The Cambodian government is building a global textile industry on the backs of Cambodian women working the sewing machines on the garment factory floor. However, they are often overworked and underpaid, and rarely ever promoted to supervisory positions. A study by Care International revealed that one in three Cambodian women working in the industry has suffered sexual harassment on the factory floor.

The United States (US), despite withdrawing from a landmark accord aimed at curbing climate change, is stonewalling vital United Nations (UN) talks over how to fund poorer nations as they battle against global warming, multiple sources told AFP on Saturday.US President Donald Trump caused global outrage by announcing the US would withdraw from the Paris Accord, but the decision cannot formally take effect until at least 2020 and Washington has vowed to take part in climate negotiations to pro

Bans on pork products from China may be widened as part of emergency measures to stem the global spread of African swine fever.The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations agency spearheading an international effort to control the deadly pig virus, plans to release recommendations for governments after a crisis meeting in Bangkok this week.

In serving as the "Battery of Asia" to its power-hungry neighbours, Lao PDR is cramming dozens of dams onto its network of rivers. With 46 currently operating hydropower plants with a capacity of 6,400 megawatt (MW), and another 54 under construction and set to start operating by 2020, Lao PDR targets the generation of a whopping 28,000 MW of power in just two years.

The Southeast Asian region is only just managing to maintain its population but there are indications that the fertility rates of ASEAN member nations are continuing to fall. In 2016, half of ASEAN member countries recorded total fertility rates (TFR) that were indicative of potentially shrinking populations, while two other countries recorded more than 15 percent TFR reduction over the last decade.

Five moon bears were rescued in August from a bile farm near the city of My Tho, located 70 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam. The bears, likely captured from the wild, were rescued by the Animals Asia Foundation. They were found confined in barren concrete cells, displaying signs of severe stress after having been in captivity for more than 20 years.

Three years ago, Thailand’s National Statistical Office revealed that the number of Thais above the age of 15 who smoked cigarettes had risen to 11.4 million in the previous year – an increase of 21 percent. It also revealed that every year there were about 50,000 Thais who died as a result of smoking. Despite the staggering number of deaths, Thailand will not be increasing its cigarette tax hike.

Earlier this month, the Superior Court of California in San Francisco awarded Dewayne Johnson US$250 million in punitive damages and about US$39 million in compensatory damages against American chemical company Monsanto after ruling that its famous herbicide Roundup gave the former school groundskeeper terminal cancer. During the trial, the jury heard evidence on how Monsanto deliberately withheld information about the cancer-causing effects of Roundup from the public for decades.

Mayalyn Magracia is one of millions of undocumented Filipinos.“Like an alien,” is how the housekeeper in Manila describes what she felt when she discovered she had no birth record. That was over a decade ago, when Magracia hoped to find work in a factory or restaurant.

After making a wave of appearances on television shows featuring celebrity chefs getting their taste of tarantulas boiled, deep fried or tempura fried, the popular arachnid has been making its rounds on the Instagram accounts of tourists visiting Cambodia. Sought after for its novelty and peculiar taste, the local delicacy has become a coveted treat and familiar offering on the menus of restaurants and pubs, as well as street vendors in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.