GONZALO REYES MONTANO WRITES – The United States is not the only country deeply concerned with the direction of China’s potential. Consider the substantially increased military spending plans proposed by the current government of the United Kingdom, based upon the fear of imminent danger posed by China. But what is…
Full Article CHINA AND ITS NEIGHBORS: HOW ELSE MIGHT IT DECIDE TO STRIKE BACK?
JACOB VILLEGAS WRITES -New Zealand health officials are calling for vapes in New Zealand to be sold solely at pharmacies and/or to require a prescription for them, as a result of the rising number of teens picking up the unhealthy habit. This comes after New Zealand introduced the world’s first…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND’S GREAT VAPE ESCAPE: OUTLOOK CLOUDY
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER – The first page welcomes us to the pool, a sanctuary from all on-shore troubles. There are no nagging spouses, bills to pay, arrogant bosses, or spiteful children at the pool. The swimmers mind their business and swim away their worries. There are a few…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: THE SWIMMERS (2022) BY JULIE OTSUKA – NOSE DIVING INTO THE SECRET WORLD OF A COMMUNITY POOL
TAIBAH AL-ASEERI – The United States Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision to raise interest rates has had a ripple effect throughout Asian markets. Investors are concerned that the higher rates could lead to increased borrowing costs and slower economic growth, which could ultimately prove detrimental to businesses and consumers. Here, we…
Full Article ASIAN MARKETS: THEY GET FED UP, THEY GET FED DOWN!
JACOB VILLEGAS WRITES – New Zealand has a new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, but who exactly is he? Following the unfortunate resignation of the former Prime Minster, Jacinda Ardern in mid-January, Hipkins was sworn in as New Zealand’s 41st Prime Minister on January 25th. Although Hipkins is newly installed, he…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: IS ITS NEW PRIME MINISTER UP TO IT?
FARRAH PADILLA WRITES – New Zealand, a country located in the Southern Hemisphere, is a wonderful place to visit in January and February—the summer months— with its sunny beaches, luscious greenery and “hobbit style,” Lord of the Rings appeal (where the blockbuster series was filmed). No doubt travelers around the…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: A NOT SO SUNNY SUMMER
This column originally appeared on Dec. 7, 2022, in the South China Morning Post. CLINICAL PROFESSOR TOM PLATE WRITES – Did you know that, in American-speak, a group of flying Corvids is not called a “flock” but a “murder.” You could look it up! Right now, amid the warm Laguna…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: BOSS XI’S ‘OVERREACH’ CUTTING BEIJING DOWN TO SIZE?
SAMANTHA LUNDIN WRITES – Who runs the country? Women! In the last week of October, when Soraya Peke-Mason became the 60th female representative sworn in among the 59 male representatives, Parliament gained a female majority. New Zealand has a history of pioneering women in politics. In 1893, New Zealand women…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: WHERE WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Why do people assume relationships could ever make logical sense? Love and relationships – the shimmering red strings that tie humans together – are convoluted at best. At their most devastating, they are temporary and ephemeral, like the changing ginkgo leaves that pile on the…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: DEAD-END MEMORIES (2022) BY BANANA YOSHIMOTO – A MEDITATION ON MODERN LOVE
Incantation – 2022 – 1 hr 50 min – Kevin Ko SARAH LOHMANN WRITES – Do you believe in blessings? Intentions and outcomes rarely equal in importance; these two are set in sequence with each other by Ronan’s monologue to the viewer at the beginning of Incantation (2022). Intentions come first, and,…
Full Article MOVIE REVIEW: INCANTATION (2022) – A MONSTER THAT LIVES IN YOUR HEAD
CLINICAL PROFESSOR TOM PLATE WRITES – An unexpected invitation came via email last week that will prove either of no more import than any of the other stuff in my inbox, or instead a tea leaf to be read and analysed with care and an open mind. It was an…
Full Article CHINA-US RELATIONS: A THAW IN CHINA-US DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS? WE CAN ONLY HOPE
NASER ALMEHSARI WRITES – Asian stock markets have suffered the brunt of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Major markets such as China, Australia and South Korea fell sharply, while Tokyo managed to post a marginal rise and central bank rate hikes accompanied new lockdown notices in different regions of Asia. A sense…
Full Article ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: SURRENDERING TO THE HARD REALITIES OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
DMITRY KOLESNIKOV WRITES – The Solomon Islands are going through dark times as police recover three dead bodies. On November 26, 2021, three people were found dead after a series of anti-government protests, causing Australia to send its military to help the government maintain control of the city following the…
Full Article THE SOLOMON ISLANDS: PROTESTS ROCK THE PEACE
DEREK GARCIA WRITES — On August 8th this year, the Australian National Basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers, made history, winning its first medal at the Tokyo Olympics by beating Slovenia, 107-93, for a third-place bronze medal. Australia’s fantastic run in the Olympics may have felt like the opening of a…
Full Article AUSTRALIA: DOWN UNDER BASKETBALL RISES TO THE TOP OF INTERNATIONAL SPORTS
AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, in Singapore on June 10- marking the sixth Australia-Singapore Leaders’ Meeting, an annual conference between the two countries – and the first in-person meeting between Lee and Morrison since pandemic travel restrictions began.…
Full Article SINGAPORE: PRIME MINISTERS LEE AND MORRISON HAVE A SERIOUS CHAT
HEATHER CREAMER WRITES — Melissa Caddick, age 49, vanished from her luxury $6.1 million home in Dover Heights, a coastal suburb of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. Her disappearance occurred November 11, the day after corporate watchdog Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) executed a search warrant at her…
Full Article AUSTRALIA: A CORPORATE WATCHDOG INVESTIGATION UNLEASHES QUESTIONS AND A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE