Showing 1 - 10 of 52
Pakistan and Nepal pursue better understanding
Asia focus, Malika-e-Abida Khattak, Published on 20/06/2022
» Most bilateral relations in South Asia, including those between Nepal and Pakistan, are dominated by India's massive influence in the region. Nepal and Pakistan have a long history of diplomatic and political ties, and India has played an important role in their considerations.
Politics and peril for Asian women
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 16/05/2022
» The political landscape in Asia has been very dynamic lately, but it is a disappointment to me personally that events have not been kind to women.
Education for change in Asia and beyond
Asia focus, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 07/03/2022
» The pandemic is inevitably teaching humanity a lot of lessons. The traditional three pillars of literacy -- reading, writing and arithmetic (the three R's) -- must now be complemented by digital literacy.
Taiwan feels chill from Ukraine crisis
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 28/02/2022
» Countries across the world are feeling the impact of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as stock markets tumble and oil prices spike. But Taiwan is feeling a particular chill, amid concerns that it eventually could face a similar fate at the hands of China.
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.
Game on
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 27/09/2021
» Not everyone aspires to a traditional career path, and while getting paid for playing games might sound far-fetched to some, it's becoming a lucrative niche for talented e-sports stars.
US' diplomatic overtures to Asean
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 16/08/2021
» The visit by US Vice President Kamala Harris to Southeast Asia later this month underlines the importance of the 10-member bloc to US foreign policy strategy under Joe Biden's presidency.
Clearer skies
Asia focus, Published on 19/07/2021
» Southeast Asian citizens accustomed to holding their breath in anticipation of toxic haze generated annually by forest fires in Indonesia can expect clearer skies and breezy days this year, say experts who have been monitoring the region's chronic transboundary haze.
Common ground
Asia focus, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata, Published on 28/06/2021
» The European Union (EU) is turning east as it seeks to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, where the major events of the current century will unfold, by forming closer relationships with Asean and its members.
China's three-child policy won't help
Asia focus, Nancy Qian, Published on 21/06/2021
» In an effort to address rapid population ageing, China recently announced that it would allow all families to have up to three children. The decision comes on the heels of widely publicised new data showing that the Chinese fertility rate in 2020 was only 1.3 per woman, similar to that of Japan (1.36 in 2019) and notably lower than that of the United States (1.7).