Government
National government
President and NLD leader discuss transfer of power
President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met for 45 minutes this morning to discuss the transfer of power following the landslide election victory of her National League for Democracy. U Ye Htut, a spokesperson for the president, said the meeting focused on ...
Critics doubt Thai PM's climate pledge
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 1 December declared in front of the world community that Thailand would slash greenhouse gases by 20-25 per cent within 15 years, but critics panned the plan, saying it was just for show, as it looked unrealistic. Prayut told the two-week-long United Nations climate-change ...
Cambodian MPs revisit Vietnam border pond issue
Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers Mao Monivann and Son Chhay visited a disputed area on the border between Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district and Vietnam on 30 November and urged the government to take action over several ponds allegedly dug by the Vietnamese in Cambodian territory. Keep reading ...
Vietnam gives Cambodia encryption lessons
The Vietnamese military has begun training Cambodia police in cryptography and encryption techniques as part of a national plan to protect “state secrets”. Em Sam An, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, signed a new agreement between the ministry’s cryptography department and the ...
Lao garment sector educates on new labour law
Some 25 Lao labour inspectors were trained on new labour law tools in Vientiane to help them educate workers and managers about their workplace rights and obligations on 26 November in Vientiane. The tools and related training programme were developed by the government with support of ...
Woman MPs up, but hluttaw still 90% male
The number of women who will sit in the national parliament next year has more than doubled on current figures, but Myanmar looks set to remain at the bottom of the table in ASEAN for gender equality in national politics with women accounting for just ...
From commodities to satellites: China, Laos seeing more cooperation
China and Laos have witnessed rapid development in economic, trade cooperation in the past years, evolving from simple commodity trading to a higher level of cooperation. On 21 November 2015, Laos’ first ever satellite was launched into space from Xichang satellite launching center in China. Earlier ...
Assembly passes budget as CNRP boycotts vote
The ruling Cambodian People’s Party passed the government’s $4.3 billion budget for 2016 unopposed on 30 November as Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers followed through on a pledge to sit out the National Assembly session if concerns for their members’ safety were not addressed. The CNRP’s 55 ...
Vietnam blocks exports by foreign gold miner over huge back taxes
Two major foreign-invested gold mining companies in the central province of Quang Nam will not be allowed to resume exports until they pay VND387 billion (US$16.93 million) in back taxes, a government spokesman confirmed at a press conference on 27 November. Nguyen Van Nen was responding ...
President, Senior General to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 2 December
Top-level talks on the transfer of power to Myanmar’s next government are to take place on 2 December. President U Thein Sein and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing released statements on 1 December saying they had agreed to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi separately on 2 ...