The environment and the anti-corruption campaign led by the current secretary general Tô Lâm are among the “sensitive” issues that landed him in jail on 7 June of last year. It is not known whether he plans to appeal. International human rights groups are calling for his release.

Southeast Asia expert  Bridget Welsh analyses Kuala Lumpur's first steps at the helm of the bloc: the leadership will be successful if it puts ‘the interests of those who live in the region above those of its leaders’. ‘Calling for “inclusive elections” in Myanmar contradicts the real situation on the ground’.

After defeating internal opponents with the "fight against corruption", Vietnam’s Communist Party boss highlights in his writings and statements the goals for next year's Party Congress, i.e. greater  technological innovation and economic growth through megaprojects like a US$ 67 billion railroad and restarting the construction of two nuclear power plants. But there is no shortage of challenges, most notably the conflicting agendas of China and the United States.

Tet Nguyen Dan, to be celebrated on 29 January, is increasingly a source of anxiety due to financial pressures and social  expectations. Psychotherapy institutes report an increase in requests of up to 30 per cent in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Psychologists highlight the conflict between traditional values and urban lifestyles.

The pact was signed by Russian Prime Minister Mishustin on a visit to the Vietnamese capital. Cooperation agreements also in the digital economy and wireless communications. The aim is to strengthen bilateral trade, which between the two countries amounted to just .6 billion in 2023. Moscow seeks new markets to circumvent Western sanctions.

Y Hưng Ayun, pastor of a house church in Tara Puôr, shot in the knee by two men with covered faces in an ambush last Sunday. The government monitors independent churches it does not approve, seizing Bibles and equipment. In September, Y Phô Êban, 57, in Cuê village, was also threatened; he laments that they are “not allowed to gather.”