Thaksin 72; Tony 27: the Return of Thaksin Shinawatra
Punchada Sirivunnabood
Thaksin Shinawatra is priming himself for a return to Thai politics. This time, he is reaching out to younger Thai voters.

Punchada Sirivunnabood
Thaksin Shinawatra is priming himself for a return to Thai politics. This time, he is reaching out to younger Thai voters.
Dien Nguyen An Luong
In this study, the Facebook posts by the Chinese embassy and consulate in Vietnam were compared with those of the U.S. embassy and consulate over seven months. The findings show that China’s public diplomacy efforts in Vietnam tend to peddle anti-America narratives. But by and large, the Vietnamese public appears more receptive to the U.S. narratives.
Ha Hoang Hop|Lye Liang Fook
A number of reasons can account for Vietnam’s latest wave of Covid-19 outbreak. These include the more contagious Delta variant, the initial slow response of the authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, the lack of strict application of Covid-19 safety measures, and the slow pace of vaccination due to a shortage of vaccines.
Norshahril Saat
The appointment of Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister is welcome. At best, however, his ascent represents an agglomeration of compromises between the players concerned. As the country experiences another Covid-19 surge, he will have his work cut out for him.
Jayant Menon
While the Delta variant of the coronavirus has had a significant impact on Southeast Asia economies, it is unlikely that economies will return to the troughs that they saw in 2020.
Clarissa Ai Ling Lee|Amirul Adli Rosli
The former Malaysian prime minister has become a social media juggernaut. Yet, he has also become the butt of jokes and memes online.
Wahyudi Akmaliah|Ahmad Najib Burhani
Covid-19 has forced various Muslim groups to adopt digital platforms in their religious activities. Controversy, however, abounds regarding the online version of the Friday Prayer. In Islamic law, this ritual is wajib (mandatory) for male Muslims.
Shad Saleem Faruqi
The recent heightened tensions between the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Prime Minister Muhyidddin Yassin’s Cabinet have put the spotlight on whether the Constitution allows the King to exercise discretionary powers, apart from acting on the advice of Cabinet.
Hoang Thi Ha
The Biden Administration has gone big guns on promoting its values-based democracy agenda in the Indo-Pacific. It is time for a rethink.
Ian Storey
For a country that was first off the blocks, Russia has a long way to go if it wants to catch up with China and the United States in the game of vaccine diplomacy