Traders Question Singapore's Haven Status as Tariffs Crater Stocks
I'm John Cheng, Asia stocks reporter in Singapore, with a roundup on the market turmoil in our region triggered by US President Donald Trump's shock tariff announcements last week. Sign up here for future editions. Lower down, I've added links to our best coverage from across Asia Pacific and world.
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Chicago Tribune
12 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Robert A. Pape: To prevent nuclear war in the Middle East, America needs to change its nuclear doctrine
The world is moving closer to the brink of nuclear war in alarming ways that are more dangerous and harder to anticipate than during the Cold War. The famous 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was a harrowing near miss, but today's nuclear dangers are more complex. This is due to a variety of factors, particularly coming together in the Middle East: increasing tensions across the region, growing risks of nuclear proliferation, and now perils of surprise military attack during crises involving states with nuclear weapons or on the cusp of nuclear weapons. Israel's recent 12-day war against Iran is a harbinger of potentially growing nuclear dangers to come. For the first time in history, two nuclear armed states — Israel and the United States — bombed a state, Iran, with a major nuclear program that many believe is on the threshold of acquiring all the physical and technical capacities necessary to produce nuclear weapons within a matter of months. For sure, the 12-day war involved a series of attacks and counterattacks that were terrifying to live through, and there was great relief when they came to an end. However, the future is even more concerning. First, Israeli and American bombing did not obliterate Iran's nuclear program, as President Donald Trump astonishingly declared before he received bomb damage assessments. As is now widely agreed among U.S. defense intelligence, Israeli intelligence and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan did not eliminate Iran's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. Although uncertainly remains about Iran's next steps, there is little doubt that Iran could attempt to produce a 'crude' bomb in a matter of months. And it is important to understand, a 'crude' bomb means a Hiroshima-style weapon that could lead to the deaths of 80,000 people from the immediate effects of the blast. Second, future information about Iran's nuclear program is fraught with high degrees of uncertainty. From the beginning, Iran has allowed IAEA inspectors to have tremendous access to monitor its nuclear enrichment program. True, these inspections have fluctuated over time and have never been as fully comprehensive as many would have liked. However, for decades, the quarterly IAEA reports have been crucial for high confidence assessments about the scale of Iran's enrichment program and whether vast amounts of enriched uranium have not been siphoned off to develop nuclear weapons. Now, Iran has reportedly banned IAEA inspectors from its nuclear facilities, and the fear and suspicion about a surprise nuclear breakout will grow over time. Third, and most important, the 12-day war shows that the fear of surprise attack is now fully justified. It is important to recall that the war started June 13 with a stunning, Pearl Harbor-like surprise attack by Israel on Iran's nuclear sites. Israel's bolt-from-the-blue strike occurred without warning and while Iranian negotiators were preparing to meet with their American counterparts just days later. Given these events, Israel, the United States and Iran now face the specter of one of the most terrifying scenarios for nuclear war: the 'reciprocal fear of surprise attack.' That's a situation in which both sides of a potential conflict fear being attacked first, leading them to consider — and possibly launch — a preemptive strike to avoid being caught off guard. The most worrisome aspect is that striking first in these circumstances has an element of rationality. If one side thinks the other is preparing for a surprise attack, then attacking first, even if it carries risks, may be the best way to reduce one's own losses. Of course, nuclear war is so horrible that the reciprocal fear of surprise attack may never lead to an actual outbreak of war. If so, then the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons would not be a problem in the first place. Alas, we need to take this danger seriously. What can be done? Although there are no perfect solutions to the reciprocal fear of surprise attack, there is one step that would significantly matter: For the United States, Iran and Israel to declare that they would never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a crisis involving Iran. The general idea of 'no first use' pledges, as they are called, arose during the Cold War, but the United States has never been willing to make such a promise. At the time, this was thought of in the context of the U.S., Europe and Soviet contest in which America needed the implicit threat of the first use of nuclear weapons to offset the Soviet conventional military threat to U.S. nonnuclear European allies. The Middle East is clearly different. America's main ally, Israel, is a powerful nuclear weapons state and so does not rely on U.S. nuclear weapons to deter attacks on its homeland. For the United States, Israel and Iran to agree a limited no-first-use policy would not end the tensions over Iran's nuclear program. However, it would energize negotiations and avoid some of the worst ways that a nuclear war could inadvertently occur. The Nobel Laureate Assembly to Prevent Nuclear War taking place at the University of Chicago recently was a perfect place to begin a national conversation about the value of adapting U.S. nuclear doctrine to today's realities in the Middle East. If this assembly of the most brilliant minds on the planet could recommend this historic step in which the U.S., Iran and Israel each pledge they would not be the first to use nuclear weapons in the dispute involving Iran's nuclear program, this would be a meaningful step toward preventing nuclear war in one of the most dangerous regions in the world.
Washington Post
13 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump survived many scandals, but the Epstein story poses a new test
Nearly two weeks after President Donald Trump and his administration announced they had nothing more to say about Jeffrey Epstein's criminal case, the topic continues to dog him, presenting a potential new political liability at the six-month mark of his presidency as Trump tries to sell more Americans on his accomplishments.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon Shocked Over CBS' Decision to End ‘Late Show': 'F*** You and All Your Sheldons'
The worlds of politics and entertainment have reacted with shock and disgust over the surprise news that CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its run in 2026. The likes of Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Stiller, John Cusack, Andy Richter, Michael Ian Black as well as prominent Democratic politicians such as Elizabeth Warren, Pramila Jayapal and Adam Schiff have taken to social media to decry the decision. Some entertainment industry figures and politicians have already claimed that CBS' move was linked to parent company Paramount Global's merger with Skydance Media, with the deal seeking regulatory approval from the Trump administration. Colbert has been among the most prominent critics of Donald Trump on television, and has arguably built his commanding lead in the late night ratings for more effectively skewering the president than some of his rivals. More from The Hollywood Reporter Trump Reacts to 'Late Show' Ending: "I Absolutely Love That Colbert Got Fired" Critic's Notebook: The Awful Optics of CBS Canceling 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' 'Late Show' Shocker: CBS Ending Late-Night Franchise in 2026 On Instagram, under the video of Colbert's monologue announcing the news, a number of celebrities replied in the comments. 'The greatest to ever do it,' wrote former Late Show band leader Jon Batiste. 'My admiration and appreciation for you is bottomless. Excited to see what other brilliance you put into the world. ❤️,' wrote filmmaker and producer Judd Apatow. 'I am extremely sad. I adore you, Stephen,' wrote Snow White actress Rachel Zegler. 'Love you Stephen. This is absolute bullshit, and I for one am looking forward to the next 10 months of shows. ✊😡💔,' wrote Severance star Adam Scott. Kimmel, the host of ABC's late night staple Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was forthright in his condemnation of the news. The longtime friend of Colbert's who also shares an agent with his late night rival posted a story to his Instagram, in which he wrote simply, 'Love you Stephen. Fuck you and all your Sheldons CBS.' Meanwhile, Fallon, veteran host of NBC's The Tonight Show, posted a statement on his Instagram Stories on Friday morning saying, 'I'm just as shocked as everyone. Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I'd ride this out with him for years to come.' He then quipped, 'I'm sad that my family and friends will need a new show to watch every night at 11:30p.m,' before he continued on to say, 'But honestly, he's really been a gentlemen and a true friend over the years — going back to The Colbert Report, and I'm sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant.' Seth Meyers, Colbert's fellow late night host on NBC's Late Night, posted a lighter tribute on his Instagram Stories, also on Friday, writing, 'For as great a comedian and host he is, [Stephen Colbert] is an even better person. I'm going to miss having him on TV every night but I'm excited he can no longer use the excuse that he's 'too busy to hang out' with me.' Colbert's longtime pal, Late Show visitor and actor-activist Julia Louis-Dreyfus, however, was more outspoken in her reaction, writing on Instagram that she 'stands' with her friend Colbert. She then called out CBS, Paramount Global, Paramount+ and Paramount mogul Shari Redstone and cited a quote from The Atlantic's David A. Graham: 'Institutions that are willing to sacrifice their values for the government's favor are likely to end up with neither.' When reacting to the news, Jamie Lee Curtis told The Associated Press on the red carpet that 'they're trying to silence people but that won't work. We will just get louder.' Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who in May opened an investigation into whether Paramount Global was engaging in bribery with Trump for the approval of the Skydance merger, bluntly questioned the motives behind ending the Late Show. 'CBS canceled Colbert's show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery,' Warren wrote on X. 'America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.' Former New York Times media reporter Bill Carter, author of the books The Late Shift and The War for Late Night, wrote on X, 'My first impression [about] the cancellation of Colbert: The financial side of that business has definitely been under pressure, as CBS release asserts, but if CBS believes it can escape without some serious questions about capitulating to Trump, they are seriously deluded.' In a lengthy statement, the Writers Guild of America also voiced 'significant concerns' that the Colbert cancellation 'is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval.' On his podcast that released hours before Colbert shared the news, Jon Stewart also had wondered if The Daily Show would get canceled. 'They may sell the whole fucking place for parts, I just don't know,' he said on The Weekly Show. 'And we'll deal with it when we do. But I'm so happy and proud of everybody that works over there. They want to do that? Knock themselves out.' Read on for more reaction to the Late Show news, which we are adding as they come. Jackie Strause, Hilary Lewis and Lexy Perez contributed to this story. 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