News
Mekong in need of more infrastructure
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta must plan for future economic growth by investing more in infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has said. Speaking at a conference on 21 August in Can Tho City, Ninh said that officials had set the annual GDP growth target at ...
China, ASEAN to strive to end talks on upgraded FTA
Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said on 23 August that both China and ASEAN have agreed to strive to bring to an end their negotiation on an upgraded version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area before the end of this year. “Progress has been made in ...
British rights activist charged with defamation in Thailand
British rights activist Andy Hall has been charged with criminal defamation in Thailand after he researched a report that alleged labour abuses at the Natural Fruit Company, a large Thai pineapple wholesaler that supplies the EU. The Bangkok south criminal court decided on 24 August to indict the ...
Displaced families face fresh hardships
A ‘model village’ built by the government offers little improvement in living standards for several hundred families displaced by conflict in Kachin State. Ngwe Pyaw, which means “wealthy village” in Myanmar language, was founded in May 2014 as a pilot resettlement site. But it is wealthy ...
Japan charts road to industrialization for Mekong region
Japan and the five Southeast Asian countries bordering the Mekong River adopted a blueprint on 24 August to boost industrialization in the subregion. The blueprint, known as “The Mekong Industrial Development Vision,” got the thumbs-up during a meeting between Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi ...
Fishing curbs pledged for Mandalay Lake
The Mandalay regional government will cease issuances of new commercial fishing licenses for Taungthaman Lake in a bid to conserve the body of water. Aung Maung, development affairs minister for Mandalay Division, announced the plan during the 13th regular session of the Mandalay divisional parliament on ...
Vietnam enjoys strong export growth in UAE
Vietnam’s exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hit 3.463 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, up 23.37 percent year on year, reported Nhan dan (People) daily. Keep reading ...
Vietnam exports over 500,000 tonnes of rice to Africa
The volume of Vietnam’s rice export to African markets in the first seven months of this year rose by 52% in the comparison to the same period last year. Keep reading ...
Vietnam's CPI expected to drop slightly in August
Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, is expected to drop slightly by 0.07 percent in August, compared to the previous month, said the country’s General Statistics Office on 24 August. Keep reading ...
Police interview Lao 'slaves' over trafficking
Thirteen illegal Lao labour immigrants who were rescued from an alleged “slavery farm” in Nakhon Pathom are being treated as witnesses in a suspected human trafficking case. The immigrants, some as young as 15 years old, will not be charged with illegal entry into Thailand because they ...