Lee Hsien Loong, the 52-year old son of the founder of modern Singapore, who has also held key economics and finance posts and was Deputy Pime Minister in the island-state’s government, was sworn in August 12 as the Southeast Asian powerhouse’s third Prime Minister.

Amid some international and domestic scepticism that the now-familiar arrangement would last, a classic Cambodian compromise government composed of an uneasy coalition between the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Funcinpec Royalist Party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh was appointed in July following 11 months of stalemate and stagnation after inconclusive national elections in 2003.

Following a hotly-contested election campaign and aftermath in the Philippines, incumbent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in June 30 for a new six-year term. She immediately announced plans for strict austerity and frugality both in public and private life in order to cope with the country’s mounting debt burden, budget deficit, credit rating and unemployment.

The European Union and its Asian partner countries agreed in principle at a recent meeting in Jakarta to hold the planned Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Hanoi in October despite the unresolved dispute over the participation of Myanmar and new EU members and senior Dutch politician Hans van den Broek has been dispatched to arrange the difficult terms of this accord.