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Students wave the Malaysian flag during National Day celebrations. Photo: AP
Malaysia

My Take | Flags on Malaysian school uniforms a badge of honour or a burden to parents?

The onus to keep flags ‘clean and not faded’ falls on the parents, some of whom are already struggling with day-to-day expenses.

Hong Kong

Opinion | The gravity of ‘space oil’: understanding Hong Kong teens’ new drug of choice

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | A nuclear war started by AI sounds like science fiction. It isn’t

US-China relations

Opinion | The decline of the American empire: how Trumpism threatens democracy worldwide

The United States once championed democracy. Now it is retreating behind militarism, demagoguery and despotism.

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Donald Trump at a rally in Texas in 2023. Photo: AFP
Donald Trump at a rally in Texas in 2023. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

Opinion | The rise of China and the retreat of the US: a new global empire takes shape

With the US putting up walls of protectionism and denial, the 21st century belongs to a resilient, dynamic Chinese empire.

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Singapore

Asian Angle | Singapore was once polluted, too. Asia could learn much from its transformation

Asia’s breakneck growth has come at a steep environmental cost, but Singapore’s experience shows where there’s political will, there’s a way.

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The Philippines

Asian Angle | What Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest means for Philippines’ politics, global standing

The ex-president’s transfer to ICC risks custody transforming him and his family into political martyrs and stoking civil unrest.

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Rodrigo Duterte pictured at an Asean summit in Bangkok in 2019 when he was president of the Philippines. Photo: Reuters
Rodrigo Duterte pictured at an Asean summit in Bangkok in 2019 when he was president of the Philippines. Photo: Reuters
Renewable energy

My Take | Asia needs new clean-energy partners after US withdrawal from climate aid

Falling fossil-fuel prices may tempt some to switch back to old habits but that will prove a climate-change disaster.

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North Korea

Opinion | Why US aid cuts are a win for North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

Washington’s funding halt threatens to further damage the lives of people living under one of the most egregious authoritarian regimes.

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Hong Kong

Opinion | 3 steps Hong Kong workplaces can take to end sexual harassment

Workplace harassment still affects an alarming number of women in Hong Kong. But a few simple measures can help break the vicious cycle.

Beyond the moral imperative, businesses have pragmatic reasons to address workplace harassment and provide a safe environment for their employees. Photo: Shutterstock
Malaysia

My Take | Here we go again: Ismail Sabri is third Malaysian ex-PM on corruption carousel

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim still has to make good 2018 election promise to push for clean political funding.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob during his short-lived stint as Malaysian prime minister. Photo: Bernama/dpa
Ismail Sabri Yaakob during his short-lived stint as Malaysian prime minister. Photo: Bernama/dpa
South China Sea

Asian Angle | Asean, Beijing need new strategy for binding code of conduct in South China Sea

A recalibrated approach is needed to narrow differences, strengthen trust, and ensure a legally binding code that promotes regional stability.

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Hong Kong

Asian Angle | How Hong Kong’s budget deficits can be a catalyst to restructure the economy

Authorities can look to tax restructuring among other reforms to restore Hong Kong’s fiscal health and put the economy on a sounder footing.

Thailand

My Take | Why Thailand’s soft power splash is out of step with reality

Move to promote soft power at odds with perceptions that Thailand is not doing enough to tackle scam centres along Thai-Myanmar border.

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Tourists pose for photos at Erawan Shrine at Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Sam Tsang
US-China relations

Opinion | The AI that Silicon Valley fears: how DeepSeek democratised innovation

The Chinese company’s open-source model proves that innovation thrives on sharing, not Western Big Tech’s hypocritical monopolisation.

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The Deepseek logo and a Chinese flag. DeepSeek’s defining feature wasn’t a groundbreaking technological advancement – it was the willingness to make it open source. Photo: Reuters
The Deepseek logo and a Chinese flag. DeepSeek’s defining feature wasn’t a groundbreaking technological advancement – it was the willingness to make it open source. Photo: Reuters
China-Asean relations

Asian Angle | How provincial ties can deepen Asean-China relations

Such a bottom-up strategy provides alternative channels to sustain ties amid the storms in top-level bilateral relations.

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Myanmar

Asian Angle | Trump’s aid freeze will hit Myanmar hard

The loss of US funding will affect aid access to vulnerable communities and remote regions, and make it difficult for others to fill the gap.

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Malaysia

Asian Angle | Why Malaysia’s new social media licences are disconcerting

Industry players and users worry about the new social media licensing framework’s potential impact on freedom of expression and fairness.

A smartphone showing social media apps including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and Snapchat. Photo: Shutterstock
A smartphone showing social media apps including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and Snapchat. Photo: Shutterstock
India

My Take | India’s Congress needs to change course or face oblivion

A string of defeats in state elections to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party shows that Congress and its allies have lost their way.

Thailand

Asian Angle | Why Trump 2.0 ignoring Thailand would be a mistake

A renewed focus on building ties with Bangkok could offer strategic leverage over China that the US president should not underestimate.

North Korea

Asian Angle | North Korean soldiers: the future protectors of China’s belt and road?

Forget tired caricatures of malnourished North Koreans distracted by online porn. In Kursk, they’ve proved to be deadly and disturbingly effective.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects soldiers during a military anniversary event in Pyongyang in 2022. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
Malaysia

My Take | Malaysia has to clear the air on vaping laws

While the vaping industry provides tens of thousands of jobs for Malaysians, there are also rising health costs linked to e-cigarettes.

A man smokes an electronic cigarette. Photo: AP
A man smokes an electronic cigarette. Photo: AP
India

My Take | How Asian workers can play their tech cards right amid US visa uncertainty

Asian nations including India must take steps to empower workforces to take advantage of talent shortages in US firms.

Indonesia

Asian Angle | As Indonesia’s army expands under Prabowo, is society the target?

Critics question if the Indonesian military is quietly reasserting the broad ‘dual function’ influence it once had over civilian affairs.

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Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s support for Palestinians was unconditional … until it wasn’t

Public support for Palestinian refugees has waned after viral videos showing protests at a holding facility fuelled anti-migrant sentiment.

Protesters gather outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur at a rally held in solidarity with the Palestinian people on April 5, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE
Open Questions series

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

US-China rivalry doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game: Jessica Chen Weiss

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

China’s rise, potential recession, no WWIII yet: 11 key interviews from 2024

Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Why eco-warrior Ma Jun sees hope for China’s role in Cop29 amid US uncertainty

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Historian on why we aren’t heading towards WWIII yet and how wars have changed

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

US-China rivalry doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game: Jessica Chen Weiss

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29
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

China’s rise, potential recession, no WWIII yet: 11 key interviews from 2024

Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Why eco-warrior Ma Jun sees hope for China’s role in Cop29 amid US uncertainty

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Historian on why we aren’t heading towards WWIII yet and how wars have changed

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
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