Social development

With the clock ticking for Montagnards in Phnom Penh to leave the country or face forced repatriation, some of the asylum seekers have asked the UN Refugee Agency to help them return to Vietnam. Vivian Tan, a regional spokesperson for UNHCR, said “a few people” have ...

The government plans to build two vocational training centers in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville in an effort to strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism sector in Cambodia, the minister of tourism said on 21 September. Keep reading ...

Tiang, a married father of six, died in jail waiting before his appeal could be heard. Although he suffered from diabetes, prison officials repeatedly denied him treatment. He and four others had been convicted for praying on behalf of a terminally ill woman, an act ...

Armed ethnic rebels in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state have warned political parties to suspend campaigning for national elections slated for November amid ongoing clashes with the country’s military in the region, citing safety concerns.In a statement issued on 16 September, the Restoration Council of Shan ...

Myanmar’s Muslim minority make up about 5 percent of the country’s predominantly Buddhist population and Muslims living in the delta rely heavily on the slaughterhouse business and the beef trade. Now Muslim businesses have become the target of anti-Islamic sentiment propagated by radical Buddhists who have found ...

Ohanaeze Ndigbo (one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria) living in the Mekong River area of South East Asia, comprising Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and China recently converged on Bangkok, Thailand where they deliberated on issues of common interest and how they would ...

Vietnam is “ready to receive” the more than 200 Montagnards currently seeking asylum in Cambodia who face forced repatriation if they do not return within three months, according to the UN refugee agency. Vivian Tan, a regional spokesperson for UNHCR, said the Vietnamese government had given ...

Thailand’s junta has detained a senior newspaper reporter and columnist, his paper says, the latest in a string of arrests targeting those who speak out against the government. Thepchai Yong, the editor-in-chief of the English-language Nation, said “there is no justification whatsoever” for Pravit Rojanaphruk’s detention. Keep ...

Lao authorities have failed to properly account for the disappearance almost three years ago of civil society activist Sombath Somphone, who was last seen in police custody at a checkpoint in the capital Vientiane, and must commit themselves to a “real and renewed” effort to ...

Over 100 election hopefuls – mostly minority candidates – were knocked out of the running in the Union Election Commission’s final list, with citizenship status by far the most common stumbling block. The final list was short 124 rejected candidates, according to the commission’s announcement on ...