The Philippines: Counting the Costs in Zamboanga

Published on Sep 30, 2013 by Luke Hunt

In the Philippines, authorities are counting the costs of the damage inflicted by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) following its pointless raid on Zamboanga in the country’s troubled south and the lengths to which the emergency services had to go, to protect the innocent.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Malaysia, Indonesia, spoilers in ASEAN anti-haze deal

Published on Sep 29, 2013 by Luke Hunt

This article first appeared in The Edge ReviewBy LUKE HUNT / Kuala LumpurExpectations that Southeast Asian governments would find a united and workable approach to dealing with the dreaded haze that annually blankets the region have again been undermined by self interest amid a deal struck by Indonesia and Malaysia to withhold critical information regarding the causes of the fires.Their agreement to withhold information on the fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has upset Singapore, Thailand and Brunei, all key players in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charged with ending the annual scourge.The deal also became known in the wake of the second appearance of the haze this season after Indonesian fires fuelled the worst smog....

East Timor Bans Pencak Silat

Published on Sep 26, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Discipline within martial arts dictates self-restraint. Its popularity has never been based upon the art of hurting and bullying a weaker opponent but on the ability to defend and attack strictly when needed. By and large, serious fighting is reserved for the ring or the mats among equals, and not for the streets.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Misuari Costs MNLF Any Goodwill After Zamboanga Debacle

Published on Sep 20, 2013 by Luke Hunt

By storming the Southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, veteran fighters of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) tipped popular perceptions upside down. For more than 15 years MNLF had been seen as a moderate group in a land dubbed as the alphabet soup of insurgents.Read more from Luke Hunt at The Diplomat..

Thai Street Vendors Could Be Jailed for Intimidating Tourists

Published on Sep 19, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Thailand’s Office of the Attorney General has made an example of four unruly street vendors, sentencing them to over a year in prison each for extorting money from a customer near the King Rama V Statue at Bangkok’s Royal Plaza.Read more from J.T. Quigley in The Diplomat..