Naypyidaw Rejects UN Appeal

Published on Nov 24, 2013 by Luke Hunt

The Myanmar government has lived up to expectations and rejected an appeal by the United Nations to grant citizenship to its stateless Muslim Rohingya population, who the government insists are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Vietnam Wins Human Rights Seat Despite Tainted Record

Published on Nov 16, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Earlier this year, Global Witness scored international headlines with a telling report on illegal land grabbing in Cambodia and Laos by Vietnamese companies and the extraordinary damage these companies had inflicted on the environment from which they profited.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Anonymous Could Be Caned in Singapore

Published on Nov 13, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Six members of Anonymous face hefty fines, jail and in some cases a possible caning after being arrested and charged in Singapore for defacing websites, including one linked to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and spray-painting graffiti identifying the international hacking and protest group.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Somaly Mam: Dark truths or fiction?

Published on Nov 3, 2013 by Luke Hunt

She is the celebrity face of the global fight against sex slavery, but now some are asking if Cambodia’s Somaly Mam has exaggerated victims’ stories. Read more from Lindsay Murdoch in The Age..

Malaysia Initiates Crackdown on Illegal Immigrants

Published on Sep 4, 2013 by Luke Hunt

The Malaysian government has begun another crackdown on illegal immigrants, targeting half-a-million people who have fled conflicts in the Southern Philippines, Myanmar and beyond. The move was not unexpected as a roundup is conducted almost annually with mixed results.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Kim Jong-un's Ex-Girlfriend Shot by Firing Squad

Published on Aug 29, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Kim Jong-un’s ex-girlfriend was among a dozen well-known North Korean performers who were executed by firing squad on Aug. 20, reports said.Read more from the Chosun Ilbo..

Crackdown on People Smugglers

Published on Aug 23, 2013 by Luke Hunt

A meeting of regional foreign ministers and delegates from 14 countries in Jakarta has resulted in an agreement on several fronts designed to capture and jail people smugglers.This could lead to the extradition to Australia of Sayed Abba, an Afghan wanted in Australia on 27 charges of people smuggling.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Nguyen Van Hai: Vietnamese Hunger Striker “Very Weak”

Published on Jul 24, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Nguyen Van Hai – a Vietnamese blogger and a founding member of the Free Journalists Club – is reportedly in a very weak state after his hunger strike entered its 30th day. Nguyen is serving a 12-year jail term for anti-state propaganda.His condition is winning headlines around the world as Vietnamese President Truon Tan Sang prepares for talks in Washington this week with U.S. President Barack Obama, who has previously raised the dissident’s case. Forty-six political activists have been jailed in Vietnam so far this year.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Vietnam's Progressive Gender Policies

Published on Mar 23, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Few countries have pressed the buttons of civil rights groups more than Vietnam. Its crackdown on bloggers and dissent is in itself a contradiction of its efforts to open up a constitutional debate which has had only mixed success and led to the jailing of ordinary citizens simply for expressing their opinions.However, there are those in Vietnam who have cultivated government policies which are in-keeping with the processes of a modern state and daring in the handling of sensitive issues.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Malaysia's Maid Controversy

Published on Jun 8, 2012 by Luke Hunt

In most countries, access to hired help for around the house would hardly count as a national priority. In Malaysia, however, it’s an issue that Prime Minister Najib Razak needs resolved before he goes to the next election – and after a couple of years of wrangling, he appears to have got his wish.Read more in The Diplomat..