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By Marga Ortigas in Asia on July 2nd, 2010
President Aquino has had an eventful start to his term in office [Reuters]

So the first two days under the much anticipated new government have come and gone, and what a start it’s been.

Newly installed President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino’s first order was to pretty much get rid of all non-career appointees of the previous government.

As heads were still reeling from the whiplash and Filipinos were preparing for the possibility of having the entire administrative structure collapse, the memorandum was recalled and "revised".

It needed to be “fine-tuned”, the new officials explained, as sighs of relief echoed through the emptying government hallways.

The first official presidential order was then reissued with a more detailed definition of who could stay and who would go. 

Then there was the matter of arriving late for the leadership turnover rites at the armed forces headquarters.

No sirens, please

Just as he promised at his inauguration, President Aquino, aka P Noy, remained

By Melissa Chan in Asia on July 2nd, 2010
Youde fires his cannon. (Photo: AFP)

The David and Goliath story of Yang Youde, the farmer who decided to fight off land eviction teams with his homemade cannon, attracted our attention and the team flew down to learn more. What follows are details that didn't manage to make into our broadcast report, but which I feel are important as they highlight issues concerning domestic media censorship and local government operations.

A mystery vehicle followed us after our morning visit with Farmer Yang, all the way back to Wuhan city proper. Five minutes after returning to my hotel room, I was told some officials were waiting to speak to us.  I walked into the hotel lounge -- and lo! Seven of them.

By Marga Ortigas in Asia on June 30th, 2010
Photos courtesy of Sunshine de Leon

It's been said often enough to explain the many inexplicable events that take place here; "only in the Philippines!"

But indeed, where else would a presidential inauguration day end with the newly sworn-in leader himself regaling a crowd of thousands with an out-of-tune version of Frank Sinatra’s "Watch What Happens?"

That's exactly how Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, the newly-installed 15th president of the Philippines, capped celebrations in Manila on Wednesday evening - and it was all broadcast live to a hopeful nation.

Let someone start believing in you,
let him hold out his hand,
Let him touch you and watch what happens…

By Clayton Swisher in Asia on June 26th, 2010
Photo by Reuters

In a matter of months, there will be a number of investigations into why such intense violence was wrought on the ethnic Uzbek populations in the oblasts of Osh and Jalalabad.

None of the explanations I've gotten seem to pass the sniff test.  

The most popular is that it was agitated by remnants of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the ousted president, seeking to "counter-coup" the interim government headed by Roza Otunbayeva.  

There may be some truth to that claim, but it can't explain the support base this ethnic violence had; the vehement passions of the southern Kyrgyz population against their Uzbek compatriots, who have also called the Fergana valley home since time immemorial. 

Insults and blame

Everywhere I went this past week it was in my face. At the apartment we rented in Jalalabad from an ethnic Kyrgyz, it made for an ugly final night.

By Marga Ortigas in Asia on June 24th, 2010
Andal Ampatuan Jr is one of 196 people charged over the massacre [Reuters]

The call came in around mid-day.

"They got to him."

I'm sorry?, I thought, still trying to recognise the voice at the other end of the line.

"They got to him,"  it was repeated sadly. "Just as he told you they would."

We were in the middle of working on another story, and I wasn't sure exactly what I was being told.

"The witness," the voice added, filling in my silence. "They got to him, he's dead."

We had interviewed two men who claimed to be witnesses to the Maguindanao massacre, the worst case of political violence in the country that left at least 58 people dead in the troubled southern Philippines.

The first one, known publicly as "Boy", was now in protective custody.

He claimed that he was there when the killings happened, but insisted that he was too shocked at the brutality, and was unable to participate in the shooting of innocent civilians.  

The second one we dubbed "Jesse".

By Marga Ortigas in Asia on June 22nd, 2010
Photo: Marga Ortigas

The bright pink frilly dress was lovingly laid out on the cold hard metal slab.

On the floor next to it - a long white coffin. Oversized for the three-year-old that was finally going to be put in it.

Levi Samuel had been waiting for this moment for exactly two years.

Well, "waiting" implies hopeful expectation, so it wouldn't really be the right word.

Levi hadn't wanted to say goodbye.

His niece and her father were among the over 800 passengers on board the 23,000 tonne MV Princess of the Stars when it sank in stormy weather off the central Philippines in June 2008.

It was one of the worst sea disasters in the Philippines.

The remains were only now turned over to Levi by authorities. And he is one of the more fortunate ones.

By Clayton Swisher in Asia, Europe on June 15th, 2010
Photo by AFP

Kyrgyzstan is facing a wave of ethnic clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgz in the south, and for the most part, many in the capital, Bishkek see the country's interim government as an absentee landlord over the situation.

Many are now waiting to see how and whether Roza Otunbayeva, the Kyrgyz interim president, will rise to the occasion.

By James Bays in Asia on June 9th, 2010
Picture from AFP

Everyone in Kabul is still talking about the sudden departures of Interior Minister Mohammed Hanif Atmar and Intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh.

These men, two out of the three most senior security ministers in the Karzai cabinet, were among the officials most trusted by the Americans and their allies.

The focus now is on who will replace them and how long it will take.

The two posts are absolutely key to the success or failure of the Obama strategy in Afghanistan.

By Imran Khan in Asia on June 6th, 2010
Children wade through a flooded street in Karachi (AFP)

It's a little after 22:40 local Pakistan time. Karachi, where I am situated, is braced for Tropical Cyclone Phet. It's due to hit the coast of Karachi in the next 20 minutes or so.

The streets here are deserted. Karachi is a late night city, but this Sunday evening you can hear a pin drop.

Along the coast though it's different picture: Throughout the day, hundreds of people have come to the seafront to see for themselves exactly what is going on.

One man I spoke to says he has been hearing of a cyclone hitting Karachi every year for the last 20 years. "But every time, we see nothing. Let's hope God is on our side this time as well."

God and good planning, it would seem. The city's authorities have been battling it out to make sure that the city survives anything the weather can throw at it.

They seem to have done a good job.

Tags: Karachi
By James Bays in Asia on June 4th, 2010
Photo from Reuters

Over the last two days, the Jirga members were divided into 28 committees and asked to discuss the way forward towards peace in Afghanistan.

Each of the chairmen of those committees have now been giving a summary of their decisions in the main tent of the Jirga.

Some of the proposals match the way forward that the Afghan government and international players want to take.

But some of the proposals will cause alarm in international circles.

Many talked about new measures to tackle corruption.

Others focused on the UN blacklist – the list of Taliban senior members subject to financial and travel restrictions.

They want names taken off that list, as an inducement to the Taliban side, something the international community may agree to.

But other proposals will almost certainly not be acceptable to America and its allies.

Many said they want Taliban prisoners released – with Guantanamo, Bagram and other jails closed.

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