Senior Columnist, The Straits Times. Previously Asia Editor of South China Morning Post in HK. Rarely post here; DM for access to my WhatsApp channel.
Singapore
Joined March 2009
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Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
Far too defensive, far too early from Thomas Tuchel against a team not just with quality, but who have repeatedly shown they refuse to be beaten. You don’t encourage Leo Messi’s Argentina, you don’t feed their fighting spirit.
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
Squad harmony massively overrated as factor in winning. Many teammates on good teams dislike each other. Usually squad harmony is caused by good results, rather than causing good results
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
The newest footballing great is an introverted chess-loving Londoner, son of a cricket international, who was rejected by Chelsea, doesn't have a sponsor, and plays for France. Me @FT on Michael Olise as.ft.com/r/629405d3-a74e-49…
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
A quick view of how Singapore’s population has shifted over the past five years. via @straits_times str.sg/viz-household
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
This cartoon, which I assumed wrongly was from some cheap tabloid but was published in Aftenposten, Norway's largest newspaper and "paper of record", isn't a great advertisement of supposedly superior journalistic standards.
Good read
⚡️NEW from Drop Site News | From Mutual Suspicion to Political Embrace: How the U.S. Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Pakistan
From @worqas, @MazMHussain, and @ryangrim
dropsitenews.com/p/pakistan-…
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
A painting of the end of meritocracy: A meeting of the two largest economies and not one woman at the table.
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
PUTUKAN SA SENADO
DEVELOPING STORY: Gunfire erupted at the Senate late Wednesday evening following a lockdown. Armed units have since been deployed throughout the premises.
This comes after a Facebook Live broadcast by Senator Bato dela Rosa, in which he announced his imminent arrest by authorities. | @njservallos
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
I appreciate the intense interest in my column. For skeptics, why not agree on Red Cross and lawyer visits for the 9,000 Palestinian "security" prisoners? If you think these abuse allegations are false, such monitoring visits would be protective. So why not?
This is a hard article to read, but I hope you'll do so. I've spent some time reporting on widespread rape and other sexual violence of Palestinian male and female prisoners by Israeli authorities, and the article is now published. The assault victims were warned not to give speak of what they endured -- they were sometimes told they would be killed or raped if they gave interviews -- but they found the courage to do so. One man described being raped three times in a single day in Israeli prison, the third time after he tried to protest. A young woman said the guards would come in at the beginning of each shift and strip her naked and abuse her. Another reported that she was shown photos of herself being raped and warned they would be released unless she cooperated with Israeli intelligence. Even three children who had been detained told me they had been sexually abused. Look, whatever our position on the Middle East, we should be able to agree on being anti-rape. Sexual assaults were horrific when Israeli women were targeted on Oct. 7, and they're equally horrific when Israeli authorities use them against Palestinians day after day after day. We should be able to find common ground in opposing rape. Here's a gift link to the article: nytimes.com/2026/05/11/opini…
US-Gulf UNSC draft resolution addressing attacks in Strait of Hormuz, placement of mines, illegal tolling. Said to be watered down so Russia/China won't veto.
For now only see Singapore, Timor-Leste and Myanmar (junta) among Asean states in this list 👇🏽.
Absolute must-read.
This is a hard article to read, but I hope you'll do so. I've spent some time reporting on widespread rape and other sexual violence of Palestinian male and female prisoners by Israeli authorities, and the article is now published. The assault victims were warned not to give speak of what they endured -- they were sometimes told they would be killed or raped if they gave interviews -- but they found the courage to do so. One man described being raped three times in a single day in Israeli prison, the third time after he tried to protest. A young woman said the guards would come in at the beginning of each shift and strip her naked and abuse her. Another reported that she was shown photos of herself being raped and warned they would be released unless she cooperated with Israeli intelligence. Even three children who had been detained told me they had been sexually abused. Look, whatever our position on the Middle East, we should be able to agree on being anti-rape. Sexual assaults were horrific when Israeli women were targeted on Oct. 7, and they're equally horrific when Israeli authorities use them against Palestinians day after day after day. We should be able to find common ground in opposing rape. Here's a gift link to the article: nytimes.com/2026/05/11/opini…
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
Surviving AI FOMO: Do we all need a digital second brain? straitstimes.com/opinion/sur…
A view from Singapore on @TVKVijayHQ's stunning result in the recent Tamil Nadu legislative assembly elections.
I thought of three big things disrupters hoping to upend establishment politics might learn from his campaign. #TVKVijay #TVK
Agree. Also goes to show how ineffective Asean's 5PC + special envoy mechanism has been. In the end junta climbdown will be seen as coming at Beijing's behest than Asean pressure.
If confirmed, this meeting shows the special influence Beijing has in #Myanmar. It has been nearly 3 years since former Thai FM Don Pramudwinai met Daw Suu Kyi in detention in July 2023. Cambodia’s former leader was rebuffed when he requested a virtual meeting with ASSK in 2024.
Wonder if this means China will herd the "global south" towards backing Rebeca Grynspan.
#China Takes UN Security Council Lead: Ambassador Fu Cong Backs Woman as Next UN Leader
NEW YORK (#VIDEO). @ChinaAmbUN to the @UN, Fu Cong, during a press conference with UN correspondents at UN Headquarters, presented China’s program for its presidency of the Security Council, addressing key global crises from the Strait of #Hormuz to #Gaza and #Lebanon. He stressed that the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran must be maintained, reaffirmed China’s support for #Palestinian statehood, and called for the extension of the UN mission in #Lebanon given the current instability. More broadly, Fu Cong framed China’s presidency around defending the #UNCharter and strengthening the role of the United Nations as the central pillar of multilateralism. This will be the focus of a high-level debate chaired by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, centered on how to reinforce the UN’s authority and relevance in an increasingly fragmented global order. Looking ahead, Fu turned to the race for the next UN Secretary-General, making clear that Beijing expects above all an unwavering defender of the UN Charter and expressing hope that the next leader of the organization will be a woman.
#UNSC @Chinamission2un #IranWar @UNIFIL_ #UNSGElection
youtu.be/yd60GmxIKaM?si=x_Jq… via @YouTube
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
Nowadays, I am so exposed as a reader to so much of revolting AI writing, where “A is not just/only/merely B, but also/more importantly C,” that I don’t think I will ever go back to using what used to be an innocent trope for us journalists: bug, not a feature.
Bhavan Jaipragas retweeted
Obsessed? A joint fixation on maritime rules is in Asean’s shared interest
straitstimes.com/opinion/obs…
