News

Vietnam’s Hai Phong needs to have a clear investment mechanism and select projects with practical benefits for both investors and the locality, President Truong Tan Sang said while visiting the northern port city on 1 March. He asked the locality to efficiently utilise investment in infrastructure ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen’s snap decision to scrap toll fees on National Road 4 in January may have proved popular with motorists, but the political “gift” has left some 500 workers without compensation and an unknown number still unemployed. Former toll booth workers at AZ ...

Passenger trains are set to roll between Phnom Penh and Cambodia’s coast next month for the first time in 14 years, a railway official said on 1 March. Sam Oeun Tith, commercial manager of Royal Railway, which holds a 30-year concession to operate the country’s railways, said ...

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s (CPP) popularity will continue to wane, and change is on the horizon for Cambodia, although that change could be violent, according to the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2016 report. The BTI has been published every two years since 2006, monitoring countries’ progress ...

Shan State locals are demanding the government clear landmines from conflict areas surrounding villages in the north of the state. The Kachin Ethnic Network of Shan State made the request in Yangon on 1 March during a press conference. They also demanded armed groups stop detaining civilians. Keep reading ...

In what many have hailed as a new dawn in terms of respect for human rights in Myanmar with the coming to power of a National League for Democracy government, some activists are questioning how much, and how soon, anything is going to change. The focus is ...

Thailand’s Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) is urging businesses to cut water consumption to help reduce the adverse effects from the intensifying drought.  JSCCIB chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree said he expected to see a 20-30% drop in water consumption from now through the end ...

The Thai government should increase taxes on alcohol just as it has done with cigarettes in order to discourage new drinkers, the Centre for Alcohol Studies says.   Sawitree Assanangkornchai, the centre’s director said alcoholic beverages were considered dangerous and created health and social problems ranging ...

Thai Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya said on 2 March that Thailand was amending the law to allow drug abusers serving less than four years in prison for other crimes to volunteer for a rehabilitation programme. Keep reading ...

The Lao government is hosting the sixth International Conference and Exhibition on Water Resources and Hydropower Development in Asia, aiming to promote the balance of the role of hydropower in the world and highlight challenges. The three-day event runs from March 1-3 in Vientiane. It gathers ...