Social development
Polish activist not among prisoners to be pardoned in Laos this year
A Polish citizen of Lao heritage jailed in Laos for criticizing the government online will not be among hundreds of prisoners granted pardons by the end of the year because he “does not meet the proper criteria,” according to a public security official. Lao authorities arrested ...
Number of AIDS deaths among young Asians doubles over past decade: U.N.
The estimated number of adolescents dying of AIDS in the Asia Pacific region has more than doubled since 2005, experts said on 30 November, warning of a “hidden epidemic”. UNICEF urged Asian countries to improve teenagers’ access to testing, saying many young people do not know ...
Thailand printers refuse to print New York Times cover story
The New York Times’ printer in Thailand has refused to print one of its articles, leaving a blank space on its cover page. The article, titled “Thai spirits sagging with the economy”, discussed the country’s flagging economy and touched on royal succession concerns. The printer withheld an ...
Unprescribed antibiotics is available anywhere in Vietnam: survey
A survey by the health ministry has found that misuse of antibiotics is rampant, with most pharmacies not requiring prescriptions to sell them. The ministry’s Examination and Treatment Department said 98 percent of drugstores in urban areas and 91 percent in rural areas sell antibiotics without ...
Asia's first transgender centre opens in Bangkok
The Thai Red Cross Aids Research Centre has joined forces with US development partners to open the first transgender-specific operation in Asia. The Tangerine Community Health Centre – located on the first floor of the Thai Red Cross Aids Research Centre in Bangkok – strives to be ...
Woman MPs up, but hluttaw still 90% male
The number of women who will sit in the national parliament next year has more than doubled on current figures, but Myanmar looks set to remain at the bottom of the table in ASEAN for gender equality in national politics with women accounting for just ...
Gains, pitfalls in HIV battle
As nations around the globe mark World AIDS Day, Cambodia’s first lady, Bun Rany, has appealed to Cambodians to do their part in helping the UN reach its goal of eradicating HIV entirely within 15 years. Local experts, however, say progress in some high-risk communities has ...
In the Mekong Delta poorest homes, education takes a back seat
Poverty and a lack of parental support have forced many children in the Mekong Delta to drop out of school and face a very high risk of falling deeper into poverty. Many children in An Giang Province sell lottery tickets or earn money from casual, low-pay ...
Conservative Buddhists donate to Kachin IDPs
Hard-line nationalist Buddhist monk U Wirathu has revealed that his Committee for the Protection of Race and Religion, known as Ma Ba Tha, is providing aid to displaced Christians in war-ravaged Kachin State. Ma Ba Tha said it had donated K6 million for internally displaced persons ...
UN warns of need to boost immunisation
The United Nations has called for an expansion of immunisation to combat the threat of polio and other preventable diseases, after two cases of a vaccine-derived form of the virus were detected in northern Rakhine State. The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund said ...
