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Macroscope
Nasa’s Aqua satellite shows an iceberg with the designation A23a heading towards the island of South Georgia off the coast of Antarctica on January 15, 2025. Photo: Nasa Worldview/dpa
Climate change

Outside In | The end of an era at sea offers us a grim reminder on land

One of the biggest icebergs in recent memory is melting out of existence. Its silent fate mirrors the neglect of our biosphere.

US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Iran war marks return to strongest states assuming special rights

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US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | Iran war disruption just one of many threats to global markets

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Middle East

Opinion | Data centres are a symbol of the Gulf’s economic future and weakness

AI data centres, financial hubs and tourism are not peripheral to the Gulf’s growth; they are central to both opportunity and vulnerability.

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Foreign workers look on as a large smoke plume rises from the Fujairah industrial zone in the UAE on March 3. Photo: AFP
Foreign workers look on as a large smoke plume rises from the Fujairah industrial zone in the UAE on March 3. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Why state capacity matters in an era of AI-driven inequality

Warnings that AI-driven wealth concentration could trigger economic collapse overlook the state’s role – governments can renegotiate the social contract to preserve stability.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | How America’s Iran miscalculation hands China a strategic advantage

A preventive war waged without allied consensus risks undermining Washington’s legal and moral standing – strengthening Beijing’s hand.

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US, Israel war on Iran

As I see it | Iran war exposes the risks of being a US ally

Iranian attacks on US partners in the Gulf should make America’s allies in Asia rethink their security ties with Washington.

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Flames rise during a fire caused by debris from an intercepted drone at the oil refinery hub in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4. Photo: EPA
Flames rise during a fire caused by debris from an intercepted drone at the oil refinery hub in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4. Photo: EPA
War and conflict

Opinion | Iran strikes are a wake-up call to regulate military AI

Amid a lack of regulations and binding agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in war, the risks to civilians will only increase.

Technology

Opinion | Journalists must confront the real risks of AI: fabricated facts

We don’t trust journalists because they type sentences; we trust journalists because they verify the truth.

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War and conflict

Opinion | Superpower contest puts Iran, Panama, Venezuela and Greenland on one map

When one crisis touches canal access, another hits crude and a third touches the Strait of Hormuz, it is hard to call these a coincidence.

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, speak at a press conference on US military action in Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington on March 2. Photo: AFP
China-EU relations

Opinion | How Europe and China can rise above paralysis and mistrust

Together, Brussels and Beijing can reshape global power into a balance where Europe matters and China gains legitimacy as a responsible power.

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A China-Europe goods train departs from Tongjiang, Heilongjiang province, on December 9, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
A China-Europe goods train departs from Tongjiang, Heilongjiang province, on December 9, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Banking & finance

Macroscope | How global debt is sowing the seeds of financial collapse

Markets have so far shrugged off wars and trade conflicts, but the rapid rise of already massive debt should alarm investors.

United States

As I see it | Why Melania Trump’s UN speech is an affront to decency

From her husband’s wars that harm children abroad to her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Trump is far from an authority on children’s interests.

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China-Middle East relations

Opinion | US-Iran conflict puts China’s pragmatism to the test

For Beijing, the danger is less about losing Iran as a partner than losing stability in the energy-rich Middle East.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China economy

Opinion | China’s energy transition proves a boon in the Iran crisis

China is expected to face no significant disruption but as the ‘two sessions’ open in Beijing, energy security is staying a top focus.

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Fire and smoke rise from the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris from an intercepted drone, according to the Fujairah media office, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4, as Iran launched retaliatory attacks across the region. Photo: EPA
Fire and smoke rise from the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris from an intercepted drone, according to the Fujairah media office, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4, as Iran launched retaliatory attacks across the region. Photo: EPA
United States

Opinion | Eileen Gu and Alysa Liu don’t deserve to be caught in culture wars

The issue is not that one chose to represent China and another the US but that both have been dragged into culture wars not of their making.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Are investors spooked by Iran violence? Market response suggests not

Renewed fighting in the Middle East bodes ill for the global economy, but it is not yet enough to counterbalance other short-term factors.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | Why even bullish investors can’t ignore the Iran war

Investors have grown used to brushing off geopolitical threats, but turmoil in the Middle East poses a greater risk to the global economy.

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Flames rise during a fire caused by debris from an intercepted drone at the oil refinery hub in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4. Photo: EPA
Flames rise during a fire caused by debris from an intercepted drone at the oil refinery hub in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4. Photo: EPA
US-China relations

Opinion | China waits and watches as the US fights all its tigers at once

Far from freeing up resources to focus on China, Trump’s administration finds itself fighting fires on several fronts, sapping its resources.

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Asean

Opinion | Fatigue is rewriting the US-China soft power contest, starting in Asean

At a time when no one has bandwidth left, soft power is being won by being the partner that feels usable, steady and low-risk.

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United States

As I see it | Under Trump, the US has unleashed its own wolf warriors

Chinese diplomats need to project a measured and calming presence on the international stage to contend effectively with American blowhards.

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US Ambassador to France Charles Kushner delivers a speech at the official launch of America 250, to celebrate the 250th birthday of the US, at the American embassy in Paris, France, on December 4, 2025. Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | US war on Iran isn’t likely to go as planned

US war planners have overlooked viewing their adversary through realpolitik in the past. They now face a far more organised opponent.

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US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 2, in Arlington, Virginia, the US. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 2, in Arlington, Virginia, the US. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | How the US ceded the robotics economy to China

Chinese gains in robotics show that nations wishing to compete must go beyond financial engineering to master their physical realities.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Attack on Iran normalises global descent into the ‘law of the jungle’

By waging war under the logic of pre-emptive defence, the US and Israel are hollowing out the foundations of international law.

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Two Sessions 2026

Opinion | Now is the time for China to show it’s serious about opening up

The ‘two sessions’ is Beijing’s chance to demonstrate reliability as nations reassess their ties with China and the US in an increasingly fragmented global order.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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