Stories tagged "region asia"

On Tuesday morning the Japanese stock market completed its investment year with a final session that ended 1.3% higher. This is a small high note in what was a dismal year for the Nikkei. The market tallied losses of over 42%, the worst annual performance ever. Andrew Walker, the BBC Business and Economics Correspondent, joins The Takeaway to explain what this means for Japan and the global economy.

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There's no let up in the political turmoil in Thailand. This past year the country has had four prime ministers. The most recently-elected prime minister has been greeted with calls to dissolve the legislature and initiate general elections. Of course he hasn't been able to do anything yet because his first speech, which is mandatory for him to take office, was delayed twice due to massive protests. The incoming prime minister finally managed to give the speech today at an improvised parliament session. BBC Correspondent Jonathan Head joins us from Bangkok.

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Somali pirates have been grabbing headlines for months for hijacking tanker after tanker. The Somali government is in shambles and its president is resigning and they are in no position to stop the insanity. But the international community has had enough and the snatch-and-get-paid schemes of Somali pirates may be coming to an end. Last week German fighter ships thwarted an attempted hijacking and now China has sent two destroyers to escort and protect its merchant ships. Chris Hogg, a reporter for the BBC, is in Beijing covering this aspect of the story.

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One year has passed since the murder of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Meanwhile, tensions with neighboring India are high and there are reports that Pakistan is redeploying troops to their shared border. Ambassador Munir Akram, former Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Pakistan, joins The Takeaway for an analysis.

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As China's economy slows, unemployment grows and authorities worry this could mean social unrest. As next year marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square uprising, the goverment says that finding jobs for university students is a top priority. Dr. Kerry Brown, a senior fellow in Asia research at Chatham House, joins The Takeaway to discuss the issues.

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The collapse of oil prices has stalled Russia's burgeoning economy, slowed economic reform and it has reversed the Russian government's mission to re-assert its influence in Europe. But the single most explosive element of the Russian economic predicament is the quality of life of the average Russian. James Rogers covers Russia for our partner, the BBC World Service.

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The first flight in over a week has finally landed in Thailand. BBC correspondent John Sudworth tells The Takeaway about the tumultuous events in Thailand.

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"They were talking about installing a siren system in Sumatra and Java where there are major risks for tsunami activity."
--Stuart Weinstein on the tsunami warming system

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The Russian parliament is fast-tracking legislation that would create a path for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to return to the Kremlin as president for another two six-year terms. Putin had already served two four-year terms as president from 2000 to 2008, but the current constitution prevents a president from serving more than two terms consecutively. With one-party control, the measure is expected to pass, and quickly, meaning there could be a President Putin in place soon (well before the end of the first term of the President-elect Barack Obama) and until 2021.

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"People are starting to lose their sight, they're starting to lose limbs, they're getting heart disease -- all symptoms of diabetes. They're not aware what they're getting."
--Adam Mynott, speaking about the rapid spread of Type 2 diabetes in India

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Kurt Andersen, writer and host of Studio 360, recently made his first trip to Beijing — and he was amazed by how familiar he felt. It wasn’t the language or the cuisine that brought to his mind the comforts of home — it was the buildings that said New York to him.

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Early this morning, the first U.S. plane carrying aid landed in Yangon. It's a rare move for the ruling junta, which has resisted offers for military aid, to allow the plane to land. It carries supplies like blankets and drinking water... but no aid workers. Peter Popham, roving foreign correspondent for The Independent, has been tracking the latest.

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