Slguardian

Vietnam Targets Natural Sex Ratio by 2035

Vietnam aims to reduce its sex ratio at birth to the natural level of about 106 boys for every 100 girls by 2035, according to a draft plan from…

Can An Airline Own and Control An Airport?

Sell airlines: buy airports ~ Attributed to Rigas Doganis Recently, a distinguished colleague in the airport industry brought to my attention th…

Why Sri Lanka Must Not Revive the Death Penalty?

Once again, the spectre of the hangman has returned to Sri Lanka’s policy discourse. At the “Ratama Ekata” National Operations Council convened…

Europe Turns to Foreign Prisons as Sweden Sends Inmates to Estonia

Around 30 prisoners convicted of serious offences in Sweden are preparing to serve their sentences in Estonia, hundreds of kilometres from where…

The Return of Somali Piracy

A new wave of piracy off Somalia is exposing the fragile security of the Horn of Africa, as depleted fishing grounds, drought and stretched nava…

Five Years After Kabul Fell, Afghanistan Remains in Limbo

The world witnessed the fall of the Afghan republic on 15 August 2021, with a shocking degree of rapidity. With Taliban fighters marching into K…

Afghanistan’s Surveillance State

Afghanistan’s expanding CCTV network is giving the Taliban new power to monitor public life, while women, activists and political opponents desc…

China’s Ethnic Unity Law and the New Propaganda War

On July 1, 2026, the day China’s new Ethnic Unity law went into effect, a storm of criticism ensued. All major Western media, governments, polit…

The Mysterious Death of Assad’s Confidante

Luna al-Shibl rose from television presenter to one of Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful advisers, but her sudden death in 2024 exposed the danger…

EU Prepares for Potential Trade Battle with China

The European Union and China have marked October as a crucial point in their trade relationship. Negotiations are under way, and Brussels wants…

The Monster in the Desert: America’s AI Boom Meets a Backlash

At the northern end of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, the Hansel Valley seems an unlikely place for one of America’s largest data centres. Mobile recep…

Who Is Education For?

Ihave been emphasizing the importance of a liberal arts college education for a long time. I had such an education back in the late 1950s, and I…

Kim Jong Un and Putin Reaffirm Deepening North Korea-Russia Ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a message marking the a…

Cambodian Worker Exodus Exposes Thailand’s Fragile Labour Model

The departure of hundreds of thousands of Cambodian workers following last year’s border conflict has exposed how heavily parts of Thailand’s ec…

The Gentleman Behind the Uniform

There are moments when words seem inadequate to express the sorrow of losing an extraordinary soul. Today, we remember Major Seevaratnam Mahinda…

UN Warns Russian Law Could Impose ‘Civic Death’ on Critics Abroad

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, has warned that a new Russian law impos…

UN Experts Warn Against Normalising Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

UN experts have warned States against normalising Taliban rule in Afghanistan, saying five years of increasingly entrenched restrictions have de…

Japan’s $2.3tn Gamble on Industrial Revival

At a newly built factory in southwestern Japan, a robot makes a mistake — and then corrects it. At Yaskawa Electric’s new 20 billion yen ($126 m…