pandemic



STORY OF THE DAY • Apr 21, 2020 • 9 min read

Thai monarchy Online criticism of Thai king goes viral during pandemic

By Sarah Kim • Apr 21, 2020
In Thailand, the ruling monarchy has long been protected by some of the harshest lèse-majesté laws in the world. But the behaviour of the controversial King Maha Vajiralongkorn during the pandemic has opened him up to a flurry of online backlash

STORY OF THE DAY • Apr 20, 2020 • 7 min read

Tales of the Pandemic The quiet before Ramadan in Yogyakarta

By Harriet Crisp • Apr 20, 2020
Each year, Ramadan witnesses one of the world's great migrations of people as worshippers return home for the Islamic holy month. In Yogyakarta, Indonesia an unease about what people may bring with them is overshadowing this year's celebrations

Apr 13, 2020 • 9 min read
Tales of the Pandemic

The view from inside Singapore’s migrant dorms

In April, Singapore put several dormitories housing 20,000 migrant workers under lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19, prompting criticism about conditions. Writer and Bangladeshi migrant worker Md Sharif Uddin gives his account from inside
By Md Sharif Uddin • Apr 13, 2020

Apr 12, 2020 • 2 min read
Covid-19

Silent streets for water festival in Myanmar lockdown

Myanmar’s New Year festival, Thingyan, is the country’s biggest public holiday and normally a week of nation-wide celebration and water-fights. But this year the country’s commercial hub Yangon lies in lockdown and silent, its streets eerily empty with residents shut firmly indoors as coronavirus fears grow
By Agence France-Presse • Apr 12, 2020

Apr 09, 2020 • 10 min read
Singapore inequality

‘We shouldn’t need Covid-19 to see migrant workers’ humanity’

As Singapore's divide between rich and poor is amplified by the Covid-19 crisis, columnist Yong Han Poh argues that it shouldn't take a pandemic to acknowledge the humanity of those who labour, unseen and unheard, to build the city-state
By Yong Han Poh • Apr 09, 2020

Apr 08, 2020 • 8 min read
Covid-19

As Thailand’s tourism plunges, elephants suffer

Thailand's captive elephants are facing food shortages and an uncertain future as Covid-19 has forced camp closures throughout the country. Without tourists and income, the scramble to feed them highlights the shortcomings of the kingdom's captive elephant care system
By Carolyn Cowan • Apr 08, 2020

Apr 06, 2020 • 9 min read
Tales of the Pandemic

The endless sirens of Kuala Lumpur

On the outskirts of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, Syahiirah Junaidi is closed off from much of the outside world. One of the few real-life connections she has left is the sound of sirens, reminding her just how many people are falling ill
By Syahiirah Junaidi • Apr 06, 2020