Mekong Region Grows More Important to China-US Relations
Amid increasingly tense China-U.S. relations, a U.S. official alluded to China but did not specifically name China regarding risks and challenges imposed by approaches to dam building and cross-border riverine practices in the Mekong region.At a worksh…
Xinjiang Internment Camps, Rohingya in Myanmar Highlighted For Religious Repression: Report
Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps on a vast scale last year, while ramping up surveillance tactics to gain information about religion practi…
Cambodia Considers New Anti-‘Fake News’ Laws
SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA – Attendees at an Asian media conference agreed to develop a regional road map for combating fake news throughout the region, which is in the midst of government press crackdowns in several countries, including the host nation.The t…
Rights Groups Slam ASEAN’s Positive Take on Rohingya Repatriation Plan
BANGKOK – A report by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Myanmar’s readiness to repatriate Muslim Rohingya who fled to neighboring Bangladesh paints a mostly positive picture of the country’s efforts.But rights groups say the report …
Myanmar Army Helicopter, Artillery Strikes Force Hundreds to Flee in Rakhine State
Intense fighting broke out early Friday between Myanmar forces and the Arakan Army (AA) near a village in Minbya township in western Myanmar’s war-stricken Rakhine state, with the government army attacking the enemy from helicopters days after artiller…
US to Religious Freedom Violators: ‘You Will Be Held to Account’
STATE DEPARTMENT – The United States is painting a bleak portrait of religious freedom, with violations in countries including North Korea, Iran, Russia, Myanmar and China, while praising Uzbekistan for its progress in respecting people’s fundamental r…
Hearing Begins for 23 Detained Villagers from Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Twenty-three villagers from Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Rakhine state were brought to trial Thursday in Sittwe District Court on charges of violating the country’s counter-terrorism law.The 23 were part of a group of 27 taken on April 10 from Letka villa…