People and government

The gay former Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir said, “It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world.” Sigurðardóttir’s message, delivered while defending LGBTQ+ rights at a 2014 Pride festival, would certainly have been welcomed by ...

Cambodian and international rights advocates have condemned the harsh charges imposed on three 20-something environmental activists in the country earlier this week, the latest sign of the Cambodian government’s determination to stamp out the last traces of independent political advocacy. On June 16, Sun Ratha, 26, ...

Law enforcement authorities from China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand joined forces Tuesday (June 23) for the 106th Mekong River joint patrol. Three Chinese vessels departed from Jingha Port in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China’s Yunnan Province for the patrol. Law enforcement officers from the four ...

Concern for the future of Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi is mounting after her appearance in a purpose-built courtroom in the country’s capital Naypyidaw at the start of what is expected to be a seven-week trial. Since the coup on February 1, little has been seen of ...

Vietnam introduced national guidelines on social media behaviour on Friday which encourage people to post positive content about the Southeast Asian country and require state employees to report “conflicting information” to their superiors. The code prohibits posts which violate the law and “affect the interests of ...

For Southeast Asian countries, the meaning of regional connectivity and integration goes beyond their vision of development and economic progress. Interconnectedness also applies when discussing disasters and environmental degradation. One example is transboundary haze, the top-of-mind term for the raging forest fires on Sumatra or Kalimantan ...

Family members and colleagues of detained labor and border activist Rong Chhun and youth activist Sar Kanika said they are disappointed that the Phnom Penh Municipal Court denied their bail requests following a hearing on Tuesday. The two activists did not appear at their hearings because ...

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has transformed the Hands of Hope Community – an NGO-run autism school in Takhmo commune’s Prek Samrong village in Kandal province’s Takhmao town – into a public high school for the academic year 2020-2021 onwards. According to the ministry’s ...

The state-run Electricite Du Lao (EDL) and Vientiane Water Supply State Enterprise have cut power and water tariffs by three and five percent respectively to help people cope with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. The reduced tariffs, which will be valid for three months, will ...

For expatriates like me, an unexpected upside to life in Bangkok during the COVID-19 outbreak is that it has become significantly easier to hail a taxi. Before the pandemic, drivers would often ignore me or try to rip me off, thinking I was among the millions of ...