Reuters

Thailand’s new national parks will impose stricter penalties to further limit the rights of Thai farmers and indigenous people, land rights activists and analysts said on Friday, after a series of convictions highlighted their vulnerability. Under the National Parks Act, which was unveiled by the government ...

Thailand’s crackdown on exploitation and slavery in its multi-billion dollar fishing industry will only succeed if its neighbours step up and adopt anti-trafficking laws, said a labour rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Thai fishing vessels are increasingly registering in nearby countries to avoid scrutiny ...

A new law to address abuses in Thailand’s multi-billion dollar fishing industry contains loopholes, labor rights campaigners said on Thursday, warning of difficulties in enforcement. The legislation published on Wednesday follows years of global scrutiny over abuse of Thai and migrant workers and mandates basic rights ...

Rice export prices in Vietnam rose for the first time in six weeks as domestic buying picked up and fears of water scarcity in the country’s rice bowl grew, while weaker local currencies weighed on rates in other top Asian exporting hubs. In Vietnam, rates for ...

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Thursday criticized Vietnam’s move to ban imports of glyphosate-based herbicides, saying the decision would have “devastating impacts on global agricultural production.”  Vietnam’s government said in a statement that the toxic level of herbicides containing glyphosate had long been of ...

 Thailand will use a newly amended law to crack down on forced labor with hefty fines and prison time, a move analysts said could help curb exploitative practices against migrant workers. The Southeast Asian nation, which has come under scrutiny for slavery and trafficking in ...

The head of the U.N. children’s fund urged Myanmar on Monday to implement the recommendations of a panel on the Rohingya crisis led by former U.N. head Kofi Annan, saying it had yet to create conditions right for the return of refugees from Bangladesh. Keep reading ...

Millions of migrant workers in Thailand’s construction, agriculture and livestock industries suffer from exploitative practices, but a focus on the fishing sector has distracted attention from them, researchers said on Thursday. Migrant workers in several industries get few protections, including a minimum wage and overtime ...

Urban planners and authorities in fast expanding Asian cities are increasingly turning to unused land underneath bridges, flyovers and viaducts to create much-needed public spaces. With rapid urbanization, a construction boom in South and Southeast Asian cities is resulting in more offices, houses and apartments, ...

In the dead of night, the entire front half of shopkeeper Ta Thi Kim Anh’s house collapsed. Perched on the sandy banks of the Mekong River, it took just a few minutes for one half of everything she owned to plunge into its murky depths. “Our ...