Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Cambodia’s Prince Bank Founder Deported to China For Alleged Cyber Crimes

January 9, 2026 at 9:54 PM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

My take for what it's worth on the extradition of Chen Zhi, founder of Prince Bank in Cambodia, by China.
#Cambodia #China #Trump #Maduro
thediplomat.com/2026/01/camb...

Chen Zhi’s extradition follows U.S. federal indictment and the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

thediplomat.com

January 8, 2026 at 9:19 AM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Pearls and Irritations

@johnmenadue.com

I hope I can also age gracefully and encourage people around me to step up and for me not to be concerned that people may no longer listen to me. I'm quite pleased that I can still do a few more things, God willing. #auspol #JohnMenadue #LateNightLive #RadioNational

Best of 2025 - John Menadue in conversation with David Marr

In a wide-ranging discussion, P&I editor-in-chief John Menadue discusses a life full of achievement driven by conviction, and nominates seeing off the White Australia policy and establishing P&I as highlights. He is speaking with David Marr on ABC Radio National's Late Night Live.

Conflict, Crime, and SLAPPs in Southeast Asia

January 4, 2026 at 10:46 PM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

A history of Cambodia-Thailand Diplomatic Relations 1950-2020, by Sok Udom Deth is a must read for anyone trying to make sense of their border conflict and worthy of a second edition given the 2025 undeclared war. #cambodia #thailand #war

January 4, 2026 at 1:52 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

Vale M. Ravi (Madasamy Ravi) a brave human rights lawyer who died on Christmas Eve. His death in Singapore is under investigation. Attached is a podcast I recorded with him in November after he defended me in an attempted defamation suit. RIP my friend.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj-Y...

Christmas in Cambodia during a time of war- UCA News

December 27, 2025 at 3:38 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

Merry Christmas one and all. My final piece for the year is Christmas in Cambodia. I do hope Cambodia and Thailand can find some peace in the New Year.
#Christmas #Cambodia #Thailand #war
www.ucanews.com/news/christm...

As war with Thailand rages, Cambodians mark a somber Christmas. Amid displacement and airstrikes, three women bring life-saving aid to the frontlines, embodying the spirit of the season.

Connecting the Concept of Dignity with Transnational Criminal Justice

December 24, 2025 at 6:31 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

Given that Christmas is here I’m reposting one of my favorite podcasts of 2025, with the barrister Craig Tuck and it’s all about the codification of the soul.
#justice #law #humanrights #lukehunt #craigtuck
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5KQ...

Cost of wind and batteries fall as CSIRO finds new way to show renewables are cheapest

December 23, 2025 at 12:38 AM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Pearls and Irritations

@johnmenadue.com

Big batteries keep getting cheaper, wind costs are easing, and coal and gas are rising. CSIRO’s GenCost report confirms again that firmed renewables are Australia’s cheapest electricity option, writes Sophie Vorrath. #energy #renewables #auspol

CSIRO’s latest GenCost report shows battery costs falling fast, wind costs stabilising and coal, gas and nuclear lagging well behind. For the seventh year running, firmed renewables remain the lowest-cost path for Australia’s electricity system.

Thailand opens nine fronts amid Cambodian border incursions- UCA News

December 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

My latest update with Al Jazeera on the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand which is now being referred to as a Thai invasion in Phnom Penh.

mediaview.aljazeera.com/video/MiimHg...

Hunt07-121225

mediaview.aljazeera.com

December 12, 2025 at 10:20 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

My latest update on the Thai incursions into Cambodia:
www.ucanews.com/news/thailan...
#Thailand #Cambodia #War

Trump to hold phone talks as fighting and aerial bombardments enter fourth day

Thailand opens nine fronts amid Cambodian border incursions- UCA News

December 10, 2025 at 6:42 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

My latest update on the Thai incursions into Cambodia:
www.ucanews.com/news/thailan...
#Thailand #Cambodia #War

Trump to hold phone talks as fighting and aerial bombardments enter fourth day

Cambodia bombed, Thai general vows to crush its military capabilities- UCA News

December 10, 2025 at 6:40 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

Update on the Thai Cambodia border conflict.
www.ucanews.com/news/cambodi...
#cambodia #thailand #war

Fighting intensifies on the Thai-Cambodia border for a third day as Thailand launches airstrikes and tank incursions. At least eight are dead, with thousands fleeing as tensions escalate.

Heavy fighting forces thousands to flee Thai-Cambodian border- UCA News

December 9, 2025 at 8:36 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

For what it's worth. Will update in the morning.
www.ucanews.com/news/heavy-f...
#Cambodia #thailand #war #Trump #malaysia #ASEAN

Heavy fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces escalates, killing one Thai soldier. Thailand scrambles F16 jets as thousands flee. Both sides blame each other for breaching the ASEAN truce.

Is Reconciling Cambodia and Thailand Possible?

December 8, 2025 at 11:32 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

Reposting given the fighting along the Cambodia/Thai border has reignited.

Luke Hunt @luke-hunt.bsky.social · Oct 19

Easy Listen: My latest podcast is with Bangkok-based human rights activist Phil Robertson, the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, and can the Trump administration find a way out.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vryR... #Cambodia #Thailand #War #Trump #malaysia #asean

From coal to solar: a new manufacturing bet in the Hunter

December 8, 2025 at 11:19 AM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Pearls and Irritations

@johnmenadue.com

A $171m federal–NSW investment will see solar panels manufactured in the Hunter Valley, signalling a shift from coal to clean energy industry. #Auspol #Energy #Renewables

A company headed up by one of the legends of Australian solar research and development has won more than $150 million in federal Solar Sunshot funding to build a commercial-scale PV panel manufacturing plant in one of the nation’s biggest coal hubs – the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

Climate uncertainty grows as COP30 progress collides with shifting global politics - UCA News

December 3, 2025 at 10:46 PM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

Worthy Read: Climate change policy analyst Peter Kiernan, gives his take on COP30 and what it really meant and how the world is shaping-up.
www.ucanews.com/news/climate...
#COP30 #COP31 #Brazil #Turkey #Australia #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAction #ClimateRisk

Expert Peter Kiernan analyzes COP30 outcomes, the $1.3 trillion finance pledge, and how the return of Trump and the oil lobby are impacting the global fossil fuel transition.

Climate Change, COP30, and Where the World Goes From Here

December 4, 2025 at 3:44 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

My latest podcast is with climate change analyst Peter Kiernan who unpacks COP30 and details what worked and what didn't at the UN's annual climate change conference in Brazil. #COP30 #COP31 #Brazil #Belem #Turkey #Australia #ClimateCrisis
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tu0...

Corruption isn’t just a moral failure – it’s built into our political system

December 1, 2025 at 1:42 PM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Pearls and Irritations

@johnmenadue.com

Corruption in politics isn’t just a moral lapse – it’s a response to a system that rewards access, loyalty and survival over the public good, writes David Higginbottom.
#AustralianPolitics #Corruption #Democracy #Transparency #Power

Corruption in politics is not an accident or an exception. It is a predictable outcome of a system that rewards loyalty, access and survival over accountability, transparency and the public interest.

Led Zeppelin, my band that never ‘made it’, and the lost art of failure

November 30, 2025 at 9:30 PM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Pearls and Irritations

@johnmenadue.com

Our culture treats success as virtue and failure as a personal flaw – a sharp break from older traditions that saw failure as meaningful and transformative. We need to recover that wisdom in an age of burnout.
#Culture #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Burnout #Neoliberalism #Arts #Society

Our culture treats success as virtue and failure as personal flaw. Older traditions – from Greek tragedy to Christian thought – saw failure as meaningful. Recovering that wisdom may be essential to living with dignity in an age of burnout.

Making First Nations prisoners visible in Labor politics

November 29, 2025 at 9:45 PM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Pearls and Irritations

@johnmenadue.com

Incarcerated First Nations people remain politically invisible in WA – and that invisibility is driving the state’s incarceration crisis.
Real reform demands lived-experience voices.
#AusPol #WApolitics #ClosingTheGap #FirstNations #Justice #HumanRights

Despite Western Australian Labor’s rhetoric on equality and Closing the Gap, incarcerated First Nations people remain politically invisible. Without formal representation and lived-experience voices in party deliberations, meaningful reform is impossible. The 2027 State Labor Conference is the moment to change that.

Conflict, Crime, and SLAPPs in Southeast Asia

November 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

Weekend Listening: My latest podcast is with the international human rights lawyer M. Rav and it's all about conflict, crimes and the law in Southeast Asia. #ASEAN #Cambodia #Thailand #war #SLAPPs #scams
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj-Y...

Thailand set to rearm border after Cambodian truce breaks down- UCA News

November 21, 2025 at 4:40 AM

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

For what it's worth. www.ucanews.com/news/thailan...

Thailand has suspended its historic peace deal with Cambodia and halted the planned release of 18 POWs after a landmine blast injured four Thai soldiers. Bangkok is reportedly sending tanks back to th...

Australia’s fragile multicultural consensus under threat

November 12, 2025 at 2:25 AM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Pearls and Irritations

@johnmenadue.com

Though Labor is likely to remain in government for at least one more term, it is still struggling to move beyond rhetoric and appears far from having a coherent strategy to counter the surge of the far-right. #auspol #Multiculturalism #Socialcohesion

Anti-immigration rallies around Australia in late August and mid-October exposed public divides over migration, social cohesion and national identity.

Asian Aviation: Post-COVID Trends

November 7, 2025 at 12:49 AM

Reposted by Luke Hunt

Luke Hunt

@luke-hunt.bsky.social

My latest video podcast is with Matt Driskill, editor of Asian Aviation. What's hot, what's not and how are the airlines faring given the state of the global economy.

#Aviation #ASEAN #Asia #Bali #Vietnam #Airlines
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veqj...