In late February, Turkish forces launched an operation targeting Syrian regime army troops, decimating more than a hundred tanks and armored vehicles, dozens of artillery pieces and hundreds of Syrian forces. Posted videos highlighted the mixed role of drones, Paladin artillery systems and aircraft pounding Syrian armor from the skies over the course of several […] The post Why the Marines are dumping their tanks appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

Middle East oil exporters are bracing for recession and the lowest growth rates since the 1990s, with economists warning that the “twin shocks” of Covid-19 and plummeting oil prices will have a knock-on effect across the region. “Quarantines, disruption in supply chains, the crash in oil prices in light of the breakdown of OPEC+, travel […] The post Gulf faces recession as oil deluge meets Covid-19 appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

The Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23 next year, organizers said on Monday, after the coronavirus forced the historic decision to postpone the Games until 2021. The announcement comes less than a week after the organisers were forced to delay the Games under heavy pressure from athletes and sports federations as the global outbreak worsened. “The Olympics will […] The post Postponed Tokyo Olympics to open July 23, 2021 appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been placed under quarantine after an aide tested positive for Covid-19, his office said on Monday. “The preliminary assessment is that there is no need for the prime minister to be quarantined, as he did not come into close contact with the individual and did not personally meet with […] The post Netanyahu quarantined after aide contracts Covid-19 appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

The Chinese economy is experiencing a lingering malaise due to the coronavirus scourge, with growth in some core metrics slackening or slipping into negative territory. The downturn trend has the top echelon of the Chinese Communist Party worried, as it takes the credit for largely stamping out the once-rampaging outbreak. Chinese President Xi Jinping flew […] The post Xi hopes Zhejiang can throw economy a lifeline appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

A New York-based research firm, CB Insights, has released a report showing that Chinese startups are starting to substantially increase their blockchain-related investments, Cointelegraph reported. The research document, titled “The Blockchain Report 2020,” was published on March 11. It highlights that in 2015, deals from US-based companies accounted for 51% of blockchain tech growth. Comparatively, China-based companies represented […] The post Blockchain deals shifting from US to China appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

While South Korea has won praise for its effective response to Covid-19, authorities continue to churn out an A-Z of tactics aimed at both controlling the health rampage of the novel coronavirus and softening its economic punch. A cross-agency aggregation of databases is enabling tracing of infected persons within just 10 minutes, 70% of South […] The post S Korea unleashes all-out policy assault on virus appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

I was born a Capricorn although please don’t judge me, but the Sun was in the middle of Sagittarius when I was born. As a professor emeritus of astronomy, I am often asked about the difference between astrology and astronomy. The practice of astrology, which predicts one’s fate and fortune based on the positions of the […] The post It’s written in the stars and it’s wrong appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

SINGAPORE – Malaysia and Singapore, two of Southeast Asia’s worst virus-hit economies, are reaching for economic levers to mitigate the economic impact of their respective Covid-19 outbreaks. Both are projected to slip into recession this year, despite the recent announcement of multi-billion-dollar stimulus packages, with no sign yet that Covid-19 cases have plateaued or that […] The post Malaysia, Singapore doomed to Covid-19 recessions appeared first on Asia Times ..read more

What the world is going through could be a two-year ordeal, worse than the Great Recession of 2008 and approaching the Depression of the 1930s. On February 24 a friend sent me an article that quoted Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch: “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable.” On […] The post We may face Depression-scale ordeal lasting years appeared first on Asia Times ..read more