City profiles

ASEAN will deal with the narcotics problem by focusing more on healthcare and jobs for drug addicts as part of the bloc’s 10-year anti-drug action plan, says Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya. He was speaking on August 24 as he chaired the 37th meeting of ASEAN senior ...

Myanmar has the weakest transportation and infrastructure in Southeast Asia, according to a report by the World Bank Group. Myanmar ranked 137 among 160 countries in the transportation index in 2014, giving it the lowest position among Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, only 33 per cent of households ...

One of the five major drug smuggling groups operating in the region has been crushed and its 26 networks destroyed by the Safe Mekong Joint Operation, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya announced on Wednesday.Gen Paiboon was briefing the media on progress in the third phase of ...

Despite complaints from developers, a review committee for the construction of high-rise buildings has ordered safety modifications to 12 structures, stating that failure to follow Rangoon’s updated urban planning standards could cause harm to the city and its residents. Ye Min Oo, the review committee’s spokesperson, ...

Thailand and Burma have agreed to renew negotiations over disputed border demarcations, which had stalled under Burma’s previous government. The agreement was reached during State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent visit to Thailand, according to Burma’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Observers say that Thailand wants to ...

A recent World Bank report says that trade growth in Myanmar could reduce poverty and boost prosperity, but local observers say in order for that to happen the government must implement economic policies that increase export markets. The Myanmar Diagnostic Trade Integration Study released last week by the ...

After a record dengue fever outbreak nationally and regionally last year, health officials say the number of cases so far this year have dipped. Yangon Region admitted the most patients, at 390, while Tanintharyi Region came in second, with 227 cases. Rounding out the top three ...

Work is due to begin soon on the development of four Preah Sihanouk province beaches, according to a Facebook post by Land Management Minister Chea Sophara. The post showed digital mock-ups of the planned improvements for Ochheuteal, Otres, Independence and Royal beaches, including an entrance archway ...

As the biggest economic center of Vietnam, HCMC is feeling tied by a slew of prevailing regulations. It is desperate for a special governance mechanism so that the metropolis will be able to grow faster and thus fuel development in the rest of the nation. Meanwhile, ...

Laser technology reveals cities concealed under the earth which would have made up the world’s largest empire in 12th century. Archaeologists in Cambodia have found multiple, previously undocumented medieval cities not far from the ancient temple city of Angkor Wat, the Guardian can reveal, in ...