Captured on camera, free in the verdure of Cambodia’s Virachey National Park, a mother deer peacefully feeds her speckled fawn. These early photographs of the rare large-antlered muntjac is one of the highlights of a recent biodiversity survey which celebrates sightings of several critically endangered species in the Kingdom. Globe’s Anton L. Delgado explores why fear of these animals’ extinctions is propelling ‘conservation-breeding’ programs and how the window to save these vulnerable species is slowly closing. 
#Cambodia #Biodiversity #Conservation #Wildlife #AntonLDelgado

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/barking-deer-fawn-strikes-a-pose-cambodia-conservationalist-biodiversity-survey/

Behind wrought iron gates, in a graveyard obscured by coconut trees and overgrown weeds, lies the final evidence of Penang’s vanished Jewish community. Now, a graphic novel is reviving their legacy and sharing the lesser-known stories of the Jewish experience in Malaysia. Globe’s Ashley Yeong spoke to the author of ‘The Last Jews of Penang’ and others about the nostalgic recollections that keep memories of this buried culture alive.
#Malaysia #Jews #Culture #AshleyYeong

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/graphic-novel-tells-the-story-of-malaysias-vanished-jewish-community/

The world of cyberspace is vast and borderless and with a recent increase in 40 million new internet users, the ASEAN cyber-terrain is a digital space full of potential growth and risks. Aufarizqi Imaduddin and Albert Jehoshua Rapha drive the debate between freedom and regulation in Southeast Asia’s cyberspace, using history’s philosophers to discuss this modern digital minefield.
#Region #ASEAN #Cybersecurity #Freedom #AufarizqiImaduddin #AlbertJehoshuaRapha

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/freedom-and-regulation-are-still-at-odds-in-southeast-asia-cyberspace/

In an exclusive members club on Singapore’s Robertson Quay, a launch event in 2020 gave Singapore a global lead in the edible space race as the first country to approve lab-grown meat. The event has since sparked an appetite for alternative proteins and fed the growth of domestic food tech companies in the city-state. Globe’s Amanda Oon spoke to those at the heart of food innovation, regulation and security in the Lion City about this hungry market and the ethical future of “cruelty free” meat. 
#Singapore #Food #Technology #Innovation #AmandaOon

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/singapore-lab-grown-meat-alternative-proteins-market/

Vietnam’s last rhino was killed in 2010. But a market of rhino horn trade is still alive and thriving amongst the country’s elite despite increased penalties and heightened efforts to treat illegal wildlife trade seriously. Globe’s Govi Snell pierced the surface of stricter sentencing for “small fish” traders to dive into the hub of the international wildlife trade and progress and setbacks in Vietnam's fight against wildlife crime.
#Vietnam #Environment #Wildlife #Trafficking #GoviSnell

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/rhino-horns-cross-the-line-between-vietnams-privilege-and-crime/

When student Kong Bunrith claimed dozens of fellow students were paying bribes to pass their exams, he found himself at the receiving end of an unexpected and damaging investigation. His case highlights how in Cambodia, those who call out corruption can become targets without strong legal protection. Globe’s Jack Brook uncovers the risks of speaking out in the Kingdom and how people seeking to expose corruption are likely to be the ones who end up punished in the absence of stronger whistleblower protection laws.
#Cambodia #Corruption #FreedomOfSpeech #JackBrook

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/whistleblowers-cambodia-punishment-corruption/

Matthew Friedman is launching a tireless campaign against the rise of human trafficking and modern slavery across Asia and holding ordinary people to account for the commercial and social conditions that enable this phenomenon to thrive. Globe’s Brian P. D. Hannon spoke with the author and human trafficking expert about his latest book which explores breaking the chain of commercial and social conditions that enable the continuation of trafficking and exploitative labour across the region.
#Region #Slavery #HumanTrafficking #BrianPDHannon

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/author-expansion-victories-abolition-slavery-fight-human-trafficking-matthew-friedman/

Wayneson Tay loves the rain. Along with his hefty Nikon, macro lens and flashlight, the weather conditions help equip him for his unconventional passion for herping, documenting Malaysia’s reptiles and amphibians through humans’ lenses and screens. Globe’s Ashley Yeong follows Tay on a trek through the Malaysian forest and charts the journey of this unusual hobby, its rise with the uptake of social media and turns the lens onto the country’s vibrant reptile life. 
#Malaysia #Wildlife #Photography #AshleyYeong

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/malaysia-herpers-lens-reptile-life-comes-into-view/

Last month, Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen became the first head of state to meet with Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing since the February 2021 coup. As the Kingdom settles into its new role as ASEAN chair, the meeting sparked protests by fellow member states: could Cambodia be the saboteur of a delicate consensus-based network? Drake Long analyses this balance of diplomacy, ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus and tackles the conflicting perceptions of Cambodia as intentional antagonist and beleaguered chair. 
#Cambodia #Asean #Myanmar #Diplomacy #DrakeLong

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/cambodia-myanmar-asean-saboteur/

Thailand’s education system has been built on decades of rote learning, one-size curricula and methods left over from the colonial era. But these outdated systems risk leaving Thai students behind in the global education rankings. Kuldeep Nagi, a Fulbright fellow currently working at Assumption University, Bangkok, goes beyond the books to argue for a changed business model that focuses on soft skills and employability and will prepare Thailand’s new generations of university students for the digital age and the post-pandemic world of work. 
#Thailand #Education #Skills #Digital #KuldeepNagi

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thailand-universities-need-to-tweak-their-model/

Five of the Mekong River’s ten lowest annual water flow years have occurred since 2010. Low water levels means lower numbers of fish and a dangerous disruption to the fisheries and farmers who make their living from the basin’s rich and delicate aquaculture ecosystem. Globe’s Anton L. Delgado was on site at the dai fisheries to get an insight into the high impact of low flow on the environment and livelihoods around the Mekong and spoke to the researchers and ecologists searching for sustainable solutions.
#Cambodia #Aquaculture #Fishery #Mekong #AntonLDelgado

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/record-low-flows-threaten-to-dry-up-mekongs-aquaculture/

In the face of record low water flows and diminishing numbers of fish, a Cambodian fishing platform worked around the clock and hauled in nearly 30 species despite another slow season. In a follow up to his feature on the Mekong’s low water flows and its impact on the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen, Globe’s Anton L. Delgado shares his visual journey of a day on the dai: a photographic dive into life on the fishing platforms, the ecological tapestry of the Mekong and the persistence of the fishermen battling another slow season. 
#Cambodia #Fishery #Mekong #Photography #AntonLDelgado

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/one-day-on-a-dai/

In Thailand’s Deep South a biometric data mandate is forcing residents to choose between privacy concerns or phone and internet access. For activists and academics, the Song Chae or “Two Shot” policy is a continuation of the heavy-handed Thai rule over the Deep South and a violation of rights of its Muslim majority population. Globe’s Jack Brook explores the hard choice residents face between privacy and connectivity and the implications of this invasive governance on securing long-term peace in the region. 
#Thailand #Surveillance #DeepSouth #Muslim #JackBrook

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/phones-scan-faces-in-thailands-muslim-deep-south/

For Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, catching Covid-19 was a lifesaver. The Malaysian national was supposed to die in Singapore on the morning of 10 November, after being sentenced to death for heroin trafficking. Nagen, as he is known to his family, has an IQ of 69 and suffers from cognitive impairments. Family members and activists are becoming increasingly concerned about his deteriorating mental state, worsened by indeterminate execution dates and fluctuating sentences. In this opinion piece, anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han calls out the “calculated cruelty” of capital punishment.
#Singapore #Punishment #DeathPenalty #KirstenHan

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/administrative-cruelty-is-the-core-of-capital-punishment-nagen/

In Siem Reap roads have undergone a revamp as part of redevelopment plans to increase tourism along with the easing of travel restrictions. As bigger plans for the city remain in flux, Globe’s Jack Brook went to the heart of Cambodia’s tourism capital’s major infrastructure overhaul and spoke to its residents about their Wild West experience of the intensive makeover and Siem Reap’s overall approach to development. 
#Cambodia #Culture #Tourism #Development #JackBrook

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/from-bombsite-to-glamour-siem-reaps-messy-makeover-roads/

In Vietnam, the much-anticipated Tết celebrations are an occasion for families to gather to share the festive period. With between 4 to 5 million Vietnamese living abroad, the holiday normally welcomes a flurry of homecomings to the country. But this year, return for Vietnamese citizens has been tainted by unfair treatment, extortionate prices and corruption. Globe’s Govi Snell covers the issues of accountability, extortion and inequity which are leaving Vietnamese expatriates feeling overlooked and excluded at a time of important family reunion.
#Vietnam #Travel #Inequality #GoviSnell

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/inequity-and-corruption-taint-vietnams-return-to-international-travel

Cambodia trailed behind its ASEAN neighbours in the latest Transparency International Corruptions Perception Index, released 25 January. The international watchdog’s report, which places Singapore as a regional high-achiever at fourth place worldwide, has become an important benchmark for academics and policymakers and analysts believe that officials’ salaries mark a key difference between the Kingdom and the Red Dot’s scores. In her debut article for the Globe, Fiona Kelliher digs further into the incentives, networks and lack of strong political enforcement that contribute to building cultures of corruption and why Cambodia continues to lag behind its ASEAN neighbors while Singapore retains its high ranking.
#Cambodia #Corruption #HumanRights #ASEAN #FionaKelliher

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/watchdog-says-cambodia-public-sector-compromised-by-corruption/

In between central Vietnam and Chinese Hainan, a tiny group of islands has played a significant role in the history of conflict in the South China Sea. While Vietnam is one of the countries that has made a longstanding claim to sovereignty over the islands, control of the territory lies with China. Stein Tønnesson, research professor with the Peace Research Institute Oslo, dives deep into the history of the dispute and a dramatic French-Chinese standoff in 1947 which left the Paracels divided and narrowly avoided war.
#SouthChinaSea #Vietnam #China #France #History #SteinTønnesson

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/paracels-source-south-china-sea-dispute-conflict-history/

As we reach mid-point of this year’s much-anticipated Lunar New Year celebrations, Singapore and Malaysia are at a pivotal point. As restrictions still linger, so do memories of past years’ festivities thwarted by Covid-19. But some are determinedly looking towards the Year of the Tiger with hope and optimism. Globe’s Ashley Yeong and Amanda Oon capture snapshots of this year’s holiday in the two countries and the changes that have impacted business, worship and celebration as the familiar festival returns. 
#Singapore #Malaysia #LunarNewYear #Culture #AshleyYeong #AmandaOon

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/snapshots-of-lunar-new-year-singapore-malaysia-tread-carefully-into-year-of-tiger/

As this February arrived, it brought with it the chilling anniversary of Myanmar’s military coup d’etat which ousted the National League for Democracy (NLD). While other ASEAN members have called for diplomatic engagement, Thailand has remained markedly quiet. In his latest analysis, Globe columnist Mark S. Cogan discusses how, a year on from the military coup, Thailand’s lack of overt action in addressing the crisis comes at a heavy human cost. 
#Thailand #Myanmar #Justice #Politics #MarkSCogan

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thailands-silence-on-myanmar-comes-at-a-price/