Cities are engines of economic growth. Due to unique social, environmental and physical challenges, ASEAN cities should be able to find their own way in dealing with these issues. Collective lessons will need to be drawn from various city development projects implemented by ASEAN member states with support from international donors. These will hopefully lead ASEAN’s cities to their sustainable and livable future.

Several miles away, a flashier Pyongyang A Ri Rang Restaurant on soi (alley) 26 of Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road also offers food, but with the added fun of karaoke, a live floor show and tours of North Korea.

It’s Saturday evening February the 13th and the Royal Danish Embassy in Bangkok has opened its garden for a night with Jazz on the Grass. An event that took off last year as an initiative by music lover and Danish Ambassador in Bangkok, Mikael Hemniti Winther. 

Offering a break from the political and armed conflicts that colour the international community's view of Israel, the 12th World Film Festival of Bangkok and the Israeli embassy have collaborated to offer a special survey of contemporary Israeli cinema.

A few years from now, the average tourist won’t be found gliding down a Venetian canal or perched atop the Empire State Building. They’ll be in lounging by a pool in Dubai, or shopping at a massive mall in Singapore, or doing God-knows-what in Bangkok. This is according to the latest MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, released last week.

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters marched through the streets of Thailand’s capital Saturday, reviving their whistle-blowing, traffic-blocking campaign to try to force the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.