Showing 1 - 10 of 19
Falling birth rates spell trouble for Southeast Asia
Asia focus, Thaweelap Rittapirom, Published on 14/06/2021
» Birth rates have been declining in nearly every country for decades, alarming demographers and causing governments to begin asking a hard question -- what happens if our population growth stalls, or even begins to slide backwards?
Can Myanmar be saved?
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 01/03/2021
» After a month under military rule, Myanmar remains gripped by anger and frustration. Despite the growing danger to their personal safety, thousands of people continue to hit the streets daily to demand the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a return to democracy.
EVs on a roll
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 04/01/2021
» 2020 has been rough for industries all over the world. Even the automotive industry could not escape the unique challenges stemming from pandemic-induced lockdowns, the economic slump and subdued consumer confidence, all of which have caused car sales to nosedive globally.
Dream state
Asia focus, Ben Bland, Published on 28/09/2020
» When Indonesian President Joko Widodo decided last year to pursue outlandish plans to build a new capital city in far-flung Kalimantan, advisers shook their heads in despair. But they were not surprised.
Grand old conspiracy theorists
Asia focus, Marc Gallicchio, Published on 14/09/2020
» In the summer of 1945, the Allied policy of demanding unconditional surrender in World War II became the subject of intense debate in the United States. In a way, it has remained so ever since, tracking with Americans' changing attitudes about the Cold War and post-Cold War interventions.
On guard against terror
Asia focus, Erich Parpart and Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata, Published on 03/02/2020
» When President Donald Trump ordered American troops to withdraw last October from northeastern Syria, critics said the decision would play into the hands of terrorists, with ramifications beyond the Middle East.
Swine fever a serious threat to Southeast Asia
Asia focus, Suwatchai Songwanich, Published on 14/10/2019
» With pork being China's most popular meat, the African Swine Fever epidemic that first hit the country last year is becoming a major crisis. More than 100 million pigs have already died, including half the country's herd of breeding sows, and the price of pork in China has risen by more than half.
Bracing for the big smoke
Asia focus, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata, Published on 26/08/2019
» Indonesia is bracing for the possibility of more regional embarrassment and condemnation as authorities battle to extinguish forest fires in more than a thousand hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Inequality and the exploitation time bomb
Asia focus, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 26/08/2019
» Ever since reducing inequality became an official goal of the international community, income disparities have widened. This trend, typically blamed on trade liberalisation and technological advances that have weakened the bargaining power of labour relative to capital, has generated a political backlash in many countries, with voters blaming their economic plight on "others" rather than on national policies. Such sentiments of course merely aggravate social tensions without addressing the root causes of worsening inequality.
Asia's student-debt time bomb
Asia focus, M Niaz Asadullah and Theresa Chan, Published on 12/08/2019
» One of the most pressing issues facing the year-old government of Malaysia, led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, is the severely strained balance sheet it inherited. And part of its fiscal weakness is rooted in the 39 billion ringgit (US$9.5 billion) in outstanding debt owed to the National Higher Education Fund Corp (PTPTN).