Government
NLA approves question on Senate role in choosing PM
Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly on 7 April voted unanimously to approve an additional referendum question asking voters whether they would approve the upper and lower houses of Parliament to jointly choose the new prime minister during the five-year transition period under the new charter. Keep reading ...
Vietnam's new president sworn into office
Vietnam’s National Assembly on 2 April swore in Tran Dai Quang, Minister of Public Security, as president, who promised to “push forward with comprehensive reforms” in the country. Among the 481 valid votes, 452 – or 91.5 percent of the total 494 members of the unicameral house ...
Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung leaves office
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung officially stepped down from the position after concluding two five-year terms in a National Assembly session on 6 April. “Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung has fulfilled all his tasks during his terms,” President Tran Dai Quang said in the session. Keep reading ...
PTT facing new gas pipeline suit
The Office of the Ombudsman lodged a complaint with the Administrative Court Monday demanding PTT Plc return all gas pipelines to the state. The Ombudsman accused PTT Plc, and 10 other defendants, of not returning offshore natural gas pipelines to the state after the Supreme ...
Daw Suu to get new powers under draft law
A draft law that would create a key pivotal post in government specifically designed for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar is to be debated in the upper house on 1 April, although a senior MP denied that she would in effect become prime ...
Wissanu confirms election to take place in 2017
The first general election in two years will definitely take place next year regardless of the referendum’s outcome although it may not be in July as planned earlier, according to Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. Keep reading ...
‘Super Minister’ Suu Kyi to Remain NLD’s Leader
Chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi will continue to lead the National League for Democracy (NLD), despite holding ministerial positions that constitutionally ban her from party activities, according to the NLD spokesperson. Burma’s 2008 Constitution states that if a government minister is a member of any political ...
ASEAN defence personnel call for closer cooperation
A vision for politics and security in the region, tackling non-military threats and challenges, and maintaining cooperation in national defence were tabled for discussion at the Track II 9th Network of Asean Defence and Security Institutions meeting, which opened in Vientiane on 24 March. Keep reading ...
Reththy, Agriculture Ministry continue to squabble
The Ministry of Agriculture has rejected a request from private-sector rubber firms – led by agricultural tycoon Mong Reththy – for a meeting to discuss the floundering fortunes of the nation’s rubber sector, claiming the ministry was busy and was already addressing the issue. The rejection ...
Suu Kyi listed among NLD cabinet nominees
Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy chairwoman, was named on 22 March on a list of 18 Union-level ministers announced by Myanmar’s Parliament, all but ensuring she will be a member of the incoming government’s cabinet. Keep reading ...