Jun
30
2016
More than a million migrants arrived in Europe last year: a surge of humanity that made its way over land and water. From the war zones of the Middle East and the poverty of parts of Africa and Asia, they streamed towards a dream of peace and wealth.
Jun
10
2016
On Thursday, June 23, Britons will vote to determine their nation’s future: either to remain a part of the 28-nation grouping of the European Union, with its economic heft and its tangle of rules and regulations, or to forge a different destiny as a country apart.
Jun
22
2015
Democracy, with all its enormous benefits and unsettling drawbacks, was born in Greece. The least worst of government systems, as Winston Churchill categorised it, democracy has been the foundation of stable, peaceful, independent and economically-thriving nations.
Mar
8
2015
A few hours before bullets ripped through his body and stilled forever a brave voice, the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was, yet again, tempting fate. Like few others in Russia, Nemtsov was willing to publicly excoriate the policies of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, to call into question Putin’s designs and more importantly, his veracity. …read more
Feb
20
2015
With the jailing of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim last week, Malaysia appears to have again resorted to dubious law to eliminate political challenges. This unfortunate practice has been seen in many Asian nations: Thailand, Myanmar and Singapore are in the unsavoury line-up. All too often, the courts are used to shape the course of politics. Opponents …read more
Feb
15
2015
From most vantage points, this one-time shoe factory in southern China looks like a one-time shoe factory. Squeezed between other factories in this bleakly industrial zone of Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong, it has a flavour of the ordinary.
Jan
27
2015
In the aftermath of the Sydney siege and the Paris shootings, and in light of the growing might and reach of Islamic State, Boko Haram, and other terror movements, US President Barack Obama is talking tough. In his State of the Union speech last week, President Obama said the US stands united with all those …read more
Jan
15
2015
On the hunt, ready to kill, she emerges from behind the rock pile at dusk; eyes gleaming green, tail twitching. As heavy as ten kilos and remarkably agile for her size, she has spent the day hiding from the sun in a den under some boulders, or maybe in a sandy hollow under some scrub. …read more
Nov
1
2014
While nations with sophisticated health networks debate the merits of mandatory quarantine and whether to place a temporary ban on passengers flying in from West Africa, Asian nations are bracing for the worst, with some experts saying an outbreak of Ebola in the region is almost inevitable.
Oct
8
2014
Once a formidable statement of colonial justice, the faded red former High Court building in downtown Yangon has seen better days. Greenery sprouts from the domed clock tower and weeds have taken root along the cream-coloured lintels. A guard waves interested tourists away. Ripe for preservation and conservation, the huge edifice is sadly dilapidated, like …read more