Showing 1 - 10 of 49
Sri Lanka's next test
Asia focus, Priyanka Krishnamoorthy, Published on 01/08/2022
» In a win for democracy, mass protests in Sri Lanka recently led to the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Bangladesh pursues careful Myanmar policy
Asia focus, Parvej Siddique Bhuiyan, Published on 02/05/2022
» The history of Myanmar is one of struggle with coups, military rule, religious persecution and ethnic conflict. The ongoing violence between the country's military and organised armed civilians is now leading the country to the verge of a full-blown civil war that is unlikely to end anytime soon.
Asean-US balancing act
Asia focus, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata and Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/04/2022
» The commitment of the United States to Southeast Asia since the end of the Vietnam War has been subject to a series of ebbs, flows and imbalances. History shows that it tends to wane whenever Washington is distracted by other global developments.
Carbon neutral quest
Asia focus, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 28/03/2022
» Setting net-zero targets has moved higher on many Asian corporate agendas.
Can Yoon heal South Korea?
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 21/03/2022
» In the run-up to the South Korean presidential election on March 9, most observers were focusing mainly on regional implications the poll might have and the regional agendas that the new leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy would pursue.
More young people in Myanmar taking up arms
Asia focus, Than Lwin Aye, Published on 28/02/2022
» Young people in Mon State who not long ago were actively engaged in campaigning for elections in Myanmar have shifted from protesting in the streets against the military to taking up arms to defend their rights and freedoms.
Wasted Year
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 21/02/2022
» Once perceived as Asia's final frontier, Myanmar has been tested severely by dual shocks -- a surge in Covid-19 cases in 2021 and the military coup that has brought its economy close to a standstill and left its people suffering from ongoing violence.
Myanmar tests Asean unity again
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 07/02/2022
» Feb 1 was a day of celebration as millions marked the beginning of the Year of the Tiger. But it was also a day of sober reflection as it reminded us about the military takeover in Myanmar exactly a year ago.
Myanmar soldiers collecting bills at gunpoint
Asia focus, By Richard C Paddock of the New York Times, Published on 31/01/2022
» The schoolteacher had just got out of bed when four Myanmar army soldiers pounded on her door. Her electricity payment was overdue, they said, and ordered her to pay it immediately at the government power company office.
Year of Turbulence
Asia focus, Asia Focus Team, Published on 27/12/2021
» Pandemic drags on recovery: In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many Asian countries had enviable success, avoiding large-scale outbreaks and mass deaths. But the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant this year and sluggish vaccine rollouts compounded by low availability sent cases surging. Combined with poor monitoring and easy movement among countries, often unofficially, Southeast Asia became a virus hotspot. The ballooning health crisis collided with churning political discontent in the case of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Economically, the new wave of infections, and attendant restrictions imposed to curb the spread, stalled recoveries. After nearly two years of strict border controls, many countries started to loosen up and live with Covid. But the rise of the Omicron variant now threatens to scuttle those tentative reopening plans and usher in a third year of economic anxiety.