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India’s cockroach swarm: youth anger and democracy’s warning signal
In May an unexpected political emblem emerged in India’s increasingly restless democratic landscape: the cockroach. An insect commonly associated with filth, nuisance and extermination was transformed into a symbol of resistance after the Chief Justice of India likened unemployed young activists and online critics to ‘cockroaches’ and ‘parasites’. What might have passed as an insensitive remark sparked an extraordinary act of political reclamation. Within hours, the insult was transformed into a rallying cry. Madhavi Ravikumar reports.
Life in an open-air prison camp
My family’s journey to the camp began in 1991, when Burma’s military launched an exclusionary operation known as Operation Pyi Thaya, or ‘Clean and Beautiful Nation’. They crossed into Bangladesh as refugees. In 1993, under an agreement involving UNHCR, Bangladesh and Burma, now known as Myanmar, a process called ‘Operation Hope’ promised protection and voluntary repatriation. More than three decades later, that hope remains unfulfilled. I am Forid Alam and this is my story.
Bangladesh’s Rohingya community: a crisis without an exit
When Bangladesh’s new BNP-led government assumed office, Rohingya refugees once again found themselves listening closely to the language of power in Dhaka. The familiar words had returned: repatriation, shortage of funds, national security, and international cooperation. Sushmita S Preetha reports from Dhaka.
Kyrgyzstan’s ruling tandem breaks amid new sanctions scrutiny
Kyrgyzstan kickstarted summer with a diplomatic triumph, becoming the second Central Asian state after Kazakhstan to win a non-permanent UN Security Council seat. But new European Union sanctions over trade with Russia and the collapse of the republic’s ruling ‘tandem’ have added a fresh dose of risk for a country where trouble is never far away, as Chris Rickleton reports.
The China-fication of Vietnam
From the history archives to the state media to the presidency, something is happening in Vietnam. New rules, new restrictions and new structures all point to a change in the political system, as Bill Hayton reports.
Cambodia cracks down, but scam networks move on
Cambodia wants to show the world it is finally cleaning up its multibillion-dollar scam economy. But locals and experts warn that the syndicates’ roots remain deep, and that the business is dispersing across Southeast Asia rather than disappearing. Nyein Chan Aye reports.
Remembering Tiananmen
In China, June 4th is a sensitive date. As the anniversary approaches, an old ritual unfolds: censors spring into action, social media posts disappear and searches for ‘Tiananmen’, ‘June Fourth’, ‘1989’ are scrubbed from the internet. Activists are placed under surveillance, while foreign journalists mark an event that officially never happened. For the writer and former factory worker Lijia Zhang, the date holds special significance.
Signals from Shangri-La 2026
US allies in Asia, as in Europe, are increasing their military spending in response to President Trump’s new doctrine. But three years of signals from Asia’s premier security forum tell a more unsettled story than Washington may be prepared to acknowledge. Howard Zhang reports.
Power lines across the Himalayas
For much of the past two decades, South Asia’s energy security has been defined by distance, particularly its dependence on oil and gas imports from the Gulf. Recent volatility in the Middle East has added urgency to a quieter, longer-term trend: the push to trade electricity across the region’s own borders. Udisha Saklani reports.
Alia’s story – it’s hard being a woman in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
Understanding life in Afghanistan has been difficult since the Taliban came to power – for the second time – in August 2021. One of the few international journalists to have gained access to the country is BBC correspondent Yogita Limaye. Here she tells Alia’s story.
Data, democracy and the new art of war
Data is becoming the nervous system of the modern state. AI can help democracies govern better and fight smarter, but it can also turn public service into surveillance, as Sham Banerji reports.
Bisinomics
Semiconductors Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which dominates production of the world’s most advanced chips, reported May revenue up nearly 30 percent year on year after debuting its advanced A13 process technology earlier this year. After the volatility caused by the war in West Asia, Asian markets have been recovering strongly in the tech and semiconductor sectors. Stocks in Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi bounced back, partly as hopes rose of a deal between the United States and Iran over their armed conflict. Chipmakers like South Korea’s Samsung were leading the comeback. The country’s stock market is approaching developed-market status according to MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International). To add to the buoyancy, chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies of China received regulatory approval for a US$4.2 billion initial public offering (IPO). This reflected wider international excitement over AI infrastructure. Japan Japan plans to send a delegation to Greenland this summer to study the possibility of mining rare earths and other critical minerals, as it seeks to reduce reliance on China. US President Donald Trump had previously threatened to annex the vast Arctic island. So, Tokyo’s move, announced on the eve of the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, was unlikely to please Trump. Rare-earth minerals have become strategically important as countries seek secure supplies for advanced manufacturing, clean energy technologies and defence industries. Photo: Resources ReviewOn a positive note, Takaichi advanced discussions with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on their countries’ plan to sign an £18 billion UK-Japan climate-related investment deal as warnings grew that a strong El Niño could disrupt weather patterns and test the UK’s climate preparedness. They also talked about how to finance the proposed Anglo-Japanese joint venture to manufacture combat aircraft. Strait of Hormuz impact Insurance Asia quoted Oliver Miloschewsky, head of shipping for Asia at Aon Plc, as saying, ‘What has shifted is not demand itself, but how risk is priced, managed and operationalised in delivering that demand.’ This was in reference to insurance cover for voyages through the Strait of Hormuz. This suggests, notwithstanding a ceasefire, that insurers remain cautious and high insurance costs may continue. Commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy corridor where geopolitical tensions continue to influence insurance costs, trade flows and energy security. Photo: Reuters Asian currencies continued to face an onslaught because of foreign investors preferring to lock in profits from historically high returns from Asian equity and repatriate funds. Lipper Alpha Insight reported that ‘rising risk aversion has triggered significant foreign selling’. The publication said foreign ownership of Indian equities was ‘the lowest in nearly 15 years’. Nearly US$20 billion has been withdrawn in the first half of 2026 from India. Amid the turmoil, the US has become India’s top gas supplier after a force majeure freeze in exports from Qatar. China ‘China is innovative. Its economy is a mess. Which matters more?’ The Economist asked, calling that ‘A question that will define the 21st century’. This is a moot point, since China is the world’s second biggest economy, Asia’s largest and a major engine for Asian growth and prosperity. If Trump leaves the US economy in tatters a sensible successor will likely start undoing the damage and the US will definitely rebound. If China, despite totalitarian stability, is struggling economically, then Asia – indeed the world – will need other props.‘Since 2021 Chinese president Xi Jinping has steered China’s economy away from a preoccupation with property (building it, selling it and finishing it) towards high-tech manufacturing and ‘new productive forces’, as the paramount leader calls them. ‘But are the new forces big enough to fill the gap left by the old?,’ The Economist asked, answering ‘Probably not big enough to offset the drag from the old.’ India In 2010, when Manmohan Singh was India’s prime minister and India was still widely discussed as a rising economic power, TIME magazine carried a debate on India and China’s economic prospects. The cover said, ‘INDIA vs CHINA’, and posed the question: ‘Which Economy Will Rule The World?’ and pictured an elephant (representing India) and a dragon (signifying China) locked in a tussle. Within the magazine, some experts bet on India surpassing China this century. Today, such a suggestion would be treated as a joke. However, resolution of the rivalry between these two economic powers could lie in the potency of the combined strength of Asia’s ‘tiger’ economies, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. East Asia South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, appears to have steadied his nation from the turbulence caused by his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law in 2024 before being impeached last year. Referring to the upheaval in an interview with The Economist, Mr Lee declared that his country could ‘move beyond this normalisation of the abnormal’. The magazine warned that ‘challenges loom’. Japan’s JERA signed a 20-year liquefied natural gas supply deal with Malaysia’s Petronas. The shock of shutdowns in supplies from the Gulf prompted Japan to diversify its purchases. Malaysia was seen as a trustworthy ally. Analysts said Kuala Lumpur is leveraging its natural resources to rise as a ‘middle power’. Central Asia is attracting growing international interest as investors look to the region's mineral resources, transport links and expanding role in global supply chains. Central Asia Bucking adversity elsewhere, Central Asian economies promise a strong 5.2 per cent growth projection. The Times of Central Asia reported that US investors are showing interest in Kazakhstan’s critical mineral riches, focusing on both extraction and processing. The paper also reported that Kyrgyzstan and Georgia are exploring ways to connect their transport plans to the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, with Bishkek seeking access to Georgia’s Black Sea ports.
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