Asia Economy: Tamed Asian Tigers, Distressed Chinese Dragon
by Brian P. Klein and Kenneth Neil Cukier

Since the 1960s, Asian economies have focused primarily on exports. It was the key to success in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Much of Southeast Asia and China soon followed suit. Over the past decade, the region's exports have increased from 37 percent to 47 percent of GDP. By hitching their wagons to exports, however, Asian countries left themselves vulnerable to a drop-off in Western consumption

Afghans die in 'Nato air strike'
Nato officials investigate whether the death of eight Afghans working with US troops was a "friendly-fire" incident.

Key Pakistan Taliban town 'falls'
Pakistani forces capture the strategically important town of Ladha from the Taliban in ongoing clashes in South Waziristan, officials say.

Brown warns Karzai on corruption
The UK will not be "deterred, dissuaded or diverted" from its Afghan mission, despite risks to troops, PM Gordon Brown says.

Nato soldiers 'believed drowned'
Two US soldiers originally thought missing in Afghanistan are believed to have drowned, officials say.

Burmese army targets India rebels
Burmese troops attack a base of Naga separatists in the country's northwest, Indian military officials say.

Pakistan army officer 'attacked'
A Pakistan army officer and his driver are seriously injured in a shooting incident in the capital, Islamabad.

Climate deal 'unlikely' this year
The UK government has admitted that a new legally binding global treaty on climate change is highly unlikely to be agreed this year.

Leading Indian journalist is dead
Leading Indian journalist Prabhash Joshi dies after suffering from e heart attack in the capital, Delhi, at the age of 72, family members say.

India bus accident leaves 30 dead
An overcrowded bus falls into a gorge in northern India, killing at least 30 passengers and injuring 26 others, police say.

Karachi fashion week shows a different side of Pakistan
Pakistan is hosting its first ever fashion week in the city of Karachi against a backdrop of heavy security.

McCullum helps Kiwis draw level
Brendon McCullum smashes 131 as New Zealand beat Pakistan in Abu Dhabi to level their one-day series at 1-1 with one to play.

India lose despite Tendulkar ton
Sachin Tendulkar's dazzling 175 fails to stop Australia taking a 3-2 lead over India in their one-day international series.

Biswas on India
Is cricket losing its soul and spirit?

Riding high
Boost to Waziristan troop morale from ordinary Pakistanis

Extreme India
Reflecting on a country with 'two faces'

In pictures
Art brings Sri Lanka war orphans together

Focus on police
The troubled state of Afghanistan's police force

Northern blues
How opposition have taken Afghan election result

India Maoists can 'hold talks'
A Maoist leader in India says the rebels are willing to talk to the government if it puts off a planned offensive against them.

Afghan strife makes UN relocate
The UN says it is to temporarily move 600 of its foreign staff in Afghanistan, after last week's deadly Taliban hostel raid.

India ups budget for Delhi Games
India doubles its funding for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, to accommodate new "essential" items.

Missiles 'kill four' in Pakistan
At least four suspected militants die as a US drone fires two missiles in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, officials say.

S Lanka general avoids questions
Sri Lanka says its top military commander has left the United States without being questioned over alleged war crimes.

Pakistan alters harassment laws
Pakistan's parliament approves a bill strengthening the penalty for the sexual harassment of women.

Karzai's poll victory is 'illegal'
Former Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah says Hamid Karzai's re-election "has no legal basis".

Indian PM reaches out to tribes
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tells chief ministers from 29 Indian states to end the exploitation of tribal people.

Assam rebels 'arrested in Dhaka'
A separatist group in India's troubled north-east says Bangladeshi police have arrested two of their top leaders.

Taliban link to shootings probed
The Taliban could have infiltrated the Afghan police to kill five British soldiers in Afghanistan, Gordon Brown says.

Five shot policeman named
The five British soldiers killed in an attack by an Afghan police officer have been named by the UK's Ministry of Defence.

Pakistan army clash with Taliban
Heavy clashes between Pakistani troops and Taliban fighters are going on in the key town of Ladha in the South Waziristan region, the army says.

India tries to defuse cricket row
An apology given by the armed services for withdrawing from a cricket match in Indian-controlled Kashmir should be accepted, the home minister says.

South Korea approves India deal
South Korea ratifies a free trade deal with India that will give the two Asian countries greater access to each other's markets.

Gold hits new high on India deal
The price of gold reaches an all-time high after a large sale of the precious commodity by the International Monetary Fund to India.

Pakistan's hidden war
Pakistan army takes on militants in South Waziristan

Indira Gandhi death remembered
Journalist Rahul Bedi looks back, 25 years after the anti-Sikh riots in the Indian capital, Delhi.

Intolerable force in Sri Lanka?
Outcry in Sri Lanka over allegations of police brutality

'Hellish scene' in Peshawar
BBC man sees horrific carnage of Peshawar blast

The authoritarian patriot
Noted historian Ramachandra Guha evaluates the legacy of the late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.

BBC News | World | South Asia | UK Edition
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Where Have All the Fish Gone?
The collapse of America’s West Coast Salmon fishery has an eerily familiar ring to it. Are the oceans dying?

Rice Shortages Could Fuel Unrest
Food shortages in southeast Asia could foreshadow a coming global food crisis.

Selling America for Designer Boots, Top Hats and Thimbles
Like a near-concluded game of Monopoly, America is selling off its last properties to maintain its lavish lifestyle.

Russia Bolstering Its Position Via Strategic Arms Sales
Russian President Vladimir Putin is strengthening his Asian alliances using a potentially dangerous tool.

Australian Stock Market Plunges
Yesterday’s tumble in Australia’s stock market traces back to problems in the U.S. housing market.

China Plays Nice With Neighbors
Beijing continues its policy of courting rather than confronting certain states. It will remember to collect those favors.

Thailand's Royal Anchor
As civil unrest continues in the south of the country, the people of Thailand look to their enduring monarch as a firm anchor in a time of increasing turmoil.

Asia's Economic Integration Continues
Growth in trade between China and ASEAN is laying the groundwork for a free-trade zone throughout Asia. This trend has huge implications worthy of considering.

Bali Blasts: Terror Returns to Southeast Asia
What terrorism in Indonesia means for the Western world, Asia and radical Islam.

Asia's Dire Straits

Meltdown Ahead?

Changing of the Guard
The decline of U.S.-British control over the world’s sea gates

Why Indonesia Matters
Now that President Suharto has resigned, everything is back to normal in Indonesia, right? Wrong. Massive forces of anarchy are at work, and the potential for global economic disaster still exists. As much as one-half of world trade is at risk and radical Islam may be stalking Indonesia!

Rescuing the Rich
In Southeast Asia, currency devaluations and other austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund are devastationg common workers while wealthy investors and bankers are being bailed out. Fair? No. Typical? Very!

theTrumpet.com: Southeast Asia
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Taiwan's Vision for International Climate Change Cooperation
Taiwan intends to share its environmental protection initiatives with the international community, working in multilateral collaboration to safeguard both environmental and human health.

China: Media Summit Participants Should Push for Press Freedom
Although the Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, both Chinese journalists and foreign correspondents are regularly harassed, detained, and intimidated by government officials.

All in on Climate Change
Australian Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull is willing to put his leadership on the line over carbon emissions.

Indian Festivals Celebrate Communal Harmony
Despite terrorist attacks in the country, Indian festivals continue to set examples of religious brotherhood and encourage unity in diversity.

Ten-Year Anniversary in East Timor
After 10 years of independence, which were preceded by 24 brutal years of occupation, East Timor continues its long, steady climb out of devastation.

China's Rise in Africa: Miracle or Mirage
Although China's burgeoning economic relationship with Africa is significant, many aspects of China's investment are being distorted and overlooked.

Ghosts from Past Continue To Haunt India's B.J.P. Party
Internal struggles continue to stall India's political development, while a younger, more progressive generation tries to push toward modernity.

Nepali Students in New York Call for Government Accountability
Demonstrators aimed to remind Nepalis everywhere that they have to take an active role in holding their government accountable for its promises.

Short-Stay Trips to China
Even in a limited timeframe, a visit to Beijing and Xian can offer a remarkable package of destinations, from Tiananmen Square to the Great Wall.

Encomium for the Life of Sardar Patel
India's influential statesman had a massive effect on India in terms of civil disobedience, the national liberation movement and diplomatic relations throughout his life.

The B.J.P. Refuses to Read the Writing on the Wall
After suffering defeat in recent elections, India's main opposition party is not only shielding its eyes to where it has lost support, it seems intent on perpetuating the problem.

Taiwan's Typhoon Recovery
The disaster has been a tragic but unifying moment for the people of Taiwan, with rescue workers, volunteers and the international community pulling together for an extraordinary response.

East Asia: the Acid Test for Europe's Common Foreign Policy
For all its economic clout, the European Union still has much work to do in political and security terms in Beijing and most other capitals in East Asia.

The Curious Case of Balochistan
Pakistan recently brought up the old charge against India of encouraging militancy and separatism in Balochistan, but Pakistan would be better off working with India, not pointing fingers at it.

Moves to Isolate Fiji Fail
Despite efforts of sanction against Fiji by neighboring countries, as well as significant frictions within its own borders, forces in Fiji struggle to push toward a new democratic era.

The Taliban: Danger of an Ideology
The Taliban's biggest threat to the government and army of Pakistan lies not in its military might, but rather, in its ability to spread extremist ideology to any corner of Pakistani society.

Countering Jihadi Strategies in the Subcontinent
As jihadi networks continue to modify their tactics, the resistance forces in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India need to adapt in their strategies as well.

Manmohan Singh and Congress Take Charge Again
Victories for Manmohan Singh and the ruling Congress Party in India's recent elections could open the door for key reforms.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi on Trial
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces charges of harboring an uninvited American guest.

Obama's New 'AfPak' Strategy: The View from Pakistan
Obama's new AfPak policy cannot succeed unless the poverty upon which the militants prey is addressed.

Fiji's 1997 Constitution Revoked; New Political Chapter Begins
The Fiji Court of Appeals decision followed more than two years of legal wrangling between Fijis interim government and the deposed S.D.L. government.

India: No Clear Party Favorite as the National Polls Open
No front-runners yet as India heads for national polls.

Taliban Receptive to Talks with Afghan Government
Though a troop surge is underway in Afghanistan, efforts to engage non-radical elements within the Taliban should continue.

Political Turmoil in Pakistan Leads to Army Takeover Speculation
By spearheading a movement for the reinstatement of the nations judges, the opposition has weakened the incumbent president.

Strengthening Community Gardening in Bangladesh
Nationwide improvements in plant and seed conservation programs will engender food security and sustainable economic development on a local level in Bangladesh.

Kashmir: Conflict in a Peaceful Valley
The United States can play a major role in resolving the decades-long struggle.

Hillary Clinton's Asian Trip
The Secretary of State traveled to four leading Asian countries in her first foreign diplomatic foray.

Asian News from World Press Review
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Ban rejects reports of UN withdrawal from Afghanistan
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today rejected any notion that the United Nations is leaving Afghanistan, amid reports that the world body is pulling out of the country following the announcement that it will temporarily relocate some of its staff owing to security concerns.

Little progress in overcoming deadlock in Nepal's peace process, says UN envoy
The top United Nations envoy to Nepal today lamented the fact that there has been limited progress in overcoming the political impasse that emerged in the country earlier this year, and little movement on the remaining tasks of the peace process.

Displaced Sri Lankans increasingly returning home from camps - UN
About 90,000 Sri Lankans displaced by the conflict between Government forces and Tamil separatists have returned to their homes in the past three months, and the pace of returns has begun to accelerate, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

UN stepping up assistance to latest wave of conflict displaced Pakistanis
The United Nations refugee agency said today it is stepping up aid to people uprooted by military operations in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, while highlighting the ongoing needs of around one million people still displaced from an earlier offensive in the northwest.

UN ‘s Asia-Pacific gathering wraps up with call for better trade deal for poorer States
Exports from the world's poorest countries should be granted duty- and quota-free access to markets, according to government officials, economists and academics attending a regional United Nations trade meeting as they warned against a turn towards protectionist policies.

Malnutrition on the rise among rural Tajik children, UN warns
Young children in rural Tajikistan are increasingly likely to be malnourished because of a lack of food, poor water quality and high prices for many basic products, United Nations aid agencies said today, warning that the children are now at greater risk of contracting infectious diseases.

UN to relocate some Afghanistan staff following deadly attack
The United Nations said today it will temporarily relocate some of its staff as part of increased security measures following the deadly attack in the Afghan capital last week that killed five UN staff members and injured several others.

UN helps assess relief needs in wake of deadly typhoon in Viet Nam
United Nations aid workers are taking part in a rapid assessment mission in three provinces of central Viet Nam, among the areas hit hardest by Typhoon Mirinae, which has killed at least 98 people and left a trail of destruction worth more than $56 million.

UN assists after another tropical storm pounds the Philippines and Viet Nam
United Nations aid agencies are at work in the Philippines and Viet Nam after yet another typhoon pummelled the region, bringing heavy rains, causing power outages and communication problems and raising the threat of renewed floods.

Good corporate citizenship on the rise in Asia-Pacific, UN finds
More businesses in the Asia-Pacific region are becoming better corporate citizens but they should ensure that these efforts form an integral part of their everyday operations, a United Nations-organized regional gathering on trade and investment heard today.

UN News Centre - Asia Pacific
A world of news from the world organization.

 

Afghanistan hits back at foreign criticism
Afghanistan hit back at pressure from Western powers for it to crackdown on corruption and accused the United Nations envoy to Kabul of seeking to interfere in the formation of the next government

Brown attacked by ex-defence chiefs
The UK prime minister has been attacked by three former chiefs of the defence staff for his conduct over the Afghan war, with the trio all calling for 'clear direction' over policy

Cambodia job offer sparks row
Caustic nature of latest Cambodian-Thai spat over former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra reprises many previous disputes in the neighbours' often testing relations

Taliban claims to hold soldiers' bodies
Taliban says it is holding the bodies of two drowned foreign soldiers recovered in western Afghanistan

Lachlan Murdoch pays $21m for Sydney mansion
Lachlan Murdoch has upstaged the visit to Australia of his father Rupert after splashing out A$23m on a Sydney mansion sold by the French government's former consulate

Roche's Seoul offices raided in Tamiflu probe
South Korean prosecutors suspect that they Swiss drugs group illegally provided swine flu treatment to staff of HSBC and Novartis amid fears of a widespread outbreak

UN to evacuate staff from Afghanistan
The United Nations will temporarily evacuate hundreds of foreign personnel from Afghanistan as part of a plan to tighten security following a Taliban attack that killed five people

Asian banks wary of property bubbles
Residential property prices are rising across much of Asia, prompting fears of a real estate bubble. Apartments are selling for staggering prices, and central banks and finance ministries have begun to rein in property-related stimulus measures

China hits out at US in fresh trade spat
China accused the US of protectionist and biased trade policies yesterday - only a week beforePresident Barack Obama's first visit to Beijing. In a stinging rebuke to...

Brown seeks to rally public over Afghan war
Gordon Brown warned Hamid Karzai, the newly reappointed Afghan president, that he must meet five key tests over the next few months if he is to guarantee an effective partnership between his government and Nato over Afghanistan's future

Beijing tightens internet controls
A sinking feeling is spreading among China's internet users. Over the past nine months, the government has tightened online censorship to an extent not seen in years...

US slaps duties on Beijing steel pipe imports
The US hit China with another big trade action as it slapped ­preliminary anti-dumping duties on $2.6bn worth of Chinese pipe imports

EU and India to establish free trade by 2010
EU officials said they would push hard for a bilateral free trade agreement with India at the one-day summit in New Delhi but Indian ministers were more cautious

Indonesian duo quit over anti-graft plot
The political scandal that has gripped Indonesia unravelled as two senior officials resigned over a suspected plot to undermine the country's anti-graft agency

Killer police officer 'worked for Taliban'
The Taliban claimed that the rogue Afghan police officer who shot dead five British soldiers was working for them and has been rewarded for his success with a respected position within their movement

FT.com - World, Asia Pacific
FT.com - World, Asia Pacific

 

China brands US 'protectionist'
Beijing issues stinging rebuke after Washington slapped anti-dumping duties on $2.6bn of Chinese steel pipe imports.

US slaps duties on Beijing steel pipe imports
The US hit China with another big trade action as it slapped ­preliminary anti-dumping duties on $2.6bn worth of Chinese pipe imports

Beijing tightens internet controls
Over the past nine months, the government has tightened online censorship to an extent not seen in years and there is a growing realisation the new roadblocks are here to stay

Major trade disputes between China and the US
A list of major trade disputes between China and the US since Beijing's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001

China faces export inquiry
The US, European Union and Mexico have asked for the World Trade Organisation to investigate Chinese restrictions on exports of specialised raw materials used in industry

World Bank warns east Asia on asset prices
Inflationary pressures could force east Asian central banks to tighten monetary policy 'sooner rather than later' to choke off emerging asset bubbles, said the international financial institution

China current account surplus set to fall
China's current account surplus will fall by almost half this year, the World Bank predicted in a move that could bolster Beijing's resistance to US appeals for renminbi appreciation

China general sees military space race
Air force chief calls military competition in space 'inevitable', a departure from Beijing's past insistence that it is not pursuing space programmes for military purposes

Bullish debut for Chinese property IPO
Evergrande Real Estate staged a strong debut in Hong Kong on Thursday, shrugging off the cool investor response to a flood of recent Chinese property offerings

Burning ambition
Energy: As China's state oil companies seek ever bigger foreign deals, fears are growing at the extent of the sway it holds in the developing world – but the reality is rather more complex

Novartis to expand Chinese research labs
Novartis plans to inject $1bn into growing its Shanghai laboratories, which would employ 1,000 scientists, and tap China's scientific base

Renminbi at heart of trade imbalances
There is little sign of either China or most east Asian countries (except Japan) allowing their currencies to appreciate substantially, and the recent experience of other emerging markets is likely to make them yet more reluctant

Goldman holds stake in China group battling M Stanley
A legal spat over a disputed hedging contract held by Haisheng Juice Holdings could have implications for both of the US investment banking rivals

CDB turns away from the path of reform
Chinese lender ends its flirtation with western ways of banking and reverts to its role as a policy-driven bank

China's economic recovery broadens
Analysts said the survey confirmed that China's economic recovery was widening as recovering export demand and consumption joined government stimulus as drivers of growth

FT.com - China
FT.com - China

 

China, African Nations Meet Sunday to Strenghten Economic Ties
Chinese-made goods are in abundant supply in Africa and Arab world due to strong economic relations

China Looks Forward to Hosting President Obama
Beijing says US president's visit will help push bilateral relations to 'new historical starting point'

Thailand-Cambodia Tensions Rise Over Appointment of Fugitive Thai Official
Regional political analysts say Bangkok, Phnom Penh relations are the worst they have been in several years

Afghan Police: 2 Missing NATO Soldiers Drowned
Both soldiers reportedly swept away into river while trying to save supply boxes that fell into water after being air-dropped

India Buys Gold from International Monetary Fund to Diversify Foreign Exchange Reserves
Deal means that South Asian country's Central bank now has tenth largest gold holdings in world

British PM Calls for Halt to Afghan Corruption
Gordon Brown warns Afghan government to take action against corruption, saying he would not risk more British lives there unless it reforms

UNHCR Steps up Aid to Displaced Pakistanis
Fighting between army and Taliban militants in South Waziristan hit peak in mid-October when army launched air, ground offensive to dislodge Islamic militants from their sanctuary

Afghanistan Rejects UN Criticism of Karzai
Top UN official in Afghanistan warned President Hamid Karzai to combat corruption or risk losing international support

Afghanistan: NATO Strike Kills 7 Afghan Security Members
Afghan Defense Ministry says four Afghan soldiers, three policemen were killed in air strike Friday in Badghis province, some security personnel wounded

Pakistan Army: 12 Militants Killed in Recent Fighting
Accounts of Pakistan army's offensive in tribal region near Afghan border are difficult to verify, as journalists, aid workers are not allowed into battle zone

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India's wretched state of Manipur: Not free to starve

A poet from Manipur celebrates nine years of trying to kill herself

IROM CHANU SHARMILA, 37, a poet and aspirant suicide, was this week unable to attend a cultural festival held in her honour in Imphal, capital of India’s north-eastern state of Manipur. She was in hospital, being force-fed lentil soup through a tube inserted into her nose.

The festival and an attendant fast, joined by hundreds of Ms Sharmila’s sympathisers in recent months, were to mark an anniversary. On November 2nd 2000 the poet, known as the “Iron Lady”, embarked on a “fast unto death”—a threat respected as an act of protest in India, often used to great effect by Mohandas Gandhi. Yet Ms Sharmila’s case, like the wretched condition of Manipur, the most violent of seven troubled north-eastern states, is a national embarrassment. ...

Indonesia's anti-corruption commission: The gecko bites back

Yudhoyono: second term, first crisis

THIS was to have been Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s second honeymoon. Inaugurated for a second presidential term last month after a landslide election victory in July, he should have been basking in his recent international popularity and preparing for a regional summit in Singapore. Instead, he has been consumed by the fallout from a political scandal. On November 2nd he set up a team to look into an investigation by the police of members of the Corruption Eradication Commission, known as the KPK. The commission’s high-profile prosecutions had helped improve the country’s corrupt image and boosted the president’s standing.

Mr Yudhoyono was responding to mounting public pressure and street protests that followed the arrest of two KPK deputy chairmen on dubious charges of abuse of power and extortion. This was the culmination of a months-long feud pitting the KPK against the national police and the attorney-general’s office. The two KPK officials, Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, were accused of taking bribes from Anggoro Widjojo, a corruption suspect, so that he could flee abroad. They say their arrests were part of a plot to frame them and weaken the KPK. ...

Financial scandals in Thailand: Getting their man

Market panics, old and new

IT TOOK 13 years for Thai justice to catch up with Rakesh Saxena, an Indian-born banker who fled to Canada in 1996. Once there, Mr Saxena (pictured left) dug in his heels during what became Canada’s longest-ever extradition case. Eventually, on October 30th, all his appeals exhausted, Mr Saxena arrived back in Thailand to face criminal charges over his role in the insolvency of Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC) in 1996. The sorry tale of BBC, which was milked by bank executives and politicians under the nose of regulators, was, in retrospect, a dry run for the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis that began in Bangkok.

For Thailand, putting Mr Saxena on trial provides a bookend of sorts to the crisis. It also threatens to ensnare several politicians aligned to the present government who had dealings with BBC and may prefer Mr Saxena’s silence. Prison officials have made a show of securing his cell to prevent anyone getting to him. Regulators hope to tie up loose ends from BBC’s collapse under the weight of $3 billion in bad loans. Its president was jailed in 2005 for fraud. But many others escaped censure. ...

Banyan: Having it both ways

Despite protestations to the contrary, China needs NATO to fight in Afghanistan

ONE day early this summer, when it was still possible to claim progress in Afghanistan, Robert Gates, America’s defence secretary, was at an Asian security gathering, reeling off the names of countries who had contributed to it. The list—Canada, Mongolia, Poland—went on and on, while the harrumphing of a Chinese general in the third row grew ever louder. Eventually, he held back no longer. “Why no China?” he demanded. “Where is China on this list?”

Where indeed? The question seemed odd. Unlike the other countries on Mr Gates’s list, China has no military presence in Afghanistan. Though China has peacekeepers as far afield as Haiti and Sudan, it is allergic to sending them to neighbouring countries. Perhaps, this columnist later inquired of the general, he meant the modest intelligence that China shares with the United States on jihadists with connections in Xinjiang, China’s restive, preponderantly Muslim, western region? No, he replied testily. “I mean the mine. Our copper mine.” ...

Bangladesh and Myanmar: Fenced in

More grief for the Rohingyas

“WE HAVE an excellent relationship with the soldiers on the other side,” says Khalilar Rahman, a Bangladesh Rifles commander at a remote outpost on a hillock in Ghumdhum, on the border with Myanmar. A Burmese outpost is a stone’s-throw away, across the paddy-field below, where Burmese labourers are frantically working to build a border fence. Concrete pillars stretch as far as the eye can see. The movement of people and goods here—in happier days earmarked as the route for a highway—has stopped completely.

As Myanmar prepares for elections next year, tensions along the 320km (200-mile) border with Bangladesh have risen. As usual, that involves more persecution for the Rohingyas, a Muslim minority whom Myanmar refuses to recognise as Burmese. Because of them, though no one says it openly, Bangladesh is probably quite happy with the fast-emerging fence. ...

Afghanistan's “re-elected” president: Karzai's tattered victory

The world agrees to pretend he won; not all Afghans suspend disbelief

BRINGING Afghanistan’s disastrous presidential election to a close, ten weeks after the voting, the chairman of the country’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) said he would only accept three questions. Incredulous journalists gathered in a glum conference room in a fortified Kabul compound would have none of it. They mobbed him as he tried to make a quick exit. The announcement that Hamid Karzai had been declared president without a second round of voting raised many more than three questions.

Top of the list is whether the next government is legitimate. Afghanistan’s legal experts lined up to say an emphatic no. Under the constitution, the winning candidate needs more than half the available votes cast in a national ballot. It was irrelevant that the second-placed candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, would not take part in a run-off, fearing massive pro-Karzai rigging, as in the first round. It had been assumed that the IEC, which many lawyers say has no right to make such a decision, might seek some legal cover by asking for a Supreme Court opinion. But that was unnecessary, as Western leaders rushed to endorse the IEC’s interpretation. ...

Politics and the war in Sri Lanka: To which victor the spoils?

The mysterious ambitions of Sri Lanka’s victorious army commander

NOT even six months has elapsed since the protracted war with Tamil Tiger rebels ended in a bloody climax, leading to the Sri Lankan government’s triumph. But already the leaders of the military campaign are sparring ahead of an election due next year. For weeks the press has been speculating about friction between the administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka, the hawkish army general who commanded troops in the final assault against the Tigers.

Jittery over rumours, spread mostly by opposition parties, that General Fonseka will challenge Mr Rajapaksa in the election, the government in October banned reports about his political ambitions. A communique from the army’s spokesman warned the press that several laws would be used against those who published “false reports” using the names of serving senior army officers. ...

China's navy off Somalia: Cash and carry

A hijack dilemma for China

UNACCUSTOMED to operating far from its own shores, China’s navy is even less used to actual fighting. So news on October 19th that Somali pirates had hijacked a Chinese commercial vessel in the Indian Ocean caused a stir at home. With three of its naval ships taking part in anti-piracy operations off Somalia, China for the first time would be in a position to use force to rescue a China-registered boat and its captured Chinese crew.

The deployment of the Chinese navy in the Gulf of Aden in January was the fleet’s first operational venture beyond the Pacific region. Coming after several years of rapid growth in the Chinese naval armoury, including the acquisition of new frigates, destroyers and submarines, the foray raised questions about whether China’s armed forces were beginning to go global. The pirate-plagued Gulf of Aden, through which shipments to China of oil and other vital commodities pass, would be an obvious place to become more used to distant security tasks. Several Chinese vessels had already been attacked there. ...

Afghanistan's bloody election: An election under siege

The Taliban campaign with bullets. The candidates bicker. Western doubts deepen

JUST ten days before November 7th, when Afghans are due to go back to the polls to decide whether or not to re-elect Hamid Karzai for another five years, the Taliban showed their determination to disrupt the election. In a ruthless onslaught in the heart of Kabul, militants attacked a large guesthouse favoured by United Nations workers. At least five of them were killed by the attackers, who dressed as policemen and carried suicide-bombs.

For years the UN has clung to its reputation as a neutral arbiter, and managed to avoid becoming a militant target. But now the Taliban have declared that anyone involved in organising the “soap opera” of an election is a legitimate target. A spokesman for the movement said the carnage in Kabul was just the beginning. ...

Banyan: Himalayan histrionics

Asia's two giants still cannot agree where one stops and the other begins

IF THIS is to be Asia’s century, a small prerequisite is that its two rising powers rub along together. Yet recent bonding between China and India has turned to repulsion. Breathless Indian commentary talks of irreconcilable rivalry, even future conflict. As for the Chinese, few had bothered much about India. The superiority of China’s economic and political models was taken as read. That makes an October editorial on the website of the People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, all the more striking.

The editorial cranked out insults not levelled in decades. India’s superpower dreams, it said, might appear to be justified. But they are mingled “with the thought of hegemony”. This was setting India on the road to “repeated failure”. Damnable, too, was India’s policy of “befriending the far and attacking the near”. Indian hegemony, the editorial decided, was “100% the result of British colonialism”, when the Raj ruled from Pakistan to Burma. Now, the victim was trying to out-empire even the British. ...

Japan's samurai culture: They need another hero

Swooning over sword-wielding samurais, not sober-suited salarymen

FAT, raccoon-faced, and with the severed head of one of his enemies at his feet, Ieyasu Tokugawa, Japan’s mightiest shogun, hardly looks like a heartthrob. Yet this is the image of him that confronts awestruck young women when they travel to the village of Sekigahara in central Japan.

There, in 1600, Tokugawa used brilliant tactics—and treachery—to win the deciding battle in a civil war that enabled him to found a 265-year ruling dynasty. Now young women are turning him, and the warlords who fought against him, into objects of hero worship. “It’s like a samurai boom,” says a curator at the local museum. “The young women seem to adore the codes of loyalty and friendship by which the samurai lived.” ...

Terrorism in Pakistan: A hostile ally

Clinton flies into a war zone

A VISIT to Pakistan this week by Hillary Clinton, America’s secretary of state, was greeted in the grimmest possible fashion. A suicide-bomber exploded a car packed with explosives and killed over 100 people in a crowded bazaar in Peshawar, in North-West Frontier Province. The presumed culprits, the Taliban, have also reached the capital, Islamabad. On October 22nd an army brigadier was ambushed outside his house and killed by two gunmen on a motorcycle. In two bloody weeks more than 250 people have died in suicide-attacks in Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore. Security agencies are warning of more murder to come.

Mrs Clinton visited Pakistan for several important reasons. She wanted to assure Pakistanis that America is no longer just a fair-weather friend. Rather, it is here to stay and support Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and poverty. A bill signed by President Barack Obama on October 12th grants Pakistan $7.5 billion in assistance for development and to alleviate poverty in the next five years. ...

South-East Asian summitry: Distant dreams

Vague hopes of integration and messy bilateral squabbles

AS USUAL at such shindigs, lofty dreams of pan-Asian economic integration got a good airing at a regional leaders’ summit held in Thailand on October 25th. Buoyed by signs of recovery in recession-bound countries, and unbroken expansion in China, India and Indonesia, leaders spoke glowingly of a free-trade zone that would link the world’s most dynamic economies. Yukio Hatoyama, prime minister of Japan, the region’s largest economy, if one of its worst-performing, said such a zone should have a common currency and aspire to “lead the world”. Not to be outdone, Australia’s prime minister, Kevin Rudd, proposed a pan-Pacific economic community that would include America and collaborate on security.

Lest anyone get too carried away, officials were on hand to caution that such grand plans would not happen overnight. Mr Hatoyama, who is trying to give Japan a more prominent role in Asia without jeopardising its security guarantee from America, described his proposal as a “medium-term objective”. Indeed, talk of an East Asian community, with perhaps even a single currency, is nothing new. But the chatter has grown louder since America blundered into a financial crisis that sapped its ability to act as the motor for global growth. As Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand’s prime minister, put it, the old model of satisfying Western consumers “will no longer serve” the region. ...

Australia's boat people: Stay the bloody hell where you are

The national phobia about boats from the north

WHEN Kevin Rudd became Australia’s prime minister almost two years ago, many thought they had heard the last loud discords about asylum-seekers landing on Australia’s northern shores. But a recent increase in numbers of boat people has reignited the issue. This is straining Mr Rudd’s pledge to soften the former conservative government’s hard edge towards asylum-seekers. It is also testing Australia’s relations with Indonesia.

In Jakarta this week for the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mr Rudd persuaded Indonesia’s president to accept 78 Sri Lankans for processing in the country. Australian authorities had rescued them from a boat between Sumatra and Christmas Island, an Australian territory. A week earlier, to oblige Mr Rudd, Indonesia’s navy intercepted a boat with 250-odd Sri Lankans heading for Australia. Now moored in West Java, its passengers are refusing to disembark. Australia has now offered Indonesia more help to deal with boat people. ...

Indonesia's new cabinet: Like the last lot

More politicians than technocrats

OPTIMISM abounded when Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (pictured) was re-elected Indonesian president in July in a landslide. Analysts at home and abroad hoped he would use his strong mandate to appoint a more reform-minded cabinet for his second five-year term. No longer would the former general be beholden to venal political parties. Competent technocrats would take over to drive the nation on, lifting its annual growth rates from an average of 5-6% in his first term to his target of 7%. Boosting optimism, his Democratic Party had soared on his coat-tails to become the biggest party in parliament.

Mr Yudhoyono, however, has been reading a different script. Twenty out of the 37 cabinet-level appointments the president announced on October 21st are from parties that have promised support in parliament. Hardly any of these are seen as experienced managers, let alone competent ones. A conspicuous number have no background relevant to their portfolios. ...

Banyan: Hell on Earth

The West still turns a blind eye to the world's most brutal and systematic abuse of human rights

A SPRAWLING encampment of think-tankers, academics, hacks and policymakers earns a living outside North Korea’s walls. They pick over its nuclear intentions and the prospects for the diplomatic dance known as the six-party process, which is meant to persuade North Korea to give up its nukes for cash and security guarantees. The encampment needs something to live on. Since North Korea declared the six-party talks dead in the spring, scraps have been meagre. So the North’s recent signals of a readiness to return to the forum, after talking to America first, come as a relief. This week a senior North Korean nuclear negotiator was on his way to America. The dance is starting up again, and the encampment is not short of views about what’s in store.

Yet the focus on nukes comes at the cost of other things worth noting about North Korea. Human rights, for instance. In recent years the outlines of daily life, and the state’s miserable part in it, have become plain. First came the horror stories told by refugees in China escaping the famine from 1995-98 that killed 600,000-1m people. A more detailed picture has since emerged from refugees now settled in South Korea, from aid-workers, diplomats and from satellite pictures which, among other things, map another form of encampment—the North’s gulag. ...

South Waziristan: There they go again

War-weary refugees hope that this time the army finishes the job

THIS time the signs are that Pakistan’s army means business in South Waziristan. Civilians, who have fled the ground offensive launched on October 17th in their tens of thousands, tell of intense aerial bombardment. Three previous campaigns against the Pakistani Taliban there since 2004 petered out. Either they were carried out half-heartedly, or bafflingly abandoned in the midst of battle. They left the obscurantist thugs in even firmer control of the region. Now the army seems determined to wrench it back.

With journalists kept away from the fighting, and the two sides giving differing accounts, the progress of the campaign is not clear. But the size of the exodus from South Waziristan suggests fighting is intense. By the middle of this week over 17,500 now destitute families, an estimated 128,000 individuals, had registered as displaced people with the authorities in the towns of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. ...

Afghanistan's permanent election: Seconds out, round two

Hamid Karzai is forced kicking and screaming into another electoral shambles

RARELY has an announcement by a national leader been as grudging or as awkward as Hamid Karzai’s concession that Afghanistan’s presidential election should go to a second round. It took days of browbeating from Western diplomats—and a last-minute emergency turn round the gardens of the presidential palace with an American senator, John Kerry (in the centre above)—to persuade him to accept this outcome to the disputed first round.

Foreign pressure on him became intense after an electoral watchdog ordered his initial vote tally of 55% to be slashed because of massive cheating on his behalf. Almost one-third of Mr Karzai’s 3.1m votes were fraudulent, according to an analysis by Democracy International, an American election-monitoring organisation. But Mr Karzai accepted none of that in front of the television cameras this week. Not only did he fail to acknowledge the scale of the fraud; he also claimed the election had been unfairly “defamed”, and hinted that the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), the United Nations-appointed body responsible for the fraud inquiry, would eventually face investigation itself. ...

Sri Lanka and the EU: Plus and minuses

A blow for garment workers, but not necessarily for the government

ONE way Sri Lanka’s government has bolstered its support among the country’s ethnic-Sinhalese majority is by stoking anti-Western feelings. Now it has to try to persuade the European Union to retain a trade concession, while continuing to appear defiant. This week the European Commission adopted a report accusing Sri Lanka of flouting human-rights standards. It was held in breach of commitments made in return for duty-waivers for its exports under the “GSP Plus” scheme. The commission said it would consult member states on suspending the trade benefit, granted in 2005.

This was no surprise. The EU has complained of violations, particularly during this year’s final stages of the war with Tamil Tiger rebels. Thousands of Tamils died in indiscriminate shelling. Over 250,000 displaced civilians still languish in camps with inadequate water, housing and sanitation. The EU made it known GSP Plus would not be extended beyond 2009 if its concerns were not addressed. ...

The Economist: Asia
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