Thursday, 16 December 2010

PATTERNS

DARIUS SIT
You might think that the scantily-clad erotic dancers at Thai discos are here for a quick buck. But some of them are really looking for love, and a growing number of Singaporean men are falling for them.
DIPTI SHERCHAN
Bedridden for two years, Charan Pradhan realised time wouldn’t help him heal. But dancing just might.
新洲日报, Translated by Ministry of Tofu
Independent, straightforward and less materialistic than their Chinese peers – that’s the growing allure of Western women for Chinese men.
IRIN
Punitive laws against condom-carrying sex workers might be hampering the region’s fight against AIDS.
CARMELA MENDOZA
If a picture says more than a thousand words, what do the pictures taken by women photographers in Asia say about their countries and societies?
IRIN
More dangerous than cholera, dengue and malaria, snakebites is an oft-overlooked menace in Asia.
IRIN
Some 10 million people in Vietnam prefer to poop in the woods.
KHEW SIN KHOON
Why do Asian butterflies have names such as Sergeant, Red Admiral and Viscount? Because British military men came, collected and christened them.
RAUNAK AGARWAL
Extensive aid-driven, non-profit work may not help Nepal’s development after all.
NIGEL LIM
The exquisite, completely unnecessary practice favoured by parents in Malaysia known as extra tuition.
ANNIE LEE
More bad news for the environment: many young, strong buildings are demolished in China amidst a frenzied appetite for “newer”, more prestigious ones.
KENNETH T SO and SOPHAL EAR
Barbarians, hill tribes, outsiders, yuon... Why have racist names existed across Southeast Asia for years?