Roads closed as a record 97,000 guests descended on Dubai for the UN’s COP28 climate conference, which opened on Thursday. They included King Charles, Bill Gates, Narendra Modi, Lula da Silva, Emmanuel Macron, Kamala Harris, Rishi Sunak and US climate envoy John Kerry – though not, sadly, Pope Francis, prevented from attending by health reasons. Will […] The post Can COP28 make real progress on climate change? appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

Since the Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing military campaign in Gaza, Israel has found itself the target of missiles and drones fired by Iranian-backed groups from various points in the Middle East. While there has not been a full-scale escalation from groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the attacks, many of which have been […] The post Israel faces new front in Iran’s drone war appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

Winter is coming on, and as I predicted here two months ago, not even a memorandum of understanding (MoU) or any agreement in principle was reached this autumn between the EU and Turkmenistan, for Europe to receive any natural gas in any form from the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. This failure has come […] The post No Turkmen gas for Europe appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

A recent indictment from the United States Department of Justice has alleged an Indian security official was involved in attempting to assassinate a citizen of the US and Canada in New York. The alleged target, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is a leader in the Sikh separatist movement and has been involved in organizing referendums for the […] The post Assassins abroad reflect a more assertive India appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

There is a story, published by Seymour Hersh and picked up by Russian media, that Ukrainian General Valerii Zaluzhny and Russian General Valery Gerasimov are secretly negotiating a deal that could potentially end the Ukraine war. The story is supported by “anonymous” sources, allegedly in the US intelligence establishment. The question is: Is the report true?   The Russian […] The post Is Hersh story on secret Ukraine peace talks true? appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

China is going to rely more on the use of local artificial intelligence (AI) chips than foreign chips, as it can no longer obtain Nvidia’s most-advanced chips due to the United States’ chip export controls. The country does not lack AI chip makers, which include Huawei Technologies, Moore Threads, Cambrian and Stream Computing. Their total […] The post China to meet AI market demand with local chips appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

Some 16 million people worldwide identify as Jewish – and more than 7 million of them live in Israel. The country is home to more than 2 million people who are not Jewish, as well – primarily Arab Israelis, who make up 20% to 25% of the population, and more than 100,000 foreign workers. Most […] The post Jewish Israel is a mosaic of ethnic groups appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

The unpredictable nature of India’s agricultural sector highlights how quickly a country producing exportable surpluses can turn into one grappling with potential supply shortages in the domestic market.  These supply shortages raise the prospect of food insecurity and food price inflation. In response, the government immediately clamped down on exports, beginning with staples like wheat […] The post Export bans won’t fix India’s deep, dark agriculture woes appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

Chinese researchers have recently run a simulation suggesting that China’s new stealth aircraft, detection technologies and hypersonic missiles can defeat America’s next-generation B-21 stealth bomber in a conflict scenario. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that a Chinese research team conducted a computer simulation showing China’s new stealth aircraft can outmaneuver the US’s new […] The post China simulation targets and defeats B-21 stealth bomber appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

A few years ago, while doing research in the highlands of Ethiopia, a medical professional explained how cases of malaria were spreading each year up the mountains. Rising temperatures were allowing the parasite-carrying mosquitoes to survive at higher altitudes, and infect new communities. It is a story repeated across the world as we witness the […] The post The climate change health emergency appeared first on Asia Times ..read more