News
Groups slam dam go-ahead
Advocacy groups on 21 September voiced their “strong disappointment” over the approval of the concession agreement for the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam in Laos. Keep reading ...
Child labor ring busted
The Government’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force have busted a Phnom Penh child labor ring, following a two-month investigation after a tip-off from the Khmer Times. The children would work all night selling fruit around the city, before returning to the tiny house in Chbar Ampov around ...
ASEAN Economic Community and impacts on Hanoi’s socio-economic development
Hanoi Institute of Socio-economic Development and Economic and Urban Newspaper together hold a city-level scientific workshop named “ASEAN Economic Community and impacts on Hanoi’s socio-economic development”. The workshop aims to evaluate positive impacts and limitations of joining ASEAN economic community towards Hanoi’s economy, culture and society, ...
ADB cuts growth forecast
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) cut its two-year growth forecast for the region on 22 September, amid a slow recovery in major industrial economies and weaker prospects for China and India. The Manila-based bank said developing Asia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to slow ...
All in the same boat: Tourism potential along the Mekong
A recent field trip to Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, organised by the Thailand Research Fund was aimed at promoting a community-based research project on managing social and cultural tourism routes. The project, extending into Sakhon Nakhon and Mukdahan, will help ASEAN Economic Community policymakers assess tourism potential along ...
Arrested for praying, Laotian Christian dies in prison for lack of treatment
Tiang, a married father of six, died in jail waiting before his appeal could be heard. Although he suffered from diabetes, prison officials repeatedly denied him treatment. He and four others had been convicted for praying on behalf of a terminally ill woman, an act ...
Lightning triggers another blackout in Yangon
Electrical engineers blamed lightning for the nearly citywide blackouts in Yangon on 17 September, and dismissed social media rumours suggesting election-related manipulation. One of the main power lines connecting Yangon with Meiktila township in Mandalay was damaged by a monsoon storm rolling through southern Myanmar, according ...
Myanmar's economy risks overheating: IMF
Myanmar’s economy is showing strong signs of overheating and has become increasingly vulnerable over the past 12 months amid rising macroeconomic imbalances, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). An expansionary budget and limited monetary policy tools will see inflation at 13 percent by year-end, the ...
Vietnamese rubber giant makes deal with Cambodian villagers
A “major breakthrough” has been reached in discussions between Vietnamese rubber giant Hoang Anh Gia Lai and 11 indigenous communities in Ratanakkiri province that have lost land and resources to the company’s plantations. During a three-day meeting with community representatives, NGOs and its own subsidiaries, the ...
Vietnam finance ministry wants variable interest rate on back taxes: report
The Ministry of Finance has requested the government to stop imposing a fixed interest rate on unpaid taxes from January 1, news website Saigon Times Online reported on 17 September. Keep reading ...
