News
Lecturers tell NCPO: Stop threats to academics and students
A group of lecturers on 23 November called on the junta to stop threatening academics and students expressing political views. The group, gathered under the network of lecturers concerned for detained students, submitted a letter to chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Prayut ...
Medics need to address malnutrition in Laos
Government leaders at all levels have been urged to prioritise the implementation of effective measures to solve malnutrition in Laos, according to a leading official. Speaking at the 3rd National Nutrition Committee Meeting and the 1st Nutrition Forum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and ...
Myanmar landslide: 'Many missing' at Kachin jade mine
Many people are still missing after a massive landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state. At least 104 bodies have now been recovered, with some estimates saying more than 100 people are still missing. The incident happened in Hpakant on 21 November when a huge ...
Malaysia hands over ASEAN chair to Laos
Malaysia has handed over the chairmanship of ASEAN to Laos, having fulfilled its eight priorities as ASEAN chair for this year. On 22 November, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak handed over a gavel to Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong – ...
US president notes election success at ASEAN Summit
The weekend’s ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur put US President Barack Obama and President U Thein Sein together for the first time since the election. While peddling his Asian pivot trade deal at the meeting, Mr Obama took a softer diplomatic tone than usual, lauding the ...
Government spokesman rejects calls for Rohingya citizenship
A spokesperson for President Thein Sein took to social media on 21 November to reject recommendations that Rohingya Muslims be granted a path to citizenship. The minister’s comments were made in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, a comprehensive human rights examination comprising recommendations from ...
Election offers glimmer of hope for Kayan
Among its many victories in the 8 November election, the National League for Democracy won the seat of the minister for ethnic Kayan people in Shan State. The incoming minister, U Khun Aye Maung, says now things are going to change. Known to the world’s tourists ...
Nationalism defeated at the ballot box
Why did self-proclaimed nationalist parties fare so badly in the election? Though the absence of opinion polls and comparable electoral data made it difficult in advance to gauge the extent of support for any party, nationalist candidates appeared to be well-organised and amply funded. The hardline ...
Civil society organisations to hold rally on 10 December
Civil society groups, unions, monks and activists are planning a thousands-strong march in Phnom Penh to deliver petitions to the National Assembly and Ministry of Justice to mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December. Keep reading ...
Cambodian PM urges cooperation on climate problems
Prime Minister Hun Sen on 21 November called for stronger cooperation in implementing the ASEAN-US Joint Statement on Climate Change, noting that the phenomenon is “obviously happening”. The statement, adopted last November, calls on ASEAN members to implement 33 points, such as ratifying Kyoto Protocol goals and ...
