News

Thailand is bracing for a wave of hacker attacks on December 20 to protest the ruling junta’s recent moves to more closely police the internet. The defense ministry’s website was briefly knocked out of action Monday afternoon before going back online in the afternoon, though it ...

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Joint Patrol and Law Enforcement initiative on the Mekong River. In December 2011, security authorities in China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand launched the initiative after around 8 gunmen stormed two Chinese vessels and killed thirteen sailors. In today’s ...

When Thailand’s junta leader-turned-prime minister used his absolute power to suspend gold mining, causing an Australian miner’s shares to plummet 19% in a single day, he complicated efforts to attract foreign investors already spooked by military rule. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced the order last ...

The Health Service Support Department plans to set up more than 1,000 elderly care centres as part of preparations for the nation’s ageing society. Department spokesman Pattarapon Jungsomjatepaisal said on December 18 the agency is working on the project to establish the centres across the country. ...

Malaysia said on December 19 the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar was a regional concern and called for the Association of South East Asian Nations to coordinate humanitarian aid and investigate alleged atrocities committed against them. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman was speaking at a ...

Even though Vietnam’s publishing industry continues to grow, outperforming its digital counterpart, the national reading rate remains low, education insiders said at a seminar. In its last meeting of the year on December 18, The Sofa, a monthly book-themed discussion group held on Ho Chi ...

Ineffective forest management has exposed shortcomings in the 2004 Law on Forest Protection and Development that need to be addressed through amendments, officials said at a conference on December 15. Participants at the national conference in the capital city said the law defined the forest ...

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has instructed ministries and agencies to mobilise all forces and resources to ensure safety and food for residents in flood-hit areas and minimise losses of human lives and property. “Food and supplies must be brought at any cost to residential ...

Bureaucratic inefficiencies, cumbersome decision-making mechanisms and poor organisation are hampering Magwe Region’s Committee on Confiscated Lands and Other Lands in their efforts to resolve land disputes, say members. The committee, which was formed by the regional government on July 15, is tasked with making determinations on ...

Three additional labour attachés will be assigned to Myanmar’s embassy in Thailand next year, the labour minister announced on December 18. More labour officers are being assigned in order to handle the high volume of cases stemming from the large number of Myanmar migrants working there, ...