Showing 1 - 10 of 40
Hope for the marginalised in India
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/07/2022
» While the final no-confidence debate targeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his crew was under way at home last week, my focus was on India's presidential election. The result was widely welcomed as veteran tribal politician Draupadi Murmu made history.
Pride Month is for everyone
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 13/06/2022
» June marks LGBTQI Pride Month, celebrating people who are "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex". I think most of us agree with US President Joe Biden's declaration that LGBTQI people are loved and cherished, and they deserve "dignity, respect and support".
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.
Unlocking potential in South Asia
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Published on 20/12/2021
» South Asia, home to nearly two billion people, has been among the fastest-growing regions in the world over the past decade. Yet intraregional trade is well below expected levels, suggesting that regional spillover from the growth of some individual countries has been limited.
Speaking up about forced labour
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 20/12/2021
» In a move that could further sour relations between the world's two largest economies, the US Congress last week agreed on legislation aimed at punishing China for the alleged oppression of Uighur Muslims.
Restoring respect
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 07/06/2021
» Patama Chantaruck still remembers an unsettling encounter she experienced during her early days of living in the United States 28 years ago.
Xinjiang genocide allegations are unjustified
Asia focus, Jeffrey Sachs and William Schabas, Published on 10/05/2021
» The US government has needlessly escalated its rhetoric against China by claiming that a genocide is being mounted against the Uighur people in the Xinjiang region.
Genetics the next frontier of healthcare
Asia focus, Suwatchai Songwanich, Published on 08/02/2021
» China is banking on genetics as the next frontier of modern healthcare. From genetic testing and sequencing to gene therapy and precision medicine, this range of transformative technologies and services can underpin medical treatments and inform lifestyle choices.
'Love jihad' law threatens women's freedoms in India
Asia focus, Roli Srivastava, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Published on 01/02/2021
» MUMBAI: When Mehak's parents found out she was having a relationship with a Muslim man, they locked her in her bedroom, seized her phone and bank cards and installed security cameras at their home in northern India.
Combatting illicit trade
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 18/01/2021
» Not only has the Covid-19 pandemic exposed flaws in social and health systems, disrupted supply chains and taken at least 38,000 lives across Southeast Asia, it has also shed light on the growing problem of illicit trade in the region.