You order a Christmas present from Amazon and shortly thereafter, it simply arrives. The process feels seamless, almost magical. But the logistics that make online shopping possible—particularly the part where warehouse workers actually retrieve and package the goods—are the subject of new scrutiny, this time by the BBC.
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Thai newspapers covering ongoing protests in Bangkok have adopted a new reporting tool in recent weeks: small, camera-equipped helicopters they’re using to capture images of massive crowds.
With luxury brands clamoring for exotic skins for use in products like expensive handbags, global demand for crocodiles has spiked in recent years. That should be great news for Cambodian crocodile farmers, but instead they are stuck on the bottom rungs of the luxury goods business.
Sheikha Al Mayassa, sister of the emir of Qatar, is by more than one account the most powerful person in the art world due to her position as head of the free-spending and ridiculously well-funded Qatar Museums Authority. Whenever the sheikha is in town, ”everyone from government ministers to mayors queue up to pay their respects,” said ArtReview, which ranked her at the top of its Power 100 list of the art world’s most influential people.
Internet cafes across the developing world are reporting dwindling numbers of customers as smartphones make the mobile web ubiquitous. After all, why pay for web access on someone else’s creaky old PC when you can peruse Facebook on your Android device from anywhere you like?
Japan’s pediatricians would like to remind mothers and fathers that using smartphones as babysitters really isn’t such a great idea. In order to raise awareness about the supposed perils of handing over the phone to infants to stop them from crying or keep them entertained in their strollers, the Japan Pediatric Association is launching an ad campaign, including posters in children’s hospitals.
What do you do if you’re faced with increasing labor costs and a shortage of workers? If you’re one Chinese province, you invest in workers that never demand raises and are willing to work around the clock.
Thailand is mired in political chaos as the government slugs it out with the opposition over a controversial amnesty bill. Thousands of protesters have poured into Bangkok’s streets, traffic has worsened, workers are leaving their offices to join rallies, and the tension has raised concerns about damage to the country’s important tourism sector.
The US government is set today to officially label Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamist group, a ”foreign terrorist organization.” That means authorities would have the power to block financial transactions by people associated with the militants, who have committed several atrocities in attacks on the UN and an agricultural college. U.S. financial institutions would also be required to seize any funds controlled by Boko Haram—but the group doesn’t really sound like the type to open up a checking account.
Thailand’s ruinous rice subsidy program, which buys rice from farmers at rates 40% higher than the market, has been widely acknowledged as a disaster—by everyone, that is, except the Thai government. But in a new report by the International Monetary Fund, Thai officials finally admit that the populist policy may need fixing.
The South and East China Seas aren’t Asia’s only territorial flashpoints.
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
What to watch for today
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
