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Opinion /

World Opinion

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My Take
Macroscope
Illustration: Craig Stephens
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | You’re not asking the right question about the Iran war

The standard critique of the war does not ask who requires Iran to remain an enemy rather than a problem to be managed.

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US-China relations

Opinion | As a global Warring States era begins, China must plan for the future

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Technology

Opinion | AI pessimism is a luxury the Global South cannot afford

Banking & finance

Macroscope | Can World Bank and IMF leaders rescue a global economy on the brink?

By attacking Iran, the US has put the global economic order in jeopardy.

The International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside its headquarters in Washington. Photo: Reuters
The International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside its headquarters in Washington. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Despite its hype, AI is just a means to economic resilience

To survive the shift from winner-takes-all capitalism to true sustainability, the learning curve is steep. AI is just the latest tool to help us climb it.

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Apple

Outside In | My love-hate relationship with Apple as an Android user

As Apple marks 50 years amid market and political pressures, the company has inspired jealousy but also admiration for what it has achieved.

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US-China relations

Opinion | A stark clash of world views will overshadow Trump’s visit to China

As Xi and Trump prepare to meet, the divergence between their visions of global order has never been more acute.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
China economy

Opinion | Why Latin America is becoming indispensable to China

Latin America fits Beijing’s need for alternative partners with uncomfortable precision. That is a problem for Washington.

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War and conflict

Opinion | For Asia, US-Iran ceasefire offers little relief – and much uncertainty

What may be coming is neither stable peace nor uninterrupted war, but something in between: a prolonged condition of managed instability.

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India

Opinion | Asia’s flood of cheap Ozempic generics opens gates to weight-loss abuse

Cheaper semaglutides as patent ends is good news for diabetics. But lax regulation also means a risk of abuse by those desperate to lose weight.

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An advert for Eli Lilly’s obesity awareness campaign is seen on a building in Gurugram, India, on December 16. Photo: Reuters
Africa

Opinion | Beijing’s supply-chain hedging strategy can help African food security

While governments must avoid swapping one dependency for another, Beijing’s inroads could help enhance food security efforts.

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A worker turns excelsa coffee beans to dry near Nzara, South Sudan, on February 15, 2025. Photo: AP
A worker turns excelsa coffee beans to dry near Nzara, South Sudan, on February 15, 2025. Photo: AP
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | How AI and geopolitical rivalry are breaking economic orthodoxy

Today’s imbalances go beyond exchange rates; they reflect concentrated technological investment in one economy and uneven risks in others.

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Cambodia

Opinion | To beat Cambodia’s scam gangs, US must work with China – not blame it

Taking down the deeply rooted, well-connected syndicates would require both Washington’s economic leverage and Beijing’s operational efforts.

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War and conflict

As I see it | Why Donald Trump now needs a ‘forever war’

The US president and America are starting to understand you can’t go fascist at home and imperialist abroad halfway.

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US President Donald Trump prepares to speak about the war on Iran at the White House in Washington on April 1. Photo: AP
Middle East

Opinion | For Gulf states, geography is both a generous and treacherous patron

Sandwiched between Iran and Israel, oil-rich transport hubs like the UAE now face the fragility of their newly built economic prosperity.

A couple stands looking at the Dubai skyline, with a view of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, seen from Creek Harbour on April 3. Photo: AFP
A couple stands looking at the Dubai skyline, with a view of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, seen from Creek Harbour on April 3. Photo: AFP
Technology

Opinion | In Asia-Pacific, the real maritime contest is over satellite surveillance

States’ ability to exercise territorial rights is increasingly mediated by their access to satellite data and analytics, but the tech is dominated by a powerful few.

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Technology

Opinion | The danger in the Global South’s pursuit of AI as a magical cure

Rushing in without local R&D, literacy or governance risks leaving countries as testing grounds and passive consumers of foreign tech.

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Nato

Opinion | In denying Trump airspace, Europe has drawn a line for Nato

Growing European defiance to US demands raises a critical question: is Nato a club of equals or a mechanism for enforcing one nation’s agenda?

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Global South

Opinion | Global South nations are insulating themselves from the heat of US actions

The ‘Great Insulation’ is coming – not major powers decoupling top-down but small and middle powers building a firewall from the bottom up.

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United States

Opinion | Fixing US branding woes starts with rebuilding trust Trump has damaged

Lavishly funded celebrations will not fly in Asian countries struggling to get by and increasingly sceptical of Trump’s America.

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China-Africa relations

Opinion | China’s growing North Africa presence a structural challenge for Europe

Cooperate or hedge? Growing Chinese energy, infrastructure and industrial investments require a sustained, coordinated European response.

Engineers walk next to solar panels at the Benban Solar Park, one of the world’s largest solar power plant in the world, in Aswan, Egypt, on October 19, 2022. Photo: AP
US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | Why dollar and gold prices are looking abnormal amid Iran war

Two apparent anomalies stand out in recent market movements – the rising dollar and falling gold prices.

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US President Donald Trump arrives to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1. Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump arrives to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1. Photo: AP
Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | Chinese overseas need not keep to ourselves. I certainly don’t

Half of my close friends in London are Chinese; the other half are not. This balance did not happen by accident.

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US, Israel war on Iran

As I see it | The twilight of US hegemony and Israeli expansionism

The war in Iran is speeding the world towards a multipolar system.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | How America’s stumble in Iran upends East Asia’s security calculus

A region where US allies lose faith in Washington won’t necessarily embrace Beijing; it is a region more likely to reach for its own guns.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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