BOMBORRA ...

The great Cambodia land grab

Webmaster — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:02:17 +0000

Locals are fighting a losing battle as rubber companies take over their land and, as a report last week reveals, international banks are helping to pay for the plunder Luke Hunt Reports ASIAWATCH — Ask Sreap Samoen where are the communal grazing lands? Where can local villagers fish and grow crops? The 50-year-old woman with [...]

East Timor Floats Cambodia’s LNG Options

Webmaster — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:19:52 +0000

By Luke Hunt AsiaWATCH — A push towards using massive offshore refining pontoons for processing crude oil and LNG is gaining momentum and forcing governments, including Cambodia, to rethink their growth strategies after pinning their economic hopes on traditional oil and gas jobs. It’s a global phenomena but one that is finding its mark in [...]

Malaysian Elections Produce more Losers than Winners

Webmaster — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:04:00 +0000

Note: This article first appeared in Spectrum. By Luke Hunt AsiaWATCH — Malaysia’s latest attempt at staging a clean and fair election again fell widely short of expectations but this time around the polls have laid bare the nation’s odious racial divisions and left an increasingly agitated electorate with little but political chaos to look [...]

Floating LNG Upsets Outlook

Webmaster — Wed, 15 May 2013 05:29:00 +0000

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — A push towards massive offshore refining pontoons for processing crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is gaining momentum and forcing governments – which had pinned their economic development plans to traditional oil and gas jobs – to rethink their strategies. It’s a global phenomena but one that is making its mark in Southeast Asia where [...]

Undercover, Hacked and Killed in the Line of Duty

Webmaster — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:42:19 +0000

Max Kolbe reviews recent events in news The BBC courted controversy after one of its reporters apparently posed as a PhD student, hooked-up with a group of students from the London School of Economics (LSE) en-route to North Korea and went there in order to make an undercover documentary. Undercover journalism is shunned in most [...]

Global Witness says IFC and Deutsche Bank Back Vietnamese Land Grabs

Webmaster — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:16:48 +0000

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Indochinese governments have faced fierce criticisms from their own people and abroad over land grabbing in recent years. But the response from leaders in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos has been collective lip service while big corporations were allowed to go about their business. Complex corporate structures layered by a myriad of red [...]

Time for ASEAN Rethink on Burma

Webmaster — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:24:09 +0000

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has long been criticized as a toothless tiger for its inability to deal with controversial and often bloody issues. The Sabah Insurgency launched in March by Philippine-based mercenaries, the Cambodian-Thai dispute over territorial rights at Preah Vihear and overlapping sovereign claims in the South China Seas are among the [...]

Malaysians Rally Against Vote ‘Fraud’

Webmaster — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:08:54 +0000

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — More than 50,000 black-clad supporters of Malaysia’s opposition defied a police threat they would be arrested to attend a rally to protest against the outcome of the country’s fraud-marred elections. The crowd roared with approval when opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told them he would expose the cheating that he said cost them [...]

Debunking Another MIA Claim

Webmaster — Wed, 08 May 2013 05:50:29 +0000

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Almost four decades since the Vietnam War ended with the capitulation of Saigon, the issue of troops missing in action (MIAs) and the possibility that some American and allied soldiers remained behind as communist captives still evokes passionate debate. Many loved ones understandably hold to the hope that just maybe theirs [...]

Najib Holds on, Just

Webmaster — Wed, 08 May 2013 05:42:54 +0000

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Malaysia’s ruling powers have extended their unbeaten grip on power following Sunday’s elections. However, their performance was far from convincing, leaving Prime Minister Najib Razak vulnerable to a future challenge. Meanwhile, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has refused to accept the result amid widespread allegations of cheating. Read more from Luke Hunt [...]