<p>A new report released on 19 Oct reveals that the health of populations in conflict-affected areas of eastern Burma, particularly women and children, is amongst the worst in the world, a result of official disinvestment in health, protracted conflict and the abuse of civilians</p>

<p>Army Colonel Teeranan Nandhakwang, deputy director of the Strategic Studies and Research Division, is one of the rare vocal soldiers who speak, 'tweet' and blog about the role of the military in politics and Thai society. The Nation's Pravit Rojanaphruk talks to Teeranan about the military, politics and society. Excerpts: </p> <p><strong>Why do you fear that there might soon be yet another military coup?</strong></p>

<p>Famous Shan artists are today taking to the stage on the Shan-Thai border to officially launch a new VCD opposing the 2010 elections, already an underground hit in Shan State.</p>

<p>The First International Conference on Human Rights in Southeast Asia organized by the Southeast Asian Human Rights Scholars&rsquo; Network (SEAHRN) was successfully conducted on 14 and 15 October 2010. The Conference opened with a keynote address delivered by Dr Surin Pitsuwan. Dr Surin spoke of how human rights were at different stages of evolution in the region. In ASEAN many countries still see the individual in the context of the community and thus individual human rights as a concept has yet to be fully embraced.</p>

<p>The Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network (SEAHRN), on 15 Oct, expressed its strong disappointment on the actions of the Thai and Vietnamese governments in their refusal to allow a Vietnamese scholar, Mr Vo Van Ai, to travel to Thailand to present a paper at the First International Conference on Human rights in Southeast Asia organized by the SEAHRN on October 14 and 15 in Bangkok.</p>

<p>Earlier this month I made contact with a Thai national who has been granted refugee status in the UK. She lives in a simple house, on a typical street, in a very typical, provincial English town. &ldquo;Tan&rdquo; (her identity, for her protection, remains anonymous) endured so many threats to her person from people she asserts were connected to the extremist right-wing yellow-shirted PAD, that she felt forced to flee Thailand and seek refuge in a different country.</p>

<p>Washington - October 8, 2010 Freedom House today hailed the awardingof the Nobel Peace Prize to the Chinese democratic dissident Liu Xiaobo.</p> <p>&quot;Liu Xiaobao is a man of unique courage. His intelligence, persistence in the face of repression, and commitment to democratic values stand him in the great tradition of political dissent,&quot; said David J. Kramer, Freedom House executive director. &quot;Like Walesa, Sakharov, and Mandela, Liu has refused to sacrifice his ideals in the face of overwhelming state oppression.&quot;</p>

<p>Ahead of World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October, Amnesty International today urged the USA, the only country that carried out executions in the Americas in 2009, to end its use of this cruel and inhumane punishment. </p> <p>&ldquo;A clear majority of countries have rejected the death penalty. How can the USA claim leadership on human rights yet still commit judicial killings?&rdquo; said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.</p>

<p>The trouble with the explosions rocking Bangkok and its vicinity - one of which took a deadly turn on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring 10 in Nonthaburi - is that your take on the situation will most likely be influenced by your political stance.</p> <p>If you are a yellow-shirt royalist, then you will likely believe that the explosions are part of a vicious grand plan to turn the Kingdom of Thailand into a republic by first turning it into a failed state.</p>

<p>The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) has sent an open letter to PM&nbsp;Abhisit Vejjajiva, expressing its concerns over the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression in Thailand and calling on him to look into the issue as he has always promised to do.</p>

<p>BANGKOK Oct.2 -- The arrest and legal procedure of the case against Prachatai director Chiranuch Premchiaporn were both unfair and unlawful, said Chiranuch&rsquo;s attorney.</p> <p>Chiranuch&rsquo;s lawyer Anon Nampa, who drove from Saraburi province to accompany her during the interrogation at Khon Kaen provincial police station in Northeastern Thailand, said the charges against her are too severe and constitute unjustifiable use of law.</p> <p>&ldquo;The charges are filed at random,&rdquo; Anon said. &ldquo;It clearly is political slandering.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Thailand must cease invoking the Emergency Decree and the Internal Security Act, as they flout international human rights law and standards, Amnesty International said today. </p> <p>The Emergency Decree and/or the Internal Security Act (ISA) were first invoked outside of Thailand&rsquo;s southern regions, which has witnessed ongoing unrest, on 12 April 2009 during anti-government demonstrations.&nbsp;&nbsp; Either the Emergency Decree or ISA has been put into effect by the authorities in parts of Thailand outside the South for almost half the time since then.</p>