Headlines

Nuclear power is fueling a supercharged new space race

Interplanetary travel to Mars aboard nuclear-powered spaceships may sound like science fiction – yet NASA is planning to make it a reality. The Space Reactor-1 Freedom mission is scheduled for launch by December 2028 to explore Mars, with NASA heralding it as “the first

Asia

SK Hynix’s IPO is really a bet on the future of AI

When South Korea’s chip giant SK Hynix launches its planned US$29 billion US listing, investors will tell themselves they’re buying one of the world’s most important semiconductor companies. But what they will really be buying is a rosy artificial intelligence forecast.

Asia

Japanese government bonds have a three-body problem

In May, the yield on Japan’s ten-year government bond touched 2.8%, its highest level in nearly three decades. For a market that spent a generation anchored near zero, this was not a technical adjustment — it was a tremor that reverberated across the Pacific: as Japanese yields

Asia

Mourning and celebration collide as Iran, US both claim victory

It is ironic to see the Islamic Republic of Iran burying its slain supreme leader and the United States celebrating its 250th independence anniversary in the same week. Both sides have used mourning and commemoration occasions to claim victory in a war that has led to a fragile

Asia

No, China did not manage to avoid a crash

Back in the 2010s, a lot of people marveled at China’s seemingly recession-proof economy. Throughout the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Chinese stock market crash and capital flight of 2015, the country never recorded a single quarter of negative economic growth.

Asia

Power prevails but law still matters in the South China Sea

Across the Indo-Pacific, governments are increasing defense spending, strengthening alliances, and placing renewed emphasis on deterrence. Strategic competition has once again become the defining feature of international politics. And in such an environment, international law

Asia