Stefano Vecchia

Cambodia’s best-known independent journalist still active despite ongoing repression has been arrested. His posts on social media on environmental damage caused by stone quarries were probably the pretext used by the authorities to detain him on charges of causing “social disorder". Dara was also actively reporting on online scams by transnational crime syndicates employing people in slave-like conditions. He joins about a hundred political prisoners already in detention in Cambodia.

Official data for the first half of 2024 confirm the upward trend, with further strong growth by 2030, fuelled mostly by migrants filling the local labour market, up by 5 per cent over the previous year. This is fuelling a debate in society, and not only over resource and infrastructure planning.

Signed by President Marcos, the measure aims to strengthen the protection of the rights of workers embarked on ships around the world. The Philippines is the country with the most people employed in this sector. An intervention also made urgent by the multiplication of attacks on commercial shipping in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

The magistrates' want to investigate their role in the death of 78 young Muslims who were locked up in military vehicles. The incident took place in the far south of the country, the scene of separatist and sectarian tensions for decades. However, the case is under a statute of limitations and risks resurfacing the clash between the ruling party and the military and nationalist establishment.

In his visit to the Southeast Asian city-state, Pope Francis spoke of the urgency of not leaving anyone in the shadow of its great skyscrapers. This commitment is best exemplified by Pro Bono SG, a group of legal professionals who provide free legal counsel and representation to those who cannot afford them. In doing so, they are overcoming some strong biases in a society that extols rigour.

An opposition leader is calling on the Election Commission to dissolve the party of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, less than a month after she took office. In early August, the progressive Move Forward party was also dissolved. Meanwhile, the economy continues to slow with no end in sight.

The city-state that awaits the arrival of Pope Francis has for the first time launched a retraining plan for low and middle-level professional workers, who are most exposed today to the hardships created by the economic upheavals linked to international crises. From April 2025, subsidies of 6,000 Singapore dollars for six months, accompanied by training activities.

While the formation of Paetongtarn Shinawatra's government is being debated, ecnomist Anusorn Thammajai raises the alarm: 80 per cent of the territory is at risk, large areas could already be submerged in seven to eight years. Urgent strategies include mitigation measures in coastal areas. While the construction site at the Indonesian Nusantara becomes a benchmark on the hypothesis of a new capital.

Language is once again a major issue in the city-state. English’s progress risks weakening other languages, starting with Chinese, the largest mother tongue group. Policies to promote bilingualism are not working. About 61 per cent of parents under 35 mainly use English at home with their children.

So far, the efforts by governments and international organisations to contain the danger have failed. Dengue fever has no cure and the only prevention is via elimination of the Aedes mosquito. The most dramatic situation is in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Parliament has given the green light to a law that cuts food waste and encourages donation. The legislation is not only ethical, but protects those who hitherto could face lawsuits. About 750,000 tonnes of food is wasted per year in the city-state.

This is the same fate inflicted in February 2020 on its predecessor, the Future Forward party. Dropping its proposed amendment to the lèse-majesté law was not enough. Pheu Thai, which is currently part of the ruling coalition, also risks being sidelined by a ruling involving its leader, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.