Wrap: ASEAN & Russian Intentions

Published on Jan 19, 2020 by Luke Hunt

An insight into the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their relationship with foreign powers big and small.Follow the links:Russia Looks EastRussia Touts Arms Across Southeast Asia.

Wrap: Climate Change Strikes Australia and Indonesia

Published on Jan 12, 2020 by Luke Hunt

Climate change is a reality which is changing the way humans live across the planet, from bushfires in Australia to those who rely on rivers and the oceans to sustain themselves. As always the poor are among the most vulnerable.Follow the links: Australia’s perfect firestormJakarta floods and a capital’s shift.

Wrap: Mekong River

Published on Jan 11, 2020 by Luke Hunt

The Mekong River and those who rely on it are facing tough times. Massive dam construction, climate change and drought are taking an unprecedented toll on the world’s 12th largest river and the 70 million people who rely on it.Follow the links:Mighty Mekong slows to a trickleMekong livelihoods punished by dams droughts and floodsRiver of no Return: Mekong faces a Grim FutureA Conversation with Milton Osborne on the Mekong RiverMekong River Strikes another Record LowNew Climate Change Fears, Old Mekong ProblemsFeeling the Pinch and Saying GoodbyeCan ASEAN Save the Mekong River.

Wrap: End Executions in Asia

Published on Nov 27, 2019 by Luke Hunt

From Pakistan and India to Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, executions for a range of crimes — murder and treason to drug trafficking and blasphemy — remain on the statute books. Of the 53 counties that maintain the death penalty, about a quarter are in Asia, with China topping the world in the number of state-sanctioned killings. Figures remain a state secret, but rights groups say at least 2,000 people were executed by lethal injection or firing squad in 2017.Sydney woman saved from Malaysian gallowsPublic executions haunt North KoreansThe sultan of Brunei has backed away from his promise and to institute a Saudi brand of Shariah law, which will enable religious authorities to inflict a raft of medieval punishments including amputations....

Wrap: Sam Rainsy in Exile

Published on Nov 21, 2019 by Luke Hunt

Sam Rainsy has carefully crafted a career as the antagonistic thorn in the side of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, cultivating the image of a leader in waiting, wronged by political injustices and cheated at the ballot box.His recent attempt to return home and oust his nemesis had consequences.In Cambodia’s one-party state an authoritarian offers too little too lateCounting the Costs of Sam Rainsy’s Failed Return to CambodiaSam Rainsy’s circus casts a pall over CambodiaSam Rainsy Return Hype Ripples Across ASEAN.