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Thursday, September 3, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
THAILAND: Islamic Teachers Blamed For Violent Separatism
As Thailand’s new government searches for fresh options to quell an escalating insurgency in the country’s south, its stance towards the region’s pondoks (Islamic schools), will be keenly watched.ASIA: Sanitation – Experts Call For All-Out Efforts
New technology, religion and the market must be harnessed to secure basic toilet facilities for Asia’s rural and urban poor, sanitation experts from the region said here Thursday.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Thailand Queers ASEAN’s Burma Pitch
By openly coming to the rescue of Burma’s military regime, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has queered the pitch of moves by regional governments to prod the junta into genuine political reform.RIGHTS-BURMA: Back to Child Recruitments
Till last September, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) office in military-ruled Burma had received few complaints about children being forced to join the army. But that is no longer the case.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Malaysia Ushers In Democracy
Following last weekend’s general elections, Malaysia finds itself firmly among South-east Asia’s promising democracies that afford space for strong opposition voices to rein in their governments.BURMA: U.N. Envoy Gambari Gets The Snub
United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari’s third visit to Burma has ended in failure, an outcome expected after he was informed on arrival that the junta was in no mood to change its political battle plans.INDONESIA: Women Still Pay Decade After Asian Meltdown
Over a decade after the Asian financial crisis, Indonesian women are still feeling the pinch of losing their jobs, says a leading trade unionist from the archipelago.DEVELOPMENT: Rising Rice Prices Hit Asian Stomachs
Soaring global rice prices are hitting the stomachs of Asia’s poorest citizens.POLITICS-THAILAND: Asking the ‘Real’ Premier to Stand Up
The debate as to who the ‘’real’’ political leader of the country is has snowballed since Thursday, following the return of ousted prime minster Thaksin Shinawatra after 17 months in exile. Thaksin, who led his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thai - TRT) party to two thumping election victories, was driven from power in September 2006, in a military coup.POLITICS-THAILAND: Thaksin Returns to Hero’s Welcome
Thailand’s ousted prime minster Thaksin Shinawatra wrote a new chapter in the country’s political history when he returned home to a hero's welcome Thursday, after 17 months in exile.POLITICS-BURMA: Mobile Phones, Radios Keep Resistance Alive
Somewhere in the dilapidated city of Rangoon is a man on the run since August last year. He has sheltered in over 10 homes so far. But he expects to continue avoiding arrest by Burma’s dreaded military or intelligence forces.RIGHTS-THAILAND: Bloodbath Feared in Fresh Anti-Narcotics Drive
Thai human rights activists are raising the alarm over a possible bloodbath in a second ‘war on drugs,’ that the new government plans to launch to suppress the trade in narcotics.POLITICS-BURMA: UN Envoy’s Next Visit May Turn Farcical
The next visit of a special U.N. envoy to military-ruled Burma is in danger of turning into a farce.HEALTH-THAILAND: New Gov't Opposes Cheap Generic Drugs
Shortly before he left office in January, Thailand’s former public health minister, Mongkol Na Songkhla, offered a gift of hope to the country’s poor. But that promise - to supply cheaper, generic anti-cancer drugs -now hangs in the balance.DEVELOPMENT-CAMBODIA: Urban-Rural Divide Set To Widen
Phnom Penh’s skyline is set for a dramatic change, now that South Korean companies have confirmed plans to build two skyscrapers in the Cambodian capital. The 42-storey Gold Tower is scheduled to be completed by 2011, while a 53-storey structure will be ready the following year.
RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: Painter to Meet His Jailer at Khmer Rouge Trials
Sometime this year, two men who stood on either side of the genocide unleashed in Cambodia in the 1970s may finally face each other in a special war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh.POLITICS-BURMA: Resistance To Constitutional Referendum Builds Up
‘’This is the declaration of war by the military regime against the people of Burma,’’ says Nilar Thein in a statement released Monday. They are strong words from a woman on the run and forced into hiding for over five months in the military-ruled country.RIGHTS-THAILAND: Police In The Dock For Resort To Torture
Thailand’s scandal-ridden police force, which has not even spared a four-year-old boy from torture, is taking flak from the country’s premier lawyer’s body. It follows revelations of brutal excesses by an elite police unit.
RIGHTS-BURMA: 'How Many Monks Must Die Before The UN Moves?'
For one Buddhist monk from Burma, the brutal crackdown of peaceful street protests in the country last September was anything but a victory for the military regime.POLITICS-BURMA: Junta Has No Plans For Political Change – Suu Kyi
Burma’s pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, turned a rare moment of freedom in the military-ruled country, this week, to urge Asian governments not to be lulled into believing the junta’s promises of political change.THAILAND: New Premier Starts on Populist Note
Thailand's new prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, chose an apt location to set the tone for his leadership style hours after winning the backing of 310 legislators in the 480-member lower house this week. He went shopping for vegetables at a popular market that sells fresh local produce.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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