Cambodia’s velvet glove frays
Hun Sen (left), Cambodia’s longtime strongman, faces local elections next year and a national contest in 2018. On his recent provincial swing he pressed flesh, announced local infrastructure projects as… Read more »
Saudi Arabia – can it really change?
In January, I went with my editor in chief from The Economist to Saudi Arabia to meet Mohammed bin Salman, a young, previously little-publicized royal, known to his courtiers as… Read more »
Iran: Narges Mohammadi sentence a ‘devastating blow’ to human rights
An Iranian appeals court has confirmed a 16-year sentence for one of Iran’s most prominent women’s rights activists, The New York Times reports: The activist, Narges Mohammadi, 44, a human… Read more »
A new Cuba – or Market-Leninism?
The independent Center for Legal Information Cubalex warned Thursday that the attack launched by the regime against it last Friday is not over and that its members could be subject… Read more »
Venezuela crisis: U.S. to send diplomat
President Nicolas Maduro says a top U.S. State Department official will soon visit Venezuela in a bid to ease tensions between the two nations, AP reports: Maduro’s announcement Tuesday… Read more »
Palestinian vote remote
Municipal elections rarely excite international attention, say analysts Nathan Brown and Caroline Zullo. However, when elections in the West Bank and Gaza were scheduled for October 8, they represented something… Read more »
China’s repression ‘buries rule of law’, erodes implicit pact
After being expelled from court while trying to defend a client who said he had been tortured, Chinese lawyer Li Jinxing wrote: “Is this what being a lawyer is like…?… Read more »
Civic Freedom Monitor addresses civil society’s challenges
The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) today launched the “Civic Freedom Monitor,” a rebranded version of its long-running NGO Law Monitor – widely recognized as the most comprehensive source… Read more »
Thai junta allows ‘culture of torture’ to flourish
Officials in Thailand on Wednesday prevented Amnesty International from publicly presenting a report that accuses the ruling military junta of torture and abuse, the group said. Minutes before the briefing… Read more »
Ever ‘more authoritarian’ Azerbaijan’s referendum ‘lacks legitimacy’
Observers are questioning the integrity of the constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan, in which the government reported 91 percent approval of sweeping constitutional changes, including extending the presidential term and increasing… Read more »