IRAN’S parliament has passed a bill allowing the government to slash four zeros from the rial, Iranian state media reported yesterday, after a sharp fall in the value of the currency as a result of crippling

THE Expo 2020 global trade fair, hosted by Dubai, has been postponed by a year due to the coronavirus outbreak and will be held from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, the Paris-based organizer said

JAPAN’S Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday extended a state of emergency over the coronavirus until the end of May, warning it was too soon to begin relaxing restrictions. Abe said a review of the situation

As governments around the world consider how to monitor novel coronavirus outbreaks while reopening their societies, many are starting to bet on smartphone apps to help stem the pandemic.

Londoners locked out of galleries can find an alternative art fix on a wall under some railway arches after street artist Lionel Stanhope painted a Caravaggio classic, updated for the novel coronavirus

Italians strolled in the park, grabbed take-out cappuccinos and paid their respects to the astonishing number of dead as the European epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic gingerly woke up from the continent’s

FRENCH scientists say they may have identified a possible case of the new coronavirus dating back to December — about a month before the first cases were officially confirmed in Europe. In a study published

From Italy to Kansas, health authorities are increasingly warning that the question isn’t whether a second wave of infections and deaths will hit, but when and how badly.

The ousted director of a US agency responsible for developing drugs to fight the coronavirus pandemic filed a whistleblower’s complaint on Tuesday accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of retaliating

The White House coronavirus task force will wind down as the country moves into a second phase that focuses on the aftermath of the pandemic.

When Guy Nizan flew to Israel with his wife and daughter for a family emergency in March, Gula — their six-year-old German shepherd mix — stayed behind in New York with a pet sitter.

Venezuela will try two Americans captured during a failed bid by mercenaries to invade the country, President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday, as the United States vowed to “use every tool available”

A GAS leaked from an LG chemical plant in southern India early yesterday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee.

Millions more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, suggesting layoffs broadened from consumer-facing industries to other segments of the economy and could remain elevated even as many parts

Historical records and surveying instruments show that Chinese researchers were the first to conduct surveys at the world’s highest mountain Qomolangma, or Mount Everest.

Save for an absence of gawping crowds, life for the penguins of Ocean Park in Hong Kong has been much the same during the coronavirus pandemic — but their carers have worked long shifts to keep the monochrome

Chief Executive of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam yesterday announced a relaxing of some social distancing measures, including allowing some entertainment venues to reopen and

CHINA’S Hong Kong affairs office warned yesterday that the city will never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, calling the acts of rioters and the “burn with us” mentality

“BETTER Days” became the biggest winner by taking home eight awards out of 12 nominations, including the best film, best director, and best actress, at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards yesterday. Due to

China said tariffs should not be used as a weapon after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose more of them for China’s handling of the novel coronavirus.

CHINA will unveil and further improve policies and step up efforts to support enterprises and secure job positions, according to a State Council executive meeting yesterday. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

Chinese researchers have found that microplastics were widespread in surface waters around the uninhabited coral reefs of the Nansha Islands.

Wearing delicate makeup, a traditional hairstyle and the ancient Chinese clothing Hanfu, a young lady posed for a vintage photoshoot.

An ancient tomb has been discovered in Inner Mongolia.

A flexible and inflatable cargo return capsule that China sent into space for test for the first time operated abnormally during its return to the ground yesterday, the China Manned Space Agency said.

The delayed renovation plan to rescue a 1,000-year-old leaning pagoda from collapsing in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will be finalized later this month, according to the regional

A team of more than 30 Chinese surveyors yesterday left a base camp at Mount Qomolangma, or Mount Everest, for a higher spot on their journey to the peak, as they endeavor to accomplish a mission to remeasure

A CORONAVIRUS vaccine developed in China has been proven effective on monkeys. PiCoVacc, a vaccine made by Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech, used a typical method to prevent the virus from infecting life

CHINA has classified all counties as low-risk for the novel coronavirus disease from yesterday, a health official said. According to the risk criteria defined in a guideline issued by the joint prevention

CHINA said yesterday it supports the World Health Organization in trying to pinpoint the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and said the US was trying to shift blame over the coronavirus, after President

A TEAM of over 30 Chinese surveyors arrived at a base camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters yesterday, as they try to accomplish a mission to remeasure the height of Mount Qomolangma, the world’s highest

After a 15-year study, an international team of astronomers has unveiled a map with the highest resolution to date of the spiral structure of the Milky Way, offering clear proof that it is a barred spiral

China’s unmanned submersible, Qianlong 2, has completed its expedition mission in the southwest Indian Ocean, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.

A DISPUTE between a comedian and his former employer ignited social media yesterday when it turned into an issue relevant to everyone — privacy protection.

By Wilmar Salim, Keith Bettinger, and Micah Fisher HONOLULU (June 21, 2019)—With a population of more than 30 million, greater Jakarta is the largest metropolitan area in Southeast Asia and one of the most densely populated urban regions in the world. The city is a major economic engine for Indonesia, accounting for approximately 25 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Yet urban poverty remains an intractable problem, and Jakarta’s infamous traffic congestion paralyzes commerce, leaches productivity, and contributes to air pollution and associated health hazards.

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By Fan Lulu and Boy Luethje HONOLULU (July 31, 2019)—With more than 800 million Internet users, China has become the global leader in e-commerce—the buying and selling of products and services online. Taobao (roughly “treasure hunt” in English) is the leading Chinese online shopping and e-commerce website, founded by the Alibaba Group. As of 2018, more than 580 million active users visited Taobao and its sister website Tmall every month.

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By Marcus Noland HONOLULU (August 23, 2019)—For three generations, the United States championed a rules-based multilateral trading system. That stance was overturned by the election of an avowed protectionist, Donald Trump, as president. It would be understandable for Asians to wonder if this shift amounts to a permanent change in U.S. trade policy, and if so, how to proceed. Trump’s presidential campaign was notable in that it emphasized two issues—immigration and trade—that had seldom been in the forefront of U.S. presidential campaigns. But public opinion polls revealed that these issues were of growing importance to a sizeable number of voters whose preferences mirrored Trump’s protectionist positions.

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By Sherry P. Broder HONOLULU (August 28, 2019)—Since the 1950s when plastics were first produced, more than 150 million tons of plastic debris have accumulated in the world’s oceans. Marine plastic litter includes large items, such as nets, floats, and other fishing debris, plus tiny microplastic particles that are pervasive and practically invisible to the naked eye—but equally harmful. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that more than 35 percent of all the primary plastics that end up in the oceans are microplastics and that most of these tiny particles originate from textiles. Ingestion of plastic particles by fish, bivalves, and other seafood is particularly concerning for humans, in part because little is known about the pesticides that are...

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By Tim Brown and Wiwat Peerapatanapokin HONOLULU (September 17, 2019)—In 2018, roughly 6 million people were living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific, and 310,000 were newly infected, according to UNAIDS estimates. Despite these troubling numbers, financial support for the fight against AIDS is stagnant, and international resources for HIV programs in the region are declining. Given the continued HIV infection levels and limited funds for halting the epidemic, it is more important than ever for prevention efforts to achieve maximum impact with the resources available. This means that programs need to target the key populations most at risk of contracting HIV. In Asia, these key populations are female sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, and men who have sex with men....

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By Charles E. Morrison and Mark Nuttall HONOLULU (September 27, 2019)—In the summer of 2019, Greenland received considerable media attention for two developments: Its large ice sheet saw record rates of surface melt with potentially devastating impacts on the oceans, and Donald Trump suggested that the United States should look into buying the island from Denmark. Both illustrate key features of the changing Arctic—the amplified impact of climate change and concerns over the return of geostrategic competition after a post-Cold War period of international circumpolar cooperation.

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By East-West Center HONOLULU (October 4, 2019)—President Donald Trump first laid out a vision for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” at the November 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vietnam. From the start, statements describing the emerging US Indo-Pacific strategy have recognized the central role of Southeast Asia. The US approach to the Indo-Pacific focuses on three vital areas: enhancing shared prosperity, championing good governance and civil society, and ensuring a peaceful and secure regional order. Two recent visitors to the East-West Center described the potential role of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the US Indo-Pacific strategy and spelled out several steps that the United States needs to take to strengthen US-ASEAN...

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By Anu Anwar HONOLULU (November 1, 2019)—Originally announced by Chairman Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to bolster China’s connectivity with the world. While the name Belt and Road Initiative implies two routes—a maritime road through the Indian Ocean and a land belt across Central Asia—in reality, BRI projects encompass multiple, interconnected global networks. The BRI combines old and new projects, covers an extended geographic region, and includes efforts to strengthen infrastructure development, investment, and cultural ties.

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By Abby G. Frazier and Laura Brewington HONOLULU (November 11, 2019)—Of all the earth’s environments, alpine regions are arguably the most vulnerable to climate change. This is especially true for alpine areas on islands. Island ecosystems are also particularly vulnerable to damage from human activity and the invasion of alien species due to their isolated and limited land areas.

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By Marcus Noland HONOLULU (November 19, 2019)—Rising diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Japan are putting American security interests at risk. Yet the United States government appears detached, unable to facilitate a rapprochement between its two allies. This is a critical moment because a South Korea-Japan intelligence-sharing agreement, aimed at North Korea, is due to lapse on 22 November this year.

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A close look at the evidence suggests that China has not been engaged in “debt-trap diplomacy” in the Pacific, at least not so far. Nonetheless, if future Chinese lending continues on a business-as-usual basis, serious problems of debt sustainability will arise, and concerns about quality and corruption are valid. By Jonathan Pryke HONOLULU (March 2, 2020)—In an atmosphere of heightened geostrategic competition, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has raised questions about the risk of debt problems in less-developed countries. Such risks are especially worrying for the small and fragile economies of the Pacific.

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By East-West Center HONOLULU (March 27, 2020)—Population aging is affecting countries all across Asia. This ongoing demographic transition will leave many of the region’s economies increasingly dependent on an aging, and eventually a shrinking, workforce. Economists disagree, however, on whether population aging will necessarily lead to a slowdown in economic growth.

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By James H. Spencer, Sumeet Saksena, and Jefferson Fox HONOLULU (1 April 2020)—The current COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, underscores what the public health community has warned about for more than two decades—the risk of viral diseases capable of spreading from animal to human hosts. The first outbreaks of “bird flu” (highly pathogenic avian influenza―HPAI, subtype H5N1) raised similar concerns 20 years ago―concerns that have persisted with the outbreak of SARS in 2002–2004 and COVID-19 today. New outbreaks of avian influenza are also still occurring in poultry and humans, primarily in Asia but also in other parts of the world.

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By Boy Lüthje HONOLULU (6 April 2020)—The development of electric and self-driving vehicles is bringing on a massive restructuring of the global automotive industry. Emerging forms of new and shared mobility undermine the very model of private car ownership that has underpinned the automotive industry since the days of Henry Ford.

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By Lora Saalman HONOLULU (14 April 2020)—Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly important component of weapons systems, with both positive and negative implications for nuclear deterrence. Integration of AI into military platforms has the potential to allow weaker nuclear-armed states to reset the imbalance of power, but at the same time it exacerbates fears that stronger states may further solidify their dominance and engage in more provocative actions.

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By Rebecca Strating HONOLULU (24 April 2020)—Many argue that China’s increasingly aggressive posture in the South China Sea is an attempt to unilaterally alter the US-led regional order, which includes an emphasis on freedom of navigation. In response, the US has stressed the importance of support from “like-minded” states—including Japan and South Korea—in defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and elsewhere. This characterization, however, disguises important differences in attitudes and behavior that could hinder joint efforts to push back against China.

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