Leaked wedding video reveals hypocrisy in Islamist Iran’s elite
A short video of a private wedding went viral in Iran recently, tearing away the country’s veil of piety and exposing hypocrisy and a seeming disregard for the rules by...
Asia
851 results found
Ukraine talks show risk of dealmakers replacing diplomats
Recent reports about the role of Donald Trump’s special envoy, American businessman Steve Witkoff, in the Ukraine peace negotiations have raised wider questions about why political leaders turn to business...
Australia’s bow to Trump’s America is past its use-by date
Clinton Fernandes has established himself as one of the most original and insightful analysts of Australian security policy. An early career with the Australian Army Intelligence Corps no doubt gave...
The rot eating at China’s war machine
China’s drive to build a modern, high-tech military is increasingly undermined by a widening corruption crisis that is raising doubts about its true strength. This month, the Stockholm International Peace...
China repairing Trump’s broken ‘invisible hand’
In the waning days of 2025, as global markets grapple with rising uncertainty, a document from Beijing has emerged as a beacon of free-market economic logic and rationality, inspiring hope...
China’s grand plan to dominate global publishing
If current trends hold, China is on track to become the most influential force in global publishing within the next decade. Its rise is powered by domestic growth, a focused...
Pinpointing where North Korea hides its US-aimed missiles
Against the backdrop of North Korea disengaging from initially welcomed diplomatic talks with South Korea (ROK) and America, Pyongyang has again shifted toward a more belligerent stance. Already at a...
Observing Japan: Some good news for Takaichi in a challenging...
The Takaichi government faces questions about its fiscal policy management as the cabinet approves its supplemental budget. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi continues to face questions about what she discussed...
‘Blank Space’: Why US culture is stagnating
“This is Bach, and it rocks/ It’s a rock block of Bach/ That he learned in the school/ Called the school of hard knocks” — Tenacious D Has culture stagnated,...
Taliban’s terror partners once again menacing the world
There is a dangerous fiction circulating in international discourse that Afghanistan’s turmoil is contained, regionalized and — to some extent — manageable. It is not. The evidence is overwhelming, the...
