Showing 221 - 230 of 230
For Belarusian troupe, show must go on despite dangers
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 19/08/2012
» Thespians of the Belarus Free Theatre have been beaten, arrested and harassed by authorities. And husband-and-wife co-directors Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada, as they explained to Spectrum last week while on a visit to Bangkok, are now forced to live in exile, facing prison sentences if they return home. Within Belarus _ their large landlocked country of just under 10 million people, bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania _ the actors continue to perform in secret and at great risk to themselves and their audiences.
New home not where the heart is for Xayaburi locals
Spectrum, Post Reporters, Published on 05/08/2012
» It's early in the morning, but 20-year-old Boonma looks exhausted due to a lack of sleep over the past three or four nights. His mother Ta, 54, is worried about her son's health and is not sure he is doing the right thing.
'Alif the unseen': A Cross-Cultural harry potter for the web set
Spectrum, Published on 15/07/2012
» In an unnamed emirate in the Persian Gulf there lives a young man with Harry Potter potential. He calls himself Alif, for the letter in the Arabic alphabet, but that's not his real name. It's the internet moniker he uses for his work as a hacker, protecting his clients from censors and the secret police. Alif is uncannily good at this. He's not a boy wizard like Harry, but he works magic just the same.
Merger of HIV/Aids plans praised, but follow-up needed
Spectrum, Tunya Sukpanich, Published on 24/06/2012
» HIV/Aids activists are hailing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's decision in a cabinet meeting on Thursday to merge medical benefits for those suffering from the disease. But they caution that treatment standards must be set and maintained once the merger goes forward.
Reaching out to the people languishing in nowhere land
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 10/06/2012
» Fongchan Suksaneh says she was in a "quasi-stateless" situation for 25 years and applied numerous times for citizenship, before finally receiving it following promulgation of the fourth Nationality Act in 2008. "I was told many times, 'We don't need people like you. Go to a different country!' ... I wasn't considered a Thai person even though I couldn't tell the difference myself."
The ugly face behind 'open' Myanmar's charm offensive
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 03/06/2012
» Moon Nay Li is adamant that despite all the talk of reforms there's still no rule of law to protect civilians in Myanmar. To prove her point she spreads a layer of detailed humanitarian reports, grisly photographs of dead children and single page testimonies that document the injuries, rapes, sexual abuse and tortures inflicted by the Myanmar army on civilians in Kachin State in recent months.
Development drive sees ethnic groups displaced by land grabs
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 22/04/2012
» At the ramshackle Ei Tu Hta camp more than 4,000 displaced people fear not just the the Myanmar military downstream on the Salween River, but also a constitution that will ''legally'' dispossess them of the land they were forced to flee.
No easy answer to who lit fuse in bomb attacks
Spectrum, Published on 26/02/2012
» Since the bomb blasts earlier this month which struck Bangkok and New Delhi, and a failed attack in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, confusion over events on the ground has been compounded by a predictable war of words between Iran, widely viewed as behind the attacks, and its arch-enemy Israel, the apparent target.
Valentine's Day bombs: a farce with deadly implications
Spectrum, Post Reporters, Published on 19/02/2012
» To one neighbour of the three Iranian bombing suspects who sent Bangkok into a frenzy last week, the most unforgivable act they committed during their stay was not mowing the lawn in front of their humble rented home.
As doors open, businesses face a formidable frontier
Spectrum, Luke Hunt, Published on 29/01/2012
» As Myanmar trades political reforms in return for an end to economic sanctions, businesses big and small are queuing for access to the region's last closed economy. Entry will be dictated by political connections, financial clout, further reforms and necessity.