January 24 – Malaysia
New king appointed
Malaysia elects Sultan Abdullah of Pahang as its new king after an unexpected abdication of Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan after only two years on the throne, the first such abdication in Malaysian history.[1] Malaysia has an unusual political system. It is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy consisting of 13 states. Nine of them have hereditary rulers (referred to as sultans) with the remaining four governed by appointed governors. The king is elected by and chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine states for a 5-year term with an election on a rotational basis. The position is largely ceremonial, with power in the hands of parliament and the prime minister. Prime Minister is designated from among members of the House of Representatives.[2]
How does Malaysia choose a new king? (video: 1:42 min)
February 13 – The Philippines
Freedom of press
The Philippine authorities detain Maria Ressa, the founder and manager of one of the country’s major English-language news sites, Rappler, as well as Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2018, accusing her of cyber-libel. Rappler has been known for its investigative journalism critical of President Rodrigo Duterte and his government, especially his controversial “war on drugs” that that has led to extrajudicial killings and the deaths of over 12,000 Filipinos in the last two years, mostly urban poor.[3] While the government accuses Rappler of bias against it, calling it “fake news”, Maria Ressa says her arrest is politically motivated by a government that tries to silence the media.[4] In January the Philippines revoked the publishing/press license for Rappler, igniting a debate about press freedom in the country.
Background: The Philippines remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to practice journalism. Journalists who investigated President Duterte and his administration’s role in extrajudicial killings carried out as part of its war on drugs face harassment and death threats. President Duterte himself said that many journalists who were killed deserved to die.[5] Under his leadership, 12 journalists have been murdered bringing the total slain in the country to 185 journalists since 1986. Almost all the killings remain unsolved.[6]
Duterte the controversial ‘strongman’ of the Philippines
More on the controversial “War on Drugs” from Human Rights Watch, including video reports
February 19 – China
Illegal ivory trade
Tanzania sentences a Chinese national Yang Fenglan to 15 years in prison for illegal ivory trade. Nicknamed “Ivory Queen”, Yang, for over a decade, operated a major smuggling ring of elephant tusks from Tanzania to China where there is a huge black market for imported ivory products. She is responsible for smuggling $2.5 million worth of tusks from some 400 elephants.[7] Eastern Africa – the region most affected by poaching – has lost almost 50 percent of its elephant population in the last decade. This number is event larger in Tanzania itself reaching over 60 percent.[8]
More on the situation of elephants in Tanzania
February 27-28 – North Korea
Nuclear program
The second North Korea-United States Summit on denuclearization of North Korea held between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam is cut short and no agreement is reached. The White House explains the reason behind it being that for the promise of dismantling all of the Yongbyon nuclear weapons complex North Korea demanded that the U.S. lifts all sanctions on North Korea first.[9] North Korea, however, reports that it only sought a partial lifting of five United Nations sanctions imposed in 2016-17.[10]
North Korea’s missile and nuclear program
North Korea’s human rights: What’s not being talked about
March 12 – North Korea
Elections
North Koreans vote to elect 687 members of the country’s rubberstamp parliament called the Supreme People’s Assembly. Voting in North Korea is mandatory; everyone receives a voting ballot with one state-approved candidate’s name on it already. . The government claims the turnout was 99.99 percent. For the first time, the country’s authoritarian leader Kim Jong-un does not run as one of the candidates. Analysts suggest the reason is to make the country’s look more “democratic” as the president should not be a member of the parliament at the same time. Kim Jong-un’s sister, however, Kim Yo-jong, who is also Kim’s close aid, is elected as a member of the parliament in her quest to have a more influential role in governing the country.[11]
What it’s like to ‘vote’ in North Korea
March 19 – Kazakhstan
President steps down
Kazakhstan’s authoritarian ruler, Nursultan Nazarbayev steps down and assigns the speaker of the upper house of parliament, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as acting president to serve the rest of his term. Nazarbayev has been Kazakhstan’s unchallenged president since the country’s independence in 1990 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nazarbayev, however, will continue as chairman for life of the powerful Security Council. Kazakhstan is a vast country with a wealth of natural resources.[12] It has implemented major investments into its oil sector, but recently it has tried to shift this investment into green energy.
The new green superpower? from The Guardian (video: 13:09 min)
March 28 – Brunei
Extreme law punishing gay sex and adultery
Brunei approves a new law that will punish homosexual sex and adultery with death by stoning. It also allows amputations as punishment for theft. Human Rights organization, Amnesty International, condemns the move saying “Brunei must immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments, and revise its Penal Code in compliance with its human rights obligations. The international community must urgently condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice.”[13] Brunei has grown more conservative in recent years, banning alcohol and introducing the Sharia law, which stresses corporal punishments.
Background: Brunei is a tiny oil-rich kingdom in southeast Asia situated on the island of Borneo and surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea. Borneo is the third largest island in the world, shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
May 9 – North Korea
Short-range missiles testing
North Korea fires two short-range missiles from the northwestern city of Kusong towards the east. The missiles reach an altitude of 30 miles, travel 260 miles before falling into the sea. A few days earlier, North Korea also fired several short-range missiles. It is believed that it is an expression of North Korea’s frustration at the stalled negotiations with the United States that includes easing sanctions.[14]
June 10 – Hong Kong / China
Street protests
Hundreds of thousands of protesters have been rallying in Hong Kong demanding the dismissal of a controversial extradition law. The opposition says a million people came out to protest. The bill allows for extradition requests from authorities in mainland China, Taiwan and Macau for suspects accused of criminal wrongdoing. But critics say the law could be used to target political opposition that would be subject to arbitrary detention, unfair trial and torture under China’s judicial system.[15]
Background: Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 until 1997 when it was returned to China. Before the handover China agreed to “one country, two systems” principle. Under a constitution called the Basic Law, Hong Kong received broad autonomy with its own judicial independence, legislature, economic system, and the Hong Kong dollar. The Basic Law also guarantees human rights protection and freedoms, including freedom of speech and assembly. Beijing retains control of foreign and defense affairs. The Basic Law, however, expires in 2047 and it is unclear what will happen to Hong Kong’s autonomy after that.[16]
(Jun 18): After weeks of violent protests, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who is supported by the government in Beijing, signals the suspension of the controversial bill, but refuses to say that it would be scrapped. The protesters vow to demonstrate to force her resignation.[17]
(Jul 1): Thousands of protesters take to streets again on the anniversary of the city’s transfer of sovereignty from the UK to China. Dozens storm their way into the territory’s parliament where they spray-paint the Hong Kong emblem, paint-write messages, and raise the old British colonial flag. Some demonstrators say the protests moved from the controversial extradition bill to the issue of Hong Kong’s autonomy.[18]
More about the recent protests in Hong Kong
July 10 – China
Detention centers in Xinjiang province
The ambassadors of 22 mostly Western countries (including Britain, Canada and Japan) sign a statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council urging China to stop arbitrary detentions of ethnic Uighurs who are Muslim and other minorities in its northwest Xinjiang province. They cite reports by China scholars and human rights groups of “large-scale places of detention, as well as widespread surveillance and restrictions, particularly targeting Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang”.[19] These reports estimate that more than a million people have been forced into these re-education camps.
(Jul 12): In a rebuke to the critical letter, ambassadors of 37 states from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America jointly sign a letter to the president of the United Nations Human Rights Council praising China in its contributions to the international peace by fighting terrorism, separatism and religious extremism in Xinjiang. The larger number of signatories supporting China shows Beijing’s growing global influence.[20]
Inside China’s ‘thought transformation’ camps
August 2 – Hong Kong / China
Continued protests
Demonstrations in Hong Kong continue despite the government withdrawing the controversial extradition bill. The protesters are angry about the erosion of the region’s special freedoms and violent response by the police. They demand a complete scrapping of the extradition bill, universal elections for the region’s chief executive office and the Legislative Council, amnesty for the arrested protesters, and an independent inquiry into the police brutality.
(Aug 6): The protesters shut down the airport, while the Chinese government in Beijing condemns the protests and issues a warning implying it might intervene to end the demonstrations.
(Aug 11): The police confront the activists firing again tear gas into the crowds.
(Aug 12): The protesters block the airport leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
(Aug 18): The protesters continue their rallies, but for the first time in weeks they are peaceful.[21]
September 10 – Myanmar
Rohingya minority
Satellite images show entire villages in Rakhine state, where Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim minority of Rohingya lives, being demolished. In their place, the government is building police barracks, refugee relocation camps, and other government structures. The officials deny it. In this situation, few of the Rohingya refugees will be able to return to Mayanmar.[22]
Background: In 2017, during a military operation, more than 700,000 ethnic Rohingya – who are mainly Muslim – fled the violence to neighboring Bangladesh where they have been staying in refugee camps. Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein described the episode as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. The remaining Rohingya in Myanmar continue to be persecuted and denied their rights, including the citizenship and freedom of movement.[23]
Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya refugees from The Economist (video 05:08)
October 3 – North Korea
Ballistic missile test
North Korea successfully conducts a new type of ballistic missile test. Pukguksong-3 is shot from a platform at sea, but it has capability to be launched from a submarine, which makes it harder to be detected and can get closer to other targets. It is also capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. The missile reaches altitude of 565 miles (the International Space Station is at an altitude of 253 miles) and flies 280 miles, although it is capable of reaching 1,180 miles. It comes down into the Sea of Japan. This is North Korea’s 11th test this year. Denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. have stalled.[24]
The nuclear word Trump and Kim can’t agree on
Issue of North Korea’s denuclearization (video: 01:57 min)
November 11 – Hong Kong / China
Protests in Hong Kong
Violent anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong enter now the 24th week. The defiant protesters demand greater democracy and police accountability. Three people have died since the beginning of the protests. There are also clashes on university campuses. The territory’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam, warns protesters they will not succeed in getting their demands. But protesters keep coming back the minute the riot police leave.[25]
December 11 – Myanmar
Genocide inquiry
A West African country, The Gambia, on behalf of dozens of other Muslim countries, brings Myanmar to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling for it to stop the genocide of its Rohingya minority and on the United Nations to protect this minority from further persecutions. The claims of atrocities against the Rohingya include systematic mass murder, rape and burning their villages to the ground. Myanmar’s leader and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi defends her country and the military against these allegations, arguing that the country is tackling extremist Rohingya militants who attack government security posts.
To rule that Myanmar is guilty of genocide, the ICJ has to prove that the country acted with intent to destroy the minority population. But even then, it has no power to enforce the ruling; however, the guilty verdict could lead to sanctions and have economic consequences.[26]
Aung San Suu Kyi: The democracy icon who fell from grace
How a genocide was investigated
December 12 – Indonesia
Culture: oldest drawing story
Archaeologists discover a story-telling painting on the wall of a cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi that is estimated to be 43,900 years old. This makes it the oldest known pictorial story. (The oldest drawing dates back 73,000 years and was found in South Africa on a piece of a rock). About 16 feet wide, the Sulawesi painted story portrays abstract beings (part human, part animal) hunting for a local buffalo and wild pigs with spears and ropes.[27] To estimate the age of such findings, the scientists analyze calcite that builds up on a painting. Since radioactive uranium in the mineral slowly decays into thorium, they measure the levels of different isotopes of these elements.[28]
Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art
Video: 3:15 min