News
Lao Ministry reaffirms plan to issue 400,000 land titles by 2020
Land management authorities will pursue their plan to issue 400,000 land titles over the next five years until 2020, the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment has said. Statistics show there are 2.6 million land plots across the country including 1.8 million for which land ...
How ASEAN countries fare in IP protection
Strong legal protection of intellectual property is one of the factors that attract foreign investment, especially in knowledge-intensive sectors. In the recently published 2015 International Intellectual Property or IP Index, 31 countries were assessed and given scores out of 30. The 31 included six of the ...
Vietnamese among the most socially conscious consumers: global survey
Vietnamese consumers are the most socially-conscious among Southeast Asians, with 86 percent expressing their willingness to pay extra for products and services from firms which are committed to positive social and environmental impact, a new Nielsen survey found. The survey also showed that consumers in Southeast ...
Vietnam urged to watch out for disaster risks amid erratic weather patterns
The United Nations has called on Vietnam to have sufficient and predictable funding for its disaster management program, warning that extreme weather conditions will continue to hit the country. Keep reading ...
Provinces in Mekong Delta seeing less rain, may face severe drought
As usual at this time of year, water from upstream in the Mekong River flows forward and causes floods in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces. But so far, water levels at river monitoring portal stations are the lowest ever. The objective reason is the El Nino ...
Residents flee as houses sink
Subsidence affecting nine townhouses at a housing estate in Pathum Thani could have resulted from pile foundations breaking underground due to soft soil, according to an initial investigation by the Engineering Institute of Thailand on 14 October. Keep reading ...
Bangkok motorists face new oil, gas charge
Bangkok-based petrol stations will be hit with a new local tax collected from their oil and gas sales at five satang a litre, starting on 15 October, as City Hall steps up efforts to pull in revenue for city development. It is the first time such a tax has ...
Cholera infects almost 200 in Kayin State
Thirteen people have died and almost 200 infected with cholera in a remote area of Kayin State under Karen National Union control. The number may be higher, however, as no reports have been received from the region since late September, according to the KNU. Eh Kalu ...
As ceasefire signed, president confident more groups will join nationwide pact
More armed ethnic groups will join the nationwide ceasefire if it is implemented successfully with the first eight signatories, President U Thein Sein said at a signing ceremony in Naypyidaw on 15 October. Eight ethnic armed groups, including the Karen National Union and Restoration Council of Shan ...
Yangon flood losses top K11 billon
Yangon is at greater risk than many other parts of the country to natural disaster, said Yangon Region Chief Minister U Myint Swe. Flooding in 14 of the region’s townships caused losses of more than K11 billion (US$8.5 million) this year, he said. Keep reading ...