News
EPF extends support to environmental protection
The Environmental Protection Fund has decided to forecast a budget of over 2.5 billion kip to support its environmental protection activities in four target provinces of LuangNamtha, Phongsaly, Oudomxay and Bokeo, all of which have ample natural resources and valuable preserved wildlife habitats in the north ...
Govt to release census data on religion
Data from Myanmar’s 2014 census on the populations of the country’s religious groups will be released this month, a ministry spokesperson has announced. Myint Kyaing, the permanent secretary within the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population, told The Irrawaddy on 12 July that the religious data will ...
Ties with Vietnam ‘strong’
Bilateral relations between Thailand and Vietnam have come to a peak recently, opening a new chapter to bring mutual benefit, but rival sentiments may cause negative impacts, panellists said on 12 July. Speaking at a seminar on “Enhancing Vietnam-Thailand Relations for Common Prosperity, Sustainable Development and ...
SE Asia stocks higher on Wall Street rally, stimulus hopes
Southeast Asian stocks closed higher on 12 July as risk appetite improved after an overnight rally on Wall Street and as a new round of monetary easing from Japan raised expectations of more stimulus from global policy makers. In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered a new ...
VN economy faces tough future
Viet Nam’s economic growth in 2016 will be affected by many factors. General Director of the Viet Nam Statistics Office, Nguyen Bich Lam, speaks to business news website BNEWS. Social investment capital in the first six months of 2016 reached VND 618.2 trillion (US$27.71 billion), an ...
For civil society, defiance in wake of Kem Ley's murder
Civil society on 11 July refused to be cowed by the Sunday morning murder of leading political commentator Kem Ley, with many saying that concerns for their own safety are now secondary to their determination not to be silenced. Seventy NGOs endorsed a statement condemning the ...
French government gives boost to regional agro-ecology
The Lao government and a French government agency have agreed to implement the Agro-ecological Change in Southeast Asia project after the French government approved 2.7 million euros in grant funding. The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Bounkhouang Khambounheuang ...
More Cambodians struggling to repay MFI loans
Banking industry insiders expressed concern on 11 July over a spike in the amount of delinquent debts reported by microfinance institutions across the Kingdom, which they attributed to farmers struggling to repay their loans after adverse weather conditions affected their crops. “Loans in the agricultural sector account ...
Three NDM members and Prachathai reporter held in Ratchaburi over ‘anti-charter’ leaflets
Four citizens including a reporter for Prachathai have been detained on charges of breaching a ban on campaigning against the charter draft after police searched their car and found leaflets with information against the draft. When the four were about to leave, police searched their ...
IP Dept urges copyright owners to spare SMEs
The intellectual Propert Depart-ment in Thailand has called for copyright holders and copyright-fee collectors to exempt small and medium-sized businesses from paying fees for playing music to customers and to send warning letters before taking legal action. After meeting with 19 copyright owners and 29 ...
