Singapore and Jakarta are generally considered the main Southeast Asian targets for foreign investment. But with its plans to boost the innovation capital of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other major cities, Thailand is gaining ground. Spearheaded by the Kingdom’s National Innovation Agency, these hubs, clustering universities, startups and leading companies to nurture important development in sectors such as food, medical and financial technology, aim to build the Kingdom’s presence in the international startup ecosystem. Globe’s Jack Brook looked into the country’s hopes to attract more foreign entrepreneurs and investment by building innovation hubs and streamlining logistics.

#thailand #innovation #economies #startup

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/innovation-hubs-are-helping-invigorate-thai-business/

In Thailand, tigers moved from substandard wildlife centres don't always find better conditions and a freer existence under government care, Wanpen Pajai reports, in a piece to mark this year's International Tiger Day.

#Thailand #tigers #wildlife #conservation #internationaltigerday

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thailand-tiger-rescues-no-guarantee-of-safety/

Tesla is fully charged to take the lead in the global electric vehicle (EV) race and the American automotive firm is targeting important partnerships with Southeast Asian dealmakers. Indonesia’s significant repositories of nickel, a primary material in EV batteries, has paved the ground for negotiations and proposals. Indonesia President Joko Widodo hosted Tesla officials in May to discuss the company’s nickel mining aspirations. But behind the lucrative plans, activists are raising concerns that the mining investment will hurt the environment and harm local livelihoods. Yasmeen Rasidi digs into the dirty side of this thriving sustainable transport market and environmentalists’ warnings as Indonesia looks forward to Tesla's investment.

#Indonesia
#electricvehicles
#transport
#sustainability

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/tesla-turns-to-indonesian-nickel/

As a double hanging is scheduled in Singapore today, global headlines are still full of the fallout from Myanmar’s July execution of four activists, the country’s first in decades. The events highlight Southeast Asia’s continued position as a hotspot for capital punishment. In this opinion piece, journalist and anti-death penalty activist, Kirsten Han, urges a more proactive accountability and a region-wide reconsideration of individual countries’ death penalty practices. She shines a light on how the fallacy of straightening out society through claims of crime deterrence is threatening some nations’ democracy and human rights without any real evidence of increased law and order. 
#Singapore #Myanmar #capitalpunishment #deathpenalty #justice

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/death-penalty-needs-regional-reconsideration/

More than a decade after she was forcibly evicted by subsidiaries of Thai-based Mitr Phol Sugar Corporation, Cambodian resident Hoy Mai believes she may finally receive justice. Mai and her fellow plaintiffs plan to testify in groundbreaking legal action against the Thai sugar giant. Globe’s Jack Brook shares the stories and the struggles of these Cambodian villagers seeking justice in Southeast Asia's first cross-border, class action lawsuit and uncovers the sour side of the sugar trade as plaintiffs call for greater accountability in multinational corporations.

#cambodia #thailand #sugar #lawsuit

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/cambodians-face-sugar-giant-in-thai-court/

Small-scale hydropower dams are treading the tightrope between rural development and environmental damage. These miniature mechanisms can be a vital source of power for the Kingdom’s rural communities and can aid the national goal of country-wide access to electricity by 2023. But researchers warn that a lack of scientifically informed oversight and unregulated expansion could have devastating effects on the country’s river basins. Globe’s Anton L. Delgado and Nasa Dip follow the flow of Cambodia’s hydropper trend and the need for increased regulation and consideration of alternative energy sources.

#hydropower
#Cambodia
#dams
#alternativeenergy

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/small-scale-hydropower-offers-potential-and-risk/

At the crossroads of a popular tourist network and China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Laos’ Luang Prabang was recently a hotspot of restaurants, entertainment venues and hotels. But these bustling economies have been decimated and replaced by the now-familiar sight of crowds of consumers queuing outside local petrol stations. Contributor Calvin Godfrey was on the ground in the heat of the Laos fuel crisis and discusses whether the country’s government can survive the tornado of spiralling inflation and rising fuel costs that is sweeping the globe. 
#laos #economy #fuel #fuelcrisis #inflation #tourism

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/on-the-ground-in-the-heat-of-the-laos-fuel-crisis/

A flash of colour recently lit up the streets of Malaysia’s Penang as the state welcomed back two unique and much-anticipated Tamil celebrations after a long Covid-19 hiatus. Photographer and journalist Philippe Durant was on the ground at two of Penang’s major temples to capture the firewalking, pilgrimage and enthusiasm as the region’s Tamil community reignited the spark of the traditional Thimithi and Thaipusam festivals. 

#penang #tamil #festival #culture #malaysia #thimithi #thaipusam

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/tamil-celebrations-return-to-malaysia/

Across Southeast Asia, garment workers are fighting long uncertain battles to recover wages and campaigning for the severance pay they are entitled to after the factories where they worked shut down. Despite recent landmark court rulings showing progress in workers’ favour, many international brands to deny responsibility for the financial consequences that hit laid-off labourers, left without the financial means to support their families.

#southeastasia
#cambodia
#Indonesia
#garmentworkers
#labourrights

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/severance-pay-remains-a-struggle-for-southeast-asian-workers/

Bulldozers and excavators recently tore their way through Cambodia’s protected Phnom Tamao forest, against a rumble of social media criticism. But just days into the debris, a sudden Facebook post from Prime Minister Hun Sen brought the development to a grinding halt. As the piles of firewood and fencing are replaced with fresh saplings, Globe’s Anton L. Delgado provides exclusive, first hand on-the-ground insights of the action as questions take root over whether rushed reforestation is a sign of the Kingdom’s commitment to sustainable resource management or a performative strategy in the run-up to next year’s elections.

#cambodia #phnomtamao #deforestation #reforestation #wildlife

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/reforestation-follows-cambodian-pms-intervention/

A micro hydropower dam churns water from Cambodia’s O’Porng Morn Kraom, a tributary which eventually meets the Mekong River. Built and operated by a local family, the dam was the main source of power to their village before the arrival of the national grid. An exclusive video by Globe’s Anton L. Delgado shares a visual exploration of Cambodia’s small-scale hydropower surge, its energy potential and environmental risks

#cambodia
#hydropower
#dams
#environment

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/small-scale-dams-power-cambodian-villages-and-fuel-ecological-concerns/

As cyberthreats continue to grow across the globe, Indonesia’s government and law enforcement have increased their grip on cyber-governance. But elastic clauses and alleged collusion between enforcers and accusers are raising concerns over unfair sentencing. Contributor Johannes Nugroho examines the misconduct that spreads under the guise of digital justice and the pitfalls of a system that favours the wealthy and influential while silencing critics. 

#indonesia
#cyberlaw
#dataprivacy
#governance

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/indonesia-cyberlaw-enables-real-world-misconduct/

In both Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and Cambodia’s Phnom Penh, rapidly evolving urban landscapes have helped shape the cities’ unique and innovative contemporary art scenes. From Dinh Q. Le’s 1998 installation Damaged Gene, exploring the poisonous aftermath of Agent Orange, to Vandy Rattana’s haunting Bomb Ponds project profiling the imact of U.S.  military action on Cambodia, author and art historian Pamela Nguyen Corey explores these artists’ links between politics and space, history and home. Govi Snell, reporting for the Globe, spoke to Corey about how regional contemporary artists are shaped by ruptures to metropolitan landscapes.

#art #vietnam #cambodia #history #agentorange #urbanart

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/in-the-city-in-time-rapidly-shifting-urban-environments-spark-artistic-movements/

Resettlement, the process when refugees from a host country transfer to a third country, is currently considered the "most used durable solution" for refugees in Malaysia. But those who have fled danger and hardship in their home countries are often met with precarity and uncertainty as they wait in limbo. Liani MK, reporting for the Southeast Asia Globe, shares first-hand accounts and highlights the financial, educational and medical hardships of those building a temporary life in the country.

#malaysia #resettlement #refugees #humanrights

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/refugees-fear-for-their-safety-and-stability-seeking-resettlement-from-malaysia/

Local cuisine can be a impactful tool for nations looking to strengthen international ties and grow their presence on the global stage. Singapore is capitalising on this soft power as the city-state’s beloved and renowned food heritage and culture develops into a recipe for diplomacy. Authors and food culture experts, Keri and Kelsi Matwick, explore the portrayal of Singaporean cuisine in mainstream media, and how the Lion City has preserved its food culture as a key part of its national heritage.

#food #culinarydiplomacy #culture #singapore

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/singapore-makes-a-global-mark-with-its-culinary-diplomacy/

As tensions worsen between indigenous Papuans and pro-Indonesian groups, new research suggests communal violence could spiral out of control. In this analysis, Globe contributor Johannes Nugroho explores how the roots of the Papua’s volatility lie entwined in its history of integration with Indonesia and the actions and approach of Jakarta’s political elite, and explores local fears that the civil unrest may escalate in the region. 
#Papua #westpapua #indonesia #indigenousrights

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/indonesias-papua-sits-on-the-edge-of-unrest/

In Bangkok’s cramped detention centres, oppressive heat mixes with the sweat of fear. Refugees share stories and allegations of violent abuse, arrested and treated as criminals as they flee from danger in their home countries. In his first piece for the Globe, Caleb Quinley shares accounts from refugees who have been detained over the last two years and discusses the new allegations of physical abuse revealed in the Kingdom’s detention centres.

#thailand #bangkok #detentioncentres #refugees

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/refugees-in-thailand-allege-physical-abuse-inside-immigration-detention-centres/

Today marks the five year anniversary of the Myanmar military’s deadly crackdown on the country’s Rohingya people. Refugees who have fled to the relative safety of Bangladesh, find themselves in a still precarious situation, restricted by the government and left desperate, unsafe and vulnerable to human trafficking and the lure of criminal activity. In this analysis, Marte Nilsen, a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, discusses how after half a decade, having faced numerous financial, medical and educational hurdles, the Rohingya are finally calling on the world to act.

#Myanmar #refugees #Myanmarcoup #bangladesh

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/rohingya-refugees-still-desperate-five-years-after-a-genocide/

Legendary war photographer Tim Page passed away for the fourth and final time on Wednesday 25 August, at 78 years old. Throughout his extraordinary life and remarkable career, he survived shrapnel to the brain, overcame death three times in a single day and brought life to the emotional reality of global conflict through his images. Rising to fame with his captures of the coup in Laos and the trail of American carnage in Vietnam, Page blazed a trail through the world of photojournalism and a spark in the regional community, where he was known for his extravagant persona and his commitment to both his friends and the victims of war.

#TimPage #photography #warphotography

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/legendary-war-photographer-tim-page-dies/

Last Wednesday marked the end of Thai Prime Minister Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s 8-year term, as the Constitutional Court called a temporary suspension of his title. But as Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan steps into his post, activists are sceptical about the prospect for real change and are calling out for “real democracy” in the Kingdom. In her debut at the Globe, our newest editor Beatrice Siviero was on the ground as pro-democracy protests gathered in Bangkok, and explores the rise of a new generation of fearless Thai activists calling for change.

#bangkok #thailand #democracy #protests

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/activists-say-thai-prime-ministers-suspension-is-a-tool-to-buy-time/