News: A key aide to the leader of Islamic State (Isis) has been killed in a US strike on a convoy near the Iraqi city of Mosul that destroyed 10 vehicles carrying a number of the group's top militants. Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman at US Central Command, said on Saturday: "I can confirm that coalition aircraft did conduct a series of air strikes yesterday evening in Iraq against what…

News On the 7th November, the Bangkok-based advocacy group Fortify Rights published a briefing that stated that Myanmar authorities were complicit in the trafficking and smuggling of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar's Rakhine state. They described state security forces extracting payments from Rohingya fleeing the persecution of their regime, or from traffickers operating boats offshore in exchange for passage out to sea. There are even reports of Myanmar naval boats escorting…

News: In a report released by the Statistics and Insolvency Department, nearly 45,000 individuals aged less than 35 years in the country declared bankruptcy three years ago. Of these, an average of 41 people every day declared bankruptcy due to failure to pay credit card debt, medical fees, hire purchase and debt with a loan shark. The Studies, Research and Resource Centre (SRRC) showed that out of the 47 percent…

News This week it was revealed that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are discussing the creation of a military pact to take on Islamic militants, with the possibility of a joint force to intervene around the Middle East. The discussions reflect a new assertiveness among the Middle East's powerhouses, whose governments - after three years of post-Arab spring turmoil in the region - have increasingly come…