World

A special Southeast Asian envoy started meetings on Monday (Mar 21) aimed at ending hostilities in Myanmar, a visit met with anger from opposition groups who said it showed deference to its military rulers and disdain for the will of the people. Authorities in Cambodia, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have been tight-lipped about the schedule of envoy Prak Sokhonn, which a spokesman said was "to ensure the smooth process of the visit". Myanmar state media showed footage of the envoy meeting junta head Min Aung Hlaing at the beginning of the three-day trip, which aims to start a peace process the generals agreed to last year. Some ASEAN members are frustrated over the lack of progress and have barred the junta from attending summits. The military-controll...

A rapid spread in COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong has put the plight of domestic helpers in the global financial hub in the spotlight after some were fired or made homeless by their employers when they tested positive for coronavirus. Hong Kong has around 340,000 domestic helpers, most hailing from either the Philippines or Indonesia. Many families in the city depend on live-in helpers for housekeeping and to look after the elderly and children, with the minimum wage set at 4,630 Hong Kong dollars ($593) per month. Under Hong Kong law, migrant domestic workers must live with their employers, often residing in tiny rooms or sharing the bedrooms of the children they care for. Reports from helper support groups and local media of these workers being kicked out or fired have triggered appeals f...

How will Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impact the Indo-Pacific? Much depends on how the crisis resolves, but it’s not likely to shape events as many anticipate. Europe is half a world away, Russia has both a marginal presence — meaning it poses little threat — and a distinct role (arms supplier) in this region, and the logic behind diplomacy and national security policy in regional capitals regarding Moscow remains compelling. Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director and columnist at the French newspaper Le Monde, argued in The Financial Times last week that “a new Europe is emerging” in the wake of the invasion, citing Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who said that Europe “will be forged in crises.” She anticipates that this week’s meeting of EU heads of state...

:"Saturday Night Live" comic Pete Davidson has been confirmed as the next celebrity in line for a ride to the edge of space courtesy of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin astro-tourism company, with his suborbital flight set for next week. The 28-year-old comedian and boyfriend of socialite and reality TV star Kim Kardashian was announced by Blue Origin on Monday as an "honorary guest" joining five paying customers for the company's fourth commercial flight since last summer. Davidson, who had no immediate comment on his selection, was reported to have been in discussions with Blue Origin earlier this month. His five fellow citizen astronauts-to-be are: angel investor Marty Allen, real estate veteran Marc Hagle and his wife Sharon Hagle, University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen and Georg...

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Tuesday to enforce "strong" sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and stated their opposition to nuclear threats by Moscow. During roughly 25-minute phone talks, Kishida and Macron shared the view that Russia's use of force to unilaterally change the status quo clearly violates international law and threatens the global order. They agreed to coordinate closely in their response to the crisis, the Foreign Ministry said. "I stressed (during the talks) that globally united and resolute action is necessary to protect the foundation of the international order," Kishida told reporters at his office after the phone conversation. The Russian aggression has triggered a chorus of criticism from countries that ...

With China currently the only country capable of unseating America as the leading global power, many in Washington may wish that U.S. President Richard Nixon had never made his historic trip to China 50 years ago this month. In their revisionist narrative, it was Nixon’s meeting with Communist Party of China Chairman Mao Zedong and the policy of engagement it initiated that helped make China an economic superpower and a geopolitical threat to America. For these critics, the Nixon visit, far from being a stroke of diplomatic genius, was one of history’s greatest strategic blunders. But such revisionist arguments discount the substantial benefits the United States gained from Nixon’s gambit and the decades of U.S.-China engagement that followed. Although China did not directly assist the U...

Several observers have expressed disappointment at Asia’s “weak” response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including by ASEAN, India and Indonesia. My old friend and astute observer of regional affairs, Brad Glosserman, added his voice in these pages recently. He noted that in the U.N. General Assembly’s overwhelming condemnation of Russia, many Asian countries — Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam — chose to abstain. Let me stipulate upfront that Russia’s actions are illegal, immoral and possibly amount to war crimes. That will be of little consolation if Ukraine is reduced to ashes with tens of thousands killed or the world is incinerated in a nuclear war. Deleterious consequences for Australia, India and Japan include U.S. and European distraction fr...

The origin story of Twinkl has a familiar ring to it: A couple with a vision, toiling away in their spare bedroom with dreams of taking a killer product to market. Fast-forward 12 years, and the educational resources platform has unspooled from its initial customer base in England to now serve 200 countries worldwide — with Japan as one of its focal markets in Asia. Twinkl was founded upon a self-explanatory motto: “We help those who teach.” Its resources cover a wide range of disciplines, from English and computing to art and physical education. And while much of its content has been built around the British education system, many of those resources can double-up as English-language study materials. Alongside more ad hoc English study tools, such as phonics and alphabet practice, resour...

Here is an artists' rendering of a Marvel Fusion power plant and facility. Marvel Fusion Nuclear fusion is the energy that powers stars. If it can be recreated on Earth, it has the potential to provide nearly limitless energy with zero carbon emissions — and unlike nuclear fission, which powers nuclear plants today, fusion does not leave behind long-lasting radioactive nuclear waste. The technology has been seemingly just out of reach for decades now, but the reward is so high that billions of dollars are still flowing into the space. On Wednesday, the Biden White House unveiled a vision for spurring fusion investment, noting that commercial fusion "has the potential to revolutionize the energy industry." Marvel Fusion, founded in 2019, is one of the many start-ups taking a bet on commerc...

This week an increasing number of prominent businesses have announced partial or full halts to business operations in Russia. The businesses include McDonald's, Apple, Netflix, Shell, Visa, MasterCard and Disney among others. This self-restraint is meant to put pressure on Russia and its very unpopular invasion of Ukraine by inflicting economic damage on Russia, President Vladimir Putin and his supporters. The results have been notable. The economic fallout is causing Russia's economy to contract and it's a currency to devalue. Systematically, Russia is being cut off from the outside world. Whether these business pull-outs, alongside the removal of numerous Russian banks from the SWIFT system, the banning of Russian airlines flying over Europe, the confiscation of oligarchs’ so-called s...