Asia-Pacific | GlobalPost

Saving Pakistan's environment, a tree at a time

Nicolas BrulliardApril 26, 2010 06:46Updated May 30, 2010 13:30

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has more than its fair share of pressing challenges to deal with, from rising religious fundamentalism to chronic water shortages and crippling power cuts, but it just added another item to its laundry list of urgent priorities: disappearing forests. Pakistan has few forests to begin with, and they’re vanishing fast. The country has lost a quarter of its natural forest cover over the past two decades and is currently experiencing a deforestation rate of 2 percent a year — one of the highest in the world.

Opinion: Tibet earthquake highlights tension

Topden TseringApril 25, 2010 09:21Updated May 30, 2010 13:30

BERKELEY, Cali. — In a sign that the Chinese government is threatened by the central role Buddhist monks have played in rescue and recovery efforts in eastern Tibet's Kyegundo, the site of a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on April 14, they have ordered the Tibetan monks out of the disaster zone. Beijing's nervousness in acknowledging the heroism of the monks, and its rejection of request to visit the quake site by the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, have deepened tensions with the region's predominantly-Tibetan population.

Bamboo Battlements in the Heart of Bangkok

Patrick WinnApril 21, 2010 13:39

In recent days, Thailand's anti-government protesters -- the Red Shirts -- been prevented from expanding their territory in Bangkok by battalions of heavily armed soldiers. Instead, this largely working-class movement to oust the ruling party has decided to double down on their core encampment around Ratchaprasong, the city's swankest shopping district. How? By walling the perimeter with this Mad Max-esque rampart of bamboo rods...

why does cricket trump poverty?

Jason OverdorfApril 21, 2010 03:40

The best line to come from an Indian politician in recent months, to my mind, was the withering rhetorical question from a Bharatiya Janata Party MP this week: “Why are we obsessed with the IPL (India Premier League) rather than the BPL (Below Poverty Line)?” Never were truer words spoken in India's legislature.

StreetLife: Ulan Bator — Genghis Khan returns

Margot BuffApril 21, 2010 06:26Updated May 30, 2010 13:30

Disappearing family farm

Jerry RedfernApril 25, 2010 09:00Updated May 30, 2010 13:30

Toto, we're not in Lahore any more

Sonya FatahMay 1, 2010 09:11Updated May 30, 2010 13:30

NEW DELHI, India — If you’re asked to conjure up a vision of Pakistan and you imagine men in traditional white outfits sporting long beards, and possibly Kalashnikovs, and women in shapeless black veils with only narrow slits for their eyes, you may be forgiven for thinking Pakistan a dry, drab and colorless society. But if you happen to thumb through the pages of "Mazaar Bazaar: Design and Visual Culture in Pakistan," a chunky book of essay and photographs, you may be surprised.

Education: the virtual TA

Saritha RaiApril 20, 2010 06:35Updated May 30, 2010 14:46

Photo caption: Students of the graduating class of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, University of Law, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, July 21, 2007. Army officers’ wives, stay-at-home moms with young children and retired teachers have grabbed the chance to work as virtual TAs. (Krishnendu Halder/Reuters) BANGALORE, India — Not far from the magnificent snow peaks of the Himalayas, Anita Bakshi stares at the computer screen in her home at Kalimpong. She is correcting and grading college assignments.

Iceland volcanic cloud hits Pakistan airline hard

Nicolas BrulliardApril 20, 2010 05:43

The cloud of volcanic ash that has darkened European skies is still far from South Asia, but in yet another sign of ever-increasing globalization, Pakistan's national airline has been hit particularly hard by it.

Taco Bell storms vegetarian India

Saritha RaiApril 21, 2010 06:30Updated May 30, 2010 13:29

BANGALORE, India — Praful Desai celebrated his 65th birthday last weekend by doing something special with his family. Desai, a retired chemical engineer and an avowed vegetarian, took his two brothers-in-law, their wives, children and grandchildren to Bangalore’s latest hotspot — the country’s first Taco Bell. “I’m trying Mexican food for the first time in my life,” Desai said, adding, “Never too old to try something new."