Showing 1 - 10 of 11
The fight for press freedom is local
Asia focus, Jos Midas Bartman, Published on 20/06/2022
» A macabre political thriller recently unfolded in the Philippine province of Palawan, an island known mostly for its rich biodiversity and pristine beaches.
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.
Three-way link
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Published on 07/02/2022
» Facing an increasingly uncertain strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the United States and one of its key allies -- South Korea -- are pursuing increased cooperation beyond Northeast Asia, a path that is expected to lead them to Southeast Asia.
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.
The virus of fear
Asia focus, Ian Buruma, Published on 30/03/2020
» In September 1923, the Great Kanto earthquake devastated large parts of Tokyo, mostly owing to firestorms. Rumours spread, and were often repeated in the press, accusing Koreans, a despised and poor minority, of planning to take advantage of the disaster by starting a violent rebellion.
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.
Duterte ponders his legacy
Asia focus, Eunice Barbara C Novio, Published on 25/02/2019
» On May 13, Filipinos will head to the polls for midterm elections that many see as a referendum on the performance of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Media freedom in the dock
Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 18/02/2019
» The decision by Philippine authorities to arrest journalist Maria Ressa and the move by Thailand’s broadcast regulator to suspend the broadcaster Voice TV are the latest examples of how press freedom in Southeast Asia is deteriorating.
Clearing a path
Asia focus, Tanyatorn Tongwaranan, Published on 06/08/2018
» - For close to eight years, Myanmar has been on a journey of economic, social and political reform as it rejoins the world economy after decades of isolation under ruinous military rule.