News
Myanmar peace deal tentatively set for October as President, ethnic leaders meet
Talks held between Myanmar’s President Thein Sein and leaders of the country’s armed ethnic groups on 9 September ended with a tentative agreement to sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) next month, according to sources and state media. Hla Maung Shwe, senior advisor of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace ...
Environment experts discuss dam dangers
Thirty-five experts from environmental organisations in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam gathered on 8 September to discuss water management and the effects of hydropower dams. They participated in a one-day seminar held in Vietnam’s Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta and discussed the impacts that dams ...
NGO files suit over ‘seizures’ in Phnom Oral
A Kampong Speu-based NGO has accused a police officer and several rangers working for the provincial Environment Department of seizing more than 100 hectares of Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary, demanding a court order to restore the land and hold the parties to account. Keep reading ...
Mega Mekong travel expo opens 10 September
Vietnam and the Mekong region’s largest travel exhibition – the International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2015) – will be held from 10 to 12 September at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People’s Committee of Ho ...
Housewives band together to fight for rights
Furious: That’s how Mi Than Shin said she felt when the Union Election Commission (UEC) told her and her colleagues they could not register a political organisation under the name Women’s Party. On April 27, the commission sent a letter to the founding members, who are ...
Vietnam, Egypt step up bilateral trade ties
Representatives from about 70 Vietnamese and Egyptian enterprises shared information on business opportunities at a forum in Cairo on 7 September. Keep reading ...
Flood assessments delayed
The deadline for the publication of detailed flood assessment data has been extended to 14 September due to difficulties accessing parts of the country. Keep reading ...
Bangkok's Erawan Shrine bomb: One suspect 'is Chinese'
One of the alleged accomplices to the key suspect wanted over the Erawan Shrine bombing in the Thai capital Bangkok last month is Chinese, officials from both countries say. They say that Yusufu Mieraili was born in Xinjiang, home to China’s Muslim Uighur minority. Keep reading ...
Wrong cost estimates in state-funded projects lead to waste, corruption: experts
Experts have warned that construction costs estimated by the government are often much higher than market prices, creating opportunities for contractors and managers to work together and pocket the extra money. Keep reading ...
Boosting tourism between Laos and Thailand's Loei
Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) is coming up with a plan to improve infrastructure and prepare routes to cash in on the growing traffic with Laos. The move is aimed at drawing visitors, particularly adventure-seeking and high-spending tourists, from the two nations and also ...
