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June 22nd, 2023

Afghanistan's opium tragedy

Drug addiction keeps millions in poverty despite the Taliban's cultivation ban

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The Big Story

Afghanistan's opium tragedy persists despite Taliban cultivation ban

Sanctions and loss of foreign aid puts treatment out of reach for many addicts

Afghan men smoke drugs on a street in Kabul in November 2022. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of heroin and opium, and domestic drug use is trapping millions there in poverty. 
Participants march during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade, celebrating advances in LGBTQ rights and calling for marriage equality, in Tokyo on April 23. 
Gender

Japan passes controversial LGBT law: 5 things to know

Sexual minorities and critics say legal framework has no teeth

Foreign students in Tokyo prepare for Japanese university entrance exams. Of the 230,000 foreign students in Japan last year, 93% were from other Asian countries. (Photo by Wataru Ito) 
Opinion

Japan is looking in the wrong place for talented graduates

Targeting students from South and Southeast Asia would be more effective

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina contends that the U.S. is pursuing a strategy of regime change in her country. (Pool via Reuters)
Opinion

Uneven U.S. treatment of Bangladesh and Pakistan makes little sense

Sanctions against Dhaka officials unlikely to help cause of democracy

Condominiums in Shanxi province in January: Property sales are stagnant in China.
The Nikkei View

China's flagging recovery cause for global concern

Weak economic data indicates post-COVID growth trailing expectations

Workers pick goods at a logistics center in eastern China. However, economic pressures are casting a shadow over demand for e-commerce in the nation.
Business Spotlight

China's e-commerce extravaganza loses its shine as consumption sags

Online sales suffer amid COVID hangover, property weakness and job losses

In Tokyo's otaku headquarters of Akihabara, early game cartridges can fetch hundreds of dollars, many multiples of their original prices from decades ago. (Photo by Manami Yamada)
Media & Entertainment

Save game history: Japan preserves its cartridge-bound treasures

National Diet Library fights off legal barriers, corrosion, even drain to abroad

The Bangkok skyline. Thailand is 52nd on the startup ecosystem scale, according to one ranking.
Startups

Thailand aims to duplicate Singapore model for startups

Capital gains tax breaks begin to attract investor funds to nascent industry

Even though South Korea sent the biggest group of inbound travelers to Thailand this year, more Koreans are traveling to Vietnam and Japan.
Travel & Leisure

Vietnam tourism growing faster than in Thailand, Japan: Agoda CEO

Morgenshtern bets on Thailand as budding regional tech investment hub

China has emerged from COVID-enforced isolation with grand plans to boost its influence among countries around the world.
Asia Insight

China targets sea change in global diplomacy race with West

As Blinken calls, Beijing wields 'Xivilization' to promote China worldview

Bhutan's hydroelectric power resources hold the key to its plan to become a Bitcoin mining center.
Economy

Bhutan puts Bitcoin mining plan in motion to power up economy

Fundraising starts as Himalayan kingdom aims to leverage hydro resources

Workers check the deck of the Russian oil tanker Pure Point, carrying crude oil for delivery to Pakistan, sits at anchor in Karachi on June 13.
Economy

Pakistan pins hopes on Russian energy imports shrouded in secrecy

Government says deals in yuan will bring economic relief; experts aren't so sure

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Books

The exhilarating visual spectacle of 1970s Tokyo

Photographing the drama of a wilder, more sensual era

The author's paternal great-grandmother, center, is pictured here with in 1940. To her right sits the author's grandmother, holding the author's father. (Courtesy of the author)
Tea Leaves

Family history mirrors attitudes among China's diaspora

Why pride in the 'old country' still sustains Sino-Indonesians