World Heritage Adds More Needs More

Published on Jul 1, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The World Heritage committee finalized its annual meeting in Phnom Penh last week, adding 19 sites to its growing list of global wonders. Still, the meeting ended as it started – with its fair share of controversy and pleas for further financial backing. Italy’s Mount Etna volcano and the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Japan’s Mount Fuji, the Sand Sea in Namibia, North Korea’s ancient capital in Kaesong and the Historic Centre of Agadez, Niger were among the latest to be inducted on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Read more in from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .

Gotcha: Australian Media Nab Human Smuggler

Published on Jun 27, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Only on rare occasions does Australia’s government-owned public broadcaster, the ABC, get together with journalists from Fairfax Media to work collectively on a story. But this week they did just that and emerged with an insightful and unprecedented look at a people smuggler who belongs in jail. Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .

Rudd Ousts Gillard

Published on Jun 27, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — After being unceremoniously dumped in 2010, after one failed and one aborted leadership challenge, and after three years suffering the slings and arrows of outraged caucus colleagues, Kevin Rudd has his revenge. In a successful challenge today he has ousted Julia Gillard as leader of the Australian Labor Party and – probably – as prime minister 57 votes to 45. Gillard indicated prior to the challenge that she would retire from politics at the next election if she lost. Read more from James Pach in The Diplomat. .

Japanese Dogs Denied Whale Meat Snacks

Published on Jun 26, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — When it comes to fishing practices, Japan easily has one of the patchiest records among the international community. As far back as the 1980s, its maritime practices were a magnet for environmentalists. Whaling, shark finning, culling dolphins en masse as seen in the highly provocative 2009 documentary film, The Cove: the list of Japan’s alleged oceanic sins is long. Even the Simpsons and South Parkhave lampooned Japanese fishing regulations, absurdly loose relative to most industrialized nations. These controversial practices generally end up on our plates. But according to a statement jointly released earlier this week by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA),Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and the Iruka & Kujira [Dolphin &....

Hazing ASEAN Unity, Again

Published on Jun 25, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — It’s on again. Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian companies with large plantation interests, along with thousands of small land holders, are burning off and razing forests in Sumatra, throwing enough smoke into the air to blanket Singapore to Southern Thailand and eastwards to Borneo. Each year this phenomenon is well documented. The devastation of the environment and behind-doors loathing between countries unravels attempts to convince the world that the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a united political bloc worthy of respect. Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .