Government
Mekong countries get Covid-19 help
The Defence Ministry will donate 20 mobile negative pressure cabinets to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar to support their efforts to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Negative pressure cabinets allow medical staff to safely collect respiratory secretions from patients infected with Covid-19. Ministry spokesman, Lt ...
MONGKOL BANGPRAPA & WASSANA NANUAM
The age of government (dis)information in Thailand
Social media giant Twitter last week blocked nearly one thousand accounts linked to the Royal Thai Army, which were in violation of its policies on manipulation of information. According to a statement released by Twitter, the accounts were “engaging in amplifying pro-RTA and pro-government content, as well ...
MARK S. COGAN
Vietnam’s vision and goals for a digital nation
Vietnam has been eager to reinvent itself and key among its strategies is their digital transformation. The nation is are keenly aware of the decisive role perception plays in this. Digital platform development is a breakthrough solution to promote faster digital transformation, reduce costs and increase efficiency. ...
Samaya Dharmaraj
City takes steps to control noise levels
Vientiane authorities will impose a new legal measure designed to control noise as part of efforts to transform the capital into a more peaceful and socially-ordered city. Mayor of Vientiane, Dr Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune, on September 19 endorsed the capital’s decision to limit the noise emanating from ...
Zoo agency sets up board to investigate illegal trade
The Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand (ZPO) board on Tuesday set up a panel to investigate the illegal wildlife trade across zoos nationwide in the wake of the disappearance of rare albino barking deer at Songkhla Zoo. Chavalit Chookajorn, the former permanent secretary of the Ministry ...
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Myanmar: Election Fundamentally Flawed
Myanmar’s electoral process is undermined by systemic problems and rights abuses that will deprive people of their right to fairly elect their government, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliamentary, state, and local elections are scheduled for November 8, 2020. The national elections will be Myanmar’s first since ...
Land reform: A vote-winner for the NLD
With the general election only weeks away – notwithstanding the potential impact of the second wave of COVID-19 – political parties are flooding social media with pledges and promises to woo voters. For the National League for Democracy, the November 8 election poses a new challenge: ...
CALLUM FURNESS
CSOs urge ministry to release the full EIA
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have requested that the Ministry of Environment to publicly release the full details of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to ensure accountability and transparency of environmental governance in Cambodia. The request was made in the workshop on “Using Open EIA Reporting to ...
Sok Srey Lux
South Korea-Mekong foreign ministers’ meeting to begin
Ministers from South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam will meet virtually today at the 10th Mekong-Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Ministers meeting. Today’s ministerial meeting will evaluate the development of Mekong-ROK relations since the establishment of the 2019 Mekong-ROK Summit. The Summit elevated relations from ...
Trey Marks
Myanmar Gears Up for November Election
Myanmar’s ruling National League for Democracy party will almost certainly dominate the country’s November 8 general elections but could lose the majority it has and needs in parliament to keep governing alone after a bruising first term, analysts say. New and old insurgencies, disenfranchised Rohingya and ...
Zsombor Peter