People and government

Meet Heng Kim Seng, Cambodia’s bat man. In a few years, he went from rice to riches all because of bats. Under the Khmer Rouge, he hauled human waste to make the rice grow, and now he sells bat feces or “guano” as a natural fertilizer, ...

The Japanese government announced in late December that it will launch an aid program to help internally displaced people in a conflict zone in Myanmar’s northern state of Kachin to return home. China has strong influence in northern Myanmar, including Kachin. Countrywide, Japan and China are ...

The opposition Future Forward party will, next year, press for state recognition of the basic rights of Thailand’s ethnic minorities, which include rights of access to state welfare and ancestral land rights, says Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. The embattled party leader, party spokeswoman Pannika ...

Nguyen Thi Van (not her real name) from the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai was lured across the border to China and sold off as a wife when she was 16 years old. Three months later, she escaped from her husband and returned to Vietnam, but it ...

Earlier this week, we saw another round of headlines tied to Myanmar’s receiving of its first-ever submarine from India. The focus on the capability addition, which has been the subject of speculation over the past few months, has once again spotlighted its significance both for ...

The Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA) will issue practice guidelines for commercial banks in handling clients’ personal data, following the enforcement of the personal data protection law in May next year. The Personal Data Protection Act, B.E. 2562 (2019) regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of personal ...

The 89th international joint patrol on the Mekong River concluded on December 27, with China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand taking part. According to the Yunnan provincial public security department, 128 law enforcement officers participated in the mission aboard six vessels, covering 542km. A consultation meeting on ...

A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a reporter to two years in prison for criminal libel for a comment she tweeted about a labor abuse grievance at a poultry farm. The case against Suchanee Cloitre, then working for Voice TV, is one of 20 lawsuits ...

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh and Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith co-chaired the sixth ministerial consultation in the northern province of Quảng Ninh on Wednesday. Both sides expressed their delight at the considerable development of bilateral ties in various areas, with ...

The 89th Mekong River joint patrol led by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand was launched Tuesday in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. In a bid to safeguard the security and stability along the Mekong River, the four countries will carry out joint patrols, visits, inspections and safety ...