<div>Bangkok, 27 November - The Third Committee of the United Nations General assembly on 26 November passed a resolution on the safety or journalists and the issue of impunity, among others setting 2 November as the “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.”</div> <p></p>

<p lang="en-GB">May 31 - A recently announced licensing scheme for online news in Singapore is effectively extending the country’s strict regulation of news and public affairs information to its relatively-freer online news media.</p> <p></p>

<p>As Malaysians go to the polls on Sunday, 5 May 2013, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is concerned that voters are being denied their rights to fair and credible sources of information. For any electoral process to be meaningful in a democracy, citizens must be able to access fair and accurate information, from diverse sources, so that they can make informed choices. &nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p>A pioneering initiative to discuss the sensitive issue of the Thai monarchy on public television hit a snag when an episode of the political talk show was abruptly cancelled on 15 March, prompting a heated debate on the how such issues should be tackled, or if it should be discussed at all.</p> <p></p>

<p>23 January, Bangkok - A Thailand criminal court today sentenced Somyot Pruekasemsuk, editor of a political magazine, to eleven years of imprisonment for publishing two articles in 2010 deemed defamatory to the country's monarchy.</p>

<p>Bangkok, 11 December - The Lao People's Democratic Republic on Friday expelled an expatriate development worker for criticizing the government in a letter to donors.</p>

<p>SEAPA yesterday sent the following open letter to Myanmar President U Thein Sein expressing concern about hate speech coming from some members of the Myanmar media and government officials. But rather than recommending a media clampdown, SEAPA insists that supporting media freedom is a better way to finding durable solutions to the conflict.</p>

<p>The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and Media Defence Southeast Asia (MD-SEA) are gravely alarmed by the 20-year prison sentence imposed on Mr. Mam Sonando, 70, and owner and director of an independent radio station in Phnom Penh. We believe Mam Sonando is the victim of a grave injustice arising from his consistent opposition to the ruling party, as well as independent broadcasting of social and political issues plaguing the country through his radio station, Beehive (105 mhz. FM).<br /></p>

<p>Southeast Asia has unfortunately earned a reputation for not being a safe place for journalists. The threats? Take a number. They range from imprisonment for crimes in outdated libel and slander laws, detention without trial, violence against media personnel, and impunity in the killing of journalists. </p>

<p>As Thailand braces for the hotly-contested national elections, to be held on the 3rd of July, journalists, media groups and civil society in the kingdom are also girding for what could be another round of challenges to Thailand's freedom of expression.</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>Thailand-based magazine, &quot;Irrawaddy&quot;, which is a leading critic of the Burmese junta, reported that its website has been under attack since midnight of Monday, 27 September 2010.</p>