News
Rains, floods in Quang Ninh kill 17, 7 fishermen missing
A lingering low-pressure area has triggered floods, landslides and rough seas in northern Vietnam, killing at least 17 people in Quang Ninh and sinking two fishing boats near Ha Long Bay. The medical center at Quang Ninh’s Co To Island treated Nguyen Van Tuan, 23, who ...
Missing Lao military helicopter found crashed, weather hampers rescue
A military transport helicopter carrying 19 passengers and four crew members to Houaphan and Xieng Khuang provinces in northern Laos which went missing two days ago has been found crashed, official sources have said, adding that a “high-ranking military patient” had been on board the ...
Myanmar migrants nickled and dimed in Thailand
Migrant rights groups have slammed the latest strategy to regularise undocumented Myanmar workers in Thailand as a money-making scheme. The current efforts to verify the Myanmar migrants and supply those eligible with passports has yet to even get under way, as the process is still mired in ...
Death toll reaches 10 as incessant rain floods Quang Ninh
Incessant rain triggering floods and landslides continued to wreak havoc in the northern province of Quang Ninh for the third day, killing at least 10 people and leaving two others missing and another nine injured. Rescuing works have been maintained at a site in Ha Long ...
Vietnam destroys 60 illegal gold mines in central region
Quang Ngai Province’s Military Command announced 27 July they had destroyed 60 illegal gold mines within 6 days, by one week earlier than previously planned. Government agencies have coordinated with Engineer Corps to carry a ton of explosives to the sites. Keep reading ...
Ethnic groups seek common ground in Myanmar
Ethnic groups under the umbrella of the United Nationalities Alliance have launched their third annual conference in Yangon with the aim of focusing on the peace process and agreeing on a future political dialogue with the government. Political parties, civil society organisations and representatives from invited ...
Mynamar consumer protection to be beefed up
The Myanmar Consumer Union is to set up a branch in Mandalay with the help of academics and technicians. A first meeting was held on 25 July. Union secretary U Maung Maung said the aim was to protect the rights of consumers and people in receipt ...
Thailand dismisses US criticism over human trafficking and slavery
Thailand has hit back after being blacklisted in a US report for the second consecutive year for not combatting modern-day slavery, arguing it has made serious steps to tackle human trafficking. The ministry of foreign affairs said the US state department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report, “does not ...
In Myanmar, doing aid better
Around the world, the way foreign aid works is coming under wider scrutiny. Criticisms of an increasingly privatized international aid “industry” include claims that many of its approaches are too top-down, inflexible and ineffective. Reformers also question the relationships between large international aid organizations and their ...
Proposed minimum wage gains traction with employers
After initial rejection and amid some continued reluctance, most employers are now ready to accept the K3600 a day minimum wage, provided a few conditions are met, the Ministry of Labour said. During a meeting on 25 July with employers who had objected to the government-proposed ...