<p>(Geneva, Switzerland) - A report issued on 28 Oct by the International AIDS Society, <a href="http://www.iasociety.org/Web/WebContent/File/102080_IASY_UniversalAccessReport.pdf"><em>Universal Access: Right Here, Right Now&nbsp;</em></a> documents the principal debates around universal access during the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010). The report also takes stock of progress to date and reveals the scale of the future challenge for HIV treatment and prevention at a time when new infections are outstripping those receiving treatment by five to two.</p>

<p>After nearly two months of silence, the hard-hitting anti-government Red Power magazine is back in print, though its editor Somyos Prueksakasemsuk is having a hard time moving 30,000 copies of the latest edition from Cambodia into Thailand due to alleged border blockade by the authorities. </p>

<p>The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has taken up the investigation of the torture case of Mr Makata Harong, Mr Sukree Maming, Mr Manasae Mama, Mr Suderueman Malae and Mr Abdulloh Abukaree, the last five clients of Mr Somchai Neelaphaijit before his disappearance. The five men were accused of stealing guns from the Pileng Army Camp, Narathiwat province on January 4, 2004 and were charged with 'attempt to kill'. The five men were allegedly severely tortured and threatened by police officers while in detention. A day after Mr.</p>

<p>Burmese Internet users on the Bagan Net provider are having their connections cut regularly and when working, they slow to a crawl, according to cybercaf&eacute; owners and surfers.</p> <p>With little more than a week until election day, Burma's Bagan Net internet service from Myanmar Teleport had been very poor for the past three days, they said, adding that they had no warning of impending difficulties.</p>

<p>One year since the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) was inaugurated in on 23 October 2009, we, the Solidarity for Asian Peoples&rsquo; Advocacy Task Force on ASEAN and Human Rights (SAPA TF-AHR), have prepared a report to review the performance of the AICHR in its first year, as part of our commitment to follow up and push forward the improvement of human rights in ASEAN. Our review encompasses several dimensions: the AICHR&rsquo;s core documents, structure, institution building, implementation, handling of cases, and external relations.</p>

<p>(Mizzima/SEAPA/IFEX) - We, the undersigned, express our grave concern with the continued deteriorating conditions of freedom of expression and freedom of information in Burma weeks before the 7 November 2010 national elections. We are calling on the Burmese government and the governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ensure freedom of expression, access to information, democratic values and human rights are respected during this critical moment in the electoral history of Burma.</p>

<p>Ten months after the Ampatuan massacre, the trial of the persons accused of participating in the 23 November 2009 massacre started September 2010.</p> <p>Fifty-eight persons including 32 journalists and media workers who were on their way to file the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of Esmael &quot;Toto&quot; Mangudadatu were stopped at a checkpoint and killed in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao. Andal &quot;Unsay&quot; Ampatuan Jr. allegedly led the killing. (Only 57 bodies were recovered. The body of Reynaldo &quot;Bebot&quot; Momay has yet to be found.)</p>

<p>Three rights groups in Thailand have today called on Ban Ki-moon, the United Nation&rsquo;s (UN) Secretary General, to intervene to prevent further abuse of Myanmar migrants deported from Thailand. The UN Secretary General will visit Bangkok on Tuesday as a guest of the Royal Thai Government (RTG).</p>

<p>I have finally obtained cast-iron proof that a Thai national was granted refugee status in the UK in 2009 after I made direct contact with the relevant UK Government ministry responsible for deciding who recieves refugee status in the UK.</p> <p>The result was that a spokesperson from the UK's <a href="http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/">Home Office</a>, the UK Government ministry that controls the <a href="http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/">Border Agency</a>, confirmed that at least one Thai national was granted refugee status in the UK in 2009.</p>

<p><em>Civil society organizations from various countries call for public attention to the plight of Burmese and Sri Lankan migrant workers in Malaysia.</em></p> <p class="rtecenter">000</p> <p>We, the undersigned 71 civil society organizations and groups, would like to express our serious concern that JVC has indicated that they will not re-new the employment contracts of Pa Pa Aye and 15 other Burmese women migrant workers, who lodged a claim at the Labour Department claiming worker rights that the JVC company had violated, amongst them the wrongful deduction of their wages to recover levy that employers have to pay when they employ foreign workers. The other 7 workers, who complained, whose contract was renewed in August, will also be terminated and repatriated. The information contained in this statement has been provided by the affected workers.</p>

<p>There are times when observers will be tempted to ask if Thai society is corrupt in its thinking and morally bankrupt beyond redemption. Consider the following examples:</p> <p>New Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday promoted dozens of Army officers who had taken part in the April-May crackdown on red shirts, which resulted in 91 deaths, even though the government appointed fact-finding panel looking into these deaths is nowhere close to providing details on the exact circumstances on each.</p>

<p>Asia&rsquo;s four Communist regimes, North Korea (177th place), China (171st), Vietnam (165th) Laos (168th), are among the fifteen lowest-ranked countries of the 2010 World Press Freedom Index. Ranked just one place behind Eritrea, hellish totalitarian North Korea has shown no improvement. To the contrary: in a succession framework set up by Kim Jong-il in favour of his son, crackdowns have become even harsher. China, despite its dynamic media and Internet, remains in a low position because of non-stop censorship and repression, notably in Tibet and Xinjiang.</p>