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Tuesday, September 1, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
BURMA: US Citizen Helps Junta to Further Torment Aung San Suu Kyi
As if the torment she has endured at the hands of the country’s military regime were not bad enough, Burma’s pro-democracy icon may be condemned to more years of detention due to the foolhardy exploits of an oversized, middle-aged Vietnam War veteran from the United States.ASIA: Region Prepares for Swine Flu
Researchers at a prestigious university hospital in Bangkok have been able to cut by 14 hours the time it takes to detect the lethal strain of the swine flu virus, which has infected thousands across the world.BURMA: Opposition Balks at Giving Legitimacy to 2010 Polls
With the hint of a general election in the air, the largest opposition party in military-ruled Burma is facing a dilemma about its future. Should it or should it not contest the planned poll in 2010?HEALTH-ASIA: Swine Flu Threatens To Be Deadlier than Bird Flu, SARS
When the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the influenza pandemic alert from phase three to an ominous phase four warning this week, it went beyond the alarm associated with the killer avian influenza virus in Asia.Q&A: Freedom of Expression Behind Indonesian Democratic Advances*
Indonesian voters had a large pool of candidates to select from during early April polling here, 38 parties nominated 12,000 candidates to vie for the 560 seats in the national legislature.HEALTH-ASIA: Taiwan Blazes a Trail to Help Drug Users with HIV
Taiwan is emerging as a beacon of hope for countries across Asia grappling to stop the spread of the AIDS epidemic among injecting drug users (IDUs), a major risk group.THAILAND: With Censorship, Thais Turn to Websites and Foreign Media
When the Thai government imposed an emergency law cracking down on rampaging red-shirted protesters on the streets of Bangkok, the military, in combat gear, was not its only weapon. The state’s censors were given liberty to silence critical media.
THAILAND: Anti-Govt Protesters Cede Ground to Military
For nearly two weeks, Pairoj Chotsripanporn joined the ranks of anti-government protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s office, wearing the trademark red shirt of the movement.
POLITICS: Thailand Marks New Year with Bullets, Troops Clash with Protesters
Water fights and neon-coloured water guns are a standard feature on Bangkok’s streets at this time of the year. They are part of the revelry as Thais douse each other during their New Year festival, Songkran.THAILAND: After ASEAN Summit Fiasco, Summer of Discontent Looms
The dramatic scenes that unfolded at a regional summit forcing its cancellation Apr. 11 point to a disturbing possibility that this kingdom is heading for a long period of turmoil - pitting the conservative political establishment against the rage of the urban and provincial poor.MEDIA-THAILAND: Blogger Gets 10 Years for Insulting Thai Monarchy
Suwicha Thakhor's nightmare in a Thai jail is set to continue after a court delivered a harsh verdict this week that contained a unequivocal message - the Internet in this country is being policed with the aim of limiting free expression.POLITICS-THAILAND: Back to Street Protests
Any hope of political peace returning to Thailand has been shattered by a week of street protests, exposing an emotional fault line that runs through this South-east Asian nation. What began in Bangkok on Mar. 26 had spread to 10 provinces by Mar. 30.CAMBODIA: Khmer Rouge Trials May Expose US, China
Limits placed on a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in prosecuting surviving leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime may not prevent revelations about international actors linked to Cambodia's dark period.
RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: Khmer Rouge Custodial Torture Exposed
On a recent morning, tourists who visited a former high school in this city, turned into an infamous torture chamber during the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-1970s, were in for a surprise – the presence of a man who lived to tell the tale.
Q&A: Cambodians Look Beyond Khmer Rouge Trials
While the trial of the notorious jailor of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime is expected to break new legal ground in Cambodia, justice is not all that people here expect to come out of the war crimes tribunal.
Q&A: Meltdown a Challenge for HIV/AIDS Programmes
The global financial crisis has created a space for a vigorous debate on the life-prolonging drugs needed for people living with HIV, says Michel Sidibe, the new head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).RIGHTS-BURMA: Junta Lets UN Continue Helping Muslim Rohingyas
For now, the United Nations’ refugee agency has been given breathing room to operate in a western corner of military-ruled Burma, where humanitarian programmes offer some comfort to the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.
BURMA: Free Political Prisoners Campaign Picks Up
It is a photograph from happier times. Nilar Thein and her husband Kyaw Min Yu look relaxed and free. They both sport warm smiles. Kyaw Min Yu, or ‘Jimmy’, is carrying the couple’s baby daughter.MIDEAST: Women Migrant Workers With HIV Get Raw Deal
Thousands of Asian women flock to the affluent sheikhdoms of the Middle East annually, seeking jobs as domestic workers. For many this quest for a livelihood comes to a humiliating end when they test positive for HIV.MEDIA-THAILAND: Police Target Websites Unflattering to Royalty
As if the country’s draconian lese-majeste laws are not harsh enough, Thailand’s thought police have another weapon, the computer crimes law, to curtail the space for free expression.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Civil Society Sees Influential Ally in Thai Govt
The Thai government is being showered with rare praise from a traditional adversary, South-east Asian civil society, for the diplomatic high note it struck during a recently concluded regional summit.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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