Showing 1 - 10 of 14
Gold-medal viewing
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 04/04/2022
» The Covid-19 pandemic left Olympic sporting venues almost empty of fans, but the experience of watching the Games has become richer and more enjoyable than ever thanks to cloud-enabled broadcasting technology.
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.
Journeys of discovery
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 16/08/2021
» Sipping green tea after having a Thai lunch at his house, Farid Bidgoli looks relaxed yet energetic, and ready for an interview. From his appearance and accent, the 42-year-old executive looks exactly like someone from the UK where he was born, though he is half Iranian with a spirit inherited from his father.
Are the Olympics worth it?
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 24/05/2021
» In an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Japan from today is barring the entry of foreign nationals who have recently travelled to Thailand and six other countries: Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the Seychelles, Saint Lucia, East Timor and Mongolia. That brings to 159 the number of countries and regions under such restrictions by Tokyo.
Sport and sexism in Japan
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 22/02/2021
» Congratulations to Seiko Hashimoto, Japan's former Olympics minister, who has taken the helm of the troubled Tokyo Games, after her predecessor quit amid an uproar over his sexist remarks.
New hope in a post-Trump world
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 16/11/2020
» Following Thai politics is making me increasingly frustrated, and I'm losing hope that things will ever get back to normal. Case in point: not only do we have a cabinet minister who served four years in an Australian prison for drug trafficking, but now one of his wives has been appointed to a position in the Prime Minister's Office.
Check in and check up
Asia focus, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata, Published on 12/10/2020
» The hospitality sector in Jakarta may get some respite from disastrous business conditions from an Indonesian government pledge to turn selected lower-priced hotels into isolation centres for Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.
Pandemic of abuse
Asia focus, Patpon Sabpaitoon, Published on 27/07/2020
» Stay-at-home and lockdown measures have helped to contain the greatest public-health threat the world has seen in decades. But as Covid-19 receded in many countries, a new public-health crisis was emerging behind closed doors, with increased domestic violence against women and children.
Make time to enjoy Japan
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 02/12/2019
» Landing at Tokyo's Haneda Airport early on a Sunday morning (5.30 am), I was pleasantly surprised to find how convenient it was to commute to the city hotel where I had reserved a room for my one-week visit. I was welcomed at the airport exit by a Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) staffer who accompanied me to an airport bus that took me on a non-stop journey to the hotel.
Playing it cool
Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 09/09/2019
» When it comes to sports, skiing and skating are the last activities anyone associates with Southeast Asia. Outside of a few indoor skating rinks in big cities, the only ice you'll find is in drinks. And as for snow, it's non-existent except at the highest reaches of remote and forbidding Hkakabo Razi in northern Myanmar.