Social development
Human rights
White Building families agree to price drop
About 85 percent of 493 families being asked to sell their White Building homes have dropped their asking price to $1,800 per square meter, but insist they will not negotiate any lower. The agreement came at a meeting of about 100 people at the White Building ...
Former exiled news outlets granted licenses for state media channel
Two former exiled news outlets—the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and Mizzima—have been selected to run their own digital channels in Burma under the state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV). In late 2016, the Ministry of Information (MOI) put out a call to local companies ...
Allow labor day march, unions urge City Hall
More than 3,000 workers and union activists have asked City Hall for permission to celebrate International Workers’ Day in Phnom Penh on May 1, but officials will not confirm if the event can go ahead until after Khmer New Year. Ath Thorn, the president of the ...
Livelihoods for elderly now a top priority
With most elderly Thais having no or hardly any savings, Thailand has an acute need to keep people in work as long as possible. Creating job opportunities for the country’s greying population is now top of the agenda at various organisations, both in the government and ...
Lower Klity Creek villagers: Living with lead poisoning
Over the past five decades, a lead-processing mine and factory in Kanchanaburi province has released toxic waste including lead into the rivers and creeks of the Lower Klity creek, home to about 400 ethnic Karen people. The factory operation began in the mid-1960s and, though ...
First-ever Schuman Awards granted to Myanmar citizens
European Union Ambassador Roland Kobia presented Schuman Awards to U Ko Ni (posthumous), Daw Ja Nan Lahtaw and U Aung Myo Min in Yangon on April 4. The Schuman Awards – named after former French Foreign Minister and founding father of the European Union, Robert Schuman ...
Legal experts warn Article 44 remains major impediment
Unless the absolute power of Article 44 and existing National Council for Peace and Order’s orders are revoked, citizens will still face a struggle to protect the environment and their rights, legal experts say. As the new constitution came into effect yesterday, legal experts who ...
King signs new Constitution
His Majesty the King on April 6 signed the country’s new constitution – the 20th – giving it royal endorsement and setting in motion a process for the next general election, which is expected late next year. Through a court secretary, HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn proclaimed ...
Diplomats and businesses mix hope with caution on return of democracy
The International community on April 6 expressed hope that the promulgation of a new Constitution would pave the way for Thailand’s return to full democracy although some concerns remained because of restrictions on political rights and activities imposed by the junta. The private sector had mixed ...
Asylum seeker family awaiting deportation
The asylum applications of all but three Montagnards in Phnom Penh have been rejected, though an appeal window remains open for the group, an official said yesterday, as the government prepares to repatriate at least four members of the ethnic minority back to Vietnam. Yesterday’s ...