“After Zhang Xinyanman had a little too much beer for lunch, he suddenly decided that Beijing Zoo resident Gu Gu the panda was the cutest thing he ever saw. He climbed over the enclosure around Gu Gu’s living area and tried to give the bear a hug. Unfor

“No ordinary sushi: this sushi is made up of flavoured sheets printed out on an inkjet printer.”

“Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is concerned that freedom of expression and the media have come under threat from the Thai military, two days after it deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and took over the reins of government.”

“The Philippines and Thailand have much in common. Both have volatile polities, entrenched militaries, dominant state religions, and persistent Muslim insurgencies in the south …. Why then was it Thailand, the more prosperous of the two, that experienc

“Humorous but probably true.”

“Needless to say, politicians in the Uri, Democratic and Democratic Labor parties found it a little unsettling that the spokesman of a party widely associated with Korea’s past military governments would make statements some considered a virtual call fo

“Could a coup topple Kuan Yew? Or rather, could there be a coup at all? Not in Singapore.”

“Last time we had Blue mobs in the streets, we apparently had Blue offiicers cooperating with them. Hopefully the Thais won’t give the radical Blues in the military any bright ideas this time around.”

“Does the king have any choices but to “endorse” a successful coup d’etat? There have been more successful military coups in Thailand than I care to count, not least during the current reign. Which ones did the king not endorse?”

“If Buddhism is attractive, it’s only because it suggests that by belonging to it you can touch the infinite, and you can have joy without concrete religious obligations,'’ Ratzinger said. “It’s spiritually self-indulgent eroticism.'’

“.. most coups in Thailand - there have been more than a dozen in the past 75 years - are popular at first. It is later, when the generals have worn out their welcome and the streets begin to fill again with protestors demanding that they quit that the tr

Tanks’ a million, say fascinated fans

“Some Kal Penn fan recut Harold and Kumar with the Superman soundtrack. Penn plays Kal-El, and the result is genius.”

“Many outsiders are calling on China to let its undervalued currency, the yuan, appreciate. But is that what the rest of the world really wants?”