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Laos - China’s gateway to Southeast Asia
Situated in Laos’ Luang Namtha province, Boten is China’s gateway to Southeast Asia and will be a critical link in both the North-South and East-West economic corridors. In terms of the North-South corridor, it is the transit point for the Kunming-Bangkok Expressway, which passes across ...
What lessons can Southeast Asia learn from ‘Brexit’?

Keith Richburg is the director of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong. He spent more than two decades as a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post covering Africa, Europe, China and Southeast Asia, making his first visit to Cambodia ...
Vietnam launches national day against trafficking in persons

Vietnam held a ceremony was held in the northern border province of Lao Cai on July 30, aiming to raise public awareness of the importance of human trafficking prevention and control. Speaking at the event, President of the Vietnamese Women’s Union Nguyen Thi Thu Ha said ...
Investment policy expected soon in Myanmar
The government will release its domestic and foreign investment policy soon, Aung Naing Oo, director-general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, told the Daily Eleven. “We plan to release the investment policy, but not in hurried manner. It will come after the economic policy ...
Vietnamese universities fall in South East Asia rankings

Vietnam has eight universities in South East Asia’s top 100 universities according to the latest report from Webometrics, however, many of them have dropped in the rankings. In the ranking for the second quarter announced on July 29, Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Can Tho University ...
Study finds ‘alarming’ HIV rate among transgender women in Cambodia

The findings of the first-of-its-kind comprehensive survey were released on 29 July by the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD Control and the health NGO KHANA. A total of 1,375 transgender women from 13 provinces participated in the survey. The three provinces with the highest ...
Rough waters of Lower Sesan II dam

According to the Vietnam River Network, Lower Sesan II dam in Cambodia will impact both environmental and social aspects. Impacts will be felt not only around the project site but also from the upstream Sesan River to downstream at the Sekong River, Tonle Sap, Vietnam ...
More aid earmarked for Myanmar
Australia has pledged an extra $12 million in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar to help address the legacy of civil war and natural disasters. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop made the announcement after meeting with her counterpart and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.Keep reading ...
Sanctions help Asian banks gain foothold in Myanmar

AT the CB Bank branch in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Yangon, there’s a dedicated “Japan desk”, where an employee of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ sits to handle any Japanese corporate business that comes their way. The Japanese bank’s presence at Thilawa is no ...
China and Laos say their rail project is on track
China and Laos are both committed to a high-speed rail project linking the Chinese southwestern city of Kunming with the Lao capital of Vientiane, officials from both countries said, and the project will go ahead despite delays. The line should eventually stretch through Thailand and Malaysia ...