Malaysia’s retrenchment numbers dipped this year

THE rate of employee layoffs Malaysia has plunged by half in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year, although...

Why the smart money is going on China’s bond market

Is bad news good news in China? Ever since the world’s leading central banks resorted to ultra-loose monetary policies to stave off a depression,...

Best Christmas present for mentally ill loved ones – time, empathy

At this time of the year, when festive music and holiday cheer fill the air, understandably most people tend to fixate on their Christmas shopping...

Investors: get set for 2019, the year of living dangerously

We are fast approaching that critical time of the year when investors must place their bets for 2019. It will be no easy task as investors face a...

Why the COP24 climate deal isn’t good enough

AFTER two weeks of fraught negotiations and discussion, world governments reached a new agreement on Saturday aimed at progressing global climate...

Australia’s cybersecurity strategy needs more than just funding

Australia's cybersecurity strategy is already over halfway through its four-year lifespan. But even with millions spent, one stakeholder remains...

INSIGHTS into the WORLD / Make the Indo-Pacific freer, more open

The term “free and open Indo-Pacific strategy” was first used on the world stage by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in August 2016 when he addressed...

The lingering racism behind ‘unhealthy’ MSG and ‘dirty’ Chinese kitchens

Racism can be so deep-seated that it can affect what we eat. I had no idea that my almost lifelong belief that MSG, the popular name for the...

Manufacturing spies: Iran's campaign against 'infiltration'

Around two weeks ago, in a move that caught many by surprise, Iran's security forces arrested Iranian-Australian academic  Meimanat...

Večer(ja) z morilcem?

Kar nekaj vznemirjenja in tudi hrupa je vzbudila medijska pozornost, ki je je bil na več krajih deležen Zahar Prilepin. Gre za ruskega pisatelja,...

Italy’s ‘populist’ government attacks the free press and pluralism

Analysis. In the name of pluralism, they are trying to destroy pluralism. And these paradoxes are not mere abstractions: they will create a new...

How to have yourself a merry ‘plastic-free’ Christmas

Research shows that waste can double during the Christmas period, and most of it is plastic from gift wrapping and packaging. Here is our list of...

In Hungary, the ‘slavery law’ is ‘turning the clock back to the ‘60s’

Interview. We spoke with Károly György, head of European policy at the Hungarian Trade Union Confederation, about a labor law proposal that has...

Failure of Donald Trump’s Iranian Policy

Like a tsunami, wave after wave of Iranian protestors demonstrated outside the former US embassy in Teheran, carrying placards openly criticizing...

Israel’s Yellow Vest Wannabes Are Rebels Without a Cause, for Now

After weeks of massive and often violent protest by the so-called Yellow Vests in France, a few people in Israel got the idea that we should be...

Madagascar elections: An environmental disaster in waiting

What links Brazil and Madagascar? Both have lent their names to fanciful films. Both are globally renowned for their biodiversity. And both face...

Kosovo's army causes a split in the West but who's to blame?

It's got a flag. It's got its own FIFA-recognised football team. It's in negotiations to join the Eurovision Song Contest. And now Kosovo has set...

Modi’s plans for India’s central bank borrow from the future

It has been a rough week for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – and a troubling one for investors in South Asia’s emerging economic giant....

Indian steel -- a pampered infant who must grow up

Haaretz Cartoon

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Japanese education for Egyptian kids?

I am writing this article aboard a flight from Cairo to the United Arab Emirates. It was too late to regret that I had stupidly agreed to visit...

A climate-friendly global financial system

BEIJING/FRANKFURT - The climate conference that just wrapped up in Katowice, Poland, was billed as the most consequential since the 2015 summit,...

Urban-rural chasm defines new Western political divide

NEW YORK - For Steve Bannon, the way to create an enduring populist majority is to combine forces on the left and right. That’s why he was in...

Prospects for U.S.-China ties

NEW YORK - Throughout 2018, much of Asia has been shaken by the new and increasingly unpredictable dynamics in Sino-American relations. One year...

The children take over at Westminster

LONDON - Like children squabbling over the possession of toys, the members of the House of Commons at Westminster, once seen as the cradle of...

Road-rage prevention a task for police, Diet and public

The Yokohama District Court on Dec. 14 sentenced a man to 18 years in prison over a road-rage incident that left a couple dead and their two...

The American Empire

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." (From Shakespeare's "Henry IV") By Deauwand Myers The recent passing of George H.W. Bush allowed for the...

U.S. should avoid weaponizing laws against unfriendly nations

Two things stand out in last week’s plea deal of Maria Butina, the Russian citizen branded by U.S. media as an “accused spy.” The description of...

Remembering Mohamed Bouazizi and the start of the Arab Spring

On 17 December 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside the governor’s office, despondent at being unable to...

Sijo conferences

By Mark Peterson Maybe this sijo thing is really catching on? In the last month I've been invited to two, count them! two!, conferences on sijo....

Whitewashing George HW Bush's legacy

If "the present conducts the past the way a conductor conducts an orchestra," bringing forward "these particular sounds, or those, and no others" -...

Here’s why the Philippines has the most freelancers in Southeast Asia

LAWMAKERS in the Philippines recently passed the Telecommuniting Act which provides equal pay and benefits for workers who worked in the office or...

Singapore’s US$200k university salaries are worth every penny

Successful, high-impact research helps make universities lively, thriving communities. This effect extends well beyond the academy: meaningful...

Zlom

Kot da bi želeli na stotine frnikol na velikanskem pladnju le s tresenjem spraviti v red. Nekako takšen vtis dajejo svetovna podnebna pogajanja. Po...

Henoko work can be stopped if entire nation takes notice

The government started unloading dirt and sand into waters off the Henoko district in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Dec. 14, marking a new phase in...

3 of the best Southeast Asian countries to buy real estate

REAL estate investment remains one of the most reliable and lucrative investment options going. If you track down a good deal, real estate can be a...

Australia, a True Friend of Israel

The Australians recognize what is self-evident about West Jerusalem, but at the same time they also see as self-evident that East Jerusalem is...

The road to Palestine runs through the barrel of a rifle

The title of this article was inspired by the poem One Road by the late Nizar Qabbani. He wrote it after the June 1967 defeat in the Six Day War;...