Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand’s jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been released on parole after being detained for six months at a police hospital over corruption-related offences. Thaksin’s release, the culmination of a period of reconciliation between his populist movement and the country’s conservative establishment, raises questions about what role the former telecoms tycoon might play in Thai politics going forward. Thaksin, a towering but divisive presence...

China last year narrowly beat its economic growth target of 5 percent, one of its lowest benchmarks in decades. Looking ahead, analysts expect the economy to face stiff headwinds in the Year of the Dragon. Against the backdrop of a crisis-stricken property market, subdued export earnings and crackdowns on private industry, international investors are pulling out of Chinese stocks at record rates. With business sentiment faltering, economists broadly...

Hearings into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of Palestine are separate from the genocide case brought by South Africa. The United Nations’s highest court is set to open historic hearings into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of the Palestinian territories. The week-long proceedings, which begin at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Monday, come as Israel continues its devastating war on Gaza....