Francis Pike

Can Imran Khan cling on to power in Pakistan?

9 April 2022 9:00 am

Can Imran Khan cling on to power in Pakistan?

Turkmenistan may emerge as a global powerbroker

17 March 2022 10:25 pm

While the world is watching Ukraine, there is another former Soviet republic that has quietly undergone regime change. Turkmenistan’s 65-year-old…

Was the Kazakhstan uprising an attempted Jihadi takeover?

11 January 2022 8:15 pm

The Kazakh uprising is over. The stench of burnt-out vehicles and bombed out buildings in Kazakhstan’s most populous city and…

What's happening in Kazakhstan?

6 January 2022 9:30 pm

Since the start of the new year, riots have spread throughout Kazakhstan. In the former capital of Almaty, the airport has…

The case against Aukus

25 September 2021 9:00 am

The case against Aukus

Did Chinese fentanyl kill Michael K. Williams?

8 September 2021 8:30 pm

Did Chinese-manufactured fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, kill Michael Kenneth Williams, the man who played ‘Omar’ in The Wire? Within minutes…

Would Japan defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack?

28 August 2021 12:31 am

In a parliamentary debate in early June about Covid, Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga said that Australia, New Zealand and…

What kind of empire is China building?

4 August 2021 11:58 pm

As Britain’s small fleet, headed by HMS Queen Elizabeth, cruises towards the South China Sea, there remains a question over…

Chairman Xi and the Communist party’s delusional centenary

5 July 2021 8:55 am

The emperor has new clothes. Arriving at a meeting to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, China’s…

How China won over the Middle East

12 June 2021 9:00 am

How China won over the Middle East

Is Britain heading for war over Taiwan?

20 March 2021 9:00 am

Is Britain heading for war over Taiwan?

China vs America: the struggle for south-east Asia

20 February 2021 9:00 am

Can Biden’s America contain China?

Is Kazakhstan capable of transitioning to democracy?

13 February 2021 6:00 pm

In the dramatic ‘reveal’ of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, the lead character, private dick Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) violently extracts the…

Coup de grâce: the downfall of Aung San Suu Kyi

6 February 2021 9:00 am

The downfall of Aung San Suu Kyi

Duterte Harry: why is he the Philippines' most popular ever leader?

24 January 2021 6:00 pm

If you thought Donald Trump was rude to journalists, hang on to your hats. Miffed by a journalist’s temerity in…

Cold war: Russia’s bid to control the Arctic

12 December 2020 9:00 am

Russia’s bid to control the Arctic

Was 2008 the year China triumphed over the West?

21 November 2020 7:00 pm

Although China’s economy remains smaller than the United States’s in terms of nominal GDP (albeit ahead of the US in…

Erdogan’s game: why Turkey has turned against the West

31 October 2020 9:00 am

Why Turkey is severing its links with the West

The truth about Burma’s ‘imprisoned princess’

10 October 2020 9:00 am

It’s as ignorant to demonise Aung San Suu Kyi as it was to idolise her

The depraved rule of Thailand’s Caligula king

12 September 2020 9:00 am

Why are protestors risking it all to challenge the king?

Hirohito, the war criminal who got away

22 August 2020 9:00 am

Not prosecuting Hirohito was a mistake

Sea change: China has its sights on the Bay of Bengal

8 August 2020 9:00 am

China has its sights on the Bay of Bengal