From a digital perspective, 2016 has arguably been the year of emotions running high [...] The fact that people are emotional beings is hardly a secret, of course, especially when tragedies or high-stakes political affairs are involved. What digital platforms have brought to the table is a rather new form of commodification of human emotions as instruments of social exchange.

President Tsai Ing-wen and her Guatemalan counterpart, Jimmy Morales, reaffirmed their commitment to relations and cooperation between the two countries Wednesday, with Tsai saying that Taiwan will continue to support a Guatemalan highway expansion project, a proposal put forward by Morales. Tsai received a military salute hosted by Morales at the National Palace of Culture. 

Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam has wrapped up his four-day state visit to Cambodia with two agreements signed and other commitments to further enhance the relationship between the two countries and their people. Singapore has played a significant role in Asean community building, particularly in narrowing the development gaps within Asean. 

In the eight years of the Obama administration, and especially since it launched its “pivot to Asia” in 2011, the United States has consolidated its ties with some traditional allies in the region and seen others weaken. It has also improved its relations with other countries, including former bitter adversaries. In February, Barack Obama also became the first US president to host a meeting of leaders from the ASEAN. 

Examining the trends, it has to be mentioned that the tourist demand structure has been visibly changed. Destination tourism organizations, domestic and foreign tourism enterprises of China and Sri Lanka both need to better understand the new trends and new features of China outbound tourism market in 2017.

Football’s global centre of gravity is shifting eastwards as countries in Asia strategically focus on the sport’s development. As I’ve previously noted, in this Football 3.0 Qatar and China are playing an essential role in the sport’s ‘Asianisation’. For several years, Qatar stood alone in its ambitious, lavishly resourced pursuit of football success (most potently symbolised by the 2022 World Cup).