How TikTok became a US-China national security issue

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Depending on whom you ask, the short-form video app TikTok is where you watch goofy dances and makeup tutorials, or it’s a gravely sophisticated threat to US national security. Because TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance – and because China is known to be interested in having its technology companiesContinue Reading

Most TikTok user information already out in the open

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The social media app TikTok has been a focus of concern that the Chinese government could access data on individual users. Whether the app poses a security risk remains unclear, but TikTok has now been banned from government devices in several countries. However, reports suggest that computer-based tools designed to collect data from publically available […]Continue Reading

ISIS-K resurgence rocks Taliban and rattles US

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Since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have struggled to contain the Islamic State Khorasan province, or ISIS-K – the official Islamic State group affiliate operating in Afghanistan. Now, a fresh wave of assassination attempts on top Taliban officials has rocked multiple regions across the country and prompted fears of the group’s […]Continue Reading

Inspirational role models

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In: South-East Asia

To mark this year’s International Women’s Day, a number of extraordinary women from a wide range of fields who have inspired change in their communities through the pursuit of excellence have been named the Bangkok Post’s Women of the Year.Continue Reading

US Federal Reserve in high-wire rate decision

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In: Asia, Business

The Federal Reserve faces a pivotal decision on March 22, 2023: whether to continue its aggressive fight against inflation or put it on hold. Making another big interest rate hike would risk exacerbating the global banking turmoil sparked by Silicon Valley Bank’s failure on March 10. Raising rates too little, or not at all as […]Continue Reading

Africa no easy pawn in New Cold War

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China’s foreign ministry published a 4,000-word analysis entitled “US Hegemony and its Perils” on February 20. It’s an indictment of alleged US foreign interference, intimidation and interventions that began 200 years ago. This was followed by President Xi Jinping’s accusation at the Communist Party National Congress in March that the US was pursuing an unprecedented […]Continue Reading

Robots are performing Hindu rituals

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It isn’t just artists and teachers who are losing sleep over advances in automation and artificial intelligence. Robots are being brought into Hinduism’s holiest rituals – and not all worshippers are happy about it. In 2017, a technology firm in India introduced a robotic arm to perform “aarti,” a ritual in which a devotee offers […]Continue Reading

How many Iraqis did the US really kill?

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The mass killings of Iraqis started on the night of March 19 2003 with the US-led coalition’s “shock and awe” bombing of Baghdad. They called it “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” Millions around the world sat transfixed in front of their TV screens, watching as bombs and missiles exploded. The reports came with the warning that they […]Continue Reading

Twenty years of failed US democracy promotion in Iraq

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President George W Bush and his administration put forward a variety of reasons to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In the months before the US invasion, Bush said the looming conflict was about eradicating terrorism and seizing weapons of mass destruction – but also because of a “freedom deficit” in the Middle East, a […]Continue Reading