China: the new space superpower

For years, its space programme was shrouded in secrecy. Now, with plans for lunar and Mars missions, and crowds at its launch sites, China is ready for liftoff

The Guardian

Cyber Cold War heats up

This is a tale of spies, a US$500 million (S$677 million) cyber arms heist, accusations of an attempt to manipulate a US presidential election and an increasingly menacing digital war being waged between Russia and the West.

Japan, China should put past behind them and move on

Can China and Japan, the second- and third-largest economies in the world, ever set aside their historical enmity and work together closely for the collective good of all in this part of the world?

An American conspiracy to oust Malaysia’s Najib – or a propaganda war?

As civil suit turns public perception of 1MDB scandal against embattled PM, supporters rally with a tried and tested tactic. But it may have been tried once too often

SCMP

Trump victory could cause global recession, says Citigroup

The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States could lead to chaos in markets and increased policy uncertainty that tip the world into recession, according to Citigroup.

How the CIA made Google

United States intelligence community funded, nurtured and incubated Google as part of a drive to dominate the world through control of information. Seed-funded by the NSA and CIA, Google was merely the first among a plethora of private sector start-ups co-opted by US intelligence to retain ‘information superiority.’

Insurge Intelligence Part 1
Insurge Intelligence Part 2

Remaking US foreign policy: may the wisdom of its forefathers prevail

Any nation's right to a form of government and an economic system of its own choosing is inalienable.

The Nation

ValueMax chief executive buys Katong freehold bungalow for S$30 million

The chief executive of listed pawnshop ValueMax Group, Yeah Hiang Nam, has lodged a caveat to buy a freehold bungalow along Wilkinson Road in Katong for S$30 million.

The crisis in Anglo-American democracy

Two of the great political parties in the West - the Republicans in the United States and Labour in the United Kingdom - are in a state of near collapse. That, in turn, threatens the health of democracy on both sides of the Atlantic.

A poignant tribute to ex-President Ong Teng Cheong

Singapore Recalcitrant

There may be trouble ahead for China and Singapore

Singapore needed to display “the wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew’s era, which provided a better and more cautious balance between China and the US. 

Thailand rejects request to extradite Holland Village bank robbery suspect

Singapore's efforts to extradite a suspect in the Holland Village bank heist have hit a snag in Thailand. The Attorney-General's Office in Bangkok has rejected its request for Canadian national David James Roach.

Lochte's lies expose him for what he is

Lochte is done as a public figure, of course. Which is probably the most effective form of justice for someone who apparently so craves attention. Oblivion is what he deserves.

Hacking tools stolen from NSA show Chinese cyberfirms were targeted, experts say

Hacking tools claimed to be pilfered from the US National Security Agency reveal a ­severe security threat to China, mainland experts say, with a leading national provider of network security said to be among the victims of the government hackers.

Meet Ryan Lochte, the world's latest 'ugly American'

It is Ryan Lochte's turn to be scorned as the world's ugliest American: a man wrapped in shame for his concocted story of being robbed at gunpoint at the Rio Olympics.

It looks increasingly likely that the NSA has been hacked, as experts scrutinise leaked code

Analysis of the cyber weapons that hackers say they extracted from the top secret National Security Agency has left a key team of outside experts increasingly certain that the files came from the NSA.

Pyramid scheme plays on 'Britishness' to ensnare China investors

That operation, called EuroFX, had also promised fat returns on foreign exchange. Chinese law enforcement authorities now say it was a pyramid scheme, which used cash from new investors to pay older ones. One Chinese official with direct knowledge of the matter says it could also have been part of a global fraud.

NSA hacking tools revealed online

Some of the most powerful espionage tools created by the National Security Agency's elite group of hackers have been revealed in recent days, a development that could pose severe consequences for the spy agency's operations and the security of government and corporate computers.

A letter from Normandy to Abe: Lessons for Japan from WWII

I spent a few days with my grandchildren visiting the beaches in Normandy in France that witnessed the landings of D-Day and the cities and towns that were ravaged by the fighting; these represent the first crucial steps to eventually bringing an end to World War II in Europe.

Why Australia's luck may be running out

Australians of a nervous disposition should probably avoid reading the Chinese press and social media at the moment. A combination of tensions over the South China Sea and the Olympics has made Australia the target of wild invective by Chinese nationalists.