The Moon's Riches
The moon is full of helium 3. The Earth has pitifully little of it. This is just as well. If Earth had as much helium 3 as that found on the Moon, there would be no life on it.
LEE HAN SHIH
China's Moon Quest
Thanks to the US preoccupation with Iraq, China now has a good chance to be the first nation to put a woman on the moon.
LEE HAN SHIH
Japan's Space Race faces obstacles
Japan, long accustomed to being Asia’s technological leader is getting serious competition from China.
LEE HAN SHIH
Up and Away
In November 2003 India celebrated the 40th anniversary of its space programme. The celebration attracted little attention outside the country, even among space enthusiasts. Everyone else was too busy soaking up the implication of China’s first manned space flight, which was launched successfully in October and placed China as the third space power after the US and Russia.
LEE HAN SHIH
The Fuqing connection
The rise of Liem Sioe Liong owes a lot to circumstances, particularly the fact that he hails from Fuqing in the northern Fujian province of China.
LEE HAN SHIH
Days of plunder
There are many who practise crony capitalism — getting economic gains by toadying up to the powers that be — but few, if any, match the scale of Liem Sioe Liong.
LEE HAN SHIH
Chronicling the fortunes of Esprit
Esprit, the child of hippie culture, was born of two chance encounters.
LEE HAN SHIH
Who's Pinker Now?
As Singapore and Bangkok battle for a larger slice of the pink dollar pie, Russell Heng predict the winner.
RUSSELL HENG
Bridging the digital divide
Call it the triumph of capitalism. For more than half a century, the United Nation and its offspring, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other agencies have poured trillions into the Third World.
LEE HAN SHIH
What a Tiger Means to You
It says a lot about the tigers in the 21st century that it is an occasion of joy in some quarters when a wild tiger kills a human being.
LEE HAN SHIH
Disappearing Deity
India, with half the world’s population of wild tigers, sees red over China’s plans to reopen the trade in tiger parts.
DEBBY NG
Hybrid for better or worse
Greener cars for a greener future? If green is the colour of toxic waste, then yes, maybe so.
DEBBY NG
A flare-up over going solar
The sun’s energy may be inexhaustible, but is the production of solar panels sustainable?
DEBBY NG
Mining the long-term gains
Pollution-intensive industries can yield profits by improving environmental efficiency.
DEBBY NG
The Wretched Act of Animal Release
Taiwan’s annual ritual of releasing animals as a form of relieving suffering might just be achieving the opposite.
DEBBY NG