ASEAN member states have had an eventful seven days.  In recent years, Southeast Asia has enjoyed increasing democratisation along with economic growth.

Cambodian police said Tuesday they will investigate the alleged disappearance of a self-exiled Thai activist, denying any involvement in what a rights group claimed was an abduction.Pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsksit, a sharp critic of the Thai government, was dragged into a car in broad daylight last week in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, according to Human Rights Watch, which cited witnesses and security camera footage."I would like to confirm that Cambodian authorities and

Cambodian police on Friday ruled out a probe into the alleged disappearance of a self-exiled Thai democracy activist after a rights group said he had been abducted in broad daylight from outside his Phnom Penh apartment.Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a sharp critic of the Thai government led by ex-general Prayut Chan-o-cha, was dragged into a black car on Thursday evening, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).Citing several witnesses and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from security cameras

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Myanmar face a health "catastrophe" from the coronavirus pandemic, a rights group warned, as international calls grow for an end to fighting. Overcrowded camps with an estimated 350,000 people were "COVID-19 tinderboxes", Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

In late January, Cambodia's Prime Minister, Hun Sen, made a televised statement about the spread of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 virus outbreak originating from Wuhan, China. He also threatened to “kick out” reporters or officials seen wearing a face mask.He said that the real illness was the fear they faced from inaccurate information spreading on social media.

The masked woman nervously approaches her target, shuffles into position and then unleashes a flurry of lashes - proving herself as the newest member of the first female flogging squad in Indonesia's Aceh province.The new recruit initially needed some coaxing to punish the offender - an unmarried woman caught in a hotel room with a man.Such behaviour constitutes a morality crime in Aceh, the only region in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation that imposes Islamic law - known a

The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) 2019 Democracy Index – the 12th edition of the index – saw Thailand’s score jump 38 places in the global rankings to become a "flawed democracy" rather than a "hybrid regime".The upgrade was obviously due to the long-awaited general election finally being held following the May 2014 military coup. "The biggest score change in Asia occurred in Thailand, which finally held an election in March 2019, the first since t

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its World Report 2020 which looks at key events in 2019.

Last week, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) deputy commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Hun Manet ordered a crackdown on corruption in his forces.

The trial of two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists in Cambodia on charges of espionage tomorrow promises to be a closely-watched affair.RFA’s former Phnom Penh bureau office manager Yeang Sothearin and former videographer Uon Chhin were arrested in November 2017 after Cambodian police found recording and broadcasting equipment in a hotel room they raided, this coming two months after the United States (US)-based RFA shut down its Phnom Penh office citing government pressure on independ