- Myanmar will ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention before the 2015 elections, according to an official from the president’s office. The issue has been a hot topic on this blog (my views can be found here and an excellent piece by Andrew Selth here).
- An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 on the richter scale hit near Mae Lao in northern Thailand on Monday. A collation of reports, photos and data can be found here.
- Bangkok pundit asks: will the Shinawatras take a break from politics?
- Despite cautious agreement from the UN, Cambodia should scrap the asylum seeker deal with Australia, says Amnesty International.
- More violence last week in Cambodia after riot police moved to break up a Cambodia National Rescue Party rally.
- As new rounds of ceasefire talks are proposed with the political arm of the embattled Kachin Independence Army for 13 April, concerns continue as to whether Myanmar can reach a nationwide ceasefire agreement as planned in 2014.
- Concern grows over the humanitarian emergency in Myanmar’s west, with some rights groups calling it a genocide. Meanwhile UNICEF unveiled a US$12 million two-year aid plan for Rakhine State.
- Vice President of the Philippines Jejomar Binay spoke on key issues in the country’s foreign relations at CSIS this week.