Archive: Sep 2020



STORY OF THE DAY • Sep 23, 2020 • 4 min read

Covid-19 Pandemic panners: Indonesians hunt for gold in desperate times

By Helena Kobagau and Haeril Halim/AFP • Sep 23, 2020
Illegal mining has soared across Indonesia's restive Papua region in the midst of the global health crisis, despite hazards including the risk of arrest and health damage from toxic mercury used at many makeshift mining sites

STORY OF THE DAY • Sep 23, 2020 • 6 min read

Opinion As Cambodia cracks down, youth must increase their social media activism

By Kimkong Heng • Sep 23, 2020
While youth-led protests grow in neighbouring Thailand, a spate of arrests of Cambodian activists in recent months has been met with a muted response. Researcher Kimkong Heng believes it's high-time that the Kingdom's youth reengaged through social media

Sep 21, 2020 • 5 min read
Myanmar elections

Ousted and outspoken: The lady taking on The Lady in Myanmar

Booted from Aung San Suu Kyi's "chaotic and autocratic" party, female MP Thet Thet Khine is now taking on Myanmar's national heroine in the upcoming election, claiming the country needs to work with, not against, a military accused of genocide
By Richard Sargent/AFP • Sep 21, 2020

Sep 21, 2020 • 8 min read
Analysis

A night of surprises, as Thai taboos pushed further than ever before

In a year of bold protests in Thailand, this weekend's demonstrations once again caused a stir. A plaque challenging the monarchy was placed and a 10-point reform document delivered to authorities as protestors continued to push boundaries
By Tara Abhasakun and Wanpen Pajai • Sep 21, 2020

Sep 21, 2020 • 5 min read
Analysis

Twin bombings add fuel to the fire for Philippines’ troubled south

A deadly twin attack at the end of last month in the restive southern Philippines serves as a stark reminder that, despite the pandemic, there is still much work to be done to drive violence and extremism out the region
By Rebekah Baynard-Smith • Sep 21, 2020

Sep 21, 2020 • 3 min read
Editorial

The biggest protest in years

The Globe team has been hard at work for another week of clips from around Southeast Asia. Our Thai bureau (also known as Globe reporters Wanpen Pajai and Tara Abhasakun) went deep this past week into #whatshappeninginthailand, delivering a major dispatch from the weekend protest outside the royal palace in Bangkok that organisers and local media have dubbed the biggest demonstration in years.
By Andrew Haffner • Sep 21, 2020

Sep 18, 2020 • 7 min read
Analysis

From Thaksin to Thammasat: How the 2006 coup led us here

On September 19 2006, the government of Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup. While 14 years have passed since that day, a large demonstration set to be held at Thammasat University this weekend marking the date shows the significance of this event is not lost on current protestors
By Tara Abhasakun and Wanpen Pajai • Sep 18, 2020

Sep 17, 2020 • 2 min read
Conservation

Aussie diplomat sorry for Cambodian turtle soup meal

Australian ambassador to Cambodia Pablo Kang has apologised for an image he posted showing cooked softshell turtle his party consumed on a visit to rural Pailin province
By Agence France-Presse • Sep 17, 2020

Sep 17, 2020 • 3 min read
History

[Photos] The cyclos, street food and shophouses of 1950s Phnom Penh

This collection of archive images depicts Phnom Penh in April 1953, offering an insight into Cambodia on the brink of independence, a country yet to be touched by the heady development of the 60s or the tragedy of the 70s
By Alastair McCready • Sep 17, 2020