News
Locals join hands to fight against saline intrusion

In their fight against drought and saline intrusion, farmers in Tiểu Cần District of the southern Trà Vinh Province have contributed their own money to build canals and ditches. Each household in the Trung Tiến Hamlet of Tân Hùng Commune contributes about VNĐ70,000 (US$3) per every ...
Vietnam plans to replace rice with more profitable crops

Vietnam plans to gradually reduce rice production and switch to other more profitable crops, a plan that experts say makes sense since the country grows so much paddy and is a massive exporter of the unprofitable crop. The National Assembly’s Economic Committee recently agreed with the ...
Khammuan sets three-month deadline for illegal foreign workers
Khammuan provincial authorities has given three months for illegal foreign workers who failed to meet the necessary conditions to apply to work legally in Laos to clear up all their things and leave the country, a senior provincial official has said. The decision was part of ...
Shan community groups denounce European-backed dam projects

Ethnic Shan communities in northern Shan State have called for an end to four planned hydropower dams on the Namtu River, an Irrawaddy tributary, citing irreparable damage to the environment. More than 100 people gathered in Hsipaw Township to hold a prayer service on the bank ...
Report calls for logging moratorium, end to state-run MTE

International and Burmese environmental organizations this week said Burma’s forest reserves are largely exhausted, calling for a moratorium on commercial logging and the dismantling or privatization of the state-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE). Those finding came in an analysis released on 30 March in a report ...
Telecommunications law allows gov’t to spy: Licadho

The government has granted itself pervasive snooping powers to effectively monitor all electronic communication and punish anything deemed to have caused “national insecurity”, a legal analysis of the recently passed telecommunications law has warned. In a briefing paper released on 31 March, rights group Licadho ...
Palm sugar finds a sweet market niche

Demand for Kampong Speu palm sugar has surged, with orders already up 70 per cent this year, as appetite for the premium organic sugar product grows, boosting its price. Orders for 260 tonnes of the palm sugar have been placed this year, compared with 150 tonnes ...
Kingdom's economy to remain stable: ADB

Cambodia’s economy is expected to remain stable this year as uncertainty surrounding China’s economic slowdown appears to ease, and backed primarily by strong performance in garment and footwear manufacturing, as well as construction, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on 30 March. Keep reading ...
‘Super Minister’ Suu Kyi to Remain NLD’s Leader

Chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi will continue to lead the National League for Democracy (NLD), despite holding ministerial positions that constitutionally ban her from party activities, according to the NLD spokesperson. Burma’s 2008 Constitution states that if a government minister is a member of any political ...
Experts wary as Kingdom mulls private prison plan

As Cambodia moves towards opening its first privately run prison, international experts have warned the government may have misunderstood the concept and cautioned that privatisation likely isn’t the best way to tackle chronic overcrowding in prisons. Keep reading ...