News stories by Analysis by Marwaan Macan-Markar

With extreme weather pounding countries across a wide arc in the Asia-Pacific region, questions hover over entitlements for millions of people displaced by climate change, pledged under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and other sources.

Following her historic victory in Sunday’s by-elections Aung San Suu Kyi takes on a new role as opposition lawmaker, after a 22-year existence as Myanmar’s most famous political prisoner.

Six countries that share the Mekong River are being drawn into a development turf war, exposing initiatives by the United States government and its Asian allies — Japan and South Korea — to contain China’s growing influence in the region.

As he dismantles a 50-year military dictatorship without a shot being fired, Burmese President Thein Sein is resorting to the political art of compromise.

The ‘Land of Smiles’ attracts some 14 million tourists annually to its tranquil beaches and glistening temples. But to many Thais, their country is becoming one of grimaces, thanks to its draconian lese-majeste (LM) law.

On the face of it, the sudden release of political prisoners in Burma would appear a triumph for the sanctions regime imposed on the Southeast Asian nation by Western governments.

As she stepped into her role as an ingénue on the macho stage of Thai politics, the backers of Yingluck Shinawatra, the country’s first woman prime minister, had hoped she would enjoy a honeymoon period.

Despite political differences among member countries, BRICS has set its sights on global trade talks to assert its weight. Its declared aim: to secure economic benefits for developing nations.

China’s rise as a leader in the environmentally friendly, low-carbon economy is giving the Asian giant new diplomatic muscle for this year’s round of climate change negotiations leading up to the COP17 U.N. summit in Durban, South Africa in November.

To some in her country she is known as 'The Lady,' and to others, the more endearing 'Aunty Suu.' Yet beyond the borders of Burma, which has endured nearly 50 years of oppressive military regimes, Aung San Suu Kyi has been long regarded as the icon of the country’s struggling democracy movement.