By Sushmita S. Preetha, The Daily Star, Bangladesh- LIGHTS. Camera. Action. The camera zooms in on a traumatised, grieving mother. A microphone pokes at the woman’s face, and an ever-zealous reporter (outside of the frame), interrupts her wailing to decipher…

By Achara Ashayagachat, The Bangkok Post, Thailand- The Prayut Chan-o-cha government deserves praise for initiating talks on the Rohingya trafficking problem with Myanmar and Malaysia, but it must turn the talk into deeds. Perhaps at a later date Bangladesh and…

By Dr. Nimalka Fernando, The Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka- By No one trusts politicians in Sri Lanka anymore. In addition to a growing budget deficit there is also a growing ‘trust deficit’ between the “politician” and the “citizen” which extends…

By Una Mullally, The Irish Times, Ireland- My housemate came home from canvassing for a Yes vote in the marriage referendum the other evening and said there were more than 50 people out knocking on doors. The final headcount was…

By Aasha Mehreen Amin, The Daily Star, Bangladesh- The video a loved one sent me to cheer me up certainly did the trick. It was a very well edited documentary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs about a unique move…

By Fran O Sullivan, The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand- Andrew Little has tarnished his own reputation for fair play by trying to expose the name of the Cabinet minister whose brother faces child indecency charges. New Zealand is known…

By Joceline Tan, The Star, Malaysia- IT had been raining cats and dogs since sunset but Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s mood was probably at its sunniest in days. She had swept to a massive victory that was…

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe, The Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka- Electoral reforms have become the hottest topic in debate at present. Despite the various promises the good governance regime has granted or is willing to, there are certain shortcomings in this new…

By Barcin Yinanc, The Hurriyet, Turkey- Does anyone remember how the war in Syria started? It was the first months of the Arab Spring. By mid-February 2011, both the Tunisian and Egyptian leaders had been ousted from power. In late…