How Japan sees China
THE FIRST reliable records of an official mission from Japan to China date to 238AD, when Himiko, a Japanese queen, dispatched a delegation to China’s Wei kingdom, offering as tribute ten slaves and two 20-foot-long textiles. By the 7th century the Yamato, a clan that ruled much of Japan at the time, was regularly sending…
What real-time indicators suggest about Omicron’s economic impact
Jan 1st 2022WHAT IS THE economic impact of Omicron? The latest variant of the coronavirus has let rip at such a ferocious pace that forecasters are still catching their breath, and it will be some time before its economic effects become apparent in the official data, which are published with a lag. But a number…
Extreme weather in South-East Asia is a harbinger of worse to come
Jan 1st 2022MANILA AND SINGAPOREON DECEMBER 16TH Typhoon Rai made landfall in Siargao in the south-eastern Philippines. With sustained winds of 195kph and gusts of up to 240kph, the storm barged westward and slightly northward, the eye making eight more landfalls in the Philippine archipelago, where it is known as Typhoon Odette, before sweeping out…
Thai restaurants are cooking with cannabis
BAN LAO RUENG does not resemble a den of iniquity. A two-hour drive from Bangkok, the Thai capital, the restaurant caters to families and old folk. Gauzy curtains frame the windows and doilies decorate bags of cookies on sale at the counter. The menu features such classics as tom yum soup and khanom pang na…
Israel tightens its grip on the Golan Heights
MEVO HAMA has magnificent views of three countries. On its western side is a sheer cliff dropping down to the Sea of Galilee and northern Israel. To the south is another steep drop, into Jordan. And across the mountain plateau to the east is Syria (see map). The kibbutz was established shortly after Israel seized…