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THE REGION

SOUTHEAST ASIA
A Tango Speeds Asean Integration
Singapore and Thailand have forged a new approach to economic cooperation that could lead to real integration of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and save the regional bloc from economic irrelevance. By Michael Vatikiotis and John McBeth

SOUTH KOREA
Roh's Recall
The president takes a gamble, offering a dissatisfied public the chance to vote him out. By Gordon Fairclough and Kim Jung Min

AFGHANISTAN
Drugs Are Good for War
Income from opium is on the rise, fuelling the Taliban resurgence, helping fund Al Qaeda and keeping Afghan warlord armies in the field. By Ahmed Rashid

INDONESIA
How to Stay on Top
Tomy Winata gained considerable influence in the Suharto years. But the change in government hasn't diminished his ability to wield power. By Richard Borsuk

The Press As Both Victim And Villian
Five years into Indonesia's transition from dictatorship to democracy, the country's media are facing new pressures. By Tom McCawley

CHINA

THE LEADERSHIP
Quietly Plotting Their Course
Chinese Communist Party leaders grapple with the problems of keeping the economy on track and implementing wider market reforms until 2010, while showing that they care for the plight of vocal, unhappy homeowners and millions of other people whose dreams haven't come true. By David Murphy

A Home Revolt At Ground Level
Property owners are fighting for legal recognition. By Ben Dolven

CHINA BRIEFING
Intelligence, briefs and business digest

INNOVATION

ELECTRONICS
BenQ Builds A Brand
Tired of shrinking margins in the contract manufacturing world, this Taiwanese company is striking out to create a name for itself in consumer electronics. By Jason Dean

Designers On The Walkman Trail
If BenQ is to join the ranks of global brand names, it would help to have a home-run product. By Jason Dean

BenQ CEO Eyes The Big Leagues
K.Y. Lee is not the typical Taiwan tech-company boss. By Jason Dean

AVIATION
Battle-Tested
The Sars crisis brought Asian carriers long-term benefits: lower costs and more flexibility. By Scott Neuman

LOOSE WIRE
Hurrah for Great Software
Search hard enough and you can find some seriously useful software. The catch: It's designed for Macs. By Jeremy Wagstaff

MONEY

PRIVATIZATION
Hong Kong's Big Sell-Off
Spurred by persistent budget deficits and unable to find alternative sources of revenue, the government has announced a far-reaching divestment programme that could generate more than $40 billion over the next 10 years. By Joel Baglole

Airport Privatization Has The Airlines Worried
Airlines are worried that onerous new private monopolies could replace the old government ones. By Scott Neuman and Joel Baglole

Wheeling And Dealing
Winning a share of the government's privatization business requires tireless networking and a willingness to offer some services free of charge. By Joel Baglole

SRI LANKA
Sea Change
The end of nearly 20 years of civil war has dramatically raised foreign-investor confidence. By Joanna Slater and Murray Hiebert

CURRENTS

RELIGION
Money And Monks
Marginalized in an increasingly materialist society, Buddhist monks in Thailand are finding it ever harder to shun the twin attractions of power and wealth. By Shawn W. Crispin

POSTCARD
What Ho!
Bertie Wooster lives on--in a New Zealand town that's turned its 1930s Art Deco buildings into a tourist draw. By Jonathan Bloom

INREVIEW: BOOKS: CHINA
Dynasty to Democracy
Sinologist Ross Terrill predicts a cataclysmic demise for China's communist dynasty, but nobody can pinpoint when, writes Richard Halloran

Diplomatic Dance
Robert Suettinger has spent a lifetime observing China. He provides an insider's account of the many ups and downs in Sino-American relations during that period. By Frank Ching

REGULAR FEATURES

LETTERS
On Mahathir; Hope Flickers On

EDITORIALS
Changing the Terms of Debate
Why South Korea's Roh Moo Hyun is putting his presidency to a self-imposed 'recall' vote. And, China's space move

INTELLIGENCE
News from the inside track. This week: U.S. Pooh-Poohs Pyongyang Claim; Seoul Irks Washington Over Iraq Aid; A Chip Off the Old Mahathir Block; WTO's Supachai Takes American Flak; Vietnam Splashes Out on Ho's Home; Wiranto on Golkar Shortlist; Questions Over Militant's Death

REGIONAL BRIEFING
A weekly round-up of the news from the hotspots of the region. This week: Koizumi Announces a New Election. And a Spotlight on banking in Japan

THE 5TH COLUMN
Is Islam A Drag On Growth?
Marcus Noland, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics in Washington, writes that evidence is that Islam may in fact be good for economic growth. Noland finds that, "where adherence to Islam affects economic outcomes, it has a positive effect." He continues that rather than "the sociology of religion, those seeking to explain below-average economic performance would be better advised to study fiscal policy and other conventional challenges to economic development and prosperity."

ECONOMIC MONITOR: VIETNAM
Costly Dreams
The drive to industrialize has resulted in too many expensive empty lots and little room for local businessmen. By Margot Cohen

PRICES AND TRENDS

TRAVELLERS' TALES
Review columnist Nury Vittachi rounds up the wild and wacky sightings made by travellers in the region

CEO CALL
From Russia With Love
Alexey Fedorov, Irkut Corp.--Asia's military-aircraft market is still dominated by the United States, but that may not last for long if Alexey Fedorov gets his way. By S. Jayasankaran