Supply chain shift to ASEAN
17 January 2019
Can cash curb corruption in Indonesia?
17 January 2019
Deal-making in Asia’s escort bars thriving
17 January 2019
Jokowi leads ahead of presidential debates
17 January 2019
Rise of Arakan Army spells trouble for Myanmar
16 January 2019
English mastery for teachers “too ambitious”?
16 January 2019Geopolitics
Geopolitics
Can cash curb corruption in Indonesia?
Indonesia’s National Police recently announced that it would increase the allowances of police officers by 70 percent. According to police chief General Tito Karnavian, the allowances would apply retroactively and would be paid out this month. Tito expressed confidence that the increase would not…
Jokowi leads ahead of presidential debates
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his challenger Prabowo Subianto are set to face off in the first of a series of debates ahead of the April presidential election.Seeking to win over swing voters, Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, will defend his track record on corruption, terrorism, law…
Rise of Arakan Army spells trouble for Myanmar
In northern Rakhine state, the refugee crisis is not the only worry on the minds of the Myanmar government. On 4 January, also Independence Day in Myanmar, Arakan Army militants killed 13 people and wounded nine others in Rakhine. According to local reports, the insurgents attacked four police…
UK parliament rejects Brexit deal
Britain's parliament on Tuesday resoundingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, triggering a no-confidence vote in her government and plunging its plans to leave the European Union (EU) into further chaos.MPs voted 432 to 202 against May's plan for taking Britain out of the EU, the…
Energy
Energy
ASEAN’s role in realising the Paris Agreement
Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bear minimal historical responsibility for global carbon emissions but are equally suffering the impact of…
Electrifying Myanmar
Since sanctions by the United States (US) and European Union (EU) were lifted, Myanmar has enjoyed relatively strong economic growth. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit…
Indonesia’s dwindling oil industry
The oil and gas industry has seen turbulent times over the last 10 years, with the 2008 financial crisis as a turning point for the industry as a whole. Oil prices peaked at US$…
Markets
Market
Supply chain shift to ASEAN
The relocation of production bases from China to ASEAN is perhaps the most notable benefit of the ongoing US-China trade war for the region. Over the past several decades, companies have flocked to…
English mastery for teachers “too ambitious”?
Recent news reports in Thailand have revealed that teacher-education graduates will not be required to have a strong grasp of the English language. "We have reached this resolution because most…
ASEAN scores strongly on Muslim travel index
Three ASEAN countries finished in the top-10 of last year’s Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2018 in a strong acknowledgement of the region’s reputation as an Islamic…
Sustainable palm oil: No one wants it
The world’s biggest growers of palm oil say they’re stepping up efforts to produce the contentious commodity more sustainably, but consumers are unwilling to pay more for environmentally friendly…
Singapore: ASEAN’s most competitive economy
Singapore is the most competitive economy in the region, placing second overall in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index behind the United States (US).Singapore is seen as an…
Technology
Technology
Can tech help rehabilitate inmates?
Inmates in Singapore’s correctional facilities have been given tablets in hopes that this would work towards their rehabilitation. Under the recently launched…
E-commerce set to dominate the region in 2019
2018 was the year e-commerce established itself as one of the region’s fastest growing sectors. Over the past three years, it has been the most dynamic sector of the…
Facial recognition and the big picture
From boarding a plane to paying for groceries, facial recognition has become a part of our everyday lives. Once associated with Hollywood science fiction movies, facial…
Environment
Environment
Deal-making in Asia’s escort bars thriving
In Tokyo’s Ginza, Seoul’s Gangnam and Beijing’s Chaoyang financial district a familiar scene plays out almost every night of the work week. As dusk falls, businessmen flock to karaoke and hostess clubs to close deals and build relationships in the liquor-lubricated intimacy of young women.Call it bonding over vice. It’s a culture that sits uneasily with the #MeToo movement that has swept across Europe and the United States (US). In parts of Asia, corporate men continue to openly drink with…
Indonesia recovers second Lion Air black box
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from an Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed in October has been recovered, officials said Monday, a discovery that could be critical to explaining why the brand-new plane fell out of the sky just after take-off.The Boeing 737 MAX vanished from radar about 13 minutes after departing Jakarta, slamming into the Java Sea moments after pilots had asked to return to the capital and killing all 189 people onboard.The bright orange voice recorder was discovered early…
Kenaf: Nature’s little-known wonder
Kenaf is a plant that most people may not have heard about but is used to produce many types of eco-friendly materials. These materials are already being used by most of us unknowingly on a daily basis.From paper to furniture and from biofuel to textiles, kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L) has been grown for over 3,000 years and can be harvested in just four to five months, alleviating the shortage of forest based raw materials and countering deforestation. United States (US) Department of…
Using sound to combat deforestation
Last week, researchers urged conservationists and palm oil companies tackling deforestation and forest fires to rely less on satellite imagery and to start “listening” to the sounds of the forest instead. In a report published by the journal Science on 4 January, researchers said the use of “bioacoustics” to record, monitor and log background sounds – like animals, insects and human activity – provides crucial data needed for more effective conservation."You can look at a primary forest, map…
Events
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Reimagining Southeast Asia 2018
Event Date
11/29/2018
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Gandhi Memorial ASEAN Debate Competition 2018
Event Date
10/01/2018
Event Location
Asian International Arbitration Centre, Kuala Lumpur
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World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018
Event Date
09/11/2018
Event Location
Hanoi, Vietnam
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32nd ASEAN Summit
Event Location
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore
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