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Tuesday, April 21, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
BURMA: A Celebration of Life through the Arts under the Junta
The Burmese military spares nothing with its iron grip on power – not even art.Q&A: ‘Cartoons Are My Way of Protesting against Burmese Junta’
He talks with his hands. They are in constant motion as he expresses a view, makes a joke, mumbles.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Thai Media Trade Fairness for National Security
When it comes to reporting about their neighbouring countries, journalists in Thailand’s mainstream media display a national security bias, often presenting a distorted view of reality and reflecting some prejudices against them.BURMA: Exiled Media Brace for 2010 Election Challenge
A promised election in military-ruled Burma next year will be held in a vastly different media culture compared to the last general election in 1990, Burmese journalists said at a regional media forum currently underway in this northern Thai city.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Chinese Dams Expose Fault Line in Mekong Region
A heated debate about the future of the Mekong River at a media conference in this northern Thai city exposed a fault line triggered by the regional giant China’s plans to build a cascade of dams on the upper stretches of South-east Asia’s largest waterway.POLITICS: Malaysian PM Heads to Thailand for Groundbreaking Visit
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will pen a new chapter in his country’s relationship with Thailand during an upcoming visit. He will be the first Malaysian leader to venture into Thailand’s southern provinces, where an insurgency has been raging for nearly six years.BURMA: Nobel Laureate Stiglitz to Advise Junta on Poverty
The list of high-profile foreigners heading to Burma to engage and advise the country’s military regime is about to get longer. The latest due to join that flow is Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz.BURMA: Junta under Scrutiny for Concrete Pre-election Signs
In the wake of a meeting attended by the all-powerful military elite, Burma’s military regime is due to come under close scrutiny for concrete signs of change leading up to a promised general elections in 2010.BURMA: Civil Society Makes Its Mark in Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis
Eighteen months after the powerful Cyclone Nargis tore through military-ruled Burma, one question that dogged early relief efforts has lost relevance: does the country have an active civil society to help victims?POLITICS: Thai-Cambodia Tension Gives Rise to Schools with Bunkers
Children at the largest school in this village close to the Thai-Cambodian border have a new regimen to follow besides books and sports. They have drills, practising evacuation, in case their school comes under an artillery attack.Q&A: Maternal Mortality Rates ‘One of the Saddest Cases’ in Asia
Nearly 15 years after a landmark international conference to advance the rights and freedoms of women, the picture in the Asia-Pacific region is mixed, says a leading women’s rights advocate and senior United Nations official.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Much at Stake for Thai Premier over Cambodia Row
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva faces his toughest foreign policy challenge as his first year in office draws to a close. At stake is this South-east Asian kingdom’s standing in a regional bloc.POLITICS: Cambodia Raises Stakes, Ties with Thailand Plummet
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is known for his brash and earthy vocabulary even when, as he did in early April, he talks about himself. "I am neither a gangster nor a gentleman, but a real man," the politician who has led his country for 25 years said in a fit of rage.POLITICS: Thai-Cambodia Diplomatic Row Bares Decades-Long Rift
Thailand’s swift and strong response to Cambodia’s decision to appoint ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser exposed an emotional faultline rooted in decades of mutual suspicion and hatred.BURMA: U.S. Mission’s Meeting with Ethnic Minorities Signals Hope
The United States government’s diplomatic foray into military-ruled Burma made early inroads into an area sealed off to United Nations envoys in recent years—meeting the country’s oppressed ethnic minorities.POLITICS: U.S. Mission to Burma Heralds Obama’s New Diplomatic Tack
An upcoming mission by senior United States government officials to military- ruled Burma points to Washington’s commitment that engaging with oppressive regimes—than spurning them—is the way forward for change.RIGHTS: Karen Fear Military Offensive Near Planned Dam in Burma
With the annual monsoon rains ending, there is a growing fear among the Karen ethnic minority living along military-ruled Burma’s eastern border of a dry season offensive. The most vulnerable are villagers residing in the vicinity of the controversial Hat Gyi dam.POLITICS: Thai-Cambodian Tension Tests Claims of Regional Peace
The relationship between South-east Asian neighbours Thailand and Cambodia enters another uneasy stretch following a round of verbal salvoes fired before and during a just concluded regional summit, where much is made of strides in achieving unity.TRADE-SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Rice Tariffs Snarl ASEAN Single Market
Rice, the staple dish across South-east Asia, has emerged as an apt symbol of the region’s commitment – or lack of it – to unveiling a free trade area for its 10 members when the New Year dawns.Q&A: ‘Undermining ASEAN Human Rights Body Will Be Act of Suicide’
A South-east Asian human rights mechanism launched here at a regional summit should be used by victims of rights violations to end oppression at home, says a member of this new body.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Civil Society Refuses to Cave in at ASEAN Summit
Civil society representatives from South-east Asia’s developing democracies delivered an unequivocal message to the region’s leaders at a summit held here – they will not succumb to the whims of governments that suppress political and civil liberties at home.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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