Social development
Southeast Asia Drug Use Persists Despite Death Penalty
Southeast Asian authorities are not shy about doling out the death penalty to punish drug traffickers, and yet narcotics abuse has not abated. If anything, it is on the rise, which begs the question of whether the region’s war on drugs is working. []“This unique characteristic ...
Number of smokers in Thailand down to 10.7 million
A recent tobacco consumption study by the Ministry of Public Health, shows that the number of smokers in Thailand has decreased to 10.7 million, while around 100,000 deaths per year are attributed to coronary heart disease and stroke. Keep reading ...
What’s Behind Cambodia’s War on Fake News?
The government’s efforts to regulate fake news have raised concerns amid a wider campaign to suppress dissent as elections approach. Keep reading ...
Myanmar Dismisses Rohingya-Crisis General Amid EU Sanctions
Myanmar’s military announced the ouster of a key general Monday as the European Union sanctioned him and six other senior officers in connection with alleged massacres and the forced exodus of hundreds of thousands of minority Rohingya last year. Keep reading ...
LGBT Tourism and Inclusion in Southeast Asia: A Divided Future?
Some countries in Southeast Asia do better than others in welcoming LGBT tourists. Southeast Asia has enjoyed an exponential surge of foreign tourists in the past decade. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the total contribution of tourism to the economy of southeast Asia ...
Government hits back at UN human rights officials
Cambodian officials have accused two United Nations (UN) human rights experts of interfering in its internal affairs when they commented on the freedom of opinion and expression in the Kingdom and the media code of conduct for the July 29 national elections. Keep reading ...
Mekong Delta hospitals struggle to keep skilled doctors
Many doctors at public hospitals in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are reportedly quitting their jobs to seek opportunities at private hospitals due to low salaries, pressure in the workplace, and a shortage of favourable policies. Keep reading ...
Young ASEAN leaders contribute ideas to protect Mekong Delta environment
Some 120 young leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) contributed their ideas to protecting the environment in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam at a workshop which opened in Can Tho city on June 5. The event, which runs until June 9, was ...
Tackling malaria in the Mekong
The growth of drug resistant malaria threatens communities in the epicenter of the illness — five southeast Asian countries through which flows the Mekong river — but also poses a global threat. Grassroots campaigns are targeting to protect rural people and those living far from medical services. Keep ...
GMS Countries to Strengthen Regional Cooperation on Food Safety, Agriculture
Senior agriculture officials from the six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) agreed to increase regional cooperation in food safety, boost the trading of climate-friendly agriculture products, and accelerate the implementation of the five-year GMS Strategy and Siem Reap Action Plan endorsed by ...
