WHY DID CHINA INVITE THAILAND TO THE BRICS PARTY? CLUE: ITS SLEEPER HIT OF AN ECONOMY

WHY DID CHINA INVITE THAILAND TO THE BRICS PARTY? CLUE: ITS SLEEPER HIT OF AN ECONOMY
Political chaos including the self-imposed exile of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra cannot distract from growth in Thailand’s exports and tourism sectors – and its purchases of Chinese weapons can’t have hurt either
BY COCO LIU

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Photo: Reuters
Don’t cry for me, Shinawatra: why Yingluck’s bad luck is good for Thailand

Take a guess: which Southeast Asian country did Beijing invite for the BRICS Summit that begins on Sunday in Xiamen, where leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa will discuss the future of emerging economies over tea?

Indonesia considers plans to relocate its sinking, gridlocked capital

Indonesia considers plans to relocate its sinking, gridlocked capital
The plans are being looked at as a way to avoid total traffic gridlock on the congested island by 2020 CREDIT: GETTY
Nicola Smith 1

Plans are afoot to relocate the capital of Indonesia, as a drastic solution to reports that the sprawling metropolis of Jakarta, already plagued by choking traffic jams, is also sinking.

Indonesian giant sea wall project pseudo-solution for Jakarta Bay

Αrt3289 Παρασκευή 21 Απριλίου 2017
Indonesian giant sea wall project pseudo-solution for Jakarta Bay
Dubious role for Dutch government and business
Social justice at bay
The Dutch role in Jakarta’s coastal defence and land reclamation

Jakarta is sinking. Excessive groundwater extraction is causing the metropolis to sink by dozens of centimetres each year, making it more vulnerable to flooding. Dutch businesses have come up with a solution: an immense sea wall on the coast, which is also a stunning real estate project. But this intervention is just a pseudo-solution, say researchers from Both ENDS, Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO) and the Transnational Institute (TNI) today in a new report. Even worse, the project threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people employed in local fisheries.

THE INDONESIAN CHILD MAIDS OF HONG KONG, SINGAPORE: WHY THEY’RE SUFFERING IN SILENCE

Αrt2968 Δευτέρα 27 Μαρτίου 2017
THE INDONESIAN CHILD MAIDS OF HONG KONG, SINGAPORE: WHY THEY’RE SUFFERING IN SILENCE
A lack of legal protection for underage domestic workers leaves them too frightened to speak out about abuse, even as the agencies that forged their passports go largely unpunished

BY SYLVIA YU