by Malcolm Davidson | 17 Oct 2018 | Asia, Islam, Sports
Cricket-star-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan says he wants to lift up the poor in Pakistan. But his renegade political drive faces economic headwinds. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at a campaign rally in Karachi, Pakistan, 22 July 2018 (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)...
by Jonathan Sharp | 24 Sep 2018 | Asia, China
There are more millennials in China than the entire population of the U.S. and Canada. Whatever your interest, these young Chinese will impact you. Members of the China Olympic Team at the opening ceremonies for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, 8 August 2008 (AP...
by News Decoder | 19 Sep 2018 | Asia, History, Human Rights, Politics
By Deborah Charles Twenty years ago I used to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi over a spotty telephone connection to Yangon from Bangkok, or in person when I managed to get into Myanmar and she was free to accept visitors in the house that served as her prison for 15 years....
by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski | 4 Sep 2018 | Asia, Middle East
An evangelical Christian whisks four men from a remote Indonesian island to Israel, part of a life-long effort to gather the world’s “lost” Jews. (Photo taken on Kisar island in March 2018 by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski) This is a story of serendipity and of remarkable...
by Alan Wheatley | 27 Aug 2018 | Asia, China
China’s rise is one of the striking developments of our age. Global well-being hinges in part on the answer to this question: Can China sustain growth? A woman pushes a tricycle loaded with wood along land under development in Beijing, China, 29 October 2007...
by Jonathan Thatcher | 20 Aug 2018 | Asia, Islam
By Jonathan Thatcher In the farming village where I stay in Indonesia’s West Java province, Islam is central to daily life. The village has its own religious school, and those who can afford it sign up for the 10-year wait to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. But its...
by Feizal Samath | 9 Aug 2018 | Asia, Human Rights
Following the Philippines’ play book, Sri Lanka has re-instated the death penalty for drug dealers, shrugging off criticism from rights groups and the EU. Sri Lankan women protest against the execution in Saudi Arabia of a Sri Lankan domestic worker, Colombo,...
by John Mehaffey | 6 Aug 2018 | Asia, Sports
Pakistan’s Imran Khan was a cricket star with glamorous women on his arm. Now he is poised to become prime minister of the South Asian nation. Pakistan captain Imran Khan, left, raises his arms in triumph as England’s last batsman Richard Illingworth walks away...
by Jonathan Sharp | 2 Aug 2018 | Asia, China
It’s been four years since young activists in Hong Kong launched a movement for democratic reforms. Now, a sense of powerlessness is growing. Pro-democracy protesters holding yellow umbrellas, Hong Kong, 28 September 2017 (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Few birthday...
by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski | 26 Jul 2018 | Asia, China, Women
How Java’s controversial female ruler grew into the job Paul Spencer Sochaczewski taps his vast knowledge of Asia in this, his third short story for News-Decoder. Last year, Sochaczewski entertained us with yarns about the South China Sea and Borneo. In this five-part...