tried before -- reloading missiles on a US warship at sea rather than tied up alongside a pier.
International challenges demand action
Oped, Published on 18/04/2024
» It's not often an American ally addresses the US Congress, but when they do, it's time to listen. That was the case on April 12 when Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke before a joint session of Congress in Washington to both thank America for its post-war friendship and to reaffirm the continuing political and strategic partnership between Japan and the US.
Sanctions need global governance
Oped, Published on 12/04/2024
» As Russia's war against Ukraine has entered its third year, Western governments are finding it increasingly difficult to muster the funding Ukraine needs to defend itself. The European Union struggled to reach a €50 billion (1.9 trillion baht) aid deal in February, and the United States remains deadlocked over its own US$60 billion (about 2.2 trillion baht) funding package. Now, calls to use Russia's own assets to fund the Ukrainian war effort are growing louder.