Government
CNRP promises not to remove civil servants if victorious
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy promised supporters in Kampong Cham province on 3 October that if his party comes to power, civil servants and soldiers can be certain that they will keep their jobs, and will be given raises. Speaking to hundreds of supporters in Srei Santhor district, ...
ASEAN, Japan to fight cybercrime, terrorism
Southeast Asian ministers in charge of security held talks with their Japanese counterpart on 1 October in a bid to enhance cooperation in tackling terrorism and cybercrime. Eriko Yamatani, a cabinet minister and also the chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission, led a delegation for the ...
Guardians of ‘race and religion’ target NLD
Nationalist monks are stepping up their political activities as Myanmar’s election approaches, with the opposition National League for Democracy feeling the heat as the main target of Ma Ba Tha’s growing reach. The constitution bars monks from voting or forming political parties, but Ma Ba Tha, ...
Vietnam road fee suspended starting in 2016
The Government has agreed on suspending the collection of the controversial road maintenance fees from motorbike users starting in 2016 after public criticism said the fee was unfair. The decision was reached in a monthly regular cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung that ...
Almost 2,000 deported from Cambodia so far this year: report
Nearly 2,000 people have been deported from Cambodia – the vast majority of them Vietnamese – in the first nine months of 2015, according to new government figures. From January through September, 1,919 people were expelled from the Kingdom, a report issued by the General Department ...
Charter, reform picks ready for Thai PM
The National Council for Peace and Order could meet as early as 2 October to pick prospective members of the new Constitution Drafting Committee and the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA), Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on 1 October. Keep reading ...
Myanmar again near bottom of competition rankings
Myanmar ranked near the bottom of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015-16 released on 30 September, placing 131st overall out of 140. The positioning represents little change on the rankings in the 2014-15 report, when Myanmar came 134th out of 144 economies. Keep reading ...
Vietnam's trade ministry now wants 150 percent tax on luxury cars
Only one month after the Ministry of Finance proposed increasing luxury taxes on cars with large engines to up to 75 percent, trade officials now say the maximum tax rate should be raised to 150 percent to restrict the use of expensive, fuel-hungry vehicles. Keep reading ...
ASEAN countries adopt KL declaration in combating transnational crime
The 10 ASEAN member countries on 1 October reiterated their commitments to cooperate closely with one another, to combat new and traditional areas of transnational crimes. Keep reading ...
Nationwide ceasefire accord collapses
Talks in Chiang Mai among leaders of 18 armed factions saw 10 groups, including the powerful Kachin Independence Army, declaring they would not sign the agreement because of the government’s refusal to extend the accord to include three allied factions fighting in the Kokang border ...
