South East Asia

Veteran reporter Chhoeung Chheung, 63, was shot in the abdomen. Police arrested a suspect, but claims the attack was due to a "personal dispute" rather than the journalist’s ongoing investigations. Human rights groups are unconvinced by this version of events. Since 1994, at least 15 journalists have been killed in the Southeast Asian country.

A Cambodian court sentenced the women to four years in prison, with two years suspended. For the Cambodian government, they were involved in human trafficking, while for the Philippine embassy they are victims. It is unclear what fate awaits the children once they are born. In the past Cambodia forced dozens of surrogate mothers to raise the children, initially intended for other couples.

Thailand repatriated the activists a day after detaining them. Once back in Cambodia, they were imprisoned in three different facilities. Human Rights Watch slammed the operation, lamenting that authoritarian governments in Southeast Asia routinely expel political prisoners to their country of origin. Next year, Thailand will have a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

The government in Biškek is looking to Singapore as an avenue to imitate. And the enhancement of agricultural production, one of the most significant chapters of Kyrgyzstan's exports, is an important opportunity for relations with the city-state, where there are no great natural resources.

Special Envoy Alexandra Xanthaki warned at the end of a ten-day visit to a country where together minority ethnic groups make up 47% of the population. ‘Despite progress on human rights, policies of assimilation of indigenous peoples into the dominant Lao group and forced relocation of villages in the name of development continue'.

In Indonesia's local elections, the candidates running for the party that backed Jokowi and Prabowo won everywhere except in Jakarta. Mindful of what happened six years ago with the campaign against Christian governor Ahok, local voters ostensibly rejected the Kamil-Suswono ticket, which courted radical Islamist groups.

Decree 147 in force from next month strengthens restrictions on data collection and content removal. Users: the regulation is good for the government and bad for companies. Inmates can be fined for spreading false information and prosecuted for anti-state propaganda.

Promoted by the Mindanao Religious Leaders Conference (MiRLeC), the event has become an annual celebration since 2001. This year’s edition begins today until 4 December, remembering the steps taken after the long war between the central government and local Islamic militias that left over 100,000 people dead. The challenge is to give the Bangasmoro agreement a future. For Bishop Edwin A. de la Peña, prelate of Marawi, peace is choice made through daily actions. A youth leader notes that faith can “transform hearts and communities.”

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan issued the request based only on the violence against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 with no reference to the 2021 coup that plunged Myanmar into civil war. The last three years have changed the relationship between the putschist military and ethnic minorities, complicating the situation on the ground.

A few days after the US approved the transfer of these weapons to Ukraine, the review conference of the Ottawa Convention, which regulates the ban on anti-personnel mines, got underway in Asia, the first time in this continent. Even after decades of demining and clearing land, Cambodia is still dealing with the serious consequences that mines have on civilian lives.

Indonesia goes to the polls today to elect all its governors in first ever simultaneous vote. In Jakarta and Central Java the two most eagerly awaited challenges are the PDIP candidates and those of the unprecedented alliance between former general Prabowo elected president in February and his long-time opponent.

The feud between the two political dynasties of the Philippines (allies in the last election) have reached an unprecedented level of verbal violence. Vice President Sara Duterte has threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. killed if she is herself eliminated. According to experts, the daughter of the former president, whose approval ratings are rising, is already looking ahead to next year’s midterm elections.