Geopolitics

Asian Games venues 95% ready

Asian Games venues will be ready before Indonesia hosts the showpiece event in a month, organisers say, but the threat of terror attacks and endless traffic jams still looms over the regional Olympics.

19 July 2018
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Water war of words

Whenever Malaysia wishes to get under Singapore’s skin, it seems, all it has to do is talk about their bilateral water agreement. A brief remark by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in an interview on Bloomberg Television on 22 June drew a swift and curt response the following Monday from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).Mahathir had said that water was among the issues with Singapore that need to be settled.

18 July 2018
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Trump-Putin Summit: Five Key Takeaways

At their much-anticipated presidential summit, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were at pains to talk up a reconciliation in fractured ties between the United States (US) and Russia.But Trump's failure to condemn the Kremlin's alleged role in directing a campaign of manipulation in the US elections will dominate coverage in Washington, where it triggered outrage.

18 July 2018
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Vietnam goes on the defence

With China and the United States (US) as its largest export destinations, Vietnam is seeking ways to insulate itself from an escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.The National Center for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast has submitted a report detailing the potential impact of the trade war to the planning and investment ministry, Luong Van Khoi, deputy director general at the centre in Hanoi, said in an interview.“If the US and China escalate the tension with t

18 July 2018
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Southeast Asia’s widening inequalities

The richest one percent in Thailand controls 58 percent of the country’s wealth and the top 10 percent earned 35 times more than the bottom 10 percent. In Indonesia, the four richest men there have more wealth than the poorest 100 million people, and about 50 percent of the country’s wealth is in the hands of the top one percent. In Vietnam, 210 of the country’s super-rich earn more than enough in a year to lift 3.2 million people out of poverty.

17 July 2018
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Myanmar’s dangerous jade trade

Earlier this week, at least 15 people were killed in a landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant Northern Myanmar. State media and officials revealed that 15 bodies were retrieved from the site at Lonekhin village but rescue operations are still ongoing and there are fears that more people may be trapped under the debris.This isn’t the first time that a tragedy like this has hit the jade mines of Myanmar.

17 July 2018
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Duterte remains resolute despite low approval ratings

Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte’s satisfaction ratings has dropped to its lowest since he assumed office according to an independent survey by Manila based pollster, Social Weather Stations (SWS). Compared to the first quarter of the year, Duterte’s net satisfaction ratings fell 11 percent to 45 percent dropping below his previous low of 48 percent in September 2017.“Net satisfaction” refers to the percentage of respondents who are satisfied minus those who are not.

16 July 2018
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Trump and Putin test ties in Baltic showdown

After months of anticipation, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet Monday to put to the test the United States (US) president's ambition to forge a personal bond with the Kremlin chief.If Trump's instinct is right and he finds common ground with Putin, then the pair's Helsinki Summit may take the heat out of some of the world's most dangerous conflicts.

16 July 2018
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The future of the stateless

The global community stood transfixed as the story of the Moo Pa football team and their coach who found themselves trapped in a Chiang Rai cave complex in Northern Thailand unfolded. The world was with them every step of the way as an international group of rescuers weighed the options, prepared for the mission, lost a member, and later led the boys and their coach one by one out to safety. Their plight also caught the attention of the football world.

15 July 2018
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Brit diver describes unprecedented Thai cave rescue

The British diver who found 12 Thai boys and their coach trapped alive in a flooded cave has described his "massive relief" as he counted them one by one, sparking a rescue bid unprecedented in its daring and complexity.

15 July 2018
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Trans-Asian Railway chugs closer to becoming a reality

The recent completion of Cambodia’s railway from Phnom Penh to the border of Thailand has effectively restored the country’s rail network to pre-war conditions and added a missing link in the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) network.All that is required now is diplomacy. Ministerial level talks have started between Cambodia and Thailand to reconnect the towns of Poipet and Aranyaprahet, respectively.

14 July 2018
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Fake news: The media strikes back

The viral spread of hoaxes and misinformation ahead of the United States (US) election and Brexit referendum two years ago was a wake-up call for many established news media, who have gone on the offensive to shore up their credibility and help filter out fake news.Major media organizations, often in partnership with big technology and social media firms, have stepped up fact-checking and other measures to support fact-based journalism.But these efforts have been complicated by unrelenting at

14 July 2018
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