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Thai anti-government group’s bizarre open letter

BP has already blogged on Yingluck’s speech in Mongolia and the insult directed at her (as made clear in this......

Octogenarians race to be oldest Everest climber

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years......

India: Gujarat phone snooping sparks privacy storm

Revelations this week of police surveillance of 93,000 phone numbers are the latest in a......

Opinion: Time for Philippines to stand up to the bullies

The Philippines lies in a strategic area in the Pacific that is not only vital......

Fishermen pay price in Asia’s volatile sea rifts

MASINLOC, Philippines (AP) — Along the northwestern Philippine coast, poor children with claw hammers clamber......

US parents quit Singapore inquest into son’s death

SINGAPORE (AP) — The parents of an American software engineer who believe their son was......

State media shows NKorea has new military chief

By AP News Wed, May 22, 2013 12:35PM UTC

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — A North Korean state media dispatch shows that leader Kim Jong Un has named a hardline general as his new military chief. The new title for Kim Kyok Sik came in a dispatch Wednesday from the North’s Korean Central News Agency detailing a delegation at Pyongyang’s airport that was seeing...

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WATCH: Ai Weiwei releases heavy-metal music video

By Asian Correspondent Wed, May 22, 2013 12:00PM UTC

Controversial Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has released his new single ‘Dumbass’. In the video and song he hits back at the prison guards who abused him when he was detained in 2011. Watch the video and read the (explicit) lyrics in English and Chinese below. Dumbass (Explicit Lyrics) When you’re ready to...

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Key senator to let Burma sanctions bill lapse

By AP News Wed, May 22, 2013 9:51AM UTC

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a significant move, a prominent Republican senator said Tuesday he plans to let key sanctions legislation against Burma lapse because of the country’s progress toward democracy. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell made the announcement after meeting the nation’s President Thein Sein who is making a landmark visit to Washington. On Monday,...

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New rice contamination reported in China

By AP News Wed, May 22, 2013 9:33AM UTC

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country’s largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal. The mills in Hunan province’s Youxian county were ordered to suspend business and recall their products after samples showed excessive levels...

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Sri Lankan unions allege government intimidation

By AP News Wed, May 22, 2013 9:17AM UTC

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan labor union leaders are accusing the government of using threats and intimidation to undermine a one-day strike against a recent increase in electricity rates. The unions planned the strike Tuesday in rare public resistance to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s powerful government. But few people joined the strike, with key...

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Owner: Chinese boat’s captain beaten by NKoreans

By AP News Tue, May 21, 2013 7:26PM UTC

BEIJING (AP) — Gunmen wearing North Korean military uniforms released a Chinese fishing boat Tuesday after holding its crew for two weeks, beating up the captain and stealing the vessel’s fuel, the boat’s owner said. He added that the hijackers did not get the 600,000 yuan ($100,000) ransom they had demanded. The seizure May 5...

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Obama, Xi bid to boost ties with June meeting

By AP News Tue, May 21, 2013 7:20PM UTC

BEIJING (AP) — China’s new leader Xi Jinping will confer with President Barack Obama next month in California, months earlier than expected, as both sides seek to stem a drift in relations, troubled by issues from cyberspying to North Korea. The June 7-8 meeting at a retreat southeast of Los Angeles, announced Monday by the...

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Octogenarians race to be oldest Everest climber

By AP News Thu, May 23, 2013 9:57AM UTC View Comments

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years ago, but just missed becoming the oldest man to reach the summit, is back on the mountain to make another attempt at the title. Unfortunately for Yuichiro Miura, the 81-year-old Nepalese man who nabbed the record just before he could...

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India: Gujarat phone snooping sparks privacy storm

By Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay Thu, May 23, 2013 9:22AM UTC View Comments

Revelations this week of police surveillance of 93,000 phone numbers are the latest in a long line breaches of privacy in Narendra Modi’s Gujarat The top cop of India’s ever-contentious state of Gujarat has stirred the hornets’ nest by scaling down significantly the capacity of the police department to routinely requisition mobile and fixed line...

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Indonesia gets tough on sovereignty

By Asia Sentinel Wed, May 22, 2013 11:21AM UTC View Comments

Government forced to defend self against domestic and international critics, writes Asia Sentinel’s Lauren Gumbs Indonesia is indicating increased concern for its territorial integrity and international image in the wake of public pressure over deteriorating situations for minorities in the country. Internal calls for West Papuan independence are making headlines outside Indonesia, spurring transnational human...

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Burma to host first Internet freedom forum

By Chan Myae Khine Wed, May 22, 2013 10:54AM UTC View Comments

Myanmar ICT Development Organisation (MIDO) will host “Myanmar Internet Freedom Forum” in Yangon from June 1-2. In the first forum of its kind in Burma, MIDO aims to raise awareness of Internet freedom in a country that has endured decades of media censorship Last August, Freedom House called for proposals that would promote and protect...

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Thailand urged to explore edible insect market

By AP News Wed, May 22, 2013 9:00AM UTC View Comments

BANGKOK (AP) — Researchers say Thailand is showing the world how to respond to the global food crisis: by raising bugs for eating. The United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization released a study and handbook Tuesday on what they call ‘six-legged livestock’ — edible bugs and worms that can help meet global food demand that...

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Malaysia: An irreconcilable divide?

By Asia Sentinel Tue, May 21, 2013 9:36AM UTC View Comments

The outlook isn’t that good, writes Asia Sentinel’s Sunil Kukreja Never before have Malaysians ventured into such unchartered waters. The outcome of the May 5 general elections has revealed just how split and intensely divided the electorate in the country currently is, and it has set in motion a political and social scenario that is tantamount...

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