News
Journalists face jail over Thai trafficking report
Two journalists, including an Australian editor, face jail 1 September as a Thai court is to decide whether they are guilty of defamation over a report implicating the kingdom’s navy in human trafficking. The trial has sparked widespread condemnation from human rights groups and the UN. It comes ...
China-Laos ties at historical high: Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Lao President Choummaly Sayasone on 31 August, saying China’s relations with the Southeast Asian country are at an all-time high. Choummaly is in Beijing to attend activities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s ...
Australian government denies Cambodia refugee deal collapse
The Australian government has said a deal to resettle refugees in Cambodia is on track, despite media reports to the contrary. Under an agreement signed in September last year, Australia is paying Cambodia to take in refugees rejected from its detention centre on Nauru island. But so ...
'Bomb-making material' found in second Bangkok flat
Thai police say they have found bomb-making materials in a second apartment, after the arrest of a suspect in the explosion at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine. Keep reading ...
Economic land concessions to be taken from firms that break rules
Companies that transfer their land holdings to another firm in violation of government policy will have their concessions stripped from them, the Agriculture Ministry has said. Keep reading ...
Laos working to repatriate workers enslaved on Thai farm
The government will continue to coordinate with the Thai Embassy in Laos to provide assistance and repatriate Lao workers who were found enslaved and kept in cages on a farm in Thailand. Keep reading ...
Vietnamese laborers flock to China, Laos to work illegally despite issues
According to statistics from Vietnam’s Lao Cai province’s department of labor, invalids and social affairs, every year about 4,000 laborers leave the province for China. Quang Van Tinh, who lives in Muong Ang district’s Bung Lao commune, still feels angry when recalling his time in China. After ...
New minimum wage sees workers sacked and struggling
After almost two years of arguments and negotiations, Myanmar has set its first minimum wage at K3600 (US$2.80) per day. The milestone was met with ambivalence by factory owners, and trepidation by garment workers, who fear many jobs will be axed to afford the move. The ...
Food shortages still plague flood victims
Four weeks after President U Thein Sein declared a national state of emergency, the disaster relief effort is still struggling to feed all the flood victims. Community leaders say gaps in the coordination of aid are to blame. More than 451,000 disaster-affected people in states and regions ...
Pensions provide small support for elderly
A plan to roll out monthly pensions for the elderly remains mired in a logistical tangle – and those who qualify could receive as little as K15,000 a year. While the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement received the green light in December 2014 to implement ...
