Social development
INGOs Discourage Repatriation for their Own Interests: Gov’t Spokesperson
The Myanmar government’s spokesperson U Zaw Htay has accused international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) of deliberately discouraging refugees in Bangladesh from returning to Myanmar due to their own business interests. Speaking at the government’s press conference on Friday, U Zaw Htay, also director-general of the President’s ...
Meth epidemic in the Mekong region
This week, Vientiane played host to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) “High Level Conference on Transnational Organized Crime in Laos People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and the Mekong Region”. The UNODC brought together senior Lao PDR officials, international partners and select experts ...
Refugees’ citizenship demands ‘impossible’: Myanmar govt
Administrators in northern Rakhine State say it would be “impossible” for the government to agree to Rohingya refugees’ citizenship demands, in a further sign that Rohingya repatriation is likely to proceed slowly – if at all. Repatriation of up to 2,200 verified refugees from Bangladesh ...
Indigenous youth take lead protecting threatened communities
The young people sitting together in a classroom at Chiang Mai University came from countries across the region, yet they do not only identify as Cambodian, Lao, Myanmar, Thai or Vietnamese. Keep reading ...
Ten ASEAN Nations On Track For 5.2% Overall Growth Rate This Year - IMF Report
The ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are achieving overall booming growth rates of 5.2 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report on Thursday. “The member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) continue to ...
ASEAN’s shifting attitudes towards LGBT rights
Last year, Taiwan’s apex court ruled that the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman under Taiwan’s civil law is against their constitution, which effectively means that Taiwan is the first country in Asia to legalise gay marriage. This year, ...
Burmese Migrant Women at Risk in Thailand
Discriminatory practices are holding Burmese migrant women back. “The Burma government doesn’t care that people come to Thailand for work. Sometimes I feel like I want to go home but it’s not any better in Burma. It’s difficult in Thailand, but in Burma there is ...
Over 10,000 have stroke in Mekong delta annually
Mekong delta has more than 10,000 stroke patients of 200,000 stroke cases, making up 5 percent of the cases reported in the whole country, said founder of the Stroke International Services Dr. Tran Chi Cuong. The founder made the statement at the international seminar “ Updating ...
Myanmar: EU mission assesses human rights and labour rights situation
A monitoring mission of experts from the European Commission and the European External Action Service visited Myanmar from 28 to 31 October. This follows deeply worrying developments highlighted in various United Nations reports, in particular as regards human rights violations in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan ...
Thailand wants to be the first Asian nation to legalize medical marijuana
“Thailand has the best marijuana in the world.” So claims Jet Sirathraanon, chairman of the country’s National Legislative Assembly’s standing committee of public health, who is pushing to legalize cannabis for medical use. A draft bill to permit medical marijuana had been sent to the ...
