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Friday, September 11, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
THAILAND: Flash Floods Warn of Climate Change
Flash floods that hit northern Thailand this week, killing nearly 100 people, have revealed the vulnerability of communities to freak weather patterns in the region, say environmentalists. And this, they warn, will not be the last.BURMA: Torture, Death Behind Bars Routine Say Survivors
He was one of the fortunate but not so his friend and fellow political prisoner, Aung Kyaw Moe. They were together in one of Burma's notorious jails where Aung Kyaw was beaten to death by prison guards, for refusing to end a hunger strike.BURMA: Junta Shows Signs of Opening Up
Going by the highly restrictive way Burma's military regime does business, it was a victory for international diplomacy. On the weekend, it looked as if the junta was taking a step back by permitting a senior United Nations official to meet incarcerated, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.BURMA: Junta Shows Signs of Opening Up
Going by the highly restrictive way Burma's military regime does business, it was a victory for international diplomacy. On the weekend, it looked as if the junta was taking a step back by permitting a senior United Nations official to meet incarcerated, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.MEDIA-THAILAND: A Critic May Now Look at a King
Age has not softened the rebellious streak in Sulak Sivaraksa, a unique voice in Thailand's intellectual landscape. He risks landing in jail by airing his views on the country's deified royal family, protected by strict lese majesty laws.BURMA: Ethnic Groups Pin Hopes on Visiting UN Official
While few Burma watchers are expecting any headway when a high U.N. official visits the military-ruled country this week, those who champion the cause of that country's persecuted minorities are hoping that the plight of the Karens will figure high on the agenda.RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: Tainted Jurists on War Crimes Tribunal
Chandra Nihal Jayasinghe chooses his words carefully to match the difficult task before him. He has just been named as one of the international jurists to preside over the special tribunal in Cambodia to try the surviving members of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.THAILAND: Aspirant That Failed to Get on UN Rights Body
Thailand finds itself out in the cold at the end of a four-cornered race in this region to win a place on a new U.N. body to monitor the world's human rights violations.THAILAND: Court Nullifies Polls in Blow to One-Party Rule
Thailand's Constitutional Court has put the brakes on a country sliding in the direction of one-party rule - a situation familiar enough in South-east Asia.VIETNAM: No Bird Flu Offensive Since Tet
The annual Tet Festival, celebrated in Vietnam to mark the arrival of the lunar new year, brought with it good health tidings for the government of that South-east Asian country, this year. The festival, in January, was free of the bird flu menace and the run of good luck has held.THAILAND: Constitutional Crisis Lingers On
Had these been normal times, Thailand's newly- elected parliament would have commenced work this week. But that is far from being the case and no one is prepared to hazard a guess on when the uncertainty will end.BURMA: Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party Is Terrorist Says Junta
In a clear rebuff to the views of its South-east Asian neighbours and Western governments, Burma's military regime is poised to deliver a lasting blow to hopes of political reform that could bring democracy to that country.POLITICS-ASIA: Singapore, Laos in Democracy Deficit Class
Singapore may be South-east Asia's richest country but its one-party electoral system has uncomfortable parallels to that of the region's poor man, communist-ruled Laos.RIGHTS-THAILAND: Detention Camps Feed Insurgency
Every day, a group of anxious parents gather outside the whitewashed walls of the police-training centre in Yala town, hoping for word of their sons, detained on suspicion of being involved with the insurgency that has torn Thailand's Muslim-dominated southern provinces that border Malaysia.RIGHTS-THAILAND: Detention Camps Feed Insurgency
Every day, a group of anxious parents gather outside the whitewashed walls of the police-training centre in this town, hoping for word of their sons, detained on suspicion of being involved with the insurgency that has torn Thailand's Muslim-dominated southern provinces that border Malaysia.POLITICS-THAILAND: Winning Hearts and Minds in Insurgent Country
When he pulls out his electric guitar to entertain visitors, Suriya Tawanachai offers a glimpse of the maverick in him. The instrument is shaped like an AK-47, the famous Russian-make assault rifle and its strap could do duty as a bandolier.POLITICS-THAILAND: Muslim Minority Shows Anger Through Ballots
On the morning after his remarkable triumph at the elections for Thailand's upper house, Dr. Waemahadi Waedaoh had the smile of the vindicated. From being a wanted terror suspect and a prisoner for two years, he has become the new senator for this troubled region in the south.ENVIRONMENT: China Strips Asian Forests, Saves Own
Even as it wins praise for increasing forest cover at home, China is finding it difficult to erase the stain it leaves in forests abroad. The jungles of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Burma are but three in this region where the footprint of Asia's giant is growing bigger, worrying environmentalists.HEALTH-ASIA: Caught Between Bird Flu and Burma’s Junta
South-east Asian governments are caught between tackling bird flu and Burma's secretive junta, which is keener on strengthening its iron grip on power than addressing a possible global pandemic.ENVIRONMENT-LAOS: Mega Dam, Bad News for Elephants
As construction for a giant hydroelectric dam in Laos enters its second year, one of its major backers, the World Bank, is still to convince environmentalists that it will not affect South-east Asia's largest concentration of elephants.HEALTH: Bird Flu Unpredictability Worries Doctors
When a 12-year-old boy became Cambodia's latest victim of bird flu, at the beginning of this month, it only added to the uncertainties surrounding this lethal virus that worry scientists and doctors struggling to head off a possible pandemic.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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