News
Thai PM calls for regional haze cooperation
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Foreign Ministry to work closely with neighbouring countries to tackle the chronic haze problem gripping Southeast Asia. Short- and long-term solutions are needed to deal with the smog caused by slash-and-burn farming on Sumatra Island in Indonesia, Gen Prayut ...
12 Pacific nations agree to historic TPP trade accord
Twelve Pacific rim countries sealed the deal late 5 October (Thailand time) to create the world’s largest free trade area, with implications for Thailand and for world trade in the 21st century. Working around the clock for days past their deadline, haggard trade ministers announced they reached ...
YCDC outlaws extensions to public housing
Residents at Yangon’s affordable housing projects will be punished if they attempt to enlarge their apartments by building extensions. Keep reading ...
Haze reaches southern Thailand, rises beyond safety levels
The haze from forest fires in Indonesia has reached southern Thailand, with smoke from the dust particles rising above safety levels in Songkhla province’s Hat Yai district. Songhkla Governor Songpol Sawasditham on 5 October set up a war room to combat the impact of the haze ...
Unauthorised fees plague Vietnam's bus terminals
Transport enterprises are concerned about fees that they have to pay for their operations at bus stations. A driver of a transport enterprise operating on the Ha Noi-Thai Nguyen route, who decline to give his name, said besides fixed fees like entrance fee and parking fee, ...
Thai fishing trawlers unloading catch in Cambodia
More than 200 fishing trawlers from Trat province are now docking and unloading their catches in Cambodia’s adjoining Koh Kong province to evade the strict regulations being enforced against unregistered vessels and fishing equipment in Thailand. Keep reading ...
Election police training to begin
Police are preparing a comprehensive security blanket in advance of the 8 November election. Training is about to begin for more than 40,000 special police officers drafted nationwide to supplement the regular force during elections, while there is also a provision for calling the military ...
World Bank slashes Myanmar growth forecast
Just four months ago the World Bank predicted in its Global Economic Prospects report that Myanmar would grow at 8.2pc this year and 8.0pc in fiscal 2017, to become the world’s fourth-fastest-growing economy. However, this outlook took a hit as floods swept the country in July ...
Laos to host ASEAN ministerial meeting on rural development
Laos has confirmed its readiness to host the 9th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication in Vientiane from 13-17 October. Speaking at a press conference on 6 October on preparations for the meeting, Deputy Minister to the Government Office and Vice Chairman of the National ...
South Korea to fund Laos–Vietnam railway feasibility study
Vietnam’s transport ministry and the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) have agreed to study the feasibility of a 500 km-long railway link from Laos’ Vientiane to Vung Ang in central Ha Tinh Province of Vietnam. The study will be conducted with a $US3-million ODA grant from KOICA for ...
