News
Shelling sends civilians fleeing in Shan State
More than 100 people from Kaung Kha village in Muse Township have fled their homes after artillery shells were fired into the settlement on 13 July, reportedly leaving one person dead and two others injured. The displaced villagers told The Irrawaddy that the artillery bombardment began ...
Cambodia: National Assembly passes controversial NGO law
On 13 July the National Assembly passed the controversial NGO law, amid a boycott by the opposition and street demonstrations against the widely criticised legislation. After almost four hours of speeches commending the legislation and criticising their absent opposition counterparts, 68 Cambodian People’s Party lawmakers voted ...
Two hurt in “land grab” incident at Vietnam-S’pore industrial park
Vietnamese news have reported that two persons, including a 54-year old woman, have been injured in what is described as an anti-land grab protest on 10 July at a Vietnam-Singapore industrial park. The 150-hectare park is a collaboration between Singapore’s Government-linked Sembcorp Development and Vietnam’s Becamex IDC. A video ...
Vietnam leads emerging market greenfield FDI performance index
Vietnam has topped a performance index for greenfield foreign direct investment, leading all other emerging markets by a wide margin. The southeast Asian country ranked number one in a study by fDi Intelligence, an FT data division, which looked at inbound greenfield investment since 2003 relative ...
Myanmar navy rescues 102 boat people
The Myanmar navy has rescued more than a hundred Bangladeshi boat people from an islet near the country’s southernmost region, an official report said on 14 July. They were left on the small islet in early June and the Myanmar navy is searching the area for ...
KBank, Aeon connect in Laos
Kasikornthai Bank in Laos has extended loans and offered financial management services to Aeon Leasing Service (Lao) to support its retail and motorcycle-financing business there. Both parties are also ready to jointly develop payment channels and other innovative services in a bid to assist Thai investors ...
Rain brings relief to Thailand's drought-stricken provinces
The number of drought-hit provinces has more than halved after rain made an appearance in the upper North and Northeast, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said Sunday. Department chief Chatchai Promlert said 40 provinces were reported as drought-hit until the weekend, when welcome rain eased the ...
Cambodia's mining tax likely won’t budge
Cambodia’s new mining law is on track for adoption by the end of this year and will introduce a raft of reforms to the sector, a senior official said, although the country’s mining tax will likely remain the same. Meng Saktheara, secretary of state at the ...
Udon Thani locals up in arms over potash mine
Hearts of many locals in Udon Thani’s Prachaksinlapakhom district are heavy because of a pending project to launch mining operations in their hometown area. They are worried about possible pollution and adverse impacts on their health. “To tell the truth, I don’t believe in the environmental impact assessment [EIA],” ...
Gold diggers: Thai gold mine causes environmental and health problems
A major Geographical investigation looks at the devastating environmental and debilitating health effects a Thai gold mine is having on a village in Loei, and at how a group of determined villagers are fighting back This idyllic valley is the stage for the violent suppression of popular protests in the ...
