Social development

Phnom Penh’s remote Prey Speu Social Affairs Centre – a de facto prison used to indefinitely incarcerate some of the capital’s most vulnerable citizens – has granted unusual access to the media, coinciding with a visit from Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmaker Ke Sovannaroth.   Eighty-nine men, ...

Local prison authorities in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township say more than 100 “Bengalis” were released this week after serving the duration of their sentences in connection with violence between Buddhists and Muslims that wracked the state in 2012.   Prison staffer Win Kyaw confirmed the release of ...

An ILO project that provides free lunch at garment factories is proving to be a hit with workers, but whether or not this 50-cent per worker “experiment” catches on will depend on factory owners and the brands they supply. Last July, eight garment factories in Phnom ...

Myanmar’s parliament has approved a law that would regulate marriages between Buddhist women and men from outside their religion. The move by legislators was condemned by activists and human rights groups, who said the law was passed under pressure from hardline Buddhist monks. The bill is one ...

Bail has been granted to 11 activists detained after a brutal crackdown on student demonstrations earlier this year, family members said, while five other requests were denied by a court in central Burma.   A hearing culminated with the decision to release 10 students and one supporter ...

The National League for Democracy, Burma’s main opposition party, complained of obstruction from some sub-commissions as NLD cadres have sought to ensure an accurate roster of eligible voters ahead of the general election. Representatives from the NLD said Union Election Commission officials pledged to address the party’s ...

Authorities in Laos have formally charged a young woman who has been detained since May after a photo she took was posted on Facebook, allegedly showing police officers extorting money from her brother during a stop for a traffic violation, according to an official source.   Phout ...

Conservationists, politicians and at least one prime minister are warning the quest for hydro power for booming urban centres in China and south-east Asia is threatening the food supply of more than 40 million people, including millions in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s food bowl. Kraisak Choonhavan, ...

Health officials were insisting last week a cholera outbreak in Yangon’s South Okkalapa township was under control, after hundreds of patients presented at an emergency clinic and Thingangyun Sanpa Hospital for treatment. The outbreak had originally been diagnosed as gastroenteritis but Dr Tin Thit Sa, an ...

China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), builder of the controversial Myitsone Dam in Myanmar’s Kachin State, has cut off food assistance to at least two families—among hundreds displaced by the project—after they backed protests against the dam. The two families were from Aungmyinthar village, one of two ...