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.
How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola is smuggled out of Sudan
Business, Richa Naidu and Khalid Abdelaziz of Reuters, Published on 05/03/2025
» LONDON/DUBAI - Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything from Coca-Cola to M&M's candy, is increasingly being trafficked from rebel-held areas of war-torn Sudan, traders and industry sources say, complicating Western companies' efforts to insulate their supply chains from the conflict.
Asean navigates China-US rivalry for autonomy
Oped, Syed Nizamuddin & Bin Sayed Khassim, Published on 23/11/2024
» With Donald Trump's return to office, Southeast Asia finds itself -- yet again -- paddling between reefs. For Thailand and Malaysia, this means navigating an especially tricky strait. The region is no stranger to this balancing act, or mengayuh antara dua karang, as the Malay proverb goes.
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.
A turning point for clean cooking
Oped, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak & Joseph Nganga, Published on 15/05/2024
» For most of her life, Florence Auma Ode cooked over an open fire in her Kenyan home. The resulting smoke coated the walls with a layer of soot and filled her lungs -- and those of her family members -- with particulate matter.
Ripe time for culture-based action
Oped, Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi & Margareth Menezes, Published on 14/12/2023
» Climate change affects every aspect of our lives, from the food we produce and our health to global peace and security. But the climate crisis is transforming not only our natural ecosystems but also our social and cultural landscapes, eroding our tangible and intangible heritage and practices, and depriving us of precious sources of resilience, meaning, identity, and knowledge.
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.