Yearender: Day of reckoning dawns for Duterte drug war
In recommending charges against the former president, the House quad committee asserted that, for the victims of extrajudicial killings, the drug war constituted “a profound and…
Five for 2025 — The key challenges Pakistan must tackle head on in the new year
The five major issues it will need to confront head on are: a growing, multi-front security threat, foreign policy strains, zero-sum politics, internet throttling, and democratic…
Hearts online, hurt offline: The dark side of Nepali teenagers’ virtual relationships
One in four young people in Nepal experience online intimate partner violence, a recent research shows.
Vietnam’s population achievements and challenges ahead
The country's population has been ageing rapidly since 2011, with those aged sixty and above comprising 16 per cent of the population in 2023. The nation is forecast to become an…
Pakistan’s May 9, mayhem and military trials — a year on
More than 365 days later, the highest court in the country is deliberating on the constitutionality of military courts, the families of the remaining 85 accused are desperately…
What Pakistan’s founding father thought of civil liberties and the right to a fair trial
But if the founder remains confined to portraits and postage stamps, it’s come with a cost: our now perma-crisis is the logical outcome of shirking his ideas for years. It’s…
‘We still carry the tsunami with us’: Aceh thrives 20 years after disaster, but scars remain
On Dec 26, 2004, giant ocean waves devastated the Indonesian province of Aceh, killing more than 160,000 people. The Straits Times revisits the disaster zone 20 years on to see…
How Pakistan’s climate crisis is fueling violence against women
The 2022 floods in Pakistan amplified pre-existing gender inequalities, leaving women — who are least responsible for the global climate crisis — with a disproportionate…
Yearender: Indonesia raises stakes in war against online gambling
Observers regard authorities’ odds of winning in their efforts to curb online gambling as slim, given that the government is too focused on law enforcement rather than…
Flying first class but deep in debt: Malaysia’s influencers in the spotlight for misusing funds
Authorities have started to take action against celebrity influencers and entrepreneurs, many of whom flaunt extravagant lifestyles on social media but face claims of financial…