Taiwan eyes first rocket launch site and Amazon satellite collaboration (December 18, 2024, Nikkei Asia) (Subscription required)
Taiwan is developing an ambitious space program, aiming to select its first full-fledged rocket launch site in the next few months while discussing satellite collaboration with U.S. e-commerce company Amazon.
Workation Paradise Season 2: Redefining Work and Travel in Thailand (December 16, 2024, Tourism Authority of Thailand Newsroom)
“Workation is an emerging trend as flexible working models allow professionals to work from anywhere. This project caters to Digital Nomads and Remote Workers while stimulating weekday travel…” Inspiring them with pop-up workspaces and exclusive travel promotions.
DNA testing exposes 164 illegal holders of Kuwaiti citizenship (December 15, 2024, Gulf News)
DNA testing has helped Kuwaiti authorities unmask 164 persons, who have for years unlawfully borne Kuwaiti citizenship as the country is pressing ahead with a high-profile crackdown on people who obtained its nationality through forgery.
‘A whole new world opened up’: the radical project taking Israel-Palestine into schools (December 14, 2024, The Guardian)
Issues often deemed too controversial for the classroom are bread and butter for Parallel Histories, which teaches children to see hot-button topics from both sides. It has dominated the news agenda for the past 14 months, but inside most British classrooms, it’s as if 7 October never happened. Half a million pupils studied history at GCSE or A-level last year, but just 2,000 tackled the origins of the Middle East’s most contentious war: why Israel was born, what that meant for the Palestinians, and the decades of occupation and violence that followed.
War on Gaza: Palestinian youth self-censoring online for fear of repercussions (August 20, 2024, Middle East Eye)
A new report reveals that since Israel’s war on Gaza began, young people in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem have scaled back social media use out of fear of potential repercussions.
Are We Missing the Point? Reflections on COP29 (December 12, 2024, Unicef)
“While countries fought over the text—debating which words should go where and whether the number should have 11 or 12 zeros—were we missing the point? Have we forgotten who this is all for?The force of children and young people fighting for a better future is strong. The protests in the corridors of COP29 and the streets of our countries make that clearer by the day. Children and young people are here to secure not just their future but the future of the planet.”
Air pollution has contributed to 16 million deaths in India in the past decade – new study (December 12, 2024, The Conversation)
Hospitals are hard-pressed to receive a large influx of patients with respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. But is this problem restricted to exposures over short periods in winter or is it a year-around phenomenon? And how many people die from such high air pollution exposure?
Bringing Global Public Opinion on China into Focus (December 5, 2024, Asia Society Policy Institute)
Public opinion can refer either to the collective opinions of the public as a whole or to opinions expressed in public, typically through the media and online, which can be highly unrepresentative. Social media users know only too well the disconnect that can exist between online opinion and the views of everyday people. What Does the World Think of China? Is There Such a Thing as Global Public Opinion on China?
Don’t Speak Chinese: Stigma and Fear in Cambodia’s Chinese Community (December 18, 2024, The Diplomat) (Subscription required)
Organized crime and online scamming operations have tainted the image of Chinese migrants, who have been a part of Cambodian society for centuries.
Meet One of Hong Kong’s Last Remaining Pro-Democracy Activists (November 27, 2024, The New York Times) (Subscription required)
When a court in Hong Kong sentenced 45 pro-democracy politicians and activists to prison sentences of up to 10 years, it took down the city’s once-vocal opposition in one fell swoop, making clear the risks of dissent. But a handful still remain.