May
10
2014
Hungry mosquitos float out into the steamy air as soon as Sularto snaps open the container lid. Blowing the insects gently on their way, as gently as he might blow on a spoonful of hot soup, the stocky Indonesian waits for a minute before hitching his denim bag more securely onto his shoulder and setting …read more
May
10
2014
Aung Lin Tin is a tiny, struggling scrap of humanity. Born six weeks prematurely, he weighed 1.08 kilograms when he arrived. He couldn’t suckle. He had a fever. He lost more weight in his first days of life. His mother, Tin Zar, is 24 years old and a Karen – one of the long-battling people …read more
May
3
2014
Massive LED screens in Beijing’s famous Tiananmen Square glow red through the haze. Pedestrians, many wearing space-age face masks to filter the toxic air, rarely even glance at the screens’ bold instructions: “Implement the Clean Air Action Plan”, “Improve air quality, start from myself, start with the small things, start now” and “It is everyone’s …read more
Apr
25
2014
An often fatal respiratory virus has made the leap from the Middle East to south-east Asia, spurring governments across the region to swing into action to contain the disease. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, has similar characteristics to the SARS virus that emerged in China a decade ago, killing 750 people and bringing …read more
Apr
11
2014
The deadliest creature in the world can be squashed with a casual slap. Yet the tiny mosquito still manages to kill hundreds of thousands of people a year with the diseases it carries: malaria, dengue, Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever. Now it seems science is getting closer to controlling some of the mosquito’s cargo of …read more
Mar
15
2014
Squint just a little and they’re almost visible: the choleric soldiers in the uniform of Empire, shining boots and brass buttons; the twirling women in diaphanous flounces and frills; the Indian servants, and the sweating band in the corner, pumping out a waltz for the ruling expatriates in this tropical corner of the colonies, the …read more
Feb
1
2014
Duncan Menzies died a brutal and bizarre death in a remote jungle village in northern Burma. The 24-year-old lieutenant from Adelaide had been trying to find some food for his desperate comrades when Japanese soldiers caught him, shaved off his beard, dressed him in a Japanese uniform and shot him. More than 70 years later, …read more
Feb
1
2014
Sheer hard work, dedication, and a refusal to be distracted: Asian-Australian teenagers have their eyes on the glittering prizes – scholarships, top exam marks, sought-after university places. Jackson Huang, for one, insists he doesn’t mind a 90-minute commute to school every day. The long trip, he says, gives him time to “relax”. Otherwise, he’s in …read more
Jan
2
2014
Connoisseurs of Bangkok often say the city is best seen from the water. Lying back in a long-tailed boat, speeding along the mighty Chao Phraya river or drifting through the scenic canals; standing squeezed in a commuter ferry, or sitting comfortably in a tourist boat: the scene from sea level is simply different; quieter, gentler. …read more
Dec
21
2013
Now sadly shabby, the two-storey red house in the remote northern Myanmar town of Katha was once an imposing edifice, a wood and brick statement of colonial power. Ghosts of former grandeur can be seen in the building’s substantial teak staircase, lofty ceilings and brick fireplace. Deserted, with a rusting tin roof and stained walls, …read more