Brick kilns ravage land, waterbodies in Bangladesh’s Chattogram
Government data shows at least 70 brick kilns operate in Satkania upazila, 41 of them illegally. Both licensed and illegal kilns are stripping fertile topsoil from farmlands and…
Special Report
Rising arrivals, shrinking returns for Bhutan’s tourism industry
Industry stakeholders say the current tourism policy allows substantial revenue leakage, with foreign travel agents controlling key segments of bookings and tour arrangements.
Land without owners: How Himalayan villages govern commons beyond the state
In Himachal Pradesh, faith-based land custodianship challenges modern ideas of ownership, conservation, and consent.
How Pakistani writer Ibne Safi taught an entire generation to read
As reading shifts from shared print cultures to fragmented digital feeds, what happens to the common habits that once anchored public life?
Indonesia’s new criminal code takes effect, stirring concerns over civil rights and free speech
The code criminalises insulting the president and vice president, potentially leading to imprisonment, sparking debate over free speech.
Why Korea has yet to name an airport after a politician
South Korea's airports have largely been treated as functional infrastructure — spaces where neutrality, safety, and administrative accountability have traditionally outweighed…
Bhutanese capital Thimphu faces growing urban heat risk, new study finds
On a sunny afternoon in Thimphu, the difference is easy to feel. Step off a shaded, tree-lined footpath onto a wide asphalt road, and the heat rises sharply underfoot. That…
The Mob and the State: Why mob violence is rising across South Asia
The recent surge in mob violence across India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan is propelled by similar drivers: a decaying public confidence in the judiciary and the rapid spread of…
Why healthcare reform is needed in Malaysia
Reform is no longer a matter of preference. It is a necessity shaped by demographic, economic and structural realities that are becoming impossible to ignore.
South Korea’s foreign policy challenges pulled into domestic politics
There has been a growing pattern in which diplomacy — and public sentiment toward foreign countries — is being weaponised in partisan conflict, with ripple effects for policy…