News
Unclean air: Study finds pollution at dangerous level in Ho Chi Minh City's new urban areas
A new study from Ho Chi Minh City’s environment department has found an increase in dust and toxic gas in many urban areas, warning that motorbike riders can be exposed to major health risks. According to local media, the environment observation and analysis center measured the ...
Vietnam to open up airports to private, foreign investors
The government has announced a new decree which for the first time will allow private and foreign investors to provide certain services at Vietnamese airports. According to the decree, which will take effect on 12 December, private investors will be allowed to purchase rights to manage ...
Lawmakers beaten at National Assembly
Opposition lawmakers Nhay Chamroeun and Kong Sakphea were viciously beaten and left seriously injured on 26 October morning as a protest outside the National Assembly against Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy leader Kem Sokha descended into violence. The ruling Cambodian People’s Party denied any involvement in organising ...
Ramp plan for public areas gets push from Cambodian government
In efforts to improve conditions for its disabled citizens, the government on 26 October announced that it plans to order the installation of ramps and access signs at all public places. Speaking at the launch of the government’s disability policy in Phnom Penh, Em Chan Makara, secretariat ...
Gem miners protest in Ratanakkiri
About 200 villagers gathered in Ratanakkiri’s provincial capital of Banlung town on 26 October, calling for a resolution to a longstanding land dispute in the province’s gem-rich Bakeo district. In 2013, a man named Heng Socheat sued five village representatives from the district’s Keh Chung commune, ...
Ministry puts brakes on Pailin dump plans
Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment has called on local authorities in Pailin province to find a new location for a 34-hectare dumpsite currently planned for a protected forest. Environment Minister Say Sam Al, who led a team to inspect the site on 3 October, wrote to Pailin Governor ...
First bird flu outbreak this year confirmed in Laos
The first avian flu outbreak this year in Laos was reported in ducks and chickens in a farm located in Xayabury. Keep reading ...
New Lao-Thai centre to help tackle trafficking
Thailand and Laos have decided to set up a social development centre to help tackle human trafficking, Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said on 26 September. After the 20th Thai-Lao Joint Commission meeting at a Chiang Rai hotel, Don told reporters that he had signed a memorandum ...
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 ...
