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Tuesday, September 22, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
RIGHTS-BURMA: Refugees’ Return Won’t be a Warm Welcome
The Burmese military government's notorious record when it comes to returning refugees is due to come under scrutiny again, following hints of another possible repatriation from Thailand.THAILAND: Ties with Muslim South Tense with Lawyer’s Disappearance
The disappearance of a senior Muslim lawyer has added another troubling dimension to the Thai government's increasingly tense relationship with the country's Muslim minority.THAILAND: Knowledge Arms Burmese Migrant Women against Abuse
She travelled to this city with her lips sealed. After all, she feared that even a word from her during a 14-hour train journey from Bangkok could have revealed her identity as a woman from Burma and lead to police arrest.RIGHTS-BURMA: Refugees’ Return Won’t be Easy or Quick
When the U.N. refugee agency takes its first tentative steps into military-ruled Burma this year, the workshops and seminars it holds there will form the foundation of plans to prepare for the return - if and when this happens - of thousands of refugees.THAILAND: Fear of Bird Flu Abates, Experts Advise Caution
Along the street corners of the sprawling Thai capital, residents can once again take in the smoky fragrance of chicken being grilled in homespun braziers.POLITICS: In Rights, U.S. Gov’t Not Too Far from Asian Regimes
South-east Asian regimes known for their human rights violations are receiving a reminder here of how close the U.S. government is to marching in their step, including having the habit of detaining without trial people deemed to be national security threats.ASIA: As Water Levels Dip, Worries over Mekong River Rise
The annual dry spell affecting the Mekong River basin this year has brought into relief the vulnerability of millions of rural people who depend on the river for their livelihood when the waters dip to unexpected lows.THAILAND: Protests Persist over Privatisation of Power Utility
A continuing wave of protests against the privatisation of Thailand's state-run power utility is a formidable test of the government's policy to sell some major state enterprises to private investors.RIGHTS-THAILAND: U.N. Drug Agency Hit for Soft Stand on Deaths
Recent remarks and documents by the U.N. anti-drug agency have put it under fire for a glaring lack of concern for the large number of people who were reportedly murdered during Thailand's 10-month campaign last year to rid the country of narcotics.THAILAND: Labour Flexes Muscle with Anti-Privatisation Protests
A move to privatise Thailand's state-run power utility has, within the space of a week, prompted the country's labour movement to mobilise tens of thousands of protestors into street demonstrations, unprecedented during Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra three years in power.HEALTH-ASIA: Better Detection Key to Avoiding New Bird Flu Crisis
If Asia is to avoid another avian flu crisis, the region has to change the current ways that its poultry industry has been expanding and put into place new surveillance systems to detect animal diseases, experts said here Thursday.ASIA: Amid Bird Flu, Questions Linger on Global Alert System
Although countries hit by bird flu appear to be more open with reports about the lethal virus, a concern that took wing at the outbreak of the disease - the weakness in current global systems for alerting the world to new viruses - remains relevant.ASIA: Free Trade Can Still Help Ease Poverty – Officials
Asian governments should embrace the global free trade system as a way to lift the region's millions out of abject poverty, senior development officials told a high-level conference here Monday.THAILAND: Amid Violence, Final Bell Tolls for Islamic Schools
As the violence in Thailand's south threatens to spiral out of control, the government has begun sharpening its knives with a view to cracking down on Islamic schools in the region.ENVIRONMENT-EAST ASIA: Sand Dunes along Mekong Worry Activists
What may have once appeared to be a perfectly natural phenomenon - the rise of sand dunes in the midst of the Mekong river - is now receiving special attention because of what critics say they portend.THAILAND: New Reports of Bird Flu Bring Bad Tidings for Premier
In the Year of the Monkey, the rooster was hailed as a sign of glad tidings for those born in the Year of the Ox, like Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.ASIA: Region’s Report Card in Education Needs Improvement
A disturbing report card on the state of primary education in Asia highlights the daunting task that governments face in meeting the goal of ensuring universal primary education by 2015.ASIA: All Eyes on Thailand’s Efforts at Containing Bird Flu
After being reduced to a symbol of failure for its initial attempts to conceal reports of bird flu, Thailand finds itself wearing a different mantle - that of being the first of the badly affected countries in the region to have contained the disease.THAILAND: Violence Pushes Country Deeper into ‘Anti-terror’ Drive
By attending a just-finished meeting against terrorism, Thailand took another step in affirming that it has indeed gone from being a passive player to an active participant in the drive by governments across the region to combat this problem.POLITICS: Cambodia’s Crisis Puts U.N. ‘Success’ into Question
Over a decade after the United Nations claimed as a success story the restoration of democracy in war-ravaged Cambodia, the South-east Asian country is exposing this achievement to be much less than what it has been vaunted to be.ASIA: More Culling Sought as Bird Flu – and Fear – Persist
In the wake of new outbreaks of bird flu in three Asian countries and reports of ''possible'' human-to-human transmission of the deadly virus, more chickens in the affected countries are destined for the chopping block.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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