Tag - asia

 
 

ASIA

Thailand has taken its first step toward legalizing casinos, as the government looks to attract high-spending tourists to support the nation's economy.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 29, 2024
Thailand takes first step to legalize casinos to aid economy
Thailand is the latest nation to consider entering the global casino industry, which is estimated to have generated $263.3 billion in revenue last year.
Myanmar's military high ranking officials attend a ceremony to mark the country's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2024
Myanmar army behind Facebook pages spewing hate speech: U.N. probe
In 2021, Rohingya refugees sued Facebook for $150 billion (¥22.6 trillion), claiming it had failed to stem the hate speech directed against them.
Thailand's parliament passed a same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday, paving the way for the kingdom to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognize LGBTQ marriage equality.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2024
Thailand passes bill to legalize same-sex marriage
Legalizing same-sex marriage could also have positive impact on tourism, which contributes about 12% to the nation’s $500 billion economy.
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong resigned on Wednesday among anti-graft probes into Hanoi’s top leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2024
Vietnam could lose its 'China +1' appeal among political turmoil
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong resigned on Wednesday among a wider probe. This could compromise Hanoi's image as an economic alternative to Beijing.
Myanmar's junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted the elected government in a coup on Feb. 1, 2021, presides over an army parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on March 27, 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
Thailand starts aid deliveries to Myanmar under plan aimed at managing conflict
The first batch of 4,000 relief bags carrying rice, dried food, and other essentials for 20,000 people was delivered in a convoy by the Thai Red Cross.
The resignation of Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong on Wednesday is "not really a good sign for a country often boasted for having very strong political stability.”
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2024
‘Political earthquake’ shakes up succession battle in Vietnam
The ouster of a second president in just over a year leaves a leadership vacuum in one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.
Protesters hold up placards demanding the release of detained Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military in March 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2024
Myanmar junta facing 'existential threat,' says U.N. expert
"Those who have bet on the junta to restore order and stability in Myanmar have made a losing bet," said Tom Andrews.
Awang Suang trims weeds from palm trees on his small plantation in Membakut, Malaysia on Feb. 12. He has been cultivating oil palms for more than 50 years after switching from rubber trees. Palms require less labor and produce more frequent harvests — roughly every two weeks, year round — providing a steadier income, he explained.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 18, 2024
Can Europe save forests without killing jobs in Malaysia?
A new regulation aims to rid the palm oil supply chain of imports that come from former forestland.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hold a joint press conference at the Chancellery in Berlin on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024
Scholz meets with ASEAN leaders, looking to reduce China dependency
China still dominates the supply of raw materials needed to make electric-vehicle batteries, solar panels and other high-tech products.
Guard Yuki Togashi dribbles during the Jets' win over the SK Knights in the  East Asia Super League final in Cebu on Sunday.
BASKETBALL
Mar 11, 2024
Jets win East Asia Super League
Chiba outscored South Korea's SK Knights 21-15 in the fourth quarter.
The Yarra River in Melbourne. The leaders of every ASEAN member, bar Myanmar, were in Australia for a three-day summit to commemorate 50 years of relations.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 4, 2024
Australia and Southeast Asia push to bolster ties in China’s shadow
The leaders of every ASEAN member, bar Myanmar, were in Australia for a three-day summit to commemorate 50 years of relations.
Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 3, 2024
South Korea needs foreign workers, but often fails to protect them
Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.
Satoshi Kirishima in a photo provided by his acquaintance
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2024
Man who died after confession confirmed as 1970s bombing fugitive
Satoshi Kirishima, 70, had been a member of the extreme left-wing group East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front and evaded authorities for 49 years.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally ahead of the Republican caucus in Las Vegas on Jan. 27.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 22, 2024
How East Asia should prepare for a possible Trump comeback
Questions over defense funding and military support could potentially return to the fore for U.S. allies.
Visa-free access for Chinese tourists to Southeast Asia countries boosted traffic and signaled a robust revival in travel since Beijing lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions in early 2023 that had all but shut China's borders for three years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 21, 2024
Chinese tourists flock to Southeast Asia as travel bounces back
The increase provides welcome relief to countries that rely on the Chinese and their spending.
More than 1,000 people lined up at the Thai Embassy in Yangon on Friday after Myanmar's junta said it would soon enforce military service on all men between the ages of 18 and 35 and women between the ages of 18 and 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 19, 2024
Myanmar junta's conscription plan shows toll of fighting rebels
The military has been battling an armed resistance since a 2021 coup toppled the democratically elected government.
Exit polls show Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) decisively winning the first round of voting for the presidency, eliminating the need for a runoff. The size and scale the election means finalizing the count will take weeks.
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2024
Prabowo’s win signals continuity for Indonesia and the region
Prabowo is likely to be more engaged in foreign policy, mostly because outgoing President Joko Widodo had been largely uninterested.
The PTI party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan triumphed in Pakistan's Feb. 8 elections despite not having the backing of the country's powerful military.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2024
Has Pakistan’s military finally lost its mystique?
Many Pakistani voters supported PTI, Imran Khan's party, in recent elections, showing the military that it has a rival powerhouse to contend with.
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto votes at a polling station during the general election in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024
Prabowo on track to win Indonesia’s presidential election
This is Prabowo’s third time to run for the country’s top job, after losing in 2014 and 2019 to incumbent Joko "Jokowo" Widodo.
Soldiers stand next to military vehicles in Yangon, Myanmar.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024
Myanmar junta plans mandatory military service, media says
Some retired members of the security forces may also have to return to the army.

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Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces