Cambodia Looks to Put Its Rice on the World’s Plate

Published on Aug 3, 2014 by Luke Hunt

For as long as Cambodian rice farmers can remember, their product has had an unsavory reputation. Tough, dirty and unmilled, it was impossible to cook evenly, and even farmers traded it as pig feed in exchange for cash or better-quality rice from Vietnam or Thailand.Read more from Luke Hunt in The New York Times.

Indiana Jane and the Looted Temples of Koh Ker

Published on Jun 8, 2014 by Luke Hunt

Cambodia has begun to see the return of national treasures looted during its Civil WarWritten by Luke Hunt for The Diplomat.In what has been a long time coming, three 1,000-year-old statues looted in the 1970s were sent back to Cambodia this week after U.S. authorities used their collective clout and had them returned from auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and the Norton Simon Museum in California.Critical to their return was Tess Davis, a U.S. art lawyer and affiliate researcher at the University of Glasgow, who stressed Cambodia had only won the first in a series of battles, in what could prove to be a protracted war over the return of looted art.“The kingdom has taken on the art market, an....

Politicians and Corporates Ensure Acrid Haze Returns

Published on Apr 10, 2014 by Luke Hunt

Each year, about 200 million people across large swathes of Southeast Asia are forced to choke on dreaded smog caused by massive burning off in Indonesia, where the culprits have enjoyed a long-standing impunity. Each year there are promises by politicians that the issue will be dealt with, yet each year the haze returns.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .

Dengue Fever on the Rise in Southeast Asia

Published on Feb 17, 2014 by Luke Hunt

In Malaysia, the signs are ominous. The coming wet season is already shaping up as potentially the worst on record for dengue fever with regional governments stepping up efforts to limit the spread of the potentially deadly disease.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Malaysia, Indonesia, spoilers in ASEAN anti-haze deal

Published on Sep 29, 2013 by Luke Hunt

This article first appeared in The Edge ReviewBy LUKE HUNT / Kuala LumpurExpectations that Southeast Asian governments would find a united and workable approach to dealing with the dreaded haze that annually blankets the region have again been undermined by self interest amid a deal struck by Indonesia and Malaysia to withhold critical information regarding the causes of the fires.Their agreement to withhold information on the fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has upset Singapore, Thailand and Brunei, all key players in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charged with ending the annual scourge.The deal also became known in the wake of the second appearance of the haze this season after Indonesian fires fuelled the worst smog....