News
Lao officials investigate massive increase in illegal logging
A leaked report by an international environmental group revealing huge increases in illegal logging in Laos with an implication of government collusion has prompted officials in the small Southeast Asian nation to take action to examine discrepancies in timber export and import figures with China ...
Myanmar car accidents leave high human and financial toll: police
Deadly carnage on the country’s roads is costing billions, police say. More than 3000 people have died in accidents so far this year, with nearly 20,000 injured in more than 11,000 accidents. The toll of deaths and injuries consumes one-quarter of the national health budget. Keep reading ...
Police investigate alleged attack on NLD candidates
Police are investigating allegations that the son of a prominent ruling-party politician rammed an opposition campaign convoy with his motorbike. The alleged attack took place on 18 October, in Zee Phyu Kone village in Naypyitaw’s Dekkhinathiri township. Keep reading ...
More cash sought for Myanmar pension plan
Myanmar’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is seeking more money for a planned social pension program, according to a senior official. The ministry originally requested K500 million (US$390,000) in 2015-16 to distribute to an estimated 35,000 people aged 90 years and above. However, a final ...
With ASEAN integration come more threats to natural resources
Toek Vannara, director of the NGO Forum, discusses the likely environmental problems Cambodia and other countries could face if they do not act to protect their natural resources. Keep reading ...
Haze eases across Thailand's southern provinces
The haze from wildfires in Indonesia drifting into Thailand has generally improved in the southern provinces due to recent rain and strong winds. Chatchai Promlert, chief of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said the level of dust particles measuring less than 10 micrometres, or PM10, had dropped ...
Foreign investor accuses Ho Chi Minh City officials of corruption: report
An investor from the British Virgin Islands has filed a complaint against ho Chi Minh City officials for mishandling its investment license and soliciting bribes, local media reported. K.S.T International Holdings Ltd., which is seeking a license to open a business to import electric equipment, said ...
Cheap lunch a hazard at Vietnam factories
Mass food poisoning suffered by 441 workers at a factory on 21 October was a reminder of the unhealthy factory lunches provided in Vietnam, which has been a major cause of wildcat strikes and the fact that its productivity is among the lowest in the world. Truong ...
Increased access to public services in Laos is distorting broader inequality
Since the early 1990s, five rounds of the Lao Expenditure and Consumption Surveys have shown that measured inequality has increased at the national level — within both rural and urban areas, within almost all provinces of Laos and within each of the four major ethnic ...
China confident on completing Eurasian Trans-Asian Railway
The Chinese government has expressed confidence that it will overcome political and financial obstacles to be able to speed up the development of the Eurasian Trans-Asian Railway, the China Economic Weekly reported. According to the report, the railway will offer China great opportunities to tap into ...
