Thailand – Even as Thailand is suffering acute labor shortages, authorities continue to arrest and deport job seekers from Myanmar for entering illegally. The country, which has one of Southeast Asia’s most robust economies, urgently needs some 800,000 migrant workers in key sectors, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). “The industrial sector needs the most migrant workers, with …

Cambodia – The Cambodian Commission on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Information and Media has dismissed the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights’ (APHR) “blind allegations” over Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen‘s trip to Myanmar on January 7. The panel claimed Hun Sen’s visit was part of his endeavor to resolve the turmoil in Myanmar, and that “only an evil-minded individual and …

Cambodia – Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen calls on Myanmar’s junta leader to allow a visit by an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) special envoy and to facilitate humanitarian aid access. Hun Sen, in his capacity as Asean chairman, video called military military leader Min Aung Hlaing and made a plea with him to adhere to a five-point agreement to resolve …

Myanmar – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he would engage with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials in the next two weeks to identify methods to ameliorate the suffering of the people of Myanmar. In a statement on Sunday, Locsin decried the four-year prison sentence imposed to Myanmar’s deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi by …

Myanmar – On Monday, a Myanmar military court found Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of three criminal offenses and sentenced her to four years in jail, the latest in a series of proceedings against the deposed democratic leader. The Nobel Laureate has been jailed since February 1, when her administration was deposed in a coup, putting an end to Myanmar’s brief …

Cambodia – On Friday, Cambodian PM Hun Sen was greeted with a red carpet and an honour guard in Myanmar, while coup opponents protested elsewhere in the nation, fearing his visit would legitimize the junta. Meeting with Myanmar’s military rulers was the first by a head of state since the army deposed Aung San Suu Kyi‘s civilian government on Feb. …

Myanmar – In response to convincing accusations that at least 35 people were murdered and their remains were burnt in Myanmar, a senior United Nations official said yesterday that he was horrified and called on the government to initiate an inquiry. In the event in eastern Kaya state, two members of the non-profit organization Save the Children went missing after …

Malaysia – Rescuers in northern Myanmar claimed that the verified death toll from a landslide at an illegal jade mine had grown to six, but that the search effort had been called off since dozens of others were still missing and assumed dead. Thousands of people die each year while working in the lucrative but poorly controlled jade trade, in …

Thailand – Hundreds of people, many of them children, have escaped a flare-up in violence between the Myanmar army and an ethnic minority rebel group, according to Thai officials and an aid worker. Around 700 people escaped to the Thai town of Mae Sot after clashes between the Karen National Union (KNU) and Myanmar’s army, officials in western Thailand’s border …

Singapore – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has urged for the release of Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as other political inmates, following her conviction by the country’s military junta for a two-year prison sentence. The ministry has also asked for the release of ousted President Win Myint and foreign detainees in a media statement …