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By Andrew Haffner • 2 days ago
Almost six months after Thai activist Wanchalerm Satsaksit disappeared off a Phnom Penh street in a seeming daylight abduction, his sister, Sitanun, is in Cambodia searching for the truth
By Alastair McCready • Nov 21, 2020
This week we delve into the world of art and culture, raising the curtain with Mandalay-based socially-conscious performing arts school Inwa, teaching progressive values to rural youth in Myanmar. We then explore themes of identity and belonging with Lao American author Bryan Woah Thao Worra, publishing four selected poems from his recently-released new book, ‘Before We Remember We Dream’
By Andrew Haffner • Nov 14, 2020
While the US election result remains officially undeclared, the Democrats look to have won the race. Since 2016, the Trump administration's stance towards Southeast Asia has been erratic at best – what could the next four years look like under Biden?
By Andrew Haffner • Nov 07, 2020
As the monarchy rocks under growing pressure for reform in Thailand, professor Mark S. Cogan puts bold thoughts to page, penning another piece of analysis for us in which he asks a once unthinkable question – will the kingdom’s royal institution survive? We also cover the flooding that has decimated communities across the region, first covering the Cambodians living under water in a photo-led piece, before the Globe’s reporter in Hanoi, Ashley Lampard, gives us a comprehensive run-down of why Vietnam is experiencing its worst flooding for decades
This week sees us kick off a new partnership with the United Nations Development Programme in Cambodia, in which over the next few months we’ll look at the future of work and industry in the Kingdom – among the hardest hit nations in Asia, economically speaking, by the pandemic. The Globe’s Lead Editor, Alastair McCready, gets the conversation started with a piece of analysis looking at how Industry 4.0 preparations in Cambodia compare to neighbours Thailand and Vietnam. Here’s to the future!
By Andrew Haffner • Oct 31, 2020
The Globe is proud to announce it has been selected as one of eight regional outlets to participate in the Google News Initiative’s Asia-Pacific Subscription Lab programme. Here's what this exciting development means for you, our readers
By Editorial • Oct 30, 2020
This week we’ve rolled back the clocks to shed new light on an unsolved mystery: the hijacking of Malaysia Airlines flight 653. Who did it and why remains a mystery to this day, and the cryptic, twisting and outright bizarre transcript from the cockpit that fateful December night in 1977 offers little in the way of answers. The Globe’s Andrew Haffner also visited Cambodia’s newest and most high-tech dairy farm to learn what it could mean for the future of agriculture in the Kingdom
By Andrew Haffner • Oct 23, 2020
Rarely does the average citizen become concerned with the passage of an economic stimulus law, not least the finer details of a 1,000-page piece of legislation. But in Indonesia, riots erupted last week as parliament pushed through the Omnibus Bill on Job Creation, a law that many feel benefits political and economic elites. Contributor Stania Puspa unravels the controversial bill. We also publish the second episode of Anakut: The Podcast About Cambodia’s Future. This week Meng and Andrew enter the booth to discuss women’s issues in the Kingdom with two esteemed guests
By Andrew Haffner • Oct 17, 2020
This week Thailand marks the 44th anniversary of the Thammasat University Massacre, one of the darkest moments in the kingdom's modern history. Professor Mark S. Cogan reflects on the events of that day, that saw scores of unarmed student protestors murdered, and asks how Thailand reached that nadir. We also turn to trash in Hanoi, as the villagers of Nom San complain of pollution and cancer as they live besides an ever-expanding rubbish dump
By Andrew Haffner • Oct 09, 2020
Vietnam has been lauded for its robust Covid response, part of which has been the rolling out of contact-tracing app Bluezone. But with few inside the tightly controlled communist state able to scrutinise the methods of those in power, it's been left to the Globe's fearless Sarah Kim to unravel concerns about the app and its potential implications for user privacy. We also turn to Rakhine State in Myanmar, where an internet blackout is leaving women even more vulnerable to sexual violence, and with limited means to report it when it does occur
By Andrew Haffner • Oct 02, 2020
The Globe's Andrew Haffner hit the water this week, as he waded into an underreported yet potentially huge story taking place on the banks of the Mekong in the Cambodian capital. As we speak, dredgers are shifting tonnes of sand and relocating it to an area set to form Koh Norea, a new island mega-project touted by developers as the next Koh Pich. While billions of dollars are at stake for investors, ecological harmony in the river is the most significant thing on the line – despite this, a publicly available environmental impact assessment remains illusive
By Andrew Haffner • Sep 28, 2020
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