Vietnamese Court Orders Two Parishioners of Vinh Diocese Jailed
A court in Vietnam's North Central Coast region on Wednesday ordered two Catholic Christians who campaigned for religious freedom jailed for "disturbing public order," triggering outrage among family members, priests and parishioners.
The court in the Nghe An provincial capital Vinh sentenced Ngo Van Khoi, 53, to seven months in...
More voices needed in Myanmar, rights group says
PARIS, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A European focus on normalizing relations with Myanmar risks sidelining the civil voice needed for an inclusive democracy, a Parisian rights consortium said.
Members of the international community have reached out to establish better ties with Myanmar since military rule ended with general elections in...
Speed up integration, ASEAN urged
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN—The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) must speed up its community building and integration processes amid rapid developments in the region and the world caused by globalization, said the Asean-Korea Centre’s secretary-general on Monday.
In a speech delivered at the opening of the inaugural Asean Connectivity Forum...
Myanmar: Burmese army recruits female soldiers as it struggles to tackle rebel groups
If you're a single female between the ages of 25 and 30, 1.6 metres (5ft 3in) or taller and weighing less than 59kg (130lbs), then the Tatmadaw – Burma's military – may be looking for you.
Once limited to working only as nurses in the military, Burmese women are now...
Cambodian Opposition Begins Three-Day Protest
Cambodia's opposition has begun three days of mass demonstrations in the capital to call for the government to allow an independent probe into alleged election fraud.
Thousands gathered early Wednesday in Phnom Penh's Freedom Park, where they were met by thousands of riot police. Many Cambodians feared a repeat of...
Philippine Wartime Sexual Abuse Victim Promoting Human Rights
A Philippine survivor of wartime rape and human trafficking is in Winnipeg to share her story with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Lola Fidencia David, 86, was accompanied Thursday by Cristina Lope Rosello, a Filipina therapist who helps former comfort women deal with the trauma of their past.
David was...
Brunei Sultanate Toughens Sharia Law, Now Includes Flogging and Stoning to Death
Hassanal Bolkiah, sultan of Brunei Darussalam, has sought to toughen the existing Sharia law penal code in the country. Effective April 2014, offenders of the revised law, such as adulterers face death by stoning, amputation of limbs for theft, as well as flogging for alcohol consumption and abortion, among...
Australia, US implicated in Indonesian atrocities: report
It's been alleged that Australian-supplied helicopters were used by Indonesia's military to kill thousands of civilians in the central highlands of Papua in the 1970s.
The allegations are among a series of other rights abuses detailed in a new report by the Asian Human Rights Commission, a Hong Kong based...
Humanizing Indonesia
Celebrations this week mark the 15th anniversary of the National Commission on Violence against Women, or Komnas Perempuan. Established on Oct. 15, 1998 by then president BJ Habibie, which was the historic response to the unresolved May 1998 riots in Jakarta and other cities, where over 1,000 people were...
Cambodia opposition begins 3 days of protests
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital in a blazing afternoon sun Wednesday to demonstrate against the government's longtime ruling party accused of corruption and voter fraud.
The protesters, supporters of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), are challenging the results of...
