Culture

The food we eat is increasingly processed. What does this mean for our health?

Sixty percent of the world’s diabetic population is Asian. And yet, many people don’t understand the dangers of this disease – and how to prevent it.

The 7th lunar month sees incense and food left on sidewalks in Asia, but experts and Taoist believers cannot agree on why or how the practice came to be.

Huge fishing vessels pipe through the Torres Strait every day, casting their nets and reeling in the bounty. But yet more net drifts along the coast, forgotten but for the animals that become ensnared in it, and the islanders whose paradise wanes with the ocean's suffering. Rising to the call, these ambassadors have woven their message of conservation into stunning works of art.

Punk hardly needs an introduction. Music, fashion and lifestyle converge in this unique subculture, known for its wild Mohawk hairstyles, spikes and piercings, black leather and “emo” disposition. In Asia, a continent whose many different cultures tend to share a deep-seated appreciation for cultural traditionalism, you would be forgiven for thinking that punk barely registers in the social strata in the more conservative parts of the region.

Driving through the streets of the commuter town of Rawang, 30 kilometres north of Malaysia’s capital city Kuala Lumpur, Azlina Jamaluddin is more than eager to challenge any criticism of polygamous marriage. A born-again Muslim and self-proclaimed “working woman”, the 48-year-old dentist ascribes her professional success and personal growth to polygamy. “I can work, I have more time for myself and I don’t need to take care of my children all the time, as the other wives share the childrearing responsibilities with me,” she shares.

On the frontline of combating global illiteracy is the award-winning organisation Room to Read, founded in 2000 by former Microsoft executive, John Wood, Erin Ganju and Dinesh Shrestha.

Coming from the ultra-modern megalopolis of Shanghai, nobody would believe that a four-hour bus ride through eight-lane expressways, followed by a bumpy, mostly unpaved road would lead to the Chinese version of Hollywood. Hengdian, a city of around 200,000 people in the eastern part of Zhejiang Province is where, astonishingly, around 20 percent of all Chinese movies and TV series are filmed.