tier-1



STORY OF THE DAY • Mar 22, 2021 • 4 min read

Press freedom BBC journalist freed in Myanmar as anti-coup protests roll on

By Agence France-Presse • Mar 22, 2021
BBC journalist Aung Thura, held by authorities since his arrest last week, has been freed, the broadcaster said on March 22, as demonstrators took to the streets for fresh anti-coup protests against the military

STORY OF THE DAY • Mar 21, 2021 • 6 min read

Animal welfare Hot dogs: Southeast Asia’s fraught fashion for huskies

By Mary Banfield • Mar 21, 2021
Siberian Huskies were bred for sub-zero temperatures, but today an increasing number are found sweltering in tropical heat across Southeast Asia. Veterinarians and animal rights activists highlight the cruelty of keeping the breed, with some even calling for a ban

STORY OF THE DAY • Mar 19, 2021 • 4 min read

Myanmar coup Crackdown triggers exodus from Myanmar’s biggest city

By Agence France-Presse • Mar 19, 2021
Roads out of Myanmar's biggest city were congested on Friday March 19, with people fleeing the junta's deadly crackdowns. Meanwhile, authorities in neighbouring Thailand have said they are preparing for an influx of refugees.

STORY OF THE DAY • Mar 19, 2021 • 4 min read

Animal welfare [Photos] Inside Pata, the ‘World’s Saddest Zoo’ in Bangkok

By Mailee Osten-Tan • Mar 19, 2021
Home to a tragic menagerie of primates, tropical birds and reptiles, the infamous Pata Zoo sits atop an ageing mall in Bangkok. Its enclosures are stark and dirty, its long-term residents depressed and listless – yet this condemned zoo continues on

Mar 18, 2021 • 10 min read
Publishing

Once a necessity, book piracy today holds Cambodian literature back

Book piracy was an essential act in the post-Khmer Rouge years, providing affordable literature to the masses. But today, lost revenue as a result of illegal counterfeiting is holding Cambodia back from developing a flourishing publishing scene of its own
By Kiana Duncan • Mar 18, 2021

Mar 18, 2021 • 4 min read
Religion

Cover up: Indonesian women pressed to wear Islamic headscarves

Schoolgirls, female teachers and other civil servants across Indonesia are often forced or pressured to wear Islamic head coverings, sometimes including Christians and other non-Muslim minorities, said a report published on March 18 by Human Rights Watch
By Agnes Anya/AFP • Mar 18, 2021

Mar 17, 2021 • 5 min read
Myanmar coup

Anti-China outrage pulls Beijing into Myanmar coup crisis

As Chinese factories are torched in Myanmar under the newly-imposed martial law, Beijing has been pulled into the crisis. Now facing an unravelling country it had once hoped to include in China's big plans for Asia.
By Aidan Jones/AFP • Mar 17, 2021

Mar 17, 2021 • 13 min read
Conservation

Teeming with life, the destruction of Vietnam’s karsts hits biodiversity

Vietnam's karst forests are abundant in biodiversity. But with rapid habitat loss, it is feared that species are disappearing before they can be studied, while others like the critically endangered Delacour's langur in Kim Bang forest are at risk of extinction due to mining
By Govi Snell • Mar 17, 2021

Mar 16, 2021 • 4 min read
Myanmar coup

Yangon residents flee martial law area as Myanmar death toll grows

Residents of a major protest district in Yangon fled on Tuesday March 16 after security forces escalated the use of lethal force against anti-coup demonstrators, despite international appeals for restraint.
By Agence France-Presse • Mar 16, 2021

Mar 16, 2021 • 5 min read
Opinion

Cambodia will lose its fight against deforestation if change isn’t made

The US Embassy released a statement last week stating its deep concern over the continued destruction of Cambodia's forests and woodlands, but Future Forum researcher Nith Kosal says little will change without a major overhaul of the current approach
By Nith Kosal • Mar 16, 2021

Mar 15, 2021 • 3 min read
History

[Photos] Archive shots of pre-coup 1960s Rangoon and Mandalay

The 1962 coup d'etat is Myanmar's nation-defining moment, plunging the country into military rule, the effects of which are unfolding today. Taken in 1960, these striking images show pre-coup Myanmar, back when the country's trajectory could still have been different
By Alastair McCready • Mar 15, 2021

Mar 15, 2021 • 5 min read
Myanmar coup

Myanmar declares martial law in Yangon townships after deadly day

Myanmar's military junta imposed martial law on March 14 in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 18 protesters were killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup, bringing the death toll to nearly 100.
By Agence France-Presse • Mar 15, 2021