Despite pressure from Beijing, South Korea"s biggest human rights group went ahead on Thursday with an award to jailed Hong Kong barrister and rights activist Chow Hang-tung. The Seoul-based 5.18 Memorial Foundation…
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Chinese officials pull plug on Zen music concert by Japanese monk
Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou have pulled the plug on a concert by a Japanese Buddhist monk amid a widening political crackdown on cultural and artistic performances. A planned…
China showcases weapons during Lao war games
Lao troops got firsthand experience using modern Chinese weapons during joint China-Laos military exercises, which analysts say neighboring Vietnam is watching warily. The three weeks of drills – Friendship Shield 2023 –…
Myanmar’s junta shuts down 3 Mandalay hospitals
The junta has revoked the business licenses of three private hospitals in Myanmar’s central Mandalay region, it announced this week. Palace, City and Kant Kaw hospitals had already been told to stop…
Asia’s heatwaves 30 times more likely due to climate change, scientists say
The record-breaking humid heat wave that hit India, Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand in April was made at least 30 times more likely as a result of human-induced climate change, while the next…
Vietnam denies UN inquiries about alleged repression of Khmer Krom minority
The Vietnamese government has denied allegations from United Nations experts that it represses the Khmer Krom minority living in the Mekong Delta region. The nearly 1.3-million strong ethnic group live in a…
Death toll seen rising in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in aftermath of Cyclone Mocha
Cyclone Mocha killed about 460 Rohingya villagers in Myanmar’s Rakhine – deaths that humanitarian workers said could have been prevented if so many people hadn’t been living in restricted camps near the…
Overseas Skype callers lose access to China
Microsoft said changes made by “local telecom operators” in China have blocked calls into the country on Skype, the tech giant’s internet communicationsservice. RFA’s Mandarin Service reported on overseas Skype calls failing…
At Central Asia Summit, China’s repression of Uyghurs is ignored, rights groups say
China’s President Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for Central Asian leaders attending the first China-Central Asia Summit, held Thursday and Friday in Xian, as Beijing seeks to expand its influence…
Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed group rejects junta’s offer for peace talks
The Karen National Union, Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed group that has allied itself with the anti-junta People Defense Forces and the shadow government made up of junta opponents, has rejected peace talks…