Social development

The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is a major global rice producer and exporter but its population suffers from serious levels of poverty and malnutrition. Spanning six countries – China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – the region is home to 334 million people. Keep reading ...

The United Nations on Wednesday called on all parties in Myanmar’s northeastern Kachin State to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and end the violence. Chief UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that “humanitarians must be able to access and provide assistance to those in ...

Cambodia has dropped 10 places in the World Press Freedom Index and risks mimicking China’s silencing of criticism, according to new data from international organisation Reporters Without Borders. Keep reading ...

In Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the battle against malaria is advancing at a rapid pace. Between 2012 and 2017, reported malaria cases fell by a staggering 84%, with deaths from the disease down by 93%. In Cambodia, China’s Yunnan Province, the Lao People’s ...

When people talk about sustainable development there is rarely any mention of the many street vendors who make a living on streets in Thailand, as across the rest of Asia.  []In January it was reported that the Thai authorities had arrested over 1,600 illegal migrants, mainly ...

Two weeks ago, shortly after it turned 2am, Sami’s boat rolled over on the waves of the Mekong river and tipped all of her possessions into the water—including Lydie, her newborn daughter. ‘Just like that, she was gone,’ the 16-year-old remembers. Keep reading ...

Hydropower projects are threatening Vietnam’s Mekong delta, but farmers who make their livelihoods there know little about it. Keep reading ...

A recent conference at Thammasat University in Bangkok brought together Indian and Southeast Asian scholars to discuss re-building cultural links along two major rivers in Asia – the Ganges and the Mekong – that in ancient times provided transport links to build great civilizations influenced ...

A boat carrying 70 Rohingya Muslims set out for Malaysia from Myanmar this week, two sources and a rights group said, the latest to embark on a dangerous sea journey. The vessel will be the second to arrive in Malaysia this month as the Rohingya ...

Thailand’s businesses and its government must do more to protect the rights of vulnerable people abroad, analysts and activists said, after a landmark case filed by Cambodian farmers in a Bangkok court against a Thai sugar firm. It is the first time plaintiffs from another ...