News
ASEAN OKs Obama's invitation for US summit
Leader of ASEAN countries have accepted US President Barack Obama’s invitation for a summit in California in the first half of 2016, the White House National Security Council told the media on 23 December. A date for the summit was not provided, though Japan’s Kyodo news ...
Budget discussion cancelled as inflation concerns grow
Individual ministries will not be called to parliament to explain their budget requests for 2016-17 until debate begins in January in an effort to speed up the approval process, Myanmar MPs were told on 23 December. Parliamentarians arrived yesterday expecting to hear representatives from the ministries ...
Thai court hands Myanmar men death penalty for British tourist murders
Two Myanmar migrants were sentenced to death on 24 December for murdering a pair of British holidaymakers on a Thai island, in a case that sullied the kingdom’s reputation as a tourist haven and raised questions over its justice system. Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were ...
Thai banks inefficient, says S&P
Academics have slammed the military’s iron grip on cyberspace following the 2014 coup. Surveillance and crackdown measures are creating a climate of fear and self-censorship, they argued. Since last year’s coup, the army has taken many steps to tackle content deemed sensitive or critical of the ...
Thai PM urges middle class to save day
Upper- and middle income people need to come out and vote if they want to stop parties pitching populist policies to the poor from regaining office, says Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. They should decide what they want at the polls or someone else would do that for ...
Vietnam's credit growth quickens to 18 pct in 2015: central bank
Vietnam’s annual credit growth this year is expected to quicken to 18 percent, beating a previous government target of 17 percent, the State Bank of Vietnam said on 24 December. Keep reading ...
Hanoi-Vientiane highway may cost at least $4.5 billion
The manager of a highway project linking Hanoi with Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, has estimated the cost for the 707-kilometer route at US$4.52 billion. In its latest plan submitted to the transport ministry, the project’s manager Unit 85 said the six-lane highway will go through ...
Koh Kong dam to energise local supply
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the new 246-megawatt Stung Tatai hydropower plant in Koh Kong on 23 December, saying that the dam will add to locally generated power and help bring down the cost of electricity. Built by the China National Heavy Machinery Corporation for ...
Cambodian report on Vietnam rentals implicates no officials
Senior officials at Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior have concluded a preliminary investigation into allegations that Cambodians living along the border with Vietnam have been illegally leasing land to Vietnamese farmers. About 1,000 families owning almost 7,000 hectares of land in five provinces have rented the territory out ...
Illegal mining halted on Chinese ELC in Preah Vihear
Preah Vihear provincial authorities cracked down last week on an illegal gold mining operation occurring inside a land concession belonging to a Chinese company in Rovieng district. Unauthorised mining is common both inside and outside the 2008 concession to Cambodia WS Mining Industry Holding Ltd, known ...