Law and judiciary

Two more Myanmar journalists have been arrested by junta forces, raising the number of journalists being held by the military regime to 53 as of September 16, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Since the military’s February 1 coup, Myanmar has become the world’s second-biggest jailer ...

In the wake of the Feb. 1 military coup, Myanmar’s new regime leaders escalated their forceful crackdown on nationwide protests with sweeping restrictions on the media, severely curtailing independent journalism in particular. Authorities have stripped at least seven local media outlets of their licenses, enforced strict ...

Along Cambodia’s porous 435-kilometre coastline, three major ports support the lucrative shipping industry. Most shipping containers are coming to and from Bangkok and Singapore, but a more illicit business could soon have a major foothold – the region’s booming, multi-billion-dollar drug trade. On a daily basis, ...

Myanmar authorities should immediately release journalists Htet Htet Khine and Sithu Aung Myint and drop all charges against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 15, military authorities in Yangon arrested Htet Htet Khine, a freelance producer for BBC Media Action, and Sithu ...

Thai parliament on Tuesday passed a new narcotics bill that emphasizes prevention and treatment rather than punishment for small-scale drug users, and introduces tougher measures against organised crime, which could lead to a drop in the numbers of inmates in the overcrowded Thai prison system. The ...

Continuing attempts to curb the sale of wild animals and their meat have failed to engender change at wet markets in the Asia Pacific, even as the region struggles to contain the largest and deadliest wave of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. According to ...

The table we’re writing on is made of rosewood, the most trafficked wildlife product in the world. For months, we’ve been researching the uptick in logging and poaching, which are gradually emptying out the forests here in Cambodia as well as neighboring Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, ...

Customs agents in southwest China have seized 2.2 tonnes of pangolin scales and busted an endangered wildlife smuggling gang, state media reported. Two suspects were detained in the city of Yulin in Guangxi by customs officers, who also seized two kilograms of pangolin paws, the People’s Daily said ...

The government has drawn up a “Draft Law on Social Protection System” to ensure minimum standards of well-being and reduce economic and financial vulnerabilities. The draft law is designed to strengthen the income security of the people and promote social equality through the creation and management ...

Cambodian and international rights advocates have condemned the harsh charges imposed on three 20-something environmental activists in the country earlier this week, the latest sign of the Cambodian government’s determination to stamp out the last traces of independent political advocacy. On June 16, Sun Ratha, 26, ...