alt

December 23rd, 2021

Making Turkey great again

Erdogan has pursued geopolitical power at all costs, but now the bill is due

View all editions

The Big Story

Making Turkey great again: Erdogan throws out the rule book

Ankara has pursued geopolitical power at all costs, but now the bill is due

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using an unconventional mix of soft and hard power to extend his influence throughout Eurasia. Gendarmerie officers at an oath-taking ceremony in Bursa, Turkey.
Experts say the digital revolution raises the stakes of standardization, as rules set today will shape the global economy tomorrow.
Asia Insight

Standard-bearer: China races U.S. and Europe to set tech rules

Beijing's focus on strategic sectors like lithium and 5G puts West on defensive

Cambodia has struggled to crack down on gangs that force people, often under threat of violence, to work in online scams rings. (Source photos by AP and Vann Soben) 
Business Spotlight

China grapples with Cambodia's failure to curb crime gangs

Chinese business steps in to help people enslaved by online scammers

Cryptocurrency companies are keen to break into the Singapore market, but local regulators are taking a cautious approach to giving their approval. (Source photo by AP)
Market Spotlight

Crypto entrepreneurs find Singapore is not so hospitable after all

Scores of businesses fail to win licenses from city-state's financial regulator

Some 10,000 police officers have been deployed across Hong Kong to ensure "smooth operations" and address perceived security threats.
Politics

Turnout hits new low in Hong Kong 'patriots only' election

Barely half as many cast votes as in 2016 legislative polls

A file photo of a port in Bangkok. Thailand detected its first omicron case in December but it has not suspended its border reopening policy for tourists, prompting economists to revise upward the kingdom's economic growth forecast.
Economy

Philippines, Thailand poised for faster growth in 2022: survey

Economists upgrade ASEAN GDP forecast but lockdowns weigh on Malaysia

International Energy Agency: "This year’s historically high level of coal power generation is a worrying sign of how far off track the world is in its efforts to put [carbon] emissions into decline."
Climate Change

Coal power at all-time high, threatens net-zero goals: IEA

China, India hold key to less CO2 emissions, but world hungers for cheap energy

Three Tokyo outlets of U.S. hamburger chain Wendy's introduced a payment system that utilizes SenseTime's facial recognition technology on Wednesday. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
SoftBank

SoftBank unit spreads SenseTime facial recognition tech in Japan

Chinese AI group's biggest outside investor helps roll out system at Wendy's

TSMC and Sony will work together on a new chip plant in southwestern Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture.
Semiconductors

Can TSMC give new spark to Japan's 'Silicon Island'?

EVs key to success of $7bn chip plant in Kyushu, with its links to auto industry

Xi Jinping will have to wait several years longer before the Chinese economy overtakes the U.S.'s, partly thanks to a big spending package Joe Biden shepherded through Congress. (Nikkei montage/AP)
Economy

China's overtaking of U.S. economy delayed to 2033, report says

South Koreans and Taiwanese to earn more than Japanese starting in 2027: JCER

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 29: in the eyes of market participants, monetary policy asymmetry has been a notable feature of the past three decades.
Opinion

Have central banks moved to break the monetary policy vicious cycle?

More important than inflation forecasting is the policy regime itself

Ukrainian soldiers walk past a destroyed house in Marinka, Ukraine, on Dec. 8. Ukraine cannot afford to become complacent.
Opinion

Russia's invading Ukraine will provoke a forcible response

Muscle flexing aside, Vladimir Putin is highly unlikely to launch a war

Police outside a polling station during Hong Kong's legislative election. Voter participation hit an all-time low amid tighter restrictions on who could run.
Founded in 1988, the International Dark-Sky Association sees its main goal as encouraging "communities, parks and protected areas around the world to preserve and protect dark sites through responsible lighting policies and public education."
Life

Pandemic brings out Asia's stargazers

Movement to preserve pristine locations for looking at the night sky is gathering pace

A screenshot of "Squid Game Parody," a Vietnamese show on YouTube that satirizes the Netflix original.
Tea Leaves

Vietnam's 'Squid Game' comedies entertain, but to what end?

Copycat fad shows how a single hit cultural product can shape public imagination