Social development
Thai farmers plea for debt relief if second rice crop again banned
Farmers’ leaders have called for an interest-free debt moratorium of 5-10 years if the government bans the planting of a second rice crop for the third time this year. Thai Farmers Association chairman Wichian Puanglamjiak on 22 September said if the the government asks farmers to not to plant second-crop ...
Thailand printers withhold NY Times edition over king article
The New York Times has said that its local printer in Thailand has refused to print its Asia edition because it featured an article on the ailing king. The paper said the printer found the front-page article “too sensitive”. The entire newspaper for 22 September, however, can ...
Top cop says no capacity to convict
A high-ranking police official yesterday bemoaned Cambodia’s lack of capacity to fight cybercrime, just a week after the government’s announcement of a new Anti-Cybercrime Department prompted fears of an online clampdown on dissent. Keep reading ...
Montagnards mull leaving Cambodia
With the clock ticking for Montagnards in Phnom Penh to leave the country or face forced repatriation, some of the asylum seekers have asked the UN Refugee Agency to help them return to Vietnam. Vivian Tan, a regional spokesperson for UNHCR, said “a few people” have ...
Tourism ministry to build vocational schools
The government plans to build two vocational training centers in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville in an effort to strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism sector in Cambodia, the minister of tourism said on 21 September. Keep reading ...
Arrested for praying, Laotian Christian dies in prison for lack of treatment
Tiang, a married father of six, died in jail waiting before his appeal could be heard. Although he suffered from diabetes, prison officials repeatedly denied him treatment. He and four others had been convicted for praying on behalf of a terminally ill woman, an act ...
Rebels warn political parties to halt election campaigns amid clashes in Myanmar’s Shan State
Armed ethnic rebels in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state have warned political parties to suspend campaigning for national elections slated for November amid ongoing clashes with the country’s military in the region, citing safety concerns.In a statement issued on 16 September, the Restoration Council of Shan ...
With official help, radical Buddhists target Muslim businesses
Myanmar’s Muslim minority make up about 5 percent of the country’s predominantly Buddhist population and Muslims living in the delta rely heavily on the slaughterhouse business and the beef trade. Now Muslim businesses have become the target of anti-Islamic sentiment propagated by radical Buddhists who have found ...
Ohanaeze Mekong Thailand moves to unite Ndigbo in Asia
Ohanaeze Ndigbo (one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria) living in the Mekong River area of South East Asia, comprising Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and China recently converged on Bangkok, Thailand where they deliberated on issues of common interest and how they would ...
Vietnam ‘ready’ for returning Montagnards
Vietnam is “ready to receive” the more than 200 Montagnards currently seeking asylum in Cambodia who face forced repatriation if they do not return within three months, according to the UN refugee agency. Vivian Tan, a regional spokesperson for UNHCR, said the Vietnamese government had given ...
