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November 24th, 2022

Inside the Trilateral Commission

The secretive organization opens up about China, India and a new global order

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The Big Story

Inside the Trilateral Commission: Power elites grapple with China's rise

Enigmatic group linking Asia, the U.S. and Europe opens up on eve of 50th anniversary

The Trilateral Commission convened for two days in Tokyo on Nov. 19 for its first in-person meeting in three years. Members discussed China, India and the new global order. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Larger than life: South Korean forward Son Heung-min adorns a skyscraper in Doha ahead of the FIFA World Cup, hosted by Qatar this year.
Business Spotlight

Why Asia Inc. is rushing to sponsor the Qatar World Cup

Concerns over human rights take back seat to reaching global audience

Investors have shied away from risky, volatile assets like cryptocurrencies this year as central banks back away from easy monetary policies to tame rising inflation.
Cryptocurrencies

FTX collapse spells more 'crypto winter' pain to come

Temasek to write down entire investment in failed crypto exchange

Chipmakers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are adjusting spending plans as a chip shortage swings to a glut.
Semiconductors

Chipmakers trim spending by billions as COVID boom fades

Cost-saving could be tough for likes of TSMC and Intel amid race to build plants

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's poll ratings are slumping, in part due to his government's handling of the Unification Church issue.
Asia Insight

Japan builds case to dissolve scandal-hit Unification Church

Victims speak up as government probe gets under way

Mallikarjun Kharge is the first leader of the Indian National Congress from outside the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, though he still has strong ties to the family.
Comment

India's Congress tries to reinvent itself, but will it ever catch BJP?

Political party struggles to shed 'Kennedys of India' image and reconnect with voters

Mask-wearing commuters in Tokyo. Asia and the rest of the world have seen major shifts in job market trends since COVID-19, according to recruitment company Hays. (File photo by Reuters)
Economy

The post-COVID 'Great Resignation' comes to Asia: Hays CEO

Trend shift in job markets create 'huge opportunity' for the agency

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, signalling in a speech that he wants to thaw frosty relations between the two countries.
Indo-Pacific

Xi sheds 'wolf-warrior' coat on return to world stage

Third term gives China's leader freer hand to chart new courses

Ministers deliver statements during the closing plenary at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt on Nov. 20.
COP27

From landmark fund to emissions frustrations: 5 takeaways from COP27

World's biggest climate conference went deep into overtime

President Xi Jinping inspects troops of the People's Liberation Army at Zhurihe training base in Inner Mongolia in 2017: The U.S.-China rivalry will continue until one can no longer bear the cost.
Opinion

With or without Xi Jinping, U.S.-China rivalry is here to stay

Beijing has always had aspirations of overtaking Washington

A government-run job center in Kochi is mobbed with hopefuls seeking interviews: India's population will overtake that of China within the next few months.
Opinion

Even as the world's most populous nation, India will muddle along

Overtaking China likely to be neither a dividend nor a disaster

Shinro Ohtake's current show at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (known as MOMAT) brings together about 500 of the artist's works, spanning nearly half a century. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Arts

Japanese contemporary artist's triumphant return to Tokyo

Shinro Ohtake's accumulations of found marks and objects are self-portraits

A garden with a green wall tucked into forested hills some 80 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. (Photo by Dominic Faulder)
Tea Leaves

In Thailand, there is life beyond the capital

In an over-centralized country, not all roads should lead to Bangkok