Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, died in March. Founder of the island state, he was credited with setting the foundations for the island nation’s remarkable growth. Below, News-Decoder correspondent James Clad reflects on the statesman’s legacy —...
Greece is a long way from Indonesia of 1997, but the European nation could learn from Asia’s own crisis. Former International Monetary Fund Managing (IMF) Director Michel Camdessus looks on as then Indonesian President Suharto signs an IMF deal in Jakarta, 15...
Mindy Tan visited North Korea recently. The Singapore-based photographer has given us glimpses of life in one of the world’s most secretive countries. A street in Pyongyang Free, state-owned public housing A street in Pyongyang Bus stop in Pyongyang at rush hour...
image buach image skyline image temple img 2984 img 2985 By Robert Conner It is a busy Saturday at Chatuchak Market in downtown Bangkok. Food stalls and handicrafts line streets crowded with Thais and foreign tourists. Street performers sing and dance, weaving between...
At 240 million people, it is home to the world’s fourth largest population. It’s also the third most populous democracy after India and the United States. It has by far the world’s biggest Muslim population but has always rejected attempts to create an Islamic state....
By Jonathan Thatcher Indonesia, the world’s third biggest democracy, sparked an international outcry with last month’s mass executions of convicted drug traffickers, most of them foreigners. At home, however, President Joko Widodo’s refusal to cave in to foreign...
You might think Sri Lanka would be small change for Asia’s two powerhouses. But maneuvering by China and India underscores the strategic importance both attach to the island nation. Called Ceylon in English until 1972, Sri Lanka occupies a strategic location in the...
By Jane Macartney China’s ruling Communist Party has just announced it will put on trial its most senior official to be arrested for corruption since the Party swept to power more than 65 years ago. It is a part of a campaign by Party chief and President Xi Jinping to...
By Alan Wheatley The dollar bestrides the globe. How are oil, copper and other commodities priced and traded? In dollars. Unsure what currency to take to a faraway country? Best take dollars. How does every nation measure the strength of its currency? By how much it...
By Elaine Monaghan It was dark one night when Boris Yeltsin was still president of Russia, a few tumultuous years after communist rule ended. I wrapped up the closing shift at the Reuters office and drove across the Moscow River in my red, box-shaped Lada Niva. It was...