Southeast Asia, By the Week

Editorial

North Korean business and the grande dame

This week we investigate whether North Korean business, reportedly all but squashed in Southeast Asia in compliance with UN sanctions, is alive and well in the region. Trip Advisor restaurant reviews certainly suggest so. We also take a look at the rich and turbulent history of the Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh, which has survived war and strife to become an ever present feature of the capital's landscape.
By Alastair McCready

Human trafficking and UXO victims

This week we turn to the scourge of human trafficking, long an issue in north Vietnam's provinces bordering China. With the economic downturn in recent months, more women are being drawn over the border, lured on false pretences and sold into prostitution or marriage. We also take a look at UXO victims in Laos, among the world's most bombed countries that still today is heavily littered with US devices dropped in the 1970s. What kind of support are the countries thousands of amputees getting?
By Alastair McCready

Peaking inside newsrooms, cheap narcotics and turtle conservation

Thanks for joining us on this incredible journey. This past week, we’ve covered stories from poets and newscasters, bureaucrats and garment workers. These headlines will take you to the front-lines of Southeast Asia’s ‘war on drugs’, to the farm fields of Cambodia and the lonely elders of locked-down Singapore
By Alastair McCready

The people’s game

This week we take a rare delve into the world of sport as we profile the 'national football team' of the Karen ethnic group in Myanmar. A member of CONIFA, an alternative football body whose members consist of unrecognised states and separatists movements, it showcases the ability of football, and sport generally, to provide a platform for the voiceless. We also look at how Southeast Asia's indigenous forest communities could play a role in preventing the next pandemic, as well as how Facebook is influencing the spread of 'fake news' in Myanmar during lockdown.
By Alastair McCready

Editorial

There’s something in the water

With viruses on everyone's mind, this week we turn to pharmaceuticals fast finding their way into the world's water supplies as people consume (and expel) antibiotics at unprecedented rates in human history. We also delve into the murky history of Cathay Pacific flight 700Z, which was mysteriously downed by a bomb in mid-air after taking off from Bangkok's Don Mueang airport in June 1972. The case remains unsolved to this day – did one alleged culprit, a Thai policeman no less, get away with murder?
By Andrew Haffner

Editorial

A slice of history

This week, the Globe marks two significant dates in Vietnamese and Cambodian history. On April 29 1970, US and South Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia to fight the Viet Cong, a campaign that would ultimately result in a significant political victory for growing maoist rebels the Khmer Rouge. April 30 1975 would also see Saigon fall to North Vietnam, with South Vietnam's government surrendering unconditionally, ending the war. As ever, we're also calling for submissions for our Tales of the Pandemic series looking at how life has been impacted across the region due to Covid-19. Get in touch with your personal essay!
By Alastair McCready

Editorial

On a personal note

This week, the Globe's editor Alastair McCready wrote his own Tale of the Pandemic, offering his insights into what it was like to lose his father this month whilst being unable able to return home to visit him. We'll also be bringing you all the latest Covid-19 updates from across the region.
By Andrew Haffner

Editorial

Bushmeat under the microscope

From dire International Monetary Fund economic forecasts, to Khmer New Year being moved online to respect social distancing, this is how countries across Southeast Asia are faring with the ongoing global pandemic
By Alastair McCready