Lebanon turns to IMF with economy in ‘free fall’

The government of Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has announced it will seek US$10 billion from the IMF, to enact a plan that will ensure a “just” reckoning over past policies. “We will seek to absorb losses in a just manner, without imposing any burden on those who did not benefit from the policies of the past,” the premier said in a televised speech Thursday night. Read More

Kim rumors filter down to ordinary North Koreans

It’s a subject the foreign media have focused on recently: Kim Jong Un’s health. Is he dead? Dying? Perhaps in a coma? Kim has not been seen in public for nearly three weeks and questions surrounding his health have gripped the world. In a country where authorities tightly control information, it’s always a question about to what extent do people in North Korea know what’s going on. Read More

Lighting the nuclear fusion fire

Laser-driven nuclear fusion doubtless has the potential to become the No. 1 energy source for mankind in the foreseeable future. The fundamental reason lies in the unparalleled energy densities and power densities that laser fusion can generate. Growth in power-density has been a characteristic of overall technological progress throughout history, correlating strongly with increases in the real physical productivity of society. Read More

No rural refuge for Covid-19 unemployed Thais

In the rubble of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, as many as 1-2 million Thai laborers lost their jobs as thousands of Bangkok-based factories and service companies went bankrupt, forcing many workers to return to their countryside homes. Then, the rural sector provided a much-needed safety net for the unemployed, with many returning to their agrarian family roots. Read More

‘Monster germ’ threat comes under the microscope

The Covid-19 pandemic and its potential link to China’s Wuhan lab has shone a spotlight on the controversial creation of “monster germs,” and once again resurrected debates over governance of gain-of-function (GOF) research in life sciences. GOF research involves altering a natural pathogen to make it more deadly and infectious, and is classified as dual-use research (DUR) with both military and civilian applications. Read More

India clamors to lift world’s biggest lockdown

Indians are calling for an end to a countrywide lockdown as concerns rise that job loss and hunger may soon hurt citizens more than the Covid-19 virus it was designed to contain. Raghuram Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and N R Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys Technologies, said restrictions on economic activities should be relaxed so that the vast majority of people can get back to work and start earning again. Read More

China tells WHO they’re not wanted

Thanks, but no thanks. Really, we don’t need you. That was the response as China has refused repeated requests by the World Health Organization to take part in investigations into the origins of Covid-19, the WHO representative in China has told Sky News. “We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage we have not been invited to join,” Dr. Gauden Galea said. Read More

From the archives

Tankers thrive while oil tanks in Singapore: Supertankers are making a mint while idling as de facto floating storage units off the coast of Singapore's oil trading hub.

Time may be ripe for China to invade Taiwan: The Covid-19 pandemic has left a US security vacuum around the self-governing island that China has oft-vowed to 'reincorporate' with the mainland.

Wolf warriors, Twitter trolls and China’s virus ‘lies’: Beijing is reported to have forced the EU to change a damning white paper about a "misinformation" campaign.

What Asia Times staff are reading

A Coronavirus Mystery: Why Are There So Few Cases in South Asia?: India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are home to nearly a quarter of the world’s population but account for only 2% of confirmed cases.

Life after lockdown: After months of being trapped in their homes, people in China are returning to work. So what does life look like?

The Architecture of a Post-Viral Society: If you want to know how to deal with social isolation and limited horizons, there are experts already among us: the chronically ill and disabled.