Social development
Human rights
Journalist union calls on global peers to value peace
Huy Vannak, president of the Union of Journalists Federations of Cambodia, on Tuesday during the Asia-Pacific Summit in Phnom Penh called on all journalists across the world to take part in curbing fake news and learn about the value of peace. Mr Vannak, who is also ...
Ben Sokhean
Myanmar artists given second jail term for insulting military
A group of Myanmar satirists on Monday (Nov 18) racked up a second prison sentence for a performance that criticised the military, a decision the artists said showed the judges were “puppets” of the military. The group of seven, known as the Peacock Generation, were arrested ...
Human Rights Talks Absent from ASEAN Summit
Much of the recent ASEAN summit was focused on political snubbing between Donald Trump and the region, an Asian trade agreement, and the South China Sea dispute, but one topic was not a priority: human rights. So says the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights organization, (APHR) ...
Ha Nguyen
Asean a 'human rights disaster', claim groups
Asean civil society groups on Saturday criticised the deterioration of human rights in Asean as well as the bloc’s principle of non-interference, especially over the Rohingya crisis, which will reportedly receive no mention in the East Asia Summit statement. Phil Robertson, the Asia Deputy Director of ...
Thana Boonlert
How China Pushes Its Agenda In Myanmar Media
The plight of thousands of women from Kachin and Shan states trafficked into forced marriages in China has attracted global attention, with numerous major news outlets and human rights groups covering the crisis. But one Myanmar language publication recently gave a different take on the ...
Tin Htet Paing
Cambodian judge orders reinvestigation of spying case against reporters
A Cambodian judge on Thursday ordered a reinvestigation of the espionage case against two former Radio Free Asia journalists, saying he could not rule on their guilt or innocence without enough evidence. The case has added to concerns about a crackdown on criticism and dissent by ...
Prak Chan Thul
Thailand to open anti-fake news centre by Nov 1 to address rumours on social media platforms
Thailand will open its first fake news centre by Nov 1 to combat unverified news circulating on social media platforms, said Minister of Digital Economy and Society Buddhipongse Punnakanta on Wednesday (Sept 25). “These days anyone can be a reporter. Anything can be posted and shared. ...
Hathai Techakitteranun
Laos State Media: Woman Arrested for Criticizing Government on Facebook Confesses
Lao state media reported Tuesday that a woman who was arrested in Laos last week for criticizing the government on Facebook has confessed to her crime. In a Facebook Live video last week, Houayheuang Xayabouly, known by her nickname Mouay, had slammed the Lao government’s slow ...
Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang Receives Award For Work to Improve Journalistic Freedom
Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has awarded its 2019 Press Freedom Prize to three female journalists, including prominent Vietnamese blogger Pham Doan Trang, who authored a book on political engagement that angered authorities in Hanoi. Trang, who has vowed to remain in Vietnam until ...
Detained RFA Blogger in Vietnam Has First Meeting With Lawyer
An RFA blogger held in Vietnam on charges of corruption has been allowed to meet with a lawyer for the first time since he was abducted in Thailand earlier this year and forced back to Vietnam, his attorney told RFA on Thursday. Truong Duy Nhat, a ...