Stefano Vecchia

Investigations focus on a racket that affects people across Southeast Asia. Lured to the Philippines for a regular job, the victims are held against their will and forced into criminal activities like rigged sales, erotic chats, and cryptocurrency scams. A Philippine senator raised the issue of “scam hubs" urging government action.

At least 800 Cambodians were detained last month for breaching immigration laws. NGOs have reported mistreatment and serious rights violations. Cambodia is in a weak position vis-à-vis its neighbour, on whom it depends economically. With the COVID-19 pandemic ending, Thailand is attracting Cambodian migrants again.

After four days, the Philippine leader ends his official visit to the United States, rebooting the “ironclad” military alliance established in 1951. While trying to reassure Beijing over new US bases on its territory, Manila is also working with Tokyo and Seoul to contain China.

Considered the 'battery of South-East Asia', thanks to its dams it produces electricity for the whole region, but has a debt equal to its annual GDP, half of it contracted with China. The country is of great strategic importance, but cannot borrow externally.

With pandemic restrictions lifted, undocumented Thai migrants are back in South Korea, the result of a tight labour market under a legal regime that limits immigration and favours illegality and abuses.

Mettohti Matturson, 40, died as a result of poor conditions during in detention. He had arrived in Thailand in 2014 and was arrested with 450 other fugitives from Xinjiang. Five similar cases since 2018. The executive director of the World Uyghur Congress: 'How many more deaths will there be before the Thai authorities act humanely?'

The last executions were carried out a year ago. Local authorities argue that most Singaporeans are in favour of the noose, but research casts doubt on their claim. Critics slam local courts that impose punitive order costs on lawyers who represent death row prisoners.

Benito and Wilma Tiamzon were respectively president and general secretary of the Communist Party pf the Philippines (CPP). The Philippine military claims that they were killed in a shootout, but the CPP says they were tortured to death. More than 43,000 people died between 1969 and 2008 as a result of fighting between Marxist rebels and government forces.

Thailand’s population is set to peak in 2029 and then decline. The birth rate has fallen to 1.3 children per woman, while seniors are 22.9 per cent of the population in a country with an inadequate social safety net.

They were 137 people who did not understand Malaysian and were also associated with the country's Muslim community in government plans and censuses. The case has rekindled attention on the Orang Asli, the indigenous people who remain marginalised in some areas. Children's enrolment in their schools is falling.

The law provides for a escrow deposit in the event of death or illness that will be recognised only after legal proceedings. This contradicts other parts of the legislation, approved at the start of this month after years of pressure from the European Maritime Safety Agency. The latter’s mandate is to ensure the safety of workers at sea.

The former president of the Senate, now legal counsel to Marcos Jr, wants the ban on nuclear weapons removed; it was included in the constitution drafted in 1986 under Cory Aquino. Some sectors of public opinion have questioned the ban given China's unilateral moves in the region’s seas.