News
Indonesia suspends cartel membership to avoid cuts
Indonesia has suspended its membership of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, less than a year after rejoining the cartel, as the net oil importer said it could not agree to the group’s production cuts. The decision came as the cartel agreed its first oil ...
The risks of diverting water

Thuong Kon Tum dam, which is built in the Dak Snghe River watershed, is one of the biggest hydropower projects in the basin of the Se San river. The effect of the dam is still questionable but it raises concerns about environmental impacts as the ...
Canal stoppage main cause of flooding in Saigon

The flooding in HCM City is becoming more serious despite money spent on solutions to prevent floods. The filling of canals with rubbish and the illegal building on waterway banks have both slowed canal drainage. A report of the HCMC Anti-flooding Center shows that the number ...
Internet, phone lines down in Muse after bomb blast hits cable

Local internet and phone connections were disrupted in the town of Muse yesterday after an explosion rocked the Swonlon Bridge in Muse township. U Zaw Min, Muse district administrator, said internet connections were severed entirely, while phone calls were not transmitting audio. An acquaintance was able ...
EU ‘Green card’ for Thailand expected over IUU fishing

Thailand will at some point receive a “green card” from the European Union for its efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, once the EU realises the real progress the government is making in this regard, according to Steve Trent, executive director of the Environmental ...
Wood exports to Europe to rise

Once the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade comes into force, there will be opportunities for Việt Nam to export more wooden products to Europe and other new markets as well as get higher prices, according to the EU Delegation to ...
Expenses for frozen seafood tests covered by Formosa

All frozen-seafood testing expenses will be covered by part of the US$500-million compensation paid by Taiwanese Hưng Nghiệp Formosa Hà Tĩnh Steel Corporation. This was the latest order from Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình, who subsequently tasked the Ministry of Finance to make the ...
Four-year plan aims to boost tourism

The National Tourism Policy Committee has unveiled a four-year plan to enhance tourism competitiveness and has also approved a special zone focusing on four islands in southern Thailand. Deputy Prime Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn on November 30 said the committee would organise a series of training programmes ...
Fresh push for contract farming

Frustrated with the failure of a $27 million emergency loan package to help rice farmers find a fair market price for their crop and stem the tide of smuggled paddy across the borders, Agriculture Minister Veng Sokhon is flogging a new model for the nation’s ...
Peninsula’s future in flux

Chea Sophat stood on the gravel embankment of a road as he pointed to what was once his rice field, an unfenced, 4,000-square-metre waterlogged plot with a handful of buffaloes wallowing in the mud. Across the Tonle Sap river, Phnom Penh was celebrating the festivities ...