News
Muslim candidates fear no shot at the polls
With the finalised candidate list expected to be released on 7 September, barred Muslim election hopefuls fear not a single one of them will be left to contend the looming polls, leaving no one to represent what many estimate is Myanmar’s largest religious minority. The Union ...
Myanmar selects firms for bus import plan
Five companies have been chosen to import buses for the BRT lite system, according to U Maung Aung, chair of the BRT lite committee. Authorities hope the BRT lite plan will bring order out of the near-chaos of Yangon’s multiple privately owned buses in competition with ...
Detailed assessments to form relief strategy
How much damage did the July-August floods really do? That will be the focus of a Recovery Coordination Work Committee meeting on 7 September, which will examine new detailed impact reports for each state and region. U Soe Aung, first permanent secretary at the Ministry of ...
Myanmar: Recovery work begins to support flood-affected communities
One month after cyclone Komen and heavy seasonal rains caused floods and landslides in Myanmar, recovery work has started. The ICRC and Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) are distributing food and essential items to 60,000 people in Rakhine, where the ICRC already has a strong operational ...
Laos' ASEAN presidency to help Russia boost Russia-Asian ties- Putin
Laos’ upcoming presidency of the ASEAN could help Russia enhance trade and economic ties with Asia, Sputnik news cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying. Keep reading ...
Mass infection in pigs sparks fears
A new breakout of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) has taken the lives of more than 1,200 pigs while infecting some 3,200 more in three districts across Siem Reap since mid-August, a new report by the province’s Agriculture Department says. Officials, meanwhile, are attempting to ...
Christians arrested on charges of proselytizing
Two Christians were arrested by the police in the province of Khammouan, in the east of Laos, on charges of alleged proselytizing. The police broke into the house of a Christian in the village of Nong-hang, and arrested Bountheung Phetsomphone, 43, a Christian leader from another ...
Thailand constitution: Military's council rejects draft
A council appointed by Thailand’s military rulers has rejected a controversial new constitution drafted after last year’s coup. A new committee must now be appointed to write another draft, further setting back elections. The draft has been widely criticised, in particular a clause which enables a 23-member ...
UK academic held at Thai airport
A UK academic has spent the last four days in detention at an airport in Thailand over a dispute arising from a UN report he wrote nine years ago. Agricultural consultant Wyn Ellis was stopped at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and told he had been reported as ...
HCMC plans 3 reservoirs to reduce flooding
The Ho Chi Minh City government plans to invest VND950 billion (US$42.3 million) on building three reservoirs to store rainwater in the next five years in a bid to reduce flooding in the city. Keep reading ...
